Career & Practice

Suit Blames Pryor Cashman for Failing to Prevent $42M Fund Embezzlement

A lawsuit blames the New York-based law firm Pryor Cashman for failing to provide legal advice that may have prevented the embezzlement of $42 million from union benefit funds by a woman who loved expensive horses and Neiman Marcus. Trustees for three Construction Workers Local 147 funds allege the law…

Aug 31, 2010 2:34 PM CDT

Lawyer Gets Nearly 4 Years in Fraud Case Over Refi of His Own Home

A Hollywood, Fla., lawyer was sentenced to three years and 10 months in federal prison for embezzling $1.6 million in loan proceeds, including $1 million in a refinancing of his own home. Instead of paying off the prior lender on his home as he claimed to have done, however, Peter…

Aug 30, 2010 11:14 PM CDT

Hard-Fought Depo Didn’t Cross Ethical Line, Grievance Panel Finds

After many years in practice, Andrew O’Keefe had a clean disciplinary record. But a hard-fought deposition put the Hartford, Conn., defense attorney in the hot seat after a Manchester woman contended that he tried to “harass, intimidate and embarrass” her with questions at the session. A local grievance panel determined…

Aug 30, 2010 9:10 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Mom Helps Inmate Pen Pal Win Conviction Reversal

Carol Raeber intended to be a just a pen pal to James “Country” Parkerson, who is now 40. But the more she corresponded with the Dooly State Prison inmate, the more the Georgia woman felt that he couldn’t be guilty of the vicious murder he had been convicted of committing…

Aug 30, 2010 7:50 PM CDT

NY Volunteer Attorney Programs Benefit from ‘Lost Generation’ of Law Grads

Many underemployed law grads from the classes of 2009 and 2010 are beefing up their resumés with volunteer work, and that’s a boon for New York’s court system. The legal sector in New York shrunk by 10 percent over the past year, making the job search difficult for those who…

Aug 30, 2010 2:18 PM CDT

Judge Rules Plaintiffs Lawyers Can’t Charge 9/11 Clients $6.1M in Interest

A federal judge in New York City is refusing to allow plaintiffs lawyers to collect $6.1 million in interest from ground zero clients to pay the interest on money borrowed to finance the litigation. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said the lawyers could make $150 million in fees in the…

Aug 30, 2010 12:52 PM CDT

Ex-Partner, 82, Sues High-Profile Divorce Firm, Claims Broken Pact to Support Him

A rift in a high-profile divorce law firm over compensation for an 82-year-old partner has resulted in a $26 million lawsuit. Norman Sheresky sued his former partners on Friday, claiming they had broken an oral promise to support him financially in the later years of his career, the New York…

Aug 30, 2010 11:44 AM CDT

Law Firms Using Behavioral Interviews to Learn About Resiliency, Client Focus

An interviewing technique once used by law firms to increase acceptance rates on job offers is now helping them be more picky about their new hires. The technique is called behavioral interviewing, and it seeks information on how job seekers handled previous situations, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Behavioral questions include,…

Aug 30, 2010 10:29 AM CDT

Lawyer Victimized in $300K Check Fraud Is Charged with Money-Laundering

A lawyer is facing federal money-laundering charges after allegedly being victimized in a fraudulent cashier’s check scheme and then panicking and withdrawing some of the money once he found out the check was a fake. Attorney Danilo Aguilar of Guam is apparently one of a number of lawyers who have…

Aug 27, 2010 7:46 PM CDT

Corporate Clients Eager to do Pro Bono with Outside Counsel

Corporate law departments’ interest in pro bono has surged as they grow eager to establish their own legal volunteer legacies, and they’re looking to their outside counsel to become active partners in the effort. “It’s definitely a national trend,” Ellyn Haikin Josef, a staff attorney who coordinates Vinson & Elkins’…

Aug 27, 2010 3:53 PM CDT

What a Famous Husband’s Bio Can Teach Lawyers About Better Drafting

Lawyer bios are filled with information that is of little interest to clients, according to a law firm consultant who charted his thoughts. At his blog the (non)billable hour, consultant Matthew Homann of LexThink created two barely-intersecting circles, one with the information the lawyers put in their biographies, and the…

Aug 27, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Ex-Lawyer Gets 18 Months, Must Repay $628K in Mortgage Fraud That Earned Him About $14K

A 52-year-old former Virginia Beach real estate attorney has been sentenced to 18 months in a federal mortgage fraud case. William Timberlake, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of wire fraud, also agreed to pay $628,000 in restitution, reports the Virginian-Pilot. He earned about $14,000 in fees…

Aug 26, 2010 4:58 PM CDT

$1.6M Award Upheld for Lawyer Who Sued His Firm for Fees

A Minnesota appeals court has upheld a $1.6 million award to a Minneapolis lawyer who sued his former law firm for a bigger cut of the fees in a securities class action against AOL Time Warner. The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the award for lawyer Brian Williams, but ruled…

Aug 26, 2010 2:12 PM CDT

Law School Dispenses iPads, Touts Downtime Study Opportunity

A California law school’s pilot program to provide iPads to students in a supplemental bar study curriculum proved so popular that all of its entering 1Ls signed up. The Monterey College of Law in Seaside, a four-year evening law school, has issued a press release saying it is the first…

Aug 26, 2010 12:32 PM CDT

Lawyer Admits He Can’t Defend $2.4M Client Embezzlement Case, Loses License

After admitting that he can’t defend himself against charges that he embezzled $2.4 million from a corporate client and blew most of the money at casino slot machines and agreeing to be disbarred by consent, a Milwaukee attorney had his law license revoked today by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Thomas…

Aug 25, 2010 5:10 PM CDT