Legal Book » firm

Hodgson Russ Partners Sued Over Fla. Office Closure

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:29:47 +0000

Claiming breach of contract and other charges, five former partners from the defunct Boca Raton, Fla., office of Hodgson Russ are suing top partners of the Buffalo, N.Y.-based law firm.

Calif. Appeals Court Approves Contingency Fee Greater Than Client Award

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:59:22 +0000

A California appeals court has sided with Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy in a dispute over a novel contingency fee deal that called for more legal fees than the amount of money the client recovered. Upholding an arbitration award for the firm of $7.5 million, the court rejected arguments that the award — based on a contingency fee of 16 percent of the client’s estimated damages — was unconscionable

Wachtell M&A Partner Dead at Age 49

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:41:40 +0000

Craig M. Wasserman, a mergers and acquisitions partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, died Monday at age 49.

Wilson Sonsini to Open Hong Kong Office

Master — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:44:26 +0000

Leading Silicon Valley law firm Wilson Sonsini has announced plans to open a Hong Kong office with a lateral hire from Milbank. Weiheng Chen, formerly a counsel in Milbank’s Hong Kong and Beijing offices, will join Wilson Sonsini as a corporate and securities partner and co-head of the China practice

Family Ties Help McGuireWoods Land Tiger Woods Divorce Role

Master — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:44:19 +0000

Eight months after embarrassing allegations about Tiger Woods’ extramarital affairs first hit the gossip pages, a divorce settlement has been finalized between Woods and his former wife, Elin Nordegren. Nordegren’s sister, Josefin Lonnborg, is a corporate associate at McGuireWoods in London, and it appears that family ties paid off for the firm.

Credit Card Expenses Could Be Smoking Gun if Rothstein Partner Is Indicted

admin — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:44:18 +0000

Stuart Rosenfeldt has insisted he knew nothing of the $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme perpetrated by his law partner Scott Rothstein, but sources say Rosenfeldt is likely to be indicted. Records of $1 million of charges Rosenfeldt made on the firm’s credit card could be the smoking gun.

Ex-Attorney Charged With Embezzling $1 Million From Clients, Firm

admin — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 05:17:51 +0000

Former Pennsylvania attorney Jeffrey Abramowitz has been indicted on charges of embezzling more than $1 million from his clients by lying to them about the settlements of their cases. The indictment alleges that Abramowitz told some of his firm’s clients that funds from their civil lawsuits and other transactions would be held in escrow by the firm, and then deposited the funds into his personal bank accounts. He allegedly spent some of the funds himself and diverted the rest to a “favored client” and her family.

MoFo, Wilson Sonsini Lead on Intel’s $7 Billion McAfee Purchase

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:22:09 +0000

In a move to become a major player in the security software market, Intel announced Thursday that it plans to acquire anti-virus software maker McAfee for almost $7.7 billion in cash, or $48 a share.

2nd Circuit Rejects Law Firm’s Role Against Client’s Subsidiary

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:22:08 +0000

A 2nd Circuit panel has ruled that Blank Rome could not continue representing GSI Commerce Solutions in litigation against BabyCenter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, which the firm represents on compliance and privacy matters. The ruling is the first time the 2nd Circuit addressed whether a law firm infringed on its duty of loyalty by taking on a representation adverse to a client’s corporate affiliate

Trial Date Set in Discrimination Suit Against Ballard Spahr

Master — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:59:38 +0000

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has set a 2011 trial date in a discrimination suit filed against Ballard Spahr by a former secretary. The setting of a trial date is the first action in the case since the D.C. Circuit remanded it in June.

Davis Polk Launches Hong Kong Law Practice

Master — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:21:27 +0000

Davis Polk & Wardwell is launching a Hong Kong law practice with two new partners. Bonnie Y.T. Chan comes to the firm from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, while Antony Dapiran was most recently the Beijing managing partner for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Crowell & Moring Hit With Second Malpractice Suit From Hijack Case

admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:21:11 +0000

Crowell & Moring has been smacked with a second malpractice lawsuit related to the law firm’s representation of victims of the Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking in Pakistan in 1986.

$55 Million Suit Against Paul Hastings Over Acquisition Loan Goes Forward

Master — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 05:00:33 +0000

A $55 million lawsuit by a unit of Cerberus Capital Management L.P. can proceed against Paul Hastings over allegations the firm gave faulty advice on a loan made in connection with a private equity firm’s 2008 acquisition of bankrupt retailer Steve & Barry’s.

King & Spalding to Open Singapore Office

Master — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:22:09 +0000

King & Spalding says it has applied for government permission to open an office in Singapore to serve as its regional hub for energy and commercial arbitration work.

