Career & Practice

Chris Marston: New Business

Setting up a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs

Nov 17, 2009 4:29 PM CST

Ex-Clients Claim Collapsed Ga. Law Firm Took Filing Fees Without Filing Suit

A Georgia law firm that handled debt collections has collapsed amid allegations that it paid its own expenses with client money that had been designated for filing fees. Trauner, Cohen & Thomas of Sandy Springs, Ga., is facing three suits by former clients alleging the firm took money for filing…

Nov 17, 2009 3:26 PM CST

Secret ACC Ratings Appear on Blog; Group Says Release Is ‘Premature’

New law firm ratings by in-house counsel were supposed to have been secret, accessible only to the 25,000 members of the Association of Corporate Counsel, at least for now. Law firms wouldn’t see their one- to five-star rankings until more information was available, they were told, and the rankings were…

Nov 17, 2009 2:07 PM CST

How B of A’s GC Got Fired: Leave Now, and Leave Your BlackBerry Behind

Bank of America’s former general counsel Timothy Mayopoulos says he was stunned when he learned last December that he was being fired as his employer was preparing to acquire Merrill Lynch. Mayopoulos said no reason was given for his dismissal, and he still doesn’t know why it happened. Since Mayopoulos’…

Nov 17, 2009 1:08 PM CST

More Hackers Target Law Firms, Often ‘Spear Fishing’ in Spam E-Mail

Computer hackers are targeting law firms as a potential motherlode of confidential information, often relying on “spear fishing” attacks in which personalized spam e-mail appears to come from a trusted individual. While the e-mail itself doesn’t pose a danger, clicking on a link within the e-mail can invite malicious software…

Nov 17, 2009 12:18 AM CST

Deluged with Information? Here Are Some Tips for Streamlining the Flow

A deluge of information is distracting many lawyers from the important work on which they need to focus. But there are ways to reduce the information overload. Among them: Delegating initial e-mail review to others and doing nonessential reading on the train to and from work, explains the Law Firm…

Nov 16, 2009 11:12 PM CST

Like Corporate Cousins, City of Chicago Seeks Lower Outside Legal Fees

It isn’t just in-house counsel at large corporations who are leaning on private law firms to lower their hourly legal fees. The city of Chicago has also done so, and now pays its outside counsel a top billable rate of $250 an hour, down from $295, reports the Chicago Tribune.…

Nov 16, 2009 10:33 PM CST

Merged Law Firm Will Be Called Hogan Lovells

If the planned merger of Hogan & Hartson and Lovells becomes a reality, the new firm will be called Hogan Lovells. The American Lawyer reported on the new name, citing a Legal Week story. “Alas, it’s not the Harry Potter-esque Hogells,” the American Lawyer says. A document sent to partners…

Nov 16, 2009 7:39 PM CST

Law Firm Sues, Wins TRO, Over State Ban on Unlicensed Legal Assistants

A law firm has won a temporary restraining order from a state court judge preventing Nevada officials from enforcing new mortgage modification rules that impact private legal practice. Although Cogburn Law Offices supports efforts to protect consumers by regulating the loan modification industry, the Nevada Department of Business and Industry’s…

Nov 16, 2009 6:48 PM CST

Misconduct By 3 Sekhon Firm Lawyers Puts Up to 700 Clients in Peril

Sekhon & Sekhon claimed a 95 percent success rate concerning more than 1,000 immigrants that the law firm helped to win political asylum in the United States. But now up to 700 could be deported because they lied to immigration judges and asylum officers after the law firm and interpreters…

Nov 16, 2009 6:10 PM CST

Tom Goldstein: Star of SCOTUS

Mastering all things SCOTUS

Nov 16, 2009 4:30 PM CST

Reed Smith Will Ask Nonequity Partners to Pony Up Possibly 15% of Pay

Reed Smith will give its nonequity partners a choice: Pony up a percentage of your salary or lose your partnership status. The firm will likely ask for a contribution of 15 percent of base pay, the American Lawyer reports. The firm has about 300 nonequity partners who can opt to…

Nov 16, 2009 1:50 PM CST

Baker Botts Associate & Spouse Die in Fire Trying to Save Their Son, 4

When a fire broke out in their Dallas home early yesterday, Romina Lorena Mulloy and Michael Levine rushed upstairs to save their 4-year-old son. But the couple was trapped by smoke and flames and all three died together in the fire, reports the Dallas Morning News. Mulloy, 35, had been…

Nov 13, 2009 11:12 PM CST

Law Firms Review Compliance Measures After Attorney Arrests in Insider Cases

Recent charges by federal authorities that three current or former BigLaw attorneys illegally made securities trades—two of them allegedly using inside information gleaned from the law firms that employed them—have sparked renewed vigilance at many legal partnerships. Law firms are reviewing the security measures and training they use to keep…

Nov 13, 2009 10:36 PM CST

Lawyer Called ‘Financial Serial Killer’ By Partner is Now Option 3 on FBI Hotline

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking those with information about a South Florida attorney described by a partner of his law firm as a “financial serial killer” to select option three on a hotline set up for tips about major crimes. Option one concerns a photograph of an unknown…

Nov 13, 2009 8:03 PM CST