Small Law

  • Judges Hint Settlement May Have Waived Atty's Free Speech

    Attorney Timothy Brignole and his Hartford law firm, Brignole Bush & Lewis LLC, may have surrendered free speech rights when they signed a nondisparagement agreement with a former employee, stripping them of the ability to claim First Amendment protection over comments attributed to them in a lawsuit, judges of the Connecticut Appellate Court hinted Wednesday.

  • How FINRA Filings Led To A $29M Defamation Verdict In Pa.

    Two firms that specialize in injury, employment and fraud matters teamed up for an unusual case that posed a tricky task: boiling down the technicalities of securities law in order to convince a Pennsylvania state jury that regulatory filings were misused for defamation.

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    'Lawyer Mike' Mourned In NJ After Fatal Crash In Nashville

    Michael O'Connell, a prominent New Jersey lobbyist and attorney who was killed by a pickup truck while walking in Nashville last week, was a skilled advocate and an "unfailingly upbeat" person, according to those who worked with him.

  • Women's White Collar Org Hits Milestone Amid Steady Growth

    Mirroring the fast growth of white collar law since the start of the century, the Women's White Collar Defense Association has announced that in its 25th year, the diversity-focused organization has launched a chapter in its 50th location with an expansion to Virginia.

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    Law Firm Accuses Ex-Paralegal Of 'Sabotage' In Bears Case

    An Illinois law firm has accused one of its former paralegals of attempting to stiff the firm for work it did settling his discrimination suit against the Chicago Bears, alleging that the erstwhile employee declined to file key paperwork and deleted critical files.

  • 9th Circ. Orders Michael Avenatti To Be Resentenced

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ordered the resentencing of Michael Avenatti over his California conviction for tax violations and stealing from clients, saying the lower court made multiple mistakes when it handed down a 14-year prison term to the onetime celebrity attorney.

  • 9th Circ. Backs Injury Firm's Win In Fight Over Google Ads

    The Ninth Circuit has upheld an Arizona federal court's ruling in favor of a Tempe-based personal injury firm that was sued by another personal injury firm, Lerner & Rowe, over its purchases of Google advertising search terms, with the judges finding little "actual confusion" was caused by the advertising strategy.

  • Judge Tells Firm To Tighten Up Testimony In Nassar Fee Trial

    A Michigan federal judge cautioned a local personal injury firm Tuesday to reel in the head of the firm on the witness stand, warning he was losing the jury in a long "inside baseball" legal discussion in his efforts to get a greater cut of fees from a Colorado firm for work on a Larry Nassar abuse settlement.

  • Insurer Wants Payback For Brick Drop On Pa. Law Firm

    Bricks and debris fell from an old office building in downtown Pittsburgh, causing more than $51,000 in damage to the roof of Pisanchyn Law Firm, and the insurer of the property housing the firm told a Pennsylvania state court it wants payback.

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    Stigma Of Disability In Legal Industry Is 'Very Real,' Panel Says

    People with disabilities still face challenges when pursuing a legal career, but law firms, law schools, bar associations and corporate legal departments can take steps to help advance disability equality, according to panelists speaking Tuesday for National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

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    NJ Justices Cast Doubt On Out-Of-State Atty Referral Fee Ban

    New Jersey Supreme Court justices on Tuesday sounded skeptical of an ethics rule change that would ban certified attorneys from paying referral fees to out-of-state lawyers, questioning an advisory panel's conclusion that such fees represent an authorized payment for legal services.

  • Amazon, Meta Say Ch. 11 Trustee Can't Take Guo Co. Cash

    Amazon.com, Meta, Fox News and dozens of other corporate powerhouses, along with several law firms, have asked a Connecticut bankruptcy judge to block a Chapter 11 trustee from recouping cash payments for services that flowed through shell companies connected to convicted Chinese exile Miles Guo.

  • LegalZoom, Ex-User Clash Over Unlawful-Practice Arbitration

    Legal services provider LegalZoom cannot force a proposed class action alleging unauthorized practice of law into arbitration, a former customer has told a New Jersey federal judge, because the web platform provided an inadequate explanation for a supposedly binding arbitration agreement.

