Large Firm

Ex-Associate Sues Quarles & Brady, Alleges Firm Gave Minorities Harsher Evaluations

A former associate at Quarles & Brady in Phoenix contends in a lawsuit that the law firm was more critical of minorities than whites and gave better work to nonminorities. The suit by Luis Ramírez claims that after he complained about discrimination, he was blackballed from work for some clients,…

Apr 25, 2011 1:18 PM CDT

BigLaw Lost Nearly 10K Lawyers in Last Three Years

Large law firms lost nearly 2,900 lawyers last year, but the number pales in comparison to the previous year’s losses. In 2009, large law firms shrank by about 6,600 lawyers, the National Law Journal reports. “Expand that view to 2008, and the headcount drain is a rounding error away from…

Apr 25, 2011 12:54 PM CDT

Akin Gump Lawyer Cites ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in Rajaratnam Insider Trading Trial

A defense lawyer for the hedge fund manager accused of gaining more than $63 million through insider trading cited Alice in Wonderland in closing arguments on Thursday. Lawyer John Dowd told jurors that the government’s case against Galleon Group co-founder Raj Rajaratnam is straight out of the Lewis Carroll classic,…

Apr 22, 2011 1:26 PM CDT

Are You the Type that Likes to Run with Scissors? McKenna Long Has a Test to Exclude You

McKenna Long & Aldridge noticed a difference between the way it was hiring new lawyers and the way its corporate clients hired top employees, and decided to do something about it. “We found that six 30-minute interviews and a lunch are not the norm in their processes for hiring candidates…

Apr 22, 2011 12:21 PM CDT

Federal Judge to Review DLA Piper Materials Sought in Roger Clemens Perjury Case

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., is going to do an in camera review of DLA Piper materials sought by the defense team representing renowned former major-league pitcher Roger Clemens in a perjury case. The law firm says the materials, which were developed in connection with an investigation of the…

Apr 21, 2011 11:05 PM CDT

Proskauer Lawyers to Get iPad 2s

Lawyers at Proskauer Rose are getting iPad 2s in a rollout that began this week. About 500 lawyers have requested the devices, according to the Am Law Daily. The firm will help lawyers get acquainted with their iPad 2s through podcasts and videos installed on the devices, as well as…

Apr 21, 2011 4:33 PM CDT

Banking Landlord May Push Milbank Out of Its Manhattan Offices

Milbank Tweed Hadley McCloy may be kicked out of its Manhattan offices by landlord JPMorgan Chase when the law firm’s lease ends in 2013 because the bank reportedly wants more space for itself. Milbank is said to be scouring New York for new digs, but there aren’t a lot of…

Apr 21, 2011 12:13 PM CDT

Lawyers Offer IRS Audit Tips: Be Nice, Be Responsive, But Don’t Say Too Much

‘Tis the season for taxpayers to worry about possible fallout from filing their returns, and lawyers have some straightforward advice to offer those unlucky enough to be audited. Put yourself in the Internal Revenue Service auditor’s shoes, and remember your manners, the Wall Street Journal advises. Would you want to…

Apr 20, 2011 7:54 PM CDT

King & Spalding to Be Paid Up to $520 an Hour to Defend Marriage Law

King & Spalding will be paid up to $500,000 to defend the federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriages. Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives hired the law firm after the Justice Department declined to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court challenges, Politico reports. Former U.S. solicitor…

Apr 20, 2011 5:57 PM CDT

Madoff Trustee’s Tally: $7.6B Recovered, $175.5M Sought in Legal Fees, Including Latest $43.2M Bill

A trustee working to resolve the mess convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff made of his securities firm’s affairs has submitted new numbers to the federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan as he seeks payment of his law firm’s latest $43.2 million bill. Irving Picard says he has recovered a total of…

Apr 20, 2011 12:13 AM CDT

Chevron Celebrates Swift Dismissal of Patton Boggs Declaratory Suit re Alleged ‘Smear Campaign’

Saying that a claim of tortious interference with client relations was too speculative and that it would be inappropriate for one federal district court to tell other federal district courts how to rule on attorney ethics issues, a judge has dismissed a declaratory judgment action brought by a well-known law…

Apr 19, 2011 8:16 PM CDT

DLA Piper Promotes 53 Lawyers to Partner

DLA Piper has promoted 53 lawyers worldwide to partner, 17 of them in the United States. The number is higher than last year, when 41 lawyers were promoted to partner, and the same as 2009, when 53 were promoted, the Am Law Daily reports. A press release has the complete…

Apr 19, 2011 5:17 PM CDT

New Parents at O’Melveny Get Free Life-Transitions Coach

O’Melveny & Myers is helping new parents transition back to their legal work by providing a free life- transitions coach. O’Melveny officially launched its “Momentum One” initiative on Friday after trying it out in a pilot program last year, the Recorder reports. Coaches from AbilTo will work with associates, partners…

Apr 19, 2011 1:03 PM CDT

New ‘JD Match’ to Help Law Firms Find Law Students to Interview; K&L Gates Giving Service a Tryout

Tired of the traditional on-campus law school interviewing process? A consultant may have the answer for some who would like to deal more directly with law firms and other legal employers seeking law students who want to apply for work. Bruce MacEwen has developed a JD Match program intended to…

Apr 19, 2011 12:26 AM CDT

Ethics 20/20 Pitch: Law Firms That Serve ‘Sophisticated’ Clients Need Own Regulatory System

The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 today heard a pitch to create a separate regulatory regime that would address the concerns of large law firms about such issues as conflicts of interest, liability and lawyer mobility. The proposal was submitted by the Law Firm General Counsel Roundtable, representing a number…

Apr 16, 2011 11:36 PM CDT