’Tis the season for the staple of classic Christmas movies. They leave lasting memories for everyone—and for some judges, that includes calling them back for assistance when deciding cases.
Law firm financials have improved for seven consecutive quarters, leading to a profitability score that is the second highest on record for the Law Firm Financial Index since its inception more than 15 years ago.
The former chief financial officer at disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi’s law firm has reached a deal to plead guilty to two counts of wire fraud that caused losses of at least $3.5 million.
Sullivan & Cromwell did not ignore “red flags” that would have alerted it to misconduct when it represented Samuel Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, in the purchase of shares in a mobile trading platform, according to a second report by a court-appointed bankruptcy examiner.
A former bankruptcy judge has been sanctioned for trying to avoid a deposition by submitting to an unauthorized off-the-record interview with the law firm that employed his romantic partner.
A Chicago lawyer sentenced to prison for bank embezzlement Tuesday interrupted the judge throughout the proceeding and claimed that the case against him “is an evil that’s going on here.”
Updated: A lawyer accused of misappropriating up to $282 million from as many as 60,000 debt-relief clients, either through intentional or “grossly negligent” conduct, had employed a disbarred lawyer alleged to be running the operation.
Most major practice areas experienced growth in the second quarter of 2024, leading to “a significant resurgence in the financial health of law firms,” according to the Thomson Reuters Institute, which released its latest Law Firm Financial Index.
At times, some have referred to the Supreme Court as “nine scorpions in a bottle.” That metaphor seems especially appropriate this year, though I would describe them as “nine angry scorpions in a bottle.” There is a strong sense that it is a deeply divided court. There were a total of 59 opinions, and 23 were 6-3 and another five were 5-4.
Sullivan & Cromwell has sought about $200 million as debtor’s counsel in the bankruptcy of cryptocurrency exchange FTX based on more than 168,000 hours clocked by lawyers and staffers.
Co-lead counsel in a lawsuit filed last month against Johnson & Johnson are asking a judge to allow access to communications among some top in-house lawyers in a bid to show that the company abused the bankruptcy process in litigation over talcum powder alleged to cause cancer.
Updated: Fenwick & West was the only law firm “entrusted with a bird's-eye view” of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading, according to a report by an independent court-appointed examiner in the bankruptcy of FTX and affiliated entities.
Sullivan & Cromwell is seeking dismissal of a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that it aided and abetted fraud when it provided legal services at cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
