In Salary Twist, Firm Pays More -- and Less
There are really just two kinds of law firms these days: Those that pay their associates at "market," and those that don't get anywhere near it. Duval & Stachenfeld is doing both. The 50-lawyer firm starts first-year associates at $60,000 -- or $100,000 below the starting salary at many Am Law 100 firms. Mid-year and senior associates, however, are promised the same total pay -- or more -- that they'd earn at Latham & Watkins or Skadden Arps. Recruiters call it a novel approach.
Mukasey's First Task as AG: Filling Ranks
Now that President George W. Bush has nominated Michael Mukasey to succeed Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, the question is how much influence the retired federal judge -- widely viewed as a consensus nominee who will be confirmed -- will wield in filling the unusually high number of vacancies at the Department of Justice. Former Justice officials and past administration appointees say Mukasey may have an opportunity to put his stamp on the department. That is, if the White House allows him to.
High Court Is Set for High Drama
Challenges to the power of the president, Congress and the judiciary, from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to state death rows, will provide early drama and potential landmark rulings in the U.S. Supreme Court's new term. The justices have also agreed to decide high-profile questions related to sentencing, employment litigation and securities. No theme has appeared in the cases on the Court's docket thus far, but the views of the still-evolving Roberts Court will continue to be revealed in new areas of law.
Law School Loans About to Be Lightened for Some
Help for lawyers with crippling law school debt may finally be on the way with the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. The bill aims to help law students and other graduates through an income-based loan-repayment plan. A White House spokesman says President Bush has indicated he will sign the legislation. Law professor Philip Schrag says that because the bill is part of a package that reauthorizes some programs due to expire on Oct. 1, he hopes the signing will take place before that.
Attorney Leaves Big Tobacco Behind to Represent the Richest Man in the World
A few years ago, Steven Selsberg, a partner in Mayer Brown in Houston, thought he would make a smoking-hot career out of tobacco litigation, but today Selsberg is the go-to litigation lawyer in the United States for the business empire of Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican billionaire who may be the richest man in the world. When Selsberg isn't doing work for Slim or his companies, he handles litigation for other clients from Mexico he obtained through Slim or through other Mexican connections.
Exchanging Your Old Outlook for the New
The new Outlook 2007 has been improved with a "Ribbon" interface, an "instant search" mechanism, a new To-Do bar and more. Consultant Brett Burney journeys through the new Outlook and finds compelling reasons for lawyers and law firms to upgrade.
11th Circuit Limits Nasdaq's Immunity
The 11th Circuit has cleared the way for a Florida lawyer to sue the Nasdaq Stock Market for more than $600,000 he says he lost by investing in WorldCom. Nasdaq and its former parent, the National Association of Securities Dealers, had sought the full court's help after an 11th Circuit panel voted 2-1 last year to deny the two entities immunity from Steven I. Weissman's claims. Weissman claims that Nasdaq's TV and print ads fraudulently induced him to buy WorldCom stock by touting the stock's virtues.
Emotional Distress Suit Over 'Inhumane' Deposition Is Axed
A novel suit charging that 'inhumane' questions at a medical malpractice deposition caused emotional distress has been disqualified at the starting gate. A New Jersey judge on Thursday dismissed the suit, which claimed that a defense lawyer acted tortiously by asking the father of a dead infant whether he felt his wife had played a role in the death by handling the child roughly. The judge further found the questions were protected by the litigation privilege.
Motley Rice Considers Disbanding Atlanta Office
Less than two years after it opened, the Atlanta office of South Carolina-based Motley Rice, one of the most successful plaintiffs firms in the United States, is poised for a major shake-up, asking three of its four Atlanta lawyers to move to the firm's home base in a Charleston suburb. "Regrettably, the practice did not materialize as we had hoped," wrote Ann K. Ritter, the firm's managing partner, in a letter obtained by the .
Merger Deal Paves Way for Howrey's 2008 Spanish Debut
After agreeing to a deal to take over boutique Martinez Lage & Asociados, Howrey will launch in Spain next year. The merger, which was agreed to on Friday, will see Howrey and the three-partner Spanish outfit become financially integrated as of Jan. 1, 2008. Other U.S. firms to have targeted the region of late include Latham & Watkins, which launched offices in Madrid and Barcelona at the beginning of 2007.
HRT Patient's Personal Injury Claim Found to Be Time-Barred
A woman who sued Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, claiming that the hormone replacement therapy she took was the cause of her breast cancer, is barred by the two-year statute of limitations from bringing a personal injury claim, a Philadelphia Common Pleas judge ruled Monday. As hormone replacement therapy cases have become recognized by litigators and judges as a hotbed of litigation in the court's Complex Litigation Center, the judge's ruling could affect hundreds of cases.
Lawyers Gear Up in Anticipation of Battle Over Bridge Collapse
At the same time that the government is probing the cause of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, major law firms are working feverishly to prepare for lawsuits almost certain to arise from the Aug. 1 tragedy. The lawyers -- both those ready to represent victims and those set to defend possible targets -- are assembling photos, documents, experts and witnesses. One order of business: lining up engineering and metallurgy experts, a search that is taking local firms across the country.
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