Law Firms

Weil to Add 2 Asia Offices; Tokyo Next?

Corrected: Two New York City-based corporate partners of Weil Gotshal & Manges are moving to Hong Kong to open a new firm office there, and the firm also plans a Beijing presence. Partners Akiko Mikumo and Peter Feist, along with Shanghai partner David Meredith and two associates, will establish the…

Sep 6, 2007 8:06 PM CDT

2 NJ Law Firms Sued re Foreclosure Fees

Two law firms in New Jersey and the mortgage lenders who retained them are defending possible class actions over unauthorized fees that they allegedly imposed on homeowners facing foreclosure. While representing mortgage lenders in foreclosure cases, the two firms charged individual homeowners unspecified fees that weren’t authorized by statute or…

Sep 6, 2007 7:18 PM CDT

Big Firms Join Attorney Retention Project

At least 23 well-known law firms are opting into a new membership program offered by the Project for Attorney Retention. An initiative of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law, the project promotes work-life balance and the advancement of women in the…

Sep 6, 2007 6:51 PM CDT

King & Spalding Opens German Office

King & Spalding now has nine offices worldwide, with the addition of a new European location. The law firm is opening a four-lawyer office in Frankfurt, Germany, its fourth office outside the country, according to the Fulton County Daily Report. Firm chairman Robert D. Hays Jr. says in a press…

Sep 6, 2007 12:27 PM CDT

Proskauer Absorbs Paris Boutique

A week after Proskauer Rose announced it is opening a London office, the law firm is expanding its Paris presence. Proskauer is absorbing private equity boutique Schmidt Gicqueau Dumas Mull-Jochen, Legal Week reports. The Paris equity firm was led by Daniel Schmidt and Olivier Dumas, who will become Proskauer partners.…

Sep 6, 2007 12:12 PM CDT

Malpractice Deadline Before CA High Court

During oral arguments yesterday, justices on the California Supreme Court appeared reluctant to extend the deadline for filing malpractice suits against law firms. The case has attracted amicus briefs arguing against extension from nine major law firms and two county bar associations, the Recorder reports. The plaintiff in the suit,…

Sep 6, 2007 11:20 AM CDT

Client Turns Tables on Firm in Fee Dispute

A Texas plaintiffs firm that sued to collect an attorney fee from a former client in a medical malpractice case won exactly nothing after a three-day jury trial. But a Tarrant County jury awarded the client $1.4 million last month on his counterclaim against the firm for intentional infliction of…

Sep 5, 2007 11:47 PM CDT

‘Retired’ Partners Rehired at Other Firms

In the last decade or two, requiring law firm partners to retire at a certain age has become a common practice. But now the tide seems to be turning on that trend. The median age of lawyers is increasing, and, although more than half of the nation’s larger law firms…

Sep 5, 2007 10:57 PM CDT

Lovells’ China Alliance a ‘Genuine First’

London-based Lovells has formed an alliance with nine Chinese law firms to provide joint legal services. The new Sino-Global Legal Alliance is “a genuine first,” Lovells’ Asia regional managing partner, Crispin Rapinet, said in a press release. Lawyers will work together in cross-alliance legal teams based on practice areas. Lovells…

Sep 5, 2007 1:04 PM CDT

Sonnenschein Faces $9 M Suit by Ex-Lawyer

A $9 million pay dispute between Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and a former partner may soon be scheduled for trial. Douglas Rosenthal contends Sonnenschein owes him the money for big successes in two cases, Legal Times reports in a story reprinted by New York Lawyer. Rosenthal claims the law firm…

Sep 5, 2007 12:20 PM CDT

LeBoeuf Opens in Hong Kong

The law firm soon to be known as Dewey & LeBoeuf is opening a Hong Kong office. LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae had planned to open the office before it began merger talks with Dewey Ballantine, Legal Week reports. Dewey closed its Hong Kong office in 2003. The new office…

Sep 5, 2007 11:20 AM CDT

Ballard in CA, Competitor’s MP at Helm

Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll is opening an office in Los Angeles with the expectation that it will help the 500-lawyer Philadelphia-based law firm strengthen its flagship real estate and resort practice in the Southwest. In charge of the new office will be David C. Sampson, former managing partner of…

Sep 4, 2007 4:53 PM CDT

Noneconomic Damages Key in 9-11 Suits

Liability for pain and suffering is a key issue in 41 pending lawsuits against airlines, security companies and other defendants alleging negligence in the Sept. 11 attacks. The plaintiffs in many of the cases would not have received high awards from the federal fund set up to compensate victims, the…

Sep 4, 2007 2:57 PM CDT

Morgan Lewis Helps Struggling Homeowners

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is offering pro bono help to low-income homeowners who fall behind on property tax payments. The firm’s pilot project in Washington, D.C., which started in July, seeks to avoid foreclosures of homes for unpaid taxes, the New York Law Journal reports. The law firm has access…

Sep 4, 2007 12:48 PM CDT

DLA Piper Expands in Persian Gulf

DLA Piper is planning an expansion in the Persian Gulf region. The law firm already has offices in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and will open another office in the capital, Abu Dhabi, the National Law Journal reports. It is also considering offices in Qatar and Mumbai, India. Lee Miller, one…

Sep 4, 2007 11:58 AM CDT