Associates

Blank Rome adds to attorney roster in Houston with acquisition of Bell Ryniker maritime firm

Three years ago, Blank Rome established a foothold in the hot Houston market by hiring Joseph F. Speelman as a partner. He initially worked out of his home, but then the Philadelphia-based law firm acquired Abrams Scott & Bickley, a 10-attorney firm known for its litigation work. Now the attorney…

Aug 6, 2013 1:36 PM CDT

Two top partners lead 7-lawyer team from Christie Pabarue to new office of Carroll McNulty

The managing partner, a name partner and five other lawyers are leaving Christie Pabarue Mortensen & Young to open a new Philadelphia office for Carroll, McNulty & Kull, a New Jersey law firm based in the outskirts of suburban New York City. In addition to managing partner Ralph Luongo, name…

Jul 29, 2013 4:15 PM CDT

Attorney-client privilege prevents associate from aiding AG’s law firm billing probe, partner argues

A Colorado lawyer who helped the state attorney general gather evidence in a billing probe of her law firm was its special counsel at the time, a partner testified in a Thursday court hearing. However, Susan Hendrick hotly denied that she had represented Aronowitz & Mecklenburg, and said she was…

Jul 26, 2013 1:18 PM CDT

Denied a pay raise, lawyer stole $15K from firm as he ‘spiraled down’

Told he would not be made partner, or even get a pay raise, despite handling all of the litigation for the small Massachusetts law firm for which he worked, a former associate tried another approach. Matthew McDonough, now 41, stole $15,000 in legal fees that should have gone to the…

Jul 26, 2013 12:15 PM CDT

Young lawyer saves $25K a year in rent by living with mom and dad

John O’Connor is lucky on two fronts. In a tough legal hiring market, the 26-year-old landed a job and is working as a litigator at a San Francisco area law firm after earning his law degree at the University of California’s Hastings College of Law. And he is able to…

Jul 24, 2013 6:50 PM CDT

Which law firms are top-ranked by associates? Paul Hastings leads the list of best places to work

Paul Hastings is the best law firm to work for, according to a quality of life survey completed by nearly 17,000 associates. The Vault survey asked associates to rate their law firms on a 1-to-10 scale in more than a dozen categories, including satisfaction, culture, compensation, hours, training and substantive…

Jul 17, 2013 1:25 PM CDT

Average hourly billing rate for partners last year was $727 in largest law firms

Billing rates increased 3.1 percent for law firm partners last year, while associate rates jumped 7.4 percent. The average 2012 hourly billing rate was about $536 for law firm partners and $370 for associates, according to the analysis by TyMetrix Legal Analytics and CEB. Corporate Counsel summarizes the findings. The…

Jul 15, 2013 6:33 PM CDT

Record 12-year term OK’d for ex-associate who revealed BigLaw deal info in $37M insider-trade scheme

A federal appeals court was not persuaded by a former BigLaw associate’s argument that a record 12-year prison term for insider trading should be reduced. Matthew Kluger “was an attorney who took an oath to uphold the law,” said the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in its Tuesday opinion…

Jul 10, 2013 4:34 PM CDT

School board axes law firm after attorney’s viral video rant

At least 100 individuals gathered outside a scheduled school board meeting in New York state on Monday to protest the language used by an attorney working for an outside law firm that represents the district, at a recent public meeting. Attorney Christoper Kirby is shown on video, both during and…

Jul 9, 2013 1:35 PM CDT

London-based Clyde & Co. opens 4th US office with Robins Kaplan insurance coverage team

In a big step beyond its existing three offices in New York, New Jersey and San Francisco, a 1,400-attorney London-based law firm has now opened a fourth U.S. office, in Atlanta. It is staffed by a team of three lawyers from Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi who focus their practice…

Jul 9, 2013 12:23 PM CDT

Parents rally against law firm after school lawyer uses ‘mother of all insults’ in video rant

Updated: An insult-laden argument between parents and a New York school district attorney continued in the parking lot after a five-hour public meeting on Tuesday. And it was recorded, both inside and outside the meeting site, by a local radio program host. The result was a viral video over the…

Jul 8, 2013 10:40 PM CDT

Better life after BigLaw beckons, cross-country walker tells laid-off Weil attorneys

Getting laid off from a BigLaw job isn’t pleasant. But it’s not the end of the world either, a former Sidley Austin bankruptcy associate tells compatriots from Weil Gotshal & Manges in a recent blog post. They’re now on the other side of the fence, where the grass is greener,…

Jul 8, 2013 9:15 PM CDT

23 lawyers from Patton Boggs will staff new Dallas office of Holland & Knight

After advance word that a number of partners planned to exit Patton Boggs in order to establish a Holland & Knight office in Dallas, their new firm has made an official announcement. In a Monday press release, Holland & Knight says a total of 23 lawyers—including 12 partners, 10 associates…

Jul 3, 2013 6:20 PM CDT

Dickstein energy chief leads 5-lawyer group to Crowell

The chief of Dickstein Shapiro’s energy practice is leading a five-lawyer team to Crowell & Moring. Longtime partner Larry Eisenstat started work at his new firm’s Washington, D.C., offices today, along with two other partners, a counsel, an associate and a senior policy adviser from Dickstein Shapiro, according to the…

Jul 1, 2013 9:00 PM CDT

Despite ‘fragile’ legal economy, managing partners say they don’t expect lawyer layoffs

Despite reports this week of planned lawyer layoffs by Goodwin Procter and Weil Gotshal and Manges, as well as a 17-partner exit at Patton Boggs, managing partners of six major firms say they don’t expect a mass of competing legal partnerships–including their own–to follow suit as the year reaches its…

Jun 28, 2013 3:50 PM CDT