Lawyer - News

A Thursday ruling from the California Supreme Court gives former law firm clients less time to hit a firm with a malpractice suit. The clock for filing a malpractice suit starts ticking when a client ends its relationship with a law firm -- even if the client still retains one of the firm's former attorneys, the court ruled. The ruling gets former partners of the now-defunct Arter & Hadden off the hook for any damages in a $3.5 million malpractice suit filed in 2003 by Texas-based Beal Bank. No comments

A New York judge has granted Akin Gump's motion to dismiss several claims by a former hedge fund client, but has permitted a fraud claim to go forward. James McBride and Kevin Larson, the principals behind the Veras series of funds, had sued Akin Gump for $4.4 billion, claiming the firm advised them that the trading of mutual fund shares after the market close was a legal practice. Justice Bernard Fried ruled Thursday that five of the causes of action were duplicative of Veras' legal malpractice claims. No comments

Four major makers of hip and knee replacement devices have agreed to pay $311 million in fines to avoid prosecution for allegedly giving financial inducements to doctors who used their products. The deferred prosecution agreement imposes a five-year compliance period and subjects the companies to 18 months' federal monitoring. Another company elected to be monitored but refused to enter into a civil settlement. The five companies represent about 95 percent of the hip and knee replacement device market. No comments

A new law school year has begun, bringing with it a debate over a perennial subject: mandatory attendance. Several law blogs have been buzzing with debates by law professors and students on whether making attendance a requirement is necessary. Rafael Pardo, associate professor of law at Seattle University School of Law, says if his students miss more than 20 percent of the classes, they are withdrawn from class. "My view is: You need to start treating this as a job," he says. No comments

A law firm Web site is its most visible spokesperson, but in 2003 Saul Ewing's site was hardly speaking when it got the raspberry from marketing maestro Micah Buchdahl. Web admin Frances Sheldon tells how she turned a losing Web site into an award-winner. No comments

In-house lawyers believe they are the technical match of their colleagues in private practice, with one in four going so far as to claim that they are more legally proficient. Just 13 percent of the respondents to this month's The Verdict survey, conducted in association with Davies Arnold Cooper, subscribe to the traditional view that the generalist nature of the in-house role blunts the technical prowess of corporate counsel. No comments

In almost 700 years, no British attorney general has ever before thrown his lot in with a U.S. law firm after leaving office. So in hiring Lord Goldsmith, formerly the AG in Tony Blair's government, Debevoise & Plimpton has scored a major first. The appointment has gotten plenty of attention -- but exactly what does Goldsmith bring to Debevoise? No comments

A federal appeals court on Thursday sharply criticized Western District of New York Judge John T. Elfvin and removed him from a case. The 2nd Circuit said that the judge showed a "pattern of behavior" that was "disturbing evidence of willfulness" by failing to state his reasons for departing from sentencing guidelines and failing to give notice of his intention to depart. It was the third case in two years in which the circuit ordered reassignment from Elfvin, all three involving sentencing decisions. No comments

Covington & Burling has kicked off the search for a new European corporate head now that new recruit Martin Wright has decided not to join the firm. The former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner had gotten as far as briefly starting work at Covington, but then changed his mind after a "last-minute personal decision" and decided instead to pursue a career outside of the law. No comments

Allen & Overy is eyeing a Latin America launch, with the Magic Circle firm in the process of gaining regulatory approval to open in Brazil. "There is a lot we need to do and it would take us around six months to complete the regulatory process, if we go forward with the plan," A&O U.S. co-managing partner Ian Shrank said. Many firms have been put off from launching in Brazil by restrictive local bar rules, which do not permit foreign firms to practice local law. No comments