Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay argued throughout his trial that the deck was stacked against him by a politically motivated prosecutor and a jury from the most Democratic city in one of the most Republican states. But following DeLay’s conviction Wednesday on money laundering and conspiracy charges, some legal experts say the edge […]
Bellwether legal shop Cravath Swain & Moore announces year-end payouts of $7,500 to $35,000, same as last year. Why flat may be the new up in the legal biz. While some quarters of Wall Street may see big bonuses this year, law firms are looking at a more subdued size of paycheck. The first firm
The nation’s 250 largest law firms are still shaking off the recession’s punch, shedding more than 1,400 lawyers this year and marking the second straight year of a decrease in headcount. Results from the NLJ 250, The National Law Journal’s annual ranking of the 250 largest U.S.-based firms by headcount, showed that totals dropped 1.1%.
A $103 million verdict was returned against Chicago-based Baker & McKenzie and one of its attorneys by a Jones County, Miss., jury. The case centers on Joel Held, a Baker & McKenzie attorney based in Dallas, who represented both sides of an oil-rig-drilling business that turned sour for one client while benefiting the other, according
The legal industry is falling apart. Not in the sense pundits meant when they gave that diagnosis in 2008 as firms were hit with the harsh reality of the recession. Rather, the industry is moving away from a monolithic provider of legal services — the law firm — to a fragmented service platform where the
A major law firm has formed a special task force aimed at defending lenders and mortgage loan servicers as legal challenges to questionable foreclosure practices mount. Global law firm K&L Gates LLP said on Tuesday it has assembled a team to help companies respond to allegations ranging from wrongful foreclosure to inadequate documentation and lack
Former Countrywide Financial Corp. Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo agreed to pay $67.5 million in financial penalties to settle the Securities and Exchange Commission’s high-profile civil fraud suit against him. The two other defendants in the case, former Countrywide President David Sambol and former Chief Financial Officer Eric Sieracki, also reached settlements with the SEC. Mr.
It has been the biggest — and perhaps murkiest — legal story of the last two weeks: At least four major lenders have halted foreclosures, citing the need to review whether their mortgage documentation is in order and in compliance with court rules in the 23 states that require court approval before a foreclosure can
Joel S. Finkelstein said he received an invitation this summer from his fellow equity partners to attend a meeting on the financial condition of the three personal injury firms they controlled. He showed up for the June 10 meeting “in good faith and fully prepared to discuss the financial issues and problems of the law
Law firms rarely address rumors, but Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe confirmed Tuesday that they are in merger talks. The combined entity could have more than 1,800 lawyers, and since both firms have sizeable New York offices, a tie-up would change the Big Apple’s legal landscape. Neither firm offered
