Midsize Firm

Adding 37 Lawyers in Nashville Is ‘Just the Start’ Says Butler Snow Chair; More Growth Planned

A Mississippi law firm that earlier this month announced the addition of 37 lawyers to its Nashville, Tenn., office isn’t done growing there yet. The 39 attorneys now working in Nashville for Butler Snow O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada may soon have more colleagues, the Nashville Ledger reports. “From what I’ve…

Jun 14, 2012 10:21 PM CDT

‘Gold Standard’ Law Firms Named for Placing Women in Leadership; List Could Shrink Next Year

Fifty law firms have earned a “Gold Standard” award from Women in Law Empowerment Forum for placing women in leadership positions. Last year, only 32 firms made the list, the Careerist reports. Firms new to the list this year include Davis Polk & Wardwell; Goodwin Procter; Nixon Peabody; Ropes &…

Jun 14, 2012 11:51 AM CDT

Illinois Attorney Is Accused of Overbilling Client for Document Review

An Illinois attorney is facing disciplinary action for allegedly overbilling a client for document review. Ronald Jay McDermott is accused of submitting billing materials to his law firm for up to 250 or more hours of document review that he claimed to have done in July and August of 2011…

Jun 8, 2012 7:51 PM CDT

Dewey’s Downfall Creates Opportunity for Smaller Regional Firm as Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Unfolds

As the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Dewey & LeBoeuf rolls ahead, the downfall of the onetime 1,300-attorney New York-based law firm continues to create opportunities for others. At what used to be the Albany, N.Y., office of Dewey, a longtime Brooklyn-based law firm, Cullen and Dykman, opened its doors on…

Jun 7, 2012 10:41 PM CDT

37 Miller & Martin Lawyers Are Leaping to Nashville Office of Butler Snow

A law firm based in Jackson, Miss., has confirmed that it is poised to become one of the biggest in Nashville, Tenn., as a 37-lawyer group exits Miller & Martin for the Nashville office of Butler Snow O’Mara Stevens and Cannada. The move, confirmed in a Thursday press release by…

Jun 7, 2012 9:23 PM CDT

Ex-Client Sues Stradley Ronon, Says Securitization Errors re $200M Subprime Loans Cost It Big Bucks

A former client of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young sued the Philadelphia-based law firm on Monday, contending that errors in documenting some $200 million in loans to a subprime lender cost a bank involved in making the loans millions of dollars. After the subprime lender, Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage…

Jun 6, 2012 10:38 PM CDT

Law Firm to Pay $13.5M Fees Clawback to Convicted Client’s Bankruptcy Estate

A well-known Minnesota law firm has agreed to pay a $13.5 million legal fees clawback to the bankruptcy estate of a longtime client convicted of operating a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme. Bankruptcy trustee Doug Kelley acknowledged there was no evidence that Fredrikson & Byron knew anything was wrong concerning former…

May 31, 2012 6:01 PM CDT

Small Associate Classes Partly Account for Smaller Growth in Partner Profits at Second Hundred Firms

The nation’s “second hundred” law firms weren’t as successful as their top 100 counterparts at translating revenue growth into partner profits last year. Second hundred law firms had a 5.3 percent growth in revenue per lawyer, compared to just 1.9 percent for top 100 firms, according to the American Lawyer…

May 31, 2012 1:47 PM CDT

Judge: Lawyer Not ‘Unjustifiably Abused, Belittled, Humiliated, Threatened, Undermined or Bullied’

Describing a “regrettable” email exchange between two Melbourne law firm colleagues and friends as “a classic storm in a teacup,” an Australian judge has nixed a seven-figure damages claim by a former partner who said she was undermined, humiliated and harassed after she went on maternity leave. Partner Fiona Brown,…

May 18, 2012 9:05 PM CDT

Feds Say Ex-Partner Committed Crimes to ‘Dramatically Increase’ Rothstein Law Firm’s Political Power

A former partner has pleaded guilty to crimes that federal prosecutors say were intended to “dramatically increase the political influence and power” of a South Florida law firm headed by now-convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein. Steven N. Lippman, 49, who was a non-equity partner of Scott Rothstein’s law firm in…

May 11, 2012 3:55 PM CDT

La. Attorney Accused by Former Firm of Misusing Client Assets Has Given Up Law License

A prominent Louisiana attorney has given up his law license after being accused in a civil suit by his former law firm of misusing or misappropriating a seven-figure sum of client assets, including tax credits. James M. “Tres” Bernhard III, who formerly served as an associate of Crawford Lewis, agreed…

May 7, 2012 4:37 PM CDT

Shots Fired Into Home of 2nd Faegre Baker Daniels Corporate Lawyer; Firm Is ‘Extremely Concerned’

Police in Fort Wayne, Ind., are investigating whether there is any connection between a shooting early Tuesday into the home of a Faegre Baker Daniels corporate associate and the unsolved shooting of a corporate partner of the law firm in his own Fort Wayne home in March. Jeffrey A. Goeglein…

May 1, 2012 9:47 PM CDT

Pepper Hamilton to Open New LA Office with Former Dewey & LeBoeuf Partner

Pepper Hamilton is opening a new Los Angeles office with the acquisition of a former practice leader from Dewey & LeBoeuf. Gary Apfel, who is one of, at last report, over 85 partners to exit the struggling Dewey firm in 2012, served as co-chairman of the consumer financial services practice…

May 1, 2012 4:11 PM CDT

Well-Known UK Firm Suddenly Closes, 4 Partners Temporarily Suspended, Unknown Number of Jobs Lost

One of the best-known law firms in Scotland will be closing its doors at the end of the day after 50 years in business, staff were recently informed, over what a court-appointed manager describes as “extremely challenging financial circumstances.” The financial issues at Ross Harper came to light after questions…

Apr 30, 2012 9:48 PM CDT

Bar Board Nixes Discipline for Associate Who Looked at Mintz Levin Docs Anticipating Personal Suit

Rejecting a hearing panel’s reprimand recommendation, the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers has declined to discipline a former associate of a Boston law firm who had complained that the firm discriminated against her due to her gender and status as a new mother. In a seven-page decision (PDF) released on…

Apr 26, 2012 1:45 PM CDT