Practice Management

Pay Cuts for Top Partners at London Firm?

Although at least three quarters of the partners at Ashurst voted recently to approve a change in the London-based law firm’s lockstep compensation structure, many are now reportedly nervous about how the new pay scale will be implemented. “Around 75 of Ashurst’s most senior partners will see their position at…

Oct 4, 2007 5:36 PM CDT

In Tight Market, Law Grads Seek Work in OK

A tight legal market for law students who aren’t graduating from the nation’s most elite law schools or at the top of their class is apparently prompting many to seek work in Oklahoma. Some may also think—correctly—that law firm jobs there offer good long-term opportunities for training and growth, as…

Oct 4, 2007 4:32 PM CDT

Exploding OT Claims for Many Employers

Wage-and-hour class action claims brought over unpaid overtime are a hot practice area—and, as today’s $62 million judgment against Wal-Mart illustrates, one that can be extremely costly to employers. “Multiplaintiff wage-and-hour lawsuits pose the greatest employment litigation threat to American businesses today,” says Seyfarth Shaw, a law firm known for…

Oct 3, 2007 11:54 PM CDT

Want More Business? Here’s a How-To List

Does your daughter’s kindergarten teacher know you’re a lawyer? Do you send out press releases to the local weekly newspaper? Does the client for whom you just handled a real estate closing know you do wills, too? If not, you’re missing out on significant opportunities to market your law practice.…

Oct 3, 2007 10:30 PM CDT

Defense Lawyer Acquitted in Heroin Case; Inmate’s Mom Admits Hiding Drugs in Legal Brief

Updated: A federal criminal defense lawyer has been arrested on charges he tried to smuggle heroin into a Massachusetts state prison. Kevin Barron, 46, was released on his own recognizance after being charged with delivering drugs to a prisoner, possession of a Class A substance and possession with intent to…

Oct 3, 2007 9:46 PM CDT

Wanted: New Spector Defense Lawyers

Although Phil Spector’s defense counsel deadlocked the jury at his Los Angeles murder trial, he wants another legal team to represent him at retrial. Six attorneys are interviewing for the job of lead counsel, according to the Associated Press. Many of Spector’s current lawyers are stepping aside after months defending…

Oct 3, 2007 8:11 PM CDT

Judge Sanctions Lawyers Up to $5 Million

In a blistering rebuke of some of Philadelphia’s most prominent lawyers and law firms, a federal judge has sanctioned them—and their clients—for failing to cooperate with discovery in a medical insurance coverage class action. Among those being required to pay up to $5 million in plaintiffs costs by U.S. District…

Oct 3, 2007 5:15 PM CDT

Former Top Judge Regains Law License

The former chief judge of New York’s highest court has regained his law license, 15 years after he was arrested for harassing socialite Joy Silverman. The 77-year-old Sol Wachtler told the New York Post he is delighted. He plans to do legal work for the poor and mentally ill, the…

Oct 3, 2007 2:29 PM CDT

Settling It Online: ODR is the New ADR

OK, OK, take it online. That could foreseeably be a 21st-century mantra for dispute resolution, as enhanced technology and lower costs make it easier, faster and cheaper to use the Internet to settle disagreements. However, online dispute resolution, although increasingly popular among attorneys and large organizations, is still used in…

Oct 3, 2007 2:29 AM CDT

Recruiting Rampage Part II: Alston Aces to Join DLA Piper

The managing partner of Alston & Bird’s Washington, D.C. office and the head of the firm’s legislative and public policy practice group are reportedly joining megafirm DLA Piper along with three corporate partners. Plus, other Alston attorneys are likely to follow them there, too. Alston & Bird says that Frank…

Oct 3, 2007 12:05 AM CDT

Mayer Brown Loses Another Partner

In the latest partner defection from Mayer Brown’s office in Los Angeles, corporate and securities practitioner Kenneth Kohler has joined the Los Angeles office of Morrison & Foerster. A number of other partners also have left Mayer Brown’s Los Angeles office in recent months, including Louis Eatman, the former national…

Oct 2, 2007 9:41 PM CDT

Judge to Simpson: Hand Over Rolex

O.J. Simpson doesn’t have to give the shirt off his back to satisfy a $38 million wrongful-death judgment. But he does have to hand over an expensive Rolex wristwatch the family of murder victim Ron Goldman saw the former football superstar wearing on the Internet, a Los Angeles judge ruled…

Oct 2, 2007 8:31 PM CDT

In-House DuPont Lawyers Post Profit

Like many corporations, DuPont Co. spends a lot of money on its in-house law department. The department’s annual budget was about $230 million last year. However, unlike most corporations, the Wilmington, Del.-based chemical giant has been getting more than it pays for. The company’s in-house counsel brought in $290 million…

Oct 2, 2007 7:50 PM CDT

Loeffler Leaves Loeffler, Keeps Lobby Arm

Lobbyist and former Texas Congressman Tom Loeffler has left the law firm he founded. But he has retained his national lobbying firm, the Loeffler Group, and will continue to be housed in the same office building with his now-former partners at Loeffler Tuggey Pauerstein Rosenthal, reports the San Antonio Express-News.…

Oct 2, 2007 7:07 PM CDT

John Grisham Sued for Libel

The best-selling author of numerous legal thrillers has been sued for libel over his first nonfiction work, The Innocent Man. In an unusual federal libel conspiracy case, John Grisham, along with other authors and publishers, has been sued by a prosecutor and law enforcement officer over three nonfiction books published…

Oct 1, 2007 10:49 PM CDT