Partners

Dechert Claims Chadbourne Raid; Rival Firms Fight for 5 Moscow Partners

Updated: In a stunning raid on a rival firm, Dechert announced today that it is opening a new office in Russia with all five of the partners from Chadbourne & Parke’s office in Moscow. But Chadbourne is fighting back, and contends that the partners aren’t necessarily leaving its Moscow office…

May 8, 2009 6:08 PM CDT

Davis Wright, K&L Gates, Thompson & Knight Sued in Sunwest Collapse

Investors in a failed retirement home operator have sued three law firms that represented the company. Targeted in the suits are Davis Wright Tremaine, K&L Gates, and Thompson & Knight, the outside law firms for Sunwest Management, the AmLaw Daily reports. The Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Sunwest of operating…

May 8, 2009 4:39 PM CDT

‘Calculus of the Damned’: Layoffs Gurus Look at Quantity—and Quality—of Associate Hours

When deciding which associates to let go, law firm managers tend to look for those with the lowest billable hours tallies. But quality counts as well as quantity, reports the American Lawyer. Feedback from partners hence can make a critical difference. Under this “calculus of the damned,” as Texas Lawyer…

May 7, 2009 9:47 PM CDT

No Charges Likely for Kaye Scholer Partner Who Ousted Kids from Car

The Kaye Scholer bankruptcy partner who made headlines when she kicked her squabbling kids out of the car probably won’t be charged with child endangerment. The charge against lawyer Madlyn Primoff will be dismissed if she stays out of trouble for six months, according to reports in the Associated Press,…

May 7, 2009 6:44 PM CDT

4th Circuit Nixes Attorney Fee Award to Defendant in Terrorism Tort Case

In an unusual award of attorney fees to a prevailing defendant in a civil rights case, a federal court said a Muslim family whose Virginia home was lawfully searched had to pay about $41,000 to an individual they accused of conspiring with federal agents to fabricate evidence supporting the search.…

May 7, 2009 5:43 PM CDT

Duane Morris Lawyer Is ‘Hooked on Yelp’

Lawyer Daniel Winslow is among the business travelers who are looking to social networking sites to learn about the best local restaurants, accommodations and interesting events. Winslow, a partner with Duane Morris in Boston, tells the New York Times he needs to know about the best places to meet current…

May 7, 2009 1:27 PM CDT

Thompson & Knight Lays Off 42

Due to the dismal economy, Thompson & Knight laid off 17 associates and 25 support staff yesterday. The cuts were made in multiple offices of the Dallas-based law firm and focused on real estate and other corporate practice groups impacted by the sudden shortage of bank lending, managing partner Peter…

May 6, 2009 10:41 PM CDT

Most Firms Now See $160K Starting Salary ‘Makes No Sense,’ Managing Partner Says

In the latest signpost pointing the way toward a possible sea change in associate compensation, the managing partner of a 300-attorney Texas-based law firm says it’s time to cut the $160,000 starting salary for first-year associates that was a largely unquestioned BigLaw industry standard only last year. “It simply makes…

May 6, 2009 9:01 PM CDT

Orrick Delays Payments to Departing Partners, Blames Lenders

Partners who leave Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe will have to wait longer than usual to get their capital contributions returned. Orrick has told former partners that they will have to wait for money that ordinarily would have been paid this spring, the Recorder reports. Orrick’s letter to the partners says…

May 6, 2009 2:20 PM CDT

Wilson Sonsini Gets Top Spot on Diversity Scorecard

A diversity survey by the Minority Law Journal has found the increase in minority lawyers at the nation’s top 250 law firms is slowing, and the economy may be a factor. In 2008, the percentage of minority lawyers at firms responding to the survey was 13.9 percent, up from 13.4…

May 6, 2009 11:58 AM CDT

Craps-Style Strategizing Helps Push Boies Schiller into Ranks of Top 100 Firms

A contingency case has helped catapult Boies, Schiller & Flexner into the American Lawyer’s list of the nation’s top 100 law firms. Revenues at Boies Schiller increased by 18 percent in 2008, reaching $295 million, the American Lawyer reports. Profits per partner were $3 million, the third-highest on the Am…

May 5, 2009 2:10 PM CDT

Retired Pennsylvania Chief Justice Dies

The former chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has died at the age of 65. Ralph Cappy, who joined Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney after his retirement last year, died of an apparent heart attack, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Cappy had recently had heart surgery for blocked arteries. Cappy was…

May 4, 2009 6:33 PM CDT

Seyfarth Cuts Pay for Some Partners and Associates, Lays Off 50 People

Yet another law firm is cutting pay for some of its lawyers. Seyfarth Shaw is cutting pay for some segments of its partner and associate teams in amounts ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent, according to Above the Law and the Recorder. Those staffers left behind won’t get the…

May 4, 2009 12:31 PM CDT

Hunton Is Hiring (Really)

Firm won’t let recession retard its growth

May 2, 2009 1:10 AM CDT

Cahill Gordon Nudged from List of 100 Top-Grossing Law Firms

In 1985, New York’s Cahill Gordon & Reindel was No. 35 on American Lawyer’s first list of the nation’s top-grossing law firms. In 2008, an 11.8 percent drop in gross revenues nudged the firm out of the top 100. The co-administrative partner of the 265-lawyer firm, Jonathan Schaffzin, told the…

May 1, 2009 1:13 PM CDT