Legal News

False Patent Marking: The New Scourge of the Defense Bar

Posted on April 05, 2010
Turns out that if only we had thought to buy up packages of Solo brand cups marked with allegedly expired patent numbers, we could have sued for a small fortune.

Death of Former Weil Houston Office Head Being Investigated as Homicide

Posted on April 05, 2010
Sibling publication Texas Lawyer reports that Houston police are investigating the mid-March shooting death of Scott Lassetter, a former lawyer with Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Fulbright & Jaworski, as a possible homicide.

Covington, Tulsa Firm Lead on $1.5B Energy Deal

Posted on April 05, 2010
Seems Oklahoma City isn't so sleepy.

North Face, South Butt Agree to Turn Other Cheek

Posted on April 02, 2010
The North Face's trademark battle against parody clothing company The South Butt ended late Friday with the two parties settling their dispute out of court.

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Price for a Career as Counsel at Skadden: $9 Million?

Posted on April 02, 2010
That's how much a 44-year-old counsel at the firm whose husband is accused of attacking her earlier this year stands to lose if she cannot return to work, according to expert testimony in a civil case stemming from the alleged attack.

Weil, Goodwin Lead Delicious Pizza Deal

Posted on April 02, 2010
The deal involves a company whose business model Cosmo Kramer would love.

The Churn: Lateral Moves and Promotions in The Am Law 200

Posted on April 02, 2010
Greenberg Traurig Maher adds two restructuring partners, and Blank Rome hires a new IP partner. Plus: moves to Winston & Strawn, K&L Gates, and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton. The Churn is constant. Send announcements, news, and releases to editorial@alm...

Is Dechert Ahead of the Curve?

Posted on April 02, 2010
The Philly-based firm may be the first of The Am Law 200 to train its lawyers--every last one of them--in project management techniques to save clients time and money by expediting deals, cases and other legal processes.

Spreading Wings, Clayton Utz Opens Hong Kong Office

Posted on April 02, 2010
Australian law firm Clayton Utz is venturing beyond the borders of its native land for the first time, opening a Hong Kong office with two partners.

Simpson Thacher, Nishimura & Asahi Help Dai-ichi Go Public

Posted on April 02, 2010
The Japanese insurer's $11 billion initial public offering is the largest in the world in the past two years and the largest in Japan in almost a decade.

Two Jailed Hong Kong Lawyers Get Convictions Reduced

Posted on April 02, 2010
A Hong Kong appeals court has partially exonerated two of the three former lawyers imprisoned over their work on a deal that turned out to be a fraud.

Dorsey Lawyer Escapes Ethics Charges in Ted Stevens Case

Posted on April 02, 2010
A grievance committee has cleared the attorney accused by the judge in the Stevens case--angrily, we might add---of coaching a witness.

Manatt Partner Secures New Trial for Death Row Inmate

Posted on April 01, 2010
Emanuel Aaron Gissendanner, Jr., has been on death row in Alabama for five years. On Wednesday, he was granted a new trial thanks to the pro bono efforts of a Kirkland & Ellis team and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips partner Becca Wahlquist.

Akin Gump, Thompson & Knight on $1.2 Billion Energy Deal

Posted on April 01, 2010
One of the country's largest pipeline companies, Enterprise Products Partners, just got bigger.

Dorsey on Wrong End of Meat Ruling

Posted on April 01, 2010
The firm was on the losing side as a federal appeals court reinstated California's ban on the slaughter of animals that can't walk.

The Bankruptcy Files: General Growth and Four More

Posted on April 01, 2010
Leave it to the company that once called in a clown as a creditor in its mammoth Chapter 11 case to file its much-anticipated bankruptcy exit plan on April Fools' Day. The latest chapter in the General Growth Properties bankruptcy aside, Baker & McKenzie, Cadwalader, King & Spalding, Kirkland & Ellis, Morgan Lewis, Proskauer Rose, and Troutman Sanders have landed roles on the latest round of bankruptcy filings.

