Fed’l Judge Says Chase Must Post $4M Surety Bond to Get Its Foreclosure Files Back From Law Firm

A federal judge in Florida has ruled that Chase Home Finance must post a $4 million surety bond before the Ben-Ezra & Katz law firm is required to return to the bank foreclosure files for some $400 million worth of mortgages. The law firm contends that it is owed $6.2…

Apr 1, 2011 10:39 PM CDT

A Disappointing February for Legal Sector Jobs

The legal sector lost 2,900 jobs in February even as the overall economy added 192,000 jobs. The Am Law Daily calls the latest statistic “a harsh dose of reality” following adjusted January numbers that show a gain of 500 jobs in the legal sector for January. The adjusted numbers show…

Mar 7, 2011 12:52 PM CST

After Layoffs and Belt-Tightening, Law Firms Are Seeing Light at the End of the Tunnel

At Cobb Cole—where five attorneys were laid off or left of their own accord last year—the attorney roster decreased to 24, and there were staff layoffs as well. At Chiumento Guntharp & Selis, the number of lawyers working at the firm was cut from seven to three in 2009, and…

Mar 1, 2011 6:22 PM CST

Bar Survey Says Half of Responding Lawyers Saw Pay Cut, Nearly 20% Are Mulling Career Changes

Pay freezes, staff layoffs and reduced billing rates, as well as other signs of economic stress, are becoming commonplace in law practice, respondents to the latest Florida Bar survey say. And many are now mulling career changes ranging from a shift to another practice area or launching their own firm…

Mar 1, 2011 12:13 AM CST

US Courts Memo Urges Hiring Freeze, Spending Cuts as Congress Mulls Belt-Tightening Budget

Out of an “abundance of caution,” a memo (PDF) circulated yesterday by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts is calling on federal judges to institute immediate belt-tightening measures and plan for a possible shutdown, following approval last week by the House of Representatives of a Fiscal Year 2011 budget.…

Feb 25, 2011 12:44 AM CST

Affiliate of Once-Mighty Foreclosure Firm Lays Off 96 More Workers, May Close Within 60 Days

Once a massive back office for Florida’s busiest mortgage foreclosure law firm, DJSP Enterprises appears to be on its last legs. Another 96 layoffs there were announced today, bringing the total tally of workers laid off since last fall to approximately 1,000, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. At one point,…

Feb 15, 2011 8:43 PM CST

Cook County Court Clerk Warns 170 of Layoffs, Another 125 Flagged for Layoffs in Prosecutor’s Office

Layoffs in the county that includes Chicago are affecting prosecutors and employees in the court clerk’s office. The Cook County circuit court clerk notified 170 employees of layoffs on Monday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Herald. The cuts are a response to a 16 percent budget reduction…

Feb 15, 2011 4:59 PM CST

Layoffs of Hundreds Follow Foreclosure Firm’s Loss of Fannie Mae Files

After news that Fannie Mae had pulled its foreclosure cases from the Ben-Ezra & Katz law firm and a name partner had been held in contempt over documents irregularities in one case comes news of layoffs. The Hollywood, Fla., firm axed nearly half of its 568 employees today, reports the…

Feb 15, 2011 12:32 AM CST

Report: Yoss Firm Is Struggling After Admittedly ‘Terrible’ January, Has Laid Off Some Lawyers

After the suspension last year of its founding partner, Henry “Hank” Adorno, the Florida law firm now known simply as Yoss is struggling, the Am Law Daily reports. It had a “terrible” January, managing partner George Yoss told the Daily Business Review, explaining that the firm was two weeks late…

Feb 9, 2011 11:48 PM CST

Calwalader Gross Dips for 4th Year, But PPP Is $2.39M; Akin Gump PPP Soars 10.4% to $1.6M

For the fourth year in a row, gross revenue at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has dipped. Down 6 percent, to $429.5 million, in 2010, it has dropped by 27 percent since 2007, when it was $587 million, reports the Am Law Daily. Nonetheless, profit per partner is a healthy $2.39…

Feb 8, 2011 1:14 AM CST

2010 Sees a Huge Dropoff in BigLaw Layoffs; Fewer than 800 Job Losses Chronicled

BigLaw layoffs slowed considerably last year. A blog that tracks layoffs at major law firms chronicled only 745 job losses in 2010, a huge drop compared to 2009 when 12,259 were laid off. According to the tally by Law Shucks, 234 lawyers and 511 staffers were laid off. “With all…

Jan 25, 2011 2:00 PM CST

Are Scambloggers Right About Law School? (Podcast)

Jan 24, 2011 7:16 PM CST

Goal of Conn. Bill Is to Protect Lawyer Jobs By Deeming Offshore Legal Work UPL

A Connecticut lawmaker is concerned about jobless law grads, and she’s doing something about it. State Rep. Patricia Dillon has introduced a bill that could subject overseas legal workers to charges of unauthorized practice of law, the Connecticut Law Tribune reports. The bill authorizes the charges when “unlicensed” offshore workers…

Jan 20, 2011 11:30 AM CST

Warm Smile and Calm Spirit Helps Former Legal Secretary Make Transition to Nursing Field

Corrected: Laid off for a year from her former job as a legal secretary, Janet Studenski wasn’t going to take a chance of missing the news if she was hired for the overnight hospice job she’d been seeking. So she even carried her cellphone into the bathroom, reports the Charlotte…

Jan 12, 2011 8:26 PM CST

Howrey MP Says Outsourcing, Electronic Discovery Spurred Partnership Downsizing

Time will tell whether Howrey’s downsizing was the right thing to do, according to the law firm’s managing partner. Howrey has lost more than 60 partners in the past year, and managing partner Robert Ruyak says it was all part of a plan to strengthen the law firm, the Lawyer…

Jan 12, 2011 12:37 PM CST