Careers

The most serious problem facing lawyers? Too many colleagues, say about half of Florida’s lawyers

The most serious problem facing the legal profession today is too many lawyers, according to about half the attorneys who responded to a Florida Bar survey last year. Since 2000, five new law schools have opened in Florida and the number of lawyers in the state has increased from 60,900…

Jul 28, 2014 12:22 PM CDT

Attorney catches his first alligator, says head on law-office desk is ‘great conversation piece’

Hunting alligators in Georgia, where bait is illegal, is no simple task, and it can take years just to get the required state tag. But, after several years searching Lake Seminole near the Florida border, attorney Matthew Ericksen bagged one of the elusive reptiles last September with the help of…

Jul 24, 2014 9:55 PM CDT

Former judge identified as slain man found at Texas law firm

A man found dead by police inside a Lubbock, Texas, law firm early Wednesday has been identified as attorney and former judge Steven “Steve” Wallace, 61. Authorities said the lawyer was pronounced dead at the scene after police responded at 2:26 a.m. to a phone call from a man who…

Jul 24, 2014 3:38 PM CDT

6 clues that you are about to be fired

Some executives are so busy—or so confident—that they overlook important clues that they are about to be fired. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) developed a list of six warning signs, developed from interviews with fired workers, outplacement advisers, leadership coaches and executive recruiters. The six signs are: 1) Your…

Jul 23, 2014 10:45 AM CDT

Law school applications down 37 percent since 2010; first-year class could be smallest in 40 years

Those hoping that a multiyear trend of declining law school applications and admissions would come to an end this year are confronting disappointing statistics. Applications for the class that begins law school this fall are down 8 percent following double-digit declines the two previous years, according to statistics compiled by…

Jul 22, 2014 8:25 PM CDT

Longtime attorney becomes a therapist to help fellow lawyers deal with ‘spirit-killing’ profession

After 30 years in practice, Alan Levin was ready for a change. A divorce and therapy helped the Chicago lawyer take a new direction in life. Now 66 and remarried, he gave up his successful law practice, went back to school and set up a counseling shop along with another…

Jul 22, 2014 6:25 PM CDT

Law prof’s shooting wasn’t a burglary gone bad; he was ‘intended victim,’ police say

Police in Tallahassee, Florida, are countering speculation that the shooting death of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel was attributable to a burglary or robbery. Police have refused to say how many times Markel was shot on Friday, whether a weapon was found at the home, or whether he…

Jul 22, 2014 12:13 PM CDT

Winston & Strawn finds e-discovery a lucrative market niche; 400 lawyers vied for 10 recent openings

A practice group at Winston & Strawn that focuses on electronic discovery is carving out a lucrative market niche. While many major law firms look to outside contractors to help sort through the mass of email and other electronic documents that must be reviewed in corporate litigation, Winston is not…

Jul 21, 2014 9:50 PM CDT

Diamond McCarthy files clawback suit against firm’s own ex-partner, over $1.4M Dreier trustee fee

A legal partnership known for its work in high-profile law firm bankruptcy cases has now filed a clawback suit against one of its own ex-partners. Diamond McCarthy says Sheila Gowan is contending, in contravention of the firm’s partnership agreement, that she is entitled to a $1.4 million fee for her…

Jul 21, 2014 5:10 PM CDT

Shooting death of law prof who founded PrawfsBlawg is investigated as homicide

Florida State University law professor Dan Markel died early Saturday after being shot at his home on Friday. Police in Tallahassee, Florida, are investigating the death as a homicide, their usual practice in deaths without witnesses, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. A criminal law professor, Markel founded PrawfsBlawg and opposed the…

Jul 21, 2014 12:04 PM CDT

Lawyer’s helmetcam video takes viewers along on high-flying Motocross race

From Monday to Friday, John G. George Jr. is a hardworking civil litigation associate at Beirne, Maynard & Parsons. But by burning the midnight oil on work nights the Texas attorney is often able to make time for adrenaline-inducing dirt bike rides on weekends, when he participates in amateur Motocross…

Jul 17, 2014 10:25 PM CDT

As leaders blame GM lawyers for ignition woes, lawmaker asks: Why wasn’t general counsel fired?

During a Thursday hearing before a U.S. Senate commerce subcommittee, top General Motors Co. officials blamed in-house lawyers for the company’s delay in dealing effectively with a deadly ignition-switch issue that caused 54 accidents and at least 13 deaths over the course of a decade. But that led the subcommittee’s…

Jul 17, 2014 8:55 PM CDT

Former Missouri justice is confirmed as federal judge, 15 years after Senate rejection

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Ronnie White as a federal judge in Missouri 15 years after rejecting his original nomination. White, the first black justice on the Missouri Supreme Court, was confirmed on Wednesday in a 53-44 vote, report the National Law Journal, the Washington Post and the St. Louis…

Jul 17, 2014 2:19 PM CDT

Former Patton Boggs partner resigns from new law firm because of potential conflict

A former Patton Boggs partner is citing a potential conflict as the reason he is resigning from his new law firm, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. Benjamin Chew, who had led Patton Boggs’ commercial litigation and antitrust practice, joined Pillsbury Winthrop earlier this year. He confirmed he is leaving the new…

Jul 14, 2014 3:54 PM CDT

Real estate attorney’s handwritten will gives $800K to humane society for cat care

A California real estate lawyer who called himself “Cat Daddy” has left this world a far better place as far as local felines are concerned. Officials at the Marin Humane Society were overjoyed to learn that Brian Russell Kirchoff had given the group’s cat-care fund nearly $800,000 in a handwritten…

Jul 14, 2014 3:15 PM CDT