Law Firm News
New Suburban Firm Targets Emerging Tech, Life Sciences Companies
The Legal Intelligencer
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Three former large firm lawyers who separately had gone out on their own are forming a new suburban firm aimed at working with emerging technology companies.
Greenberg Traurig Gets 5 Environmental Lawyers From Ballard
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Greenberg Traurig, which has been deliberate in its growth in Philadelphia since it opened its office here in 1997, has added a five-attorney environmental group from Ballard Spahr.
Drinker Biddle Makes 2nd Round of Associate Layoffs
The Legal Intelligencer
Monday, November 2, 2009
Drinker Biddle & Reath conducted a second round of associate layoffs -- dropping a reported 22 on Friday -- and is set to inform the remaining associates this week that they will be placed in four levels as opposed to associate classes as the firm moves to a merit-based system.
Steed, 39, Caesar Rivise Paralegal, Dies After Alleged Bicycle Hit-and-Run
The Legal Intelligencer
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
He called them "Steed-isms." The uplifting, motivational phrases Andre Steed regularly came up with decorated the walls of his office at the Philadelphia intellectual property boutique Caesar Rivise Bernstein Cohen & Pokotilow.
No Longer Marching in Lockstep
The Legal Intelligencer
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Predictions of the end of associate "classes" have accompanied talk of larger shifts in the Big Law model in recent months. Reed Smith went from talk to action, doing away with lockstep in favor of competency-based advancement.
Large Firms Have Few Women Among Their Top Rainmakers
The Legal Intelligencer
Monday, October 26, 2009
Women as top rainmakers can now be added to a list of rarities in large law firms, joining the small group of women on governing committees and an even greater rarity -- the female managing partner.
Full Service Practices Aren't Just for Megafirms
The Legal Intelligencer
Monday, October 26, 2009
As smaller firms have become increasingly specialized, is there still something to be said for housing a diverse array of practice areas under one small-to-midsized roof, especially following a year of economic turmoil?
Phila. Lawyer Helps Win $8.5 Million Verdict in Alabama
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A northern Alabama jury awarded a 28-year-old woman $8.5 million after a monthlong trial against Ford Motor Co. over the crashworthiness of a Mercury Mountaineer that rolled over when she was a passenger in it.
Parsing the Project
The Legal Intelligencer
Monday, October 19, 2009
What do lawyers and general contractors have in common? Nothing yet. But the idea that the legal profession could look to the processes used by general contractors in completing a job was one raised at an Association of Corporate Counsel Value Challenge meeting in Philadelphia this summer.
Offit Kurman Grabs Six Attorneys From Anderson Kill
The Legal Intelligencer
Friday, October 16, 2009
Maryland-based Offit Kurman has added six Anderson Kill & Olick attorneys to its Philadelphia office, bringing the total number of attorneys in that office to 21.
Panelists Predict Change That Will Shake Up the Profession
The Legal Intelligencer
Friday, October 16, 2009
The slow-to-change nature of the legal profession is going to be put to the test in the coming months and years as external forces involving globalization, clients and regulation force the legal profession into a new model, panelists at an ALI-ABA ACLEA 2009 Summit in Arizona said Thursday.
Phila. Bar Association's First Diversity Director Departs
The Legal Intelligencer
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Philadelphia Bar Association's first director of the office for diversity left the position last week after less than two years on the job. And the bar association leadership is going to change how it tackles the issue of diversity in the legal profession by installing a high-level volunteer in the cabinet made up of the officers of the Board of Governors.
Saul Ewing Defeats Malpractice Suit, Gets Summary Judgment
The Legal Intelligencer
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Saul Ewing beat back a legal malpractice suit by a former client who alleged the firm didn't do enough discovery in an underlying case the client had against the company he formerly ran.
Law Departments Putting Cost Cutting Into Action
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Cost-control methods in law departments are more than just talk as cost pressures are creating a fundamental shift in the management and operation of the departments and their interaction with outside counsel, results of a recent Hildebrandt International survey suggest.
Edward German, Founder of German Gallagher, Dies at 86
The Legal Intelligencer
Friday, October 9, 2009
Ed German, founder of Philadelphia-based German Gallagher & Murtagh, never wanted his firm to open a New Jersey office.
Wilmington Law Firm Hit With 'Hostile Environment' Complaint
The Legal Intelligencer
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A recently filed sexual harassment suit against a Wilmington law firm is garnering attention not only because it's chock full of salacious details, but also because both the plaintiff and the alleged harasser are female lawyers.
To Get What They're Owed, Firms Taking Delinquent Clients to Court
The Legal Intelligencer
Monday, October 5, 2009
There's no denying collections have been a challenging, sometimes uncomfortable, situation throughout the recession as clients are finding it more difficult to pay and law firms are all the more eager to get the money they are owed into their coffers.
Pa. Firms Make Strong Showing in Summer Satisfaction Survey
The Legal Intelligencer
Friday, October 2, 2009
The bleak legal market cast a shadow over the summer associate experience this year, but that didn't stop the associates from giving high marks to their firms when it came to the quality of work, feedback and other key indicators.
Disbarred Phila. Attorney Locked Out of His Office
The Legal Intelligencer
Monday, September 28, 2009
For the first time in 20 years, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel has had to take drastic measures to ensure a disbarred attorney would finally give up the practice of law.
Advocates of Diversity in the Profession Look to Next Step
The Legal Intelligencer
Monday, September 28, 2009
With the election of a black civil rights attorney and constitutional law professor to the presidency of the United States, the urgency of achieving parity in the legal profession has been heightened for activists on the issue.

