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Fitzpatrick Cella reorganizes staff, confirms ‘associate attrition’

Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto has reportedly laid off support staffers and associates. The intellectual-property law firm isn’t confirming specifics, Above the Law reports. The firm released this statement to the blog: “The recent reorganization of our staff personnel and appropriate associate attrition in connection with our review process positions…

Apr 15, 2014 1:33 PM CDT

Nixon Peabody lays off 38 staffers

Nixon Peabody has laid off 38 staffers across the firm’s 16 offices. CEO and managing partner Andrew Glincher said in a statement provided to the ABA Journal that the layoffs affect staffers “at all levels of tenure.” “Nixon Peabody manages our business in the U.S. and internationally to best serve…

Apr 15, 2014 1:08 PM CDT

Brown Rudnick rescinds offers to 10 associates, cites declining client demand for first-year lawyers

Brown Rudnick is rescinding offers to 10 out of 23 associates who were scheduled to join the firm in the fall. Most of the affected associates had offers to work in the firm’s New York and Boston offices, the law firm says in a statement forwarded to the ABA Journal.…

Apr 15, 2014 12:29 PM CDT

Thirty-eight 3Ls who took the Arizona bar in February await the test results

Thirty-eight law students from Arizona’s three law schools took the bar exam before graduation this year in a pilot program approved in 2012. The students who sat for the bar exam in February of their 3L year have not yet received the test results, the National Law Journal (sub. req.)…

Apr 14, 2014 2:09 PM CDT

Should you self-promote in your blog posts? | Finding a lawyer via Google vs. social media

Real Lawyers Have Blogs’ Kevin O’Keefe noted a post at Business 2 Community titled “10 ways businesses can blog better.” Tip No. 7 was that business blogs should append a “call to action” at the end of every blog post—a “call to action” being a sentence or two describing your…

Apr 11, 2014 1:35 PM CDT

Every justice on Arkansas’ top court paid bar license fees late; are three ineligible for service?

All seven justices on the Arkansas Supreme Court have paid their bar dues late some time in the past, a possible issue for three justices because of an Arkansas constitutional provision requiring appeals judges to be licensed lawyers for at least eight years before taking office. The Arkansas Blog of…

Apr 11, 2014 12:48 PM CDT

F. Lee Bailey loses bid for Maine law license; court notes he felt disbarment was ‘kind of harsh’

Maine’s top court has refused a law license for F. Lee Bailey, citing his testimony that his Florida disbarment was “kind of harsh” as evidence that he didn’t appreciate the seriousness of conduct. The court’s 4-2 decision (PDF) on Thursday reversed a single justice who said Bailey met character and…

Apr 11, 2014 12:25 PM CDT

After lawyers exit, Downey Brand lays off 17 staff members; remaining lawyers are busy, leader says

Downey Brand laid off 17 staff members Wednesday, adjusting for the 23 lawyers this year who have either already left the firm or will leave the Sacramento, Calif.-based law firm by the end of this month. The layoff group “includes no lawyers because we remain very busy with legal work,”…

Apr 10, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Microsoft GC calls for better training of young lawyers and more diversity in NALP conference speech

IVY PHOTOS / Shutterstock.com The general counsel of Microsoft Corp. called for better training of young lawyers and more diversity in the profession as a keynote speaker Wednesday at the annual National Association for Law Placement conference in Seattle. “Go where you think you’ll get good training in the first…

Apr 9, 2014 8:50 PM CDT

Job outlook for newly minted lawyers still bleak, data shows

The job outlook for newly minted lawyers remains bleak, new figures show. Fifty-seven percent of all 2013 law school graduates were employed in full-time, long-term legal jobs requiring bar passage as of Feb. 15, according to data released Wednesday by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the…

Apr 9, 2014 2:45 PM CDT

In scathing farewell, SEC lawyer says agency penalties just a ‘tollbooth on the bankster turnpike’

A longtime trial lawyer for the Securities and Exchange Commission had some harsh words for the agency and the people who work there in his retirement speech last month. James Kidney said his bosses were more interested in high-paying careers after their stints at the SEC than on bringing difficult…

Apr 9, 2014 12:41 PM CDT

‘I fought the Bar and the Bar won,’ says lawyer announcing his retirement from Ky. legal practice

A Kentucky attorney who has been a magnet for bar discipline says he has decided to retire from the practice of law in that state rather than fight to stay in good standing. “I am blessed that I don’t need to practice law in Kentucky and I have decided that…

Apr 8, 2014 4:15 PM CDT

White House counsel is said to be stepping down

White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler is reportedly leaving her job in mid-May. The New York Times has the report, citing unnamed administration officials. Ruemmler, who assumed the position in June 2011, has spent more time in the job than any other White House counsel during the Obama administration. Ruemmler was…

Apr 8, 2014 2:58 PM CDT

Does failure to pay license fee on time disqualify judges from office? Issue rocks Arkansas

A provision in the Arkansas Constitution is causing some problems for judicial candidates who failed to pay licensing fees on time, including a court of appeals judge who is running for the state supreme court. A state constitutional provision requires appellate and supreme court judges to have been licensed lawyers…

Apr 8, 2014 1:03 PM CDT

‘You are not alone’: Law prof who considered suicide tells his story

Charlotte School of Law professor Brian Clarke has a message for lawyers and law students battling depression and anxiety: You are not alone. Clarke talks about his own experience with severe clinical depression and offers some statistics in a series of Faculty Lounge blog posts here, here and here. He…

Apr 8, 2014 10:50 AM CDT