Partners

Ogletree Deakins to Open a 35th Office, in New Orleans

Continuing with its ongoing expansion streak, a national employment boutique is about to establish a new office in New Orleans. Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart will open its 35th office in New Orleans on May 1, the more than 450-attorney firm announces in a press release (PDF) today. The…

Apr 27, 2009 8:23 PM CDT

Suit Claims Ex-Quarles Partner Stole $600K; Firm Says Its Hands Were Tied

A suit filed on behalf of an elderly client claims a former partner at the Milwaukee law firm Quarles & Brady stole more than $600,000 from her. The suit names the law firm and former partner Jeffrey Elverman, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Elverman has denied wrongdoing. The suit claims…

Apr 27, 2009 4:27 PM CDT

Lawyer: Kaye Scholer Partner Quickly Returned for Kids Ousted from Car

A lawyer for the Kaye Scholer bankruptcy partner who made national headlines last week for ordering her sparring children from the car is telling his client’s side of the story—and emphasizing that the mother quickly returned to pick up her two girls. Madlyn Primoff, 45, pleaded not guilty to endangering…

Apr 27, 2009 1:43 PM CDT

Law Firms Use Downturn as Opportunity to Ax Older Partners, Recruiter Says

Many of the stories of layoffs detail the unemployment woes of associates and legal staffers who are being axed by large law firms scrambling to cope with the economic downturn. But partners are also being cut, and those who are hardest hit are older partners, legal recruiter Jackie Finn tells…

Apr 27, 2009 12:39 PM CDT

‘Stevens Six’ Hiring BigLaw Counsel; DOJ to Chip In

The six prosecutors under investigation for their roles in the reversed conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens have started lawyering up. And they are “drawing some of Washington’s heaviest hitters into the fray,” according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. But the DOJ’s retention agreement (PDF) indicates…

Apr 24, 2009 7:08 PM CDT

Schnader Harrison Laid Off Partners, Associates, Staff Last Month

Philadelphia-based law firm Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis has confirmed that it made layoffs last month: three partners were let go, as well five associates and “less than 10” staff members. Managing partner Ralph Wellington told The Legal Intelligencer that the partners who were laid off were in practice areas…

Apr 23, 2009 6:05 PM CDT

Md. Builder Loses 3rd Legal-Fees Suit; Latest Counsel Collected in Advance

In 2007, attorney Terrence McAndrews agreed to defend Maryland homebuilder Vincent Serio in a lawsuit claiming Serio failed to pay legal fees. Since then, the tables have turned: This week, a Howard County District Court judge ordered Serio to pay McAndrews $10,000 in attorney fees in new litigation alleging that…

Apr 22, 2009 9:40 PM CDT

Chicago Grad & BigLaw Alum Admits Altered Grades; 3-Year Suspension Sought

Ironically, it was telling the truth about his law school grades that got Loren Friedman into trouble. When he circulated his resumé, via a legal recruiter, to law firms in Illinois in 2007, he attached a copy of his University of Chicago Law School transcript. Seeing the proliferation of C…

Apr 22, 2009 8:51 PM CDT

Police Say Kaye Scholer Partner Kicked Kids Out of Car, Drove Off

A Kaye Scholer bankruptcy partner has been charged with endangering a child after allegedly ordering her sparring children out of the car and driving off. Madlyn Primoff, 45, pleaded not guilty on Monday, the Associated Press reports. She was charged after she came to police headquarters in White Plains, N.Y.,…

Apr 22, 2009 11:22 AM CDT

Rare Jury Verdict Delay ‘Sheer Agony’ for Bob Bennett & Client Attorney

After days of deliberation, a federal jury in the Southern District of Florida returned a verdict on Thursday in a tax evasion case against Michigan attorney Alan Miller. But it wasn’t announced until the jury also reached a verdict on charges against Miller’s tax client, Indy 500 and Dancing with…

Apr 21, 2009 7:36 PM CDT

Sheppard Mullin Lures Lawyers Away from Bigger Firms

At a time when legal jobs are difficult to find, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton is hiring several partners from larger law firms. On Monday, the firm announced it is hiring corporate partner Brian Weimer from Latham & Watkins and real estate partner Pamela Westhoff from DLA Piper, the National…

Apr 21, 2009 1:45 PM CDT

Lawyer Offers to Give $25K to Charity if He Gets 25K Twitter Followers

A blogging lawyer doesn’t think he can top Ashton Kutcher, but he has been inspired by the actor’s agreement to donate 10,000 malaria nets to charity as a result of winning a race with CNN to sign up 1 million Twitter followers. Seattle personal injury lawyer Bill Marler has a…

Apr 21, 2009 1:22 PM CDT

Role-Playing Game Suggests Lower-Paid Future for BigLaw Lawyers

A sort of Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game at a law school last weekend shed light on a possible future for BigLaw that includes lower salaries and more training for associates. The game was led by Indiana University law professor Bill Henderson and Anthony Kearns, the lead risk manager for…

Apr 21, 2009 12:02 PM CDT

Longtime Friend of Slain Pa. Lawyer Mourns—and Seeks Justice

Eric Birnbaum and Terry Goldberg had been pals since the two were about 14 years old, attending both college and law school together. So the still-unsolved slaying of Birnbaum outside the Bucks County, Pa., law office in which both worked as attorneys has hit Goldberg hard. Goldberg has lost weight…

Apr 20, 2009 5:57 PM CDT

Temp. Suspensions Sought for Leaders of Ariz. Consumer Law Firm

Over the last three years, Phillips & Associates has represented more than 30,000 clients. So it isn’t amazing there there have been multiple client complaints during the same period, according to the lawyers in charge of the Arizona consumer law firm. But state bar regulators see the situation differently. In…

Apr 20, 2009 5:15 PM CDT