Law Firms

Mexico, US Lawyers Trade Offices

In a new program at O’Melveny & Myers, an associate from the mega-firm has traded places for three months with a counterpart from a 22-lawyer Mexico City firm with an impressive client list. Although the imported lawyer won’t practice law in Los Angeles, he is learning about American culture and…

Aug 21, 2007 9:18 PM CDT

Facebook Costs, Benefits Firms

Employees surfing the Internet at work are nothing new. But Facebook is particularly tempting, a recent study finds, because the social networking site is so addictive. Workers checking their Facebook profile pages and seeing what’s happening in real-time in online social networks account for billions of dollars worth of lost…

Aug 21, 2007 8:23 PM CDT

Relief for Lawyers in $20 M Lender Bounced-Checks Case

There is relief in sight for lawyers in Georgia and elsewhere who covered perhaps $20 million in bounced checks issued by a mortgage lender. After hearing from Edwin R. Neel, a veteran Atlanta real estate attorney who said he put up his own home to pay for HomeBanc Mortgage Corp.’s…

Aug 21, 2007 6:46 PM CDT

New Norm: Sending Legal Work Abroad

Once upon a time, U.S.-based corporations routinely hired American law firms to do virtually all of their legal work. But today, using cheap foreign lawyers—or even American lawyers in lower-paid parts of the country—to do routine tasks such as document review and conducting due diligence on merger partners is becoming…

Aug 21, 2007 3:31 PM CDT

Lawyers Subpoenaed in KPMG Case

Two lawyers from Hogan & Hartson have been subpoenaed to provide information about their representation of a client who is suing KPMG for selling him improper tax shelters. KPMG sought the subpoenas last month for information from lawyers Prentiss Feagles, co-director of Hogan & Hartson’s tax practice, and Paul Rogers,…

Aug 21, 2007 11:27 AM CDT

80 Law Firms Ask IRS for New Deadline

A coalition of more than 80 law firms is petitioning the Internal Revenue Service to extend by one year a deadline for imposing new regulations on nonqualified deferred compensation under section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. The effort, led by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and involving a…

Aug 20, 2007 8:47 PM CDT

Office Tech Must-Haves List for Lawyers

Many lawyers today already have personal laptop computers, scanners, smart phones and software that helps them bill their time and manage cases and documents. For those who don’t, now is the time to gear up and to get up to speed on such modern-day legal technology, according to Randy Kessler,…

Aug 20, 2007 8:13 PM CDT

Clifford Chance Settles Sexual Pref Case

In a precedent-setting case in the United Kingdom, a London-based megafirm has reportedly reached a settlement with a former partner who claimed he was discriminated against because of his sexual preference. The agreement, between famed “magic circle” firm Clifford Chance and former partner Michael Bryceland, is for an undisclosed amount.…

Aug 20, 2007 7:30 PM CDT

Malpractice Deal Revealed

Details of a confidential agreement to settle a legal malpractice case have been revealed in a lawsuit over disputed attorney fees in the case. Dallas securities attorney Phillip W. Offill Jr. and his former law firm settled the malpractice case against them last spring for $4.8 million, according to a…

Aug 20, 2007 12:54 PM CDT

Skadden Tops Corporate Counsel Lists

The usual names top Corporate Counsel’s list of law firms most often used by Fortune 250 companies. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom got the most mentions overall. Leading the lists by practice area: –Kirkland & Ellis, in commercial law and contracts litigation. –Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, in…

Aug 20, 2007 11:40 AM CDT

Bye-Bye, Billables

One Atlanta law firm has decided to chuck billable hour requirements for first-year associates. New hires at Ford & Harrison, a 190-lawyer labor and employment firm, will devote much of their time to learning. They will observe depositions, attend hearings, and watch litigation strategy meetings, the National Law Journal reports.…

Aug 20, 2007 11:11 AM CDT

Market Rout Rings Up Legal Business

With the stock market in almost a seeming freefall state recently, following a subprime mortgage market meltdown, many obviously are unhappy. But the bad news could be good news for a number of law firms. While not recession-proof, those with diversified practices can often gear up in one area as…

Aug 17, 2007 4:11 PM CDT

Pension Suit Turns on Partner Definition

A “partner” who was denied pension benefits from her former law firm because she was not considered a shareholder will get a chance to prove she is entitled to the money. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) Wednesday that a magistrate erred in barring Karen Strom from…

Aug 17, 2007 11:05 AM CDT

Mega-Firm’s Mega-Profit: $1 M-Plus PPP

Impressive profits for the 2007 fiscal year have been announced by one of the world’s largest law firms, Chicago-based Baker & McKenzie. Its gross was $1.83 billion, up from $1.52 billion the previous fiscal year. A 22 percent gain for the first time boosted profits per partner into seven figures,…

Aug 16, 2007 8:23 PM CDT

Judge Summons Qualcomm Lawyers

A federal magistrate has ordered former lawyers for Qualcomm Inc. to appear in court later this month to face possible misconduct sanctions stemming from their roles in a cell phone patent case. The LA Times reports that U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major has ordered more than a dozen lawyers from…

Aug 15, 2007 4:09 PM CDT