Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
The legal industry kicked off August with another action-packed week as law firms took on new attorneys and expanded their practices. Test your legal news savvy here with À¶Ý®ÊÓÆµ Pulse’s weekly quiz.
According to the leaders of small law firms that have survived for generations, and whose legacies include prosecuting secessionists after the Civil War and taking on Ford Motor Co. in one of the first automobile-related product liability cases, succession planning and deep community ties have been key to their longevity.
The Fifth Circuit has found a Texas federal judge did not abuse his discretion when he denied video game publisher Activision's request for attorney fees after defeating a trademark infringement suit brought by a former professional wrestler.
Higher tariffs are driving higher construction costs for law firm office build-outs and renovation projects, as firms look to improve the quality of the office experience rather than increase its footprint, according to a new report by CBRE.
Milbank LLP has become the first BigLaw firm to announce summer bonuses this year, offering up to $25,000 for associates and counsel after smaller shops also unveiled midyear payouts.
International legal recruiting firm Major Lindsey & Africa has added as a managing director to its partner practice group in Houston a 40-year trial attorney who has practiced at Jackson Walker LLP, Winston & Strawn LLP, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP and Norton Rose Fulbright.
Dallas-based Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP announced Wednesday that it is rewarding associates with midyear bonuses of up to $15,000.
In the last 50 years, U.S. Supreme Court clerkships have transmogrified from a simple secretarial job for enterprising young lawyers to the legal profession's ultimate status symbol, access to which is controlled by a tiny handful of "feeder judges" who serve as "hidden gatekeepers," according to a new study.
A Houston immigration firm has accused a rival of falsely claiming that it encouraged clients to lie on their applications for legal status.
Some firms feel secure from cybersecurity threats like ransomware, even though law firms remain prime targets for cyberattacks, according to a new report by cyber disaster recovery company Fenix24 and the International Legal Technology Association.
Litigation services provider Lexitas announced Tuesday the purchase of TP.One Court Reporting, marking the company's 51st acquisition since 2015.
Most lawyers may not think about a bank when they're approaching the transition from associate to partner, but according to Lisa Kohut, head of the Citi Wealth Law Firm Group, her team has become increasingly involved in the process in recent years.
Norton Rose Fulbright has added a former Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP attorney to its Austin and Dallas rosters who deepens the firm's public finance offerings.
Crowell & Moring LLP announced Wednesday that it is expanding its healthcare practice with dozens of attorneys from Reed Smith LLP, including 16 healthcare litigation partners based in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas, where the firm is launching a new shop with a former Reed Smith lawyer at the helm.
The Law School Admission Council and the Association of American Medical Colleges have each been hit with a proposed class action in Pennsylvania and D.C. federal courts, respectively, by candidates who said the nonprofits conspired with their member schools to charge excessive application fees that have been fixed at the same price regardless of the school.
Stone Hilton PLLC pushed Tuesday to strike certain claims from a former aide's sexual harassment lawsuit, arguing that they were made against the firm — founded by former top prosecutors in the Texas attorney general's office — as a means of "slinging mud" on behalf of Attorney General Ken Paxton's second-in-command.
AI-driven cybersecurity company Darktrace announced this week that GoPro's former chief legal officer is now leading its legal department, while the camera technology company has promoted an in-house attorney to serve as its general counsel.
Texas-based retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors has welcomed the former top attorney for J.C. Penney and powersports vehicle retailer RumbleOn to serve as its new legal leader, the company said Tuesday.
Husch Blackwell LLP has hired a C-suite executive with more than 20 years of experience in legal marketing as its first chief business development officer.
Texas law firm Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC has launched a mediation practice with a former firm CEO and litigation practice group leader at the helm.
Off-base mass emails, incessant robocalls, and fake exclusive application offers are just a few of the unsavory tactics some report having seen more often in the attorney recruitment market in recent years.
Haynes Boone announced Tuesday that it has added a partner who has clerked for two U.S. Supreme Court justices and served as counselor to the U.S. attorney general.
