Large Firm

Ex-Sidley partner says $69K cab-fare reimbursement was used for firm-related purposes

A former partner of Sidley Austin says in an answer (PDF) to an ethics complaint that he used approximately $69,000 from fabricated cab-fare reimbursement claims over a five-year period “for purposes that he considered related to the firm.” Lee Mark Smolen also says in his answer that his cab-fare claims,…

Jul 10, 2013 1:20 PM CDT

Appeals court says Mass AG can investigate foreclosure law firm over claimed unfair, deceptive acts

The Massachusetts attorney general has the power to investigate a law firm over claimed “unfair and deceptive acts” concerning its handling of mortgage foreclosure cases for lenders, as well as evictions in tenant-occupied properties, a state appeals court has ruled. “This strong ruling upholds this office’s investigatory power,’’ said AG…

Jul 9, 2013 1:05 PM CDT

London-based Clyde & Co. opens 4th US office with Robins Kaplan insurance coverage team

In a big step beyond its existing three offices in New York, New Jersey and San Francisco, a 1,400-attorney London-based law firm has now opened a fourth U.S. office, in Atlanta. It is staffed by a team of three lawyers from Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi who focus their practice…

Jul 9, 2013 12:23 PM CDT

Law firms on track to top 2008 record of 70 mergers; tally 39 in first half of 2013

Updated: Law firms based in the U.S. are on track for a record number of mergers in 2013, if the second half of the year is anything like the first. So far, as of the end of June, there were 39 law firm mergers announced. Twenty-one took place during the…

Jul 8, 2013 10:05 PM CDT

Better life after BigLaw beckons, cross-country walker tells laid-off Weil attorneys

Getting laid off from a BigLaw job isn’t pleasant. But it’s not the end of the world either, a former Sidley Austin bankruptcy associate tells compatriots from Weil Gotshal & Manges in a recent blog post. They’re now on the other side of the fence, where the grass is greener,…

Jul 8, 2013 9:15 PM CDT

23 lawyers from Patton Boggs will staff new Dallas office of Holland & Knight

After advance word that a number of partners planned to exit Patton Boggs in order to establish a Holland & Knight office in Dallas, their new firm has made an official announcement. In a Monday press release, Holland & Knight says a total of 23 lawyers—including 12 partners, 10 associates…

Jul 3, 2013 6:20 PM CDT

Ballard Spahr merges with criminal defense firm in New York

Ballard Spahr is entering the New York market through a merger with Stillman & Friedman, a 14-lawyer white-collar criminal defense firm in Manhattan. The merged firm will be known in New York as Ballard Spahr Stillman & Friedman for the next few years, the Legal Intelligencer reports. The firm will…

Jul 1, 2013 12:25 PM CDT

Despite ‘fragile’ legal economy, managing partners say they don’t expect lawyer layoffs

Despite reports this week of planned lawyer layoffs by Goodwin Procter and Weil Gotshal and Manges, as well as a 17-partner exit at Patton Boggs, managing partners of six major firms say they don’t expect a mass of competing legal partnerships–including their own–to follow suit as the year reaches its…

Jun 28, 2013 3:50 PM CDT

Goodwin Procter plans to close San Diego office, lay off 10 lawyers and 12 staff

Goodwin Procter has confirmed that the firm plans to close its San Diego office by the end of September, laying off 10 lawyers and 12 staff members. Two of the six partners at the office, as well as six associates and four staff members apparently will be offered a chance…

Jun 28, 2013 3:02 PM CDT

Weil Gotshal layoffs are start of a wave, consultant says (video)

Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ announcement this week that it is firing 60 associates and 110 support staffers and cutting the pay of about 30 partners is the start of a wave of such downsizings, according to law firm consultant Bruce MacEwen, publisher of the blog Adam Smith, Esq. The cuts…

Jun 27, 2013 4:29 PM CDT

Ethics case launched over $69K in cab fare reimbursement for former partner

A former partner of Sidley Austin who was a real estate practice leader and a member of the firm’s executive committee is facing an Illinois legal ethics complaint over $69,000 in cab fare reimbursement, among other issues. In addition to obtaining $69,000 for cab rides he allegedly did not take,…

Jun 25, 2013 1:10 PM CDT

Patton Boggs says 17 partners are exiting; some may open a Dallas office for Holland & Knight

Patton Boggs confirms that 17 partners of the firm announced last week they will be leaving. Most worked out of the firm’s Dallas office, but others were in Denver and Washington, D.C., the Washington Post (reg. req.) reports on its Capital Business page. At least some of the Dallas lawyers…

Jun 25, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

Ballard Spahr adds 5-lawyer Featherstone team to its Denver office

Ballard Spahr has added a five-lawyer litigation team from Featherstone Petrie DeSisto to its attorney roster in Denver, the firm announced Monday. Headed by Andrew J. “Drew” Petrie, the group also includes another partner, one counsel and two associates. “We are fortunate to be able to bring into the firm…

Jun 24, 2013 10:25 PM CDT

Which 5 cities had the biggest lawyer gains?

Cities that are gaining the most lawyers in percentage terms are mostly in locations rich in oil or other energy reserves. The Careerist listed the top five, taking the statistics from a National Law Journal survey of the nation’s 350 largest law firms in the top 25 legal markets. The…

Jun 24, 2013 10:40 AM CDT

Husch Blackwell to enter Texas market by acquiring Brown McCarroll

Husch Blackwell announced Wednesday that it will soon be merging with Brown McCarroll, acquiring its first Texas offices—in Austin, Dallas and Houston—and about 65 more attorneys in the process. The combined firm will have over 600 lawyers in 16 cities in the United States and London. The merger was approved…

Jun 19, 2013 6:42 PM CDT