Law Firms: Layoffs a Possibility

Although the legal market is still strong and many major firms reportedly are competing hard for desired associates, some see a potential storm cloud on the horizon. The stock market gyrations following the subprime mortgage meltdown are creating a credit crunch that makes it more difficult to finance corporate transactions.…

Aug 27, 2007 11:32 PM CDT

Big London Firms Take a Breather

A slowing international mergers and acquisitions market is expected to trim the phenomenal profits recently being made by major London-based law firms. All five of the city’s so-called Magic Circle firms recently announced profit increases of at least 20 percent last year (the figure exceeded 30 percent at Allen &…

Aug 27, 2007 10:47 PM CDT

No Jury Duty for Janet Reno

These days, it isn’t all that unusual for a lawyer, or even a judge, to serve on a jury. But there are still a few justice system figures who apparently can still expect to be eliminated from the prospective panel pretty quickly. Among them: former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno,…

Aug 27, 2007 10:15 PM CDT

Lawyer Sues Over Court Entry Fee

If Illinois put attorneys’ photos on their law licenses, life would be easier for those who regularly go to court. Picture identification is required to stand in the fast-lane entry that many courthouses maintain for lawyers as well as court workers. But, in the absence of a statewide attorney ID…

Aug 27, 2007 7:57 PM CDT

Dewey + LeBoeuf = Mega Merger?

Two major New York-based firms – Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae – are in advanced merger talks that would create a firm that ranks in the top dozen in terms of number of lawyers and revenue, anonymous sources have told the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. A formal annoucement of the discussions could come as early as today.

The combined firm would have almost 1,300 lawyers in 12 countries and revenue approaching $1 billion, the Times reports. Mergers of this size – particularly involving New York firms – are very rare, the Journal notes.

LeBoeuf has more than 700 lawyers based in 18 offices, according to the Times; Dewey has 550 attorneys in 12 cities. Last year, LeBoeuf reported $513 million in gross revenue and $1.43 million in profits per equity partner; Dewey had $409 million in revenue and $1.45 million in profits …

Aug 26, 2007 7:26 PM CDT

Contempt Trial for Arrested PD

CORRECTED: There’s no word yet about the result of a contempt trial scheduled today in the case of an Ohio assistant public defender briefly jailed last week after he refused to try a case he’d been assigned the previous day. Brian Jones, who is to be represented by a fellow…

Aug 25, 2007 1:12 AM CDT

Law Blogs: Nixon Loses in ‘Winner’ Song Spat

Law blawggers are agog over Nixon Peabody’s claimed response to an unexpected Internet hit—the law firm’s unofficial theme song “Everyone’s a Winner at Nixon Peabody!” Apparently created by law-firm marketers for an internal event celebrating the firm’s inclusion in a Fortune magazine list of the 100 best places to work,…

Aug 24, 2007 10:53 PM CDT

11th Circuit: Return Katrina Docs!

In a blunt opinion filed today, a federal appeals court says two sisters portrayed as whistle-blowers in ongoing litigation over Hurricane Katrina insurance claims must return some 15,000 internal documents concerning State Farm Insurance Co. The unpublished ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is potentially important not…

Aug 24, 2007 9:38 PM CDT

No Contempt Case if Lawyer Hosted Mob

A Manhattan lawyer who allegedly hosted meetings for organized crime members who were under court order not to associate with each other can’t be charged with contempt of court, a federal judge has decided. That’s because the order was not specifically directed at the lawyer. However, there are other mechanisms…

Aug 24, 2007 7:36 PM CDT

Sarbanes Case Against Lawyer Continues

The controversial prosecution of a Connecticut lawyer under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for what he says was an unknowing destruction of evidence will proceed, a federal judge has decided. Although Philip Russell says he didn’t know when he destroyed a computer containing child pornography that the FBI had just started a…

Aug 24, 2007 4:33 PM CDT

Sham Lawyer Scam Cost Clients $6 M

While a Long Island attorney was away from his law office having surgery and recuperating, his part-time paralegal was apparently busy–very busy. Mohammed Rafikian, 41, pretended to be the attorney for whom he worked, and scammed clients out of $6 million by persuading them to fund phony investments, reports the…

Aug 24, 2007 4:11 PM CDT

Criminal Lawyer in Contempt for Defending Client

A Washington state lawyer has been found in contempt of court for his defense of an alleged serial rapist who has already served his 25-year sentence for a single rape conviction. Kevin Coe, 60, is still being held, however, because he is considered likely to re-offend, and Tim Tragesser advised…

Aug 24, 2007 3:25 PM CDT

Referee Lawyer Doesn’t Judge

Taking unpopular positions doesn’t bother John Lauro, the lawyer who is representing the former referee who pleaded guilty to gambling-related felonies last week. In fact, Lauro relishes the idea. “When somebody takes a position that is unpopular, to me, there is nothing more thrilling than doing that,” Lauro told the…

Aug 24, 2007 3:15 PM CDT

Refco Trustee Seeks $2 Billion from Mayer Brown, Others

A court-appointed trustee for creditors of Refco Inc. is now seeking $2 billion from defendants, including Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, in a lawsuit over a 2005 initial public offering of the commodities firm. The suit, filed Tuesday in Illinois state court in Chicago, and the trustee, Marc S. Kirschner,…

Aug 23, 2007 9:45 PM CDT

Fake Law Firm Web Site Mirrors Reality

A fake law firm Web site created to promote a new television legal drama at least arguably is uncomfortably close to some real-life versions. Streaming video makes the “Hewes & Associates” site difficult to navigate. The 15-year-old fictional Manhattan firm promotes itself in over-the-top (albeit satirical) terms as “one of…

Aug 23, 2007 8:50 PM CDT