Large Firm

Wachtell and Cravath top list of 100 most prestigious law firms, Vault survey says

Well-known BigLaw firms in the Big Apple retain their cachet among nearly 17,000 associates asked to rate the most prestigious law firms in the country. an annual Vault survey found. Once again, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz topped the list, closely followed by Cravath Swaine & Moore, Wachtell has retained…

Jun 18, 2014 8:50 PM CDT

Fish & Richardson to make Minneapolis its administrative hub

Fish & Richardson is the latest law firm to announce a consolidation of its administrative functions in a single location as a cost-cutting move. The 400-attorney intellectual property specialist said Tuesday that it plans to make Minneapolis its administrative hub by March of 2015. “We know and really like this…

Jun 17, 2014 7:40 PM CDT

Former Vedder Price office manager, three vendors are accused in alleged $7M embezzlement

Updated: A former office manager at Vedder Price and three of the law firm’s vendors have been accused in an alleged $7 million embezzlement scheme. Former office manager Patricia Lapinski is accused of plotting with her sister and two other vendors to create invoices for goods and services that were…

Jun 16, 2014 12:18 PM CDT

Why Willkie Farr lawyers gave up their pricey suits for six months

Lawyers at Willkie Farr & Gallagher decided to dress the part when they advised Men’s Wearhouse on its recent agreement to buy Jos. A. Bank. The lawyers “shrugged off Armani and Zegna in favor of $600 suits by Joseph Abboud—a once-prestigious brand now owned by Men’s Wearhouse,” the Wall Street…

Jun 16, 2014 10:45 AM CDT

Holland & Knight opens Alaska office with Patton Boggs refugees

For the second time in less than a year, Patton Boggs’ loss is Holland & Knight’s gain. The firm announced Thursday that it has opened an office in Anchorage, Alaska, that will consist of eight lawyers and professionals from Patton Boggs. According to Law360, Patton Boggs had dissolved its Anchorage…

Jun 13, 2014 5:47 PM CDT

Heller isn’t entitled to unfinished-business profits in hourly fee cases, federal judge rules

A federal judge in California has ruled that the bankruptcy estate of failed law firm Heller Ehrman isn’t entitled to recover profits from unfinished hourly fee cases taken to new law firms. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled Wednesday in a de novo review of a contrary ruling by a…

Jun 12, 2014 1:50 PM CDT

‘Other’ is fastest growing attorney category in larger law firms

One category of attorneys is doing especially well in the nation’s top 350 law firms. “Other” attorney jobs grew by 8.8 percent last year, the National Law Journal reports. The increase was the largest of any attorney category. The “other” category includes staff attorneys, of counsel, and lawyers who aren’t…

Jun 11, 2014 4:24 PM CDT

Former Wilmer lawyer drops suit claiming she was fired for taking adoption leave

A former counsel at WilmerHale has dropped her suit claiming the law firm fired her to taking leave to adopt a baby from China. Pamela Levinson told the court on June 5 that she was dropping her suit, Legal Times reports. In a statement, Levinson told the publication she had…

Jun 11, 2014 3:23 PM CDT

Dentons takes a stand, won’t report ‘meaningless’ profits per equity partner

Updated: Dentons has decided it will no longer report average profits per equity partner, and it hopes other law firms will do the same. Dentons says the PEP figure is “meaningless” and has the potential to damage client relations, Legal Week (sub. req.) reports. Law firm leaders wrote a letter…

Jun 11, 2014 1:38 PM CDT

How many BigLaw firms represent same-sex marriage opponents? Zero

BigLaw firms are eager to wade into gay-marriage litigation, but only on the side of those favoring the right to same-sex marriage. At least 30 of the nation’s top 200 law firms are representing litigants or amici seeking to strike down bans on same-sex marriage, but none represents the other…

Jun 10, 2014 4:26 PM CDT

Survey says BigLaw growth is highest since 2007, due to foreign mergers

The nation’s largest law firms had a robust 3.9 percent growth rate in 2013, ending the year with 4,412 more lawyers on their attorney rosters. But that increase in headcount—the biggest since 2007, before the economic crash resulted in a decline of 5.3 percent; and considerably more than the 1.1…

Jun 9, 2014 3:25 PM CDT

McDermott lays off 25 legal secretaries

McDermott Will & Emery has confirmed rumors that the law firm is planning layoffs. A total of 25 legal secretaries are being let go throughout the firm’s nearly 20 international offices, Above the Law reports. “It is clear that the role of legal secretary has changed significantly in recent years…

Jun 3, 2014 8:25 PM CDT

Pillsbury Winthrop will move some legal work to its back-office operations center in Nashville

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is hiring a half dozen lawyers for litigation-support work at its back-office operations center in Nashville. Pillsbury chairman Jim Rishwain says the hiring of the lawyers, as well as a handful of paralegals and consultants, is “another step in the evolution of our business model,” the…

Jun 2, 2014 11:56 AM CDT

This lawyer took two lower-paying jobs in a row and was happier; now he writes on SCOTUS for the NYT

The New York Times journalist who covers the U.S. Supreme Court has some advice for newbie lawyers, based on his own experience: Get the best-paying job you can, but don’t get used to the money. Writing for the Harvard Crimson, legal journalist Adam Liptak explains his advice. An unhappy lawyer…

Jun 2, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Law firms are sponsoring incubators, cozying up with young entrepreneurs

On the 25th floor of the high-rise where Foley & Lardner has its Chicago offices, some of the city’s most promising high-tech startup companies have set up shop in a space the firm set aside just for them. The companies include an e-commerce site for fashion, an online learning company,…

Jun 1, 2014 10:20 AM CDT