Partners

DOJ Hires Well-Known Litigator in Google Antitrust Ad Probe

The Justice Department has hired Sanford Litvack, who is a former partner at Hogan & Hartson and a former antitrust chief under President Carter, to review evidence in an antitrust probe of Google’s advertising power. Litvack will help build the case if the department decides to proceed with a challenge…

Sep 9, 2008 11:28 AM CDT

Culvahouse’s Power Would Be Cut in Third Term as O’Melveny Chair

The policy committee at O’Melveny & Myers is recommending that A.B. Culvahouse be elected to a third term as chairman—but that some of his powers be shared with the committee. The recommendation was chronicled in a memo obtained by the Daily Journal (sub. req.). The firm needs “new structures to…

Sep 8, 2008 12:43 PM CDT

Law Firm Learned of Planned ‘Raid’ After MP Left Docs on Printer, Filing Says

Oops. If you’re a law firm managing partner trying to secretly shop some of your colleagues to a competing law firm, it’s best not to leave documents from a PowerPoint presentation intended for the prospective new firm’s management committee on your current firm’s office printer. But that’s what allegedly alerted…

Sep 5, 2008 11:33 PM CDT

Ex-Chair of Prominent Maine Firm Gets 2 Years in Tax Case

“There was no extortion. No lavish vacations. No gambling debts. No drug addiction. Instead, a former partner in a major Maine law firm stole more than $300,000 simply because he felt he needed greater savings, his lawyer said.” That’s how an Associated Press article leads into yesterday’s sentencing of once-prominent…

Sep 5, 2008 10:33 PM CDT

Opponent ‘Bought’ Privileged Docs, Used Them to Seek More

A struggling mortgage lender in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case may have opened up a major new battlefield in the legal malpractice arena. Eager to put an end to a fraud suit brought by a software developer, New Century Mortgage agreed, as part of a settlement in federal bankruptcy court…

Sep 5, 2008 6:46 PM CDT

Make That 37 Partners Who Have Left Heller Ehrman This Year

With the departure of two San Francisco Bay area attorneys for other law firms, the total number of partners who have left Heller Ehrman this year now reportedly tallies at least 37. Trademark lawyer Harold Milstein is the seventh Heller partner to join Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton this year,…

Sep 3, 2008 7:33 PM CDT

More Lawyers Patent their Inventions and Sue, Sometimes Surprising their Firms

Some law firms are apparently being caught “flat-footed” when one of their lawyers files suit to protect his or her own patented invention, according to an article in IP Law and Business. At least 10 lawyers have filed infringement suits to protect their inventions, and some of them continued to…

Sep 3, 2008 4:19 PM CDT

Tenn. High Court to Hear About Fiery 25-Year Law Firm-Judge Spat

After 25 years of periodic dispute between a Greeneville, Tenn., law firm and a local Greene County judge, the situation has heated up to a point where the state supreme court is about to weigh in. The law firm, which is one of the largest in Greeneville, is asking the…

Sep 3, 2008 3:57 PM CDT

Foley Hoag, Law Profs Represent Georgia in World Court Hearing

Foley Hoag and two law professors are representing the Republic of Georgia in an emergency hearing before the International Court of Justice. The hearing set to begin Sept. 8 claims Russian forces and Russian-supported separatist militias engaged in ethnic cleansing against Georgians, according to a Foley Hoag press release e-mailed…

Sep 3, 2008 2:09 PM CDT

Interview Mistakes Include ‘Too Much Information Syndrome’ and Bad Suits

Some advice on how to avoid job search mistakes sounds like common sense: Make sure there are no typos in your resume or cover letter. Get an early start on your job search, and be aware of employer deadlines. Don’t get discouraged. Circle back after rejections and ask for guidance.…

Sep 3, 2008 12:10 PM CDT

3 Duane Morris Corporate Partners Jump to Sheppard Mullin

A three-lawyer corporate group is jumping ship from Duane Morris to Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton in the San Diego area. Robert Copeland, James Mercer III and Michael Umansky are joining Sheppard Mullin as partners, according to a law firm press release. They were previously partners in the San Diego…

Sep 2, 2008 5:48 PM CDT

The Insider

The economic news is doom and gloom—how is it affecting your business?

Sep 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

Hiring for Lateral Partners—and Entire Practice Groups—is Strong

Law firms are continuing to hire lateral partners, but the process is slowing as each side takes more time to evaluate the other. Legal recruiters who spoke to the Recorder cite a number of reasons for a strong lateral market for partners—and for entire practice groups. In some cases, law…

Aug 29, 2008 12:00 PM CDT

Judge Approves Deal Letting Melvyn Weiss Keep Future Fees

A New York judge has approved a deal that allows former securities class action lawyer Melvyn Weiss to keep future fees from some cases he worked on at his former law firm, now known as Milberg. Weiss pleaded guilty to paying kickbacks to lead plaintiffs in securities lawsuits and is…

Aug 27, 2008 1:07 PM CDT

Leader of Dissolved IP Boutique Says No One Wanted His Job

A Philadelphia intellectual property boutique is being acquired by a larger firm, and the outgoing managing partner attributes his firm’s dissolution to an unusual problem: No one wanted his job. Synnestvedt & Lechner of Philadelphia was having a banner year in terms of revenue per lawyer, managing partner Joseph Posillico…

Aug 27, 2008 12:11 PM CDT