The American Bar Association proposed reducing the size of its board of governors and proportionally cutting the number of seats reserved for women, people of color and other underrepresented groups, as the organization's president Monday reiterated a commitment to "rule of law, due process, access to justice, fairness and diversity."
Bondholders of former life insurance bond seller GWG Holdings Inc. on Monday said the lawyer winding down the company and a bankruptcy judge must step down from the Chapter 11 case over their connections to a romance scandal in Southern District of Texas' bankruptcy court.
Gerson Smoger runs a small plaintiffs firm where, over the decades, he has helped secure millions in damages in toxic tort cases around the country – all while writing numerous amicus briefs and serving on multiple nonprofit boards. The trial lawyers' organization Public Justice recently honored Smoger for his accomplishments and service.
Ignore what you've been told about jargon — adding insider industry terms to your firm's marketing and business development content can persuade potential clients that you have the specialized knowledge they can trust, says Wayne Pollock at Law Firm Editorial Service.
To attract future lawyers from diverse backgrounds, firms must think beyond recruiting efforts, because law students are looking for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that invest in employee professional development and engage with students year-round, says Lauren Jackson at Howard University School of Law.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can Law Students Build Real-World Skills?Allison Coffin at Akin Gump discusses how summer associates going back to school can continue to develop real-world lawyering skills by leveraging the numerous law school resources that support professional development both inside and outside the classroom.
In uncertain and challenging times, law firm leaders can build and sustain culture by focusing attention on mission, values and leadership development, and applying a growth mindset across their firms, says Scott Westfahl at Harvard Law.
Robert Keeling at Sidley reflects on leading discovery in the litigation that followed the historic $85 billion AT&T-Time Warner merger and how the case highlighted the importance of having a strategic e-discovery plan in place.
Opinion
CLE Accreditation Should Be Tied To Learning OutcomesGiven the substantial time and money lawyers put toward mandatory continuing legal education, CLE regulators and providers should be held to accreditation standards that assess learning outcomes, similar to those imposed on law schools and continuing medical education providers, says Rima Sirota at Georgetown Law.
While many lawyers still believe that a manual, document-by-document review is the best approach to privilege logging, certain artificial intelligence tools can bolster the traditional review process and make this aspect of electronic document review more efficient, more accurate and less costly, say Laura Riff and Michelle Six at Kirkland.
Robert Dubose at Alexander Dubose describes several categories of visuals attorneys can use to make written arguments easier to understand or more persuasive, and provides tips for lawyers unused to working with anything but text.
There are major differences between BigLaw and Mid-Law summer associate programs, and each approach can learn something from the other in terms of structure and scheduling, the on-the-job learning opportunities provided, and the social experiences offered, says Anna Tison at Brooks Pierce.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Take Time Off?David Kouba at Arnold & Porter discusses how attorneys can prioritize mental health leave and vacation despite work-related barriers to taking time off.
The traditional structure of law firms, with their compartmentalization into silos, is an inherent challenge to mental wellness, so partners and senior lawyers should take steps to construct and disseminate internal action plans and encourage open dialogue, says Elizabeth Ortega at ECO Strategic Communications.
The key to trial advocacy is persuasion, but current training programs focus almost entirely on technique, making it imperative that lawyers are taught to be effective storytellers and to connect with their audiences, says Chris Arledge at Ellis George.
Female attorneys in leadership roles inspire other women to pursue similar opportunities in a male-dominated field, and for those who aspire to lead, prioritizing collaboration, inclusivity and integrity is key, says Kim Yelkin at Foley & Lardner.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza, now at Wilkinson Stekloff, recalls the challenges of her first case as a civil defense attorney — a multibillion-dollar multidistrict class action against Allergan — and the lessons she learned about building rapport in the courtroom and with co-counsel.
Most legal professionals lack understanding of the macroeconomic trends unique to the legal industry, like the rising cost of law school and legal services, which contributes to an unfair and inaccessible justice system, so law school courses and continuing legal education requirements in this area are essential, says Bob Glaves at the Chicago Bar Foundation.