Legal Industry RSS

  • April 23, 2014

    4 Surging Practice Areas Generating Big Billable Hours

    Although some practice areas have shrunk amid a shifting legal landscape, the demand for a select few legal services is growing by leaps and bounds, giving attorneys the opportunity to generate huge billable hours. Here, Law360 looks at practice areas experiencing explosions in demand.

  • April 23, 2014

    Malpractice Firms In Demand As Claims Against BigLaw Rise

    As competition for high-stakes legal work intensifies, major law firms are becoming increasingly exposed to massive professional liability claims, driving a need for experienced lawyers who can handle the demands of defending BigLaw clients, experts say.

  • April 23, 2014

    Female Powerbrokers Q&A: Curtis' Nancy Delaney

    As wonderful as my male mentors were, they did not completely understand what it was like for me to be on trial when my son took his first step or how a traditional business “dinner” with a male client can be more complicated for a woman, says Nancy Delaney, the first female litigation partner at Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP and founder of the firm's women's initiative.

  • April 23, 2014

    Female Powerbrokers Q&A: Alston Hunt's Anna Elento-Sneed

    When a senior male partner "volunteered" all the female associates to staff a social event for a males-only organization, we told him we refused to participate. We thought we would get fired, but we stuck together and did not have to attend, says Anna Elento-Sneed, chairwoman of Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing's labor and employment, government contracts and corporate governance practice group.

  • April 22, 2014

    Former Top-Level Dewey Atty To Testify In Criminal Case

    The lead prosecutor in the criminal trial of the former heads of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, who are accused of artificially inflating the firm’s books before its collapse, on Monday revealed that former Dewey executive committee member John Altorelli will be called as a witness for the government.

  • April 22, 2014

    Gender Equality A No-Brainer For Employment Firms

    Employment law firms are doing far better than their BigLaw brethren at promoting and retaining female talent, reflecting a professional knack for supportive workplace policies, a client-driven focus on equality and a cultural history of inclusion that dates back decades.

  • April 22, 2014

    2 More Patton Boggs Partners Bolt Amid Merger Talks

    Two more Patton Boggs LLP partners have joined a steady stream of departures from the struggling lobbying firm as it negotiates a potential deal to merge with Squire Sanders LLP.

  • April 22, 2014

    Firms Eyeing Gender Equality Should Adopt Corporate Culture

    U.S. law firms continue to make it hard for women to advance, but experts say the legal industry could look to an unlikely source for inspiration — corporate America.

  • April 22, 2014

    Female Powerbrokers Q&A: BakerHostetler's Lauren Resnick

    I started breaking into “old boys’ networks” when I was 9 years old and the only girl at a soccer camp. They picked me last for teams — until they saw I could play as well on the field as any of them, says Lauren Resnick, BakerHostetler's business development partner and New York administrative partner, and a former federal prosecutor.

  • April 22, 2014

    Female Powerbrokers Q&A: Priest Johnson's Priest Johnson

    I left the national law firm scene because of the inherent challenges of being a woman at a national law firm — primarily the rigidity and inflexible, often unrealistic, scheduling expectations, short-term view of being a valuable contributor to the firm, and the demand that I “act like a man” in the way I did my job, says Kimberly Priest Johnson, founder of Priest Johnson PLLC and a former federal prosecutor.

  • April 22, 2014

    4 Ways To Get Your Law Firm Merger-Ready

    Joining forces with another law firm is an efficient way to strengthen specific practice areas, offer services in more markets and grow a book of business, but firms that are unprepared for a merger opportunity risk turning positive change into a potentially damaging experience for both clients and employees, experts say. Here, Law360 looks at ways to be ready when opportunity knocks.

  • April 21, 2014

    How Firms Can Help Female Partners Make It Rain

    Female attorneys continue to find it daunting to rise and become rain makers at law firms, but specialized leadership training and business development programs can help open doors. Here, Law360 looks at four ways firms can ramp up their women's initiatives.

  • April 21, 2014

    Only 7 BigLaw Firms Have Women Running The Show

    Women are in the top leadership spots of only seven of the 100 largest U.S. firms — a product of law firms failing to provide adequate mentorship and advancement opportunities, experts say.

  • April 21, 2014

    DA Says Dewey Criminal Trial Could Last 6 Months

    Prosecutors on Monday told a New York judge that the criminal trial of the former senior management of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP for cooking the firm's books before its collapse could take four to six months to try, and attorneys for the junior staffer charged in the action said they may try to sever his case.

  • April 21, 2014

    Female Powerbrokers Q&A: Allen Matkins' Amy Wintersheimer

    Law firms often place too much emphasis on the number of hours billed, when there are far more important things to be considered in determining who should be your partner, says Amy Wintersheimer Findley, a member of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP's management committee.

  • April 21, 2014

    Female Powerbrokers Q&A: Horvitz & Levy's Lisa Perrochet

    Sexism can seriously undermine the respect that an accomplished attorney should receive. At the same time, the existence of sexism can lead an attorney to believe that a comment or criticism stems from bias even when it doesn’t. Don't assume the worst, and don't suffer in silence, says Lisa Perrochet, a partner with Horvitz & Levy LLP.

  • April 21, 2014

    5 Ways To Avoid The Billing Mistakes Clients Hate

    Billing can expose the tensions that lie beneath the surface of even the most harmonious law firm-client relationships, and experts say inaccuracy, lack of communication and a failure to mind details are the root of all evil in this important arena.

  • April 18, 2014

    Equity Partnership Door Blocked For Female Attorneys

    The culture of many large U.S. law firms does not support equal access to business-building opportunities, blocking women from the position they most want to reach — equity partnership.

  • April 18, 2014

    Stop Paying Lip Service To Flex Time, Female Attys Say

    Firms with flex-time policies must devote time and resources to educating partners and providing mentors for young female attorneys — or they risk alienating the very people they hope to retain.

  • April 18, 2014

    The 25 Best Law Firms For Female Partners

    Bucking a nationwide trend among law firms of subpar female representation at the partner level, Law360's inaugural class of Ceiling Smashers have shown a commitment to gender equality.