Practice Management

CA Bar Closes Web-Based Criminal Firm

California bar authorities are closing down an insolvent Los Angeles criminal defense firm, saying that its Internet ambitions exceeded its ability to satisfy professional standards. Robert Michael Nudelman, 59, agreed Monday that the State Bar of California could take over his insolvent firm, Criminal Defense Associates Inc., in the Woodland…

Jul 11, 2007 7:28 PM CDT

Midsize Firms Say Bigger Isn’t Better

It’s not always easy to stay the course as a midsize Chicago law firm. Some major corporate clients prefer to work with large law firms, and economies of scale that benefit the city’s biggest legal shops elude those with a comparatively small attorney roster of, say, 200 to 500. Meanwhile,…

Jul 11, 2007 6:22 PM CDT

Misconduct Charges for Libeled Judge

Misconduct charges have been filed against a Massachusetts judge who allegedly went too far in his continuing campaign against a Boston newspaper after winning a big-bucks libel case. After winning $2 million in 2005 from the Boston Herald, which had portrayed Judge Ernest Murphy as lenient to defendants and falsely…

Jul 10, 2007 9:38 PM CDT

Lawyer on TV Break from Spector Trial

An able team of defense lawyers is representing music producer Phil Spector in his ongoing Los Angeles murder trial. So lead attorney Bruce Cutler says he is leaving his client in good hands as he takes a break from courtroom duty to appear in a reality television program. Cutler is…

Jul 10, 2007 8:24 PM CDT

Mark Geragos Removed from CIA Case

Updated: A federal judge in San Diego has removed Mark Geragos from representing a defense contractor in a CIA fraud case, because the high-profile California defense lawyer refused to submit to background checks to obtain a security clearance. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns said yesterday that it was necessary to…

Jul 10, 2007 6:35 PM CDT

Judge to Mob Trial Lawyer: Chill Blogging

It isn’t just defendants and jurors who have been pushing their luck lately by blogging about their case while it is at trial. An attorney representing an alleged mobster in an ongoing Chicago trial has reportedly been told in chambers by the judge to stop discussing his views of the…

Jul 10, 2007 1:06 AM CDT

CA Attys Sue Over $100 K Average Pay

Contending that lawyers employed by the state of California make significantly less than those working in federal and local government jobs, a union representing 3,500 attorneys and hearing officers has sued Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The June 29 action seeks the appointment of a special master by a Sacramento County Superior…

Jul 6, 2007 10:49 PM CDT

$160,000 to Start in NYC—and Seattle

An intellectual property boutique has raised its starting pay in Seattle to $160,000, matching the salary its first-years earn in New York City. The move by Darby & Darby is the latest in a series of such salary increases by West Coast law offices, according to the National Law Journal…

Jul 6, 2007 10:13 PM CDT

Young Trial Atty Wins Big Katrina Case

A renowned trial lawyer on the Mississippi gulf coast who had a big influence in the life of novelist John Grisham, attorney Will Denton made a name for himself as a plaintiff lawyer after Hurricane Camille hit the state in 1969. He didn’t live to see the devastation wrought on…

Jul 6, 2007 9:41 PM CDT

Armed Attorney Forced Off Murder Case

A Florida attorney who allegedly carried a loaded gun into a Broward County courthouse in his briefcase has been removed as defense counsel in a murder case and charged with carrying a concealed firearm. Stephen Finta, 59, told the judge in the case that he was carrying the .357 Ruger…

Jul 6, 2007 8:15 PM CDT

Corp Clients Trim US/Foreign Firm Rosters to Save $$

Major medical insurers have been leveraging their purchasing power for decades, negotiating fee discounts from medical providers by promising a large volume of business from insured individuals. Now in-house counsel at major corporations are routinely applying similar tactics to legal providers, sending work to a smaller number of law firms…

Jul 6, 2007 6:06 PM CDT

Sept 11 Lawyer to Run VA Tech Fund

How to spend some $7 million donated to Virginia Tech after a student killed 32 and injured dozens more in an on-campus shooting massacre in April will be determined, at least in part, by a Washington, D.C., lawyer. Kenneth R. Feinberg, who was in charge of disbursing a $7 billion…

Jul 6, 2007 12:32 AM CDT

Should States Hire Private Trial Lawyers?

A growing controversy about whether it is appropriate for states to retain high-priced contingency lawyers to pursue mass tort litigation on citizens’ behalf is being argued in courts—and newspapers—throughout the country. Siding with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Wall Street Journal’s (sub. req.) editorial board says today that it’s…

Jul 5, 2007 10:50 PM CDT

Tax Shelter Probe Points to More Attys

It isn’t just Sidley Austin and the now-defunct Jenkens and Gilchrist that come to mind these days when one thinks of the federal investigation of allegedly abusive tax shelters. Other law firms names, too, are in the news for those who are following the sprawling tax shelter investigation brought by…

Jul 4, 2007 12:10 AM CDT

Time-Out Time for No-Vacation Nation?

When is a vacation not a vacation? When non-exempt employees paid by the hour are hovering over their BlackBerries or taking questions from the office by cell phone, for one thing. So, as the 4th of July holiday looms, one law firm recommends, well-advised employers should give some thought to…

Jul 3, 2007 10:26 PM CDT