Careers

US Courts Administrative Director, Jim Duff, to Head Freedom Forum

James Duff, who heads the administrative office of the United States Courts, has announced that he plans to resign his job of five years to join the Freedom Forum as its president and chief executive officer. Duff, 57, was selected after a nationwide search to serve in the top administrative…

May 31, 2011 10:45 PM CDT

Suspended Attorney Is Criminally Charged, Along with Elderly Client, in Another Foreclosed Home Case

A suspended California lawyer who was criminally charged earlier this month in connection with another client’s foreclosed home is in the news again. This time it’s because Michael Theodore Pines, 59, is charged along with his former client, Hector Zepeda, who is in his 70s, with breaking into the Newport…

May 31, 2011 10:11 PM CDT

Obama Taps ‘Green’ Exec and Yale Law Grad John Bryson as Next Commerce Secretary

A 67-year-old Yale Law School graduate with extensive experience as corporate executive in energy companies has been tapped by President Barack Obama to be the next U.S. Commerce Secretary. John Bryson formerly served as chief executive officer of Edison International for 17 years and is currently chairman of BrightSource Energy…

May 31, 2011 8:53 PM CDT

Honors Grad Working as Doc Reviewer Sues Law School, Says She Was Misled by US News Stats

A woman who says she graduated with honors from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2008 and passed the California bar exam but cannot find a decent legal job has sued the institution, contending that she was tricked into attending by employment statistics TJSL provided for the annual U.S. News…

May 27, 2011 10:38 PM CDT

Women Make Inroads in Law School Deanships

In 2009, only 21 percent of law school deanships were held by women. Now females are apparently making some inroads. In recent months, women have landed 40 percent of the open deanship jobs, the National Law Journal reports. The NLJ lists eight new female hires. They include former federal appeals…

May 27, 2011 3:07 PM CDT

DLA Piper Takes Former UK Partner to Arbitration over Notice and ‘Gardening Leave’

DLA Piper has initiated arbitration proceedings against a former partner it accuses of leaving the law firm too quickly. Neil Gerrard, DLA Piper’s litigation co-chair, gave notice in late March and joined Dechert on April 23, Legal Week reports in a story noted by the Am Law Daily. DLA had…

May 27, 2011 1:38 PM CDT

Blago Takes Stand, Discusses ‘Almost Catastrophic’ 1L Year, Initial Bar Exam Failure, ‘Disco’ Hair

Impeached former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich took the stand today in his second political corruption trial, telling a federal jury in Chicago the story of his life. In hours-long testimony before he struggled to retain his composure as his wife began to weep in court and the judge declared a…

May 26, 2011 8:13 PM CDT

Nonlawyer with Several Active Cases Pleads Guilty to Theft, UPL

Updated: A nonlawyer who used a fake bar number to handle several cases in Kentucky has pleaded guilty to felony theft by deception and the unauthorized practice of law. Kelly Fulmer was the attorney of record in at least 11 active cases, most of them in Boone County, when an…

May 26, 2011 12:44 PM CDT

In Commencement Speech, Law Prof Tells Grads Coveting Big-Money Jobs to ‘Get over It’

Emory University law professor Sara Stadler thinks law grads need to stop coveting high-paying jobs that just aren’t available. And she said so in a commencement speech earlier this month. “Get over it,” Stadler told law grads. “The one thing standing in the way of happiness for many people is…

May 26, 2011 12:14 PM CDT

Legal Hiring Continues to Improve in Some Areas; One Dallas Firm Seeks Up to 30 Lawyers

Updated: Are more signs emerging of a thaw in legal hiring? Earlier this week there was news that the Securities and Exchange Commission has so many lawyer openings that it has hired a headhunter. Now the Am Law Daily reports of increased hiring in a couple legal markets, but only…

May 26, 2011 11:26 AM CDT

Small Firm of BigLaw Refugees Handles Credit-Crisis Legal Issues

A boutique law firm of BigLaw refugees has plenty of work on its hands handling the fallout from the credit crisis. Lawyer Gregory Joseph formed his own law firm in 2001, and it has since grown to about 15 lawyers, the National Law Journal reports. Joseph had overseen the litigation…

May 26, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

DOJ Reportedly OKs Possible Prosecution of John Edwards re Affair Cover-Up Payments

Updated: Relying on unidentified sources, major news organizations are reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the pursuit of a possible criminal indictment against former presidential candidate John Edwards related to money spent to cover up an extramarital affair. The affair cover-up expenditures could have violated campaign-finance law…

May 25, 2011 8:46 PM CDT

Trustee Picard Will Be ‘Richer Than Madoff’ Once Legal Bills are Paid, Investor Lawyer Says

A lawyer for 800 investors defrauded in Bernie Madoff’s stunning Ponzi scheme complains that trustee Irving Picard will be “richer than Madoff” once his law firm’s legal bills are paid. Attorney Helen Chaitman, who is contesting the latest $44 million bill from Baker & Hostetler, says Picard himself is getting…

May 25, 2011 6:01 PM CDT

Pepper Hamilton Hiring Partner: If Interview Hypo Scares You Off, This Isn’t the Place for You

Not everyone does well in Pepper Hamilton’s new interactive interviewing process. The law firm puts job candidates through a three-part interview process that includes hypothetical legal questions. Some people do freeze during the “interactive simulation,” hiring partner Michael Subak tells the Careerist blog. “Yeah, it happens,” Subak told the publication.…

May 25, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

Now Hiring: SEC Has Glut of Attorney Jobs, Turns to Recruiter for Help

With a glut of attorney jobs to fill before its fiscal year comes to an end in September, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has turned to a recruiter for help. Futurestep will help the federal enforcement agency find applicants for positions ranging from entry-level attorney advisers, earning an annual…

May 25, 2011 12:25 AM CDT