Law Firms

Suit: Feds’ Raids Violate Constitution

Warrantless searches allegedly are being conducted by armed U.S. immigration authorities on Latino-occupied homes in the New York City area where they have no good reason to believe immigrant fugitives are living. A federal class action lawsuit filed in Manhattan yesterday by 15 plaintiffs contends the feds are conducting such…

Sep 21, 2007 11:26 PM CDT

Not-So-Wily Edits of Law Firm Wiki Info

New software has exposed the apparent edits being made to Wikipedia law firm listings by not-so-wily insiders. Contributions to the online encyclopedia, which is made up of information provided (and edited) by those who visit the Wikipedia site, used to be anonymous. But now new software allows the Web addresses…

Sep 21, 2007 9:37 PM CDT

A Holland & Knight First: Black, Female Leader

Kelly-Ann Cartwright is something of a trailblazer. She has been named executive partner of Holland & Knight in Miami, the first black woman to lead one of the firm’s offices and the only black woman to lead a large law firm in South Florida, the Daily Business Review reports. Cartwright…

Sep 21, 2007 1:59 PM CDT

UK Firms Not in a US-Merging Mood

Almost half of U.S. law firms in London would consider merging with a U.K. firm—if they could find a partner willing to get hitched. A survey by Legal Week found 47 percent of U.S. firms are open to a merger, up from 39 percent last year and 29 percent in…

Sep 21, 2007 12:23 PM CDT

Lawyer ‘Totally Taken Aback’ by Missing Money

A former assistant for a Virginia lawyer faces federal accusations that she embezzled thousands of dollars from an estate he was handling. Shelia Mae Boone is accused of forging checks for more than $270,000 from estate funds, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. She is charged with two counts of bank…

Sep 21, 2007 11:38 AM CDT

Bias Suit Claims Cozen Promotes ‘Compliant’ Women

A former junior female partner at Cozen O’Connor has filed a sex discrimination suit against the firm that claims three partners there “prefer and promote women who fit traditional female stereotypes.” Patricia Biswanger alleges Cozen fired her for using firm resources for political activities at the same time it permitted…

Sep 21, 2007 11:14 AM CDT

Indicted Milberg Founder Vows to Fight

Updated: Indicted today after years of investigation, the 72-year-old co-founder of what was once unquestionably the nation’s most prominent plaintiffs securities firm is vowing to fight the federal case that has already felled three former rainmakers at Milberg Weiss and put the future of the firm at risk. Melvyn Weiss…

Sep 21, 2007 2:08 AM CDT

Cadwalader Boosts Bankruptcy Practice

In an ongoing effort to amp up its financial restructuring practice in the U.S. and abroad, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has hired another six attorneys this week and plans to add more in London. That follows the firm’s addition of more than a dozen lawyers to the practice area earlier…

Sep 20, 2007 11:37 PM CDT

US: Milberg Weiss Firm Was ‘Racketeering Enterprise’

Updated: In a stunning series of body blows today in an ongoing battle between the government and one of the country’s most powerful plaintiff firms, federal prosecutors in California announced enhanced charges against the firm itself, the indictment of its co-founding partner and the latest plea deal with a former…

Sep 20, 2007 10:10 PM CDT

Law Job Interview First: Cushy Ski-Lodge Weekend

Law students interviewing at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges will meet their potential bosses during an all-expenses paid weekend vacation at an upscale ski lodge. About 40 students will travel to the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah, this October where they will meet with firm leaders, including…

Sep 20, 2007 1:05 PM CDT

UK Firms Accept Partnership Alternatives

Top London law firms battling associate attrition are embracing partnership alternatives. Fifty-nine percent of the big U.K. firms offer such alternatives, Legal Week reports. Of those that do, 30 percent introduced the new jobs in the past year. SJ Berwin is one of the firms that is gearing up to…

Sep 20, 2007 11:28 AM CDT

One Paper-Pushing Lawyer = Tons of Greenhouse Gases

Lawyers create a lot of carbon dioxide, and it isn’t just from all the hot air generated in courtroom arguments. A typical lawyer uses 20,000 to 100,000 sheets of copy paper in a year, according to a 2006 sampling of eight law firms of different sizes conducted by Arnold &…

Sep 19, 2007 5:30 PM CDT

Class-Action King Pleads Guilty

William Lerach will give up a wealthy lifestyle and a profitable legal niche when he heads to prison as a result of his guilty plea to conspiracy. Yesterday the securities class action lawyer acknowledged that he paid secret kickbacks to a lead plaintiff in a case brought by his former…

Sep 19, 2007 1:23 PM CDT

Squire Sanders Adds 4 Greenberg Lawyers

Squire Sanders & Dempsey in Miami has snagged four lawyers from a competing firm in a sign of better times. The law firm lost five partners after its 2005 merger with Steel Hector & Davis. “Squire Sanders attorneys view the personnel shift as a sign that its turbulence in Miami…

Sep 18, 2007 2:51 PM CDT

Perkins Coie Settles Malpractice Suit

Perkins Coie has agreed to settle a malpractice suit in a deal that will pay a former client $19 million, Legal Times reports. Terms of the settlement are confidential. But the ex-client, Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho, has announced it will receive $19 million in a malpractice settlement. Robert Giles, managing partner…

Sep 18, 2007 1:06 PM CDT