Large Firm

Partner who accused DLA Piper rainmaker is placed on leave; her lawyer sees ‘a despicable smear campaign’

A DLA Piper junior partner who accused a rainmaking partner of repeatedly pursuing and groping her has been placed on paid administrative leave amid an investigation into her own conduct, the law firm said in a press release.

Oct 16, 2019 1:44 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Decisions by nonlawyer judge challenged; abortion law enjoined

Tort claims seek to vacate decisions of judge without a law license Tort claims filed last week against the Washington state towns of Airway Heights and Cheney claim that defendants’ constitutional rights are being violated when their cases are heard by a shared court commissioner without a law license. The…

Oct 15, 2019 5:12 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge reprimanded for yelling; prosecutor wants nearly 800 cases tossed

Judge reprimanded for yelling at former supporters Judge William Maruszczak of Pennsylvania has received a public reprimand for “loudly and publicly berating former supporters who had changed their support to his election opponent.” Maruszczak will also have to submit to a psychological assessment to assess impulse control and anger-related issues.…

Oct 8, 2019 4:05 PM CDT

Dentons announces two ‘dual-partnership’ mergers in bid to become ‘first truly national law firm’

Dentons has announced a first step in a plan to become the nation’s “first truly national law firm” through a dual-partnership model. In the first step, Dentons is adding more than 300 lawyers by merging with regional law firms Bingham Greenebaum Doll and Cohen & Grigsby, according to press releases…

Oct 8, 2019 11:30 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer convicted in conspiracy involving fake law firms; legal jobs fall

Lawyer convicted in conspiracy that involved creation of fake law firms Virginia lawyer David H. Miller, 70, of Fairfax was convicted Friday on charges of conspiring to defraud and to launder fraud proceeds totaling more than $1.5 million. Miller was accused of helping set up fake law firms to bill…

Oct 7, 2019 3:48 PM CDT

Former BigLaw leader is reprimanded for inappropriately touching lawyers at bench-bar conference

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s disciplinary board on Wednesday ordered a reprimand for a former law firm leader accused of becoming inebriated and inappropriately touching female lawyers at a bench-bar conference. The lawyer is Timothy McMahon, a former managing partner at the Harrisburg office of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin,…

Oct 7, 2019 11:57 AM CDT

DLA Piper junior partner alleges ‘horrific conduct’ by rainmaking partner

A DLA Piper junior partner is alleging that a rainmaking partner who recruited her to the firm pursued and groped her, and then retaliated when she rejected his advances.

Oct 3, 2019 1:44 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge refuses to step down from opioid litigation; BigLaw joins law profs in climate change fight

Judge overseeing nationwide opioid litigation refuses to step down The federal judge overseeing more than 2,000 lawsuits over alleged opioid addictions and overdoses refused to remove himself from a bellwether trial scheduled to begin Oct. 21 in Cleveland. Judge Dan Aaron Polster of the U.S. District Court for the Northern…

Sep 27, 2019 4:30 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer found hiding in parents’ closet; ‘fearsome foursome’ law firms named

Bounty hunter helps track down lawyer on the lam A Connecticut lawyer on the lam was found hiding in a closet in his parents’ home with the help of bounty hunter Willie “Ghost Dog” Gonzalez. The lawyer, 62-year-old Alfred Cali, disappeared after he pleaded guilty in May to second-degree larceny…

Sep 19, 2019 4:21 PM CDT

Northwestern Law joins Diversity Lab project funded by large law firms

Women now comprise 50% of law school graduating classes, but it’s unlikely that they will reach that percentage in large law firm equity partnerships until 2057, according to a press release from Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law.

Sep 18, 2019 12:47 PM CDT

BigLaw firm offers secretary buyouts with these ‘extremely generous’ terms

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is offering voluntary buyouts to its legal secretaries in the United States. Secretaries who accept the buyouts will receive two weeks’ pay for each year of service, capped at 52 weeks, report the American Lawyer and Above the Law, which was first to report the terms.…

Sep 17, 2019 10:28 AM CDT

Jones Day and local counsel flub redactions in court filing, leading to show-cause order

A federal court document filed by Jones Day and local counsel Gentry Locke appeared to contain many redactions to protect grand jury information in a criminal case against their pharmaceutical client.

Sep 12, 2019 11:43 AM CDT

More law firms may close if recession hits; recruiter: ‘Once this party ends, it’s going to end very quickly’

A recession could be the final nail in the coffin for struggling law firms. The prior recession was an aggravating factor in the dissolution of several law firms, Bloomberg Law reports. They included Heller Ehrman; Thelen; Thacher Proffitt & Wood; Howrey; Dewey & LeBoeuf; Bingham McCutchen; and Dickstein Shapiro. Law…

Sep 4, 2019 3:11 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Suit claims hijacking of state AG’s office; proposed rule called license to discriminate

• Is the Minnesota attorney general’s office being hijacked by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg? That’s the question being raised by the conservative-leaning Upper Midwest Law Center. It has sued for more information about a fellow working in the office. The fellow comes from a law school environmental…

Aug 16, 2019 4:38 PM CDT

Suit against Jones Day alleges ‘archaic gender roles’ and photo altering

A new lawsuit accuses Jones Day of reinforcing “archaic gender roles” in an unequal parental leave policy and using a secret compensation system that is “tailor-made to enable sex discrimination.” The plaintiffs, Mark Savignac and Julia Sheketoff, are married to each other and are former law clerks for U.S. Supreme…

Aug 15, 2019 1:51 PM CDT