ABA Journal

How a Lehman Bankruptcy May Unfold With Weil Gotshal’s Help

Lehman Brothers has filed for bankruptcy after round-the-clock negotiations failed over the weekend and the last potential buyer, Barclays PLC, withdrew its bid. Lehman has hired Weil, Gotshal & Manges as its bankruptcy counsel, the same law firm that represented Drexel Burnham Lambert in its February 1990 bankruptcy, the New…

Sep 15, 2008 11:16 AM CDT

Jones Day Sues Over Website Posting Attorney Home Purchase Info

Jones Day has sued a website that highlights lawyers—even posting their photos and linking to firm biographies—and other professionals who buy and sell their homes in Chicago, Las Vegas, St. Louis and South Florida. After two Jones Day associates were featured on the BlockShopper site, the Cleveland-based BigLaw firm sued,…

Sep 11, 2008 5:08 PM CDT

Feedback, Schmeedback. Do Would-Be Employers Ever Dish it Out?

Last week’s blog post about interview mistakes struck a chord with many of you and prompted a series of thoughtful comments about, in many cases, a stark lack of feedback from employers who reject job candidates. One commenter tossed in these words of wisdom: “You’ll find the signals when they’re…

Sep 10, 2008 7:53 PM CDT

Legal Fees a ‘Breathtaking’ $93M-Plus in Bratz Battle

Two toy companies battling for rights to the Bratz dolls-with-attitude have racked up legal fees of at least $93 million in the case. MGA Entertainment has spent $63 million in fees since 2004 defending a lawsuit by Mattel Inc. that contended the doll’s designer conceived of the idea before leaping…

Sep 10, 2008 12:17 PM CDT

Being a Lawyer and Male Makes You a Top Earner, Census Report Shows

The highest earners in 2007 were men in legal occupations, who earned a median salary in 2007 of $105,233, according to a Census Bureau report. The online report (PDF) issued in August shows women in legal occupations, which includes paralegal as well as lawyer positions, didn’t fare as well. Their…

Sep 10, 2008 11:57 AM CDT

Prosecutor and Judge in Capital Case Admitted Affair, Lawyers Say

Updated: A judge who oversaw the death penalty trial of Charles Dean Hood and the prosecutor in the case have admitted an affair, lawyers told the governor of Texas in a letter. The now-retired judge, Verla Sue Holland, and the onetime prosecutor, Thomas O’Connell, “admitted under oath that they had…

Sep 10, 2008 10:56 AM CDT

Owner, Managers of Iowa Meat Plant Face 9,311 Child Labor Charges

More than 9,000 misdemeanor child labor charges were filed today (PDF) by the Iowa attorney general’s office against the owner and managers of a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville that was the site of a huge immigration raid earlier this year. The 9,311 violations involve 32 workers at Agriprocessors who…

Sep 9, 2008 7:15 PM CDT

King & Spalding Goes on an 18-Month ‘Expansion Spree’

King & Spalding, a law firm known for its ties to Atlanta, is on “an expansion spree” that is tied to targeted practice areas, the American Lawyer reports in a profile. The law firm has opened eight new locations since 2007—in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates;…

Sep 9, 2008 5:55 PM CDT

Litigation Too Costly, E-Discovery a ‘Morass,’ Trial Lawyers Say

Updated: The civil justice system in the United States is so bogged down in a “morass” of e-discovery that it is often too expensive for litigants to take their cases to trial, according to a survey of trial lawyers. Now the next step is to fix this increasingly dysfunctional system,…

Sep 9, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

William Lerach in Prison Lockdown for Alleged Football Tickets Offer

Former lawyer William Lerach, serving time for paying kickbacks to lead plaintiffs in securities class actions, is now accused of offering another kind of incentive, this time to a prison guard: his San Diego Chargers season tickets. Lerach has been moved to administrative segregation where he is locked up for…

Sep 9, 2008 11:04 AM CDT

Yale Law Women List Top 10 Family-Friendly Law Firms

Updated: Last year, Quarles & Brady was No. 1. But this year, the Milwaukee, Wisc.-based law firm didn’t even make it on a list of the nation’s 10 most family-friendly law firms compiled by Yale Law Women. It wasn’t alone in being left out, however: Only three law firms—Arnold &…

Sep 8, 2008 11:21 PM CDT

U.S. Takeover of Mortgage Giants Followed Failed Talks at Davis Polk

Updated: The announcement this weekend of a U.S. takeover of the nation’s two mortgage giants followed failed talks with potential Freddie Mac investors at the headquarters of Goldman Sachs and law firm Davis, Polk & Wardwell. Freddie Mac chief executive Richard Syron made the last-ditch pitch to investors three weeks…

Sep 8, 2008 11:02 AM CDT

Lawyers ‘in Love With MoFo’ Among those at Big Firms on Facebook

Big law firms may be Facebook Luddites, but their lawyers are using the social networking site. Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle was in the news last month for using Facebook as a recruiting tool. It’s believed to be the first big firm to do so, but it’s not the only…

Sep 4, 2008 11:24 AM CDT

Palin E-Mails Criticize Failure to Fire Trooper

Two e-mails from Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin criticize the failure to fire a state trooper who was formerly married to her sister. Palin is being represented by a private lawyer in an investigation into whether she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan for keeping the trooper as a…

Sep 4, 2008 10:51 AM CDT

If You Were the Legal Ed Czar, What Would You Do?

We hear loads of grumbling in the comments on this site about law schools failing their student population by not preparing them: to actually be lawyers; to manage the significant debt accumulated on the road to J.D.; and to fully understand their options. And we also hear from law schools…

Sep 3, 2008 9:15 PM CDT