Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Despite the common narrative that lawyers can trade higher pay for better well-being and work-life balance by moving to smaller firms, experts say that Mid-Law firms are generally facing the same industry pressures that contribute to long hours, stress and poor attorney mental health.
Facing a disciplinary complaint can take a toll on any attorney’s mental health. But for solo practitioners and small firm lawyers, who typically juggle all aspects of their business from handling client matters to administrative tasks like managing trust accounts, it can threaten to upend their lives.
Venezuela has asked a Delaware federal judge to disqualify the special master overseeing the sale of Citgo Petroleum Corp.'s parent company to repay billions of dollars in Venezuelan debt, saying it now has proof he engaged in improper advocacy before the Biden administration.
COVID-19 put a spotlight on wellness issues as attorneys hunkered down at home and tried to balance the demands of work with personal and family needs during a pandemic. How far have we come since then? Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Month, Law360 Pulse decided to explore the current state of attorney mental health.
Attorneys-turned-therapists say no one understands the stresses of being a lawyer like another lawyer. They also say their clients sometimes struggle at first with treatment that prioritizes feelings, mindfulness and even body awareness over the intellectualizing and rationalizing that make them successful at their jobs.
When his 2-month-old daughter was hospitalized with a potentially fatal condition, Dechert partner Jonathan Stott leaned on firm mentors and colleagues for strength. Now, as managing partner of the firm's San Francisco office Stott is on a mission to pay it forward and continue fostering a supportive and resilient office community.
In the eight years since an ABA report revealed pervasive alcohol misuse among lawyers, the legal industry has sought to address the problem. Here is a look at what’s working, what isn’t, and how legal employers can effectively address law’s problem drinking crisis going forward.
Overwhelming caseloads, the secondary trauma from certain types of cases and a lack of peer support are the biggest stressors judges say they're facing, with many of them experiencing difficulty concentrating, remaining unbiased and treating litigants and lawyers with respect as a result.
Money is no longer the top factor in many Generation Z lawyers' list of priorities, with three-fourths naming culture as the No. 1 factor they used in choosing a law firm, according to a new report released Monday by recruiting firm Major Lindsey & Africa and legal intelligence provider Leopard Solutions.
In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.
Several members of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote to the American Bar Association on Friday urging it to study how state bar applications require would-be attorneys to disclose sexual violence.
Richards Layton & Finger PA and Desmarais LLP handling a suit against Pfizer over mRNA vaccine technology and Warner Norcross + Judd LLP's handling of a Midwestern bank merger lead this edition of Law360 Pulse's Spotlight On Mid-Law Work, recapping the top matters for Mid-Law firms from April 12 to 26.
Aidala Bertuna & Kamins PC leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after New York's highest state court overturned Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction in a contentious, split opinion that found the former movie mogul's first jury proceeding was unfair.
This was another action-packed week for the legal industry as BigLaw firms made new hires and expanded their practices. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.
While Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP accepts nominations each year for some of its top pro bono work and selects several winners, the firm's pro bono chair wouldn't call this a competition.
DLA Piper said Thursday it has elevated 63 new lawyers to its partnership across the globe in a U.S.-led promotion round that marks a dip from its class of 72 new partners in 2023.
A recent flood of lawsuits against a host of businesses over their online databases has raised questions that a New Jersey law designed to shield the personal information of judges and other officials is being abused by a relatively new data privacy outfit to make money.
As more Delaware firms increase associate starting salaries to remain competitive, the leader of one of its largest firms likens the current process to recruit top talent as being a bit like the Wild West, saying competition to attract associates is fierce and starting sooner than ever.
Mobile technology developer InterDigital paid its chief legal officer more than $1.4 million in total compensation last year, according to the company's latest proxy filing, the first time the attorney's pay has been reported since he was promoted to the role in October 2021.
Familiar proved preferable for a handful of firms in April, as Lathrop GPM and Haynes and Boone went vertical with their office moves in Boston and San Antonio, respectively, while BakerHostetler and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman renewed their leases in San Francisco.
