Lawyer - News

There's nothing like the adrenaline rush of starting a new firm. But the roller coaster ride can be stressful: determining which clients make the transition from the old firm to the new one, calculating expected billings and wondering whether profits will materialize. Dealing with banks and firm co-owners regarding paying for everything compounds the pressure. But lawyers can ease the stress of starting their own firms by creating a basic business plan, which isn't that difficult, says consultant Chuck Duff. No comments

In August, David Van Zandt, dean of Northwestern University School of Law, was named the next president of The New School in New York. But he's only the latest in this summer of love. At least five law school deans were either named to the post of president or assumed it this summer. No comments

Check out some of the latest posts on the lawjobs.com blog, The Careerist. Some Mostly Good News for Women in the Law Also Checklist for Summer's End: How to maximize what remains of the season Plus Big Bucks for Big Law in Big Divorces No comments

A whopper of a late summer for MA lawyers grew even fatter Thursday, when Burger King announced its sale to investment firm 3G Capital for $4 billion. Four Am Law 100 firms -- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher Flom; Holland Knight; Kirkland Ellis; and Weil, Gotshal Manges -- landed key legal advisory roles on the deal, which will return the world's second-largest hamburger chain to the private sector. No comments

For the first time in more than 30 years, the U.S. military has allowed an enlisted Sikh soldier to maintain his religiously mandated turban, beard and hair while serving in the Army. A team of lawyers at McDermott Will Emery and attorneys at the Sikh Coalition also won one-time exceptions last year for two Sikh Army officers. The teams' efforts have spurred interest in Congress; in the past year, more than 50 members have written to military officials requesting that Sikhs be accepted into the U.S. Armed Forces. No comments

A California appeals court on Thursday denied the Pacific Justice Institute's petition for a writ of mandamus to force the state's governor and attorney general to defend Proposition 8 in court, killing the latest attempt by foes of gay marriage to shore up standing for the pending appeal of Chief Judge Vaughn Walker's July ruling. A motions panel at the 9th Circuit ordered the Prop 8 proponents to "include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing." No comments

A one-man campaign against "Ladies Nights" did not get far. The 2nd Circuit has rejected Roy Den Hollander's claim that the Copacabana Nightclub and other establishments were "state actors" who violated the U.S. Constitution by charging men more for admission and drinks than women. Hollander had argued that "Ladies Nights" stem from "40 years of lobbying and intimidation, [by] the special interest group called 'Feminism' [which] has succeeded in creating a customary practice ... of invidious discrimination against men." No comments

Remember the TV reality show "Making the Band," which spawned the short-lived boy band O-Town? The show's revenue is at the center of a $60 million suit pitting the bankruptcy estate of a film production company once run by Lou Pearlman -- the infamous boy band manager now in prison for orchestrating a $300 million Ponzi scheme -- against Viacom, MTV and the Sean "Diddy" Combs-controlled companies Bad Boy Films and Bad Boy Records. A Florida federal judge has ruled the suit can go forward. No comments

A Philadelphia jury has awarded nearly $1.8 million in a legal malpractice case in which the plaintiff alleged her attorney failed to plead all of the relevant theories in her medical malpractice case, leading to the necessity of settling her case for $1 million, despite having received a $2.5 million verdict. The jury found that attorney David M. Barry was negligent, but that the law firm Feldman Pinto, which handled the medical malpractice case after a referral from Barry, was not negligent. No comments

New York Gov. David A. Paterson has vetoed a bill, strenuously opposed by the court system and prosecutors, which would have made the disclosure of sealed court records a crime punishable by up to one year in prison. In his veto message, Paterson rejected the bill because it was "so broadly written" that it could result in criminal liability for public officials and others for "inadvertent" or "good faith" disclosures. No comments