Partners

Salary Wars Pit Associate Pay Against Partner Profits

Associate pay hikes have taken a bite out of profits for equity partners, according to some leaders of California law firms. Many large California firms matched their New York counterparts last year and agreed to pay starting salaries of $160,000 to new associates. Something—or more accurately, someone—had to give, the…

Feb 27, 2008 11:31 AM CST

2nd Lawyer Says N.Y. School Districts Often List Legal Counsel as Employees

Another New York lawyer reportedly has claimed that Long Island school districts often list their legal counsel as employees, allowing them to qualify for government pensions and health benefits even though they are in private practice. “This practice is approved by the state and is common among my colleagues, many…

Feb 26, 2008 7:15 PM CST

New York AG Asks 124 School Districts for Law Firm Payment Info

Updated: When N.Y. school lawyer Lawrence Reich reportedly said that what he did was common practice, the state attorney general apparently may have been listening. A dual state and federal investigation concerning Reich, a lawyer in private practice who allegedly “worked” as many as 1,286 days in one year for…

Feb 25, 2008 11:23 PM CST

Seven WolfBlock Partners Leap to Smaller Firm

Seven partners at 300-lawyer Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen are jumping to 45-lawyer Pennsylvania law firm Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin. The partners are making the move as WolfBlock continues to look for a merger partner after the collapse of merger discussions with Cozen O’Connor, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Hangley…

Feb 22, 2008 11:46 AM CST

Feds and State Investigate N.Y. Lawyer Who ‘Worked’ 1,286 Days in a Year

It hasn’t been a good week for Lawrence Reich. A Newsday article yesterday features a photograph of FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents wheeling a cart of document boxes containing business records for the New York lawyer, apparently en route to a federal grand jury investigation. Meanwhile, another Newsday article…

Feb 21, 2008 10:17 PM CST

High-Profile Skadden Litigator Goofs, Sends Private E-mail to Reporters

Updated: Well-known litigator Sheila Birnbaum of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom believed Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood used a press release and newspaper column to mischaracterize a recent confidential settlement with her client State Farm, and she said so. Her opinion was intended to circulate in an internal e-mail,…

Feb 21, 2008 1:03 PM CST

Susman & Godfrey Gets Starring Role in Documentary

A Sundance Film Festival documentary that chronicles the fight against coal-fired power plants in Texas is boosting the image of Houston law firm Susman & Godfrey. The film, Fighting Goliath: The Texas Coal Wars, touts Susman & Godfrey “in herolike fashion,” the Houston Chronicle reports. The documentary shows the battle…

Feb 19, 2008 3:45 PM CST

One Former Bill Lerach Law Firm Scarcely Misses a Step

In a recent discussion of leading plaintiffs firms filing class actions related to the subprime mortgage crisis, what Wall Street Journal Law Blog described as “San Diego-based plaintiffs powerhouse Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins” received prominent mention. Not mentioned at all in the post was the firm’s former name…

Feb 15, 2008 11:16 PM CST

Bell Boyd Raids 2 San Diego Firms, Opens New Office

A well-known Chicago-based firm is establishing a West Coast presence, raiding two San Diego law offices to open a six-attorney outpost there. (It will also be staffed from the outset with seven Ph.D-credentialed specialists, and two of the lawyers apparently have Ph.Ds, too.) The partners at the helm of Bell,…

Feb 13, 2008 11:15 PM CST

Skadden Joins Latham at Record $2B Revenue Level

Following swiftly on the heels of the news that total 2007 revenue for Latham & Watkins exceeded $2 billion, another major U.S. law firm has joined in the record-breaking announcement. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom also had gross revenue of more than $2 billion in 2007, reports the Lawyer.…

Feb 13, 2008 6:43 PM CST

Lerach Ponders Planned Trip to Club Fed

The day after a federal judge gave William Lerach the maximum two-year prison sentence possible under a plea deal, a front-page Wall Street Journal profile reports that the once-mighty plaintiffs securities lawyer still feels his overall legacy as an attorney is one to be proud of. Despite his conviction and…

Feb 13, 2008 12:43 AM CST

King & Spalding Tops List of Partner Promotion Percentages

The number of associates and counsel promoted to partnerships at the nation’s largest law firms increased by 5.2 percent this year, but the hike didn’t keep up with the 6.6 percent increase in law firm growth. As a result, fewer people were promoted in relative terms, the National Law Journal…

Feb 12, 2008 12:09 PM CST

Lerach Gets 2 Years in Claimed Milberg Weiss Kickbacks Case

A once-mighty partner at the nation’s biggest and best-known plaintiffs securities firm was given a two-year federal prison sentence today for his role in an alleged law firm scheme to pay $11.3 million in kickbacks to lead plaintiffs in securities class actions. In addition to the prison term, William Lerach,…

Feb 11, 2008 9:44 PM CST

Disbarment Sought for Former Holland & Knight Partner

The District of Columbia Bar Counsel is seeking the disbarment of a former partner at Holland & Knight for allegedly forging signatures on an agreement for an easement. Theodore Silva Jr. is accused of lying to the law firm and a client about the status of the agreement, then forging…

Feb 8, 2008 2:48 PM CST

Fashion Week Find: Power Office Attire for Women

Although many of the new styles now debuting in New York City’s Fashion Week are too fussy, ruffled or feathery for professional women, there is also good news for female attorneys. A long-standing complaint of many professional women that they can’t find appropriate designer clothing that is suitable for work…

Feb 7, 2008 10:48 PM CST