Bankruptcy Law

Lawyer Who Acquired Too Many Clients Has Breakdown, Fights to Keep Law License

A Las Vegas lawyer who was overwhelmed with the number of new clients flocking to his bankruptcy practice is fighting to keep his law license after suffering an “emotional crisis” and packing up for Miami. Jorge Sanchez had been out of law school for only a couple of years in…

Jul 1, 2010 2:15 PM CDT

Fannie Mae to Punish Borrowers Who Strategically Opt to Walk Away from Mortgages

Amidst news that an apparently unprecedented number of mortgage borrowers are opting to walk away from expensive loans on homes whose fair-market value in the devastated real estate market is considerably less than the amount the borrowers owe, Fannie Mae is planning to punish those who opt not to pay…

Jun 24, 2010 8:39 PM CDT

Chaos Continues at Debt Collection Law Firm Now in Receivership

The checks are still coming into Mann Bracken, often from wage garnishments won by the Maryland-based national law firm before it shuttered its doors earlier this year. But a receiver is still struggling to figure out how the debtor payments should be handled. The Montgomery County Circuit Court dismissed tens…

Jun 21, 2010 10:23 PM CDT

Law Firm Spammed Our Investors, Contends Ex-Client in Fee Dispute

Without the permission of its then-client, Skyworks Ventures Inc., a New York law firm sent spam e-mail to the video game company’s investors seeking to perform legal work, contends the New Jersey-based company in an ongoing case. Sued by Scarola Ellis over a disputed bill, Skyworks contends that Scarola Ellis…

Jun 14, 2010 7:57 PM CDT

Jenner & Block Used ‘Stupid’ Search in Sorting Through Lehman E-Mails

A “stupid” search turned out to be productive for lawyers at Jenner & Block. “Stupid” was among the search terms used by the Chicago-based law firm as it sorted through some 34 million pages of e-mails and other electronic documents for its 2,200-page report on the collapse of Lehman Brothers,…

Jun 11, 2010 12:52 PM CDT

Lehman Paid Jenner $53.5M for Report on Collapse; and $794M in Fees to All Lawyers, Managers

Jenner & Block, the law firm chaired by Lehman Brothers examiner Anton Valukas, has profited handsomely from its investigation into the September 2008 collapse of the giant investment bank. The firm received $53.5 million for more than a year’s work producing a 2,200-page report on the investment bank’s bankruptcy, Bloomberg…

May 21, 2010 10:15 PM CDT

Potential Layoffs Push Ex-BigLaw Colleagues Into Successful Small Practice

As potential layoffs loomed last year, three BigLaw associates in Southern California decided to form their own corporate and investor-side bankruptcy firm, even though they didn’t yet have a book of business. Now William “Chris” Manderson, John Schafer and Lance McKinlay expect to hire two or three associates this year,…

May 12, 2010 6:04 PM CDT

120-Lawyer NJ Firm Opens New Office in Fort Worth, Texas

A 120-lawyer New Jersey-based business firm is venturing away from the East Coast to plant its flag in Texas. Cole Schotz Meisel Forman & Leonard is opening a new office in Fort Worth with three bankruptcy lawyers from the dissolving WarnerStevens firm, reports the Dallas Business Journal. “The addition of…

May 4, 2010 9:42 PM CDT

Lehman and GM Bankruptcy Charges: $2,100 for Limo Rides, $48 to Leave a Message

Weil, Gotshal & Manges has billed more than $164 million for its work as lead counsel so far on the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, including more than $500 a day for limo drivers, billed for services in the months after Lehman’s collapse. But new limits are now in place because of…

May 3, 2010 2:56 PM CDT

Teary Ex-GC for Ponzi Schemer Rothstein: ‘I Didn’t Know the Guy Was a Criminal’

The former general counsel in the law firm of convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein cried several times during a deposition yesterday, saying he had trusted the lawyer who lured him to a job that eventually paid $500,000 a year. David Boden testified in a deposition taken in the bankruptcy of…

Apr 30, 2010 3:21 PM CDT

$650K Clawback of Rothstein Firm Donations Sought from Fla. GOP, Other Politicians

A bankruptcy trustee in Florida is seeking the return of $650,000 in political contributions made by the former Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm to various politicians and political causes. The largest single clawback, $237,000, is sought from the Republican Party of Florida, reports the Miami Herald. The firm, whose former…

Apr 29, 2010 9:18 PM CDT

Trustee Seeks $75M Forfeiture from Ex-Attorney Rothstein and His Law Firm

A bankruptcy trustee is seeking the forfeiture of more than $75 million in business assets, real estate, vehicles, yachts and other upscale property from ex-attorney Scott Rothstein and his former law firm. Assets previously seized by prosecutors in a fraud case against the now-disbarred lawyer actually belong to the Rothstein…

Apr 19, 2010 11:27 PM CDT

Financial Adviser Reportedly Was Paid $33M While ‘Verifying’ Fictitious Rothstein Settlements

A bankruptcy trustee apparently is seeking a court-ordered asset freeze in an effort to recover up to $33 million that reportedly was paid to a financial adviser who “verified” to investors fictitious legal settlements on which former Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler managing partner Scott Rothstein based his now-admitted Ponzi scheme. The…

Apr 7, 2010 8:37 PM CDT

Bank Conflicts are a Major Factor in Lawyers’ Leaps to Smaller Firms

Although the financial crisis has revved up bank-related litigation, BigLaw firms aren’t seeing as much of it as a number of partners would like. Most represent banks and often are either conflicted out of such matters or reluctant to alienate a big client by participating even when no conflict precludes…

Apr 6, 2010 8:29 PM CDT

Lehman Gig Boosts Jenner’s Profile, Generating a Whole Lot of Media Interest

Jenner & Block’s high-profile assignment investigating the collapse of Lehman Brothers has boosted the firm’s profile, positioning it to grab more boardroom assignments. That’s the take of lawyers and consultants interviewed by Crain’s Chicago Business. The law firm has earned more than $43 million doing legal work related to the…

Mar 29, 2010 3:14 PM CDT