So Who Won Big Trademark Case: Tiffany (Arnold & Porter) or eBay (Weil)?

Posted on April 01, 2010
The initial headlines have it as a split decision, but even Tiffany concedes this is a win for eBay.

Gray Lady Weighs In On Associate Pay

Posted on April 01, 2010
The debate over associate pay has been a staple around these parts for the past year and a half, and now The New York Times is touching on the topic, looking at how several Am Law 100 firms are trying to revamp the traditional model for lockstep associate compensation to meet client needs...

The Chadbourne "Rescinded" Speak: "It Sucks for Me"

Posted on April 01, 2010
Last month Chadbourne & Parke joined a small group of law firms that rescinded job offers to deferred associates. The firm withdrew offers to 11 of the 28 graduates of the class of 2009 to whom it had offered full-time work.

Locke Lord Hit With Suit By Former Income Partner

Posted on March 31, 2010
Robert Crowder, a former non-equity litigation partner in the firm's Los Angeles office, claims he was stiffed on interest payments for capital contributions tied to the firm's 2007 merger.

MGM, Skadden, Get More Time in Debt Crunch

Posted on March 31, 2010
The beleaguered studio won an extra six weeks to renegotiate some of its most pressing debt as it contemplates several bids and a possible bankruptcy filing that could involve a plan to give control of MGM to some of its lenders.

Welcome to the Future: The Intimacy Imperative

Posted on March 31, 2010
In an age of change, Paul Lippe argues that law firms need to get closer to their clients. In the golden days, partners didn't fear intimacy, they married their clients' daughters. Today that would be a hard strategic plan to get approved. But the need for tight ties is as great as it's ever been...

Report: Securities Class Action Filings Fall in 2009

Posted on March 31, 2010
Along with college basketball championships and the start of a new baseball season, March also signals the release of PwC's annual securities litigation report. The results are in for 2009, as the fallout from the economic crisis shifts from financial services to other industries.

Linklaters Back to Full Lockstep

Posted on March 31, 2010
Good news from the Magic Circle: the firm has decided to stick with lockstep pay and avoid salary freezes for associates. 

Ex-Arnold & Porter Partner Avoids Prison in Tax Fraud Scam

Posted on March 31, 2010
Peter Cinquegrani, who faced five years in prison for helping Ernst & Young construct tax shelters for wealthy clients, got off with probation after an emotional sentencing hearing on Tuesday.

Bigger Firms Scooping Up Smaller Regional Fish

Posted on March 30, 2010
In recent weeks Jones Walker, Polsinelli Shughart, and McElroy Deutsch have acquired smaller shops in Alabama, Connecticut, and Missouri.

Despite Layoffs, Firms Still Want Those Sweet Stadium Suites

Posted on March 30, 2010
Firms say buying stadium suites, especially during a recession, is an important tool for courting clients.

Prominent Denver Lawyer Sanctioned for Overstating Diversity Claims

Posted on March 30, 2010
Willie Shepherd, Jr., cofounder of Denver firm Kamlet Shepherd Reichert, received a public censure Monday for misrepresenting the firm's diversity numbers to win legal work from DuPont. Shepherd's plans to join Perkins Coie in 2009 collapsed amid reports of the disciplinary action pending against him.

The Churn: Lateral Moves and Promotions in The Am Law 200

Posted on March 30, 2010
Quinn Emanuel has a new cochair for its global life sciences group; Sidley Austin adds two corporate partners. Plus: moves to K&L Gates, McDermott Will & Emery, Patton Boggs, and Foley Hoag. The Churn is constant. Send announcements, news, and releases to editorial@alm...

Real Estate Lawyers Finally See Uptick in Transactions

Posted on March 30, 2010
At long last, many real estate attorneys are seeing transactions--not just workouts and defaults--increase, with property sales figures coming in much higher in the first quarter of 2010 than a year ago. Investors, impatiently waiting for the foreclosure fire sale that hasn't materialized, are instead putting their trust back into solid properties.

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