Legal Industry

January 27, 2012
Hagens Berman Collects On Ex-Attys' Breach Of Contract

A federal judge in Washington state on Friday awarded Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP nearly $185,000 in its suit against a married couple hired as of counsel at the firm, but who allegedly failed to adhere to their contract and damaged Hagens Berman's reputation.
January 27, 2012
Akin Gump Hit With 2nd $120M Defamation Suit

A California business consultant on Wednesday filed a $120 million defamation suit against Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and one of its securities partners, the second such suit filed against the firm in Los Angeles this week.
January 27, 2012
ACC Fights Court's Narrowing Of Attorney-Client Privilege

The Association of Corporate Counsel on Wednesday challenged an Illinois appeals court judgment in a suit over the purchase of a shopping mall corporation, contending the decision undermines attorney-client privilege and will create a "mine field" of ethical conflicts in the state.
January 27, 2012
Cooley Partner Takes GC Job At Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Cooley LLP confirmed Friday that partner Suzanne Sawochka Hooper is leaving the firm to become general counsel for Irish biopharmaceutical company Jazz Phamaceuticals PLC, a longtime client that she represented during its recent merger with Azur Pharma PLC.
January 26, 2012
Akin Gump Securities Atty Hit With $100M Libel Suit

A California attorney on Tuesday accused Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and one of its securities partners of defamation, saying they called him a liar and a crook, and asked that a Los Angeles court award him more than $100 million in damages.
January 25, 2012
Spring Bonuses Likely On Tap, But Could Be Short-Lived

Expect the spring bonus bonanza that swept through several BigLaw firms in 2011 to repeat itself this year, but don't bet the ranch on it expanding throughout the industry, especially if the economy remains shaky, legal industry experts say.
January 24, 2012
Ill. State Trial Courts Ready For Their Close-Up

News cameras may start rolling in Illinois state trial courts for the first time, thanks to a new experimental program announced Tuesday by the head of the state's highest court.
January 24, 2012
Jurors' Social Media Use Defies Easy Management: Report

Federal judges are taking precautions to prevent the use of social media by jurors in their courtrooms, but some have found that monitoring such use is difficult, according to a Federal Judicial Center report released Tuesday.
January 24, 2012
Obama Nominates 3 For 1st, 10th Circs., NJ District

President Barack Obama on Monday nominated an Oklahoma judge and a longtime Maine attorney for judgeships in the First and Tenth circuits, as well as a New Jersey magistrate judge to the state's federal district court.
January 23, 2012
Latham & Watkins' Year-End Bonuses Peak At $54K

Latham & Watkins LLP will hand out year-end bonuses of up to $54,000 for eighth-year associates, in a scale that tops the 2011 associate bonus benchmark set by New York law firm Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, the firm confirmed Monday.
January 23, 2012
New D.C. Judicial Code To Assist Pro Se Litigants

The District of Columbia Courts system has adopted a new code of judicial conduct emphasizing that judges should make legal proceedings clearer to individuals representing themselves in court as long as they don't offer them any unfair advantages, according to the rules released Friday.
January 20, 2012
Partners Of The Future Will Travel Off The Beaten Path

For years, young attorneys could make partner if they logged enough hours, sharpened their legal skills and survived 12-hour days. Now, the path to partner is taking longer than in years past as a perfect storm of factors pushes associates off the typical BigLaw trajectory.
January 20, 2012
Littler Merges With Memphis Boutique Kiesewetter Wise

Littler Mendelson PC announced Thursday that it has joined forces with Memphis, Tenn., labor boutique Kiesewetter Wise Kaplan Prather PLC to open Littler's 56th office, forming one of the largest employment specialty practices in the region.
January 20, 2012
Goodwin Procter's Bonus Ceiling Reaches $42.5K

Goodwin Procter LLP will pay individual year-end bonuses based on a benchmark seniority scale ranging from $7,500 for the class of 2010 to $42,500 for its most senior associates and will maintain salaries ranging from $160,000 to $280,000, the firm said Friday.
January 19, 2012
Fewer Attys Worked Part Time In 2011: Report

At a time when the struggling economy has turned many Americans into part-time workers, being an attorney remains a full-time gig, perhaps more so than ever before, according to a report released Thursday.
January 18, 2012
ABA Accreditation Decision Stands Despite Antitrust Claims

A Tennessee federal judge on Wednesday refused to order the American Bar Association to rescind its denial of provisional accreditation for Lincoln Memorial University's law school, a move the school had requested in its antitrust suit against the ABA.
January 18, 2012
Macfarlanes Acquires Hedge Fund Boutique DHCI

U.K. law firm Macfarlanes LLP has folded hedge fund boutique D. Harris & Co. International Ltd. into its growing private equity practice, the firms announced Monday.
January 17, 2012
High Court Mulls Immunity For Gov't-Hired Private Attys

U.S. Supreme Court justices grilled attorneys Tuesday in an appeal over whether private lawyers working for governments have the same shield against lawsuits that government employees do under qualified immunity.
January 17, 2012
Luce Forward To Link Up With McKenna Long

McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP will merge with California-based law firm Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps LLP as part of McKenna’s bid to expand its presence on the West Coast, the firms announced Tuesday.
January 17, 2012
Dechert Launches 2nd German Office In Frankfurt

Dechert LLP is expanding its German presence with the opening of an office in Frankfurt, the firm announced Tuesday.