New York

Suspended NY Attorney Takes Plea in Law Firm Immigration Scheme, Must Forfeit $2.5M

A suspended New York attorney who fled to Canada in 2006 when he heard he and his law firm were being targeted in an immigration probe has taken a plea after being arrested and extradited to the United States last year. Earl Seth David pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and…

Apr 3, 2012 3:31 PM CDT

Associate Gets 2-Year Suspension for Billing Clients for Work That Wasn’t Performed

A former associate at the Albany, N.Y., law firm of Maynard O’Connor Smith & Catalinotto has had his law license suspended for two years because he billed clients for work he didn’t perform. Health and family issues were a factor in Mark Nizer’s misconduct, according to last week’s opinion (PDF)…

Apr 2, 2012 3:12 PM CDT

4-Lawyer Pryor Cashman Team Leaps to Perkins Coie, Which Plans Further Expansion of NY Office

A four-lawyer financial transactions and restructuring team from Pryor Cashman led by partner Ronald Sarubbi is moving to Perkins Coie, where Sarubbi will head the corporate trust practice. The move, which brings the total attorney roster in the firm’s New York office to 15, is part of a plan for…

Mar 30, 2012 4:43 PM CDT

Union Asks NLRB to Determine If Grocery Chain’s Policy on Social Media Use Violates Workers’ Rights

Contending that a New York grocery chain’s restrictions on workers’ use of social media violates their collective bargaining rights, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 complained this week to the National Labor Relations Board. It says Stop & Shop’s rules violate the National Labor Relations Act, Reuters reports. Among…

Mar 30, 2012 3:50 PM CDT

Brooke Astor Estate Fight Settles; Her Son Gets Reduced Share of $14.5M Due to Criminal Conviction

After a five-year legal battle that the presiding judge feared could continue on until it ate up most of the $200 million or so in heiress Brooke Astor’s estate, the warring beneficiaries have settled. The pact frees up $100 million for various charities, and slashes to a mere $14.5 million…

Mar 28, 2012 9:02 PM CDT

Longtime Lawyer Gets 9-Month Suspension; Groping of Client Aggravated By Character Committee Service

Despite a hitherto-unblemished ethical record in a “long honorable” legal career of more than 40 years, a New York attorney has had his law license suspended for nine months for groping a personal injury client’s breast against her will and placing her hand on his trousers, over his groin area.…

Mar 27, 2012 7:15 PM CDT

Another Dewey Leader to Depart, Says Desire to Leave BigLaw, Not Firm Finances, Prompted His Exit

The managing partner of the Houston office of Dewey & LeBoeuf has announced he plans to leave, with three associates, for another law firm, bringing to 37 the total number of Dewey partners who have exited or are about to, in the first three months of 2012. But Sean Gorman,…

Mar 26, 2012 6:35 PM CDT

Twitter Posts Put Some Individuals Arrested During Occupy Wall Street Protest on the Defensive

Arrested last October on the Brooklyn Bridge along with hundreds of other Occupy Wall Street protesters, Jeff Rae expected to fight the charges against him. But now the 31-year-old Washington, D.C., resident decided to take a plea after prosecutors subpoenaed his Twitter account, the Wall Street Journal reported. Although the…

Mar 23, 2012 4:48 PM CDT

BigLaw Partner Arrested in Alleged Domestic Assault on Mistress

A partner at King & Spalding in New York is free on bond after police charged him with hitting his mistress and threatening to kill her. Capital markets partner Steven Guynn is accused of slapping Jeannette Schaefer on the face and grabbing her arm in a March 14 incident at…

Mar 23, 2012 12:51 PM CDT

Closing NY Foreclosure Firm Agrees to Pay $4M in Pact with State AG Regarding Paperwork Shortcuts

A New York mortgage foreclosure firm that is winding up its operations has agreed to pay $4 million to the state attorney general to settle claims that it took shortcuts with court paperwork. Half of the money to be paid by the Steven J. Baum law firm will go to…

Mar 22, 2012 7:21 PM CDT

Lawyers Practicing Primarily in New York Must Work for Attorney-Owned Firms, Ethics Opinion Says

Updated: As some jurisdictions throughout the world relax traditional rules about requiring law firms to be owned by lawyers, a question has arisen about possible practice here in the U.S. by attorneys working for such firms. If, say, an attorney working for a major law firm in United Kingdom, which…

Mar 21, 2012 10:55 PM CDT

Judge Nixes $225M Suit By College Grads Claiming They Were Misled By NY Law School Job Stats

A state court judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by nine New York Law School graduates against their alma mater. Although the plaintiffs contend they were somehow misled by published NYLS employment data into believing that their post-graduation job prospects were better than they are, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice…

Mar 21, 2012 8:28 PM CDT

17 Years After Passing Bar Exam, Ex-Con Gets His NY Law License

Persistence paid off for a City University of New York law graduate who passed the state bar exam in 1994. Although Neal Wiesner had repeatedly been denied his law license on character and fitness grounds, due to his criminal conduct during the 1980s, a New York appeals court this week…

Mar 21, 2012 4:10 PM CDT

Owners of Mets Settle Madoff Suit on Day of Trial After Losing Burden-of-Proof Ruling

The owners of the New York Mets averted a jury trial scheduled for today with an agreement to pay $162 million to settle a suit filed by the Madoff bankruptcy trustee. The suit had sought $300 million in fictitious profits reaped by the team in accounts held with convicted Ponzi…

Mar 19, 2012 2:39 PM CDT

12 Partners Exit Dewey LeBoeuf for Willkie Farr, Including 3 Practice Group Leaders

Updated: Dewey & LeBoeuf, which has already seen at least 18 of its 300 or so partners exit in the first two months of 2012, is now losing another 12. Headed to Willkie Farr & Gallagher, the latest departing partner group includes John Schwolsky, who served as co-chair of the…

Mar 19, 2012 1:50 PM CDT