ABA Journal

Up to 90 Thelen Lawyers are Joining Nixon Peabody

Some 60 to 90 lawyers from the dissolving Thelen firm are joining Nixon Peabody, following a partnership vote today to admit dozens of new members. “The new attorneys are joining all four of Nixon Peabody’s departments: business, intellectual property, litigation, and real estate. The firm also plans to hire a…

Nov 6, 2008 5:56 PM CST

Seyfarth Shaw Chairman Tight-Lipped About Merger Talks

The chairman of Chicago-based Seyfarth Shaw says he wants to keep growing the law firm, but he won’t comment on reports that one of the options is to merge with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. Seyfarth Shaw has been through three mergers since 2000, the National Law Journal reports, and is…

Nov 6, 2008 5:42 PM CST

How an Obama Presidency May Benefit Lawyers

Lawyers in diverse practice areas ranging from labor law to bankruptcy are likely to benefit from legal changes that could be made during the Obama administration. Lawyers can expect more regulations in banking and health care, fewer restrictions on lawsuits, more real estate lending and a pro-labor tilt, according to…

Nov 6, 2008 2:26 PM CST

Better Question: Who Isn’t a Lawyer on Obama’s Transition Team?

President-elect Barack Obama and his VP-elect Joe Biden wasted no time assembling their transition team, which features a number of attorneys. (Graduates of Harvard Law School, Obama’s alma mater, also proliferate.) Among the lawyers on the list, Valerie Jarrett, described by the New York Times as a once-unhappy attorney who…

Nov 5, 2008 9:10 PM CST

Obama is the Second US President with a Harvard Law Degree

Barack Obama is the second U.S. president who is a Harvard law graduate. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog says 24 presidents have been lawyers, while an ABA book, published before Obama’s election, counted 25. The only other president who had a Harvard law degree was Rutherford Hayes. The Wall…

Nov 5, 2008 5:11 PM CST

Michigan Chief Justice Loses in Stunning Upset

The conservative chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court has lost a battle for re-election after an ad funded by the state Democratic Party accused him of falling asleep during a case, a charge he denied. Chief Justice Clifford Taylor lost to challenger Diane Hathaway in a “stunning upset,” the…

Nov 5, 2008 4:41 PM CST

First Things First. What Should Be Obama’s No. 1 Priority?

After a divisive election with an historic result, most folks woke up Wednesday morning and headed in to work, business as usual. But president-elect Barack Obama has made clear that there is change ahead when he becomes the nation’s 44th president. This made us wonder… If you could advise Obama…

Nov 5, 2008 3:44 PM CST

Will Law Firms’ NY Obsession Continue After Wall Street Meltdown?

The Wall Street meltdown poses a lot of intriguing questions for law firms. Will their obsession with New York continue? Will the big firms have to lower their billing rates, giving upstart firms in the city an edge? The New York Law Journal poses the questions but lawyers and experts…

Nov 5, 2008 3:26 PM CST

Election Law Blogger Responsible for Free Ben & Jerry’s

Election law blogger Rick Hasen of Loyola Law School is taking credit for an expanded free ice cream promotion by Ben & Jerry’s. The ice cream purveyors had originally offered free ice cream to anyone who could show they voted. Hasen pointed out on his Election Law Blog that the…

Nov 5, 2008 2:57 PM CST

Gay Marriage Ban Wins in Calif., Raising Doubts on 18,000 Weddings

Updated: A proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in California has passed, raising questions about the estimated 18,000 gay weddings performed in the state. The California Supreme Court had ruled 4-3 in May that gays have a constitutional right to marry. The Los Angeles Times reports that the constitutional…

Nov 5, 2008 1:13 PM CST

Treasury Offers $11M ‘Bailout Love’ to Hughes Hubbard and Squire Sanders

Economic crisis has brought big-bucks government contracts to two well-known law firms. Hughes Hubbard & Reed and Squire Sanders & Dempsey have each been awarded $5.5 million contracts to help approximately 2,000 financial firms apply for a share of the money being spent by the U.S. Treasury Department under a…

Nov 5, 2008 12:56 AM CST

Ex-Heller Partner: Women Lawyers Were ‘Canaries in the Coal Mine’

A former Heller Ehrman partner who spearheaded a project to retain women lawyers has been doing some thinking about why law firms dissolve. Patricia Gillette, an employment lawyer, leaped to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe last October for what she describes as “cultural reasons.” At Heller, she founded the Opt-In Project…

Nov 3, 2008 8:56 PM CST

Sue: A New Magazine for Women Litigators

A new magazine focused on women lawyers and their practices “Sue: For Women in Litigation” is set to debut in January. The legal tabloid Above the Law first blogged about the magazine in August when it got hold of some of the publication’s early focus group data. Back then, the…

Nov 3, 2008 8:42 PM CST

Solos Cautioned Against Tacking ‘Associates’ to Firm Name

Solo practitioners who pump up their practices by using the word “associates” in their firm names may be running afoul of ethics rules, at least in Connecticut. A report in the Connecticut Law Tribune equates such a practice to embellishing a resume. The paper cites the case of Joseph Moniz,…

Nov 3, 2008 7:47 PM CST

Trouble Ahead for East Coast Law Firms; One Expert Expects Dissolutions

Experts interviewed by two different publications foresee troubles ahead for East Coast law firms. Ward Bower of legal consulting firm Altman Weil predicts the worst for some law firms. “I would anticipate that we would see more dissolutions, and I think they will be East Coast firms,” he told the…

Nov 3, 2008 1:05 PM CST