Law Firms

Top Grossing Am Law Firms Get Local Spin

Newspapers are putting a local spin on American Lawyer’s latest list of top grossing firms. The magazine’s survey found that most equity partners at the largest U.S. law firms are making profits of at least $1 million a year. The Philadelphia Business Intelligencer noted which firms moved up in the…

May 1, 2007 4:24 PM CDT

Foley Lures Lawyer for China Office

Foley & Lardner will be opening a China office headed by a lawyer moving from Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Catherine Sun will be working on matters relating to the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games when she begins work at the firm, the Recorder reports. Much of her work there…

May 1, 2007 1:25 PM CDT

LA Firm May be Liable for Cash Grab

A Los Angeles law firm may be held liable for the conduct of one of its partners who removed bags of cash from a client’s condo, a California appeals court has ruled. A receiver for a bankrupt company claims lawyer Robert Shapiro wanted the cash to secure his fee and…

May 1, 2007 1:14 PM CDT

Sullivan & Cromwell Can’t Get Bias Suit Tossed

A Manhattan judge has rebuffed Sullivan & Cromwell’s effort to dismiss a sexual orientation suit filed against it.

May 1, 2007 12:56 PM CDT

Chicago Law Firm Raids Competitor’s N.C. Office

Chicago-based Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has established a new office in Charlotte, N.C., raiding one of the local offices of Atlanta-based Kilpatrick Stockton in order to do so. A total of 18 lawyers have moved from Kilpatrick’s Charlotte office to Sonnenschein’s new venue there, leaving only 11 attorneys on the…

May 1, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Prosecutor Joins Proskauer Rose

A high-profile prosecutor is joining Proskauer Rose in New York CIty as a member of its white-collar defense and internal-investigations group. Dietrich “Dieter” L. Snell had prosecuted cases involving terrorism, bid-rigging and securities violations for the New York Attorney General’s Office, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.).

Apr 30, 2007 2:45 PM CDT

Garnished Grandmas Unaware of Protections

Some debt collectors are garnishing Social Security payments in violation of federal law. Banks earn a range of fees on garnishment orders and don’t check the source of funds when complying, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.) That means it’s up to Social Security recipients to raise the issue.…

Apr 30, 2007 2:37 PM CDT

Milberg Lawyer Challenges ‘Kickback’ Charge

A lawyer who once worked at Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman in New York is taking issue with the government’s definition of the term “kickback.” Steven G. Schulman is seeking dismissal of criminal charges against him in a motion set to be heard June 4 in Los Angeles federal court,…

Apr 30, 2007 12:32 PM CDT

Am Law 100: Most Top Partners Earn $1 Million or More

Equity partners at most of the 100 largest U.S. law firms are making an profit of at least $1 million a year.

Apr 30, 2007 12:15 PM CDT

Pay Goes Up for Some London Associates

Pay is going up for new lawyers at some London law firms. Starting pay will be $130,000 a year at Allen & Overy and $127,000 at Clifford Chance, according to the American Lawyer. Other top firms are likely to make similar announcements in coming weeks.

Apr 30, 2007 12:02 PM CDT

Simpson Thacher Opens in China

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s new Beijing office will be headed by a lawyer from a British law firm, the New York Law Journal reports. Douglas Markel had worked at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for 16 years. Other attorneys in the office were recruited from Shearman & Sterling and a Chinese law…

Apr 27, 2007 12:45 PM CDT

Davis Polk Not Liable for Malpractice

New York’s highest court has ordered a real-estate investment company to pay the $1.4 million outstanding balance of a “success fee” charged by Davis Polk & Wardwell. The New York Court of Appeals (PDF) said the law firm did not commit malpractice in its representation of AmBase Corp. in a…

Apr 27, 2007 12:37 PM CDT

Philadelphia Lawyer to Join White House Staff

A partner in the white-collar practice group at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads is leaving to become an associate counsel to President Bush, according to the Legal Intelligencer. Scott A. Coffina, who makes the move on May 7, said White House counsel Fred Fielding has been making staff changes because…

Apr 26, 2007 4:52 PM CDT

Lawyers’ Conduct ‘Reeks,’ Judge Says

A federal judge in San Francisco is criticizing a plaintiffs law firm, saying its conduct in a lawsuit against a vacuum cleaner company “reeks.” Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog (sub. req.) is highlighting the feisty decision yesterday by Judge Marilyn Hall Patel denying class action status in the suit against…

Apr 26, 2007 4:40 PM CDT

Lawyer Raps ‘Paralyzed’ Client, Opposing Counsel

A lawyer whose medical malpractice client claimed paralysis, then was caught on videotape walking with a cane, questions why defense lawyers waited almost two years to disclose the tape. John K. Lawlor of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., had harsh words in an interview with the Daily Business Review for both his…

Apr 26, 2007 12:33 PM CDT