Legal News

Survey: Partners Generally Satisfied With What They Earn

Posted on January 10, 2011
In a new survey on partner compensation from legal recruiter Major, Lindsey & Africa, respondents--mostly partners at firms of 500 or more lawyers--say that while they are satisfied with their compensation, they believe they should be paid more. The respondents' compensation ranged from less than $100,000 to, in one case, more than $6...

Kirkland Advises iGATE on Patni Acquisition

Posted on January 10, 2011
In a deal valued at $1.22 billion, iGATE is betting big on expansion in the Indian outsourcing market by taking a stake in Mumbai-based Patni Computer Systems Ltd.

The Pfizer Model, One Year Later

Posted on January 10, 2011
Amy Schulman set out to reform the lawyer-client relationship. How's she faring?

Skadden Leads the Way on $6.3B DuPont Transaction

Posted on January 10, 2011
The chemical giant will pay more than $6 billion for Danish enzyme and specialty food ingredients company Danisco A/S.

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The Careerist: Supermom, Chinese Style

Posted on January 10, 2011
The debate that's been ignited over a WSJ article by a Yale Law School professor extolling the virtues of super strict child-rearing based on humiliation and pressure has focused on what such an approach means for kids. But what about the implications for parents?

Am Law After Dark: Five Firms Advise on Playboy Going-Private Bid

Posted on January 10, 2011
Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is teaming up with a Michigan-based private equity firm to take the publisher private in a deal valuing the media company at nearly $210 million.

Three Firms Land Roles on Proposed $13.7 Billion Energy Merger

Posted on January 10, 2011
Wachtell, Skadden, and Hunton & Williams are advising on an all-stock merger between Duke Energy and Progress Energy that could create the nation's largest utility.

Judge Killed in Arizona Shooting Was Ardent Advocate For His Court

Posted on January 09, 2011
John McCarthy Roll, the chief judge of the District of Arizona, is being remembered as a fair and even-tempered jurist, even in the face of threats and charged rhetoric.

Dealmaker of the Week: Damien Zoubek of Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Posted on January 07, 2011
A Zoubek-led Cravath team found a great way to kick off the new year: finalizing Qualcomm's $3.1 billion acquisition of Atheros Communications, Inc.  

The Careerist: Dewey's New (Unspecified) Vacation Policy

Posted on January 07, 2011
Sounds promising, right? Not necessarily.

Latham Partner Donald Remy Headed to NCAA as New Legal Chief

Posted on January 07, 2011
With college football's annual championship game only days away, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has named Latham & Watkins litigation partner Donald Remy as its new general counsel. Plus: Another GC reflects on 36-year-old letter to a Cleveland Browns season ticket holder, Marc Kasowitz helps Shawne Merriman beat two ex-Duke basketball players in court, and Budweiser stays baseball's official beer.

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

Posted on January 07, 2011
SNR Denton hauls in nine new partners, including a Hong Kong member law firm; two new partners join Andrews Kurth in Dallas; and Epstein Becker Green adds four members. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements and news releases to thechurn@alm...

Former D.C. Attorney General to Chair New Covington Practice

Posted on January 07, 2011
Peter Nickles is returning to the firm to lead a newly-formed strategic risk and crisis management practice. 

Q&A: Ex-Baker & Daniels Partner Melina Kennedy on Her Indianapolis Mayoral Bid

Posted on January 07, 2011
A onetime deputy mayor, Kennedy left the firm after nearly four years to seek the city's top job.

With Weil's Help, NPR Wraps Up Probe Into Juan Williams Firing

Posted on January 07, 2011
The firm advised an ad hoc comittee of the National Public Radio board in an internal investigation into the controversial October firing of the commentator. The immediate results of the probe: one top news executive is out and NPR's CEO won't be getting her 2010 bonus.

Measuring Values

Posted on January 07, 2011
To attract and retain the best and the brightest, self-described top law firms will have to offer more than money. In that contest, values will separate the biggest winners from everyone else.

