Death of King of Torts Threatens Ohio Law Firm’s Lush Life

The untimely death of one of Cleveland’s best-known plaintiffs lawyers has sparked an ugly court spat that could require dissolution of his super-profitable firm and the sale of its private jets and arena football team. The widow of Michael Kelley, known locally as the King of Torts, has filed suit…

Feb 5, 2008 9:51 PM CST

Cadwalader Equity Partner Profit Dips, But Microsoft Deal Will Refill Coffers

The average profit per equity partner dropped 6 percent in 2007 at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, the law firm reported today. However, overall revenue increased 5 percent at the New York-based firm, according to Legal Week. As discussed in a previous ABAJournal.com post, Cadwalader announced 35 lawyer layoffs last month…

Feb 5, 2008 6:05 PM CST

Three Firms Try Taming the Billable Beast

By David Gialanella The billable hour is the dandelion of law practice: pervasive and not so popular. So, when seeking to avoid the neg­­­ative effects of a system that provides the profits for many a firm, there can be as many approaches as there are landscapers in the phone book.…

Feb 5, 2008 4:28 PM CST

Husch Blackwell Sanders to Open Chicago Office

The newly merged law firm Husch Blackwell Sanders will open an office in Chicago early this year. The firm is opening in the city to expand relationships with about 50 clients in banking, insurance and other areas, the National Law Journal reports. Husch Blackwell lawyer John Mandelbaum, who will lead…

Feb 5, 2008 2:52 PM CST

London Offices Profitable for White & Case, Weil Gotshal

Two U.S. law firms saw strong financial numbers in their London offices last year. White & Case increased revenues by 37 percent to earn $235.7 million, the American Lawyer reports. Profits per partner were about $1.53 million. London senior partner Peter Finlay told the legal publication the good results part…

Feb 5, 2008 2:43 PM CST

Associates at Top KC Firms Top $100K

Top Kansas City law firms are raising salaries for new associates by as much as 10 percent this year, boosting pay to more than $100,000 a year. The Kansas City Star reports that the firms are paying more as they compete for associates. New associates at Bryan Cave will earn…

Feb 5, 2008 1:51 PM CST

Greenberg Traurig Freezes Equity Partner Pay, Cites Cost-Conscious Clients

Equity partners at Greenberg Traurig won’t be getting an immediate pay raise because of a $10 million shortfall in year-end collections, driven in part by clients who want legal bills reduced. A memo from chief executive officer Cesar Alvarez said the salaries would remain “at present levels until we get…

Feb 5, 2008 12:09 PM CST

$5K DePaul Student Award Honors Slain IP Lawyer

A $5,000 award has been established in memory of a Chicago intellectual property lawyer who was murdered in a shooting rampage at his law firm in late 2006. The scholarship will be awarded to a third-year student at DePaul University College of Law who is “expected to make the greatest…

Feb 5, 2008 12:39 AM CST

Authorities Say Lawyer & Family Slain By Son, 15

A 15-year-old Maryland teen allegedly shot his father, mother and two younger brothers to death as they slept, then spent more than 12 hours with his friends before calling 911. Among those found dead in the suburban Baltimore home over the weekend is attorney John Browning, 45, who was a…

Feb 4, 2008 10:50 PM CST

Fewer Law Firm Options for New Grads?

Some say they couldn’t find law firm jobs. Others say they didn’t want to. But the bottom line for a small fraction of the nation’s newly minted law school graduates is a nontraditional business job that has only a peripheral connection, at best, to practicing law, reports the Recorder (sub.…

Feb 4, 2008 8:25 PM CST

Roy Tolles, Old-School Founder of Leading Law Firm, Dies at 85

Edwin Leroy Tolles, a renowned California attorney who founded a leading Los Angeles law firm, has died. He was 85. A gentleman of the old school who founded and ran the law firm now known as Munger, Tolles & Olson while simultaneously devoting himself to family life, Roy Tolles is…

Feb 4, 2008 7:40 PM CST

Candy Competition Sours Company on Now-Former Counsel

Nestle reportedly has axed its lead antitrust counsel in Europe after focusing during a review of its legal staffing there on the fact that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer also represented the competing Mars company. Perhaps best-known on supermarket shelves for its M&M’S candies, Mars is a competitor of Nestle. The two…

Feb 4, 2008 7:10 PM CST

Some D.C. Associates to Reap Bonuses Above $100K

Some associates at Washington, D.C., law firms are getting 2007 bonuses that are higher than $100,000, but the picture isn’t as rosy for 2008. John Childers, a legal consultant at Hildebrandt International, told Legal Times he expects bonuses to be “fairly healthy” for 2007, but that may not be the…

Feb 4, 2008 5:41 PM CST

America’s 5 Largest IP Firms

Feb 1, 2008 11:48 PM CST

Burr & Forman Expands Presence in Gulf Coast, Acquires Maritime Firm

Birmingham, Ala.-based Burr & Forman, identified as a key player in economic development projects in the South, has absorbed a Mobile, Ala., maritime practice, firmly establishing its presence in the Gulf Coast region. The merger adds 18 lawyers from Bowron Latta & Wasden to the 200-attorney firm, the Press-Register reports.…

Feb 1, 2008 7:46 PM CST