Motormouth

Geoffrey Fieger’s fiery tongue has earned him millions. Now it could cost the Detroit lawyer his career.

Dec 1, 2007 4:26 PM CST

Bonds May Be Beefing Up ‘Legal Dream Team’

All-star slugger Barry Bonds is said to be assembling his own star-studded team, this one to defend him against perjury and obstruction of justice charges starting with a court appearance next week. On the possible short list is John Keker, a well-known San Francisco criminal defense attorney, according to the…

Nov 29, 2007 11:53 PM CST

GC Scolded for Backdating Warning Lands New Job

The former general counsel of KLA-Tencor who sparred with the company’s then-CEO over stock options backdating has been named the new top lawyer for another Silicon Valley company. Stuart Nichols will make $250,000 a year at his new employer, MIPS Technologies, the San Jose Mercury News reports. He is also…

Nov 28, 2007 2:24 PM CST

M&A Lawyer Trades Legal Briefs for Boxing Gloves (Photo)

Updated: The lawyer-entrepreneur is a fairly regular story. TheStreet.com published anecdotes about several this week. But this one from London knocks the rest out cold. Indeed, about three years ago, Australian native Laura Saperstein was a sought-after mergers and acquisitions lawyer, earning some $155,000 a year (U.S. dollars). But as…

Nov 27, 2007 9:00 PM CST

Sniper Judge Gets Appellate Court Nod

The Virginia judge who presided over the first Washington, D.C.-area sniper trial has been named to the state court of appeals. Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr.’s handling of the case against John Allen Muhammad was cited as one of the reasons for the eight-year appointment, the Washington Post reports. A…

Nov 27, 2007 6:33 PM CST

Yale Law Grad Gives Up Law to Write Kids’ Books

A Yale law grad who worked 10 years as a legal services lawyer has chucked legal practice to become a writer. The career change is beginning to pay off with accolades for Alice Bauer, who has written a critically acclaimed new children’s book called No Castles Here, the Connecticut Law…

Nov 27, 2007 3:20 PM CST

Who Are the Lawyers Behind the Presidential Bids?

The leading presidential candidates didn’t want to reveal their LSAT scores, but many, especially Republicans, were eager to share the names of their legal advisers.

Slate.com’s Emily Bazelon tried to see who did best on the LSAT, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. She struck out.

On the question of lawyers for the teams, however, she reported the following lineups.

Nov 26, 2007 7:14 PM CST

Law Firm Head Taken Aback By Reax to Her Promotion

Philadelphia lawyer Nina Gussack had long held top posts at her firm, Pepper Hamilton. So when she became chairwoman in February, it seemed like a natural progression, especially considering she was the firm’s top rainmaker. But the outpouring of calls and emails from women lawyers across the country took her…

Nov 26, 2007 5:42 PM CST

‘This Isn’t Working Out’: How Lawyers Are Really Fired

For every high-profile, publicized axing of a well-known partner or abrupt, behind-the-scenes removal of an BigLaw associate from his or her office, there are far more “quiet firings.” Most often given by the bigwigs conducting a lawyer’s annual review, the break-up speech is commonly a “subtle, general disengagement”—so low-key, in…

Nov 21, 2007 5:59 PM CST

Pillsbury Hires Director of Corporate Social Responsibility

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has created a new position that so far has been mostly confined to European law firms: Director of corporate social responsibility. The lawyer appointed to the position is Tania Shah, the former executive director of the California Minority Counsel Program, the Recorder reports. The new position…

Nov 21, 2007 1:29 PM CST

18-Year-Old Aces Calif. Bar, Wins 1st Trial

An 18-year-old graduate of the UCLA School of Law is en route to become not only the youngest lawyer in the state but possibly the country. Kathleen Holtz, who learned Friday that she passed the California bar, has already been part of a winning trial team, reports the Wall Street…

Nov 19, 2007 8:50 PM CST

Survey Says Income Gap Grows in ‘Overwhelmingly Male’ BigLaw

A survey by the National Association of Women Lawyers paints a gloomy picture of the legal profession, as far as the advancement of female attorneys at the country’s 200 largest law firms is concerned. “Among its findings, the survey shows that there is a growing income gap between men and…

Nov 15, 2007 11:43 PM CST

Telecommuting Option for Professionals

Working at home has long been seen as an attractive option by a significant number of the nation’s professionals. However, that view isn’t shared by the vast majority of employers. Now, though, some major corporations are starting to see the at-home work option more favorably. In particular, some are hiring…

Nov 15, 2007 7:44 PM CST

July NY Bar Answers Lost for 47; Officials Estimate Scores

When answers to the New York bar exam written on laptop computers this past summer turned up missing, officials said they expected to be able to get the answers from backup data. But in fact a fraction of those answers apparently could not be retrieved from test-takers’ hard drives, so…

Nov 15, 2007 3:45 PM CST

Lawyer Job-Seekers Should Consider Work Assignment System

Work assignments can be a big source of unhappiness for associates, but too often job-seekers fail to ask how assignments will be doled out. Recruiter Stephen Engle of Major Lindsey & Africa told the Recorder the assignment system can have a “profound effect” on associate satisfaction. “I think most associates…

Nov 15, 2007 2:29 PM CST