Partners

Miami Lawyer Says He Pointed Feds to Rothstein in Claimed $500M Scheme

Updated: An investment opportunity offered by managing partner Scott Rothstein of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler seemed too good to be true, a Miami lawyer and developer thought. So, Alan Sakowitz tells the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, he called the feds and put them on Rothstein’s trail. After meeting with Rothstein three times,…

Nov 3, 2009 6:59 PM CST

Rothstein Firm Seeks Allegedly Missing $100M to $185M; Is He in Morocco?

Updated: Between $100 million and $185 million in is allegedly missing from investor trust accounts that made use of the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler name, the law firm’s president told the South Florida Business Journal today after a court hearing. Meanwhile, five lawyers have already left the more than 70-attorney Fort…

Nov 3, 2009 12:05 AM CST

Former Miller Canfield Partner Gets 5 Years in Tax-Shelter Case

A former partner of Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone was sentenced to five years in federal prison today after pleading guilty in April 2008 to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States. According to court statements and public documents in the Western District of Michigan case, attorney John…

Nov 2, 2009 10:49 PM CST

Ex-Associate Badmouths Former Firm in Legal Blog

It isn’t what an attorney would generally recommend to a client. But attorney Edward Harrington Heyburn says he was willing to risk litigation when he created a legal blog that badmouths partners at the New Jersey law firm at which he formerly worked, Levinson Axelrod. His Levinson Axelrod Sucks blog…

Nov 2, 2009 7:35 PM CST

Rothstein Rosenfeldt Seeks to Dissolve, Says MP Suspected of Wrongdoing Won’t Go

A complaint filed on behalf of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler says its high-profile managing partner and CEO, Scott Rothstein, won’t leave the law firm, despite “asserted and substantial irregularities” regarding his handling of investor money. The legal document, filed in Broward County court by the lawyer hired to represent the law…

Nov 2, 2009 7:01 PM CST

Winston Hires 8 Nixon Peabody Lawyers, Including Chair of Equity Practice

The chair of Nixon Peabody’s private equity practice, Dominick DeChiara, is leaping to Winston & Strawn in New York along with seven other Nixon Peabody lawyers. DeChiara will co-chair the private equity practice at Winston & Strawn, according to a press release. Also joining Winston are four associates and partners…

Nov 2, 2009 6:09 PM CST

Law Firm Mulls Bankruptcy Amid Rumors of Failed Venture by Big-Spending Founder

Updated: A South Florida law firm is seeking dissolution after allegations surfaced this weekend about a failed investment venture by its high-profile founder, Scott Rothstein. The Fort Lauderdale law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler has hired former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey to represent it and is considering filing for bankruptcy, according…

Nov 2, 2009 2:01 PM CST

Suing Your Ex-Partners

Can a rainmaking deal survive a bad market?

Nov 2, 2009 1:20 AM CST

Judge Reels Over Receiver’s $11M Bonus Request in Mutual Benefits Case

When Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno first saw the bonus requested by the court-appointed receiver in charge of collecting assets for investors who lost some $837 million in the Mutual Benefits viaticals fraud, he thought it was just over $1 million. Then Moreno realized that he’d misread the figure.…

Oct 30, 2009 10:17 PM CDT

Ex-Client Sues Seyfarth, Seeks Treble Damages & Legal Fees

In a legal malpractice suit filed against Seyfarth Shaw and four current and former lawyers of the law firm, a former client is seeking not only standard-issue relief but treble damages and attorney fees under a Massachusetts consumer protection statute. Plaintiff PCG Trading contends Seyfarth withdrew from its representation of…

Oct 30, 2009 8:56 PM CDT

GQ List of Influence Puts Chief Justice at No. 10, SCOTUSblog Founder at No. 45

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is the 10th most influential person in Washington, D.C., beating out Attorney General Eric Holder, who comes in at No. 13. GQ magazine said it ranked Roberts 10th on its list of the 50 most powerful people in D.C. because of his apparent influence…

Oct 30, 2009 3:52 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge Rules From Bench for ABA: ‘Red Flags’ Doesn’t Apply to Lawyers

Updated: In a surprise ruling from the bench today, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., agreed with the American Bar Association that the Federal Trade Commission exceeded its authority by applying its “red flags rule” to practicing lawyers. Congress did not intend lawyers to be considered “creditors” under the Fair…

Oct 30, 2009 12:33 AM CDT

Heller Creditors Seek $150M from Partners of Failed Law Firm

Contending that Heller Ehrman, in effect, fraudulently conveyed $150 million to partners after the law firm had become insolvent, creditors are seeking full reimbursement from the former partners of the now-defunct firm. In a confidential brief prepared for a mediation hearing tomorrow in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District…

Oct 29, 2009 5:08 PM CDT

Lawyer Raided Sullivan & Cromwell Offices for Inside Info Years Ago, Court Filings Say

Years ago, when he worked at Sullivan & Cromwell’s offices on Wall Street as a corporate associate during the 1990s, Gil Cornblum regularly conducted what he called “spelunking” raids there around 4 a.m., reports the Globe and Mail. Court documents filed in an Ontario insider-trading case against Cornblum and another…

Oct 29, 2009 1:38 AM CDT

Ex-Client on Trial over Alleged Hit on Matrimonial Lawyer; Paralegal Testifies

Unhappy about the result of a motion filed by his matrimonial lawyer in a child custody dispute, a New Jersey accountant allegedly took extreme action. Nicholas Lucarella, now 57, is accused of hiring another state resident to kill his attorney, Peter Paras. But Paras survived an attack by Vancleve ‘Q’…

Oct 27, 2009 8:33 PM CDT