Law Firms

Hiring Spree By Quarles & Brady in Chicago?

Milwaukee-based Quarles & Brady has signed a lease to occupy three stories of soon-to-be built Chicago skyscraper, indicating the firm will substantially increase the size of its presence in the Windy City. The firm’s 50 Chicago lawyers currently are housed at the Citigroup Center in 58,000 square feet of office…

Feb 1, 2008 7:35 PM CST

SoloSez Offers Lawyers a ‘Cyberconnection’

The ABA’s SoloSez listserv offers solo and small-firm lawyers a chance to share professional advice and interact with each other, a formula that appears to be working. The number of lawyers participating now stands at more than 3,100, only 12 years after the e-mail discussion list’s creation, writes Keith McLennan,…

Feb 1, 2008 6:54 PM CST

Taking the Firm to SCOTUS School

It’s not just law students who gain from high court litigation clinics

Feb 1, 2008 5:05 PM CST

Escape From Arnold & Porter

How one lawyer summoned the courage to leave BigLaw to pursue a career of conscience

Feb 1, 2008 4:51 PM CST

Going for Gold in the Gulf

As Dubai takes its place among the world’s financial centers, law firms follow

Feb 1, 2008 4:40 PM CST

The G-Man

A week in the life of a $1,000-per-hour lawyer

Feb 1, 2008 4:14 PM CST

Taming the Billable Beast

Three firms take different approaches to change by-the-hour billing

Feb 1, 2008 3:33 PM CST

Why Some Law Firms Excel at Retaining Laterals

An American Lawyer analysis of top lateral-hiring law firms found that 16 percent of lawyers that jumped to a new job left within three years. Firms with the worst retention records included Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, which lost 12 out of 39 lateral hires, and McDermott Will & Emery, which…

Feb 1, 2008 1:49 PM CST

McKee Nelson Rode Subprime Boom to Big Profits, Sees Opportunities Ahead

The small but well-regarded law firm McKee Nelson became something of a powerhouse representing lenders that bundled home loans into securities, grossing $202.5 million in 2006. The law firm, which helped lenders write or review prospectuses for the securities, was involved in 3,300 deals totaling $2.7 trillion since 2000, the…

Feb 1, 2008 11:46 AM CST

Coughlin Stoia Forms IP Group With Two Duane Morris Lawyers

Securities class-action powerhouse Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins has announced formation of a practice group in Atlanta to pursue patent litigation. The group will represent inventors and universities in suits against corporations, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Darren Robbins, a founding partner of the San Diego firm, said the…

Jan 31, 2008 3:33 PM CST

N.J. Supremes to Weigh Law Firm Liability for Client’s Improper Suit

The New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a law firm can be liable for representing a nightclub that improperly sued neighbors who publicly opposed the business’s expansion. David Bauman represents the law firm sued for malicious use of process, Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla of Middletown, N.J. He…

Jan 31, 2008 2:45 PM CST

Seeking to Shore Up Its Ranks, Akerman Pays Top Dollar to Recruiters

Akerman Senterfitt is telling headhunters it will pay them contingency fees of 30 percent to send corporate lawyers to the Miami law firm. Fees are typically no more than 25 percent of a lawyer’s starting salary, the Daily Business Review reports. The move comes after 10 lawyers left the firm’s…

Jan 31, 2008 1:49 PM CST

‘Abysmal’ Associate Attire Leads to Fashion Counseling

The generational divide is playing out in law firm fashion wars, with younger lawyers favoring business casual and even yoga pants and older lawyers tending to wear more traditional business attire. Some associates are resisting suggestions to improve their attire, with career ramifications, the Wall Street Journal reports. Other firms…

Jan 31, 2008 1:05 PM CST

Jury Rules for Morgan Lewis, Deliberates Fewer Than Four Hours

Morgan Lewis & Bockius has won a $20 million breach of contract case that claimed the law firm gave clients bad advice about sales to Cuba in violation of a U.S. trade embargo. Philadelphia jurors found that the suit had been filed within the four-year statute of limitations, but the…

Jan 31, 2008 12:05 PM CST

Fake Associate Gets Probation After Repaying Firm $150K in Salary

A paralegal who posed as an associate at Anderson Kill & Olick, collecting more than $200,000 in pay, was sentenced to probation. Brian Valery, 33, of Massapequa, had pleaded guilty to grand larceny in October, but received a light sentence because he’s already repaid $150,000 to the Manhattan firm, Newsday…

Jan 30, 2008 10:23 PM CST