Howrey artwork to be auctioned on Wednesday

More than 50 works of art that once adorned the walls of the Howrey law firm will be sold at auction by Weschler’s on Wednesday, June 12. The art includes abstract works by Washington, D.C., artists Sam Gilliam and Gene Davis, the Wall Street Journal reports at its Bankruptcy Beat…

Jun 7, 2013 7:59 PM CDT

Judge OKs $19.5M settlement over claimed Dewey mismanagement

A federal judge in New York has approved a settlement between the bankruptcy estate of Dewey & LeBoeuf, an insurer and its former chair over claimed mismanagement of the now-defunct law firm. The insurer, XL Specialty Insurance Company, will pay the lion’s share of the $19.5 million settlement approved Thursday.…

May 31, 2013 4:45 PM CDT

9th Circuit OKs discharge of $53K in student-loan debt for law grad working as a probation officer

After a 10-year legal battle, a 1997 graduate of an Oregon law school has not only won a federal appeals court ruling that eliminates more than half of his student loan debt, but has established favorable precedent for other recent grads struggling with major debt and minimal job prospects. Finding…

May 28, 2013 3:01 PM CDT

Dewey’s bankruptcy lawyer: More large law firms will fail (video)

While failed law firms make for notoriously difficult bankrupty cases, Dewey & LeBoeuf’s time in bankruptcy court was quicker and easier than other notable law firms. Joe Samet, head of restructuring at Baker & McKenzie, and Al Togut, founding partner at Togut, Segal & Segal, talk with Bloomberg Law’s Lee…

May 23, 2013 3:40 PM CDT

Girls Gone Wild founder says jury that convicted him should be ‘lined up and shot’

Updated: After being convicted of false imprisonment, Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis told the Hollywood Reporter that his jury was “retarded,” and should be killed. “I want that jury to know that each and every one of you are mentally f–ing retarded and you should be euthanized because, as…

May 22, 2013 7:34 PM CDT

Minibar candy, expensive hotel stays in bankruptcy lawyers’ expenses targeted by new guidelines

Bankruptcy lawyers’ fees and expenses are coming under increased scrutiny as the U.S. Trustee Program readies new guidelines that are intended to further control bankruptcy costs in large cases. The proposed guidelines for lawyers in Chapter 11 cases are expected to be unveiled July 1, and they may include a…

May 14, 2013 10:39 AM CDT

Bankruptcy co-chairs leap from Cadwalader to O’Melveny, along with another partner

Three bankruptcy partners from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, including the co-chairs of the practice group, are headed to O’Melveny & Myers. In a Tuesday announcement, O’Melveny said that co-chairs John J. Rapisarsdi and George A. Davis would serve in the same role at their new firm, working out of its…

May 7, 2013 8:29 PM CDT

Former Dewey chairman may not have to pay entire $511K settlement; it depends on his income

Former Dewey & LeBoeuf chairman Steven Davis is getting some leeway in a proposed $511,000 settlement related to the law firm’s collapse. The proposed agreement to settle a mismanagement claim gives Davis six years to pay the money, and it’s contingent on his earnings, the Am Law Daily reports. Davis…

May 1, 2013 1:43 PM CDT

Attorneys push for change in debt collection

May 1, 2013 8:20 AM CDT

Get a handle on student loan debt

May 1, 2013 7:00 AM CDT

Law firm’s latest bill for Madoff liquidation is $50M, bringing total since his 2008 arrest to $440M

Since December 2008, when Bernard Madoff was arrested in a record-breaking Ponzi scheme operated under the guise of an investment firm, Irving Picard and his law firm have been handling the liquidation for the Securities Investor Protection Corp. A filing in federal court in Manhattan shows the latest bill from…

Apr 30, 2013 3:47 PM CDT

Greenberg Traurig agrees to settle suit claiming it contributed to ‘chaotic’ Heller wind down

Greenberg Traurig has agreed to pay $4.9 million to settle a suit claiming the firm contributed to a “chaotic” wind down of Heller Ehrman. The deal still needs the approval of a bankruptcy judge, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.) reports. Greenberg Traurig spokeswoman Jill Perry told the…

Apr 30, 2013 1:34 PM CDT

Plan to have Kaye Scholer give up $1.5M in fees to settle disclosure case is withdrawn

A planned settlement of a case over lack of disclosure by a law firm and others in a corporate bankruptcy case has been withdrawn without explanation by the feds. The settlement would have required Kaye Scholer to forgo $1.5 million in attorney fees in a Chapter 11 case and have…

Apr 25, 2013 3:58 PM CDT

Kaye Scholer cedes $1.5M in Chapter 11 fees, OKs new policy to end US Trustee’s disclosure case

Kaye Scholer has agreed to give up $1.5 million in legal fees and revamp its policies and procedures concerning applications for bankruptcy work to settle a U.S. Trustee’s office claim that the law firm failed to make necessary disclosures in a major Chapter 11 case. The settlement announced Monday in…

Apr 23, 2013 10:02 PM CDT

Former Dewey chairman agrees to pay more than $500K to settle mismanagement claim

Updated: Former Dewey & LeBoeuf chairman Steven Davis has agreed to pay $511,000 to settle a mismanagement claim related to the law firm’s collapse. The proposed settlement is between Davis, the trustee in the Dewey bankruptcy, and the liability insurer for Dewey’s management, according to the Wall Street Journal Law…

Apr 23, 2013 1:41 PM CDT