Partners

AG Cuomo Sues Lawyer for Fraud, Says He Sold His Name to Debt Collector for $141K

The state attorney general has sued a New York attorney for fraud and violation of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, contending that John Nicolia sold his name for $141,000 for to a debt collector who used it to bolster its illegal collection tactics during 2008 and 2009. The…

May 6, 2010 7:38 PM CDT

Well-Known Lawyer Fights Suspension for Not Supervising Paralegal

Admittedly, attorney Stephen Hrones didn’t supervise his paralegal, Lionel Porter, the way he should have. But a recommended suspension of the lawyer’s license to practice for a year and a day is too harsh a punishment, Hrones and his attorney, Elizabeth Mulvey, contend. They are seeking a three-month suspension, and…

May 6, 2010 5:52 PM CDT

Belt-Tightening Saved BigLaw, and Lateral Hiring Could Boost Its Future

Belt-tightening saved large law firms in the short term, but it may not be enough to shore up profits in the long term, according to a law firm adviser. Law firm leaders will need to begin thinking and acting like CEOs to grow revenue and control costs, according to an…

May 6, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Foley Boosts Insurance & Reinsurance Practice With 7-Lawyer Lovells Group

Foley & Lardner has amped up its insurance and reinsurance litigation practice with the addition of a seven-lawyer group that formerly practiced in the now-shuttered Chicago office of Lovells. Headed by partners Gail Goering, Eric Haab and Neal Moglin, the group also includes counsel Kay Wilde, senior counsel Peter Steffen…

May 5, 2010 9:15 PM CDT

iPad a Great Low-Profile Tool for My 4-Day Jury Trial, MacLitigator Says

When a Utah lawyer needed to persuade a jury that an Ogden City golf cart path had been negligently designed, he found his MacIntosh iPad a handy tool. It wasn’t too flashy, simply a low-profile, easy-to-operate tool for presenting the trial documents into evidence, Partner Peter Summerill of Hasenyager &…

May 4, 2010 11:01 PM CDT

Latest Scott Turow Legal Thriller Puts ‘Innocent’ Rusty Sabich in New Murder Trial

After a 23-year gap, attorney and best-selling author Scott Turow has brought the lead character of one of his best-known legal thrillers back into the spotlight again as the defendant in a new murder case. Rusty Sabich, now over 60 and an appellate judge, is still in his stilted marriage…

May 4, 2010 8:46 PM CDT

3rd Circuit to Decide Whether Law Firm Partner Can Sue for Equal Pay

A federal appeals court is being asked to decide whether a law firm partner can sue for alleged pay discrimination. Lawyer Alyson Kirleis alleges Pittsburgh law firm Dickie McCamey & Chilcote pays women lawyers less than male lawyers, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Her suit also claims male partners told her…

May 4, 2010 1:59 PM CDT

Man Accused of Murdering Rothstein Firm Partner Is Incompetent for Trial

The man accused of murdering a Florida attorney from a now-notorious law firm is incompetent to stand trial. Tony Villegas was declared incompetent last month by Broward Circuit Judge Michael Gates, after the prosecution and defense team agreed on medical findings by two forensic psychologists, defense attorney Al Milian tells…

May 3, 2010 9:41 PM CDT

Shipman & Goodwin Opens in D.C. with 6-Lawer Hogan Lovells Group & New Client

A six-attorney group has departed Hogan & Hartson on the eve of the Hogan Lovells merger to open a new Washington, D.C. , office for a smaller, Connecticut-based law firm. Led by partner James Ruggeri, it will continue to provide legal services to The Hartford Financial Services Group at the…

May 3, 2010 4:59 PM CDT

$650K Clawback of Rothstein Firm Donations Sought from Fla. GOP, Other Politicians

A bankruptcy trustee in Florida is seeking the return of $650,000 in political contributions made by the former Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm to various politicians and political causes. The largest single clawback, $237,000, is sought from the Republican Party of Florida, reports the Miami Herald. The firm, whose former…

Apr 29, 2010 9:18 PM CDT

Panel: Suspended Lawyer Only Pretended Not to Practice and Should Be Disbarred

After his law license was suspended, a prominent Kansas attorney essentially kept right on practicing, bringing in another lawyer to serve as the public front of his law firm but continuing to operate it himself from behind the scenes, contends a state attorney disciplinary panel. It is now recommending that…

Apr 29, 2010 7:13 PM CDT

Progress on Diversity Hidden in Fuzzy Partnership Numbers, Federal Judge Says

How many partners are in BigLaw? It depends on who’s asking. More than half of the major law firms in New York City reported different partnership numbers to six different entities collecting the information in 2007, according to a study by Stanford law professor Michele Dauber. Two judges and a…

Apr 29, 2010 3:48 PM CDT

Tribunal Rules Against Ex-DLA Piper Partner Who Claimed Pregnancy Bias

An employment tribunal in the United Kingdom has ruled against a former DLA Piper partner who claimed the law firm was “an old boys’ club” that fired her because she was pregnant. DLA Piper has received notice that the Liverpool tribunal unanimously dismissed all of the claims by former partner…

Apr 29, 2010 2:58 PM CDT

Partner Push-Out: Nearly 8 Percent of Women Partners Were De-Equitized, Survey Finds

A new survey of women partners at regional and international law firms finds that it’s difficult to be directly promoted into equity partnership and hard to hang on to it. The “overwhelming majority” of partners who responded to the survey said they achieved equity partnerships through lateral moves from other…

Apr 29, 2010 2:32 PM CDT

Not-So-Bad News for BigLaw: Small Drop in Head Count, Small Boost in Partner Profits

Things weren’t so bad last year in BigLaw, new financial numbers reveal. Head count at the nation’s top 100 firms dropped by 1,219 lawyers last year, just a 1 percent decline, even as half the law firms increased in size. And profits per equity partner increased slightly, by .3 percent,…

Apr 29, 2010 12:16 PM CDT