Partners

Consensus tax bill includes law firms in pass-through tax relief, with limits

Law firms and other professional service entities won’t be entirely excluded from tax relief for pass-through entities in the final version of the tax bill that is awaiting passage.

Dec 18, 2017 1:38 PM CST

Ex-BigLaw partner who claimed he was duped by in-house counsel is suspended for altered bills

The Georgia Supreme Court has suspended a former BigLaw partner for submitting altered bills to a corporate client that included work done for personal clients of an in-house lawyer.

Dec 18, 2017 8:00 AM CST

Critics ask why Dowd and Cobb have failed to assemble a ‘battalion of lawyers’ for the president

Donald Trump’s legal response to a well-staffed effort by special counsel Robert Mueller is led primarily by John Dowd and Ty Cobb, leading critics to question why they have not “assembled a battalion of lawyers” for the president, according to a Washington Post story.

Dec 12, 2017 11:34 AM CST

BigLaw partner breaks a record held by Thurgood Marshall

Neal Katyal has broken the record held by Thurgood Marshall for the minority lawyer with the most oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court. Katyal, a Hogan Lovells partner, broke Marshall’s 50-year-old record on Tuesday when he argued a case involving state jurisdiction over securities class actions, Supreme Court Brief…

Dec 1, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Minorities are still scarce among law firm partners and general counsel

Minority lawyers are an increasing percentage of lawyers at law firms, but their numbers still lag at the partnership level, according to the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. Sixteen percent of lawyers at law firms are minorities, but only 9 percent of partners are minorities, the Washington Post reports. The pattern…

Nov 30, 2017 3:38 PM CST

Former BigLaw partner pleads guilty in plot to sell sealed lawsuits to targeted companies

A former BigLaw partner pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges stemming from an attempt to sell sealed whistleblower lawsuits he obtained while working at the U.S. Justice Department. Jeffrey Wertkin, 41, pleaded guilty in San Francisco federal court to obstruction of justice and transportation of stolen property across state lines,…

Nov 30, 2017 12:07 PM CST

Gordon Rees partner leaves management after sex harassment remarks on ‘Hannity’

A Gordon Rees partner has stepped down from her management role after saying in a recent Fox News segment that women frequently lie about sexual harassment and that actual victims are “few and far between,” Law.com and Above The Law report. Mercedes Colwin, who was managing partner of the firm’s…

Nov 15, 2017 1:10 PM CST

Former BigLaw partner pleads guilty to insider trading

A former Foley & Lardner partner has pleaded guilty to insider trading for using information from the law firm’s computer network to make stock trades. Walter “Chet” Little of Apollo Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty on Thursday, Reuters reports. Prosecutors said Little made more than $320,000 by trading on information about…

Nov 10, 2017 11:57 AM CST

Sex-bias plaintiffs may search personal emails of Chadbourne’s former leaders, judge rules

Updated: Three former partners who sued Chadbourne & Parke for alleged sex discrimination will be allowed to search the personal emails of leaders of the now-defunct firm who are lawsuit defendants. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses allowed the search in a ruling from the bench on Thursday, Law.com (sub. req.)…

Nov 9, 2017 4:42 PM CST

What do you love most about being a lawyer?

Last Friday was “Love Your Lawyer Day,” an annual day of appreciation promoted the by American Lawyers Public Image Association to honor those in the industry. The campaign outlined different ways to show your appreciation, from taking lawyers to lunch to making donations in their name to a favorite charity…

Nov 8, 2017 10:51 AM CST

Did David Boies push ethical boundaries with dual role for Weinstein and the New York Times?

Boies Schiller Flexner partner David Boies says he would never have signed a contract with an investigative agency had he known of the tactics it used in an effort to stop the New York Times and other journalists from publishing a story about sexual harassment by embattled Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Nov 8, 2017 9:28 AM CST

ACLU advises Taylor Swift’s BigLaw lawyer to ‘shake it off’

The American Civil Liberties Union worked in some Taylor Swift references in a letter criticizing a lawyer for the pop star who sent a takedown notice to an obscure blog that suggested Swift has an alt-right following and it could partly be her fault. The letter (PDF) by lawyer William…

Nov 7, 2017 12:10 PM CST

Boies Schiller hired agency to quash Weinstein story while representing the New York Times

Updated: Boies Schiller Flexner represented the New York Times in legal matters at the same time partner David Boies signed a contract with an investigations firm that sought to stop the newspaper from publishing an article about sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein, according to a published report.

Nov 7, 2017 9:08 AM CST

Former chairman of BigLaw firm indulges ‘escape fantasy’ by joining legal recruiter

Keith Wetmore, former chair and chief executive partner of Morrison & Foerster, is leaving the law firm at the end of the year to join Major, Lindsey & Africa’s San Francisco office as a managing director. Wetmore tells Bloomberg Big Law Business that legal recruiting “has actually been something of…

Nov 3, 2017 2:28 PM CDT

Manafort lawyer was compelled to testify about his statements, unsealed opinion reveals

An opinion unsealed on Monday reveals that a federal judge required a lawyer to testify about her work for Paul Manafort and Manafort’s former business associate, Rick Gates. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell of Washington, D.C., ruled on Oct. 2 that the lawyer could be compelled to testify to a…

Nov 1, 2017 9:59 AM CDT