Small Law


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    What 2024 Looked Like For 4 Small Firms

    A lot can happen in a year for small firms. Law360 Pulse caught up with four, some just getting started and others with long legacies, to talk about what their 2024 looked like.

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    Generative AI Continued To Drive Legal Tech Scene In 2024

    Generative artificial intelligence remained the top issue for legal tech in 2024, as vendors continued rolling out generative AI tools while law firms tested them and trained their attorneys on the underlying technology.

  • Buzbee Pans Jay-Z's 'Astonishing' Sanctions Bid In Diddy Suit

    Personal injury lawyer Tony Buzbee urged a Manhattan federal judge on Friday to reject Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's "astonishing request" to change the rules for a sanctions motion in rape litigation against the rapper and Sean "Diddy" Combs, saying the "rich, famous and powerful" must obey the same restrictions as everyone else.

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    Approach The Bench: What Judges Had To Say This Year

    Jurists weighed the benefits of partisan elections, praised innovations in telehearings and worried about the future of the profession in nearly a dozen interviews with Law360 this year.

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    Trustate Leader Talks Legal Tech 'Identity Crisis' As 2024 Ends

    As 2024 draws to a close, legal technology is in a bit of an "identity crisis," according to Tara Faquir, co-founder and chief operating officer at estate planning software provider Trustate.

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    MoFo, Irell Latest Firms To Unveil Competitive Bonuses

    Morrison Foerster LLP and litigation boutique Irell & Manella LLP have joined a chorus of firms announcing associate bonuses that meet or exceed the BigLaw standard for associate bonuses this year, with MoFo offering up to $218,200 and Irell handing its lawyers as much as $175,000.

  • Ga. Atty Disbarred For Battery Of Cop During DUI Stop

    An Atlanta-area attorney was disbarred Friday by the Supreme Court of Georgia after pleading guilty to felony obstruction charges for battery and resisting arrest while under suspicion of driving drunk.

  • How Lawyers May Sue The Trump Administration … Again

    During the last Trump administration, BigLaw firms challenged White House policies, focusing on immigration, environmental regulations and healthcare. This time around, attorneys could rely on old tools, and some new tactics, to stall the executive branch.

  • Beasley Allen Fights Bid To Recuse Judge In Talc Fee Suit

    Beasley Allen Law Firm on Friday fired back at The Smith Law Firm PLLC's motion to recuse an Alabama federal judge from Beasley Allen's breach of contract suit because the jurist previously represented the firm, arguing that the request is incompatible with Seventh Circuit precedent.

  • Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    This week's Legal Lions leader comes from the public sector, as federal prosecutors secured a $650 million settlement from McKinsey & Co. to resolve a lawsuit over the consulting giant's role in Purdue Pharma's promotion of OxyContin.

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    Ga. Real Estate Law Firm Adds 3 New Attys

    Georgia real estate law firm GSH Attorneys said Friday that it has brought on three attorneys to the same number of its offices around the state.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    This was another action-packed week for the legal industry as law firms announced large associate bonuses, opened up new offices, and made notable hires. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

  • Chicago Attorney Indicted On Immigration Fraud Charges

    A federal grand jury in Illinois has indicted a Chicago attorney on charges he conspired to file fraudulent employment documents on behalf of nurses from the Philippines in an effort to obtain work visas for them to live and work in the United States.

  • Texas Firm Beats Arnold & Itkin DQ Bid In Hurricane Zeta MDL

    A Texas state judge Thursday denied Arnold & Itkin LLP's bid to disqualify the law firm defending a drilling rig owner in litigation stemming from Hurricane Zeta, finding that Arnold & Itkin hasn't established that a defense lawyer who had worked for the firm was involved in anything substantially related to the current litigation.

  • Rival Firms End $2M Client Poaching Suit

    A lawsuit by Chicago law firm Loftus & Eisenberg Ltd. accusing an attorney with "a very limited skill set" of stealing clients while jumping to Good Law Group PC has been dismissed, after Good Law said the "venomous allegations" were not backed by hard evidence.

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    Girardi's Allies See Fallen Champion; Victims See Deceiver

    As Tom Girardi's sentencing loomed, his friends and relatives wrote letters to the judge envisioning a grim and undeserved death in prison for the 85-year-old former legal luminary. But former clients who accused him of steailng from them told the court that he deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

  • Atty Loses Bid To Exit Suits Over Unpaid Abuse Case Awards

    A personal injury attorney cannot have an early exit from negligence suits filed by three former clients over settlement payments, a Connecticut state judge ruled Wednesday, finding that a decision in a related case initiated by one of the plaintiffs did not resolve the complaints against the attorney.

  • NY Firm Bradford Edwards Opens LA Office

    New York-based litigation boutique Bradford Edwards LLP has opened an office in Los Angeles, spearheaded by the hire of a partner who has more than 20 years of experience litigating in California.

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    Top Takeaways For Mid-Law Firms In 2024

    In 2024, midsize, midmarket and regional firms saw an overall strong year, several notable firm mergers and much conversation around new technologies, especially generative artificial intelligence.

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    The Year In Legal Ethics: AI, Judicial Scandal And More

    A number of legal ethics topics dominated the conversation in 2024, including artificial intelligence and the fallout of an undisclosed relationship between a Texas bankruptcy judge and an attorney whose firm appeared before him for years.

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    Law Firms Tap Business-Savvy Leaders Amid 2024 Shakeups

    The legal industry has seen ongoing leadership changes in 2024, with law firms increasingly turning to business-savvy leaders to oversee operations and better compete in a challenging market.

