http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/index.jsp Receive critical information - from practice management to product information -- for running a successful small firm. en-us 07/03/2009 Copyright 2009. Incisive Media US Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.law.com/service/terms_conditions.shtml http://www.law.com/img/newswire/sfb_rss.gif http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/index.jsp Jason Murtagh says that the most nerve-wracking moment during his work on Haywood v. Drown was when the U.S. Supreme Court granted writ of certiorari in June 2008. That's because he was the one set to argue the case. But it turned out well for the 34-year-old attorney and his client in the prisoner rights case -- the Court ruled in their favor in May. Murtagh took the pro bono case while an associate at Dechert, but he's moved on to 40-attorney Rubin Fortunato to pursue a greater amount of casework. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202431945120&rss=SFB Thomas Reilly, the former attorney general of Massachusetts, weighed offers from private law firms of all sizes. He'd worked at a small firm before becoming a prosecutor, so he decided to join Greenberg Traurig. "I wanted to experience what a big firm was all about," he says. Two years later, he realized big-firm life isn't for him, and now has joined litigation boutique Cooley Manion Jones. Harry Manion, a former opposing counsel and a friend, offered Reilly a job on the spot when Reilly called him. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202431984466&rss=SFB Howrey and Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder made their union official Wednesday, capping at least six months of serious talks. All but one of the Silicon Valley intellectual property boutique's 26 attorneys joined Howrey's Palo Alto, Calif., office, effective July 1. The move includes nine partners and 16 associates. Managing partner Lloyd "Rusty" Day said 725-lawyer Howrey's vision is a good fit for his firm, which couldn't add resources quickly on its own. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202431965984&rss=SFB Jan Schlichtmann didn't violate state law when he sued his fellow plaintiffs lawyers in a fee fight, a Massachusetts court ruled Monday. But the ruling isn't likely to help him recover any money. The lawyer, known for his role in the case that inspired the book "A Civil Action," had sued to try to recover $9 million in lost legal fees. He claimed he lost the money when Nestle backed out of a settlement to prevent a lawsuit against it for allegedly making fraudulent claims about the purity of its water. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202431920736&rss=SFB Former clients of a Cleveland-based law firm have convinced an Ohio appeals court to revive their claim that the firm duped them into a low-ball settlement in a legal malpractice case. Reversing a lower court, the three-judge panel threw out summary judgment in favor of Javitch Block, finding that the lower court needed to sort out whether the law firm intentionally failed to disclose that it carried professional liability insurance that may have covered the former clients' malpractice claim against the firm. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202431947009&rss=SFB Balancing the risks and rewards of using alternative billing, such as fixed or contingent fees, is a strategy many firms are employing in today's uncertain economy, based on responses from the 74 firms that completed Texas Lawyer's 2009 Salary & Billing Survey. Other strategies include holding hourly billing rates stable and requiring higher front-end retainers from new clients. The survey shows that average billing rates and employee salaries rose less than 4 percent when compared to 2008 figures. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202431903623&rss=SFB Mortgage giant Fannie Mae maintains a list of about 140 select law firms in 31 states that are eligible to perform related foreclosure work. Many of those chosen firms are also on Freddie Mac's shorter list of about 50 designated counsel. In Connecticut, several firms are reporting frustration over their failed attempts to get on the lists, while two lucky law firms that are on both lists dominate the state's foreclosoure docket. Now, the Connecticut attorney general is investigating the matter. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202431905187&rss=SFB Vicki Freimann will be taking over today as managing partner of Carroll, Burdick & McDonough, making her the second woman to lead the 66-member firm. The firm's first female managing partner, Angela Bradstreet, left in 2007 to become California's labor commissioner. Bradstreet said Freimann has "that perfect combination" of business acumen, client service and people skills to lead a firm. Freimann will oversee the firm's expansion beyond California and internationally, partner Rodney Eshelman said. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202431898826&rss=SFB Guy Kawasaki is a technology guru and venture capitalist who demands that all presentations at his business follow what he calls the "10/20/30 rule." The rule states that all presentations should be limited to 10 slides in 20 minutes, with no words on the slides smaller than 30-point type. It's a rule that should be embraced by attorneys and anyone else who wants to connect with audiences, says consultant Joey Asher. He notes that the restrictions help presenters keep their message focused on key issues. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202431907238&rss=SFB The New York State Bar Association on Monday became the latest bar group to protest new Federal Trade Commission rules requiring lawyers to become involved in preventing identity theft, calling the move unauthorized, unnecessary and destructive to the attorney-client relationship. The State Bar's objections follow those submitted last week by the ABA and the New York County Lawyers' Association. The ABA denounced the rules as imposing "an undue burden on law firms, especially solo practitioners." http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202431910679&rss=SFB