Career & Practice

Therapist: Find a ‘Calm Center’ at Work Who Creates a Mood Conducive to Getting the Job Done

It isn’t just legal skills that get the job done with a minimum of chaos. Especially in a crisis situation—i.e., routinely, for those who practice law in many settings—staying calm can be the key to a successful resolution, writes a former BigLaw associate who now works as a therapist. And…

Mar 30, 2011 5:50 PM CDT

Lawyer Charged with Rape Allegedly Asked Potential Med-Mal Client to Disrobe to See Her Scars

A Memphis, Tenn., personal injury lawyer has been charged with rape by Dyersburg police, who say he asked a potential medical-malpractice client to partially disrobe so that he could see her scars and then touched her inappropriately. It isn’t clear exactly where the alleged Jan. 25, 2011 meeting between Milton…

Mar 30, 2011 5:18 PM CDT

As Chief Judges Agree Law Firm Can’t Simply Quit, One Sets Hearings for 9,000 Abandoned Cases

Throughout the state of Florida, chief judges apparently are in agreement that attorney David J. Stern and his law firm can’t simply abandon as many as 100,000 mortgage foreclosure cases. But that’s what reportedly has happened, as Stern notified the courts in lengthy letters earlier this month listing the cases…

Mar 30, 2011 4:24 PM CDT

Law Firm Pulls 9/11 Ad Portraying ‘I Was There’ Firefighter Who Wasn’t There

An ad touting a law firm’s Sept. 11 compensation expertise has been pulled after protests by a firefighter who was embarrassed by its assertion that he was one of the responders. Robert Keiley, who moonlights as a model, didn’t become a fireman until 2004, but the ad suggests he was…

Mar 30, 2011 1:11 PM CDT

Howrey Branding Efforts Should Have Targeted Its Own Lawyers, Its Ex-Marketer Says

If BigLaw branding worked, Howrey would have survived, according to a onetime public relations consultant for the law firm. If clients selected Howrey based on the institution, they would have continued to support the law firm, even as partner departures mounted, writes John Hellerman in an article for Law360. It’s…

Mar 30, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Some Federal Courts Ban Smartphones Because They Could Be Bombs

Some federal courthouses ban smartphones because of fears that could be used as weapons by terrorists. A memo issued last week by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts outlines the dangers, Wired’s Threat Level blog reports. “These common devices present security issues because some can be and have been…

Mar 29, 2011 11:27 AM CDT

2 Ex-Partners Battle Former Law Firm Over 300 Allegedly Swiped Case Files

Two former senior partners are battling their well-known former law firm in Scotland over more than 300 lucrative Legal Aid case files that they are accused of swiping when they exited to form a competing entity directly across the street from their old offices. So far, the Ross Harper firm…

Mar 29, 2011 12:39 AM CDT

Judge Chides Harvard Law Grad re ‘Garbled’ Pro Se Foreclosure Filing Attaching Vet Bill Receipt

A Harvard Law School graduate was chided by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., last week for making a “garbled” filing in a personal lawsuit concerning a mortgage foreclosure dispute. Among other issues raised by U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle concerning the excessively “complex” document was a receiptl…

Mar 29, 2011 12:24 AM CDT

Chase Sues Its Former Foreclosure Counsel, Seeks Turnover of Files in $400M Worth of Cases

Saying that its former mortgage foreclosure counsel, Ben-Ezra & Katz, has effectively called a halt to some $400 million in litigation by refusing to turn over the case files, Chase Home Finance is suing the law firm in federal court in Florida. At issue is approximately $5 million in unpaid…

Mar 28, 2011 8:59 PM CDT

Lawyer Takes Plea in Cash Deposit Structuring Case

A California lawyer has pleaded guilty in a cash structuring case in which he, with the help of family, was accused of depositing some $300,000 into bank accounts in amounts of less than $10,000 and stashing cash in safe deposit boxes, in order to evade both financial institution reporting requirements…

Mar 28, 2011 3:24 PM CDT

NY Jail Tries New Revenue Option: Televised Lawyer Ads Next to Booking Area

Minutes after they are arrested, alert defendants in Erie County, N.Y., will learn more about their options on a high-definition television screen displaying ads for lawyers and bail bondsman. The county’s holding center will post the ads along with facility information on two televisions, one just outside the booking area…

Mar 28, 2011 11:55 AM CDT

Law Firm’s Defamation Suit Against Ex-Paralegal Claims Lost Business from Online Review

A Texas law firm has sued its former paralegal and her husband claiming they are responsible for a fake online review that resulted in lost business. The Bellaire law firm Weston & Associates and name partner Michael Weston are seeking $1.25 million for the review posted at Citysearch.com, Texas Lawyer…

Mar 28, 2011 11:30 AM CDT

Irked at His Lawyer in $100 Ticket Case, Man Punches Her in Face, Gets 2-Year Prison Term

Corrected: Apparently irritated at a deputy public defender representing him on a marijuana citation that could, at most, have resulted in a $100 fine, a California man punched her in the face last year at the West Justice Center in Westminster, knocking her head against the wall and breaking her…

Mar 26, 2011 12:51 AM CDT

Thomson Reuters Adds Asian Legal Business to Its Portfolio

Thomson Reuters has announced in a press release that it is acquiring Asian Legal Business on undisclosed terms. The 30-employee publication was founded in 2002 and has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney. “Our strategic focus is to provide legal practitioners with the tools to best support their practice…

Mar 25, 2011 5:30 PM CDT

Client Interest in Flex Rates, Contingencies Prompts Akin Partner to Open Boutique

San Francisco lawyer Steven Kaufhold has been hearing more and more from clients who want flexible rate structures. So the securities litigator, who recently left Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, has launched his own firm to accommodate them. This month he opened Kaufhold Gaskin, according to the Recorder. Kaufhold…

Mar 25, 2011 5:10 PM CDT