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    Georgia Supreme Court Forms Generative AI Committee

    The Georgia Supreme Court has established a 16-person committee to explore uses of generative artificial intelligence in the judiciary, in partnership with the National Center for State Courts, the court said Tuesday.

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    How Law Firms Get And Keep Elite Status

    For decades, a handful of New York-based law firms thoroughly dominated the national consciousness when it came to power, profitability and prestige. But in today's legal market, increased movement of partners and clients from one firm to the next has begun to shake things up and create opportunities for go-getters to ascend the ranks.

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    Prestige Leaders: The Firms In The Billionaires' Club

    As many BigLaw firms see their revenues climb ever higher, we highlight those that reported topping the billion-dollar mark in the most recent calendar year.

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    These Firms Are The 2024 Prestige Leaders

    Clients flock to firms with prestigious reputations, and so does top talent. Here are this year's Law360 Pulse Prestige Leaders — the 100 firms the industry recognizes for their prominence, power and distinction

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    Ga. Justices Toss Young Thug Atty's Contempt Conviction

    The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out the contempt conviction of the attorney representing the rapper Young Thug over the lawyer's refusal to disclose how he learned about a judge's closed-door meeting with prosecutors and a witness, saying that judge was "involved in the controversy" and thus should not have handled the contempt hearing.

  • Ex-Holland & Knight Atty Slams 'Incendiary' Client Info Suit

    A former Holland & Knight LLP partner asked a Pennsylvania federal judge Monday to toss a lawsuit alleging he unlawfully accessed a client's confidential documents in order to gain an upper hand in his contentious divorce, saying the "incendiary and defamatory" complaint is vague and fails to state viable claims.

  • Firm Fired HR Manager Because Of Pregnancy, Fla. Jury Told

    The lawyer for a former human resources manager at a South Florida law firm told a federal jury Monday that she was fired for being pregnant, saying that her ex-employer made her come into work despite a doctor's note telling her to stay home after determining that she had a high-risk pregnancy.

  • Video Game Co. Looks To Halt Mass Antitrust Arbitration

    The company behind PC game marketplace Steam is suing over 600 game buyers in a bid to block them from contintuing in arbitration with antitrust claims against the company, calling the litigants "pawns" in attorney William Bucher IV's mass arbitration scheme.

  • Calif. Atty Disbarred For Gambling With Client Cash

    A California attorney has been disbarred after misappropriating almost $117,000 from his clients and using much of that money for his gambling habit while claiming to be terminally ill with cancer.  

  • Disbarred Conn. Atty Owed $52K In Fees, Appeals Court Told

    An attorney disbarred for making false claims in a judicial recusal motion is seeking $52,100 in fees derived from a State Farm car accident settlement and various other sources, telling the Connecticut Appellate Court on Monday that a trial judge improperly weighed the fees during her later discipline case.

  • Atty's Brother Says Sibling Feud Is Harassment Campaign

    A Michigan attorney's brother and former business partner has accused the attorney of filing baseless lawsuits and harassing his employees in an attempt to squeeze money out of him, as the businessman countered a motion to block him from attending depositions.

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    Junk Call Foe Puts 'Professional' In 'Professional Plaintiff'

    Diana Mey is one of the most successful “professional plaintiffs” to sue telemarketers under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. While she's won class settlements worth tens of millions of dollars, she said a recent counter-suit in a far-off venue, Puerto Rico, has been the “worst experience” of her litigation career.

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Expert Analysis

  • AI Is Reshaping Lawyering: What To Expect In 2024 Author Photo

    The future of lawyering is not about the wholesale replacement of attorneys by artificial intelligence, but as AI handles more of the routine legal work, the role of lawyers will evolve to be more strategic, requiring the development of competencies beyond traditional legal skills, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Embrace Active Voice In Legal Writing — In Most Cases Author Photo

    Legal writers should strive to craft sentences in the active voice to promote brevity and avoid ambiguities that can spark litigation, but writing in the passive voice is sometimes appropriate — when it's a moral choice and not a grammatical failure, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Help Associates Turn Down Work? Author Photo

    Marina Portnova at Lowenstein Sandler discusses what partners can do to aid their associates in setting work-life boundaries, especially around after-hours assignment availability.

