Large Firm

Chadbourne to Occupy Dewey’s Former Offices in New York

Chadbourne & Parke has announced it will be leasing part of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s former headquarters in midtown Manhattan. Chadbourne has signed a 20-year lease for more than 200,000 square feet spread throughout six floors at 1301 Avenue of the Americas, according to Reuters, the Am Law Daily and a…

Sep 7, 2012 2:09 PM CDT

Law Firm Consultant Predicts ‘Absolutely’ More Layoffs and as Many as Five BigLaw Dissolutions

Call it the Facebook effect. The first half of the year was strong for many law firms, but a dropoff in work in the last six to eight weeks has many firms predicting a decline in revenues and profits this year, according to Kent Zimmerman, a consultant for the Zeugheuser…

Sep 6, 2012 1:01 PM CDT

Homeland Security’s Chief Privacy Officer to Lead New Practice Group at Jenner

Jenner & Block has formed a new practice group for privacy matters and hired a government privacy expert to head it. Mary Ellen Callahan, the chief privacy officer at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will lead Jenner’s privacy and information governance practice from the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, according…

Sep 5, 2012 3:55 PM CDT

Federal Judge Says Calif. Law Allows Clawback Claims Against Ex-Thelen Partners But NY Law Doesn’t

In a ruling that could affect former partners of other failed law firms, a federal judge in New York held Tuesday that a bankruptcy trustee can pursue clawback claims against some but not all of Thelen’s former partners. Drawing a distinction between what is permitted under California and New York…

Sep 4, 2012 10:31 PM CDT

Former Dewey Partner Alleges He and Others Were ‘Fraudulently Induced’ to Get Citibank Loans

After being sued by Citibank for allegedly defaulting on a loan, a former partner of Dewey & LeBoeuf is firing back with a claim that he and others were “fraudulently induced” into signing up for bank loans to finance their capital contributions to the law firm. In a motion filed…

Aug 31, 2012 8:01 PM CDT

Former Mayer Brown CIO Arrested on Charges He Defrauded Firm of at Least $850K

David Tresch, Mayer Brown’s former chief information officer, was arrested on federal charges Thursday alleging that he pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars for vendor work never performed at the firm. The former executive approved nearly $8 million in payments for information technology services between 2004 and 2008 for work…

Aug 30, 2012 8:13 PM CDT

Pepper Hamilton Acquires Law Firm of Former FBI Director Louis Freeh

Highlighting the importance of internal corporate investigations as a practice area for major law firms, Pepper Hamilton has announced plans to acquire the law firm of Louis Freeh, a former director of the FBI, as well as an investigative firm affiliated with the law firm. Freeh and his law firm,…

Aug 28, 2012 5:50 PM CDT

Washington State Legal Community Braces for Huge Turnover in Lawyer Population

Washington state’s legal community is bracing for a huge turnover in its lawyer population over the next five years. The expected turnover, driven largely by demographics and economics, poses big challenges for firms both large and small, though small firms and solo practices seem especially vulnerable, the Puget Sound Business…

Aug 24, 2012 8:46 PM CDT

Forklift Accident Sets Off Chain of Destruction That Delays Howrey Wind-Down

A bankruptcy trustee says a fatal forklift accident at a Washington, D.C.-area warehouse is delaying the wind-down of Howrey. In a report (PDF) filed Monday in bankruptcy court in the Northern District of California, trustee Allan B. Diamond says a chain of destruction resulted when a forklift hit a storage…

Aug 21, 2012 8:34 PM CDT

Would You Bet Your Career on Your Law Firm’s Business Model?

The latest analyses of BigLaw financials is out, and things do not look good. In a recent article, Dan DiPietro and Gretta Rusanow of Citibank reported their midyear findings for a survey group of 176 firms (79 Am Law 100 firms, 47 Am Law 200 firms and 50 additional firms).…

Aug 21, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Greenberg CEO Is Shocked at Hullabaloo over Capital Call

Greenberg Traurig’s recently announced capital call is a “small step” taken during uncertain times for the legal industry, according to CEO Richard Rosenbaum. In an interview with the Daily Business Review, Rosenbaum said the amount that will be raised pales in comparison to capital calls at other law firms. “I’m…

Aug 21, 2012 12:01 PM CDT

K&L Gates in Merger Talks with Australian Firm Middletons

K&L Gates confirmed Thursday that it is in merger talks with the 200-lawyer Australian firm Middletons. In a joint statement published Thursday by the Am Law Daily, K&L Gates chair Peter Kalis and Middletons national managing partner Nick Nichola said, “Our leadership teams believe that the client-driven consolidation and globalization…

Aug 17, 2012 2:38 PM CDT

9th Circuit Cites ‘Egregious’ Ethics Violation, Denies Attorney Fees for McGuireWoods

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that McGuireWoods can’t collect fees for work it did to help secure a $49 million settlement in an antitrust case against the publishers of BAR/BRI. The panel’s ruling Aug. 10 (PDF) upholds a decision by U.S. District…

Aug 14, 2012 2:10 PM CDT

Restored Factory Sees Shift from Tin Works and Kerosene Lamps to Back-Office Support

More than a hundred years ago, the sprawling building in Wheeling, W.Va.’s once-thriving coal and steel area, housed factory workers making tin products and kerosene lanterns. Now, after a top-to-bottom restoration that pays homage to the building’s industrial past, the building is home to a busy back-office-support operation for San…

Aug 13, 2012 4:16 PM CDT

Innovation Initiative Is Inspiring ‘Cultural Awakening’ at Nixon Peabody

Looking for a way to make his firm less reactive and more proactive, Nixon Peabody partner Jeffrey Lesk worked a new factor into annual evaluations. Each year, Lesk asks his fellow partners in the tax credit finance group to come up with a new idea for a client product, fee…

Aug 13, 2012 2:13 PM CDT