Career & Practice

$650K Clawback of Rothstein Firm Donations Sought from Fla. GOP, Other Politicians

A bankruptcy trustee in Florida is seeking the return of $650,000 in political contributions made by the former Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm to various politicians and political causes. The largest single clawback, $237,000, is sought from the Republican Party of Florida, reports the Miami Herald. The firm, whose former…

Apr 29, 2010 9:18 PM CDT

Judge Raps Kelley Drye for Not Disclosing Receipt of Confidential Opposing Counsel Communication

A law firm’s failure to timely disclose to the court that it had inadvertently received an e-mail containing a confidential client communication by opposing counsel “certainly violates the spirit, if not the letter,” of the New York City Bar’s ethics committee’s opinion on handling accidentally received e-mail, a Manhattan judge…

Apr 29, 2010 8:03 PM CDT

Panel: Suspended Lawyer Only Pretended Not to Practice and Should Be Disbarred

After his law license was suspended, a prominent Kansas attorney essentially kept right on practicing, bringing in another lawyer to serve as the public front of his law firm but continuing to operate it himself from behind the scenes, contends a state attorney disciplinary panel. It is now recommending that…

Apr 29, 2010 7:13 PM CDT

Harvard Law Student’s Racist E-Mail Goes Viral; Dean Calls It ‘Sad & Unfortunate’

The dean of Harvard Law School has now weighed in concerning a student’s racist e-mail that reportedly went viral on the Internet this week. Dean Martha Minow describes the e-mail in a statement today to the law school community as “troubling” and a “sad and unfortunate incident” that “prompts both…

Apr 29, 2010 6:32 PM CDT

Tribunal Rules Against Ex-DLA Piper Partner Who Claimed Pregnancy Bias

An employment tribunal in the United Kingdom has ruled against a former DLA Piper partner who claimed the law firm was “an old boys’ club” that fired her because she was pregnant. DLA Piper has received notice that the Liverpool tribunal unanimously dismissed all of the claims by former partner…

Apr 29, 2010 2:58 PM CDT

Two-Sided Business Card, Potential Client Confusion Cited in Lawyer’s Suspension

A Seattle lawyer has been suspended, in part for mixing his law practice with his duties as president of the local chapter of a civil rights organization. Lawyer Alfoster Garrett Jr. was suspended for 2½ years, the Seattle Times reports. A disciplinary report by the Washington State Bar Association suggests…

Apr 29, 2010 12:51 PM CDT

Not-So-Bad News for BigLaw: Small Drop in Head Count, Small Boost in Partner Profits

Things weren’t so bad last year in BigLaw, new financial numbers reveal. Head count at the nation’s top 100 firms dropped by 1,219 lawyers last year, just a 1 percent decline, even as half the law firms increased in size. And profits per equity partner increased slightly, by .3 percent,…

Apr 29, 2010 12:16 PM CDT

Is Orrick Considering Merger with UK Law Firm?

A British legal publication is reporting that Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is exploring a merger with British law firm SJ Berwin. According to the Lawyer, SJ Berwin was considering mergers with several U.S. law firms, but two of them—Goodwin Procter and Proskauer Rose—are no longer interested. A London-based recruiter told…

Apr 28, 2010 11:58 AM CDT

Billionaire Harvard Alum’s Big Bucks to Help 10 Law Grads Get Public-Interest Jobs

A well-known graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School is donating $1 million to the two schools, part of which will fund public-interest jobs for 10 law school alumni. Sumner Redstone, the executive chairman of Viacom Inc., announced the donation and the funding of the 10 Redstone Fellowships for…

Apr 27, 2010 7:26 PM CDT

Ex-Law Firm COO Faces Money-Laundering Conspiracy Case re $1.2B Rothstein Ponzi Scheme

The chief operating officer of the former Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm has been federally charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering concerning the $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme that now-disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein ran from his South Florida law office. Once described by Rothstein as his right-hand woman, Debra Villegas,…

Apr 27, 2010 6:51 PM CDT

‘Massive Foul-Up’ Delays Ethics Hearing for Lawyers Caught in Conrad Black Maelstrom

An attorney for the Torys law firm calls it an “inadvertent omission.” Counsel for a lawyer disciplinary authority calls it “a massive foul-up,” reports the Toronto Star. But regardless of how the situation is described, the well-known Toronto firm’s failure to timely produce 168 boxes of documents and 11 discs…

Apr 27, 2010 5:53 PM CDT

WilmerHale Plans Business Center in Ohio

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr plans to move its business operations to the Dayton, Ohio, area. The firm’s new business center will house employees in finance, human resources, information technology, document review, operations and practice management, according to a press release and stories in the Boston Globe, the Dayton…

Apr 27, 2010 12:09 PM CDT

Lawyer Holds Boot Camps to Teach Secrets of Debt Collection Litigation

A Minneapolis trial lawyer sees opportunity in debt collection litigation—and in teaching others how to pursue it. Lawyer Peter Barry holds several debt collection “boot camps” each year to help other lawyers interested in pursuing litigation against debt collectors and the attorney fees that winning cases can bring, the New…

Apr 27, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Ouch! Bill for Office Lease Review Nears $6K, Including $60 for an 8-Word E-Mail

Wanting to protect herself, Jennifer Walzer got a lawyer to review a sublease for the new offices for her business. The budget, as she understood it, was $2,500. The actual bill eventually added up to almost $6,000, although the firm agreed to knock $500 off after a discussion that she…

Apr 26, 2010 11:41 PM CDT

Law Firms Watch Howrey’s ‘Prescient’ Associate Training, Despite Drag on Profits

Howrey’s profits suffered after it capped billable work for new associates at 700 hours and lowered their billing rates, but that hasn’t stopped other law firms from expressing an interest in the program that pays less and trains more. Howrey made the changes last year as part of a “prescient”…

Apr 26, 2010 11:50 AM CDT