Large Firm

DLA Piper Co-Chairman Sees Radical Evolution for Profession as Firm OKs Ex-Linklaters Top Hire

Tony Angel will be leading DLA Piper as global co-chairman after a vote of the law firm’s partners over the last two weeks. Angel was a former managing partner of Linklaters, as well as former executive managing director of Standard & Poors. He will manage the firm along with Frank…

Nov 8, 2011 12:14 PM CST

Bankruptcy Trustee Sues Foley & Lardner, Says Legal Work Aided Client’s Massive Ponzi Scheme

Contending that legal work performed by Foley & Lardner helped a former client perpetrate a claimed Ponzi scheme that stripped some investors of their life savings as insiders looted assets, a trustee in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case for that client, DBSI Inc., has sued the law firm. Filed in…

Nov 4, 2011 2:53 PM CDT

Ex-Nixon Peabody Lawyer Gets Probation in SEC False-Information Case

A former lawyer with Nixon Peabody who earlier settled an insider-trading complaint without admitting liability has been sentenced to two years of probation for providing false information to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Melissa Mahler was credited by a federal prosecutor in a court hearing today in the District of…

Nov 3, 2011 8:46 PM CDT

Survey Finds Many Top UK Law Firms Are De-Equitizing Partners

Many of the United Kingdom’s top law firms are either considering a plan to strip some so-called partners of their equity role or already implementing one. Of the 34 law firms that responded among the top 50, a total of 20 were at least considering the option, reports Legal Week.…

Nov 3, 2011 7:15 PM CDT

Study Author: Law Firm to Keep Status Quo in Spite of Gender Discrepancies in Performance Reviews

The co-author of a study (PDF) that found that a Wall Street law firm was giving higher numerical performance reviews to male associates than it was female associates with equally positive narrative performance reviews says the firm doesn’t intend to change anything about its performance review process. Law professor Joan…

Nov 3, 2011 6:20 PM CDT

Why Quinn Emanuel Nixed Hong Kong: Litigators There Make Less Than $1M

Despite the seeming appeal of a sizzling Hong Kong legal market, one well-known law firm has nixed the possibility of opening an office there. Asked to explain why, managing partner John Quinn of Los Angeles-based Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan had a succinct answer: Not a single litigator there, he…

Nov 1, 2011 11:16 PM CDT

Heller Suit Claims Error by Greenberg Traurig Led to ‘Chaotic’ Wind Down

The bankruptcy estate of Heller Ehrman claims in a multimillion-dollar malpractice suit that an oversight by Greenberg Traurig led to a more “chaotic” wind down. The suit claims Greenberg failed to discover that Bank of America, Heller’s biggest lender, had terminated its security interest in Heller before the law firm…

Nov 1, 2011 11:37 AM CDT

Despite Globalization, Lawyers Find New Barriers to Practicing Abroad

Lisa A. Alfaro joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in 1995 after receiving her JD from Stanford Law School. Now she is partner in charge of the firm’s São Paulo office in Brazil, and she co-chairs the Latin America practice group. She is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, and she is…

Nov 1, 2011 10:19 AM CDT

Winston Adds 2 IP Partners from Dickstein Shapiro; Alfred Fabricant Will Head NY Practice Group

Winston & Strawn is adding two more lawyers to its intellectual property practice group, announcing today that the firm is bringing in partners Alfred Fabricant and Lawrence Drucker as partners from Dickstein Shapiro. Fabricant will head the IP practice group in New York City. “Fred and Larry bring enormous talent…

Oct 31, 2011 7:04 PM CDT

Former Staff Attorney Sues Quinn Emanuel, Alleges Race Discrimination in Assignments, Retaliation

A former staff attorney at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has sued the law firm for race discrimination and retaliation. Kisshia Simmons-Grant says in her federal district court suit that the law firm gave work to less qualified white staff attorneys while she went without assignments and hence was not…

Oct 31, 2011 6:37 PM CDT

Willkie Practice Leader to Take 20-Lawyer Group In-House to Bloomberg, Where He’ll Be New CLO

A longtime partner of Willkie Farr & Gallagher will be leading a group of up to 20 lawyers in-house to the firm’s biggest client in January, where he will serve as the new general counsel for Bloomberg L.P. Corporate partner Richard K. DeSherer, 67, heads Willkie’s information systems and technology…

Oct 27, 2011 9:51 PM CDT

Foreclosure King David Stern Beats Ethics Rap re Appeal Inaction; His Firm Handled the Case at Trial

A Florida lawyer once known as the state’s foreclosure king has won the dismissal of an ethics case brought by the Florida Bar. David J. Stern was accused of ignoring a state appellate court order to produce documents. However, his law firm handled the case at issue at the trial…

Oct 26, 2011 5:46 PM CDT

Ex-BigLaw Partner with Tax LLM Loses Law License for a Year for Failing to File State Returns

A New York real estate transactional lawyer who didn’t file state tax returns from 2001 to 2007 had sought a public censure. But a state appeals court suspended Roger Roisman’s law license for one year, saying that the reduced income and multiple serious health problems he experienced during that period…

Oct 25, 2011 5:11 PM CDT

Retired BigLaw Attorneys Embrace New Clients in People-Oriented Public Service Jobs

When he left Dickstein Shapiro in 2004, James Springer was a top antitrust lawyer. Now, working part-time for the D.C. Legal Aid Society, the 77-year-old attorney handles benefits claims. Working on Social Security claims is every bit as complex as his former practice area, he tells the National Law Journal.…

Oct 24, 2011 8:00 PM CDT

Baker Donelson Plants Flag in Texas with Acquisition of 7-Attorney Spain Chambers

A Tennessee-based law firm with 14 offices in southern states and a significant presence in Louisiana is expanding westward and opening its first office in Texas. Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz announced today that it will be acquiring seven-attorney Spain Chambers in Houston. Baker Donelson has about 600 attorneys…

Oct 24, 2011 6:42 PM CDT