Large Firm

Bingham reveals $110M revenue drop in 2013; firm is ‘by no means an exception’

Revenues dropped by $110 million last year at Bingham McCutchen, a decline of 12.8 percent. Bingham chairman Jay Zimmerman revealed the numbers before their release by the American Lawyer. In an interview with Reuters Legal (sub. req.), he said Bingham had its most challenging financial year in two decades because…

Feb 19, 2014 3:21 PM CST

Mayer Brown was reportedly spied on by NSA ally; law firm says it wasn’t subject of alleged scrutiny

Updated: An Australian ally of the National Security Agency spied on communications between a U.S. law firm and its client, the government of Indonesia, according to a top-secret document obtained by Edward Snowden. The New York Times reported on the document and identified the law firm apparently subjected to the…

Feb 18, 2014 1:07 PM CST

Lawyer’s report for NFL backs up Miami Dolphins bullying claims, warns readers of vulgar content

After being brought in by the National Football League to investigate claims that Richie Incognito and two other Miami Dolphins starters bullied a junior player, a partner of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has substantiated the allegations. The nearly 150-page report (PDF) released Friday warns readers that it contains…

Feb 14, 2014 6:20 PM CST

8-lawyer group exits Drinker Biddle for Shipman & Goodwin

A group of eight lawyers has left Drinker Biddle & Reath for the Washington, D.C., office of Shipman & Goodwin. Partners John Hockenbury and Douglas Mangel are the leaders of the group, which specializes in complex insurance matters, the Connecticut Law Tribune (sub. req.) reports. A press release provides additional…

Feb 13, 2014 11:24 PM CST

3 practice leaders exit Dorsey & Whitney

The leader of the labor and employment practice group at Dorsey & Whitney has left the firm to join the Minneapolis office of Littler Mendelson, a San Francisco-based firm known for its national labor and employment practice. The departure of litigator Doug Christensen follows last month’s exit of two other…

Feb 13, 2014 9:05 PM CST

BigLaw’s obsession with metrics is cautionary tale for doctors, article says

The legal profession is suffering because of rankings and metrics, providing a cautionary tale for medicine, according to a commentary by a doctor and a lawyer. Writing in the Atlantic, physician Richard Gunderman and lawyer Mark Mutz describe the ills affecting the legal profession: Rates of alcoholism and depression are…

Feb 12, 2014 2:49 PM CST

Cleary Gottlieb seeks $3M for Hurricane Sandy damage in suit filed against law firm’s insurer

Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge shut down electric service, heat and telephone service for several days in 2012, and it resulted in a $3 million loss of business to Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, the New York law firm says in a lawsuit filed against its insurance company. But although the…

Feb 11, 2014 11:20 PM CST

2nd Circuit puts court-appointed monitor back to work in Apple e-book case but limits his duties

A federal appeals court has put a Washington, D.C., lawyer back to work as an $1,100-an-hour court monitor while an appeal of his appointment is pending in a hard-fought New York case in which Apple Inc. was accused of conspiring with publishers to fix e-book prices. However, the role of…

Feb 11, 2014 9:30 PM CST

DLA Piper ends talks with Heenan Blaikie group, will look elsewhere for Canadian merger partner

A potential merger between DLA Piper and a group of lawyers from Heenan Blaikie that would have established a Canadian office for the global megafirm is going nowhere. However, DLA Piper will be looking elsewhere for a possible match to establish a Canadian office for the more than 4,000-attorney firm,…

Feb 10, 2014 6:45 PM CST

‘Anxious season’ for partners as initial law firm earnings reports show modest gains

It’s the “anxious season” for partners awaiting news of how their BigLaw firms did financially last year. And that anxiety hasn’t been helped by recent news reports about struggling partners and firms, according to the Am Law Daily (sub. req.). Such developments include the Chapter 7 bankruptcy of a BigLaw…

Feb 7, 2014 10:10 PM CST

Two Vinson partners form litigation boutique, fulfilling a ‘long-standing dream’

Two longtime Vinson & Elkins partners have left the firm to form a litigation boutique. Robert Schick and Morgan Copeland, Jr. joined Vinson & Elkins right after law school and practiced law there for more than 30 years. Their new firm, Schick & Copeland, will be located in Houston, report…

Feb 7, 2014 4:20 PM CST

DLA Piper may expand to Canada, is in ‘deep negotiations’ with group of Heenan Blaikie lawyers

DLA Piper has 4,200 lawyers in 30 countries. That doesn’t include Canada, but that may soon change. The mega-firm is talking with 60 to 70 lawyers from the Calgary and Toronto offices of Heenan Blaikie, who are forming their own group following a decision Wednesday night by the partners of…

Feb 7, 2014 1:00 PM CST

Was 2013 a good year for law firms? It depends on where you’re sitting

Two important studies of the legal profession’s 2013 performance were released within a day of each other, but just what those figures signify seems to depend on how you read them. The study by Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group, detailed American Lawyer (sub. req.) on Thursday, called the 2.5…

Feb 7, 2014 11:55 AM CST

Storied Canadian firm to begin ‘orderly wind-up’ but some offices and practices will stay in place

A major Canadian law firm that has lost dozens of lawyers recently announced Wednesday night after a partner meeting that it will begin an “orderly wind-up.” However, there will be no interruption in client service, and a number of Heenan Blaikie practice groups and offices will continue to operate under…

Feb 6, 2014 12:45 PM CST

Major Canada firm makes staff layoffs, plans restructuring amidst attorney defections

A major Canadian law firm is planning to restructure and may be considering a return to its original roots as a Montreal regional practice after the departure of several of its best-known lawyers in an attorney exodus from its Montreal and Ottawa offices. Meanwhile, Heenan Blaikie laid off employees and…

Feb 5, 2014 7:30 PM CST