Bankruptcy Law

Mayer Brown Sued for $17 M

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw is fighting a $17 million suit by a trustee for a bankrupt company. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall of Chicago refused to dismiss the suit last month, the New York Law Journal reports. The suit claims the Chicago-based firm failed to defend health care management…

Jul 23, 2007 12:43 PM CDT

Slain Victim’s Kin Own OJ Book Rights

A highly controversial book authored by fallen football hero O.J. Simpson that some considered his confession to the 1994 murders of his former wife, Nicole, and a male companion, Ron Goldman, is now likely to be published after all. But if so the profits will go not to O.J. Simpson’s…

Jul 3, 2007 6:52 PM CDT

Former Chief Bankruptcy Judge is Dead

A well-known bankruptcy lawyer who formerly served as chief judge of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York and handled the ground-breaking bankruptcy of Robert Maxwell, owner of the New York Post, has died. Tina Brozman, a partner at Bingham McCutchen, died yesterday of complications from ovarian…

Jun 27, 2007 11:40 PM CDT

Bankruptcy Filings Plummet

Bankruptcy filings have dropped more than 60 percent, causing some bankruptcy court clerks to worry that the decreased workload portends staff cuts. Fewer than 700,000 cases were filed during the 12 months ending on March 31, a drop of 61 percent from the same period the year before, according to…

Jun 27, 2007 6:29 PM CDT

‘Phenomenal Year’ for Florida Lawyers

Defying predictions of a law practice slowdown, attorneys in South Florida report their business is booming. “It was a phenomenal year to be a lawyer,” John C. Sumberg, managing partner of Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod, an 85-attorney firm in Miami, tells the Daily Business Review. “We had many…

Jun 18, 2007 9:16 PM CDT

Back in Ball Game: O.J. Book ‘If I Did It’

A highly controversial, near-confessional account by fallen football hero O.J. Simpson of how he might have killed his former wife and a male companion could still be published. The father of Nicole Brown Simpson’s companion, Ron Goldman, can pursue the rights to the book, “If I Did It,” from an…

Jun 15, 2007 8:57 PM CDT

D.C. Legal Clinic Helps Homeless

With 23 cents in her bank account, Erica Bermudo couldn’t even afford to file for bankruptcy. So she showed up at a one-hour legal clinic held at a local church in Washington, D.C., last month, to see if she could get free legal help with her case. Such private efforts…

Jun 7, 2007 11:43 PM CDT

Lawyer in Deep Fryer Over ‘Happy Meal’ Quip

A lawyer who said a bankruptcy judge was “a few french fries short of a Happy Meal” is being ordered to defend his right to practice in her federal court. William P. Smith, a partner with McDermott Will & Emery based in Chicago, made the statement before Judge Laurel Myerson…

May 31, 2007 1:32 PM CDT

More Bankruptcy Lawyers Poached

Big law firms continue to bulk up their bankruptcy practices. The latest is O’Melveny & Myers, which is adding four bankruptcy partners from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, according to the New York Law Journal. Although bankruptcy filings are down, firms are anticipating an uptick in restructuring work.

May 11, 2007 1:08 PM CDT

Giuliani Firms on Two Sides in Bankruptcy

Two companies owned by GOP presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani did not disclose a potential conflict of interest to a bankruptcy judge, according to the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). Giuliani Capital Advisors provided restructuring advice to Delta Air Lines, while another Giuliani company was employed by a Delta creditor, the…

May 7, 2007 3:01 PM CDT

Business Boom Looms for Subprime Attorneys

Law firms representing subprime mortgage lenders will see a boost in business as they help with bankruptcy filings and fend off government investigations and class action lawsuits, the National Law Journal reports. One firm, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, has announced formation of a new practice group to handle the legal…

Apr 25, 2007 12:58 PM CDT

Bankruptcy Filings Plummet in 2006, Courts Say

Bankruptcy cases filed in federal court in 2006 plummeted by more than two thirds compared to 2005, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Statistics released today show a 70 percent drop. It appears, though, that this year’s filings are likely to go up: Bankruptcies filed in the…

Apr 16, 2007 4:43 PM CDT

Bankruptcy Judge Warns of Debt Traps

By the time credit-burdened consumers reach his courtroom, they are already in big trouble. So a Rochester, N.Y., bankruptcy judge decided to try to help them get control of their finances at an earlier stage. To do so, Judge John C. Ninfo II founded Credit Abuse Resistance Education, or CARE,…

Apr 12, 2007 1:12 AM CDT

Strange New World

Lawyers, debtors and creditors are struggling to absorb sweeping changes in bankruptcy law

Jan 5, 2007 12:10 AM CST

Long Road to Recovery

Victims of Hurricane Katrina Face Legal Issues at Every Turn

Feb 21, 2006 10:46 AM CST