Partners

Feds Seize Rothstein’s Ferrari, Boats in Ponzi Scheme Probe

Holed up in an undisclosed location with his legal counsel, attorney Scott Rothstein has been in an upbeat mood lately after his return from Morocco, despite accusations that he stole hundreds of millions of dollars from investors through his law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler. But now federal authorities have filed…

Nov 9, 2009 11:27 PM CST

Powell Law Firm Dropped as Defendant in Kids-for-Cash Case

The law firm of Robert J. Powell has been dropped as a defendant in a federal tort claim brought over the so-called kids-for-cash case involving $770,000 in kickbacks admittedly paid by Powell to two former judges in Luzerne County, Pa. In exchange, the two judges, Mark Ciavarella Jr. and Michael…

Nov 9, 2009 7:46 PM CST

Ex-SEC Lawyer Pleads in Dreier Case, Got $100K to Play Role re $44M in Fake Notes

A lawyer who formerly worked in the enforcement division of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission has pleaded guilty to helping attorney Marc Dreier try to sell $44.7 million of fake notes to sophisticated investors. Robert Miller, 52, said Dreier paid him $100,000 to impersonate individuals at a Canadian pension…

Nov 9, 2009 7:20 PM CST

Day Pitney Axes 29 Staff in 3rd Round of Announced Layoffs This Year

Day Pitney let 29 staff members go last week, in the law firm’s third round of layoffs this year. The 400-attorney Hartford, Conn.-based Northeast regional law firm also laid off 20 lawyers in May and 66 staff members in February, reports the Connecticut Law Tribune. James Sicilian, the firm’s co-managing…

Nov 9, 2009 6:45 PM CST

Shill Bids for Domain Names Made by Auction Company Exec, Suit Alleges

Shill bids for tens of thousands of domain names were secretly made by a former executive of the company that auctioned the domain names, a lawsuit alleges. An unidentified former vice-president of SnapNames.com, which is a subsidiary of Oversee.Net, Inc., manipulated the auction and drove up prices for domain name…

Nov 9, 2009 5:57 PM CST

BigLaw Firms Still Struggle for Balance

Although the legal economy has been looking up in recent weeks, revenue at Allen & Overy dropped by seven percent during the six-month period that ended Oct. 31, the London-based “magic circle” law firm has announced. It is not planning any further layoffs to follow A&O’s earlier elimination of 450…

Nov 6, 2009 10:50 PM CST

Rothstein Firm Is Running on Fumes, Newspaper Says

Despite an effort by partner and president Stuart Rosenfeldt to create a new law firm out of the apparent ashes of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, the well-known Fort Lauderdale, Fla., law firm is running on fumes. After stunning revelations of alleged misconduct by a top partner, the departure of some other…

Nov 6, 2009 10:07 PM CST

‘Star Associate’ Alleges Breakdown Over Work Conditions, Sues Sedgwick & Partner

A former associate in the New York office of Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold has filed a disability discrimination suit against the firm and an a partner he alleges was abusive, contending that he was driven to a breakdown with overwork and mistreatment and then abruptly fired when he had…

Nov 6, 2009 7:20 PM CST

Troutman Sanders: Confident Its Accused Real Estate Chief Will Return to Work

The Troutman Sanders law firm has released a statement expressing confidence that a kickbacks case involving the chair of its real estate practice will be successfully resolved. Troutman Sanders partner Leonard Grunstein is accused of helping a client who bought a nursing home company obtain $50 million in kickbacks from…

Nov 6, 2009 1:13 PM CST

Iconic N.Y. Lawyer Settles Pension Probe; ‘Worked’ Over 1,200 Days in a Year

A Long Island, N.Y., private practitioner whose claims in government legal bills to have worked more than 1,200 days in a single year led to a massive probe of state pensions being paid to attorneys has agreed to give up his own benefits. Lawrence Reich, 69, will no longer receive…

Nov 5, 2009 7:50 PM CST

After Difficult Year, Latham & Watkins Announces 23 New Partners

Latham & Watkins has promoted 23 associates to partner, about 25 percent fewer than last year. Still, the number outpaces promotions at a few other law firms that have announced new partners. Eric Bernthal, managing partner of Latham’s Washington, D.C., office, told The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times that…

Nov 5, 2009 5:24 PM CST

Troutman Sanders Real-Estate Chief Accused in Kickback Scheme

The chair of the real estate group at Troutman Sanders has been accused of participating in a scheme to accept $50 million in kickbacks from a pharmaceutical vendor serving a nursing home company in which he was a principal. Troutman Sanders partner Leonard Grunstein was a lawyer at the now-defunct…

Nov 5, 2009 1:27 PM CST

Feds Visit Rothstein Law Firm; Ex-Judge Is Appointed as Receiver

Federal agents descended tonight on a well-known South Florida law firm that has been much in the news lately after one name partner said another name partner may have misappropriated some $500 million in outside investor funds from a side business. An FBI spokeswoman said it and the Internal Revenue…

Nov 5, 2009 2:01 AM CST

Ex-DLA Lawyer Accused of Faking Payroll Docs to Boost Salary at Duane Morris

A former partner at DLA Piper is being tried on charges that he forged a payroll statement in hopes of getting a higher salary at his new law firm, Duane Morris. The trial began Monday in Singapore for Rudy Lim, the American Lawyer reports, relying on a story from the…

Nov 4, 2009 2:41 PM CST

Associate Asks Advice: Is It a Good Idea to Review Law Firm Partners?

A midlevel associate at a BigLaw firm has been asked to participate in a planned “upward review” of partners. But, concerned about a possible downside to evaluating his superiors, the associate asked a columnist for advice. In response, Linda Laufer of Morgan Lewis & Bockius says in her New York…

Nov 3, 2009 9:03 PM CST