Law Firms

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 […]

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi escaped conviction in a major corruption trial on Friday after a court invoked a statute of limitations that meant time had run out to sentence him for bribery. Berlusconi welcomed the verdict, which brought down the curtain on a trial that lasted almost five years, saying he had always expected

Law firms showed healthy increases in billing rates this year, with the vast majority of those responding to The National Law Journal’s annual survey boosting both associate and partner fees. Firms that are focused in the Northeast consistently racked up the highest increases, though hikes occurred in all regions. The figures might have edged even

The last hurdle has been cleared for the homegrown law firm of Gray Cary Weir & Freidenrich to help create the world’s third-largest law firm on Jan. 1. Attorneys for Piper Rudnick of Baltimore and DLA of London voted unanimously Sunday to complete the firms’ three-way merger. Previously, San Diego’s Gray Cary had approved its

One of the biggest law firms in Chicago is about to become one of the biggest in the world. Piper Rudnick, which five years ago was a Chicago-based firm of 355 lawyers, agreed Saturday to merge with the British law firm DLA to create a legal giant of 2,700 lawyers. The deal, set to close

Partners at U.S. law firm Piper Rudnick LLP and London-based DLA voted to merge, creating the world’s third- largest law firm by number of lawyers. The merger will be completed on Jan. 1, the firms said in a press release. The combined firm will have 2,700 lawyers across 49 offices in the U.S., Europe and

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