Contracts

Frank McCourt Says His Legal Malpractice Claim Could Be Worth Hundreds of Millions of Dollars

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt contends in court filings that he could be entitled to “hundreds of millions of dollars” as a result of alleged malpractice by the law firm that drafted a prenup for him. McCourt made the claim as he battles Bingham McCutchen, which filed suit in April seeking…

Aug 3, 2011 1:01 PM CDT

Changing Times: Fee Agreements May Be Modified, But Only for Good Reasons

Abraham Lincoln, who enjoyed a notable legal career in Illinois before his election to the presidency in 1860, was not above thinking about practical matters like fees. “The matter of fees is important, far beyond the mere question of bread and butter involved. Properly attended to, fuller justice is done…

Aug 1, 2011 6:50 AM CDT

Jenner & Block Wins 7th Circuit Qui Tam Dismissal 22 Years After Filing of First Suit in Dispute

Jenner & Block managing partner Susan Levy has been working to defeat claims stemming from a General Dynamics fighter jet contract for 22 years. On Tuesday, she saw another victory, when the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of a false claims suit based on the contract,…

Jul 29, 2011 4:04 PM CDT

Legal Recruiter Sued by BigLaw Partner She Sent to Patton Boggs Says He’s to Blame for Any Issues

A Texas legal recruiter sued by a partner of Bryan Cave has filed an answer (PDF) to his Dallas County complaint (PDF). Contrary to what Chris Gilbert contends, says Diane Caldwell of Caldwell & Associates Inc., she never owed contractual or fiduciary alleged duties to him, let alone breached them…

Jul 28, 2011 7:45 PM CDT

Cozen O’Connor Sues Landlord, Alleges Leaky Atrium, Eyesores, Odors and Elevator Entrapments

When Cozen O’Connor renewed its lease for five years at its Philadelphia headquarters last July, it expected to be occupying a Class A building. But the law firm says it has had to cope with a litany of aggravating problems ranging from a leaky atrium with buckets and trash cans…

Jul 27, 2011 8:12 PM CDT

Departing Associate Who Failed to Give Notice Temporarily Barred from Practice

A personal injury law firm in Philadelphia has obtained an injunction temporarily barring a departing associate from practicing law at other law firms. Lawyer Robert Englert Jr. won’t be able to practice law until September under an injunction issued Monday by Judge Albert Sheppard Jr., the Legal Intelligencer reports. Kline…

Jul 21, 2011 2:05 PM CDT

Despite Job Contract for ‘Models’ and Website Disclaimer, Elite Escort Service Operators Indicted

An alleged New York prostitution ring catering to Wall Street clients with money to burn hired a law firm to draft employment contracts for its prostitutes. Police say the documents referred to the prostitutes as models, and contend they fraudulently agreed in the contracts to refrain from sex with customers,…

Jul 20, 2011 7:19 PM CDT

BigLaw Partner Sues Legal Recruiter, Says She Lied to Get Him to Leap to Patton Boggs

Updated: A partner at Bryan Cave has sued a Dallas legal recruiter, contending that she lied to help persuade him to move from K&L Gates, where he was then a partner, to Patton Boggs. Diane Caldwell of Caldwell & Associates Inc. represented herself as an independent recruiter, when she wasn’t,…

Jul 18, 2011 9:37 PM CDT

Rheingold Firm Seeks TRO Against Ex-Partner, Says He Took 600 Client Files to Napoli Bern

Updated: Hunter Shkolnik wore jeans to his new law office at Napoli Bern Ripka today, expecting to work on putting away his client files. But at 10:30 a.m. he found out he had a court hearing later in the day in a case filed this morning by the New York…

Jul 18, 2011 5:23 PM CDT

Lytal Reiter Partners Battle for Client Fees After Firm Split; Did Name Partner ‘Fake’ Retirement?

Current and former partners of Lytal Reiter are battling for big bucks after the split of the South Florida law firm last year. Those who stayed say they are entitled to millions in fees from the work taken by six partners who reportedly exited nearly a year ago with one…

Jul 13, 2011 6:10 PM CDT

Ex OSU Football Coach Jim Tressel Won’t Be Fined $250K, Will Be Allowed to Retire

Backing off on earlier statements that it would impose a $250,000 fine on former football coach Jim Tressel for violating National College Athletic Association rules, officials at Ohio State University have agreed to let him retire instead of resign, his lawyer, Rex Elliott, announced today. And they have also agreed,…

Jul 8, 2011 7:21 PM CDT

Jilted Dallas Cowboys Receiver Sues His Would-Be Bride, Says Beauty Queen Didn’t Return a $76K Ring

Add another well-known name to a small but growing list of jilted would-be spouses filing suit to recoup alleged financial losses as a result of derailed wedding plans. Wide receiver Roy Williams of the Dallas Cowboys says in an affidavit that former Miss Texas USA Brooke Daniels rejected the recorded…

Jul 7, 2011 10:44 PM CDT

Winklevoss Twins Try Again, Ask Federal Judge in Boston to Address Facebook Evidence Issue

The Winklevoss twins have abandoned their effort to get the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn their $65 million settlement with Facebook Inc. over their claims that the social networking site founded by Harvard University classmate Mark Zuckerberg was their idea. But Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss haven’t completely given up their…

Jun 24, 2011 12:23 PM CDT

Winklevoss Twins Won’t Ask Supreme Court to Scuttle Facebook Settlement

The twins who claim Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook have given up their attack on a $65 million settlement reached in the case. Lawyers for Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have notified the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that they won’t seek cert with the U.S.…

Jun 23, 2011 12:31 PM CDT

Bud Selig Nixes Dodgers Owners’ Divorce Pact, Says TV Money Can’t Be Used to Pay Couple’s Lawyers

Following earlier word that the battling owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers had achieved a settlement of their contentious divorce comes news that Major League Baseball’s commissioner has, in effect, nixed it. By voiding a television deal on which the divorce pact was predicated, Commissioner Bud Selig put Frank and…

Jun 21, 2011 12:22 AM CDT