Large Firm

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

Outside Lawyer Censured for ‘Intimate Contact’ with Detroit Mayor While Monitoring City Police

A Washington, D.C., lawyer has been censured for having “intimate contact” one night with Detroit’s then-mayor while she was serving as independent police monitor for the city. Sheryl Robinson Wood said during a disciplinary hearing that she considered the incident a moral and personal lapse and later realized it also…

Oct 22, 2011 1:11 AM CDT

Disbarred After $1.48M Alleged BigLaw Billing Fraud, Ex-Attorney Faces Uphill Reinstatement Battle

Gary and Maureen Fairchild made headlines in the 1990s when the high-profile BigLaw couple were accused of bilking their respective law partners of more than $2 million through collusive law firm billing fraud at the same time that the two Chicago lawyers were legally taking home hundreds of thousands of…

Oct 21, 2011 10:31 PM CDT

After Losing at Least 38 Partners This Year, McDermott Focuses on Strategic Growth

The co-chairs of McDermott Will & Emery are upbeat about the firm’s position, despite the loss of at least 38 partners this year, some of them practice group leaders. The firm is still expanding, they say, and is committed to strategic growth. The Am Law Daily interviewed 11 former partners…

Oct 20, 2011 11:45 AM CDT

Lawyer Who Left BigLaw Partnership for Motherhood Returns as Pro Bono Director

A lawyer who left a BigLaw partnership to stay home with her two young daughters returned to the same law firm and helped create her new position there. Jennifer Kroman left Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in 2006, and says she was “crazy happy” to stay home, the Careerist reports.…

Oct 20, 2011 10:30 AM CDT