Partners

Ex-Partner Sues WolfBlock, Seeks Severance Pay for 2003 Departure

A former partner of WolfBlock has sued the dissolving firm and former chairman Mark Alderman, contending that they failed to continue making severance payments required under an agreement reached concerning his requested departure from the Philadelphia-based firm in 2003. It provided for Michael Budin to be paid almost $27,000 annually…

Mar 3, 2010 10:15 PM CST

The Taxman Cometh: Do Ex-Lawyer Rothstein & Spouse Owe $10M?

Although ex-attorney Scott Rothstein reportedly made some $36 million in 2008 while both serving as managing partner of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler and operating a Ponzi scheme, he apparently may not have paid all of his income tax. The Internal Revenue Service has slapped him and his wife with a $10…

Mar 3, 2010 8:23 PM CST

Early Retirements Ahead? Report Says Law Firms Are ‘Over Partnered’

America’s top 100 law firms reacted quickly with staff cuts and cost controls when they found themselves harder-hit by the economic downturn than smaller law firms. But more cuts are needed, according to a new report—and partner ranks should be thinned to achieve the savings. Before the economic downturn, law…

Mar 3, 2010 4:06 PM CST

Wilkinson Barker Snaps Up MoFo Communications Group

Morrison & Foerster’s communications law group is jumping to Wilkinson Barker Knauer, a D.C.-based technology firm. Leading the move is Cheryl A. Tritt, whose being joined by three partners and two counsel. The additions bring to 47 the number of attorneys devoted to communications and technology law at Wilkinson Barker,…

Mar 2, 2010 9:41 PM CST

Arnold & Porter’s Age Policy Cited as Reason Partner Skipped to Davis Polk

At age 69, Michael Sohn’s law practice has never been better. But if he stayed at Arnold & Porter past his 70th birthday, he’d be required to retire or significantly downsize his workload. So Sohn is leaving the firm he once chaired and is moving on to Davis Polk &…

Mar 2, 2010 2:54 PM CST

Law International Style: Steptoe to Ramp Up in Beijing, DLA in Brazil, K&L Gates in Warsaw

Announcing a new step forward in its strategic plan for Latin America, DLA Piper says it has formed an alliance with Campos Mello Advogados in Brazil. The firm currently has 60 professionals and is expected to expand in Sao Paulo soon. “This arrangement is a great beginning for us in…

Mar 1, 2010 9:47 PM CST

White & Case Partner to Head New Kaye Scholer Silicon Valley Office

Kaye Scholer announced that it has hired a White & Case partner to head its new Silicon Valley office. William Sloan Coats’ practice focuses on intellectual property matters and trade secrets disputes for software, hardware, computer, electronics, entertainment and movie industries, Kaye Scholer says in a press release. Coats said…

Mar 1, 2010 9:21 PM CST

Troutman Partner Settles With DOJ; Firm ‘Supports the Sense of Vindication’

Without admitting liability—and, according to a company press release, without making any monetary contribution—a partner of Troutman Sanders has agreed to participate in a $14 million civil settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice concerning an alleged $50 million health care kickbacks scheme involving a nursing home in which…

Mar 1, 2010 5:59 PM CST

Bracewell & Giuliani MP Criticizes Naked Woman Art Display

A naked woman standing in the window of a Greenwich Village art gallery as part of an artist’s display has generated controversy and a visit from police. The exhibit by Brian Reed at the Chair and the Maiden gallery features the woman standing “fully naked” beneath a web of objects…

Feb 26, 2010 6:20 PM CST

Name Partner Spins Off New Law Shop from Halleland Lewis

The co-founder of Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson is departing the 50-attorney Minneapolis/St. Paul-based legal shop, along with two other partners, to form a new business law and consulting firm. Keith Halleland’s planned spin-off is so new that it doesn’t yet have either a name or office space, according to…

Feb 26, 2010 2:17 AM CST

Global White & Case IT Chair Joins Latham; 16th Partner to Depart This Month

Updated: The global information technology practice group chair at White & Case is leaving to join Latham & Watkins, his soon-to-be former firm has confirmed in an e-mailed statement to the ABA Journal. Steven Betensky “is an excellent lawyer,” says Dimitrios Drivas, the head of White & Case’s global intellectual…

Feb 25, 2010 7:57 PM CST

NALP Dropped Quest for Nonequity Partner Data After Law Firms Resisted

The career professionals group NALP dropped an effort to collect data on nonequity partners after most of its law firm members refused to supply the information. The American Lawyer has the reaction: “Women lawyers are furious,” the publication reports. Women and minorities are pressing for the information so law students…

Feb 25, 2010 2:13 PM CST

Despite Decreased Revenue at Some Law Firms in 2009, Sunnier Year May Be Ahead

After a year of unprecedented BigLaw cost-cutting and a new emphasis on delivering value to corporate clients in the aftermath of a global economic crisis, annual revenue reports for 2009 being released this month suggest a sunnier forecast for 2010. While revenue has dropped significantly at a number of firms,…

Feb 25, 2010 2:15 AM CST

Judge to Compel 2 Rothstein Firm Lawyers to Turn Over Computer Passwords

A judge overseeing the bankruptcy of the dissolving South Florida law firm at the center of a claimed $7 billion Ponzi scheme says he will order two former partners to turn over their passwords to a secure offsite e-mail storage system. Granting a request by trustee Herbert Stettin, U.S. Bankruptcy…

Feb 24, 2010 7:58 PM CST

Former Managing Partner Gets 99 Years in $25M Investment Scheme

When Edward Digges Jr. bilked one of his best clients at Digges Wharton & Levin out of $3.1 million in an overbilling scheme, he served two years in federal prison after pleading guilty in 1990 to mail fraud. He also was fined $1 million and wound up with a $3.6…

Feb 24, 2010 7:17 PM CST