Posts on ‘June 22nd, 2009’

It’s a difficult time to be a law firm associate or new lawyer, so here is a networking road map to help guide you to success, from consultant Stacy West Clark. Included among her tips is the reminder to be thoughtful about how you treat your contacts and not to keep them at an impersonal distance. Clark uses a quote from Maya Angelou to demonstrate how important this step can be: “People will forget what you say, they will forget what you do, but they never will forget how you make them feel.”

The Supreme Court’s handling of the fast-moving Chrysler sale continues to yield glimpses into unfamiliar corners of Supreme Court practices and traditions. The Court’s per curiam opinion that cleared the way for the Chrysler sale cited a recent “in-chambers” opinion written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — a sort of one-justice ruling that is rare and hard to categorize. Its colorful history includes a decision left on a tree stump when lawyers once tracked down a justice on a camping trip.

Delivering a blow to bloggers’ rights, a federal appeals court has ruled that a Washington state teacher’s blog attacking co-workers, the union and the school district was not protected speech, and therefore she was not unlawfully demoted over it. The 9th Circuit found that Tara Richerson’s speech was disruptive, eroded work relationships and interfered with her job performance, which involved mentoring teachers. The court also found her speech was “racist, sexist, and bordered on vulgar.”

Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder — the high-end Silicon Valley IP boutique that was rattled by the Qualcomm discovery disaster — is in advanced talks to be acquired by national firm Howrey, with a deal likely to close soon, according to sources familiar with the situation. Observers say the merger would help Day Casebeer lawyers shake the bad press from the Qualcomm scandal, and that a merger with Howrey in particular makes sense since both firms only do litigation and share clients like Amgen and Sun.

The House of Representatives approved four articles of impeachment against Judge Samuel Kent, who is serving time in a federal medical facility after pleading guilty to obstructing an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. House members said that Kent forced them to vote by his refusal to resign. “This is the first time a federal judge has been convicted of a felony, has reported to prison, and has still not resigned from his office. This shows how deep Judge Kent’s audacity truly runs,” said one.

Thelen’s New York landlord obtained a key ruling Thursday that could drive the firm’s other unsecured creditors to force it into bankruptcy. A Los Angeles judge granted the landlord a writ of attachment reserving $25 million of Thelen’s assets. A similar court order in December quickly threw Heller Ehrman into bankruptcy. The writ bumps all unsecured creditors — including Thelen employees who have filed a class action against the firm — behind the landlord in line for Thelen’s money.

A North Carolina media company went bankrupt Thursday and on the same day filed a $140 million malpractice suit against their former go-to corporate counsel at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, alleging that a mistake in an offering document written in the late 1990s ended up costing the company about $136 million a decade later. Brad Karp, the chair of Paul Weiss, calls the claim “stale and frivolous” and says the firm looks forward to “a swift and favorable resolution.”

There’s not a crystal ball in town that isn’t predicting dramatic shifts in the legal industry. And just maybe, those changes will be for the better, as the days of follow-the-leader disappear. There is no bandwagon to jump on like there was when salary wars were being waged, and the stigma attached to making tough, unique — and sometimes unfavorable — decisions seems to be fading as firms use the recession as cause to hit the reset button. Change is in the air for law firms — and it could be a good thing.