Gucci Discovers In-House Lawyer Held Inactive Status, Says Privilege Still Applies

Gucci’s discovery that one of its in-house lawyers was on inactive status has complicated its trademark infringement suit filed against Guess. Gucci fired Jonathan Moss in March after learning that he had been on inactive status since beginning work in the company’s legal department in 2003, according to a memorandum…

Apr 7, 2010 1:54 PM CDT

Alt. Billing is Part of Fundamental Shift in Buying Trends, Corp. Counsel and Partners Say (Podcast)

The topic of alternative billing keeps coming up as the antidote to the oft-vilified billable hour. But when we’ve tried to pin down law firm leaders and chief legal officers to ask them if they’re using alternative billing and how, we get silence or lots of excuses and finger pointing to explain why they aren’t opting for billable hour alternatives.

This made us wonder who is actually using alternative billing. For those who are using it, how’s it working out? For those who aren’t, why not?

Apr 5, 2010 8:09 PM CDT

I Just E-Mailed a Friend, US Lawyer Charged in Dubai Corporate Info Case Tells ABA Journal

A U.S. lawyer criminally charged in Dubai with leaking information about his corporate employer says he simply e-mailed a friend from work a couple of times about what was going on in his life, including a job search. But there is no way that anyone reading the e-mail he sent…

Apr 1, 2010 12:31 AM CDT

US Lawyer Charged in Dubai, Accused of Revealing Employer’s Corporate Info

Updated: An American lawyer has been criminally charged in Dubai for allegedly revealing inside information about his corporate employer, a property investment company owned by the country’s ruler. The attorney, who is identified only as “JC,” 37, is accused of revealing financial and market information about Meraas Holdings in order…

Mar 31, 2010 6:26 PM CDT

Murmurs of Change in BigLaw Practice, But Where’s the Proof?

Rachel Zahorsky is an ABA Journal legal affairs writer. Corrected: Georgetown University Law Center’s annual symposium on the future of law firms included many of the familiar faces that have pushed for new law firm structures, compensation and apprenticeship in recent years. But where are the unusual suspects, I thought.…

Mar 30, 2010 10:02 PM CDT

Lawyer Censured for Overstating Law Firm Diversity in Bid for DuPont Work

A politically connected Denver lawyer has been censured for inflating the number of women and minorities who held equity stakes in his law firm in an effort to win legal work from DuPont. Willie Shepherd, who had founded Kamlet, Shepherd & Reichert in 2000, did not contest the censure, the…

Mar 30, 2010 12:03 PM CDT

Report Finds Power Shift and Declining Support for Law Firm ‘Up or Out’ Model

The recession has driven a power shift that now favors in-house counsel over the law firms they hire, a new report has found. About 75 percent of general counsel and law firm partners said the balance of power now lies with law firm clients, according to the report (PDF). A…

Mar 24, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Warnings Toll for BigLaw Firms Resistant to Change

“There’s as much chance of BigLaw dying as there is a return to normal,” says Ralph Baxter, chairman and CEO of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, summing the collective thoughts of academics, consultants, law firm leaders and service providers gathered at Georgetown University Law Center’s annual symposium on the future of…

Mar 23, 2010 5:59 PM CDT

Former Apple GC Says He Will Help Bingham Better Understand Its Clients

Former Apple general counsel Daniel Cooperman is headed back to Bingham McCutchen, where one of his tasks will be helping the law firm better understand its corporate clients and their frenetic pace. The lesson he hopes to teach may be as simple as learning not to be offended when clients…

Mar 17, 2010 1:32 PM CDT

Changing Demands Have In-House Counsel Gaining Over Outside Firms, GCs Say

Chief legal officers are responding to corporate demands to cut legal costs by boosting in-house capabilities, often at the expense of their outside counsel, said a panel of chief legal officers at Foley & Lardner’s Chicago offices. Given the higher regulatory risks (and the velocity of those risks, thanks to…

Mar 15, 2010 6:08 PM CDT

GC’s Reaction Shows Why Good Cover Letters Can Make a Difference

Is a cover letter worth the effort? Career experts say they can help a job seeker stand out or help explain a gap in a resumé. The best cover letters are tailored to the employer and the position sought, hiring managers tell the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). It helps…

Mar 11, 2010 12:00 PM CST

Google’s Top Lawyer Makes More than $2M in Bonus and Pay

Google’s chief legal officer is getting a $1.73 million discretionary bonus this year, on top of a base salary of $500,000. The compensation is outlined in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to PaidContent.org and the San Jose Mercury News. Proxy materials released last year showed Drummond…

Mar 8, 2010 12:00 PM CST

11 Corps Contribute $30M to Fund ‘Inclusion Initative’ for Female & Minority Owned Firms

Eleven major corporations have agreed to provide $30 million in funding for a new Inclusion Initiative intended to encourage companies to do business with law firms owned by women and minorities and are urging other companies to get involved, too. The venture may also benefit the corporations financially, because such…

Mar 6, 2010 1:01 AM CST

Chief Legal Officers Are Happy and Hiring

A little more than 90 percent of chief legal officers responding to a survey said they still like their jobs. The happiness could spread to some job-hunting lawyers, if another finding of the survey is any indication. Twenty-nine percent of the top legal officers responding to the survey by the…

Mar 3, 2010 6:56 PM CST

Wielding Sealed TRO, Microsoft Shuts Down 270+ Web Addresses in Ex Parte Botnet Battle

In a litigation tactic that reportedly has never been tried before to combat a global malicious software attack, Microsoft Corp. won a sealed temporary restraining order in an ex parte “John Doe” federal court action in Virginia this week. It allowed the company to shut down, without prior notice to…

Feb 25, 2010 9:47 PM CST