Career & Practice

Young Lawyer’s Soaring Career Is Interrupted by Federal Indictment

After he graduated from a North Carolina law school in 1998, Charles Ruffin Poole’s legal career clearly was on an upward trajectory for which the sky seemed to be the limit. Hired to work in the state attorney general’s office, he quickly gained a much higher political profile when former…

Jan 22, 2010 7:45 PM CST

Longtime Colleagues Split PI Firm Known for Robert Vaughn Ads

Two longtime colleagues in a well-known North Carolina personal injury firm are parting ways, splitting up their Lewis & Daggett partnership. The firm is known for television advertising that features actor Robert Vaughn. Michael Lewis, a 40-year practitioner, is forming Lewis & Associates with 36 of the Winston-Salem firm’s attorneys…

Jan 22, 2010 5:53 PM CST

Managing Partners More Confident, Expect Increased Legal Work

Managing partners are becoming more confident about the economic outlook for their law firms. A “confidence index” developed by Citi Private Bank Law Watch shows that managing partners haven’t been this confident since 2007, according to the Legal Intelligencer and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. The index stands at…

Jan 22, 2010 4:57 PM CST

BigLaw Firm Unveils Flexible Partnership Track Intended to Appeal to Women Lawyers

Seeking to turn the tide on a wave of departing women lawyers, a London-based BigLaw firm today unveiled a new flexible partnership track. It will allow attorneys at Allen & Overy to opt either to work a four-day week or take an extra 52 days of leave annually, yet remain…

Jan 22, 2010 1:13 AM CST

Attorney with Big Ad Budget Can Open Law Office LLC in 49th State, Court Says

In a ruling that is sure to disappoint competing firms that sought to block a national attorney known for his blockbuster advertising budget from establishing a local foothold, the Rhode Island Supreme Court today ruled that James Sokolove can form a law firm limited liability corporation there. It will be…

Jan 22, 2010 12:54 AM CST

Drinker Biddle Wins $1.78M Bill Battle; Firm Clocked 5,225 Hours in 3 Months

Drinker Biddle & Reath has won a $1.78 million award from a Pennsylvania state-court jury in a hard-fought legal bill battle that bared ordinarily confidential fee details in a bet-the-company patent litigation case. It all began in 2006, when AgriZap Inc. retained the Philadelphia-based firm to handle a patent dispute…

Jan 21, 2010 11:14 PM CST

Jones Day Pans NALP Commission Plan to Delay Law Student Job Offers

Proposed changes by a National Association for Law Placement commission in the group’s recommended schedule for law school recruiting are getting a mixed review by those responsible for student hiring. Some, including partners charged with running a whirlwind schedule of on-campus interviews in short time under the current set-up, see…

Jan 21, 2010 9:06 PM CST

Ace Cardozo Student Hits ‘Reply All,’ Sending Grade List to Classmates

Presumably by accident, a third-year student at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law apparently hit “reply all” when sending an e-mail application late yesterday afternoon to serve as a tutor for classmates struggling with their studies. As a result, fellow students in the classes of 2010, 2011 and 2012,…

Jan 21, 2010 8:28 PM CST

Six Law Firms Make Fortune’s List of Top 100 Places to Work

Six law firms are on Fortune magazine’s list of the best 100 companies to work for in 2010, up from five last year. New on this year’s list is Baker Donelson, cited for increasing its number of minority lawyers from 12 to 40 and for reporting no layoffs. The other…

Jan 21, 2010 2:29 PM CST

$1,000 iPhone App Offers a BARBRI Alternative for Calif. Test Takers

The most expensive iPhone app costs $999.99, but the high cost may not deter some would-be lawyers. The app, BarMax CA, is a prep course for the California bar exam, TechCrunch reports in a story reprinted by the Washington Post. “So what do you get for your $1,000 BarMax CA…

Jan 21, 2010 1:42 PM CST

20 New Staff Layoffs at Wilson Sonsini

New staff layoffs, “primarily in the secretarial area,” have been announced by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. In an internal memo published by Above the Law, the Silicon Valley powerhouse says it is letting about 20 people go. The downsizing, the memo says, is the result of “a regretful but…

Jan 20, 2010 11:04 PM CST

Prominent Lawyers Charged with Failing to File Personal Income Tax Returns

Two New York attorneys who reportedly have been practicing as partners of well-known law firms and a Long Island personal injury lawyer have been charged in state court with failing to file personal income tax returns. The cases were brought, officials say, as part of a stepped-up effort to enforce…

Jan 20, 2010 7:56 PM CST

Ex-Lawyer Accused of Using Still-Open IOLTA Account to Steal From Ex-Clients

Allegedly making use of an attorney trust account that remained open for four years after he was disbarred as a Pennsylvania lawyer in 2004, former practitioner George Guyer Young III is now accused of misappropriating thousands of dollars in former client funds. The 48-year-old suburban Philadelphia resident is charged with…

Jan 20, 2010 6:40 PM CST

Ads by Personal Injury Law Firm Poke Fun at Faked Injuries

A personal injury law firm in New York is differentiating itself with TV ads that poke fun at plaintiffs who fake and overstate their injuries. One ad for Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman begins with a woman sitting at a kitchen table describing her pain, the New York Times reports. “The…

Jan 20, 2010 2:18 PM CST

Diverse Law Firms Downplay Grades, Use Activism as Recruiting Tool

California law firms that have been successful in recruiting women, minorities and gays share their secrets in a study commissioned by the law firm Fenwick & West. According to a press release, their best practices include: • Placing a lower emphasis on grades for recruiting. Bingham McCutchen looks beyond grades…

Jan 20, 2010 1:32 PM CST