Posts from ‘November, 2008’

Should one of Detroit’s Big Three auto manufacturers go bankrupt, it will be among the largest Chapter 11 filings in U.S. history. So who are the likely candidates for the assignment? The Am Law Daily interviews leading restructuring lawyers to find out. The apparent early frontrunner for landing a Big Auto Chapter 11 assignment is New York’s Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney confirmed last week that it has been in the process of staff cuts. Firm Chief Executive Officer Thomas L. VanKirk said he expects the number of legal secretaries and other administrative staff affected will be more than 15 but less than 25, or less than 2.5 percent of the firm’s workforce. VanKirk said that the cuts were not layoffs, but that the positions were being eliminated to bring the firm more in line with its goal of a 3-1 lawyer-to-secretary ratio.

A former Hunton & Williams partner was sentenced Monday to 70 months in federal prison for using his firm’s laptop to download and store videos of child pornography. Government prosecutors say Emerson Briggs admitted to downloading pornographic videos at his Hunton & Williams office in Washington, D.C., between November 2005 and April 2006. Some of the videos involved minors under the age of 12, said Wendy Waldron, a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the child exploitation and obscenity section.

When Novafora announced last week that it was buying Transmeta for $255.6 million in cash, it seemed like a straightforward deal. But it turns out that the giant, secretive patent holding company Intellectual Ventures is putting $11.6 million into the venture, regulatory filings by Transmeta indicate. The deal gives a fleeting glimpse into what exactly IV is doing — a matter of keen interest to many big tech companies in Silicon Valley that are wary of the company’s powerful patent portfolio.

Craig Ball illustrates his love-hate relationship with examination protocols. Lifting a protocol from a decision does not assure that it will be applied correctly in the present case, but a capable expert can draft a protocol to access data without revealing undiscoverable material.

In these turbulent and trying times, it may be difficult to achieve a proper state of thankfulness for Turkey Day. Sure, maybe you got passed over for partner again, your retirement account evaporated, your bonus was used to pay the light bill or your office was moved to a closet — but it could be much worse. The Snark has a few thoughts for those Big Law Cogs who need a little perspective — and also for those who believe things are already worse: former Cogs who have fallen victim to recent layoffs.

Firm finances are getting a lot more scrutiny this year — including from potential lateral partners. In good times, candidates tend to focus more on practice fit and compensation. Now they’re asking earlier and more specific questions about the financial history, equity levels, borrowing habits and financing plans of the firms they are considering. Says one law firm partner: “I don’t have a conversation with a potential lateral partner where that subject doesn’t come up.”

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey made a preliminary
agreement Monday to pay up to $3.6 million to end a class action suit
alleging it wrongfully denied claims by eating-disorder patients. The
settlement would, subject to approval by a federal judge, treat future
claims more liberally and make internal reforms to resolve disputes over
benefits for eating disorders. And Horizon would pay up to $2.45 million
in fees to the plaintiffs class action attorneys, led by Bruce Nagel of
Nagel Rice.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett announced smaller year-end associate bonuses Monday, continuing the slashing seen at other elite law firms. The bonuses, which range from a pro-rated $17,500 for first-year associates to $32,500 for eighth- and ninth-years, matched the reduced rates announced Thursday by Cravath, Swaine & Moore. A firm memo cited “the current challenging business environment” as the reason for the bonus cuts.

Employment firms nationwide say they are setting workload records as companies lay off employees at rates not seen in many, many years. In September alone, 284,000 jobs were lost in the U.S. The bulk of a management-side employment lawyer’s work at a time like this is counseling employers on how to avoid litigation, but too many companies still ignore the rules, labor-side attorneys say. And it’s not just high volume that lawyers are facing. In these times, they often have to react on short notice.