Career & Practice

Law Firm’s Search for Records Turns Up 96 Boxes of Cremains

A law firm’s search for financial records of a bankrupt funeral home turned up a startling discovery: nearly 100 boxes of cremated human remains. Employees of Arnall Golden Gregory in Atlanta found the remains in suburban storage units used by the Sellers Brothers Funeral business, according to WSB-TV, which broke…

Dec 18, 2009 12:42 PM CST

Hogan & Hartson Associate Makes Partner ... at Seyfarth Shaw

An associate at Hogan & Hartson has made partner … at Seyfarth Shaw, starting work today at the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. William Kahn focuses his practice on international mergers and acquisitions, and has a client portfolio that includes aerospace, defense and technology companies. He tells the Blog of Legal…

Dec 17, 2009 9:55 PM CST

Bar Judge Asks 3-Year Suspension for Lawyer Who ‘Badgered, Berated, Screamed, Yelled’

A California plaintiffs lawyer should be suspended for three years, a State Bar Court judge recommends, because of his “outrageous” and “insolent” behavior. The judge also found that Philip Kay, who practices out of San Francisco, entered into an illegal fee-sharing arrangement in a high-profile sexual harassment suit against Baker…

Dec 17, 2009 9:34 PM CST

Rothstein Faces New Malpractice Suit; Auction at Replica Law Office Planned

For those who weren’t included in an unusual media tour of Scott Rothstein’s office as his former South Florida law firm was imploding this fall over an alleged $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme: There will be a second chance to see the office more or less as it was at that…

Dec 17, 2009 9:06 PM CST

Law Firm Trades Library for Xmas Shop, Employs All Hands on Sales Floor

Once upon a time, Bayless & Stokes needed a law library. But today it is largely duplicated on the Internet, and members of the small Houston firm began to wonder how it could better use the space. The answer, they decided, was to create Christmas shop selling holiday items on…

Dec 17, 2009 6:07 PM CST

In Spirit of Season, Law Firm Offers Gift Certificates for Divorce Advice

Looking for the perfect gift for squabbling neighbors or friends who are on a bumpy stretch of road in their marriage? A London law firm has a suggestion that is both practical and affordable. In honor of the holiday season, when spouses tend to be especially stressed, Lloyd Platt &…

Dec 17, 2009 5:49 PM CST

San Francisco, Seattle Have Greatest Percentage of Part-Time Lawyers

Are you looking for part-time work at a law firm? The option is more limited if you are an entry-level associate, and you’ll have fewer compatriots, on a percentage basis, if you live in Birmingham, Ala.; Las Vegas; and Nashville, Tenn. And most of your fellow part-timers will be female.…

Dec 17, 2009 4:53 PM CST

Most—But Not All—Deferred Associates Still Starting in January

Nixon Peabody’s decision to push back the January start dates of about two-thirds of its deferred associates had one blogger wondering if other law firms would follow suit. “Are there other firms that are even more delinquent than Nixon?” Above the Law’s Elie Mystal wondered. “Who is supposed to start…

Dec 17, 2009 2:32 PM CST

Mumbai High Court Bars Foreign Law Firms

The Mumbai High Court has ruled foreign law firms White & Case, Ashurst and Chadbourne & Parke should not have received licenses to operate in India, even for matters that don’t involve litigation. The ruling affirms a 1995 interim decision, Bloomberg reports. The court’s new opinion said all lawyers in…

Dec 17, 2009 1:40 PM CST

You Can’t Sue Us for Malpractice, K&L Gates Tells Non-Client’s Trustee in Filing

Responding to a Pennsylvania malpractice suit contending that a major law firm should have detected an alleged fraud by executives during its internal investigation of a now-bankrupt beverage maker, K&L Gates has fired back in preliminary objections to the Allegheny County action. It contends, among other arguments, that there is…

Dec 17, 2009 1:19 AM CST

As Boston-Based Firms Grow Globally, US Competitors Expand in Beantown

Despite a difficult legal economy, some historically Boston-based law firms are expanding. But many are doing so internationally rather than growing their practices at home. Bingham McCutchen made 15 hires this year, of which five were overseas and none in Boston, reports the Boston Globe. And Ropes & Gray has…

Dec 16, 2009 6:10 PM CST

Some Top Lawyers Bill More than $1,000 an Hour for Bankruptcy Work

A few lawyers are billing more than $1,000 an hour for bankruptcy work in Manhattan and Delaware courts. The top billers for the year ending in August 2009 were Pleasantville, N.Y., solo Alan Harris and tax partner Bernie Pistillo of Shearman & Sterling and, the American Lawyer reports. Harris charged…

Dec 16, 2009 4:41 PM CST

Weil Gotshal’s Boston Holiday Party Was in the Conference Room

The managing partner of Weil Gotshal & Manges in Boston says a decision to hold the office’s holiday party in a conference room instead of a restaurant wasn’t about saving money. Instead, it was about being mindful of the hardships faced by clients and employees during the economic downturn, office…

Dec 16, 2009 4:08 PM CST

Bad Holiday News for About 2/3 of Nixon Peabody’s Deferred Associates

About two-thirds of Nixon Peabody’s deferred associates got some bad holiday news Monday: Their January start dates have been pushed back. The law firm plans to phase in the deferred-again associates quarterly, beginning Feb. 8, according to the American Lawyer and the blog Above the Law. Deferred associates will get…

Dec 16, 2009 2:14 PM CST

WilmerHale Joins Growing Group of Law Firms in Eliminating Lockstep Pay

Joining a number of other well-known law firms that have announced plans to eliminate so-called lockstep pay, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr announced today that it will be moving to a merit-based system that rewards individual performance and relies more heavily on bonuses. The planned elimination of the current…

Dec 16, 2009 1:11 AM CST