New York

Ex-Skadden Lawyer Loses Bias Suit Appeal; Court Cites Misuse of Car Service

Updated: A former litigation counsel accused of misusing the car service at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has lost a bid to reinstate her age and sex discrimination suit against the law firm. Rita Gordon’s suit had claimed the firm cited her liberal use of the car service as…

May 16, 2012 3:18 PM CDT

Husband-and-Wife Lawyers Settle Suit Claiming Cops Punched Them for Objecting to Suspect’s Beating

A lawyer couple who say police punched and arrested them when they objected to the beating of a drug suspect have settled their civil suit against the city of New York. Michael and Evelyn Warren settled the case for $360,000, report Reuters and the New York Daily News. They say…

May 15, 2012 11:33 AM CDT

Cities Prune Budgets to Monitor Aging Trees as Injury Claims Add Up

Sitting or walking under an aging tree can be dangerous, lawsuits reveal. The case of Alexis Handwerker illustrates the hazards, the New York Times reports. She was seated on a bench beneath an elm in Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Square Park in 2007 when a tree limb 30 feet above broke off…

May 15, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Lawyer Held In Lieu of $2M Bail re Claimed Conspiracy to Help Clients Avoid Tax on Offshore $10M

A lawyer who has been federally indicted on accusations he participated in a conspiracy to help relatives of a retired Fidelity Investments executive avoid estate and income tax on $10 million in offshore funds was still in jail at last report, being held in lieu of $2 million bond. A…

May 14, 2012 5:30 PM CDT

Dog Custody Battle Racks Up $60K in Attorney’s Fees

A 34-year-old New York City man who says he considers his dog his son has spent over $60,000 so far on legal fees fighting his ex-girlfriend in a cross-country court battle for custody of a puggle named Knuckles. Craig Dershowitz says he has gone through his life savings in a…

May 14, 2012 3:33 PM CDT

Lawyer is Federally Charged re Claimed Conspiracy to Use Swiss Bank Accounts to Defraud IRS

A lawyer has been criminally charged concerning a series of events beginning with a meeting more than a decade ago at a New York hotel. There, authorities say, members of an American family described as “the Seggermans” were advised about how to bring millions into the United States from an…

May 11, 2012 8:02 PM CDT

Ex-Partner Blames Legal Recruiters, Excessive Pay Guarantees, Angry Colleagues for Dewey’s Downfall

A former real estate practice leader at Dewey & LeBoeuf blames legal recruiters, excessive guaranteed compensation deals and angry fellow partners for the law firm’s impending downfall in a video interview posted Thursday. “A lot of partners are extraordinarily angry right now at the turn of events,” Stuart Saft, who…

May 10, 2012 9:12 PM CDT

From ‘Drip Torture’ to Closure: Dewey Begins Laying Off Associates, Gives 1 Week Notice, WSJ Reports

Even as a once-mighty law firm was disintegrating around them, many associates of Dewey & LeBoeuf heard nothing official about their own fate. But that changed Tuesday as the law firm began laying off associates with one week of notice in a conference room meeting, reports the Wall Street Journal…

May 8, 2012 10:27 PM CDT

Was Lawyer’s Rhymed Dec. 23 Riff on ‘Night Before Xmas’ an Ethics Violation? Appeals Court Will Rule

Inspired by the holiday season and a nine-year divorce case, an Atlanta attorney sent a 60-line rhymed Dec. 23 email to the special referee and opposing counsel in the case, in response to a fee petition. But the unusual poetic approach by A. Todd Merolla of Merolla & Gold did…

May 7, 2012 11:07 PM CDT

Patterson Belknap Wins More Pages in Line-Spacing Spat

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler has won the right to include five extra pages in its brief opposing a dismissal motion after arguing that an opposing law firm benefited from a change in line spacing. Patterson Belknap claimed its opponent did not follow requirements for double spaced briefs, resorting instead…

May 7, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Dewey Sends WARN Notice to US Workers, Says Law Firm Could Close

Citing “a period of extraordinary difficulties in the last few days,” Dewey & LeBoeuf has warned all United States personnel in an internal memo “it is possible that adverse developments could ultimately result in the closure of the firm, which would result in the termination of your employment.” The notice…

May 4, 2012 10:41 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Bloggers Sound Off on New 50-Hour Pro Bono Prerequisite for NY Law License

Lawyer-bloggers had a lot to say about New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s Law Day announcement that would-be lawyers will have to perform 50 hours of pro bono before they can get a law license—the general sentiment being that it is a plan that has flaws. Washington, D.C., solo Carolyn…

May 4, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Top M&A Partner Exits Dewey & LeBoeuf for White & Case as Tally of 2012 Departed Partners Nears 100

Updated: As additional partners announce their departures from Dewey & LeBoeuf, the total of those leaving the approximately 1,000-attorney and 300-partner firm in 2012 is moving toward 100. Among the latest to announce a planned exit is mergers and acquisitions ace Morton A. Pierce, a former chairman of Dewey Ballantine…

May 3, 2012 6:26 PM CDT

Another Hurdle for Would-Be Lawyers in New York: 50 Hours of Pro Bono

New York’s chief judge has announced a new requirement: Would-be lawyers will have to perform 50 hours of pro bono before they can get a law license. New York will be the first state with the pro bono requirement, the New York Times reports. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said the…

May 2, 2012 11:55 AM CDT

Judge Finds No Immunity for Strauss-Kahn in Maid’s Civil Suit, Calls Claim a ‘Hail Mary Pass’

A New York judge discounted a diplomatic immunity claim by Dominique Strauss-Kahn as a “hail Mary pass” in a ruling today allowing a hotel maid’s suit to go forward. Justice Douglas McKeon said Strauss-Kahn had already resigned as chief of the International Monetary Fund when hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo filed…

May 1, 2012 4:33 PM CDT