Pepper Hamilton and project lawyer resolve ADA suit over sleep disorder

A project lawyer and Pepper Hamilton have resolved a suit contending the law firm violated the Americans With Disabilities Act. The lawyer, Andrew Fischer, had claimed that the law firm failed to accommodate a sleep disorder which made it difficult to arrive at work before 2 p.m. On Feb. 5,…

Feb 12, 2016 5:45 AM CST

Partner’s ‘slave’ comment to contract attorney led to tweet that launched a law firm

Yondi Morris was already unhappy about her job as a contract attorney when a comment by a partner at the firm for which she was then working prompted her to do something about it. After walking over to see how Morris was doing, “he just looked at me and said,…

Jan 14, 2016 4:05 PM CST

Skadden, staffing agency OK payment of $75K to doc-review lawyer trio to settle overtime suit

Updated: Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and a staffing agency have agreed to settle for $75,000 a federal lawsuit by three document review attorneys seeking overtime pay. The case is David Lola v. Skadden. Name plaintiff David Lola first sued Skadden and Tower Legal Staffing in 2013, accusing them…

Dec 16, 2015 4:00 PM CST

Document review arguably ‘devoid of legal judgment,’ 2nd Circuit says, allowing wage suit to proceed

A trial judge erred in dismissing a BigLaw document reviewer’s lawsuit seeking overtime pay, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. Accepting plaintiff David Lola’s allegations as true for the purpose of deciding a motion to dismiss, the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said his claim that his…

Jul 23, 2015 12:45 PM CDT

Former Drinker Biddle staff attorney is suspended for overbilling the firm for his work

A former staff attorney for Drinker Biddle & Reath has been suspended for overbilling the law firm on a document review project. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court suspended Philadelphia lawyer Benjamin Hart Perkel for two years, report the Legal Intelligencer and the Legal Profession Blog, which links to the decision and…

May 28, 2015 10:25 AM CDT

2nd Circuit to hear contract lawyer’s appeal on overtime pay

A federal appeals court will hear arguments on Friday in a case contending contract lawyers are entitled to overtime pay. Contract lawyer David Lola is asking the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revive his would-be class action seeking overtime pay, the Litigation Daily reports. The defendants…

May 28, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Project attorney’s ADA suit says Pepper Hamilton didn’t accommodate his sleep disorder

A former project attorney for Pepper Hamilton has filed a pro se lawsuit (PDF) against the Philadelphia-based national law firm, contending that it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to accommodate his sleep disorder. Andrew Fischer alleges that the law firm denied his repeated requests for a work…

May 8, 2015 1:35 PM CDT

Cleary Gottlieb sued by former project lawyer for alleged racial bias in firing

Updated: A former project lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton claims in a lawsuit that the firm discriminated against him when it fired him in August 2012. The Dec. 23 suit by Maryland lawyer Lyle Silva, who is African American, says he “received nothing but outstanding praise” during his…

Dec 29, 2014 8:33 AM CST

Lawyer is jobless and sleeping in his car after losing suit seeking OT for document review

A contract lawyer who claimed he should have been paid overtime for document-review work has suffered another setback with a judge’s decision to toss his would-be class action. U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan of Manhattan ruled in a Sept. 16 opinion (PDF) that plaintiff David Lola was engaged in the…

Sep 22, 2014 5:45 AM CDT

Baker & McKenzie to open back-office operations center in Belfast

Baker & McKenzie has chosen Belfast as the location for a second back-office operations center. The law firm expects the new office to employ about 120 professionals by the end of its first year of operation, rising to between 200 and 250 employees at the end of three years, according…

Aug 28, 2014 12:22 PM CDT

Lawyer suing for document-review OT applies for job with defendant; sanctions bid fails

A lawyer who filed a suit contending that lawyers in document-review jobs deserve overtime pay is still looking for contract work—and even sent his resume to one of the defendants. The resume sent by David Lola to Tower Legal Staffing spurred a sanctions bid by its lawyers, who contended Lola’s…

Feb 12, 2014 3:48 PM CST

New job titles reflect economic challenges, changing career expectations for lawyers

Jan 1, 2014 9:00 AM CST

Was a contract lawyer for Quinn Emanuel entitled to overtime pay? Judge hears arguments

A contract attorney doing document review was hired for his expertise and is not entitled to overtime pay, according to a lawyer for Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan who defended his firm’s pay practices before a federal judge on Tuesday. Marc Greenwald, co-chair of the firm’s white collar and corporate…

Oct 23, 2013 12:15 PM CDT

Contract lawyer claims he is entitled to OT pay due to ‘extremely routine nature’ of job

A lawyer who performed document review for Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan on a contract basis claims in a lawsuit that he is entitled to overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours a week. The plaintiff, New York lawyer William Henig, claims he typically worked 57 to 60…

Mar 5, 2013 12:31 PM CST

Patton Boggs axes 30 attorneys and 35 staff, no partners get pink slips

Unlike a number of other major law firms, Patton Boggs didn’t lay off workers during the recession. But it axed 65 attorneys and other employees Thursday, after 2012 revenue and profits slipped, the firm’s managing partner said Friday. Let go were 30 lawyers and 35 staff members, managing partner Edward…

Mar 1, 2013 9:13 PM CST