Hourly Billing Rates Continue Upward Climb; Partner and Senior Counsel Average Is $661

Hourly billing rates increased last year, reaching an average of $661 for partners and senior counsel. The average for that group was $639 in 2010, according to an analysis by the Daily Report Online. The average for associates was $445 in 2011, compared to $439 in 2010. “Certainly hourly rates…

Mar 5, 2012 1:01 PM CST

Playing on Home Court: New York and Delaware May Lose Their Grip on Bankruptcy Cases

Mar 1, 2012 9:30 AM CST

Former SEC General Counsel OKs $556K Bankruptcy Trustee Pact re Mom’s Estate Payout from Madoff Fund

A former general counsel of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to settle, along with his brothers, for $556,017 a claim brought by the trustee overseeing the resolution of Bernard Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme over an inheritance the siblings received from their mother. The agreed payout by David…

Feb 28, 2012 5:50 PM CST

How to Deal with 55 Years of Lawyer Documents? Howrey Trustee Develops a Plan

The trustee for the dissolving Howrey law firm will present a plan on Wednesday for dealing with documents collected over 55 years of law practice. Documents for more than 10,000 clients are stored in 220,000 document boxes and two data centers, the Washington Post reports. If trustee Allan Diamond gets…

Feb 27, 2012 5:31 PM CST

Founding Fathers Cited by Restaurant Owner Resisting Call to Declare ‘Moral Bankruptcy’

A restaurant owner and his detractors are citing some modified legal concepts in a fight over the high-fat food served there. The Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas is back in the news after a customer eating its Triple Bypass Burger suffered an apparent heart attack on Saturday, Fox News…

Feb 17, 2012 4:24 PM CST

Fined $14K in Fed’l Court for Frivolous Filings, Lawyer Is Suspended, Fined $21K by Top Fla. Court

Ordered by a bankruptcy judge to pay a $14,000 penalty for frivolous filings, in a sanction later upheld (PDF) by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a Florida attorney has now been suspended from practice for three months for the same conduct. The Florida Supreme Court order imposing the…

Feb 17, 2012 2:20 PM CST

Lawyer Behind Now-Defunct Pacific Law Center Is Facing Disciplinary Action

One of San Diego’s most recognizable lawyers is facing dozens of disciplinary charges for work he was paid for but allegedly never performed. Kerry Steigerwalt, who ran the now-defunct Pacific Law Center, is accused of violating a series of bar rules in 19 separate cases, all but two of which…

Feb 7, 2012 9:57 PM CST

In ‘Perfect Storm’ of Hard-to-Find Jobs and Stagnant Pay, Law Grads Can’t Escape Hefty Student Loans

Given the gloomy economy and a lack of jobs for recent law graduates, it’s likely that more are filing for bankruptcy. But doing so offers little relief for many struggling primarily under a heavy burden of student loans, since it’s difficult or impossible for many law grads to persuade a…

Feb 6, 2012 12:47 PM CST

Law Firm Insurance Costs Rise as Malpractice Suits Increase

One of the biggest expenses for law firms is professional liability insurance, after paying employees and office rent. And it’s getting bigger, as malpractice suits, driven by the difficult economy, increase both in number and the scope, requiring insurers to mount a more expensive defense even in cases in which…

Feb 6, 2012 12:00 PM CST

Imprisoned Ex-Attorney Says Cash Bribes, Call Girls at Law Firm Condo Aided $1.2B Ponzi Scheme

Cash bribes totaling at least $1 million and call girls helped him pull off a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, a disbarred Florida lawyer said during a 10-day deposition in a federal courtroom in Miami last month. Now serving a 50-year prison term, Scott Rothstein said he hoped to win a…

Jan 9, 2012 6:44 PM CST

Judge Rules Feeder Fund Investors Can’t Recover Madoff Funds

A federal judge in Manhattan has ruled investors in feeder funds that placed their money with convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff are not entitled to any money from the bankruptcy estate. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote affects about 1,700 investors, report CNN Money, Reuters and the Wall…

Jan 6, 2012 1:57 PM CST

Arrest Warrant Issued For Minn. Lawyer Who Wrote Court Memo Calling Judges ‘Bigoted Catholic Beasts’

A bankruptcy judge has ordered the arrest of a Minneapolis lawyer who slurred Catholics in court filings. On Wednesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher held a sanctions hearing and ordered the arrest of lawyer Naomi Isaacson, who is president of a group that filed for bankruptcy, report the St. Paul…

Jan 5, 2012 1:56 PM CST

Convicted in $1.2B Ponzi Scheme, Scott Rothstein Said in Depo That 2 Law Firm Partners Benefited

Disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein pointed the finger at two ex-partners of his bankrupt South Florida law firm during a deposition, the Associated Press and South Florida Business Journal report. Convicted of running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme while at the helm of the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm and sentenced…

Dec 22, 2011 12:19 AM CST

Retired Cops and Firefighters in RI Town Accept Pension Cuts in Bankruptcy Deal

A lawyer representing retired police and firefighters in Central Falls, R.I., says his clients have agreed to steep pension cuts in a groundbreaking bankruptcy deal. The agreement is subject to approval of the bankruptcy court, report the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). Lawyer Matthew McGowan,…

Dec 20, 2011 5:46 PM CST

Catholic Rights Group Files Ethics Complaint Over Minn. Lawyer’s Religious Slurs in Court Filing

A Catholic rights group has filed a formal ethics complaint against a Minnesota lawyer whose bankruptcy filing was filled with religious slurs against a federal judge and others. The complaint was lodged against Hastings, Minn., lawyer Rebekah Nett, who filed a motion in federal bankruptcy court last month calling U.S.…

Dec 13, 2011 7:56 PM CST