Partners

Gender Gap Due, in Part, to ‘Ambition Gap’?

Although Hillary Clinton is, perhaps, a rare exception, there is a reason why women are underrepresented in lawyer-laden political circles. It’s because they don’t fight as hard as men do for political office, writes Ruth Marcus in a Washington Post column. “There is a substantial gender gap in political ambition;…

May 28, 2008 9:21 PM CDT

Affymetrix Legal Team Jumps Ship to Dewey & LeBoeuf

The general counsel of a California-based genetic products manufacturer is leaving, along with three in-house Affymetrix patent lawyers, to join Dewey & LeBoeuf. Barbara Caulfield, who formerly worked as a federal district court judge before she joined the Santa Clara company, will be in charge of the Silicon Valley office…

May 28, 2008 5:06 PM CDT

Mayer Brown DC MP Jumps to JPMorgan Chase

The managing partner at Mayer Brown’s Washington, D.C., office is leaving to become vice president in charge of global government affairs for JPMorgan Chase. The lawyer, Peter Scher, is a former Clinton administration official, the Washington Post reports. He was a special trade negotiator in the Office of the U.S.…

May 28, 2008 2:29 PM CDT

DLA Piper Litigator Named Pfizer GC

The lead lawyer defending Pfizer Inc. in litigation over two of its painkillers will become the company’s general counsel. Amy Schulman will take the place of Allen Waxman, said to have left the company for personal reasons. Schulman is a partner at DLA Piper, where she earned $5.75 million last…

May 28, 2008 2:04 PM CDT

N.Y. Lawyer Sues Delta for $1M, Claims Airline Ruined Dream Trip

A New York lawyer has filed a $1 million suit against Delta Air Lines that claims the carrier ruined a planned dream trip to Argentina for his mother’s 80th birthday. The suit filed by litigator Richard Roth says he and his family arrived at their destination almost three days late,…

May 28, 2008 1:28 PM CDT

Energy Lawyers Lured by High Pay in Houston’s Booming Legal Market

In the last two years, several national law firms have opened in Houston and lured lawyers from firms already established in the city. The competition has created a “buyer’s market” for lawyers, particularly energy lawyers, the National Law Journal reports. ABAJournal.com noted last April that energy lawyers in Houston are…

May 28, 2008 12:48 PM CDT

Some Bingham Lawyers Blame Departures on Management

At least 16 partners have left Bingham McCutchen this year, and some of them are blaming the management style and decisions of chairman Jay Zimmerman. The National Law Journal spoke to several departing lawyers, who cited a variety of reasons for their decision to leave. They included better opportunities, poor…

May 28, 2008 12:30 PM CDT

Sonnenschein Acknowledges Layoffs of 37 Lawyers, 87 Staffers

Updated: Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal is laying off 37 lawyers and 87 staff members, spread across practice groups and offices. Twenty-seven of the lawyers are associates, six are partners and four are of counsel. The staffers asked to leave include 41 secretaries, 34 other support staffers, and 12 “timekeepers” such…

May 28, 2008 10:29 AM CDT

How ‘Positive Psychology’ Can Help Lawyers Succeed in Practice

Many of the same qualities that help lawyers succeed in practice, such as aggression, critical thinking and a willingness to take on a challenging workload, can be negatives in personal relationships. While that wasn’t a big problem for many, back when client development wasn’t as critical a skill as it…

May 27, 2008 9:48 PM CDT

Ex-Partner of Baker & McKenzie Indicted in $1.3M Client Theft Case

A former corporate partner in Baker & McKenzie’s New York office has been indicted for allegedly stealing $1.3 million from a client trust account. The money reportedly represents interest earned from a $30 million escrow account. However, an attorney for Martin Weisberg says the money was a loan and has…

May 27, 2008 8:53 PM CDT

Partner’s Wife Stole $160K to Fund Slots Addiction

The 63-year-old spouse of a former senior partner at a British law firm has been jailed, and her husband has lost his job over the nearly $160,000 she reportedly stole from clients to fund a gambling addiction. Although solicitor Kim Orton repaid all the money stolen by his wife, Susanne,…

May 27, 2008 3:47 PM CDT

Our Client: Osama bin Laden’s Ex-Driver—and the Rule of Law

A 2004 telephone call from a law professor and a military lawyer in 2004 led to a startling shift in practice for two Seattle business litigators at Perkins Coie. Soon Harry Schneider, 54, and Joe McMillan, 48, were representing a terrorism suspect in an extremely high-profile case that has already…

May 27, 2008 3:01 PM CDT

Gay BigLaw Partner: Coming Out Helped My Career

Coming out of the closet about his sexual orientation has helped his career, says a London partner at one of the world’s biggest and best-known law firms. Stephen Shea, a tax partner at Clifford Chance, says he is more relaxed with colleagues and clients and willing to take on new…

May 27, 2008 2:43 PM CDT

Partner Promotions Slow at Top London Firms

The number of lawyers promoted to partner at the top 10 law firms in London dropped 10 percent in the most recent financial year. The firms promoted 207 lawyers to partner, compared to 231 in fiscal 2007, Legal Week reports. The publication says the figures suggest that law firms are…

May 27, 2008 11:37 AM CDT

NYC Lawyer Charged With Groping 2 Female Attorneys at Office

Updated: A former name partner in a New York plaintiffs firm has been criminally charged for allegedly groping two female attorneys while working at his own small-firm law office. Richard Dienst, 67, is charged with forcible touching, third-degree sex abuse and harassment after incidents concerning two female lawyers in March…

May 23, 2008 4:07 PM CDT