Partners

Judge Considers Whether Ex-Brobeck Partners Had Right to Clients

Lawyers involved in the bankruptcy of Heller Ehrman were in court Monday to watch arguments in a case involving the duties of 10 former partners at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. At issue is whether the Brobeck partners and their new law firms must pay the firm’s creditors for taking Brobeck…

Apr 14, 2009 11:13 AM CDT

Some Law Firm Clients Ban 1st-Years, Says Morgan Lewis Chair

Litigation and labor and employment are busy right now at Morgan Lewis & Bockius. But an ongoing emphasis by corporate clients on value is making some significant changes in the profession, according to firm chairman Francis Milone. Among the sea changes is a reluctance by a number of clients, or…

Apr 13, 2009 10:49 PM CDT

Jenner & Block Raids Kirkland to Open in Calif., Is Growing in All Offices

Jenner & Block is opening a new office Los Angeles, putting at the helm two litigation partners lured from the local office of Kirkland & Ellis. The new LA outpost is the first office west of the Mississippi River for the nationally known law firm. Meanwhile, despite the difficult economy,…

Apr 13, 2009 9:05 PM CDT

Booted from the ‘Money Train,’ Lawyer Happily Hangs Out Shingle

For years, David Koller had been following what he calls the money train, seeking the best—and highest-paying—jobs to help him advance in his career and pay “the nut” on his student loans. But his last leap to a new job, in 2007, wasn’t entirely a good fit. And, when the…

Apr 11, 2009 12:12 AM CDT

Legal-Fees Info to be Returned, But Law Firm ‘Sandbox’ Spat Continues

Updated: Two well-known law firms have partially resolved what one participant has termed a “sandbox” dispute over a PowerPoint presentation about legal fees paid by Sherwin-Williams Co. in lead paint litigation. But harsh words continue on both sides. In an agreed order (PDF) yesterday, Motley Rice, which had somehow obtained…

Apr 10, 2009 8:21 PM CDT

Denver Firm Lays Off 37, Spares Others Thanks to Pay-Cut Volunteers

A well-known Denver-based law firm is laying off 15 attorneys and 22 staff members. But the cuts would have been deeper at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Shreck, its managing partner says, if the remaining troops hadn’t agreed to take pay cuts to spare some of their colleagues the ax, reports Above…

Apr 10, 2009 7:23 PM CDT

Blogger Gears Up for Legal Battle Over Goldman Sachs Critique

A major Wall Street investment bank has apparently retained a well-known New York City-based law firm in an effort to curtail a blogger’s critical posts. But blogger Mike Morgan says he isn’t intimidated by the cease-and-desist letter he recently received from Chadbourne & Parke concerning his blog, Facts about Goldman…

Apr 10, 2009 6:25 PM CDT

Last Month: 30 Layoffs; This Month: New R.I. Office for Robinson Firm

Less than two weeks after announcing that it planned to lay off 11 attorneys and 19 staff members, a Northeast regional firm is opening a new office in Providence, R.I., with two senior partners raided from Nixon Peabody. Patricia Igoe, a finance practitioner, and Peter Lacouture, who focuses on environmental…

Apr 9, 2009 11:54 PM CDT

What White House Attorneys Earned in Practice and as Law Profs

Financial disclosure forms filed by the many lawyers newly appointed by President Barack Obama to White House jobs provide a motherlode of information about what they were earning in their former BigLaw, in-house counsel and law professor gigs. Among the financial info provided, according to the Blog of Legal Times:…

Apr 9, 2009 11:17 PM CDT

Nonequity Parter Liable for $84K in Receivables After Firm Dissolves

An appeals court in New Jersey has affirmed an $84,850 verdict against a lawyer who claimed his status as a contract partner meant he didn’t have a fiduciary duty to his firm when it dissolved. John Pribish was at Friedman Siegelbaum for just seven months when the firm shut down…

Apr 9, 2009 10:10 AM CDT

Once-High-Flying Ohio Lawyer is Sentenced to 2 Years in Fed’l Drug Case

Despite his earlier tearful testimony, a former legal eagle in Cincinnati was sentenced today to two years in prison in a federal drug conspiracy case, following a hearing that lasted all day yesterday and continued this morning. Once-revered trial lawyer Ken Lawson must also perform 1,000 hours of community service…

Apr 8, 2009 9:41 PM CDT

Schiff Axes Parties, Cuts Other Costs, But Avoids Layoffs

There won’t be many parties at Schiff Hardin this year. But, due to its diversified practice and lack of long-term debt, the 400-attorney Chicago-based national law firm is in a strong position and expects to avoid layoffs, its managing partner says. An early retirement program for staff aged 60 and…

Apr 8, 2009 7:36 PM CDT

Firm that Produced ‘Mr. No’ is Top Choice for Legal Malpractice Defense

When law firms find themselves in the hot seat, an increasing number turn to Mark Foster. The 66-year-old partner of Zuckerman Spaeder has seen his caseload increase significantly over the past six months, as he adds to the Washington, D.C.-based litigation boutique’s growing reputation as a go-to firm for legal…

Apr 8, 2009 7:03 PM CDT

Two UK Law Firms Delay Partner Promotions

Two British law firms have pushed back dates for partner promotions as they complete restructuring plans. Clifford Chance plans to ax up to 92 partners in the restructuring, expected to be completed by this summer, Legal Week reports. The partner promotions process will begin after that, the story says. Allen…

Apr 8, 2009 1:18 PM CDT

‘I Just Wanted to Die,’ Former Ohio Legal Eagle Testifies

Updated: Once a top trial lawyer in Cincinnati, Ken Lawson was taking 100 pills a day when he hit bottom in 2006. As his admitted addiction to prescription drugs destroyed his law practice and put him, potentially, en route to a prison sentence, “I just wanted to die,” Lawson testified…

Apr 8, 2009 12:51 AM CDT