Hunton & Williams Sued for $150 Million in Contract-Interference Case

admin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:21:53 +0000

Hunton & Williams has been hit with a $150 million lawsuit claiming that the law firm maliciously squeezed a broker out of a contract and should pay up for the company’s losses. The lawsuit alleges that the firm and client Insight Equity Holdings ousted plaintiff Minerals Development & Supply from a supply chain agreement in which Minerals Development was the middleman.

Profits Rose, Revenue Dipped at Baker & McKenzie in Fiscal 2010

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:09:42 +0000

Baker & McKenzie reported Thursday that profits per equity partner at the firm jumped by 13 percent to $1.125 million for fiscal year 2010 — even as gross revenue at the firm essentially was flat. While Baker’s profits reversed course from last year’s 17 percent drop, 2010 marks the second straight year of declining revenue.

Former Associate Sues Nixon Peabody Over Amount of Origination Bonus

Master — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 05:27:01 +0000

For three years, former Nixon Peabody associate Noah Doolittle had his eyes on a bonus for bringing in and servicing a client for the firm. The bonus, according to Doolittle, would be worth 5 percent of the $5.32 million in fees the law firm collected from the client in 2008. By his own account, Doolittle would be in line for a $266,000 bonus.

SJ Berwin Managing Partner to Step Down as Proskauer Talks Continue

admin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:57:45 +0000

SJ Berwin managing partner Ralph Cohen has announced his intention to step down from his role as the firm reaches the advanced stages of merger talks with Proskauer Rose.

How Fulbright Transformed Its Document Review

Master — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:57:31 +0000

Attorney Laurie Weiss and Tom Barce of Fulbright & Jaworski describe how the firm’s deployment of Recommind’s Axcelerate eDiscovery with predictive coding functionality, concept clustering and data analytics automated e-discovery workflows and reduced the time and cost of document review.

Court Ruling in Allen & Overy Layoff Dispute Reopens Debate Over Status of French Associates

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 03:24:13 +0000

Allen & Overy has been ordered to pay damages to a former Paris associate who was laid off last year as part of the firm’s global redundancy program. The case follows a number of similar lawsuits brought by associates at major law firms in Paris, where France’s strict employment laws have led to a system whereby associates traditionally work as self-employed contractors rather than employees, saving on significant expenses for both the firm and the associate.

Mintz Levin to Close Its Silicon Valley Doors?

admin — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 03:48:11 +0000

Four years after entering Northern California, Boston-based Mintz Levin is deciding whether to fish or cut bait in Palo Alto. With its lease there set to expire this month, the firm’s rapidly shrinking Silicon Valley office has fueled speculation that it would shut its doors.

DLA Piper Launches Succession Plan Through Additions to Leadership

admin — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 03:48:08 +0000

DLA Piper has taken the first key step in its succession plan by adding two partners to its top management office, which has been run by a triumvirate since the megafirm’s creation in 2005. Corporate and finance partners Roger Meltzer in New York and Jay Rains in San Diego have joined Frank Burch, Lee Miller and Terry O’Malley in the office of the chair. The move lays the groundwork for the firm’s strategy beyond the tenure of Burch, Miller and O’Malley, who will continue in the office at least until the end of 2012.

Matrimonial Firm Faces a Breakup of Its Own

Master — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 03:48:07 +0000

Sheresky Aronson Mayefsky & Sloan, whose lawyers made headlines representing supermodel Christie Brinkley’s fourth husband in the couple’s messy divorce, is going through a breakup of its own. Partners confirmed that name partner Norman M. Sheresky will no longer be part of the firm

Wachtell Retiree’s ‘Playmate’ Not Entitled to Share in Pension

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 22:14:17 +0000

It may have been the result of some crafty legal maneuvering by the now-retired Wachtell partner Peter McKenna, or it may have simply been part of his tempestuous marriage to a “European Playmate” nearly 30 years his junior. Whatever the reason, McKenna has thwarted a second bid by his ex-wife to invalidate a prenuptial agreement and collect a share of the $1 million-plus in annual retirement payments that he receives from the firm.

Hearing Ordered on Plaintiffs Attorneys’ Interest Costs in 9/11 Suit

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 04:38:54 +0000

The federal judge overseeing the $716 million settlement with 9/11 first responders has ordered a hearing on interest expenses charged by the plaintiffs lawyers. The one-page order, filed Wednesday, followed an article last week in the New York Post reporting that law firm Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern was charging its clients to cover loans the firm took out to finance the litigation with 6 percent to 18 percent interest rates.