Wolf Block has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to decide if a case by a former partner seeking severance payments can be removed to confidential arbitration. An appellate panel found ex-partner Michael Budin never signed a partnership agreement mandating arbitration and can therefore have his day in court.

Jenner & Block saw its gross revenue and profits per partner pushed to record levels last year thanks to a combination of new work, cost-cutting, and fewer equity partners. Gross revenue inched up 2.6 percent in 2011 to $389 million, while the firm’s profits per equity partner rose 11.2 percent to $1.55 million.

For the antitrust bar, a federal judge’s decision to enjoin H&R Block’s planned $287.5 million acquisition of a tax prep rival raised the intriguing prospect that a federal appellate court would be asked to rule on the merits of a DOJ merger case.

Jenner & Block announced Wednesday that it has beefed up its 2 1/2 year old Los Angeles office with the addition of six partners from Hogan Lovells whose practice focuses on providing counsel to entertainment industry clients on both litigation and corporate matters.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Thursday ruled against H&R Block’s proposed acquisition of a rival company that also sells digital do-it-yourself tax preparation products, saying the proposed $287 million merger would harm consumers. See related story: D.C.