Legal IndustryRSS

  • April 26, 2010

    Orrick, SJ Berwin In Merger Talks: Report

    Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has reportedly emerged as the top contender for a merger with SJ Berwin LLP, as the London-based firm continues its push for a U.S. partnership.

  • April 26, 2010

    High Court To Rule On Summary Judgment Appeals

    The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up the question of whether an order denying summary judgment can be appealed after trial if the party did not appeal the order before trial, in a case involving the alleged sexual assault of a female inmate at an Ohio prison.

  • April 26, 2010

    Goldman Tops List Of Chief Litigators' Nightmares

    Of the many potential nightmares that keep chief litigators up all night, from outside counsel botching a key case to patent trolls casting a wide net in a wave of suits, none is a greater terror than what must have gone down inside the legal department of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on that fateful Friday in April.

  • April 23, 2010

    Ted Olson Reps RNC In High Court 'Soft Money' Fight

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's Theodore Olson, former solicitor general under President George W. Bush, asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday on behalf of the Republican Party to overturn the Bush-era ban on "soft money" in the McCain-Feingold Act.

  • April 23, 2010

    Flexibility, Directness Key In E-Discovery: Judges

    To ensure a successful resolution to electronic discovery disputes while staying on a judge's good side, be forthcoming with information and willing to compromise with opposing counsel, magistrate judges advise.

  • April 23, 2010

    GCs Detail Do's and Don'ts Of Keeping Business

    Want to lose a client? General counsel say there is one sin that's guaranteed to get you kicked out of their offices: going behind their backs to company executives.

  • April 23, 2010

    Epstein 'Punished' Atty By Withholding Capital: Suit

    An ex-shareholder at EpsteinBeckerGreen has accused the firm of refusing to reimburse $150,000 in capital contributions, saying his former employer withheld the money as part of a stealth policy of punishing attorneys for firm losses.

  • April 23, 2010

    Advice For The Inexperienced Trial Attorney

    While many young lawyers are biting at the bit to bask in the glow of the courtroom spotlight, experienced trial attorneys say that eagerness, if left unchecked, can overshadow the practical considerations that make or break a successful trial experience. Here, trial veterans reveal their tips for young attorneys on the eve of their first big day in front of the jury.

  • April 23, 2010

    Senate Clears Backlog Of US Attorney Nominees

    The U.S. Senate has taken action to advance a backlog of nominees to serve as U.S. attorneys, confirming five candidates to fill federal prosecutor vacancies and voting to advance an additional four out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

  • April 23, 2010

    Clifford Chance Cuts Partners' Management Work

    Clifford Chance LLP has decided to transfer some management work to the firm's business development staff in order to free up more fee-earning time for senior partners.

  • April 23, 2010

    Q&A With Verizon Deputy GC Michelle Ifill

    Give some thought to a new financial model, be it partnering with offshore legal talent akin to outsourcing, secondment relationships or the "diamond" law firm structure — as opposed to pyramid — where the true legal work and billings should be applied to the lower-middle tier of associates, says Michelle C. Ifill, vice president and deputy general counsel at Verizon Business.

  • April 22, 2010

    Appellate Judges Reveal Pet Peeves, Winning Strategies

    Among the many do's and don'ts when arguing before an appellate court is one judges believe is just common sense: Don't interrupt. At the annual conference of the American Bar Association's litigation section, three appellate judges sounded off on their pet peeves and how attorneys can best sway a court.

  • April 22, 2010

    Chin Wins Unanimous Senate Confirmation To 2nd Circ.

    The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed District Judge Denny Chin to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday, the same day that another Second Circuit nominee and a Delaware district court nominee faced the Senate Judiciary Committee.

  • April 22, 2010

    Vanaskie To Join 3rd Circ. After 8-Month Delay

    The U.S. Senate has voted to confirm Judge Thomas Vanaskie of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, ending a delay of eight months since President Barack Obama nominated him for the post.

  • April 21, 2010

    Enhanced Fee Awards Should Be Rare: Justices

    The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that judges may increase fee awards for exceptional performances by pro bono plaintiffs attorneys in civil rights cases, but only in rare instances, and has reversed a lower court's enhanced fee award on the grounds that the judge did not adequately explain his reasoning.

  • April 21, 2010

    Senate OKs Schroeder To Head DOJ Legal Policy Office

    The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted 72-24 to confirm O'Melveny & Myers LLP attorney and Duke University School of Law professor Christopher Schroeder as head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Policy, which vets federal judges.

  • April 21, 2010

    Women Attys Face $2M Lifetime Pay Disparity: Study

    Women who earn a law degree will make $2 million less in their lifetime than men in their graduating class, but female lawyers still experience a slighter pay disparity than other women in the legal profession and women in other fields, according to experts.

  • April 21, 2010

    14 Firms Didn't Promote Any Women To Partner In '09

    Although the number of women promoted to partner was up in 2009, at least 14 major law firms failed to send any female attorneys to their partner ranks last year, according to a new report.

  • April 21, 2010

    Obama To Pick Top Court Nominee By End Of May

    President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he planned to make his nomination to fill retiring Justice John Paul Stevens' seat on the U.S. Supreme Court by the end of May.

  • April 22, 2010

    US Law Firms Might Be Next For Outside Investment

    Given the success of Australia's first publicly traded law firm and an impending law that will allow third parties to invest in U.K. law firms, a reversal of the rule barring nonlawyers from investing in U.S. law firms could help the industry bounce back from a crippling recession, according to industry insiders.