Rough winter ahead, in terms of law firm growth

Oct 1, 2013 7:40 AM CDT

Morrison & Foerster opens Berlin office; is Hogan Lovells miffed?

Morrison & Foerster is opening an office in Germany through the acquisition of a legal team from Hogan Lovells which includes nine partners. Morrison & Foerster announced the acquisition today in a press release. The partners are currently working with more than 20 associates and counsel, though it’s unknown how…

Sep 24, 2013 2:53 PM CDT

Nearly every BigLaw firm now has a pricing director; meet an early adopter

In the last 18 months, nearly ever large law firm in the United States has hired a pricing director, according to the vice president of an analytics company. These pricing directors are “charged with helping to look at their pricing and determine if they’re being as competitive as possible,” according…

Sep 20, 2013 11:40 AM CDT

2 veteran partners exit Greenberg Traurig for growing Fox Rothschild outpost in Florida

A former managing partner of the Palm Beach County offices of Greenberg Traurig and another partner have exited the firm to join a growing outpost of Philadelphia-based Fox Rothschild. The arrival of Howard Bregman, a longtime real estate transactional lawyer, and litigation veteran Gary Dunkel at their new firm’s West…

Sep 18, 2013 7:40 PM CDT

Sidley snags 8-partner Weil Gotshal group, including 2 practice group leaders

An eight-partner group is exiting Weil Gotshal & Manges for the Dallas office of Sidley Austin, their new firm announced Tuesday. Among the group are two former co-chairs of national practice groups at Weil Gotshal. They are Yvette Ostolaza, a member of the firm’s management committee who oversaw the firm’s…

Sep 17, 2013 7:40 PM CDT

To cut costs, cut associates’ billable hours through technology, says Casey Flaherty

Bill Buster

Sep 17, 2013 1:50 PM CDT

Arent Fox lays off about 20 support staffers, while Schulte Roth offers buyouts

Two more BigLaw firms are trimming support staffers. Arent Fox says has laid off about 20 support staffers, Above the Law reports. In a statement, the law firm says the layoffs are across various offices and departments. “Like many firms across the country, we are making hard choices to ensure…

Sep 13, 2013 2:23 PM CDT

Why are clients buying less but paying more? ALM’s editor-in-chief may have the answer (video)

Aric Press, editor in chief of American Lawyer Media, talks with Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia about the latest data on the financial performance of law firms. “The legal marketplace is a complex entity. Parts of it have recovered, parts of it haven’t,” says Press. “You can walk through the halls…

Sep 12, 2013 5:25 PM CDT

BigLaw is looking for change in all the wrong places: Part II

Previously, we identified two fundamental problems with the business model prevalent in many of our big law firms today, though it is by no means limited to big law firms. This is where the “start over” of the new business model really begins. In some ways, it is the rediscovery…

Sep 12, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Lateral hires at Duane Morris brought extra legal assistants to firm, spurring layoffs

Duane Morris says the firm has hired around 42 partners and counsel in the last two years, many of whom brought their legal assistants with them. The result was overstaffing and the need to lay off 17 legal assistants, Above the Law reports. “Duane Morris does appear to be in…

Sep 12, 2013 1:28 PM CDT

How much has Weil Gotshal earned in Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy?

How much has Lehman Brothers Holdings paid to lawyers and other bankruptcy professionals since it’s 2008 Chapter 11 filing? More than $2 billion, Bloomberg News reports, with almost $500 million going to Lehman counsel Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Lehman creditors are set to get 18 cents on the dollar by…

Sep 11, 2013 6:48 PM CDT

35 staffers laid off at Pillsbury Winthrop

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has confirmed that the firm laid off workers last week to deal with elevated staffing levels in multiple offices. “The departures affect approximately 35 staff in various offices, departments and sections,” said chief operating officer Richard C. Donaldson in a written statement published Friday by Above…

Sep 9, 2013 2:15 PM CDT

Kramer Levin partner to become Girl Scouts’ first general counsel

Girl Scouts of the USA has created its first-ever general counsel position and hired a BigLaw partner to fill the job. Jennifer Rochon, a litigation partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, begins her new job on Oct. 1, Corporate Counsel reports. Rochon, a third-generation Girl Scout, tells the publication…

Sep 6, 2013 1:32 PM CDT

How DLA Piper became the highest-grossing firm in only 9 years (video)

After three years at the top of the American Lawyer revenue rankings, Baker & McKenzie has been dethroned. Kent Zimmermann, consultant to law firms for the Zeughauser Group, talks with Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia about how DLA Piper—a firm created via a 2005 merger between San Diego-based Gray Cary Ware…

Sep 5, 2013 6:14 PM CDT

Glad to have jobs, midlevel associates in Am Law survey give BigLaw a major thumbs-up

Despite widespread reported discontent about the legal job market and the dubious return a number of law graduates say they are getting from their juris doctor degrees, midlevel associates who have managed to get and keep elite jobs at the nation’s highest-paying law firms say they are happy with their…

Aug 30, 2013 11:30 AM CDT