Large Firm

Top Mass. Court Nixes Seyfarth Claim That Texas Law Firm Said Too Much, Gives Pro Hac Vice OK

Rejecting an argument by Seyfarth Shaw that an out-of-state lawyer from a Texas law firm should be precluded from appearing pro hac vice in a legal malpractice case against Seyfarth, the top court in Massachusetts held that negative statements by a Bickel & Brewer attorney about Seyfarth, in a state-court…

Aug 2, 2011 6:58 PM CDT

BigLaw Chafes at Online Reverse Auctions, Increasingly Used by Corporations to Cut Legal Bills

Large law firms are increasingly being asked to participate in online reverse auctions where corporations award business to the lowest bidder. The process is spreading to more complex projects, raising concerns among some lawyers, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Among the companies that pit law firms against each…

Aug 2, 2011 11:16 AM CDT

Morocco Is Suddenly Hot: For 3rd Time in 2 Weeks, British BigLaw Firm Announces Planned Office There

For the third time in two weeks, one of the top London-based international law firms has announced plans to open an office in Morocco. This time, it’s Norton Rose. The firm expects to open its doors in Casablanca in September, staffing the new site with three lawyers from its Paris…

Jul 28, 2011 9:35 PM CDT

Legal Recruiter Sued by BigLaw Partner She Sent to Patton Boggs Says He’s to Blame for Any Issues

A Texas legal recruiter sued by a partner of Bryan Cave has filed an answer (PDF) to his Dallas County complaint (PDF). Contrary to what Chris Gilbert contends, says Diane Caldwell of Caldwell & Associates Inc., she never owed contractual or fiduciary alleged duties to him, let alone breached them…

Jul 28, 2011 7:45 PM CDT

O’Melveny Litigation Chief to Become Firm’s Next Chairman

The next chairman of O’Melveny & Myers joined the law firm in 2002 when it acquired the private equity boutique O’Sullivan Graev & Karabell. He is Bradley Butwin, 51, the chairman of the firm’s litigation department, report the Am Law Daily, Thomson Reuters News & Insight and a news release.…

Jul 28, 2011 12:37 PM CDT

Cozen O’Connor Sues Landlord, Alleges Leaky Atrium, Eyesores, Odors and Elevator Entrapments

When Cozen O’Connor renewed its lease for five years at its Philadelphia headquarters last July, it expected to be occupying a Class A building. But the law firm says it has had to cope with a litany of aggravating problems ranging from a leaky atrium with buckets and trash cans…

Jul 27, 2011 8:12 PM CDT

Littler Opens 3rd LA Office, Plans Additional Growth in Southern California

Littler Mendelson has opened its 52nd office, in downtown Los Angeles. The 800-attorney San Francisco-based labor and employment boutique already has offices in Century City and Orange County. The new office is headed by partner Robert Blumberg, the San Francisco Business Times reports. Blumberg also oversees the Century City office.…

Jul 26, 2011 9:45 PM CDT

Harvard Law Grad Can’t Afford $180K, So Restitution Is $50K in 9/11 Chapel Arson

A Harvard Law School graduate who had his Sidley Austin job offer rescinded after he was accused of setting fire to a Sept. 11 memorial chapel in Manhattan had expected to turn to his parents for help in paying tens of thousands of dollars in restitution required as part of…

Jul 26, 2011 5:48 PM CDT

Clifford Chance to Open 1st Office in Africa; Move Follows Similar Announcement By A&O

Clifford Chance has announced that it is opening its first office in Africa. The London-based megafirm plans to plant its flag in Morocco by the end of the year, reports Legal Week. Mustapha Mourahib, a Paris-based partner who is a Moroccan national, will move there to establish the firm’s African…

Jul 26, 2011 4:49 PM CDT

Quinn Emanuel Associates May Dress Casual, But Work in ‘Winner-Take-All’ Environment

If you like to dress casual and work hard, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan may be the place for you. Name partner William Urquhart acknowledges in an interview with the Careerist that the firm has a reputation as a sweatshop. The environment, he says, is “winner-take-all,” but associates really don’t…

Jul 26, 2011 11:53 AM CDT

Jenner Charged $1M to Fight Violent Video Game Law in Supreme Court, Fee Request Says

Jenner & Block charged more than $1 million to successfully challenge California’s violent video game law in the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a fee request. The petition (PDF) asks California to pay $1.14 million in legal fees and expenses for the Supreme Court appeal, including nearly $1.03 million in…

Jul 26, 2011 11:31 AM CDT

Couple Sues Duane Morris, Claims Estate Plan Partner Pointed Them Toward Investing with Madoff

A couple who say they came to Duane Morris for estate planning advice and wound up investing in a feeder fund for Bernard Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme has sued the Philadelphia-based law firm for malpractice. Developer Daniel Keating III and his wife assert claims for breach of contract, professional liability…

Jul 25, 2011 11:31 PM CDT

Did Fake Military Hero Rick Strandlof Go On to Pose as a Major Firm Oil and Gas Attorney?

A man who made headlines in recent years ago after being criminally charged for passing himself off as a decorated American war hero reportedly went on to pretend to be a military veteran working in Denver as an attorney. After the dismissal, on First Amendment grounds, of a federal case…

Jul 25, 2011 7:16 PM CDT

Legal Secretary’s Discrimination Suit Against Jones Day Is Dismissed

A discrimination suit filed against Jones Day by a former secretary at the law firm’s office in Los Angeles has been dismissed. Above the Law provides links to the June 6, 2011, bench ruling (PDF) by Superior Court Judge Mary Ann Murphy dismissing five of the 13 counts pleaded by…

Jul 25, 2011 5:13 PM CDT

Motion: Kasowitz Troops Posed as Sham Hedge Fund Execs to Contact Represented Man

A motion to disqualify Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman from continuing to represent the plaintiff insurer in a hard-fought lawsuit against multiple hedge funds contends that the law firm contacted a represented individual working for one of the defendants in the case. Multiple hedge fund defendants in the New Jersey…

Jul 21, 2011 8:00 PM CDT