Practice Management

Award to Ex-Sonnenschein Partner Drops from $3M-Plus to About $66K

A Washington, D.C., judge has cut a jury award to a former partner of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal from more than $3 million to just $65,639. Judge Melvin Wright cut the award to former partner Douglas Rosenthal after the law firm argued that jurors had not properly calculated the award,…

Jun 25, 2008 11:56 AM CDT

How Large Law Firms Motivate: A Better Chance to Advance, Flexible Schedules

Large law firms are re-evaluating how they hire and retain top performers. A white paper by Robert Half Legal says law firm managers are realizing they need to do more to retain lawyers in an increasingly competitive environment. Lawyers responding to a survey by the legal consulting firm said the…

Jun 25, 2008 11:29 AM CDT

Bad News for Law Firms: Half the GCs Surveyed Are in a Firing Mood

Law firms hired by in-house counsel may be seeing less work this year, or none at all. About half the chief legal officers surveyed by Altman Weil say they have fired, or may fire, some of their outside counsel, the Recorder reports. Last year only around one-third were giving their…

Jun 25, 2008 10:57 AM CDT

Content More Robust Than Revenues for New LexMonitor Website

A new website launched Friday called LexMonitor features posts from legal blogs and journals that are aggregated by categories, making it easier to follow discussion about legal issues. Kevin O’Keefe, president of the company that launched LexMonitor, says the venture has a goal of showcasing blogs and making the law…

Jun 24, 2008 6:17 PM CDT

Lots of New Law Firm Offices, But Not in N.Y. or Overseas

Dozens of expanding U.S. law firms have opened new offices this year, but generally not in New York or abroad. Instead they have established a presence in new American cities on the West Coast, in the Midwest and in the South, reports the National Law Journal, in an article reprinted…

Jun 24, 2008 6:16 PM CDT

Hot Law Firm Swag: Wool Hats, Maple Syrup; Not: Cheap Plastic Pens

When selecting swag to give out to potential clients, many law firms, for some reason, focus on cheap plastic pens. This is not a recipe for marketing success, writes the Lawyers Weekly. Instead, Canadian law firms have found, useful items that also provide a bit of luxury or style are…

Jun 24, 2008 3:34 PM CDT

Lawyer Uses Psychic for Trial Help

At least one lawyer is consulting a psychic to help him divine his trial opponents’ strategies. A Manhattan lawyer who didn’t want to be identified told Newsweek he has hired corporate psychic consultant Laura Day, Newsweek reports. The lawyer, described as a special counsel to several white-shoe law firms, consults…

Jun 24, 2008 3:07 PM CDT

Life After BigLaw: ‘No Job, No Baby and 10 Pounds of Leftover Fat’

Shinyung Oh, the ousted Paul Hastings associate who sent a scathing mass e-mail denouncing the firm’s layoff tactics, is airing her feelings once again, this time on her own blog, Because You Never Know … . The blog contains posts on Oh’s sadness over her miscarriage and her post-law firm…

Jun 24, 2008 2:21 PM CDT

Ten Bracewell & Giuliani Lawyers to Form Public Sector Boutique

Ten lawyers from Bracewell & Giuliani, a majority of whom are women and minorities, are leaving the law firm to open a public sector law boutique. A press release notes the diversity of the new firm, Thompson & Horton, and said both firms will “work together as strategic partners.” Bracewell…

Jun 24, 2008 10:56 AM CDT

K&L Gates, Kennedy Covington Approve Merger

Partners at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis and Charlotte, N.C.-based Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman have approved a planned merger that will be effective July 1. The two law firms noted that Charlotte is the second-largest financial center in the country and said the merger will benefit both firms,…

Jun 24, 2008 10:33 AM CDT

Lawyers in Love Celebrate Anniversaries at Home—and at Work

Grant and Sandy Liser are celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary this month. But the two Texas lawyers are achieving a memorable milestone as partners at the office this year, too: a decade together at the same law firm, practicing together as trial attorneys in a 21-lawyer defense firm. Although their…

Jun 23, 2008 5:52 PM CDT

Renowned Attorney Who Killed Himself Faced Issues Over Firm’s Public Funding

When Gary Proctor committed suicide earlier this year, the renowned California criminal defense attorney did so as court officials were seeking more information. They wanted to know how his publicly funded law firm had been spending money it received to represented low-income Santa Clara County parents in child neglect and…

Jun 23, 2008 5:14 PM CDT

London Law Firm Studying Job Cuts, Could Eliminate 50 Positions

The London law firm Howard Kennedy is studying staffing needs and could cut as many as 50 jobs. Among those who could lose their positions are up to 20 fee earners, Legal Week reports. The publication calls the study a “redundancy consultation.” Property partner Paul Springall told Legal Week the…

Jun 23, 2008 1:46 PM CDT

Rowdy Celtics Fan Damages Legal Aid Office

A rowdy fan of the Boston Celtics used street sign poles to break the windows of Greater Boston Legal Services after the team won the NBA championship last week. GBLS executive director Robert Sable told the blog of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly that shards of broken glass have destroyed the nonprofit’s…

Jun 23, 2008 12:31 PM CDT

Summer Associates at Toronto Firm Blog About their Experience

Life as a summer associate may include editing footnotes, juggling multiple due dates, writing memos and, at least at one Toronto law firm, recording your experiences on a blog. Summer associates at Cassels Brock & Blackwell express their nervousness and the lessons they are learning on a daily basis on…

Jun 23, 2008 11:54 AM CDT