Large Firm

Prosecution says improper Dewey adjustments boosted revenue by 10 percent, assets by 1,000 percent

As the prosecution case against three former leaders accused of cooking the books at Dewey & LeBoeuf nears its conclusion, witnesses are providing an overview of claimed financial wrongdoing that led to the law firm’s demise. Attempting to stay in compliance with the terms of $250 million in debt and…

Aug 27, 2015 11:00 AM CDT

Former Ropes associate loses bias and retaliation appeal that cited information passed to blog

A former Ropes & Gray associate who claimed the law firm discriminated and retaliated against him has lost his federal appeal. In a decision (PDF) on Tuesday, the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against John Ray III, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. The court upheld…

Aug 27, 2015 9:19 AM CDT

Ex-partner accused of bilking her law firms acted as her husband ‘coercively demanded,’ lawyer says

A former BigLaw partner accused along with her husband of creating phony companies to bilk her law firms acted according to the husband’s demands, her lawyer says. The defense lawyer for Keila Ravelo, a former antitrust partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Hunton & Williams, issued the unusual statement…

Aug 27, 2015 7:31 AM CDT

Hillary Clinton’s lawyer had ‘top secret’ clearance, but that wasn’t good enough, top lawmaker says

Two BigLaw attorneys representing Hillary Clinton had “top secret” clearances from the Department of Justice when they held emails she kept on personal electronic devices when she was U.S. Secretary of State. But those clearances weren’t sufficient, because a few of the emails were classified at a higher level, as…

Aug 26, 2015 3:40 PM CDT

Lawyer’s husband pleads guilty in scheme to bilk the BigLaw firms where she worked

The husband of a former BigLaw antitrust partner has pleaded guilty in a scheme to defraud two law firms where she worked. Melvin Feliz of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and tax evasion on Tuesday, report the Bergen County Record and the Bergen…

Aug 26, 2015 10:20 AM CDT

Why not eliminate quarterly earnings reports, Wachtell co-founder suggests

A bedrock system underlying much of corporate regulatory law may not, in fact, be necessary, the co-founder of one of New York’s top business law firms is suggesting. In a Tuesday memo to clients, co-founder Martin Lipton of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz calls for the U.S. Securities & Exchange…

Aug 20, 2015 2:55 PM CDT

Is competitive BigLaw similar to Amazon’s survival-of-the-fittest system?

A New York Times story on the grueling workplace environment for Amazon workers has the newspaper reaching to BigLaw for comparisons. The Amazon story told how the retailer pushed white-collar employees beyond their limits in a drive for innovation. Company founder Jeff Bezos believes that harmony is often overvalued in…

Aug 18, 2015 8:19 AM CDT

Lawyer’s repeated instructions to not answer deposition questions draws sanction for Kramer Levin

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel will have to pay attorney fees covering an opponent’s deposition costs because one of its lawyers repeatedly instructed a witness not to answer questions. Delaware’s chancery court imposed the sanction in an Aug. 14 letter opinion, the Legal Profession Blog reports. According to the opinion,…

Aug 18, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

King & Spalding to open in Sacramento with 8-lawyer team from DLA Piper

A group of at least eight health care lawyers is poised to exit the Sacramento office of DLA Piper. They will open a Sacramento office next month for Atlanta-based King & Spalding, reports the Sacramento Business Journal The group is headed by Stephen Goff, a former co-chair of King &…

Aug 11, 2015 4:15 PM CDT

GC’s fix for ‘broken’ law firm profit structure: Cut associate billing rates

Paying top dollar for work done by leading partners at major law firms doesn’t bother Brian Brooks. But paying big bucks for associates and mid-level lawyers does, the Fannie Mae general counsel tells Bloomberg BNA in a lengthy interview. As billing rates for senior partners have escalated, “I’m perfectly willing…

Aug 11, 2015 3:00 PM CDT

In potential job threat to associates, ‘artificially intelligent attorney’ gets BigLaw gig

First came the outsourcing of legal work once done by U.S. lawyers to cheaper foreign counterparts. Now, it appears, would-be BigLaw associates may also have to compete with artificial intelligence applications in the foreseeable future. Megafirm Dentons and some major U.S. law firms have agreed to train Ross, a so-called…

Aug 11, 2015 10:10 AM CDT

Fired coach sues Paul Weiss for alleged defamation in Dolphins bullying report

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and its partner, Theodore “Ted” Wells, are facing a defamation suit stemming from their probe of alleged bullying and harassment by Miami Dolphins players. Former Dolphins offensive line coach Jim Turner filed the suit (PDF) on Monday in federal court in the Southern District…

Aug 11, 2015 8:20 AM CDT

Will BakerHostetler eliminate nonequity partners? Change could boost Am Law stats, memo notes

A confidential law firm memo obtained by Above the Law shows that BakerHostetler is considering a one-tier, equity-partner-only partnership structure. The July 1 memo says partners will be asked to decide on the proposed change in September. Since 1992, the firm has had a two-tier partnership structure, writes law firm…

Aug 10, 2015 4:15 PM CDT

Upscale restaurants frequented by Dewey lawyers play role in trial

If jurors feel hunger pangs during the trial of three former Dewey & LeBoeuf leaders, there’s good reason: Upscale restaurants are a backdrop for meetings discussing management decisions in the alleged conspiracy to defraud lenders. Charged in the alleged plot are former chairman Steven Davis, former executive director Stephen DiCarmine,…

Aug 10, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Powerhouse labor boutique Littler opens first office in Canada

A growing international labor and employment boutique based in the U.S. has opened its first office in Canada. Littler Mendelson announced the new Toronto office Tuesday, saying that it will initially be staffed with seven lawyers from two Canadian firms. The office will be the 67th for the 1,000-attorney law…

Aug 5, 2015 4:40 PM CDT