Practice Management

Partnership Harder to Get, Easier to Lose

Just in case associates at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner haven’t already noticed, the Washington, D.C.-based intellectual property boutique called a meeting recently to announce that it’s harder than it used to be to make partner. Among other changes that are now being formally codified, the partnership track is…

Sep 28, 2007 7:18 PM CDT

Survey: Skadden #1 in Corporate Realm

In the corporate arena, one law firm clearly is the top of the list, a survey says: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. There isn’t a category where Skadden isn’t a lead player,” Michael Rynowecer, president of BTI Consulting Group, tells Legal Times, in a story reprinted by New York…

Sep 28, 2007 6:52 PM CDT

Survey Says: Career Satisfaction a Struggle

Lawyers are ruder. Litigation costs more. And many attorneys struggle for career satisfaction. But nonetheless, most lawyers are still proud of their profession. That’s the gist of an American Bar Association survey of 800 attorneys that is discussed in next month’s ABA Journal cover story. One troubling statistic is the…

Sep 28, 2007 3:02 PM CDT

Law Firms Try YouTube: ‘Hostage Videos’

Law firms have discovered YouTube, and reportedly see the social networking site as a potential summer associate recruiting tool. Their goal: to appear young and hip, in order to appeal to those who are. The reality for a number of firms: they’re not quite there yet, reports the International Herald…

Sep 27, 2007 10:57 PM CDT

Five Firms in Attorney Fee Free-for-All

After fighting together to win a settlement in a class action over mortgage lender closing costs, a group of Illinois plaintiffs lawyers squared off for a new battle—fighting with each other about how to divide the $1.6 million attorney fee. It appears that a badly drafted attorney fee letter agreement…

Sep 27, 2007 9:23 PM CDT

Small Firm, Big Litigation

In more than 30 years of mass torts practice, Mark Robinson has helped his small Calfornia law firm make a big mark. Founded in 1978 after Robinson won a $128 verdict for a 13-year-old plaintiff with burn injuries in a Ford Pinto gas-tank case, Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson had evolved…

Sep 27, 2007 7:48 PM CDT

Court: Lawyer Lied in Firm Fight ... But Which One?

A recent ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal offers a startling view of the hard-hitting office politics at a venerable Toronto law firm. When attorney Benjamin Moss trudged back to Pinkofskys from a criminal trial on May 14, 2004 and reported to his colleagues that the firm’s client had…

Sep 26, 2007 9:35 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Knowledge Used Against Him

Connecticut lawyer Philip Russell has a lot of expertise in child pornography cases—but it may hurt his defense in a prosecution for destroying evidence. Prosecutors say Russell should have given the FBI his client’s computer containing child pornography instead of destroying it. He is accused of obstructing justice under the…

Sep 26, 2007 2:18 PM CDT

Money-Making Game: ‘Second Life’ First?

A Canadian law firm claims to be the first to establish an office on Second Life, a 3D virtual community that has attracted millions of participants from all over the world. Davis LLP is staffing its Second Life office with lawyers from the firm’s Video Game law & Interactive Entertainment…

Sep 25, 2007 10:10 PM CDT

Nice Job: World’s Richest Representation

Ten years ago, Steven Selsberg left the Houston office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges because he didn’t make partner. Today, his professional future is looking a lot brighter. Although has racked up a number of professional accomplishments in the meantime, including partnerships at two major law firms, one in particular…

Sep 25, 2007 8:51 PM CDT

DLA Piper Recruiting Rampage

A mega-firm has gone into mega-recruitment mode, luring seven corporate partners laterally from Chicago-based law firms. DLA Piper’s recruitment rampage has reeled in Drew Chapman, as the new chair of the fund services group, from Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, where he headed its fund services practice; Jack Kantrowitz, a corporate…

Sep 24, 2007 10:48 PM CDT

ABA Prez Seeks Ohio Death Penalty Halt

After a 30-month study, a group of legal experts associated with the American Bar Association called today for a temporary moratorium on enforcement of the death penalty in Ohio until a “flawed” criminal justice system can be corrected. Inadequate legal representation, among other problems, means that the interests of many…

Sep 24, 2007 10:46 PM CDT

Dress for Jury Success: Less is More

Red suits for women and pink shirts for men may make powerful fashion statements. But when lawyers are appearing before juries, they’re fashion statements that should be avoided, along with provocative—and noisy—clothing, a consultant advises. “Less is more,” says consultant Andrea Ward, who recently discussed appropriate attire for jury trials…

Sep 24, 2007 10:29 PM CDT

2 Lawyers in Bankruptcy Case Crossfire

A well-known defense lawyer is the latest central Florida attorney to be caught in the crossfire between high-profile client Lou Pearlman, a jailed music producer with $500 million in claimed debt, and a bankruptcy trustee. The trustee is asking a bankruptcy judge to compel attorney Robert Leventhal, who has been…

Sep 24, 2007 6:37 PM CDT

Lawyer Pleads in $20 M Mortgage Scam

A Georgia real estate attorney has pleaded guilty in a $20 million federal mortgage fraud case involving some 50 Atlanta area properties that a client company purchased and resold to straw buyers between 2000 and 2001. The company “would acquire properties and on the same day resell or ‘flip’ them…

Sep 22, 2007 12:07 AM CDT