Lawyer Suspended for Failing to E-File

A Topeka, Kan., lawyer has been suspended for three months, partly because he ignored a bankruptcy court’s warning that he needed to file his cases electronically. The Kansas Supreme Court held that the lawyer, Stephen D. Harris, violated his duty to represent his clients with competence, diligence and promptness. The…

Apr 15, 2008 5:28 PM CDT

Beware of E-Mail Bearing O’Melveny Name

Thousands of CEOs have received spyware e-mails bearing the name of O’Melveny & Myers. The e-mails contain attachments purporting to be grand jury subpoenas and are sent from a uscourts.com address, Legal Pad reports. But computer users who open the attachments could install spyware that logs their keystrokes. The U.S.…

Apr 15, 2008 11:23 AM CDT

McKenna’s Roadmap to Partnership and Rainmaking

A midsize Atlanta law firm has created a new professional development structure that not only serves as a roadmap to partnership for associates but may help McKenna Long & Aldridge retain rainmakers. At the helm of the 456-lawyer firm’s expanded professional development program is Avital “Avi” Stadler, a securities litigator…

Apr 14, 2008 7:05 PM CDT

Columbia Sends Highest Percentage of Grads to Top Law Firms

Columbia Law School is first on a list of schools that send the highest percentage of graduates to the top 250 law firms. Columbia sent almost 75 percent of its 2007 grads to the top 250 law firms, followed by Northwestern, which sent about 73.5 percent of its grads to…

Apr 14, 2008 12:27 PM CDT

For Some Associates, Work is Slow, Delayed or Nonexistent

Associates at big law firms were flying high last year when starting salaries skyrocketed to $160,000. Now some are in for a bumpy ride. This year, some law firms are cutting expenses by laying off associates, delaying their start dates or shortening their summer associate programs, the Wall Street Journal…

Apr 14, 2008 10:46 AM CDT

Live Chat With the Law School Rankings Czar

We’re hosting a live online chat with U.S. News & World Report’s law school rankings czar, Robert Morse, from 3-4 p.m. ET today on our home page.You can submit questions in advance using this web form, or send your questions during the chat itself.

Law school deans have long been critical of the rankings, which have the power to change the reputation of a school overnight. In our April cover story, Morse offered an olive branch, saying “deans are welcome to call me or come by my office in Washington. I want to work with them to improve the rankings.”

Will anyone take him up on his offer? Check back at 3 p.m. ET today to find out.

Apr 11, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Wal-Mart Videos Could Be Boon for Plaintiffs Lawyers

Plaintiffs lawyers are expressing interest in 15,000 videos of Wal-Mart internal meetings being offered by a production company that recorded the company’s events for nearly 30 years. After Wal-Mart abruptly dropped Flagler Productions in 2006, the video company almost collapsed, said co-owner Mary Lyn Villaneuva. Flagler managed to stay afloat…

Apr 10, 2008 4:20 PM CDT

What Unusual Traditions Does Your Law School Celebrate?

As the academic year heads to a close, whimsical annual events are popping up on law school calendars. Just last week, University of Toledo’s student bar association sponsored its fourth-annual 5K Ambulance Chase. Race proceeds benefited a local substance abuse treatment center. That got us thinking … Does your law…

Apr 10, 2008 2:34 PM CDT

Sect Protests Ranch Raid; Texas Wonders What to Do With 416 Kids

As additional details were revealed about the child abuse concerns that led to an unprecedented raid by Texas authorities of a ranch run by followers of a fringe Mormon leader who advocates polygamy, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints contended that its constitutional rights had been…

Apr 9, 2008 10:25 PM CDT

N.Y. Bar Report: Balanced Life is Rare, But We Are the Enemy

Despite flex-time, part-time and other commonplace law firm policies that promote work-life balance, the reality is quite different from what the employee manual might suggest. Attorneys in an ever-more-stressful profession are sacrificing family time and their personal lives to keep up with their work, according to a committee report adopted…

Apr 9, 2008 7:34 PM CDT

How to Make Workers Act Nice (Even if They’re Not)

Angry, unpleasant, rude fellow employees, in legal settings and elsewhere, make life a lot less pleasant—and less productive. Increasingly, companies and law firms recognize this fact, and some have even made it a rule, formally or informally, that colleagues can’t behave badly in the workplace. But requiring everyone at least…

Apr 9, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

Donald Trump’s ‘Cash Cow’ Claim Against NYC Firm Moves Forward

In a legal malpractice case, real estate developer Donald Trump claims his Manhattan law firm overcharged him and treated him like a “cash cow.” Trump’s suit against New York’s Morrison Cohen claims the firm did unnecessary work to generate higher bills. Westchester County Supreme Court Justice Kenneth W. Rudolph allowed…

Apr 9, 2008 11:16 AM CDT

Help Us Win a 2008 Webby Award

You can help us win the Internet’s most prestigious honor. ABAJournal.com is one of five nominees for a Webby Award in the Law category. Described by the New York Times as “the Internet’s highest honor,” the Webby Awards are judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, and…

Apr 8, 2008 8:04 PM CDT

Many Attorneys Struggle Financially, as Paychecks Fatten for a Few

Jeanne Wrenn loves her job as an assistant Cook County prosecutor in Chicago. But she isn’t as thrilled about her $59,000 salary. A single mother seven years out of law school, which she borrowed $100,000 to attend, the 36-year-old Wrenn has a part-time job as a bartender to help make…

Apr 8, 2008 7:23 PM CDT

Law Firm’s Office Hours: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Clients seeking to meet with their counsel at one downtown Boston law firm are encouraged to try to do so during its regular office hours—between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., Monday to Friday—although special arrangements can be made to meet at other times. But for many individual and small business…

Apr 8, 2008 5:47 PM CDT