David Koller, who opened his solo practice in April 2009, discusses the next big step in his solo career — moving into his own office space. Trying not to sound too much like hosts on a home improvement television series, Koller proudly recounts being able to furnish his new office for $500, plus the costs of a brunch for his mover friends. He also talks about avoiding loneliness in his new office, and how a slow month earlier this year prompted him to evaluate his methods of acquiring clients.

Law school applications increased by 7 percent and the number of applicants by 3 percent nationwide for this year’s incoming class compared to last year, according to the Law School Admissions Council. Despite the current grim job statistics, budding law students seem cautiously optimistic.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s the best way to summarize The American Lawyer’s eighth annual A-List of the 20 most successful law firms. This year’s list was rife with movement: Four firms fell off the list, four joined, and six of the 13 firms that changed ranks from 2009 moved by six or more places

Mortgage-related litigation hit a three-year high during this year’s first quarter, according to a recent report, with 155 active state and federal cases. The increase was fueled partly by a jump in cases involving companies suing each other, as opposed to cases between lenders and homeowners

Lawyers from White & Case worked alongside leading law firms based in the U.K., Luxembourg, Norway and the Cayman Islands in negotiating the $2.5 billion acquisition of offshore engineering company Subsea 7 by oil services company Acergy S.A. Coming on the heels of increased scrutiny surrounding oil companies and offshore drilling as a result of the BP fiasco in the Gulf Coast, the merger is contingent on shareholder and regulatory approval and is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early 2011.