Associates

Quinn Emanuel Takes Casual Dress to the Flip-Flops Level

Business casual outfits of tailored slacks or pressed khakis are too dressy for some lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. The Careerist interviewed founding partner William Urquhart about the firm’s dress code after meeting an associate dressed in shorts and flip-flops. Urquhart told the blog that practically anything goes.…

Jun 23, 2011 11:41 AM CDT

Debevoise Hiring Partner Looks for Meaningful Conversations and Passion

Don’t expect legal hypotheticals or behavioral interview questions if you are looking for a job at Debevoise & Plimpton. “Oh, that’s so silly,” according to hiring partner Maurizio Levi-Minzi, who talked to the Careerist about his interview style. Instead, Levi-Minzi said he looks for candidates who are passionate and “authentic.”…

Jun 22, 2011 11:40 AM CDT

Federal Judge’s Unusual Order Puts Well-Known Bankruptcy Law Firm Under Fla. Bar Scrutiny

Briefly banned from practicing bankruptcy law in the Middle District of Florida, after one of its lawyers aggravated a federal judge, an Orlando law firm is now back in the bankruptcy ball game but facing a state bar inquiry. Kaufman, Englett & Lynd, a prominent bankruptcy firm which is also…

Jun 16, 2011 10:15 PM CDT

Can Law Firms Put Aside Focus on Single-Year Profits? Crowell Chairman Says They Must

Law firms that focus on single-year profits and that employ information-hording lawyers won’t be able to deliver on client demands for greater efficiency, according to Crowell & Moring chairman Kent Gardiner. Law firms competing for business need “a first-class knowledge management program” and well-trained associates, Gardiner says in an article…

Jun 15, 2011 12:19 PM CDT

Milbank Corporate & Securities Leader Takes Team to Dewey, Where He Will Head Latin America Practice

The head of the Latin America practice group at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy is taking a team of lawyers to Dewey & LeBoeuf, where he will serve in a similar leadership role. Michael Fitzgerald, who also chaired the global securities and global corporate groups at his now-former firm, is…

Jun 14, 2011 7:32 PM CDT

Weil Trumpets ‘Trifecta’ in Vault 2012 Rankings, But Wachtell, Cravath and S&C are 1-2-3 in Prestige

As Vault’s 2012 law firm rankings hit the news today, chest-beating resounded in the BigLaw community. Asked to say which law firms, excluding their own, are most prestigious, some 16,000 associates rounded up the usual suspects, listing the same seven New York-based legal partnerships as last year, in the same…

Jun 13, 2011 11:42 PM CDT

Disbarred Ex-BigLaw Associate Wins Pro Se Appeal of $600K Fine in Insider-Trading Case

After pleading guilty in 2007 to an insider-trading conspiracy, a former associate at Thacher Proffitt & Wood lost a parallel civil case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on summary judgment. However, Amir Rosenthal apparently spent at least some of his 33-month sentence to good purpose in the…

Jun 13, 2011 8:07 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Took Plea Delivers on Stand, Helps Convict Goffer, 2 Others in Insider-Trading Case

An attorney who admittedly participated in an insider-trading scheme by providing confidential information about clients of a well-known law firm to a former trader with the Galleon Group hedge fund has helped convict Zvi Goffer and two other individuals in a securities-fraud conspiracy case. A federal jury in Manhattan today…

Jun 13, 2011 6:00 PM CDT

Young Ex-Associate Sues Aussie BigLaw, Says She Was Fired After Involvement with Firm Solicitor

In a case that is making waves in Australia, a former female associate is going head-to-head with one of the country’s major law firms, contending that she was harassed and fired after becoming “romantically involved” with a Clayton Utz solicitor. In an ongoing lawsuit against the firm, Bridgette Styles alleges…

Jun 8, 2011 6:07 PM CDT

Legal Consultant’s Summer Success Tips: Don’t Underdress, Overimbibe or Date Anyone at Work

For those striving to make a positive impression in legal jobs over the summer, simply avoiding negative attention can be a significant career enhancer, a consultant recommends. Don’t make yourself memorable for what you did (or didn’t) wear. Don’t do drugs of any kind or drink excessively. And avoid office…

Jun 8, 2011 12:00 AM CDT

Appeals Court: Associate Can’t Seek Punitives from Law Firm That Allegedly Misled Him re Partnership

A former associate can’t seek punitive damages from a law firm that allegedly misstated his partnership potential for years to keep him working on an important case and then terminated him once it successfully concluded. Upholding today the trial court’s ruling on punitives, the New York Appellate Division for the…

Jun 7, 2011 11:40 PM CDT

Report: BigLaw Attorney in Insider-Trade Case Didn’t Open Firm Docs, Allegedly Just Used Title Info

An attorney who allegedly obtained confidential information over a 17-year period while working at three major law firms before being charged earlier this year in an insider-trading case that allegedly involved over $30 million in illegal profits, has given chief information officers in the legal industry much to ponder. Wilson…

Jun 2, 2011 5:34 PM CDT

California’s Best Best & Krieger Acquires DC Telecom Boutique

Best Best & Krieger is opening a Washington, D.C., office through the acquisition of Miller & Van Eaton, a boutique telecommunications law firm based in the District. Six lawyers from Miller & Van Eaton will join Best Best & Krieger effective July 1, according to a press release. The D.C.…

Jun 1, 2011 2:14 PM CDT

Polsinelli Opens New Dallas Office with 3-Lawyer M&A Team from K&L Gates

Polsinelli Shughart has opened a new office in Dallas with a three-lawyer mergers and acquisitions team from K&L Gates and plans further growth there down the road. The 530-attorney Kansas City, Mo.-based law firm now has a presence in eight states and 16 cities, notes a press release announcing the…

May 26, 2011 11:19 PM CDT

7 More Lawyers Leap from Epstein Becker, This Time for San Fran Office of Crowell & Moring

After news earlier this week that Epstein Becker & Green is losing its Houston office to Cozen O’Connor comes news today that half the firm’s San Francisco office is exiting for Crowell & Moring. William Helvestine, who served as managing partner of Epstein’s San Francisco office, is heading the seven-attorney…

May 25, 2011 10:55 PM CDT