Ex-client sues Shearman, says firm didn’t warn of $76M pension shortfall before deal closed

A former client has sued Shearman & Sterling, contending that the law firm failed to warn him about $76 million in underfunded pension liability before a deal went through as part of a corporate reorganization plan concerning two of his companies. Newsprint magnate Peter Brant alleges that as a result…

Apr 3, 2013 9:37 PM CDT

Ogletree leader says he quit over lawyer issue and will take group and $10M business book elsewhere

A now-former vice president of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Steward has made an unusual announcement. Don Prophete, 45, says he has resigned from the South Carolina-based national labor and employment boutique over a dispute about its treatment of a lawyer he recruited. Although he apparently has no firm plans…

Apr 3, 2013 9:16 PM CDT

Saying he was forced out of small firm he founded after leaving BigLaw, partner, 72, gets a new gig

A well-known employment and civil rights litigator says he was forced out of the law firm he founded in 2003 after a nearly 23-year career at Paul Hastings. But Lawrence Ashe, 72, is now starting a new job, as senior counsel, at another firm, Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs. “We…

Apr 3, 2013 7:12 PM CDT

4 lawyers exit top local firm to open new Wilmington, Del., office for K&L Gates

K&L Gates is the only Pittburgh-based BigLaw firm without an office in Philadelphia. But it now has one a short distance away in Wilmington, Del., which is opening with a four-lawyer corporate group from one of the city’s longtime top law firms. Partners Eric Feldman, Nicholas Froio, Christina Houston and…

Apr 1, 2013 10:01 PM CDT

Virtual law firm plans to multiply like magic

Apr 1, 2013 7:00 AM CDT

Ropes defends firing of partner who claimed her clients were passed to younger male lawyers

In a court hearing in a New York courtroom on Wednesday, Ropes & Gray asserted it acted properly when it fired 63-year-old Patricia Martone in 2010, saying the firm acted because the intellectual property partner was unable to generate significant new business. Arguing for Ropes, lawyer Bettina Plevan of Proskauer…

Mar 28, 2013 5:05 PM CDT

DLA Piper: ‘Churn that bill’ email was ‘inexcusable effort at humor’

DLA Piper has responded after widespread coverage of a client-billing dispute that revealed an embarrassing email exchange between lawyers apparently joking about a client’s bill. In a statement, the firm said, “We hold ourselves to the highest legal and ethical standards. The behavior as described is unacceptable to DLA Piper…

Mar 27, 2013 10:00 PM CDT

After leaping to DLA Piper from Hogan Lovells, 4 of 5 partners in energy group return to former firm

A little over a year after they left Hogan Lovells for DLA Piper, four of the five energy partners who made the high-profile move have headed back to their former law firm. Among the exiting group is Kevin Lipson, the co-chief of the energy practice both at DLA Piper and,…

Mar 26, 2013 9:59 PM CDT

Quinn Emanuel launches new health care fraud practice, forsees ‘exponential’ growth

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has launched a new health care fraud practice group. It is headed by Sam S. Sheldon, 43, who started work Monday as a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of the the 600-attorney business litigation firm, reports Reuters. He formerly worked for the U.S. Department…

Mar 26, 2013 3:46 PM CDT

How Nixon Peabody encourages diversity

Nixon Peabody believes it may be the first BigLaw firm to include an hourly commitment in a diversity initiative. In 2010, the law firm began urging all of its lawyers to give at least 40 hours a year to efforts that encourage diversity, the Washington Post reports. Lawyers document the…

Mar 26, 2013 10:29 AM CDT

‘Churn that bill, baby!’ email surfaces in fee dispute with DLA Piper

It all began with a corporate bankruptcy case. Retained by energy entrepreneur Adam H. Victor in April 2010 to prepare the Chapter 11 filing for one of his companies, DLA Piper ran up a hefty bill. And when Victor refused to pay it, the law firm sued him for $675,000.…

Mar 25, 2013 8:54 PM CDT

White & Case opens Madrid office with team of Latham lawyers

The Latham & Watkins lawyer in charge of the firm’s corporate work in Spain has led a team to White & Case. Juan Manuel De Remedios, who will serve as executive partner in Madrid for his new firm, is a capital markets and mergers and acquisitions specialist licensed to practice…

Mar 19, 2013 8:21 PM CDT

Law firm leaders see sunnier future, says Citi Private Bank survey

Law firm leaders are more confident than they’ve been in in months about the legal industry’s financial future and expect to see increased revenue and profits this year. But many also expect little new hiring and pressure from corporate clients to keep billing rates down, according to the latest survey…

Mar 18, 2013 10:27 PM CDT

New ABA online toolkit helps law firms address gender-based pay inequities

As female attorneys in private practice continue to earn less than male counterparts, the American Bar Association has put together a program to help law firms address pay inequities. Available online, the ABA Toolkit for Gender Equity in Partner Compensation is also intended to help state and local bar associations…

Mar 18, 2013 5:21 PM CDT

Trustee for Howrey files first clawback claims against 6 of 71 law firms from which $200M is sought

The bankruptcy trustee in Howrey’s Chapter 11 case has filed clawback litigation against six of the 71 successor law firms to which former partners took unfinished business after the collapse of the Washington, D.C.-based litigation shop near the beginning of 2011. Although most are in settlement talks with trustee Allan…

Mar 14, 2013 2:45 PM CDT