Partners

Ex-Lawyer Again Convicted of Murder in Neighbor’s Dog-Mauling Death

Convicted of second-degree murder by a California jury after her 140-pound dog mauled a neighbor to death in their apartment building’s shared hallway, former San Francisco attorney Marjorie Knoller later had her crime reduced to involuntary manslaughter by the judge in the case. But another judge today reinstated the second-degree…

Aug 22, 2008 8:16 PM CDT

Chicago Power Outage Outrage Sparks Law Firm Probe of Generator Delivery

A newspaper report of a Chicago city official who allegedly got a generator delivered to his door by the electric company while thousands of other residents went without power during a prolonged recent outage has created public outrage—and new business for a local law firm. Litigation powerhouse Jenner & Block…

Aug 22, 2008 4:19 PM CDT

Thelen Revolving Door: 4 More Partners Defect—But 2 Return

Four energy and project finance partners have joined the continuing brain drain from Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner, although two former partners have announced plans to return. Thomas Glascock, Leslie Sherman, David Spielberg and Mark Weitzel are leaving the firm’s San Francisco office for Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, reports…

Aug 21, 2008 11:26 PM CDT

Next Time, Wear a Tie, Fed’l Circuit Judge Tells Left Coast Lawyer

A popped collar button on a Seattle lawyer’s dress shirt resulted in a sartorial instruction from Judge Randall Rader at the conclusion of a recent argument before a federal appeals court panel in Washington, D.C. “Next time, wear a tie. This is the Federal Circuit,” Rader called out to attorney…

Aug 21, 2008 8:07 PM CDT

Will 2008 Be Law Firms’ Worst Year Since Early 1990s?

Fasten your seat belts. A difficult economy has cut partner profits and associate attrition, while increasing expenses for major U.S. law firms, creating “a dramatically different economic environment from the previous seven years,” an expert says. Law firm revenue in the U.S. is growing at the slowest pace since at…

Aug 20, 2008 8:50 PM CDT

Top Corporate Lawyer Creates ‘Virtual’ Law Firm in Hawaii

After 16 years as a partner at Hawaii’s largest law firm, Greg Kim was ready for a change. Even though he had developed a technique of doing much of his work outside the office at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, as his reputation as a top corporate attorney helped him…

Aug 20, 2008 3:27 PM CDT

Billable Hour Concerns Helped Kill Nixon Peabody Merger, Motion Says

A dozen lawyers from Taylor Wessing’s French office have given notice that they intend to move to Nixon Peabody, despite their initial concerns about the workload, according to a motion filed in the legal fight between the two law firms that were once considering a merger. The 12 lawyers who…

Aug 20, 2008 10:51 AM CDT

Judge Tosses Lawyer’s Challenge of Fee Agreement With Prior Partner

A judge has tossed a declaratory judgment suit over legal fees filed by a lawyer who left a law firm and took a case with him. The case highlights the issue of fees that can be paid to retiring partners, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. Judge Peter Doyne of…

Aug 19, 2008 12:09 PM CDT

Jones Day Keeps Snapping Up Lateral Partners in California

Jones Day has hired three new partners in California, part of a lateral partner “shopping binge,” the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. The story says the law firm has hired 22 partners since the beginning of 2007, a rate of more than one a month. But a Jones Day…

Aug 18, 2008 11:26 AM CDT

Payments to Edwards’ Mistress Raise Campaign Law Issues

Payments made on behalf of former presidential candidate John Edwards to his admitted mistress may not have complied with campaign laws, experts say. At least one says money paid by Fred Baron, a wealthy Dallas trial attorney who served as Edwards’ national finance chairman, to Rielle Hunter could potentially present…

Aug 15, 2008 8:59 PM CDT

Fish & Richardson Settles Suit Against Ex-Partner Over Patent Sale

Fish & Richardson has settled its lawsuit against ex-partner Scott Harris that claims he breached his duties to the firm by selling his inventions to patent trolls, one of which sued a firm client. Fish & Richardson had claimed an ownership interest in the patents Harris sold and alleged he…

Aug 15, 2008 12:42 PM CDT

Offit Snags 9-Lawyer Philadelphia Firm; BigLaw Mergers Help Us, MP Says

In two years, the Philadelphia office of Offit Kurman has grown from four lawyers to 20, with the law firm’s planned acquisition Oct. 1 of Abrahams, Loewenstein & Bushman and its nine attorneys. One major reason why it is growing, says Theodore Offit, managing principal of the 41-lawyer Maryland-based firm,…

Aug 14, 2008 8:45 PM CDT

Baker & McKenzie Breaks $2B; Firm’s Revenue Rises 20%

Despite the struggling U.S. economy, Baker & McKenzie has had a banner year. For the fiscal year that ended in June, it booked total global revenue of $2.19 billion, breaking the $2 billion—and the 1 billion pound—barrier for the first time. Last year, the megafirm, which got its start in…

Aug 14, 2008 4:21 PM CDT

Black New York Law Partners Backing Obama

The number of black law partners in New York City firms is around 125, and a significant number are interested in helping Barack Obama. Jeh Johnson, an Obama fund-raiser and policy adviser, is a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He asked the black partners group to meet…

Aug 14, 2008 3:58 PM CDT

N.Y. Law Firm Sued By Investors in Alleged $20M Real Estate Scam

A prominent law firm in Long Island, N.Y., has been sued by investors in an alleged $20 million real estate scam. The plaintiffs say they bought buildings depicted in glossy brochures that Cobalt Multifamily Investors didn’t actually own. They contend in the federal class action that Certilman Balin Adler &…

Aug 13, 2008 5:34 PM CDT