Noneconomic Damages Key in 9-11 Suits

Liability for pain and suffering is a key issue in 41 pending lawsuits against airlines, security companies and other defendants alleging negligence in the Sept. 11 attacks. The plaintiffs in many of the cases would not have received high awards from the federal fund set up to compensate victims, the…

Sep 4, 2007 2:57 PM CDT

Husband’s Tactics Influenced Award, Court Suggests

A New York appeals court has vacated a spouse’s award in a divorce case, saying the result was likely influenced by the husband’s litigation conduct. The husband, investment banker Richard Houghton, fired his lawyers at least twice and missed several hearings, the New York Law Journal reports. The couple married…

Sep 4, 2007 1:35 PM CDT

Rising From The Rubble

In the aftermath of 9/11, lawyers at New York’s Harris Beach don’t practice law the same way they once did

Sep 1, 2007 8:30 AM CDT

New NY Bar Exam Woes

Would-be lawyers who had trouble uploading their essays for the New York bar exam may be facing a new problem: incomplete essay answers. About 400 essays appear to be incomplete, New York Lawyer reports, reprinting a story from the New York Law Journal. The students began getting e-mails this week…

Aug 31, 2007 2:01 PM CDT

Quattrone: ‘I Am Innocent’

Updated: A federal judge has approved a prosecution request to drop charges against former investment banker Frank Quattrone, whose conviction for obstruction of justice and witness tampering was overturned 17 months ago. Quattrone was prosecuted for an e-mail reminding employees of document retention policies during an investigation into whether Credit…

Aug 30, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

Canceled Wedding Suit Settles

A bride-to-be has settled her lawsuit against the company that owned a posh New York penthouse that canceled her scheduled wedding a few months before the event. The case settled soon after a New York judge ruled that Sky Studios had to perform its contract to serve as the site…

Aug 30, 2007 12:54 PM CDT

UK Magic Circle Firms Add US Lawyers

Some of London’s biggest and best-known law firms are signaling their intention to establish a higher-profile presence in the U.S. legal market. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has sent two partners and three associates into the firm’s New York office from international locations, reports New York Lawyer (reg. req.), reprinting a Legal…

Aug 29, 2007 7:59 PM CDT

Enron Claims Ruling Overturned

A federal judge in New York has overturned a ruling in Enron bankruptcy litigation that had caused consternation on Wall Street. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that good-faith purchasers of claims against bankrupt companies should not be penalized under bankruptcy laws, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). A…

Aug 29, 2007 6:21 PM CDT

Helmsley Will: Dog Gets $12 Million

Leona Helmsley’s dog, a Maltese named Trouble, is to get the benefit of $12 million under the luxury hotel queen’s will. The money is to be in trust, of course, since animals can’t directly hold funds. Helmsley, who died last week at age 87, also left $10 million to her…

Aug 29, 2007 2:55 PM CDT

Guilty Plea in Extensive Insider Trading Scheme

A former analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has pleaded guilty to insider trading charges in a wide-ranging scheme to get advance corporate information from a Merrill Lynch employee, printing plant workers and a grand juror. Prosecutors say the plot generated $6.7 million in profits. Investigators told the Wall Street…

Aug 29, 2007 2:26 PM CDT

Three-Time Loser Law Struck Down

Another federal judge has struck down New York’s persistent felony offender statute on Sixth Amendment grounds. Two judges have held the state law improperly requires judges rather than juries to determine facts that lead to an enhanced sentence, the New York Law Journal reports. A third judge has upheld the…

Aug 29, 2007 11:50 AM CDT

Prosecutors Seek Reporter Testimony

Prosecutors are trying to force reporters for two New York City newspapers to testify about their interviews with the parents of a 7-year-old girl who was found dead in her family’s home last year. She had been beaten and starved to death. The parents, Cesar Rodriguez and Nixzaliz Santiago, spoke…

Aug 28, 2007 4:13 PM CDT

Dewey & LeBoeuf Is Born

It’s official: Dewey & LeBoeuf is the new mega law firm created through the merger of two New York powerhouses. The firms Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae announced the merger yesterday, confirming early reports of the pending deal. The new firm will have 1,300 lawyers and revenues…

Aug 28, 2007 11:23 AM CDT

Dewey + LeBoeuf = Mega Merger?

Two major New York-based firms – Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae – are in advanced merger talks that would create a firm that ranks in the top dozen in terms of number of lawyers and revenue, anonymous sources have told the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. A formal annoucement of the discussions could come as early as today.

The combined firm would have almost 1,300 lawyers in 12 countries and revenue approaching $1 billion, the Times reports. Mergers of this size – particularly involving New York firms – are very rare, the Journal notes.

LeBoeuf has more than 700 lawyers based in 18 offices, according to the Times; Dewey has 550 attorneys in 12 cities. Last year, LeBoeuf reported $513 million in gross revenue and $1.43 million in profits per equity partner; Dewey had $409 million in revenue and $1.45 million in profits …

Aug 26, 2007 7:26 PM CDT

Law Blogs: Nixon Loses in ‘Winner’ Song Spat

Law blawggers are agog over Nixon Peabody’s claimed response to an unexpected Internet hit—the law firm’s unofficial theme song “Everyone’s a Winner at Nixon Peabody!” Apparently created by law-firm marketers for an internal event celebrating the firm’s inclusion in a Fortune magazine list of the 100 best places to work,…

Aug 24, 2007 10:53 PM CDT