Large Firm

Fired female patent partner settles Ropes & Gray age and gender discrimination case

A fired female intellectual property partner has settled her federal employment discrimination suit against Ropes & Gray on undisclosed terms. Patricia Martone, who was 63 when she was fired by the firm in 2010, lost out on lucrative retirement benefits to which she would have been entitled at age 65…

May 17, 2013 6:20 PM CDT

Former Dewey partner settles $200K capital loan dispute with Citibank

A federal judge in New York issued a brief order Thursday dismissing without explanation all claims and counterclaims in a lawsuit concerning a capital loan for a little over $200,000 made by Citibank to a former partner of Dewey & LeBoeuf, reports Reuters. After Citibank sued ex-partner Steven Otillar for…

May 10, 2013 4:29 PM CDT

Jones Day opens new office in Miami, its first in Florida

Jones Day has opened a new office in Miami, its first in Florida, in a move that is expected to expand its Latin American practice. Bankruptcy partner Pedro A. Jimenez, who is a native of the city. will head the office, which the the 16th in the U.S. and the…

May 9, 2013 4:05 PM CDT

Bankruptcy co-chairs leap from Cadwalader to O’Melveny, along with another partner

Three bankruptcy partners from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, including the co-chairs of the practice group, are headed to O’Melveny & Myers. In a Tuesday announcement, O’Melveny said that co-chairs John J. Rapisarsdi and George A. Davis would serve in the same role at their new firm, working out of its…

May 7, 2013 8:29 PM CDT

Australia’s publicly traded Slater & Gordon raising $64M to buy more UK personal injury firms

In its continuing drive to dominate the global personal injury and consumer legal market, Slater & Gordon is raising $63.9 million to expand its British personal injury practice. The plaintiff megafirm has struck deals to buy three United Kingdom law firms at a total cost of about $35 million, according…

May 7, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

6 more lawyers to exit Ogletree for Littler, join ex-partner who sent ‘scathing’ email to Ogletree

After an unusual high-profile dispute between a former partner of Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart and the firm, another six lawyers are expected to leave the international labor and employment boutique Monday to join competitor Littler Mendelson, their new firm has announced. Within the last two weeks, another seven…

May 6, 2013 4:15 PM CDT

Partner profits rise as law firms cut equity partners, statistics confirm

A decade of statistics confirm that America’s top law firms are shrinking their proportion of equity partners relative to overall lawyers, and the cuts are often improving profits per partner. The American Lawyer analyzed the numbers for 97 law firms in the top 100 for 2012 that were also among…

May 6, 2013 1:34 PM CDT

Partners ahoy! DLA Piper charters cruise ship for meeting

DLA Piper’s partners are meeting in style this month on a chartered cruise ship sailing from Barcelona to Nice. DLA Piper is the world’s largest law firm, by revenue and lawyers. Its four-night partner excursion will take place on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas, the Washingtonian reports in a…

May 6, 2013 10:40 AM CDT

Era of great expectations for BigLaw ended with bankruptcy of Howrey, Dewey and others, say experts

A death-knell for the era of great expectations for BigLaw firms has been sounded by the bankruptcies of, among others, Howrey; Heller Ehrman; Thelen; and last year’s record-breaking Chapter 11 filing by Dewey & LeBoeuf, experts say. They predict further law firm failures and a move toward smaller, less cumbersome…

May 3, 2013 2:53 PM CDT

SEC reportedly subpoenas information from Greenberg Traurig and a lobbyist

The Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly issued subpoenas to Greenberg Traurig as the agency seeks more information about an investor alert issued by one of the law firm’s clients, a stock brokerage. Several anonymous sources told the Washington Post that the SEC subpoenaed Greenberg Traurig; one of its health-care…

May 2, 2013 12:50 PM CDT

Former Dewey chairman may not have to pay entire $511K settlement; it depends on his income

Former Dewey & LeBoeuf chairman Steven Davis is getting some leeway in a proposed $511,000 settlement related to the law firm’s collapse. The proposed agreement to settle a mismanagement claim gives Davis six years to pay the money, and it’s contingent on his earnings, the Am Law Daily reports. Davis…

May 1, 2013 1:43 PM CDT

BigLaw partner sent ‘scathing’ exit email defending recruit to colleagues, clients

Updated: In a highly unusual public criticism of his now-former law firm, a partner of Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart complained to colleagues and clients in an email as he exited in March about what he called a “completely unacceptable” response to a female shareholder’s complaint that she had…

May 1, 2013 1:32 PM CDT

Greenberg Traurig agrees to settle suit claiming it contributed to ‘chaotic’ Heller wind down

Greenberg Traurig has agreed to pay $4.9 million to settle a suit claiming the firm contributed to a “chaotic” wind down of Heller Ehrman. The deal still needs the approval of a bankruptcy judge, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.) reports. Greenberg Traurig spokeswoman Jill Perry told the…

Apr 30, 2013 1:34 PM CDT

Katten Muchin opens new Houston office with Pillsbury enviro leader, hires 7 more lawyers in Texas

The leader of the environmental practice group at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is leaving the firm to open a new Houston office for Katten Muchin Rosenman. Mark Farley will be in charge of a five-lawyer Houston office, serve as a co-chair of his new firm’s environmental practice and lead its…

Apr 29, 2013 9:19 PM CDT

Enjoying your BigLaw job? You may be an odd duck, and that’s OK, psychologist says

About 96 percent of the BigLaw lawyers seeking help from psychotherapist Will Meyerhofer are seeking a way out. Then there are the 4 percent who like BigLaw practice. “I don’t want to exaggerate the phenomenon,” Meyerhofer writes at the People’s Therapist, “but there are folks who actually ‘fit in’ in…

Apr 29, 2013 11:30 AM CDT