Law Firms

Business Boom Looms for Subprime Attorneys

Law firms representing subprime mortgage lenders will see a boost in business as they help with bankruptcy filings and fend off government investigations and class action lawsuits, the National Law Journal reports. One firm, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, has announced formation of a new practice group to handle the legal…

Apr 25, 2007 12:58 PM CDT

Post-Shakeout Move by Mayer Brown Dept. Head

The musical chairs game continues at Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, following the demotion and/or outright dismissal of 45 partners last month. New York City-based Gary Friedman, who was chair of the firm’s national employment practice group, is moving with three other lawyers (one counsel and two associates) to Weil,…

Apr 24, 2007 10:48 PM CDT

N.J. Law Firm Acquires Stake in Minority Firm

New Jersey-based McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter is acquiring a 49 percent stake in a minority-owned law firm, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. Managing partner Edward Deutsch did not disclose the price of the deal with 11-lawyer Espinosa & Espinosa. “This gives us the opportunity to create what we think…

Apr 24, 2007 8:45 PM CDT

Real-Estate Lawyers Move to Luce, Forward

Timothy Tosta and four other real-estate attorneys will be moving to Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps to help build its San Francisco office. The Recorder reports Tosta is a well-known land use lawyer who currently practices at Steefel, Levitt & Weiss. The firm has seen a number of recent partner…

Apr 24, 2007 4:43 PM CDT

Did Bad Morale Send DOJ Lawyers Packing?

Several lawyers have left the U.S. Department of Justice as the controversy continues over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. None of the attorneys contacted by the National Law Journal attributed their moves to the firings, though. It’s not unusual for DOJ attorneys to move to the private sector, but…

Apr 24, 2007 12:51 PM CDT

Minority Boutique Partners With Day Pitney

Minority Boutique Partners With Day Pitney Day Pitney based in Hartford, Conn., and Morristown, N.J., is forming a “strategic alliance” with a minority-owned law firm. Day Pitney hopes the alliance with Gray Haile, based in Washinton, D.C., will please corporate counsel seeking diversity in the law firms they use the…

Apr 24, 2007 12:49 PM CDT

Business Booming for Lobbying Law Firms

Business is booming at lobbying law firms in Washington, D.C., as clients seek help reaching out to the new Democratic-controlled Congress, the Washington Post reports. Patton Boggs says 75 clients are new or are seeking increased work from the law firm. “There’s an increase in business across the board,” Edward…

Apr 23, 2007 3:32 PM CDT

Lateral Makes an Unusual Move to Wachtell

For just the third time in 42 years, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz will be hiring a lateral partner, the American Lawyer reports. Joining the firm on Monday is Michael Segal, the former co-head of executive compensation and benefits at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He will join what…

Apr 20, 2007 5:22 PM CDT

Law Firms Profit From Hedge Fund Work

Hedge funds’ legal fees are boosting the bottom line at law firms, the New York Times reports. Business is booming because activist shareholders are bringing more proxy contests. A partner at law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel told the newspaper that hedge fund fees make up about a third of…

Apr 20, 2007 2:43 PM CDT

Lawyer Retirements Loom

Forced retirement of hundreds of thousands of baby boomer lawyers in coming years could affect their mental health as well as their pocketbooks, according to a story in the National Law Journal. “The No. 1 driver for what attracts lawyers to their profession is mental stimulation,” Larry Richard, a psychologist…

Apr 19, 2007 1:03 PM CDT

Harriet Miers Rejoins Texas Firm

Former White House counsel Harriet Miers is rejoining her Texas law firm. Miers, a former chair of the ABA Journal Board of Editors, will be back at her desk at Locke Liddell & Sapp on May 1, according to reports in Texas Lawyer and the Dallas Morning News. Managing partner…

Apr 18, 2007 5:16 PM CDT

Florida Law Firms Prepare for Disaster

Florida Law Firms Prepare for Disaster Miami-area law firms are investing in technology to protect their records and keep connected in the event of a hurricane. One well-prepared firm, Shutts & Bowen in Miami, houses computer hardware at a hurricane-proof building, the Daily Business Review reports. It has issued laptops…

Apr 13, 2007 12:13 PM CDT

More Law Firms Offering Day Care

More law firms are offering on-site day care to attract lawyers, the National Law Journal reports. The idea is “being kicked around,” says Marci Krufka, a principal with legal consulting firm Altman Weil. “In strategic meetings, it’s being discussed as an extraordinary benefit that firms would use to distinguish themselves.”…

Apr 12, 2007 1:05 PM CDT

Minneapolis Law Firm to Close Its Doors May 31

A 47-year landmark in the Minneapolis legal landscape will disappear on May 31. Rider Bennett announced today that the 91-lawyer midsize firm will close that day because of what managing partner Steve Plunkett describes as “today’s increasingly challenging legal marketplace,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Apr 10, 2007 9:59 PM CDT

Law Firms are Big Losers in Weight Contest

In a hard-fought battle of the bulge that pitted 10 law firms against each other in a contest to see who could lose the most weight, Indianapolis-based Locke Reynolds is the winner, the Indianapolis Business Journal reports. The firm’s 37 participants lost an average 3.34 percent of their starting weight…

Apr 10, 2007 9:46 PM CDT