Pennsylvania

Former Eckert Seamans Lawyer Accused of Bringing Cocaine into Courthouse

A lawyer who told reporters last year that he gave up his six-figure job at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott to pursue justice is facing his own bout with the criminal justice system. Keenan Dennard Holmes is accused of trying to bring cocaine into a Pittsburgh courthouse, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette…

Jul 31, 2009 12:50 PM CDT

Will Wronged Juveniles Lose Right to Sue?

Thousands of youthful offenders who appeared before a corrupt judge in Pennsylvania are at risk of losing their right to sue for damages and court fees. At issue is a May decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to destroy all documents related to those convicted while disgraced judge Mark A.…

Jul 28, 2009 3:48 PM CDT

Dechert Confirms Layoffs of ‘a Number of People’

Dechert has laid off additional lawyers and staffers in a sixth round of cuts. The law firm confirmed layoffs of “a number of people” in a statement made to the Legal Intelligencer. The publication says the firm’s largest round of layoffs was in March, when the firm laid off 63…

Jul 24, 2009 11:59 AM CDT

6 DLA Piper Lawyers Leave Megafirm for Midsize Phila. Practice

Six lawyers from DLA Piper, including the head of the litigation practice for the Philadelphia office, are leaving to join Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin, a midsize local law partnership known for its trial and appellate work. “I’ve had a great experience at DLA, and it is a marvelous firm…

Jul 23, 2009 8:06 PM CDT

Top Pa. Court Will Save Some Juvie Files, As Lawyers Take Issue to Fed’l Court

Before a federal judge could hold a scheduled hearing on Monday, the top court in Pennsylvania has acceded to some of the demands made in an unusual federal filing by lawyers representing individuals allegedly jailed improperly as juveniles because of judicial corruption in Luzerne County. In an order today, the…

Jul 22, 2009 11:04 PM CDT

Lawyers Seek Order Barring Top Pa. Court from Destroying Juvenile Records

A bizarre case in which two senior Pennsylvania judges in Luzerne County are accused of having profited from putting hundreds—or perhaps even thousands—of youths into juvenile detention for relatively minor offenses has now taken a strange new twist. In an extraordinary filing, lawyers representing individuals allegedly improperly jailed as youngsters…

Jul 21, 2009 10:59 PM CDT

DLA Piper Partner Moves to Smaller Firm Over Clients’ Cost Concerns

As a partner of 3,700-attorney DLA Piper, Thomas Durling could promote the megafirm’s international platform and deep capabilities on major corporate matters. The problem was, a number of his intellectual property clients were local Pennsylvania businesses more interested in how much he charged for his services as an intellectual property…

Jul 20, 2009 8:51 PM CDT

Pa. Lawyer Didn’t Pursue Plea Offer, Spent $1M to Cut 5 Months Off Sentence

Offered a suggested deal in a federal corruption case that would, at one point, have required him to plead guilty to one fraud count in exchange for a prison term of no more than five years, Vince Fumo reportedly wound up instead taking the case to trial. That strategy cost…

Jul 16, 2009 8:30 PM CDT

Gaming Lawyers Get Share of Casino Venture for Legal Work

Two Atlantic City gaming lawyers are getting paid for their legal work on a proposed Pennsylvania slots parlor with a share of the project if it wins a license. Lawyers John Donnelly and Michael Sklar are doing legal work for the majority owner of the casino project, CMS Fund Advisers…

Jul 16, 2009 2:01 PM CDT

Morgan Lewis Axes 2010 Summer Program, Plans to Eliminate Lockstep

In a video conference with all associates and staff today, the chairman of Morgan Lewis & Bockius has reportedly announced a series of economy moves. They include axing the 2010 summer program and all on-campus law school interviewing this fall and pushing back the start dates for current summer associates…

Jul 14, 2009 8:56 PM CDT

Ex-Ballard Spahr Lawyer Accused of Trying to Bring Drugs into Jail

A Philadelphia lawyer who once worked at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll has been accused of trying to smuggle drugs into jail for a client. Randall Sommovilla was arrested Friday night, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Court documents say a prison guard found a package of heroin near Sommovilla’s feet after…

Jul 13, 2009 6:14 PM CDT

Lawyer Freed After Spending 14 Years in Jail on Contempt Charge

A Pennsylvania lawyer has been freed after spending more than 14 years in jail for refusing to give his ex-wife more than $2.5 million in a divorce settlement. H. Beatty Chadwick, a 73-year-old former corporate lawyer, told the Associated Press he couldn’t pay the money. “If I had been convicted…

Jul 13, 2009 2:45 PM CDT

Philly Lawyer Helps Save Drowning Kids, Would-Be Rescuer

A Philadelphia lawyer who helped save three people from drowning off the coast of New Jersey attributes the rescue to a series of chance circumstances. Sam Pond, a workers compensation lawyer with Martin Banks Pond Lehocky & Wilson, received a key to the city in Key Isle, N.J., because of…

Jul 10, 2009 12:50 PM CDT

Villanova Law Dean Resigns; Name Surfaces in Prostitution Probe

Villanova law dean Mark Sargent, who abruptly resigned last week, had been identified in a police report as a prostitution customer, according to a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Sargent and another customer provided information to police after a raid of the prostitution business, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports in a…

Jul 6, 2009 2:41 PM CDT

Smaller Law Firms Get More Big-Company Work, Survey Finds

The nation’s largest companies are increasingly turning to smaller and midsized law firms to perform legal work for less money. The survey of 550 large companies found that 38 percent hired law firms last year outside of the nation’s top 200 law firms, the Wall Street Journal reports. In 2007,…

Jul 6, 2009 12:07 PM CDT