Large Firm

Team of 4 Linklaters lawyers joins Pepper Hamilton’s growing white-collar practice group

A former U.S. litigation chief of a major United Kingdom-based law firm is joining Pepper Hamilton, along with three other Linklaters lawyers. The move by Larry Byrne, an ex-federal prosecutor in New York and Washington, D.C. who focuses his practice on white-collar matters, underscores Pepper Hamilton’s growing emphasis on corporate…

Feb 21, 2013 5:02 PM CST

As ‘super firm’ profits soar, others boost revenue by shrinking partner ranks

Some California law firms are seeing profits soar simply by being at the top of their game. But others, trying to compete with “super firms” such as Latham & Watkins and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Silicon Valley powerhouses such as Cooley, are boosting reported profits by reducing the…

Feb 19, 2013 9:21 PM CST

Cooley recruits co-chair of Sheppard Mullin corporate group for growing LA office

A mergers and acquisitions specialist who co-chairs the corporate practice group of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton is joining Cooley’s growing Los Angeles area office, along with another corporate partner from the firm. Established less than a year ago, the office now has nearly 20 lawyers, including new hires Thomas…

Feb 19, 2013 4:35 PM CST

Dechert settles ex-associate’s ‘macho culture’ family leave case

Dechert has settled, on undisclosed terms, a former Boston financial services associate’s retaliation claim concerning the law firm’s alleged “macho culture.” Originally, Ariel Ayanna also filed a Massachusetts state-law sex-discrimination claim. In it, he contended that the firm used his alleged low billings as a pretext for terminating him in…

Feb 12, 2013 2:04 PM CST

Cravath may soon have its first non-equity partner, if Mary Jo White is confirmed as SEC chair

Cravath, Swaine & Moore doesn’t have non-equity partners. But that policy apparently may soon change, if Mary Jo White is confirmed as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Debevoise & Plimpton partner is married to corporate partner John White of Cravath. And, in a letter sent…

Feb 12, 2013 12:54 PM CST

K&L Gates launches Houston office with Fulbright securities practice chief

K&L Gates is the latest BigLaw firm to plant its flag in the hot Houston market. Longtime Fulbright & Jaworski partner Charles L. Strauss, who headed that firm’s securities practice group, will now help K&L Gates launch its fourth Texas office there, the firm announced in a Monday press release.…

Feb 11, 2013 3:00 PM CST

Retired Dewey partners propose to settle bankruptcy case for up to $5K each

A group of retired partners of Dewey & LeBoeuf had been taking an aggressive position in the BigLaw firm’s bankruptcy, contending that they should be treated as creditors for the purpose of winding up the failed business since they are owed some $80 million in unpaid retirement compensation and benefits.…

Feb 11, 2013 12:00 PM CST

Law firm ‘wine and dine’ event with client led to insider-trading case against partner’s husband

The husband of a partner at a well-known law firm is facing an insider-trading case, after allegedly using information he obtained in connection with a planned “wine and dine” event with a Silicon Valley client. James Balchan, an information technology specialist in Houston, is accused in a federal complaint filed…

Feb 7, 2013 3:20 PM CST

Strong 2012 finish boosted law firm profits to 4.3 percent for year, survey says

A strong drive toward the finish line boosted law firm profits for 2012 to 4.3 percent, a Citi Private Bank survey of 179 law firms has found. But the 3.6 percent revenue growth for 2012 experienced by the group, which is mostly comprised of large law firms, may not be…

Feb 7, 2013 11:24 AM CST

4 lawyers exit McCarter & English for Holland & Knight

Three partners and a special counsel have exited McCarter & English for the Boston office of Holland & Knight. Brian Leary, Diane McDermott and Jeffrey Stoler will all be partners at Holland & Knight; Richard Holtz, who had been at the 400-attorney northeast regional firm only about one year, will…

Feb 6, 2013 5:45 PM CST

Another BigLaw firm drops a less lucrative estates practice. Was lockstep compensation the reason?

Debevoise & Plimpton is eliminating its trusts and estates practice, following in the steps of Biglaw firms Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Estates work is less lucrative for law firms than deal-making and litigation, explains the New York Times DealBook blog. The work doesn’t require armies…

Feb 6, 2013 12:23 PM CST

Denial and partner morale problems proliferate at law firms, report says

Many law firms appear to be in denial about the need to adjust their strategies to new market realities, according to a new report. Perhaps these firms and their lawyers believe the world will go back to normal, according to the report (PDF) by the Center for the Study of…

Feb 6, 2013 11:30 AM CST

Best friend’s Ponzi scheme puts Shook Hardy lawyer—and his firm—under fire in trustee suit

Updated: A childhood friendship between a lawyer-to-be and another boy who, decades later, is serving a 20-year federal securities fraud prison term for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme led to a legal representation that has put a prominent South Florida attorney and his law firm on the defensive. Marc…

Feb 1, 2013 5:20 PM CST

Two BigLaw firms face $1.8B suit by receiver who alleges they aided Ponzi schemer

A receiver for the investment firm founded by convicted Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford has sued Proskauer Rose, Chadbourne & Parke and a former partner who worked at the law firms. The $1.8 billion suit by receiver Ralph Janvey (PDF) alleges that former partner Thomas Sjoblom aided Stanford’s sales of…

Feb 1, 2013 1:17 PM CST

Report: Secret plans in place to ax or demote 20 to 50 of 189 partners at Ashurst Australia

Relying on unidentified sources, an Australian business publication says the Australian arm of Ashurst is secretly planning to cull between 20 and 50 of its 189 partners in order to meet financial projections and complete its planned merger with the United Kingdom-based law firm of the same name. Doing business…

Jan 31, 2013 10:39 PM CST