Large Firm

Business Management Strategies Can Be Applied in Law Practice—Document Review, for Instance

Whenever I have written about project management, process management or Lean and Six Sigma, I received considerable criticism from a number of people who feel that such concepts should not be applied to knowledge workers such as lawyers. At the risk of drumming up more consternation, I am putting my…

Aug 22, 2011 2:12 PM CDT

Are BigLaw Firms Inflating Partner Profits? Citigroup Unit Reportedly Finds Fudging

Are law firm rankings suspect because of fudging on figures? More than half of the nation’s top 50 law firms could be overstating profits per partner to the American Lawyer magazine, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. An analysis by Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group reportedly found that…

Aug 22, 2011 11:47 AM CDT

Lawyer Paid $32K for M&A Tips Gets 3 Years for Conduit Role in High-Profile Insider-Trading Scheme

A New York personal injury lawyer was sentenced today to a three-year federal prison term for serving as a conduit for at least two attorney tipsters then working at Ropes & Gray in a high-profile insider-trading scheme. Jason Goldfarb was paid $32,500 for his work in the illegal stock-trading scheme,…

Aug 19, 2011 6:23 PM CDT

Judge Nixes Bingham’s Bid for a Court Finding Precluding Malpractice Suit by LA Dodgers Owner

In an unusual pre-emptive strike, Bingham McCutchen filed suit in Massachusetts earlier this year, seeking a declaratory judgment that apparently could have precluded a former client, Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, from suing for malpractice over a botched marital property agreement. But a state-court judge in Boston nixed the…

Aug 19, 2011 12:10 AM CDT

BigLaw Firms Report Big Jumps in Summer Associate Hiring for 2012

With this year’s summer associates barely out the door, major law firms are already starting to interview candidates for 2012 summer associate positions. And some BigLaw firms are planning to bring in a lot more law students for summer jobs next year than they did this year, reports the Am…

Aug 16, 2011 9:56 PM CDT

Edwards Angell to Merge with Wildman Harrold; New Firm Will Have 650 Lawyers

Boston-based Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge is merging with Chicago law firm Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon. The new firm will be called Edwards Wildman Palmer, according to a press release. It will have 13 offices and 650 lawyers. The merger takes place on Oct. 1. Wildman Harrold had 224…

Aug 15, 2011 4:26 PM CDT

Irell Says Hollywood Dreams, Rather than Bias, Spurred Former Partner to Leave

Irell & Manella is contradicting the claims of a former partner who claims in a lawsuit that the law firm cut her pay because of lost hours during maternity leave. Irell asserts that Juliette Youngblood left the firm in 2009 to pursue dreams of becoming a Hollywood producer, the Am…

Aug 15, 2011 1:53 PM CDT

Several Law Firms Plan to Increase Hiring; Law Schools Jockey for Placements

The hiring outlook may be slightly better for law students this year. Several large law firms are planning to increase hiring over the previous year, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. They include Bingham McCutchen, planning to increase summer associate hires by almost 29 percent, and Skadden, Arps, Slate,…

Aug 12, 2011 11:43 AM CDT

Merger Talks to Create 800-Lawyer Law Firm Are Confirmed

Baker & Daniels and Faegre & Benson are discussing a merger. Thomas Froehle Jr., chair and chief executive partner at Baker & Daniels based in Indianapolis, confirmed the merger talks, the Am Law Daily reports. The combined law firms would have 750 to 800 lawyers and 13 offices. Faegre, the…

Aug 12, 2011 11:18 AM CDT

Some Corps Cut Costs By Hiring Law Grads to Work In-house Instead of Using BigLaw Associates

For years, corporations have complained about the high cost of using untrained recent law graduates hired to work as associates for BigLaw firms. Now some are trying an innovative cost-cutting technique, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). They are hiring BigLaw-qualified graduates themselves, straight out of law school, to…

Aug 12, 2011 12:03 AM CDT

Stroock Partner Who Jumped to Locke Lord Sues Former Firm for Retirement Benefits

A securities litigator who left a partnership at Stroock Stroock & Lavan to jump to Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell claims in a lawsuit that his former firm is withholding retirement benefits. The complaint filed on Aug. 5 by 64-year-old Michael Perlis in Los Angeles superior court has few details,…

Aug 11, 2011 11:20 AM CDT

Kirkland & Ellis on Hiring Spree in Asia

Hoping to further capitalize on growing demand for mergers and acquisitions work in Asia, Kirkland & Ellis announced Wednesday that it is bringing in eight lawyers for its Hong Kong office. The firm plans to expand to 50 lawyers in Asia, most of them fluent in Mandarin Chinese, according to…

Aug 10, 2011 11:06 AM CDT

Akerman Senterfitt Opens New Office in Salt Lake with 2 Partners from Van Cott Bagley

Adding another two attorneys to a rapidly growing consumer finance team that has increased by 50 lawyers over the past 12 months, Akerman Senterfitt today announced that it is opening a Salt Lake City office with two former partners of Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy. Robert Scott and Chandler…

Aug 9, 2011 5:17 PM CDT

Facing Multiple Suits re $32M in Client Funds, K&L Gates Sues Ex-Partner in Custody in Hong Kong

A former partner in the Hong Kong office of K&L Gates is in custody, charged with theft and forgery. Navin Kumar Aggarwal, 44, resigned from the law firm in mid-June, after being confronted with the allegations, K&L Gates tells Bloomberg. He is accused of stealing approximately $2 million from the…

Aug 8, 2011 10:01 AM CDT

Polsinelli Ponders Another Possible Site for New Kansas City Headquarters Office

Offered another office site at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, the Polsinelli Shughart law firm may at last have found a new home following criticism of its previous plan to establish a 200,000-square-foot office elsewhere, reports the Kansas City Business Journal (sub. req.). As detailed in a prior…

Aug 5, 2011 10:38 AM CDT