This month, James T. "Jay" Moore, a 20-year veteran judge on the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, made the leap into private practice with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, bulking up the firm's Delaware patent capabilities. Here, Moore speaks with Law360 about what he learned at the PTAB and how his childhood home inspired a lifelong love of invention.
Two of Delaware's largest firms have followed other firms by raising the starting salary for associates to $210,000 as a way of remaining competitive in the state's legal market.
Even as junior associates gain sophisticated legal skills, it’s important for them to also gain practical knowledge related to the inner workings of their law firm. Here, six longtime staff offer their tips to new associates for navigating life in a large law firm like a pro.
The leader of Honigman LLP's employee benefits and executive compensation practice has moved to Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP as the new chair of its equivalent practice group, Benesch announced Monday.
Womble Bond Dickinson LLP has named new leaders for its diversity, equity and inclusion committee and a new chair for its Women of Womble group, a network of women who support the professional success of Womble Bond's female attorneys, according to a Monday announcement.
To avoid physical and emotional exhaustion, attorneys must respect their own and their colleagues' personal and professional boundaries, but law firms must also play a role in discouraging burnout culture — especially if they are struggling with attorney retention, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
Gibson Dunn's Debra Yang shares the bumps in her journey to becoming the first female Asian American U.S. attorney, a state judge and a senior partner in BigLaw, and how other women can face their self-doubts and blaze their own trails to success amid systemic obstacles.
Law firms that are considering creating an in-house alternative legal service provider should focus not on recapturing revenue otherwise lost to outside vendors, but instead consider how a captive ALSP will better fulfill the needs of their clients and partners, say Beatrice Seravello and Brad Blickstein at Baretz & Brunelle.
Ignore what you've been told about jargon — adding insider industry terms to your firm's marketing and business development content can persuade potential clients that you have the specialized knowledge they can trust, says Wayne Pollock at Law Firm Editorial Service.
To attract future lawyers from diverse backgrounds, firms must think beyond recruiting efforts, because law students are looking for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that invest in employee professional development and engage with students year-round, says Lauren Jackson at Howard University School of Law.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can Law Students Build Real-World Skills?Allison Coffin at Akin Gump discusses how summer associates going back to school can continue to develop real-world lawyering skills by leveraging the numerous law school resources that support professional development both inside and outside the classroom.
In uncertain and challenging times, law firm leaders can build and sustain culture by focusing attention on mission, values and leadership development, and applying a growth mindset across their firms, says Scott Westfahl at Harvard Law.
Robert Keeling at Sidley reflects on leading discovery in the litigation that followed the historic $85 billion AT&T-Time Warner merger and how the case highlighted the importance of having a strategic e-discovery plan in place.
Opinion
CLE Accreditation Should Be Tied To Learning OutcomesGiven the substantial time and money lawyers put toward mandatory continuing legal education, CLE regulators and providers should be held to accreditation standards that assess learning outcomes, similar to those imposed on law schools and continuing medical education providers, says Rima Sirota at Georgetown Law.
While many lawyers still believe that a manual, document-by-document review is the best approach to privilege logging, certain artificial intelligence tools can bolster the traditional review process and make this aspect of electronic document review more efficient, more accurate and less costly, say Laura Riff and Michelle Six at Kirkland.
Robert Dubose at Alexander Dubose describes several categories of visuals attorneys can use to make written arguments easier to understand or more persuasive, and provides tips for lawyers unused to working with anything but text.
There are major differences between BigLaw and Mid-Law summer associate programs, and each approach can learn something from the other in terms of structure and scheduling, the on-the-job learning opportunities provided, and the social experiences offered, says Anna Tison at Brooks Pierce.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Take Time Off?David Kouba at Arnold & Porter discusses how attorneys can prioritize mental health leave and vacation despite work-related barriers to taking time off.
The traditional structure of law firms, with their compartmentalization into silos, is an inherent challenge to mental wellness, so partners and senior lawyers should take steps to construct and disseminate internal action plans and encourage open dialogue, says Elizabeth Ortega at ECO Strategic Communications.
The key to trial advocacy is persuasion, but current training programs focus almost entirely on technique, making it imperative that lawyers are taught to be effective storytellers and to connect with their audiences, says Chris Arledge at Ellis George.