Posts on ‘February 2nd, 2009’

Invited to compare the American and Jewish legal traditions of privacy when speaking at a conference last week, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia reached out to criticize the European tradition, arguing that under a proper conception of the judicial role, judges have little to say about privacy. Author Michael D. Goldhaber writes that Scalia’s remarks nicely capture the contradictions between his temperament and his professed philosophy — and what makes Scalia’s religious views dangerous.

As the financial downturn grew in intensity through 2008, a number of high-profile general counsel took proactive steps in response to drive down costs, including renegotiating outside counsel fees. With the legal profession facing the most uncertain outlook for a generation, will in-house legal teams ride out the storm and drive innovations that prove their value in tough times? Or will the job losses continue to spread, causing a new round of cuts in-house?

A vulnerability in virtual private networks using secure socket layer encryption can allow a hacker to take over a computer via an ActiveX control. Brian Dykstra grilled Mike Zusman of Intrepidus Group to uncover this little-known weakness in a common corporate security tool.

Some of Wall Street’s banking titans are not there and many of President Barack Obama’s top advisers and cabinet members have taken a pass, but a handful of lawyers were rubbing shoulders with the great and the good last weekend at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Mingling with the likes of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Wen Jiabao were partners from Baker & McKenzie, Clifford Chance, Covington & Burling, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Olswang has kicked off a layoff consultation that could see around 8 percent of the firm’s 618-strong U.K. workforce lose their jobs. The firm told staff on Friday that up to 42 staff in the U.K. will be affected by the cuts, with salaried partners, fee earners and support staff all included in the consultation. The consultation will include all of the firm’s practice areas, although those worst affected by the global economic slowdown will be targeted.

The founders of one of the Northeastern U.S.’s largest lemon law practices are trying to stave off disciplinary action in Pennsylvania and New York following their suspension in Maryland. Craig T. Kimmel and Robert M. Silverman were suspended indefinitely for failing to adequately supervise a new Maryland satellite office and failing to properly communicate with a client after the sole lawyer in that office had trouble meeting a weekly quota of 10 case filings and $10,000 in revenue, and abruptly quit.

On Jan. 1, Florida-based Gordon Hargrove & James merged with San Francisco-based Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold. That merger is one of 20 around the country that are scheduled to close in 2009’s first quarter. Sedgwick’s chair says the economic downturn played a minimal role in the firm’s decision, but that may not be the case for other firms. Consultant Bill Brennan says the economy has partners in smaller firms “now more willing to consider ‘going to the dark side’ and joining a bigger firm.”

As their nominations move forward for attorney general and deputy AG, Eric Holder Jr. and David Ogden, who have split their time since the mid-’90s between the Justice Department and Big Law, are drawing on that experience to recruit their top assistants. Holder and Ogden are preparing to surround themselves with lawyers from Covington & Burling and from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr — their respective firms for the last eight years — as well as from the ranks of the Clinton-era DOJ.

When partners at Dreier LLP heard in early December that the firm’s
jailed sole equity partner, Marc S. Dreier, might have been dipping into
escrow accounts, many quickly abandoned ship. But, according to ethics
experts, the departed partners might be held liable for any of the
firm’s debts and face disciplinary action for any missing escrow funds.
Further, they might be asked to return income they received from clients
for work on unfinished matters they took with them when they left the
now-defunct firm.

Even in this economy, there seems to still be a demand to fill one high-paying job: law school dean. At least 27 law schools throughout the country — from Harvard to the University of Arizona — are searching for new deans, and many are having a tough time filling the position. With fundraising plummeting, donors in short supply and state budgets being slashed, law school deanships, once highly sought after, are now less attractive, high-stress jobs.