Midsize Firm

Dewitt Ross to merge with 26-attorney Minn. law firm, establishing its first out-of-state office

A Wisconsin law firm has announced that it will merge soon with a 26-attorney legal shop in Minnesota, creating a combined law firm of well over 100 lawyers. Dewitt Ross & Stevens says its combination with Mackall Crounse & Moore will take place on Nov. 16. The Dewitt firm’s management…

Nov 11, 2013 6:20 PM CST

Pierce Atwood to acquire 10-attorney Rhode Island firm

A well-known New England law firm has announced plans to acquire a 10-attorney Providence, R.I.-based commercial and construction litigation boutique. Little Bulman Medeiros & Whitney will become part of Maine-based Pierce Atwood on Dec. 9, according to the Bangor Daily News and Mainebiz. Together, the merged firms will have an…

Nov 8, 2013 9:00 PM CST

Fried Frank lays off 29 support staffers in NYC and DC

Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson is laying off 29 staff members in the law firm’s New York City and Washington, D.C., offices. In an internal memorandum Wednesday, law firm leaders said the move is prompted by a need “to align our resources with evolving market conditions, technological advances and…

Nov 7, 2013 11:00 PM CST

Shook Hardy to open Seattle office with former Microsoft chief patent counsel

Shook Hardy & Bacon has announced that the law firm is bringing in the former chief patent counsel at Microsoft Corp. to head a new office in Seattle. Bart Eppenauer worked as a Shook Hardy associate for several years before joining Microsoft in 1997. He is expected to be the…

Nov 6, 2013 11:55 PM CST

Osborne Clarke opens New York office

A rapidly expanding international law firm has opened an office in New York City, its second in the U.S. Osborne Clarke expects to rotate in partners from elsewhere to staff the outpost, which will focus on North American companies looking to invest in Northern Europe, Legal Week reports. The firm,…

Oct 29, 2013 9:55 PM CDT

Is your firm changing its business model, or is it in a stage of failure?

The market dictates change. Sometimes it moves toward you, sometimes away, but whichever direction, it behooves those who are beholden to the market—which is just about everybody—to get in step or get run over. The Am Law Daily (sub. req.) reported this week on a LexisNexis study indicating law firms…

Oct 24, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Midsize firms are getting a bigger share of high-revenue work, study shows

Midsize law firms are taking on a bigger share of high-revenue-producing litigation, according to an analysis of $10 billion in legal fees. The study by CounselLink found that midsize law firms have increased their share of big-ticket litigation from 22 percent to 41 percent over the last three years, the…

Oct 22, 2013 12:26 PM CDT

DA raids dissolving law firm

A California law firm that is reportedly dissolving following attorney defections now has a new problem to contend with. Investigators from the Orange County District Attorney’s office visited Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir last week and removed boxes of documents from the Upland firm, pursuant to a search warrant, the…

Oct 16, 2013 8:25 PM CDT

LeClairRyan acquires 11-attorney health care boutique, plants flag in two more states

A growing Virginia-based midsized law firm has expanded its footprint with the acquisition of an 11-attorney health care boutique. LeClairRyan has acquired Adelman, Sheff & Smith, which will continue operating in its existing offices, a Tuesday press release announces. Including the Adelman firm’s offices in Annapolis, Md., and Glenwood Springs,…

Oct 16, 2013 4:50 PM CDT

Cooley to add 54 lawyers to DC office, thanks to Dow Lohnes merger

Reputed to be on the lookout for a merger partner, Dow Lohnes has not only found one but will soon tie the knot. In twin press releases Tuesday, Cooley and Dow Lohnes announced that the Silicon Valley powerhouse is adding the D.C.-based regulatory firm’s 54 Washington attorneys to its office…

Oct 15, 2013 7:50 PM CDT

Boies Schiller opens London office, firm’s first outside US

Boies Schiller & Flexner is opening an office in London, its first outside the United States. Partner Natasha Harrison will exit Bingham McCutchen to serve as managing partner of the new office, according to Bloomberg and Legal Week. She focuses her practice on securities and finance litigation, and is expected…

Oct 8, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

Federal judge OKs injunction against AG who nixed law firm’s ‘patent troll’ work

The attorney general of Nebraska violated a Florida-based technology company’s legal rights by issuing a cease-and-desist order that precluded a Texas law firm accused of patent trolling from continuing to represent Activision TV in intellectual property cases, a federal judge in Omaha has ruled. In a Monday decision (PDF), U.S.…

Oct 2, 2013 4:00 PM CDT

Dentons and McKenna Long are discussing a merger

Dentons and McKenna Long & Aldridge have confirmed they are in merger talks. If the merger takes place, the new firm would have about 3,100 lawyers, report the Am Law Daily and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.). The talks are focusing on a Jan. 1, 2014, date…

Oct 1, 2013 12:30 PM CDT

Jury mulls Michael Jackson case, as lawyer for family complains of defense counsel ‘smugness’

Updated: After months at trial, a California jury is now in the initial stages of considering a potential blockbuster wrongful death case over the demise of pop superstar Michael Jackson. The six-man, six-woman panel spent two hours in deliberation Thursday and another five hours Friday, and will resume their consideration…

Sep 30, 2013 6:49 PM CDT

Law firm is losing lawyers and will be winding down, partner says

A California law firm that has been under fire over its claimed billing practices and has reportedly lost a number of attorneys recently will be winding down its operations, a partner said in a letter to a client. Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir “will be winding down and eventually close,”…

Sep 24, 2013 4:30 PM CDT