Salt Lake City firm Open Legal Services operates as a nonprofit, keeping hourly rates low

Making Hay the Nonprofit Way

Sep 1, 2015 8:45 AM CDT

Pro bono gives solos experience and satisfaction

When Chicago attorney Jill Metz started practicing as a solo attorney in the early 1980s, she decided she would always make time to do pro bono work. Though she needed to get her practice off the ground and earn a living, Metz volunteered five to 10 hours a week for…

Sep 1, 2015 6:35 AM CDT

Lawyers acquitted of coaching witnesses to lie; case a ‘scary attack’ on defense bar, counsel says

A little over a year after the feds raided the law office of two Chicago defense attorneys, then charged them with perjury for allegedly coaching witnesses to lie, both have been acquitted by a federal judge at a bench trial. Law partners Beau Brindley and Michael Thompson got the good…

Aug 31, 2015 11:55 AM CDT

Partners to dissolve litigation boutique after 35-year run instead of signing new lease

After 35 years in business, a well-regarded New York City litigation boutique is dissolving as an October 2015 lease renewal looms. “We’ve been practicing law for 40-plus years, and we were not going to make a commitment for another 10-year lease,” senior partner William Pollard told the New York Law…

Aug 28, 2015 1:30 PM CDT

Georgia state bar to launch lawyer incubator program

The State Bar of Georgia has approved a new lawyer incubator program for recent law school graduates. The program, which is set to begin in January, will be open to recent graduates of Georgia’s five ABA-approved law schools who are interested in solo or small firm practice and committed to…

Aug 28, 2015 11:50 AM CDT

Ethics case alleges ‘settlement shakedown’ by lawyer whose Prenda firm sued porn downloaders

Attorney disciplinary authorities in Illinois are pursuing a legal ethics case against a Chicago lawyer known for filing a large number of copyright cases against individuals over claimed illegal downloading of pornographic materials. Filed Thursday against John Lawrence Steele, the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission ethics complaint (PDF) alleges…

Aug 24, 2015 9:35 AM CDT

Bankruptcy trustee seeks clawback of bonuses paid before before law firm closed

A bankruptcy trustee claims a Missouri law firm paid bonuses to its shareholders and employees before a $10.5 million malpractice judgment that led the law firm’s closure in December 2014. The law firm, Green Jacobson of Clayton, Missouri, paid a total of about $3.78 million in “bonus payroll” payments after…

Aug 13, 2015 12:23 PM CDT

Law firm’s suit claims former partner violated deal to pay $200K if appeals court ruled against him

A lawsuit by an Atlanta law firm claims a former partner violated a deal to settle prior litigation over his departure when he failed to pay $200,000 after an adverse appellate ruling. The suit by Helms & Greene says the former partner, Kirk Willis, agreed to pay the money if…

Aug 13, 2015 9:59 AM CDT

Harley rider focuses on motorcycle law in office at converted service station

A former traffic-court prosecutor, Kirk Fisher had envisioned an environmental law focus when he transitioned into private practice. He was even attending a post-law-degree graduate program in the subject at Vermont Law School. The recession and a chance encounter with a group of lawyers from an Arizona firm at a…

Aug 6, 2015 2:00 PM CDT

Bomb goes off at door of law firm

Police in Idaho Falls, Idaho, are investigating a bomb blast at a local law firm that occurred not long after midnight on Friday. “A wall shaker, I knew it was more than a gun going off,” neighbor Payl Ahlstrom told KBOI. “It was pretty impressive to say the least.” The…

Aug 3, 2015 1:55 PM CDT

Sen. Durbin promotes pro bono, honors award recipients

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaking to an oft-cheering audience on his home turf, exhorted lawyers to do more pro bono work and to help finance free legal services provided by others in his keynote address Saturday at the ABA’s Pro Bono Publico Awards luncheon at the association’s annual meeting…

Aug 1, 2015 7:17 PM CDT

Have we reached the end of the partnership model?

Aug 1, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

These ‘time hacks’ helped lawyer juggle practice with side business

A Michigan lawyer who wanted to grow his side business as the owner of a kayak rental shop learned that he could get more work done if he didn’t answer his emails right away. Lawyer Chris Boyle got help from the Washington Post’s “timehacker project,” which matches readers with coaches…

Jul 30, 2015 10:32 AM CDT

Bankruptcy firm chief sues ex-associate for $1M over alleged software conspiracy

In the latest of a series of lawsuits linked to a claimed theft of proprietary software by a competitor, Chicago bankruptcy law firm chief Peter Francis Geraci is seeking $1 million in damages from a former associate. Filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court, the suit alleges that Kevin Chern,…

Jul 24, 2015 10:15 AM CDT

We want to be the best, so we don’t hire Ivy League law grads, says small-firm chief

Adam Leitman Bailey wants his 15-lawyer real estate boutique to be one of the best in New York. So he doesn’t hire—or even interview—recent graduates of Ivy League and other top-tier law schools, he tells the Wall Street Journal Law Blog: ““Even if they were top of the class, I…

Jul 16, 2015 11:45 AM CDT