Partners

Ex-Cravath ‘Lolita’ Lawyer Weighs Another Suit, Targets Monitoring

The former mergers and acquisitions lawyer with Cravath, Swaine & Moore accused of paying a woman to have sex with her teenage daughters is weighing yet another lawsuit. James Colliton, who pleaded guilty to statutory rape and sentenced to time served, now lives in a motel on Route 9 in…

Jul 10, 2009 2:05 PM CDT

Locke Lord Partner to Run for Ill. Gov; Meanwhile, Blago Aide Pleads Guilty

On the same day Lisa Madigan announced that she will run for re-election as Illinois attorney general and not for governor, Locke Lord partner and Illinois state senator Kirk Dillard threw his hat into the ring. “I’m glad she’s not going to be my opponent in the general election,” Dillard,…

Jul 9, 2009 6:17 PM CDT

Suit Claims Thelen Partners Paid Themselves Instead of Employees

Former employees of the dissolved law firm Thelen have filed a lawsuit that claims they didn’t get the wages they deserved because some former partners paid themselves instead. The class-action suit says the partners paid themselves $25 million as the firm was dissolving, but failed to pay $18 million due…

Jul 8, 2009 3:38 PM CDT

Too Many Women Lawyers are Like Oz’s Dorothy, Partner Says

Women lawyers looking for advancement would do well to study Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, according to a law firm partner who founded the Opt-In Project. “Dorothy was a true leader,” writes Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe employment law partner Patricia Gillette in a post for the Am Law Daily.…

Jul 8, 2009 2:10 PM CDT

Dewey Snags Three M&A Partners from Cooley

Dewey & Leboeuf announced today that three mergers & acquisitions partners from Cooley Godward Kronish will be joining its Silicon Valley office. According to the Dewey press release, published by the Recorder, Richard E. Climan, who had headed Cooley’s mergers & acquisitions practice, will now take over Dewey’s and serve…

Jul 7, 2009 10:48 PM CDT

Barnes & Thornburg Adds Five BigLaw Laterals in Chicago

Barnes & Thornburg has brought its attorney count in Chicago to 85 by after hiring five new laterals in during the past month. The National Law Journal reports that there is still room for another 35 lawyers in the Indianapolis-based firm’s Chicago office. These are the latest hires: • Heather…

Jul 7, 2009 4:33 PM CDT

Are Law Firms Beginning a Summer Doldrums for Layoffs?

The start of summer marks the slowest month so far for law firm layoffs. A midyear review by the blog Law Shucks finds that June was the slowest month for layoffs this year. That month, 481 people were laid off at major law firms—347 staffers and 134 lawyers. The worst…

Jul 7, 2009 12:11 PM CDT

Heller Estate Hires Counsel for Possible Suit Over Loss of IP Group

A law firm hired as special counsel for the estate of law firm Heller Ehrman is considering whether to pursue a lawsuit against Covington & Burling and the 14 Heller partners who jumped there. The Recorder reports on the potential suit, basing its story on bankruptcy court filings and other…

Jul 7, 2009 11:04 AM CDT

Mayer Brown Practice Co-Chair Defects to Dewey

Dewey & LeBoeuf has plucked a new head of bank and institutional finance from Mayer Brown’s ranks. Marshall Stoddard, who was co-chair of Mayer Brown’s global finance practice, told the Am Law Daily that he was drawn by Dewey’s stable leadership. Mayer brown eliminated its “troika” management structure featuring a…

Jul 6, 2009 11:18 PM CDT

Disgraced Pa. Judge: I Didn’t Discuss $3.5M Libel Case

A Pennsylvania lawyer initially portrayed by his counsel as a victim has now pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to a $2.5 million juvenile detention judicial kickbacks case that has already resulted in guilty pleas by two senior Luzerne County jurists. But yesterday’s plea by Robert Powell is just the…

Jul 2, 2009 6:20 PM CDT

Partner Profits Plummet 37% at Clifford Chance; Skadden Now #1 Firm By Revenue

What was until recently the world’s top-grossing law partnership has announced its preliminary results for the fiscal year that ended April 30, and the picture isn’t a pretty one. Profits per equity partner at London-based Clifford Chance dropped 37 percent compared to the previous fiscal year, and the firm’s overall…

Jul 1, 2009 10:02 PM CDT

150 Lawyers Protest Firing of Government Watchdog

A group of nearly 150 lawyers has organized to protest the firing of Gerald Walpin, the government watchdog who was unexpectedly terminated by the Obama administration in mid-June. The group sent a letter via FedEx to legislative and administration officials in the wake of reports that the ex-inspector general was…

Jul 1, 2009 10:17 AM CDT

Even If Billable Hour is Banned, Some Lawyers Still Want to Account for Time

Amidst the dismal economy, layoffs, pay cuts and constant pressure to work more efficiently for corporate clients is some definite good news, one might think: As law firms increasingly embrace alternatives to charging clients on a billable-hour basis, there may foreseeably come a time when lawyers no longer must submit…

Jun 30, 2009 11:33 PM CDT

Pay Cuts Accelerate at Law Firms Across the Country

News today that Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis is cutting associate—and partner—pay is the latest in a series of announcements that seem to signal a seismic shift in the way well-known law firms are managing corporate law practice. Even though the firm is on budget for the year, Schnader Harrison…

Jun 30, 2009 10:18 PM CDT

Schnader Cuts Partner Pay By 5%, Chops $10K Off Associate Salaries

Adding to a growing law firm economy trend intended to add value to corporate clients’ legal spending, Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis is implementing an across-the-board pay cut for associates and partners. Schnader is chopping $10,000 off of all associate salaries, and partners have also decided to cut their own…

Jun 30, 2009 7:34 PM CDT