Once-prominent lawyer gets 5 years in federal prison for stealing $2.4M from clients

A once-prominent South Carolina lawyer was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison on Wednesday for stealing $2.4 million from clients. The defense had asked that Richard Breibart be sentenced only to the 18 months he had already served in the mail fraud case, saying that he is sick and…

Mar 5, 2014 5:10 PM CST

13 trial lawyers from Kennedy Childs join Fennemore Craig; 12 others form new firm, Childs McCune

A firm of trial lawyers in Colorado is splitting, with 13 of its attorneys headed to the Denver office of Fennemore Craig and 12 others forming a new firm, Childs McCune, as of March 10. There are currently 19 lawyers listed on the attorney roster at the Kennedy Childs website,…

Mar 3, 2014 11:14 PM CST

Clients don’t seem to mind nontraditional office arrangements

Mar 1, 2014 8:40 AM CST

New law firm caters to gun-toting Virginians worried about legal defense costs

Gun-toting Virginians worried about legal defense costs are being offered peace of mind by a new law firm formed by the state’s former attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli. The new firm, Virginia Self Defense Law, offers a monthly retainer as low as $8.33 a month, the Washington Post reports. For that…

Feb 28, 2014 2:10 PM CST

Lawyer is leaving the law to operate gourmet grilled-cheese and wine bar

For now, Bruce Klores isn’t giving up his day job. But the Washington, D.C., lawyer is planning to wind down his practice as he ramps up a new business in the nation’s capital. Known as GCDC, it will serve gourmet grilled cheese concoctions and morph into a wine bar at…

Feb 26, 2014 7:50 PM CST

Law firm won’t split $250K check with attorney’s estate, says his suicide voided fee-share agreement

After Ira Bordow committed suicide at his Wisconsin home last year, his brother found a $250,000 check from an insurance company on the front seat of the dead man’s Lexus. It was made out to Bordow and Styles & Pumpian, the law firm with which the 54-year-old practitioner had been…

Feb 24, 2014 7:30 PM CST

New law firm of BigLaw refugees is overseen by former weight loss executive

The former leader of weight-loss company Medifast is co-founder of a new Washington, D.C., law firm. Mike McDevitt is chief executive of the Tandem Legal Group, which opened in March, the Washington Post reports. The nonlawyer is able to share in the law firm’s profits because of unique D.C. ethics…

Feb 24, 2014 1:02 PM CST

Insurer had duty to defend ‘Heavy Hitter’ law firm in deceptive advertising case, federal judge says

A malpractice exclusion in a law firm’s director’s and officer’s liability insurance policy did not excuse the carrier from providing a defense in a lawsuit against the firm over its alleged deceptive advertising, a federal judge has ruled. Finding that the exclusion, as interpreted by the insurer, would largely eliminate…

Feb 18, 2014 6:45 PM CST

Who shot suburban attorney to death in law firm parking lot? Suspect still sought in 2009 slaying

Those who knew Eric Birnbaum say it is impossible to imagine who could have wanted to shoot the 51-year-old suburban Philadelphia lawyer to death, execution-style, as he was walking across the parking lot to work on Feb. 10, 2009. But someone wearing a knit cap and sunglasses did, possibly in…

Feb 10, 2014 5:25 PM CST

Computer virus locks up law firm files

The good news: No law firm or client data was taken. The bad news: Attorney Paul Goodson and his staff can’t access his Charlotte, N.C., law firm’s files after they were locked up by a computer virus, WSOC reports. Like other businesses in the city, the firm was targeted via…

Feb 10, 2014 2:50 PM CST

Attorneys watch as historic law office buildings go up in flames

Two name partners watched stoically from the street Sunday morning as the Bethlehem, Pa., law firm founded by their late father, a city solicitor, and housed in two historic 19th-century buildings went up in flames. “I started there in 1983 when I graduated from law school, and my brother, who…

Feb 10, 2014 12:20 PM CST

Two Vinson partners form litigation boutique, fulfilling a ‘long-standing dream’

Two longtime Vinson & Elkins partners have left the firm to form a litigation boutique. Robert Schick and Morgan Copeland, Jr. joined Vinson & Elkins right after law school and practiced law there for more than 30 years. Their new firm, Schick & Copeland, will be located in Houston, report…

Feb 7, 2014 4:20 PM CST

7 lawyers exit Downey Brand to form new firm focusing on energy and land-use

Seven lawyers have exited one of the largest law firms in Sacramento, Calif., to form a new boutique. Known as Mitchell Chadwick, the fledgling firm has former Downey Brand partners Patrick Mitchell and G. Braiden Chadwick at the helm. They focus their practice on land use and oil, gas and…

Feb 4, 2014 4:30 PM CST

McDonald Hopkins expands office in Ohio’s capital by adding litigation boutique

McDonald Hopkins announced Monday that it is expanding its office in the Ohio state capital by acquiring a six-attorney litigation boutique. Welin, O’Shaughnessy + Scheaf focuses on construction law and litigation, complex business litigation and oil and gas litigation. Name partner Peter D. Welin will now head the Columbus office…

Feb 3, 2014 9:00 PM CST

McCarter & English acquires energy and environmental boutique, now has office in DC

One of New Jersey’s biggest and best-known law firms has planted its flag in the nation’s capital with the acquisition of a Washington, D.C., energy and environmental law boutique. McCarter & English finalized the merger with Miller Balis & O’Neil on Feb. 1, adding another 14 lawyers to the roster…

Feb 3, 2014 8:15 PM CST