High-earning lawyers are to have their fees cut under plans to limit the length of all criminal trials to six months. The move follows a parliamentary report that found a mere six cases cost the taxpayer a quarter of the Crown Court legal aid budget. There are also concerns that long trials are a strain
Faced with seemingly endless turmoil in the United States, Clifford Chance is attempting to right its ship with some worldwide deck swabbing. Since its 2000 merger with New York’s Rogers & Wells, the London-based firm has lost more than 30 partners in the U.S., including such standouts as Kevin Arquit, Kenneth Gallo and, most recently,
The courtroom drama of shareholders vs. Disney’s battling Mikes — Michael Ovitz and Michael Eisner — has become a can’t-miss reality show for entertainment industry executives. Not that others aren’t also following the Delaware business court lawsuit over the Disney board’s handling of Ovitz’s hiring — and his $140 million severance package. “This is a
Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) has raided Shaw Pittman’s London office by taking its three remaining partners including outsourcing star Alistair Maughan. Shaw Pittman’s London managing partner Maughan is joining MoFo together with outsourcing and technology partners David Skinner and Andrew Smith. MoFo has added an excellent outsourcing team to its burgeoning London office following up
After three months of talks, Boston-based Ropes & Gray and New York intellectual property firm Fish & Neave have decided to join forces. The leaders of the two firms said Monday that they expect to merge around the end of the year. While 150-lawyer Fish & Neave will be absorbed into the 580-attorney Ropes &
Britain’s biggest law firms continue to dominate the world in terms of revenue, despite growing competition from their American counterparts. Four of the top six firms in a definitive new analysis of the world’s leading 100 firms by revenue were British. They are Clifford Chance, which remained the world’s largest firm, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters,
Who are the most successful plaintiffs firms in the land? For the first time The American Lawyer has answered that question, identifying the 16 highest-grossing plaintiffs firms in the United States. They are a group diverse in geography–they dot the map from New York to California, Chicago to Florida–and in size. Reaud, Morgan & Quinn
Imagine, on the silver screen, Jack Nicholson poring over a textbook for hours, searching for an obscure election law precedent, dressed in a Land’s End suit and black running shoes, then yammering on a cell phone while driving to a Tallahassee, Fla., courthouse in his Lexus. Perhaps, coming soon to a theater near you: “David
High-profile campaign lawyer Jim Sutton has gotten his old law firm slapped with the biggest ethics fine in San Francisco history – nearly a quarter-million dollars – for failing to properly report the $800,000 donation Pacific Gas and Electric Co. made to help defeat a public power initiative in 2002. San Francisco Ethics Commission director
“With this merger we will be able to say to any corporate client anywhere in the world, ‘There is nothing we can’t assist you with. You will never be able to outgrow us. We will always be able to look after you.’ This will change the legal landscape.” Change the legal landscape? To be sure,
