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Skadden Primes Minority Pipeline with $9.6M Program

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is celebrating its 60th anniversary by funding a $9.6 million honors program designed to encourage minority students at the City College of New York to become lawyers. The two-year honors program involves course work that complements the school’s undergraduate majors, the New York Law…

Apr 16, 2008 5:06 PM CDT

Energy Lawyers Courted in Bidding Wars

A legal recruiter in Houston says energy lawyers are in big demand and short supply. Susan Pye was an energy lawyer herself before she became a recruiter and started her own firm. She told the Houston Chronicle that a lot of energy lawyers got out of the practice area after…

Apr 16, 2008 4:50 PM CDT

N.Y. Schools Lawyer-Pay Probe Expands to All Professionals in Gov’t Work

An ever-expanding state probe by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of possible pension irregularities now extends far beyond lawyers in private practice who worked for the state’s 700-plus school districts. It now potentially encompasses, seemingly, virtually every professional who has worked for a state agency, and may also involve…

Apr 15, 2008 6:37 PM CDT

Big Law Firms Lose Female Managing Partners, Raising Pipeline Issues

A number of large law firms have recently lost their female managing partners, leading some to wonder whether women’s gains are slipping. A survey of large law firms released in November by the National Association of Women Lawyers found that only 8 percent of law firm leaders are women, the…

Apr 15, 2008 10:54 AM CDT

How Entertainment Law Star Got Her Start—and Kept On Running

When Lisa Bonner graduated from law school at New York University in 1997, she knew she didn’t want to practice at a BigLaw firm. So, actively avoiding the opportunities to do so that await an NYU grad, she focused on becoming an entertainment lawyer instead, reports the New York Law…

Apr 14, 2008 9:46 PM CDT

Lawyer Hated Securities Practice, But Loves Fox News

As a practicing lawyer, Megyn Kelly hated her long work days. But now, four years after pleading her way into a part-time gig as a legal affairs expert in Washington, D.C., the 37-year-old Fox News anchor loves her job, reports the Washington Post. “When I was practicing law and had…

Apr 14, 2008 9:31 PM CDT

McKenna’s Roadmap to Partnership and Rainmaking

A midsize Atlanta law firm has created a new professional development structure that not only serves as a roadmap to partnership for associates but may help McKenna Long & Aldridge retain rainmakers. At the helm of the 456-lawyer firm’s expanded professional development program is Avital “Avi” Stadler, a securities litigator…

Apr 14, 2008 7:05 PM CDT

Rocker’s Remarks Spurred O’Melveny Partner to Buy WNBA Team

A co-owner of the Los Angeles Sparks is a former Yale law grad and entertainment partner at O’Melveny & Myers. Lawyer Carla Christofferson credits a “defining moment” for spurring her idea to put together a group of investors to buy the women’s professional basketball team, the New York Times reports.…

Apr 14, 2008 4:35 PM CDT

Columbia Sends Highest Percentage of Grads to Top Law Firms

Columbia Law School is first on a list of schools that send the highest percentage of graduates to the top 250 law firms. Columbia sent almost 75 percent of its 2007 grads to the top 250 law firms, followed by Northwestern, which sent about 73.5 percent of its grads to…

Apr 14, 2008 12:27 PM CDT

Alberto Gonzales Is Still Looking for Work

Usually a former U.S. attorney general has no trouble finding work at a prestigious law firm. But that’s not the case for Alberto Gonzales. Friends have inquired whether any Washington law firms are interested in hiring Gonzales, but none of them have made an offer, sources told the New York…

Apr 14, 2008 11:37 AM CDT

For Some Associates, Work is Slow, Delayed or Nonexistent

Associates at big law firms were flying high last year when starting salaries skyrocketed to $160,000. Now some are in for a bumpy ride. This year, some law firms are cutting expenses by laying off associates, delaying their start dates or shortening their summer associate programs, the Wall Street Journal…

Apr 14, 2008 10:46 AM CDT

As U.S. Deals Dry Up, Law Firms Go Abroad; $150K Moving Bonuses

Although the number of corporate deals has plummeted in the U.S., starting midway through last year, overseas mergers and acquisitions are a booming business. So American law firms are going where the work is, revving up their foreign offices at the same time that some are downsizing at home, reports…

Apr 11, 2008 4:05 PM CDT

Hour-Long Chat with Bob Morse

Bob Morse, director of data research at U.S. News & World Report, fielded a flurry of questions Friday about his publication’s law school rankings. The live portion has ended, but you can replay the chat and add comments below.

Apr 11, 2008 3:59 PM CDT

Hiring of Former Pentagon GC Not Big News to Chevron

Chevron Corp. has hired William “Jim” Haynes II, the former Pentagon general counsel criticized for his role in approving harsh interrogation techniques, but the company didn’t rush to publicize its new acquisition. Chevron informed its management committee it had hired Haynes as its chief corporate counsel on Feb. 27, but…

Apr 11, 2008 2:14 PM CDT

Associates Need Not Apply: Job Market is Slow, Except for IP

Unless you’re an intellectual property associate or a partner with a book of business in any practice area, now is probably not a good time to look for a lateral job at another law firm or corporate legal department. Even for associates seeking bankruptcy and litigation positions, the market is…

Apr 10, 2008 10:02 PM CDT