  • How AI Legal Research Tools Are Shifting Law Firm Processes Author Photo

    Although artificial intelligence-powered legal research is ushering in a new era of legal practice that augments human expertise with data-driven insights, it is not without challenges involving privacy, ethics and more, so legal professionals should take steps to ensure AI becomes a reliable partner rather than a source of disruption, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Data Source Proliferation Is A Growing E-Discovery Challenge Author Photo

    With the increased usage of collaboration apps and generative artificial intelligence solutions, it's not only important for e-discovery teams to be able to account for hundreds of existing data types today, but they should also be able to add support for new data types quickly — even on the fly if needed, says Oliver Silva at Casepoint.

  • Bracing For A Generative AI Revolution In Law Author Photo

    With many legal professionals starting to explore practical uses of generative artificial intelligence in areas such as research, discovery and legal document development, the fundamental principle of human oversight cannot be underscored enough for it to be successful, say Ty Dedmon at Bradley Arant and Paige Hunt at Lighthouse.

  • Why I Use ChatGPT To Tell Me Things I Already Know Author Photo

    The legal profession is among the most hesitant to adopt ChatGPT because of its proclivity to provide false information as if it were true, but in a wide variety of situations, lawyers can still be aided by information that is only in the right ballpark, says Robert Plotkin at Blueshift IP.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Use Social Media Responsibly? Author Photo

    Leah Kelman at Herrick Feinstein discusses the importance of reasoned judgment and thoughtful process when it comes to newly admitted attorneys' social media use.

  • Yada, Yada, Yada: The Magic Of 3 In Legal Writing Author Photo

    Attorneys should take a cue from U.S. Supreme Court justices and boil their arguments down to three points in their legal briefs and oral advocacy, as the number three is significant in the way we process information, says Diana Simon at University of Arizona.

  • How Firms Can Stop Playing Whack-A-Mole With Data Security Author Photo

    In order to achieve a robust client data protection posture, law firms should focus on adopting a risk-based approach to security, which can be done by assessing gaps, using that data to gain leadership buy-in for the needed changes, and adopting a dynamic and layered approach, says John Smith at Conversant Group.

  • 5 Life Lessons From Making Partner As A Solo Parent Author Photo

    Laranda Walker at Susman Godfrey, who was raising two small children and working her way to partner when she suddenly lost her husband, shares what fighting to keep her career on track taught her about accepting help, balancing work and family, and discovering new reserves of inner strength.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Turn Deferral To My Advantage? Author Photo

    Diana Leiden at Winston & Strawn discusses how first-year associates whose law firm start dates have been deferred can use the downtime to hone their skills, help their communities, and focus on returning to BigLaw with valuable contacts and out-of-the-box insights.

  • Resume Gaps Are No Longer Kryptonite To Your Legal Career Author Photo

    Female attorneys and others who pause their careers for a few years will find that gaps in work history are increasingly acceptable among legal employers, meaning with some networking, retraining and a few other strategies, lawyers can successfully reenter the workforce, says Jill Backer at Ave Maria School of Law.

  • Law Firm Guardrails For Responsible Generative AI Use Author Photo

    ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools pose significant risks to the integrity of legal work, but the key for law firms is not to ban these tools, but to implement them responsibly and with appropriate safeguards, say Natalie Pierce and Stephanie Goutos at Gunderson Dettmer.

  • Opinion

    We Must Continue DEI Efforts Despite High Court Headwinds Author Photo

    Though the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down affirmative action in higher education, law firms and their clients must keep up the legal industry’s recent momentum advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the profession in order to help achieve a just and prosperous society for all, says Angela Winfield at the Law School Admission Council.

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