Law Firms

During the Watergate scandal, with six simple words — “No man is above the law” — he helped hasten a president out of office. He was a plainspoken country lawyer named Chesterfield Smith, and he died Wednesday night in Coral Gables. He was 85. “He was the most influential lawyer, I think, to ever come […]

In an initiative to be rolled out across Allen + Overy, all associates and partners will be set personal hourly plans for the first time. A&O’s associate chargeable hour targets – between 1,600 and 1,700 hours – are not the highest in the City, but A&O has fuelled disquiet among its associates by setting new

He has been practicing since 1975 and was elected as president of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia from 1998-1999. His other areas of practice include criminal law, civil litigation and professional negligence. What percentage of your practice is devoted to suing lawyers? I’d say at this point, probably 30 or 40 percent

The results of Legal Week’s 2003 US financial rankings show that the top 50 firms by revenue averaged growth in fees of 10.3% — pushing annual revenues for ranked firms to $28.84bn while average profits per partner were up 10.2%. The results, which look certain to comprehensively outpace those of their European counterparts, confirm that

City law firms should be subject to light-touch regulation if a shake-up of the profession is not to inhibit their ability to export legal services around the globe, Clifford Chance has urged. The world’s largest law firm has told Sir David Clementi, the Prudential chairman leading the review of legal regulation, that a new watchdog

You may not hear much about anti-Semitism but it is alive and well. That’s the message from a leading discrimination lawyer who has helped bring several dramatic but unreported legal claims alleging anti-Jewish prejudice at some of the Square Mile’s leading banks and brokerages. One case handled by Makbool Javaid that did hit the headlines

Piper Rudnick has opened early discussions with Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich about a merger between the two firms, according to law firm consultant Peter Zeughauser. Although firm leaders won’t say whether they’re negotiating, the two firms — themselves both products of past mergers — have made no secret of their desire to grow. Such

Defense lawyers in the Walt Disney trial on Friday tried to undermine the credibility of a witness who testified that company directors neglected their oversight duties when they hired and later fired the president, Michael S. Ovitz. The witness, Prof. John J. Donohue III of Yale, concluded on Thursday that Disney could have saved $140

Greed and sexual desire drove Martin Frankel to mastermind one of the largest insurance frauds in U.S. history, a federal judge heard on Friday as she sentenced him to nearly 17 years in prison. Once the target of a worldwide manhunt, the Connecticut financier pleaded guilty in May 2002 to racketeering, conspiracy, wire fraud and

A federal judge has delayed for a week a decision on proposed bankruptcy financing for Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. so that shareholders can review the company’s finances. A New Jersey bankruptcy court hearing will now be held Jan. 11 to review an interim approval of the casino operator’s $100 million reorganization financing, according