Large Firm

Ex BigLaw Partner Who Lied on Child’s School Financial Aid Applications Is Disbarred

An Illinois lawyer has been disbarred by the state supreme court for misrepresenting his income on his child’s private school financial aid applications, in order to qualify for $22,830 in assistance over an approximately four-year period. In addition to providing falsified copies of his tax returns to the Francis W.…

Nov 27, 2012 6:22 PM CST

Cravath Boosts Year-End Bonuses, Will Pay $10K to $60K; Last Year’s Ceiling Was $37.5K

In happy holiday news for BigLaw associates, Cravath Swaine & Moore announced on Monday that it will pay associates a year-end bonus ranging from $10,000 to $60,000. That’s a substantial increase from last year’s range of $7,500 to $37,500, reported the New York Times’ DealBook blog, which obtained a copy…

Nov 26, 2012 9:44 PM CST

Amidst Tight Market for Legal Work, Houston Attorneys and Law Firms Have Struck Oil

As the legal economy overall continues to sputter and lawyers in many practice areas are aggressively looking for work, there’s no need for a number of attorneys and law firms in Houston, Texas, to step on the gas. Thanks to their energy law expertise and clients in a region known…

Nov 19, 2012 3:46 PM CST

Women’s Initiatives in BigLaw Are Abundant and ‘Woefully Underfunded,’ Report Says

In the last decade, women’s initiatives and women’s affinity groups have become a staple of BigLaw culture. The idea is to retain and advance women lawyers, who currently make up only about 15 percent of equity partners. Are the efforts working? According to a new report (PDF) by the National…

Nov 19, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Ex-Mayer Brown Partner Joseph Collins Guilty on 7 Counts in Case re Fraud By Former Refco Execs

An ex-partner of Mayer Brown was found guilty Friday by a federal jury in Manhattan of seven of the 10 counts he faced for allegedly helping then-executives of the Refco Inc. commodities brokerage perpetrate a $2.4 billion fraud on investors. Joseph Collins was convicted of conspiracy, securities and wire fraud…

Nov 16, 2012 9:33 PM CST

Stanford Receiver Sues Greenberg and Hunton Firms, Says Lawyer’s Work Helped $7B Ponzi Scheme

A court-appointed receiver representing victims of a $7 billion Ponzi scheme for which former billionaire R. Allen Stanford is now serving a 110-year prison term has sued two well-known law firms. In a federal suit filed Thursday in Dallas that seeks class action status, receiver Ralph Janvey and several individual…

Nov 16, 2012 5:37 PM CST

Video: FTC Threatens to Sue Google; Pot Legalization Aftermath; More Law Firm Mega-Mergers to Come?

Editor’s Note: We’re experimenting with using more video on ABAJournal.com and will be bringing you this short weekly legal news brief from Bloomberg Law for the next few weeks. Thanks for the feedback so far. Please note that adding video would not mean eliminating text-based stories. Rather, we’re exploring adding…

Nov 15, 2012 6:24 PM CST

71 Law Firms (Including Dewey) Receive Perfect Scores for LGBT Policies

The Human Rights Campaign has given perfect scores to 71 law firms in its 2013 Corporate Equality Index for policies benefiting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. Law firms are the most-represented industry among index participants getting a perfect score, according to a report (PDF) on the findings. America’s top…

Nov 15, 2012 12:15 PM CST

Ogletree Deakins to Plant Flag in Europe with Offices in London and Berlin

In what it says is the first such move by a U.S.-based firm specializing in labor and employment law, Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart has announced that it will soon be opening two offices in Europe. Its new Berlin office, which is expected to open Dec. 1, will be…

Nov 14, 2012 10:15 PM CST

Fulbright to Merge with Norton Rose, Creating Firm with 3,800 Lawyers

Corrected: Fulbright & Jaworski and Norton Rose have announced plans for a merger that will create a global law firm with 3,800 lawyers and nearly $2 billion in revenues. The new firm will be called Norton Rose Fulbright, according to a press release, Legal Week, the Lawyer, Reuters, the Wall…

Nov 14, 2012 3:05 PM CST

4-Partner Private Client Practice Group Leaps From WilmerHale to Choate

Boston-based Choate Hall & Stewart has raided Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, announcing Tuesday that the BigLaw firm’s entire private client practice group, headed by four partners, will be joining the wealth management group at its midsize competitor. Associates and staff from WilmerHale are also expected to join Choate,…

Nov 13, 2012 7:16 PM CST

Creditors Pursue Ex-Dewey Managers, Claim Generous Pay Contracts Were Recklessly Inked

A creditors committee is citing alleged mismanagement in a request to pursue claims against the former chairman of Dewey & LeBoeuf and two other managers. The unsecured creditors accuse the managers of “recklessly doling out individual partner contracts that guaranteed compensation without regard to future performance,” Reuters reports. The committee…

Nov 13, 2012 1:24 PM CST

Why Ms. X Is Leaving BigLaw: Busy Mom Details Untenable Schedule in Departure Memo

If you’ve ever wondered why it can be so difficult to juggle motherhood and BigLaw, a Clifford Chance associate dubbed Ms. X explains it in a departure memo with a blow-by-blow account of her untenable daily routine. Above the Law blogger Elie Mystal, himself a new father, posted the memo…

Nov 13, 2012 12:15 PM CST

SNR Denton to Lose the Initials, Add an ‘S’ After Three-Way Merger

Corrected: The leaders of SNR Denton have confirmed plans for a three-way merger and revealed the name of the new combined firm: Dentons. Branding and advertising advisers recommended a single name for the new firm, SNR Denton’s two top leaders tell the Am Law Daily. The firm is planning a…

Nov 8, 2012 12:36 PM CST

BigLaw Partner Sues Feds for $4M, Alleges Malicious Prosecution In Retaliation for His IG Complaint

A BigLaw partner has sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seeking $4 million in damages. Carlos Loumiet claims he was maliciously prosecuted on civil regulatory charges in retaliation for a complaint he made to the federal agency’s inspector general about the manner in which an investigation of…

Nov 7, 2012 10:52 PM CST