Large Firm

Baker is no longer No. 1 for gross revenues; its chairman sees flat market for legal services

Baker & McKenzie has been ousted from its No. 1 spot on a list of top grossing law firms. The firm held the top position in the American Lawyer revenue rankings for the last three years, but it has been overtaken this year by DLA Piper, the Am Law Daily…

Aug 28, 2013 11:53 AM CDT

International arbitrations are lucrative practice area for BigLaw

At least a dozen law firms stand to earn big fees as a result of cases pending before international arbitration tribunals. The cases often rely on treaty protections, and they involve disputes between corporate interests and foreign governments or the entities they control, according to the New York Times DealBook…

Aug 28, 2013 11:10 AM CDT

Trial lawyer David Bernick exits Boies Schiller after one year for Dechert

A little over a year after he resigned as general counsel of Philip Morris and joined Boies Schller & Flexner, high-profile partner David M. Bernick is exiting for Dechert. He told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he expects to start Monday at the New York office of the 950-attorney Philadelphia-based law…

Aug 26, 2013 4:45 PM CDT

Best way to make partner? Switch law firms first

Is unwavering loyalty to a firm – not to mention work ethic, skill and rainmaking ability – the best way to rise to partnership? An analysis by the Am Law Daily (reg. req.) would suggest that there’s more than one way to climb the ladder. Looking at 50 Am Law…

Aug 23, 2013 10:52 AM CDT

Why is BigLaw hiring while demand falls? ‘Economically it makes no sense,’ says consultant (video)

Bruce MacEwen, law firm consultant and publisher at Adam Smith, Esq., talks with Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia about the current state of BigLaw–specifically, how billing rates can be rising as demand falls. After analyzing three recent reports by Wells Fargo, Citi and Peer Monitor, MacEwen is puzzled. “The numbers tell…

Aug 22, 2013 3:36 PM CDT

Patton Boggs loses another partner—its New Jersey MP

The managing partner of Patton Boggs’ shrinking New Jersey office has left the firm. A staffer who answered the phone told the New Jersey Law Journal that environmental litigator John McGahren left the firm and there is no forwarding information available. He helped lead a 25-lawyer exodus to Patton Boggs…

Aug 22, 2013 2:32 PM CDT

Howrey trustee reaches two ‘monumental’ settlements; ex-employees may now recover some cash

The trustee for the defunct Howrey law firm will recover millions of dollars of fees from a law firm that hired 11 of its antitrust partners and will use the money to pay off most of its debt to Citibank. Trustee Allan Diamond called the new settlements “monumental” and “a…

Aug 19, 2013 12:03 PM CDT

Blame it on BigLaw: Firms of 100-plus lawyers cut hiring the most, creating ripple effect

Legal employment for new lawyers plummeted after the recession, but larger firms were responsible for a disproportionate share of the reduced legal hiring, according to a law professor’s analysis. Law firms of 100 or more lawyers were responsible for more than half the entry-level law jobs lost since 2008, according…

Aug 19, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

How boutique firms can take on BigLaw (video)

Michael De Chiara, founding partner at Zetlin & De Chiara LLP talks to Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia about guiding his boutique construction law firm through turbulent times in the legal profession. “As goes construction, as goes the U.S. economy,” says De Chiara. “We all know what happened in 2008. As…

Aug 15, 2013 5:52 PM CDT

Sidley expects rapid growth in Singapore, is moving to much bigger offices there

Sidley Austin expects to triple the size of its Singapore office within a few months, in anticipation of rapid growth over the next few years. It is moving from a 4,800-square-foot office space to one that is more than 12,000 square feet, and, having hired four partners in recent months,…

Aug 15, 2013 4:59 PM CDT

Suit alleges O’Melveny misled court about sex-abuse investigation at Brooklyn Poly Prep

Updated: Eleven former students at Brooklyn Poly Prep claim in a lawsuit (PDF) that O’Melveny & Myers misled courts about the school’s investigation of sexual abuse by former football coach Phil Foglietta. The school reached a settlement in December with a dozen plaintiffs who claimed they were sexually abused. Now…

Aug 14, 2013 4:37 PM CDT

Greenberg ups first-year pay in 2 offices to $145K from $125K; will competitors follow suit?

Working as a first-year associate in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., offices of Greenberg Traurig just got more rewarding. The firm has increased starting salaries for new attorneys there to $145,000 annually from $125,000, the Daily Business Review reports. Such announcements of pay raises for fledgling legal eagles at…

Aug 13, 2013 6:57 PM CDT

Clawback suits seek money paid by Dewey & LeBoeuf to bank, law firms and others while insolvent

Applying a rule that prevents a debtor from preferentially paying some creditors during the 90 days before seeking bankruptcy protection, the trustee for Dewey & LeBoeuf filed a dozen lawsuits Friday seeking to claw back funds from those they say received an extra share of the failing law firm’s money…

Aug 12, 2013 6:45 PM CDT

Patton Boggs tells idle partners to shape up or ship out, WSJ reports

As many U.S. law firms struggle to find their footing in the post-recession era marked by seismic change, Washington, D.C.-based Patton Boggs has drawn up a new game plan. It’s one that includes trimming less productive partners, reworking compensation plans, and refocusing the firm’s growth on practices that support its…

Aug 9, 2013 8:38 PM CDT

BigLaw growth was ‘anemic’ for first half of 2013, reports Wells Fargo (video)

Jeff Grossman, a Senior Director at Wells Fargo Private Bank, talks with Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia about his firm’s new report on the state of BigLaw. The survey of 120 law firms saw revenue growth of 1.5% for the first half of 2013, compared to the same period of time…

Aug 8, 2013 4:00 PM CDT