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Legal sector adds jobs for third month in a row

The legal sector added 1,100 jobs in September, the third straight month of gains. The legal sector now employs 1.13 million people, a gain of 6,600 jobs since September 2012, report the Am Law Daily (sub. req.) and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.). The number is still…

Oct 23, 2013 11:55 AM CDT

Where is he now? Former ABA President Zack can be found at the UN

The ABA’s first Hispanic American president has added another honor to his resumé. Former ABA President Stephen N. Zack of Miami has been nominated to help represent the United States at the 68th General Assembly of the United Nations. Zack has not yet been confirmed—the vote is set for December—but…

Oct 23, 2013 11:15 AM CDT

‘Residency program’ associates at this BigLaw firm will get more training and less pay

Greenberg Traurig is introducing a new residency program to hire talented associates who aren’t recruited in traditional on-campus interviews. Associates in this program, being introduced at the firm’s 29 U.S. offices, can spend up to a third of their billable hours in training, the Am Law Daily (sub. req.) reports.…

Oct 22, 2013 1:48 PM CDT

Tom Ford suits, Michael Douglas hair, Facebook and purple-ink motions help lawyer promote himself

Chicago lawyer Stuart Goldberg believes in self-promotion. When he has a courtroom victory, he’ll pose with the unnamed defendant on his Facebook page, the Chicago Tribune (reg. req.) reports. “FINDING at trial NOT GUILTY!!!” he wrote after a recent win. When a reader commented on his tie and suit, Goldberg…

Oct 22, 2013 1:10 PM CDT

Blogger shares skills future solos need | Legal-eyed TV recaps | ‘Are word limits for suckers?’

Washington, D.C., solo Carolyn Elefant notes that she wasn’t asked for a quote by the New Republic on how to improve law school. But prepping students to work for BigLaw is not the way of the future, she writes at My Shingle. “Hate to break it to you, law schools,…

Oct 18, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Disbarred defense attorney renowned for trial skills dies at 58, ending battle to regain law license

Renowned for his skill as a Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney, Gerald P. Deady lost his law license in 1998 over his struggles with bipolar disorder and cocaine addiction, among other issues. His dream, as he turned his life around over the past 13 years and worked as a paralegal, was…

Oct 17, 2013 6:00 PM CDT

Nineteen lawyers leave Morgan Lewis in Paris for another firm

Nine partners and 10 associates at the Paris office of Morgan Lewis & Bockius are leaving to join the French law firm Gide Loyrette Noue. The group includes Morgan Lewis’ Paris managing partner, Anne Tolila, report Legal Week, the Lawyer and the Philadelphia Business Journal. Only three partners will be…

Oct 16, 2013 3:36 PM CDT

ABA committee recommends pushing all jurisdictions to disclose bar exam results to law schools

An ABA committee has decided to ask the governing council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar to press for the universal release to law schools of name-specific bar exam pass-fail information. The move comes as the section’s Standards Review Committee, which is conducting a comprehensive…

Oct 15, 2013 8:20 PM CDT

BigLaw firm reveals nuts and bolts of its pay system in Harvard case study on collaboration

Duane Morris encourages collaboration in the way it pays its lawyers, its culture and even the personality traits it seeks in lateral hires, according to a case study that will be used in the Harvard Business School curriculum. There is a good business reason for collaboration, according to the case…

Oct 15, 2013 11:40 AM CDT

Lawyer who ‘flunked retirement’ returns to former firm, will try not to work as hard

At first, when he retired in 2011 after decades in practice, James E. “Jim” McMahon told friends he didn’t miss his work at all. But within a year the truth was apparent. “I flunked. I just flunked retirement,” the 62-year-old South Dakota lawyer told the Argus Leader. Fortunately, he was…

Oct 11, 2013 8:15 PM CDT

Can changing office seating arrangements increase productivity? Researchers see benefits

Some companies are trying to increase productivity and collaboration by moving workers from one desk to another, sometimes as often as every few months. The Wall Street Journal talked to researchers who see merit in the idea and companies that have tried it. Researchers have found that mixing different kinds…

Oct 11, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Law schools should award more scholarships based on need rather than merit, says dean (video)

Law schools need to find ways to cut the expense of merit scholarships, which they “use to buy students…with high LSATs” to improve the schools’ U.S. News & World Report rankings, Brooklyn Law School Dean and Patton Boggs Partner Nicholas Allard tells Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia. The money would be…

Oct 10, 2013 4:33 PM CDT

Weeping disbarred lawyer is sentenced to prison for aiding client’s plot to hide jewels

A disbarred Florida lawyer wept in court on Monday as he was sentenced to three years in prison for helping a client hide more than $1 million in jewelry purchased with money from her husband, convicted Ponzi schemer lawyer Scott Rothstein. The disbarred lawyer, Scott Saidel, pleaded guilty in January…

Oct 8, 2013 2:09 PM CDT

Undocumented immigrants may get a law license in Calif., but noncitizens still can’t serve on juries

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that allows immigrants who are not U.S. citizens to get a law license in the state. California is the first state in the nation to allow undocumented immigrants to get law licenses, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Brown signed the bill…

Oct 8, 2013 11:52 AM CDT

How appeasement and high partner guarantees led to Dewey’s downfall

Today Dewey & LeBoeuf’s onetime chairman is out of a job and liable for $1.8 million he borrowed to make his capital contribution to the firm. He may also owe more than $500,000 in Dewey’s bankruptcy, if his future income allows for the payment. The former chairman, Steven Davis, is…

Oct 8, 2013 11:39 AM CDT