Large Firm

Herbert Smith and Freehills OK Megamerger; 2,800-Attorney Firm Plans to Open New York Office in 2012

Partners of London-based Herbert Smith and Australia’s Freehills have agreed to merge on Oct. 1. The 2,800-attorney merged firm will open a New York office this year, as well as in Africa and Seoul, reports Bloomberg. An office in Germany is planned next year. The Australian (reg. req.), the Financial…

Jun 28, 2012 3:31 PM CDT

When BigLaw Keeps Preferring Top-Tier Schools, Innovation Suffers

Not surprising to many of the beleaguered in the profession, only 8 percent of 2011 law school graduates landed jobs at firms with more than 250 attorneys, according to figures released by the American Bar Association last week. While the data reflects the stringent job market, it’s certain to shock…

Jun 25, 2012 7:17 PM CDT

Individual Dewey Partners and Banks That Loaned Them Equity to Pay to Firm Are Now at Odds

It isn’t just Dewey & LeBoeuf that’s reportedly laden with debt. A number of individual partners borrowed money from banks in recent years to fund their capital contributions to the firm and are mulling options as the banks that lent to them are making efforts to collect payments on the…

Jun 25, 2012 6:49 PM CDT

Questions an Inquiry Commission Might Have About the Dewey & LeBoeuf Crash

When a plane crashes, the National Transportation Safety Board dispatches an investigative team to understand the causes and prevent future crashes. When the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board assessed the causes of the disaster. When the financial markets crashed in 2007, Congress (following in the footsteps…

Jun 25, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Greenberg Traurig, Quarles to Pay $88M to Settle Suit by Mortgage Investors

Greenberg Traurig and Quarles & Brady have agreed to pay $88 million to settle a suit by investors who claim losses in an alleged $900 million Ponzi scheme run by a mortgage company. Greenberg will pay $61 million and Quarles will pay $26.5 million, report Reuters and the Milwaukee Journal…

Jun 22, 2012 11:34 AM CDT

Videos Offer Insight Into Summer Associate Success Secrets; Among Them: Keep Dating Discreet

Making the most of a summer associate position isn’t just about doing a great job on work assignments. Partners are also looking for law students who get along well with colleagues and clients. And, at the very least, avoiding social disasters, especially those that can potentially result in litigation against…

Jun 21, 2012 2:49 PM CDT

Secretarial Supervisor Laid Off After 27 Years at Fried Frank Loses Age Bias and Retaliation Suit

An evening secretarial supervisor who was laid off by Fried Frank after 27 years of employment there has lost her federal age bias suit against the law firm. Although Roseanne Zito contended that she was fired, at age 57, in 2008, because of her age and in retaliation for taking…

Jun 20, 2012 4:15 PM CDT

Former Dewey Chairman Will Be Excluded from Proposed Bankruptcy Settlement with Ex-Partners

Former partners at Dewey & LeBoeuf learned in a conference call on Tuesday that they will be presented with a plan to settle creditor claims against them in the next few weeks. Only one person would not be covered by the deal—former chairman Steven Davis, report the Wall Street Journal…

Jun 20, 2012 1:28 PM CDT

More BigLaw Firms Add Internet and Privacy Law Practices

Online companies that need guidance on data privacy issues are spurring more large law firms to expand their Internet and privacy law practices. Among the Washington, D.C., law firms expanding their practices are Venable, Covington & Burling, and Hogan Lovells, the Washington Post reports. Emerging legal issues include whether the…

Jun 20, 2012 11:15 AM CDT

Jailed Ex-BigLaw Partner Once Made $183K Monthly, Now Has Court-Appointed Lawyer for Tax Case Appeal

Until May 2009, John J. O’Brien was making $183,000 per month as a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell. Now serving a 28-month federal prison sentence, after pleading guilty to four misdemeanors in a tax-evasion case, he is pursuing an appeal of his sentence with the help of a court-appointed lawyer.…

Jun 19, 2012 8:55 PM CDT

A Big-Name Guest at a BigLaw Wedding

Two BigLaw lawyers got married this weekend, and President Obama was among the guests of honor. Obama and his family returned to their hometown of Chicago for the wedding between Mayer Brown lawyer Laura Jarrett and Sidley & Austin lawyer Tony Balkissoon, report the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune. The…

Jun 18, 2012 1:51 PM CDT

Defendant Dewey Leader Calls Ex-Partner’s ‘Ponzi Scheme’ Suit ‘Sad,’ Says Plaintiff Got Bigger Bucks

Responding to a lawsuit filed by a former Dewey & LeBoeuf partner that accuses leaders of the now-bankrupt law firm of “running a Ponzi scheme” in recent years, one of the five named defendants described the litigation by Henry Bunsow as “sad” and said Bunsow received more of his promised…

Jun 14, 2012 6:31 PM CDT

‘Gold Standard’ Law Firms Named for Placing Women in Leadership; List Could Shrink Next Year

Fifty law firms have earned a “Gold Standard” award from Women in Law Empowerment Forum for placing women in leadership positions. Last year, only 32 firms made the list, the Careerist reports. Firms new to the list this year include Davis Polk & Wardwell; Goodwin Procter; Nixon Peabody; Ropes &…

Jun 14, 2012 11:51 AM CDT

Former Dewey Partner’s Suit Compares Firm Leaders’ Lateral Partner Recruitment to ‘Ponzi Scheme’

Updated: A former partner of Dewey & LeBoeuf has filed suit against leaders of the now-bankrupt law firm, contending that they engaged in a multiple acts of deceit after the 2007 merger that created the firm and misrepresented its revenue in an effort to persuade incoming lateral partners to contribute…

Jun 13, 2012 9:02 PM CDT

Ten Partners from Two BigLaw Firms Form New Legal Practice in NC, Plan to Govern by Consensus

Ten BigLaw partners—six from K&L Gates and four from Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice—are leaving to create a new law firm offering lower hourly rates and alternative fees. The new firm will be called Morningstar and it will be located in Morrisville, N.C., near Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh, report…

Jun 12, 2012 12:18 PM CDT