ABA Journal

RIAA Seeks Sanctions for N.Y. Lawyer’s ‘Vexatious’ Blog Posts of Case Filings

A lawyer who is known for defending individuals accused of peer-to-peer sharing of copyrighted works over the Internet is now on the hot seat himself. The Recording Industry Association of America is seeking sanctions against attorney Ray Beckerman in a federal court case in New York, claiming that he has…

Sep 25, 2008 3:47 PM CDT

No LSAT Allowed in Michigan Law School’s Special Admissions Program

University of Michigan undergrads interested in applying at the university’s law school for the 2010 term won’t have to take the Law School Admissions Test, and they won’t have to pay an application fee. The school has announced a new “Wolverine Scholars Program” in which the school will consider Michigan…

Sep 25, 2008 1:43 PM CDT

Four Law Firms on Working Mother’s List of 100 Best Companies

Working Mother Magazine has released its 2008 list of 100 best companies, and it includes four law firms. They are: Arnold & Porter, Covington & Burling, Katten Muchin Rosenman and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, the National Law Journal reports. The list was released one month after the magazine listed the…

Sep 25, 2008 12:54 PM CDT

Heller Holds Firmwide Meeting on Plans for ‘Orderly Transition’

Updated: Heller Ehrman held a firmwide videoconference yesterday to discuss “plans for an orderly transition (or wind down) of our business,” according to an e-mail announcing the meeting. The Recorder and the Daily Journal (sub. req.) both quoted from the e-mail, but neither had details of the meeting. Heller has…

Sep 25, 2008 12:24 PM CDT

What Are Some of Your Favorite Ballpark Memories?

Last Sunday, the New York Yankees played their last game in the old Yankee Stadium. This Sunday will be the last regular season game at Shea Stadium for the New York Mets. The closures of both ballparks is sure to stir some fond and not-so-fond memories for baseball fans across…

Sep 24, 2008 7:30 PM CDT

Bush Bailout Plan Would Protect Treasury Secretary from Lawsuits

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would be insulated from lawsuits under the $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan advanced by the administration. Two legislators have also made bailout proposals, and one of them, advanced by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., also eliminates judicial review, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.). Frank…

Sep 24, 2008 11:55 AM CDT

Ex-Partner at S&C Gives up Law License over $500K in False Expenses

A former partner at Sullivan & Cromwell has resigned from the bar and admitted he submitted an estimated $500,000 or more in false expense reports to clients and the law firm. Carlos Spinelli-Noseda, a banking and finance specialist in Latin American transactions, said the improper billing took place over a…

Sep 24, 2008 10:56 AM CDT

Seeing Other Side’s Docs Knocks Miami Law Firm Off of $100M Case

A Miami law firm can’t continue to represent its client in a complex $100 million dispute because of a third party’s inadvertent production of privileged documents. Because a shareholder at the Kenny Nachwalter law firm saw the privileged material and others may have done so, too, the entire firm is…

Sep 23, 2008 3:42 PM CDT

Nonhire Pacts in Law Firm Merger Talks Are Worthless, Ruling Suggests

A ruling in a partner poaching dispute between Nixon Peabody and French law firm Taylor Wessing highlights a significant problem with pacts not to hire each other’s lawyers during merger talks: The agreements are probably not enforceable. Judge Kenneth Fisher of New York ruled last week that such contracts cannot…

Sep 23, 2008 12:27 PM CDT

1 Family + 43 WaMu Mortgages = $2.7M in Likely Lender Losses Since 2007

Since 2007, one California family reportedly bought and sold 43 properties with the help of at least 43 mortgages from Washington Mutual that added up to a total of nearly $25 million. Now, the lender is likely to take a $2.7 million bath on six problem properties among the 43…

Sep 22, 2008 10:20 PM CDT

Divorce Drama: Kirkland Partner Sues Wife re Alleged Affair & STD

Private equity partner Frederick Tanne of Kirkland & Ellis was already expecting a difficult year because of the market slowdown. But now it’s clearly gotten worse. The 48-year-old New York lawyer has sued his wife, Amy, 46, in Manhattan Supreme Court, contending that she gave him a sexually transmitted disease…

Sep 22, 2008 8:19 PM CDT

42% of Lawyers Surveyed Fear Career Fallout from Lehman Woes

An increasing number of lawyers are worried that problems on Wall Street will hurt their careers. Forty-two percent of practicing lawyers responding to a survey through the blog Above the Law said the recent bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch would harm their careers. Only 27…

Sep 18, 2008 6:06 PM CDT

Heller Partners Reportedly Told Dissolution is Possible

Partners at Heller Ehrman were told in a meeting yesterday that the law firm is considering dissolution, anonymous sources told the Recorder. The firm hasn’t voted on the issue, but industry watchers said it may be the only alternative. Partners were told it was understood they would be looking for…

Sep 18, 2008 10:56 AM CDT

Locke Lord’s Computers Kept Running While Ike Destroyed 65 Offices

Lawyers at Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell finally got a chance to survey the damage first-hand when their offices reopened this morning at JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston. About 65 offices at the firm were so severely damaged from Hurricane Ike that they can’t be used, managing partner Jerry Clements…

Sep 17, 2008 7:18 PM CDT

Online Chat: Midcareer Malaise

Click the replay button below to check out Wednesday’s online chat featuring career advice expert Hindi Greenberg, founder of the Nevada City, Calif.-based Lawyers in Transition consulting service and author of The Lawyer’s Career Change Handbook. Read the accompanying article, “Midcareer Malaise: Finding a path to your 40s,” in the…

Sep 17, 2008 5:53 PM CDT