Lawyer - News

Liberty Media Corp. went to court on Monday to remove the board of IAC/InterActiveCorp, setting up a clash between media titans John Malone and Barry Diller. New York-based IAC, of which Diller is chairman and CEO, issued a statement Tuesday saying that Malone's Liberty Media had gone to court to try to take over voting power of the company and replace its directors. It called the move by the Denver-based cable provider "preposterous." No comments

After more than two weeks of testimony and years of prior litigation, the $20 million case that pits water filtration company Purolite against its former law firm, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, could come down to whether the case is barred by the statute of limitations. The case revolves around advice allegedly given by Morgan Lewis to Purolite in 1993 to continue to sell its products to Cuban companies despite the U.S. trade embargo. No comments

Stressing that the case raised "important issues concerning the integrity of the bankruptcy process," a federal bankruptcy judge in Manhattan has declined to dismiss a trustee's claims against lawyers Robert L. Rattet and Jonathan S. Pasternak and their firm, Rattet, Pasternak & Gordon Oliver. The attorneys and their firm are accused of failing to disclose that an "insider" of debtor Food Management Group had violated a court order by submitting a bid in the auction of the company's assets. No comments

A new partner ought to make a lot more than a senior associate. But the most recent round of associate pay hikes has edged senior associates closer to junior partner pay rates. The narrowing of the gap has been an annoyance for junior partners and a problem for big firms for years. Now a few firms are trying to remedy matters. "I told my partners last year, the younger partners had to be moved up," says Wiley Rein managing partner Richard Wiley. "Partners have to feel like they're adequately compensated." No comments

Attorney General Michael Mukasey sat down with reporters in a Justice Department conference room last week to address a range of topics involving the DOJ. The Friday event -- his first on-the-record session since being confirmed to the post -- came just days before he is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee at an oversight hearing. No question was off-limits, but Mukasey balked at answering many related to interrogation methods -- a key topic likely to be raised by senators. No comments

Plaintiffs firms around the U.S. are pouncing on Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough in the wake of revelations that a study by the two pharmaceutical giants found that their jointly produced anti-cholesterol medication, Vytorin, allegedly is no more effective than generic drugs costing less. All of the suits allege consumer fraud, claiming that the two companies delayed release of the study while they continued to say that the drug helped reduce the risk of heart attack. None claims personal injury. No comments

Allen & Overy is trying to usher in a new era of flexibility among its lawyers, marking the strongest evidence yet that top U.K. firms are adapting to the post-credit crunch environment. Partly to prepare for a fluctuating market, the Magic Circle firm has launched a scheme to move lawyers and staff to different practice areas and offices in preparation for a drop in workload across any of its specialist teams. Lawyers and others have also been told that a willingness to move will enhance career prospects. No comments

Lyondell Chemical has an unusual incentive program for rewarding its outside attorneys: knighting ceremonies, complete with swords and proclamations. Seventeen attorneys were inducted into the ten-year-old "Knights of the Lyondell Enterprise" at December's event, where each was recognized for helping the Houston-based company score a major litigation victory. The vision of attorneys as knights is particularly apt, according to an early honoree, who notes that trial lawyers "do share a love of jousting." No comments

In the old days, redacting privileged data from a document was simply done by crossing out privileged words and recording the redaction. In today's age of electronic data discovery, it's no longer that simple. Attorney Kenton Hutcherson explains how to maintain privilege in e-discovery. No comments

A federal judge in Manhattan has instructed a Hong Kong-based company to pay $21 million it had promised in exchange for shares in a marketing company. Southern District Judge William H. Pauley III concluded his opinion by saying, "This case presents a cautionary tale about the potential for advocates to obscure the issues and impose needless burdens on busy courts." The judge did not single out any one attorney but said, "Time will tell whether this Memorandum and Order finally puts an end to the madness." No comments