Doctors: Allen Stanford is a Drug Addict

Posted on January 07, 2011
U.S. district court judge David Hittner has delayed the January 24 trial of alleged Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford after psychiatrists told the court he wasn't mentally fit to stand trial. It's the latest bizarre twist in the case against Stanford, who was brutally beaten in jail a year ago.

December's Overall Job Gains Can't Help Legal Sector

Posted on January 07, 2011
While the country's overall unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent during 2010's final month, the legal industry lost jobs for the third straight month.

Howrey's Losses Continue As London Managing Partner Joins U.K. Firm

Posted on January 07, 2011
Howrey's London managing partner has joined U.K. firm Field Fisher Waterhouse just days after 19 of the firm's European partners left to form a new independent firm.

Vinson & Elkins, Herbert Smith Lead on Tunisian Oil Sale

Posted on January 06, 2011
The two firms are working on a deal by OMV, Austria's largest industrial company, to acquire the Tunisian oil exploration and production assets of Pioneer Natural Resources for $866 million.

Arbitrator Puts Brakes on Biller's Battle with Toyota

Posted on January 06, 2011
The carmaker, represented by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, effectively won a complete victory in its nasty feud with would-be whistle-blower--and former company attorney--Dimitrios Biller. 

45 Under 45: The (Not Really) Over the Hill Gang

Posted on January 06, 2011
Checking in with the eight women who were on our last roster of "45 Under 45" rising stars. Where are they now, and what advice do they have for this year's group of standouts?

Obama Reaches Into Am Law Ranks for New Round of Appointments

Posted on January 06, 2011
Sidley Austin partner Virginia Seitz and Am Law 100 alums William Daley (Mayer Brown) and Christina Tchen (Skadden) are destined for new top positions in the Obama administration.

It's Off! Reed Smith, Thompson & Knight End Merger Talks

Posted on January 06, 2011
Three months after news broke of merger talks between Reed Smith and Thompson & Knight, the two firms have decided against further pursuing a union.

Former Greenberg Traurig Associate Sentenced for Stealing $500,000

Posted on January 06, 2011
Michael Shaw, once an Atlanta-based bankruptcy and foreclosure associate at Greenberg Traurig, was sentenced Wednesday to a year and three months in prison for stealing more than $500,000 from his former employer.

Law Firm Mergers Surge in Last Quarter of 2010; Dickinson Wright Expands in Canada

Posted on January 06, 2011
A report from law firm consultancy Altman Weil finds that while there were fewer law firm mergers in 2010 than in previous years, the pace of these unions picked up late in the year. Plus: Detroit's Dickinson Wright kicks off the 2011 merger season by absorbing 25-lawyer Toronto firm Aylesworth.

Former Media Executive Sues Proskauer For Malpractice Over Arbitration

Posted on January 06, 2011
William Frazee, a former vice president at Ascent Media Group, is suing Proskauer Rose and Los Angeles-based labor and employment partner Anthony Oncidi for allegedly mishandling arbitration matters and having a conflict of interest when representing him.

Report: Workplace Class Actions Rose in 2010; More of the Same in 2011

Posted on January 05, 2011
The seventh annual edition of Seyfarth Shaw's Workplace Class Action Litigation Report shows a rise in employment-related class action litigation in 2010 and looks ahead to possible landmark decisions in 2011.

Fried Frank, Weil Help Thomas H. Lee Chow Down on Food Company

Posted on January 05, 2011
The two firms are advising on a reported $2 billion deal that will see Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners acquire food marketing company Acosta.

The Bankruptcy Files: Another Diocese Descends Into Chapter 11

Posted on January 05, 2011
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, citing an inability to pay claims stemming from civil suits filed by plaintiffs alleging sexual abuse by priests and other church employees when they were minors. The Am Law Daily has info on the law firms involved in that case, as well as the latest new filings to cross our desk.

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