Large Firm

Second BigLaw firm changes diversity fellowship after changes by first lead to suit dismissal

Updated: Perkins Coie has agreed to expand its diversity fellowship program after it was sued by a conservative group that opposes affirmative action.

Oct 9, 2023 1:12 PM CDT

BigLaw firm’s suit seeks recruiter refund for lateral partner who soon left

Foley & Lardner alleges that legal recruiter Mark Bruce International Inc. failed to refund a recruiting fee as required by a contract provision governing lateral hires who don’t work out.

Oct 5, 2023 8:49 AM CDT

BigLaw firm promotes 205 lawyers to partner

Kirkland & Ellis has promoted 205 lawyers to partner, the highest number that it has ever reported.

Oct 3, 2023 12:53 PM CDT

Judge rejects life sentence for drug dealer who sold fentanyl-laced cocaine that killed BigLaw associate

Updated: A drug dealer has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for delivering cocaine laced with fentanyl to a BigLaw associate and two other New York City professionals, resulting in their deaths.

Oct 3, 2023 9:21 AM CDT

Did Polsinelli violate $14M flat-fee deal to provide ‘legal counsel’? 3rd Circuit rejects claim

A federal appeals court has refused to revive a lawsuit claiming that Polsinelli breached a flat-fee agreement to provide “legal counsel” by sending work covered by the agreement to another law firm that billed Polsinelli’s client for its trial work.

Sep 28, 2023 12:30 PM CDT

Ex-federal prosecutor charged in alleged road-rage stabbing no longer works at this BigLaw firm

A former federal prosecutor accused of stabbing a driver in a road-rage incident Tuesday is no longer working at Barnes & Thornburg, the law firm that he joined in the spring.

Sep 28, 2023 10:04 AM CDT

Proskauer settles suit claiming 1 contract clause caused client’s $636M loss

Proskauer Rose has settled a lawsuit claiming that a clause that the law firm added to a contract in a “botched cut-and-paste” caused a client’s losses of around $636 million.

Sep 27, 2023 11:21 AM CDT

Sullivan & Cromwell’s history with FTX draws scrutiny as it racks up bankruptcy fees

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has alleged that Sullivan & Cromwell lawyers made him the fall guy in the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange while downplaying its work for the company.

Sep 22, 2023 1:48 PM CDT

Pillsbury confirms merger talks with this law firm

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman confirmed Thursday that it is discussing a possible merger with Stroock & Stroock & Lavan after the latter law firm failed to reach a merger deal with Nixon Peabody.

Sep 22, 2023 10:55 AM CDT

‘Precruiting’ and ‘exploding offers’ create stress for law students seeking summer associate jobs

An increasing number of BigLaw firms are recruiting students for summer associate programs before the formal on-campus interviewing process, a practice dubbed “precruiting.”

Sep 20, 2023 9:28 AM CDT

2 partners ‘repeatedly hounded’ attorney, making her job impossible, $20M sexual harassment suit says

Updated: A former international corporate attorney at Polsinelli has alleged that she experienced “callous gaslighting” and retaliation by the law firm when she complained about sexual harassment by two influential senior partners.

Sep 19, 2023 1:21 PM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Judge rules against DACA fix; Paul Weiss goes on hiring spree

New rulemaking doesn’t save DACA A new administrative rule intended to “preserve and fortify” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program doesn’t cure its illegality, according to a Sept. 13 decision by U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the Southern District of Texas. The program, known as DACA, defers…

Sep 15, 2023 2:28 PM CDT

Former BigLaw partner temporarily barred from courthouse should be suspended, board says

An Illinois hearing board has recommended suspension for a former federal prosecutor and Polsinelli shareholder who was temporarily barred from the criminal courthouse in Chicago and held in criminal contempt of court four times.

Sep 12, 2023 11:25 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: MoFo changes DEI fellowship; X reacts to BigLaw partner at Burning Man festival

MoFo expands DEI fellowship after suit Morrison & Foerster has changed the eligibility criteria for a diversity, equity and inclusion fellowship after being sued by a conservative activist who led the campaign against affirmative action in college admissions. The Keith Wetmore 1L Fellowship for Excellence, Diversity and Inclusion was initially…

Sep 8, 2023 3:14 PM CDT

$4.5M BigLaw firm settlement in investor case should be approved, magistrate judge says

A federal magistrate judge is recommending approval of an agreement in which Davis Wright Tremaine would pay $4.5 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit claiming that it aided the sales of fraudulent real estate securities.

Sep 7, 2023 2:32 PM CDT