Large Firm

Scathing Complaint Blames Baker & McKenzie, Ex-Partner for Collapse of Corporate Client

Baker & McKenzie and a former partner have been sued in what the Am Law Daily describes as a scathing complaint (PDF) over their alleged roles in a corporate stock scheme that played a role in the collapse of Industrial Enterprises of America. The Pittsburgh-based IEAM is now in bankruptcy…

Apr 12, 2011 12:38 PM CDT

Top Fla. Court to Address High-Profile Foreclosure Case Based on Inaccurate Loan Documents

Can a bank that files a mortgage foreclosure case based on inaccurate documents simply withdraw it when the lack of an appropriate foundation for the litigation becomes clear? That is a central issue in a high-profile case being taken up by the Florida Supreme Court, reports the Heard Along the…

Apr 12, 2011 12:06 PM CDT

Middleman Pleads Guilty in $34M Insider-Trading Case, Says Lawyer Stole Info from 4th BigLaw Firm

A man accused of being a middleman in an alleged insider-trading operation that prosecutors say reaped some $34 million in illegal profits over a 17-year period pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Newark, N.J., to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud.…

Apr 12, 2011 10:33 AM CDT

Nixed for Urination-Monitor Job Over Birth Gender, Worker Files Unusual Discrimination Suit

Born physically female, 39-year-old El’Jai Devoureau is now male according to his birth certificate, driver’s license and social security card, following a course of male hormones and sex-change surgery. But after he was hired by Urban Treatment Associates in Camden to watch men provide urine samples at a drug-treatment center—to…

Apr 11, 2011 5:24 PM CDT

Husch Blackwell to Move in with UK Firm, in London, Without Benefit of Wedlock

Although no merger is apparently contemplated right now, Husch Blackwell and a United Kingdom law firm are planning to set up housekeeping together in London. As part of a “principal partner” relationship, the 600-lawyer Husch firm will move to the London offices of McGrigors, reports Legal Week. The two firms…

Apr 11, 2011 12:13 PM CDT

Accused Middleman ID’d, Expected to Plead in Alleged Insider Info Theft By BigLaw Attorney

A middleman who allegedly passed confidential merger and acquisition information from a BigLaw attorney to a trader involved in a $109 million insider-trading scheme is expected to plead guilty as early as today to charges of conspiracy and securities fraud, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), relying on unidentified…

Apr 11, 2011 10:02 AM CDT

BigLaw Email Bans Short Skirts and Stiletto Heels, Asks Women to Please Brush Their Hair

Reportedly horrified by the sight of a number of female trainees showing too much leg and looking like they were ready for a night of “clubbing” rather than a day at the office as the weather warmed up, one of the United Kingdom’s renowned magic-circle legal partnerships has laid down…

Apr 11, 2011 10:01 AM CDT

Associate Accused of Insider Trading at 3 Big Firms Also Worked for a Fourth—and Sued for Gay Bias

The associate accused of insider trading based on information obtained from three BigLaw firms may also have made some additional money after working for a fourth. Matthew Kluger, 50, is accused of working with two other conspirators to make $32 million in insider trading profits from information gleaned while working…

Apr 8, 2011 11:28 AM CDT

Law Firm Mergers Are Up; Bloggers Debate How Firm Business Models Should Evolve

There were 16 law firm mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. in the year’s first quarter, and the biggest one saw the 3,500-lawyer megafirm DLA Piper bring in Australian affiliate DLA Phillips Fox and its 600 lawyers. “Although we expect 2011 to be a rebound year for law firm mergers,…

Apr 7, 2011 9:43 PM CDT

Eight Orrick Litigators Jump to Two Firms; Weil Practice Group Head Moves On

Groups of lawyers from Weil and Orrick have moved to new law firms. Edwin Woodsome Jr., formerly national chair of the litigation group at Orrick, is moving to Dechert, along with three other Orrick partners. They will establish a new Los Angeles office for Dechert, according to a press release.…

Apr 7, 2011 4:52 PM CDT

Associate Charged in Alleged $32M Insider Trading Scheme Involving 3 BigLaw Firms

A former associate has been charged in an alleged $32 million insider trading scheme based on information he obtained while working at three of America’s largest law firms. Matthew Kluger is accused of misappropriating information on mergers from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; Cravath Swaine & Moore; and Skadden, Arps,…

Apr 6, 2011 2:53 PM CDT

Suit Accuses Dewey and Staffing Firm of Failing to Pay OT

A technology worker claims in a lawsuit that he has been working as much as 56 hours a week at Dewey & LeBoeuf since 2009 without receiving any overtime pay. The suit by Charlemagne Dumay names as defendants the staffing firm that employs him, Robert Half International, as well as…

Apr 6, 2011 1:00 PM CDT

Winston MP Cites Client Conflicts in Failed Attempt to Hire 140 Howrey Partners

Winston & Strawn managing partner Tom Fitzgerald says conflicts of interest stymied his firm’s ambitious plans to hire 140 partners from the crumbling Howrey law firm. Only 15 Howrey partners ended up joining Winston & Strawn, the Chicago Tribune reports. They were among a group of about 40 Howrey lawyers…

Apr 5, 2011 1:27 PM CDT

Duke Law’s ‘Tricky Dick’ Musical Signals Shift in Administration’s Stance on Nixon

For decades, the Duke University School of Law has downplayed its association with arguably its most notorious graduate: Richard M. Nixon. However, in a sign that the university is slowly embracing its ties with the embattled president, Duke law students on Friday performed Tricky Dick, a musical imagining an ethically…

Apr 4, 2011 7:03 PM CDT

Reed Smith Offers Free GC Hotline to Answer Questions of Clients’ Top In-House Lawyers

When a top in-house lawyer is deciding how to approach an unusual problem, it might well be helpful to talk with a seasoned counterpart. But even for a corporation’s general counsel, deciding who to call and wondering how much the session might cost can be daunting. Apparently sensing a marketing…

Apr 1, 2011 9:07 PM CDT