Careers

Paralegal Who Falsely Claimed to Be a Doctor, Then Became a Lawyer, Has Law License Suspended

In the latest example of a law firm burned after apparently failing to confirm a worker’s credentials, the Legal Profession Blog is reporting that a Massachusetts attorney’s law license has been suspended for two years because she falsely held herself out as a physician. Susan Friery, who had taken courses…

Feb 4, 2012 12:53 AM CST

Lawyer, 78, Plunges to Death from Chicago Office Building Across from City Hall

A 78-year-old lawyer apparently committed suicide this morning by leaping from an office building across from City Hall. A witness heard glass breaking at the building at 111 W. Washington Street and saw a man jump out of the building at about 7:40 a.m., the Chicago Tribune reports. The unidentified…

Feb 3, 2012 11:22 PM CST

Law School Offers Free 7th Semester of Study to Some Students, If They Postpone Taking July Bar Exam

One might think that a New York law school’s offer to cover the cost of a seventh semester of legal education for struggling third-year students would be seen as a positive. But some are complaining that the move is intended to benefit City University of New York School of Law,…

Feb 3, 2012 10:38 PM CST

Legal Sector Adds 1,000 Jobs in January

After a dismal December, which saw the loss of 1,800 legal jobs, there’s better news for January. The legal sector added 1,000 jobs, according to figures released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports that conditions have stabilized at law firms since 2009,…

Feb 3, 2012 6:15 PM CST

Thompson & Knight Names First Female Managing Partner

In 1973, Emily Parker walked through the doors of Thompson & Knight as the firm’s first female attorney. Now after a career at the firm, which has seen her serve as a practice group leader, hiring partner and on the firm’s management committee, Parker will secure another first. On Feb.…

Feb 3, 2012 2:32 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: What’s Wrong with CLE; Wedding at SCOTUS; Do You Dress Like a ‘Real Man’?

How Lawyers Ruin CLE Have you been to a good CLE course lately? If not, why do you think that is? Ernie Svenson, a New Orleans-based lawyer who stopped practicing to start giving continuing legal education presentations full-time, says that, ultimately, lawyers’ risk-averse thinking has helped bring CLE to the…

Feb 3, 2012 2:30 PM CST

NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Christina Swarns Talks Race and Gender in Capital Defense Work

Fresh from her most high-profile victory to date—the case that pulled Mumia Abu-Jamal off death row—Christina Swarns sat down with the Washington Post to discuss her life’s work and being one of the few black women doing capital-defense cases. Swarns, who is director of the criminal justice unit at the…

Feb 2, 2012 4:25 PM CST

Former BigLaw Associates on Rewards, Balance from Careers in Civil Rights

Jennifer Klar had only been out of law school for about a year when, as part of a legal team, she helped free 12 people wrongly convicted of drug charges in Texas. Even though she’d been on a BigLaw track, she tells the Washington Post that the case opened up…

Feb 2, 2012 1:17 PM CST

NY State Lawyer Resigns from $104K Civil Service Job, Takes Plea in Hate-Crimes Case

A New York state government lawyer accused of making anonymous racial threats over the telephone to his black neighbors in Albany has resigned from his $104,000-a-year civil service job and taken a plea today in a hate-crimes case. James Hennessey Jr., 58, faces a maximum sentence of one to three…

Feb 1, 2012 10:04 PM CST

Newly Licensed Solo Reprimanded for Exaggerating Experience in Online Profiles

A solo practitioner licensed to practice law in 2010 has been reprimanded for exaggerating his experience on law firm websites and in online profiles. The South Carolina Supreme Court says in a public reprimand released today that Dannitte Mays Dickey mischaracterized his legal skills through misleading statements on two websites…

Feb 1, 2012 4:42 PM CST

Stats Confirm BigLaw Lateral Hiring Is Picking Up; Is It ‘Driven by Desperation’?

The statistics confirm the trend: Lateral hiring is back in vogue in BigLaw. In the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, lateral hiring at the nation’s top 200 law firms increased by 22 percent over the previous year, the American Lawyer reports. In all, 2,454 partners left or joined large…

Feb 1, 2012 2:06 PM CST

Associate’s Baffling Email an Example of Bad Mass Goodbyes

Sending a goodbye email as you leave your law firm or company can have unintended consequences. The Wall Street Journal cites an example, recounted by Alston & Bird partner John Stephenson. An associate who was leaving the law firm emailed a black and white photo of himself, with his start…

Feb 1, 2012 1:19 PM CST

A Dividend on Your Investment: Free CLE Credits Make ABA Membership Even More Valuable

When I joined the American Bar Association in 1972, I knew my membership would help me identify important trends in the legal profession and connect with other lawyers around the country. Thirty-nine years later, membership in the ABA continues to provide enormous benefits for me personally and professionally. More than…

Feb 1, 2012 10:40 AM CST

A Law and Order Campaign: Lawyer, 29, Unseats Long-Term DA in Luzerne County, Pa.

One morning last April, as 29-year-old Stefanie Salavantis was eating breakfast at her parents’ home in Luzerne County, Pa., she read in the morning paper that no one had stepped up to challenge the incumbent district attorney, Jackie Musto Carroll, in the upcoming election. Salavantis says she couldn’t believe that…

Feb 1, 2012 10:10 AM CST

The Readers’ Choice: Voters’ Top Blawg 100 Picks

More than 8,000 law blog fans registered to vote for their favorite newsy, useful, fun or practice-specific blogs featured in our 5th Annual Blawg 100. The top vote-getters in our 12 categories are: NEWS Above the Law Breaking Media’s Above the Law is developing into a legal publishing empire, featuring…

Feb 1, 2012 10:00 AM CST