Solos/Small Firms

Ex-Partner Suit: Two Firms Using My Name Is One Too Many

Updated: It isn’t unusual for a law firm to leave a former partner’s name on its shingle after he has made a final exit from law practice into the grave. But Lawrence Charfoos is still alive and well, not to mention practicing at a competing new firm, Charfoos Giovan &…

Jan 25, 2010 7:02 PM CST

Ex-Attorney Charged in Alleged Loan Modification Scheme Victimizing Over 400

A California lawyer who lost his license to practice in October and was sued by the state attorney general is now facing criminal charges over a claimed $1.25 million mortgage loan modification scheme targeting struggling homeowners. Christopher Lee Diener, 42, with the help of two business partners, allegedly defrauded more…

Jan 25, 2010 4:48 PM CST

Attorney with Big Ad Budget Can Open Law Office LLC in 49th State, Court Says

In a ruling that is sure to disappoint competing firms that sought to block a national attorney known for his blockbuster advertising budget from establishing a local foothold, the Rhode Island Supreme Court today ruled that James Sokolove can form a law firm limited liability corporation there. It will be…

Jan 22, 2010 12:54 AM CST

Ex-Wife Who Killed Prominent Lawyer Seeks Parole 18 Years After High-Profile Conviction

Updated: Depending on which version you believe, Elisabeth Anne “Betty” Broderick was either a woman driven to murder by the relentless litigation tactics of her well-connected ex-husband, a successful California trial attorney, or a self-centered drama queen unable to come to grips with her anger over a divorce that left…

Jan 22, 2010 12:25 AM CST

Uncomfortable About Blowing Own Horn, Lawyer Talks About Electric Car in TV Ad

Uncomfortable about directly seeking clients for his auto accident practice, a South Carolina attorney and admitted car buff urges viewers to promote electric-powered vehicles on a television ad. “I think it’s awful when lawyers go on there begging for someone to have a crash,” Gary Ling tells the Post and…

Jan 20, 2010 12:41 AM CST

Lawyer Is Charged in Practice-Related Case Brought by Opposing Candidate’s Office

Attorney John Andrew Mattingly Jr. has been seeking election to the post of St. Mary’s County state’s attorney. But now it appears that the 40-year-old Leonardtown, Md., lawyer and Democratic candidate could lose not only the race for the prosecutor’s job but his law practice as a result of law…

Jan 13, 2010 6:14 PM CST

Law Firm and Ex-Associate Battle in Court and on Net Over Badmouth Blog

A federal judge says she plans to order unspecified “limited” restrictions of an ex-associate’s badmouth blog criticizing the New Jersey law firm that formerly employed him. But it appears that some of the most telling blows in the battle between Levinson Axelrod and attorney Edward Heyburn over his Levinson Axelrod…

Jan 12, 2010 6:31 PM CST

Office Bargains in Bad Economy Allow Law Firms to Create Exciting Spaces

When Florida bankruptcy attorney Rick Perry logged onto a real estate auction site last summer, he was looking for some art. An appointment had canceled, so he had a few minutes to spare. But then he noticed the meager bids on a pair of historic Queen Anne homes in downtown…

Jan 11, 2010 10:46 PM CST

Latham IP Litigator Jumps to Boutique, one of Four Partners Exiting the Firm

After 20 years of practice at Latham & Watkins, intellectual property litigator Kenneth Fitzgerald says he figured he was at a point in his career where he had two choices: Stay at Latham and eventually retire, or move on to his own law firm. Fitzgerald chose something akin to the…

Jan 8, 2010 5:47 PM CST

The Year Wasn’t So Bad for Law Firms in the Second 100

The law firms in the top 100 got a lot of press last year, with news of declining profits, frozen salaries and staff and lawyer layoffs. The year was considerably better for midsize law firms in the second 100, according to a legal consultant writing in the Connecticut Law Tribune.…

Jan 6, 2010 3:31 PM CST

10 Lawyers Exit Jeffer Mangels to Form New Elkins Kalt Firm

After practicing together for as much as two decades at a Los Angeles firm, 10 lawyers—including six partners—have departed Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro to form their own firm. Their new legal partnership, Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside, opened its doors Jan. 1, reports the National Law Journal in an…

Jan 5, 2010 7:52 PM CST

Lawyer’s Enterprising iPhone App Routes Clients to ‘My Attorney’

A free iPhone application being offered by a Florida lawyer makes it especially easy for would-be clients to reach attorney Jason Turchin, send him photographs related to potential tort claims and download free legal advice and forms. But his My Attorney App has space for users to list additional attorneys…

Jan 5, 2010 5:50 PM CST

Federal Judge Sanctions ‘Obsessed’ Lawyer $110K Over Recusal Claims

A federal judge has imposed nearly $110,000 in sanctions on a Florida lawyer and has suspended him from practice in the Southern District of Florida for 42 months over his efforts to persuade the judge to step down from overseeing three employment cases. “Obsessed” with his desire to win the…

Jan 4, 2010 9:22 PM CST

‘Foreclosure Mills’ Use ‘Assembly-Line’ Litigation Process

Amidst the worst economic downturn in the memory of many practitioners, business is red-hot at Florida law firms that handle multiple mortgage foreclosures for minimal legal fees of perhaps $1,200 a case. Some “foreclosure mills” are filing hundreds of cases monthly, utilizing an “assembly-line” process. It assigns each component of…

Jan 4, 2010 7:54 PM CST

Why Can’t We Be Friends?

Having clients as Facebook friends is full of risks—and rewards

Jan 2, 2010 2:00 AM CST