Careers

Start It Up: Solo Taps Entrepreneurial Acumen to Expand Startup-Focused Practice

It’s only natural that Caroline Worley would build a law practice focused largely on the needs of budding entrepreneurs. She grew up mired in the day-to-day workings of Zettler Hardware Co., a family business founded in the 19th century in Columbus, Ohio. “It’s what I do,” says Worley, whose immediate…

May 1, 2012 7:19 AM CDT

From Opposing Sides and in a Recession, Two Attorneys Form Their Own Firm

In May 2010, as financial turmoil hammered lawyers—from Michigan’s top firms to solo practices—and their clients, two former opposing counsel struck an usual bargain. One is a passionate class-action litigator and the other a savvy business lawyer, but Robert A. Alvarez and Raquel A. Salas shared the vision of a…

May 1, 2012 7:10 AM CDT

Mission Accomplished: Military Spouse Network Gets ABA, White House Attention

A year ago, Judge Erin Wirth couldn’t name one other attorney with a spouse in the military. But since co-founding the Military Spouse JD Network last May, Wirth has heard from more than 200 lawyers who face the challenge of maintaining legal careers while supporting military spouses. “We all felt…

May 1, 2012 6:40 AM CDT

Walter Gordon Dies at 103; A Mentor to Many, He Represented Billie Holiday and Ordinary Folks

When Walter L. Gordon Jr. hung out his shingle in 1937 in Los Angeles, there were, he once estimated, only about 29 other black lawyers in the state. Then, and for many years afterward, white law firms didn’t hire black attorneys, and there was even a “whites only” clause in…

Apr 30, 2012 6:58 PM CDT

Autistic File Clerk Credits His Photographic Memory with Success at His Law Firm Job

Doctors offered a poor prognosis after Kevin Gibson was diagnosed with autism at the age of 18 months. Doctors told Gibson’s parents that he would never be able to live independently, the Washington Post reports. Today Gibson is 26, lives in his own condo, and is employed at an intellectual…

Apr 30, 2012 5:53 PM CDT

Latest Dewey Defections: Three More Partners Leave, Including Bank and Finance Chair

Updated: Dewey & LeBoeuf’s troubles continue as more partners announce departures for other law firms. Marshall Stoddard, who led the bank and institutional finance practices group at Dewey, is among a team of at least four finance lawyers headed to Morgan Lewis. He will be co-chair of the finance practice…

Apr 30, 2012 1:35 PM CDT

Lawyer Makes His Four-Year Goal of Swimming in 50 States by Age 50

Washington, D.C., lawyer and lobbyist J.C. Boggs started swimming again in his 40s, when his wife told him he was getting fat and needed some exercise. At age 46, he set a goal for himself, the Washington Post reports. He would swim in 50 states by age 50. A few…

Apr 30, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Where Is Dewey’s Onetime Chairman? Memo Alerts Partners to Criminal Probe

Updated: The onetime leader of troubled law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf lost his lock on the chairman’s office in March, when four other lawyers were appointed to help him run the law firm. Steven Davis was said at the time to have co-equal powers with the four other lawyers. He…

Apr 27, 2012 6:51 PM CDT

Young Solo Hated Law School But Likes Her Job; Stay True to Your ‘Lawyering Personality,’ She Urges

Sona Tatiyants hated law school, but she’s glad she got her law degree. It opened the door to a satisfying career as a sole practitioner handling estate planning matters, she says in a guest column at the Forbes blog She Negotiates. Nonetheless, there are things she would do differently if…

Apr 27, 2012 6:14 PM CDT

Sullivan & Cromwell Pays Spring Bonuses; Blog Deems Them ‘Small Change’

Sullivan & Cromwell is reportedly paying spring bonuses that are quite small by BigLaw standards. The bonuses range from $1,000 for the class of 2011 to $5,000 for the class of 2006, Above the Law reports. A Sullivan & Cromwell spokesperson did not immediately return the ABA Journal’s calls seeking…

Apr 27, 2012 4:17 PM CDT

Top Family-Friendly Law Firms Named; Six Firms Get Bounced from List

Yale Law Women has announced this year’s top 10 family friendly law firms, and the new list differs significantly from last year’s. Only four law firms on the 2011 list are back this year. Six law firms on last year’s list that didn’t make the overall list this year are:…

Apr 27, 2012 12:20 PM CDT

Suit by Fired Lawyer Cites Cubicle Assignment, Fat Jokes

Only one person out of a group of 50 lawyers at an AIG subsidiary was forced to work in a cubicle, according to a lawsuit. That person was the plaintiff, the only African American among the group, according to the complaint. The Huffington Post has details of the suit filed…

Apr 27, 2012 11:39 AM CDT

‘Dear Abby’ Tells Frugal Parents of Indebted Law Grad to Offer Tough Love, Keep Their Cash

Frugal 50-year-old parents of a recent law graduate aren’t happy about her $100,000 in educational debt. So they offered to help her repay it, only to regret the suggestion as they pondered their own need to save for retirement and pay for repairs on their home. How to deal with…

Apr 26, 2012 8:20 PM CDT

Despite ABA Accreditation Issue, Duncan Law Grads Can Sit for Tenn. Bar Exam

Denied in December the provisional accreditation it had hoped to win from the American Bar Association, a Tennessee law school, in addition to filing an appeal directly with the ABA, has been waging a federal court battle, as yet unsuccessfully, to force the ABA to change its mind. However, Lincoln…

Apr 25, 2012 7:30 PM CDT

Texas Lawyer and His Wife Win Nearly $14M in Libel Suit over Online Comments

A Texas lawyer and his wife have been awarded $13.8 million in a libel suit against online commenters who accused the couple of sexual perversions, molestations and drug dealing. Tarrant County jurors awarded the money to Mark and Rhonda Lesher on Friday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and ABC News report.…

Apr 25, 2012 2:13 PM CDT