Career & Practice

Court OKs Cravath Role in Takeover Bid re Ex-Client; Proof of ‘Extreme’ Ethics Misstep Lacking

In a teleconference ruling today in a hard-fought case over a pending $5.1 billion corporate takeover bid, the Delaware Court of Chancery has OK’d the continuing representation of Air Products and Chemicals Inc. by Cravath Swaine & Moore. Ex-client Airgas Inc. failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence the…

Mar 5, 2010 9:42 PM CST

Newspaper Illustrates ‘Explosion’ of Suits Over Mobile Device Patents

A lawsuit filed by Apple on Wednesday against Taiwanese handset maker HTC is just the latest in an “explosion” of lawsuits over patents relating to mobile devices. The Bits blog of the New York Times has an illustration full of company names and arrows showing a sampling of the litigation.…

Mar 5, 2010 3:28 PM CST

US News Rankings Czar: Our Methods Don’t Affect Law School Diversity

The rankings czar for U.S. News & World Report has a message for his critics: Don’t blame us for hindering law school diversity. Writing at the U.S. News blog Morse Code, data research director Bob Morse denies that the rankings’ emphasis on the Law School Admission Test and undergraduate grades…

Mar 5, 2010 2:06 PM CST

Burned Ex-Reed Smith Associate Back on Track for Trial After Appellate Win

An ex-associate who said her use of her dominant hand was impaired after it was burned during a Reed Smith trial training program is back in the litigation ballgame against her former employer. A trial court in 2007 had dismissed the 2003 disability discrimination case that Danielle Cesarano brought against…

Mar 4, 2010 10:31 PM CST

ABA Prez Defends Lawyers Dubbed ‘Al Qaeda Seven’

Updated: ABA President Carolyn Lamm on Thursday criticized efforts to smear the reputation of Justice Department lawyers who at one point represented detainees at Guantanamo Bay. “Impugning the character of lawyers who have sought to protect the fundamental rights of unpopular clients is a divisive and diversionary tactic,” Lamm said…

Mar 4, 2010 10:10 PM CST

Riding the Revenue Roller-Coaster: Income Down, PPP Up at Dewey and Dickstein Firms

As more annual financial results are reported by major law firms after a dismal year economically, the roller-coaster ride continues: At many, profits are down, sometimes considerably. But belt-tightening has resulted in relatively strong profit per partner figures at a number of firms despite decreased revenue. At Dewey & LeBoeuf,…

Mar 4, 2010 8:48 PM CST

Attorney Helped Run Gambling Business Out of Law Office, Feds Say, Making Up to $25K Weekly

A Michigan attorney accused of collaborating with four other men to run a betting scheme out of his law office and bars in Detroit and Dearborn pleaded guilty this week to operating an illegal gambling business that raked in as much as $25,000 weekly. John Stephen Shelly, 49, faces up…

Mar 4, 2010 6:02 PM CST

Crowell & Moring Touts Dropped Bias Suit as ‘Complete Vindication’

A former administrative staffer who claimed she was fired from Crowell & Moring because of her age has dropped her lawsuit without reaching a settlement. Mona Saunders, 54, had worked at the law firm for 18 years before she was fired last year. Both sides agreed to dismiss the case…

Mar 4, 2010 1:29 PM CST

Ex-Partner Sues WolfBlock, Seeks Severance Pay for 2003 Departure

A former partner of WolfBlock has sued the dissolving firm and former chairman Mark Alderman, contending that they failed to continue making severance payments required under an agreement reached concerning his requested departure from the Philadelphia-based firm in 2003. It provided for Michael Budin to be paid almost $27,000 annually…

Mar 3, 2010 10:15 PM CST

The Taxman Cometh: Do Ex-Lawyer Rothstein & Spouse Owe $10M?

Although ex-attorney Scott Rothstein reportedly made some $36 million in 2008 while both serving as managing partner of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler and operating a Ponzi scheme, he apparently may not have paid all of his income tax. The Internal Revenue Service has slapped him and his wife with a $10…

Mar 3, 2010 8:23 PM CST

Chief Legal Officers Are Happy and Hiring

A little more than 90 percent of chief legal officers responding to a survey said they still like their jobs. The happiness could spread to some job-hunting lawyers, if another finding of the survey is any indication. Twenty-nine percent of the top legal officers responding to the survey by the…

Mar 3, 2010 6:56 PM CST

Early Retirements Ahead? Report Says Law Firms Are ‘Over Partnered’

America’s top 100 law firms reacted quickly with staff cuts and cost controls when they found themselves harder-hit by the economic downturn than smaller law firms. But more cuts are needed, according to a new report—and partner ranks should be thinned to achieve the savings. Before the economic downturn, law…

Mar 3, 2010 4:06 PM CST

Ex-Office Manager Pleads Guilty to Stealing $556K from 2 Law Firms

In the latest version of an all-too-familiar story, a former office manager for two New York law firms has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $500,000 from her ex-employers. Paulette Reed, 44, pleaded guilty to two second-degree grand larceny charges; the prosecution in the Erie County case says she took…

Mar 2, 2010 10:40 PM CST

Olswang Chief Talks About Planned Growth & Possible Outside Investment

Meet David Stewart, managing partner of London-based Olswang. Unhappy with the firm’s flat revenue over the past year, he nonetheless expects to see significant growth, both at home and internationally, of his now 650-attorney firm, according to the Law Central blog of the London Times. He credits “exceptionally talented nonlawyers”…

Mar 2, 2010 6:06 PM CST

Arnold & Porter’s Age Policy Cited as Reason Partner Skipped to Davis Polk

At age 69, Michael Sohn’s law practice has never been better. But if he stayed at Arnold & Porter past his 70th birthday, he’d be required to retire or significantly downsize his workload. So Sohn is leaving the firm he once chaired and is moving on to Davis Polk &…

Mar 2, 2010 2:54 PM CST