Posts on ‘March 3rd, 2010’

Networking has become a core success skill for lawyers, whether you are trying to advance your career or find a new one, notes Molly Peckman, Dechert’s director of associate development. She discusses some of the basics of networking and also provides a roundup of experts’ tips.

A former Morrison & Foerster secretary claims in a recent wrongful termination suit that associate Mimi Yang threatened to bring an Uzi to work and kill people if an important fax wasn’t located. The suit says the threat triggered latent post-traumatic stress in plaintiff Aileen Martinez.

Leaders of many midsize firms across Pennsylvania agree that salaries tend to be the most costly expense and one of the most difficult to control. David M. Kleppinger, chairman and CEO of McNees Wallace & Nurick, said that attorney costs, meaning salaries and benefits for all nonequity owners such as associates and of counsel, comprise “the largest single cost element in the budget.” Firm leaders also noted employee benefits, and the cost of commercial real estate and technology as other major budget concerns.

The nation’s top employment cops have Wal-Mart Stores digging deeply into its pockets again, this time to settle allegations of sex discrimination. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Monday that the retail giant will pay more than $12 million to resolve claims that for years it denied jobs to female applicants at a distribution center in London, Ky. The Kentucky case follows a series of major settlements that Wal-Mart has paid over the last year to resolve employment disputes.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed Barbara Keenan to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, making her the second Obama appointee on the Virginia-based court. Keenan, previously a justice on the Virginia Supreme Court, joins the appeals court four months after the Senate confirmed Judge Andre Davis. President Barack Obama has prioritized nominations to the 4th Circuit, which is home to many cases related to national security and civil rights. Two other nominees for the court are pending.

On the heels of a U.S. Senate report criticizing GlaxoSmithKline for health risks associated with its diabetes drug Avandia, a California county sued the drug maker in federal court on Friday. Santa Clara County wants the company to pay back money from all sales of Avandia in California since 1999, as well as pay restitution for medical treatment given to Avandia users who suffered heart problems. The county, which runs a public hospital, spent $2 million buying Avandia between 1999 and 2007, according to the complaint.