  • Girardi Gets Sentencing Delayed For Dementia Probe

    A Los Angeles federal judge pushed back Tom Girardi's sentencing for his embezzlement conviction on Wednesday, ordering a psychiatric evaluation and special hearing to determine whether the 85-year-old disbarred attorney should be committed to a medical facility instead of prison due to his dementia diagnosis.

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    Attorney Billing Rates Continue To Climb In 2024

    Billing rates for outside counsel continued to rise in 2024, with law firm associate rates experiencing the sharpest growth, increasing by 3.11% compared to the previous year, according to a recent report from Wolters Kluwer's ELM Solutions.

  • Atty Seeks Grievance Doc's Disclosure In Alleged Abuse Case

    A Massachusetts lawyer who filed a grievance alleging that a law professor sexually assaulted her when she was a student has asked a federal court in Brooklyn to order a state attorney grievance committee to make its formal decision in the matter public, arguing the committee violated her First Amendment rights by withholding the records.

  • Talc Law Firm Seeks Judge's DQ In Beasley Allen Suit

    An Alabama federal judge's prior representation of Montgomery-based Beasley Allen Law Firm is grounds for The Smith Law Firm PLLC's motion filed Wednesday calling for the judge's recusal from Beasley Allen's breach of contract suit against the Smith firm regarding alleged owed expenses from a joint venture the two firms shared.

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Expert Analysis

  • How Law Firms Can Cautiously Wield AI To Streamline Tasks Author Photo

    Many attorneys are going to use artificial intelligence tools whether law firms like it or not, so firms should educate them on AI's benefits, limits and practical uses, such as drafting legal documents, to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving legal market, say Thomas Schultz and Eden Bernstein at Kellogg Hansen.

  • Keys To Managing The Stresses Of Law School Author Photo

    Dealing with the pressures associated with law school can prove difficult for many future lawyers, but there are steps students can take to manage stress — and schools can help too, say Ryan Zajic and Dr. Janani Krishnaswami at UWorld.

  • Can Mandatory CLE Mitigate Implicit Bias's Negative Impacts? Author Photo

    Amid ongoing disagreements on whether states should mandate implicit bias training as part of attorneys' continuing legal education requirements, Stephanie Wilson at Reed Smith looks at how unconscious attitudes or stereotypes adversely affect legal practice, and whether mandatory training programs can help.

  • Ditch The Frills And Start Writing Legal Letters In Plain English Author Photo

    To become more effective advocates, lawyers need to rethink the ridiculous, convoluted language they use in correspondence and write letters in a clear, concise and direct manner, says legal writing instructor Stuart Teicher.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Negotiate My Separation Agreement? Author Photo

    Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey discusses how a law firm associate can navigate being laid off, what to look for in a separation agreement and why to be upfront about it with prospective employers.

  • DoNotPay Cases Underscore Hurdles For AI-Fueled Legal Help Author Photo

    Recent legal challenges against DoNotPay’s "robot lawyer” application highlight pressing questions about the degree to which artificial intelligence can be used for legal tasks while remaining on the right side of both consumer protection laws and prohibitions against the unauthorized practice of law, says Kristen Niven at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • For The Future Of Legal Practice, Let's Learn From The Past Author Photo

    At some level, every practicing lawyer is experiencing the ever-increasing speed of change — and while some practice management processes have gotten more efficient, other things about the legal profession were better before supposed improvements were made, says Jay Silberblatt, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

  • Why All Law Firms Should Foster Psychological Capital Author Photo

    Law firms will be able to reap great long-term benefits if they adopt strategies to nurture four critical components of their employees' psychological wellness and performance — hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, says Dennis Stolle at the American Psychological Association.

  • A GC's Guide To Litigation, Inspired By Sun Tzu's 'Art Of War' Author Photo

    With caseloads and spending increasing, in-house counsel might find themselves called to opine on the risks and benefits of litigation more often, and they should look at five Sun Tzu maxims from the ancient Chinese classic "The Art of War" to inform their approach to any suit, says Jeff Golimowski at Womble Bond.

  • Mentorship Is Key To Diversity In The Legal Industry Author Photo

    Not only can effective mentorship have a profound impact on women and people of color entering the legal field, but it also benefits mentors and the legal profession as a whole, creating a true win-win situation for all involved, says Natasha Cortes at Grossman Roth.

  • ChatGPT Is A Cool Trick, But AI Won't Replace Lawyers Author Photo

    Generative AI applications like ChatGPT are unlikely to ever replace attorneys for a variety of practical reasons — but given their practice-enhancing capabilities, lawyers who fail to leverage these tools may be rendered obsolete, says Eran Kahana at Maslon.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Valuable In IP And Continued Learning Author Photo

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent elimination of a rule that partially counted pro bono work toward continuing legal education highlights the importance of volunteer work in intellectual property practice and its ties to CLE, and puts a valuable tool for hands-on attorney education in the hands of the states, say Lisa Holubar and Ariel Katz at Irwin.

  • Increasing Public Access To Legal Services: A Practical Plan Author Photo

    Recommendations recently issued by a special committee of the Florida Bar represent a realistic, pragmatic approach to increasing the accessibility and affordability of legal services, at a time when the disconnect between the legal profession and the public at large has widened considerably, says Gary Lesser, president of the Florida Bar.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Do I Relay Shortcomings To Associates? Author Photo

    Michael Cohen at Duane Morris discusses the best ways to articulate how an associate is not meeting expectations, and why documentation of performance management is crucial for their growth and protecting the firm from discrimination suits.

  • 10 Principles For Effective Partner Reward Systems Author Photo

    Several forces are reshaping partners’ expectations about profit-sharing, and as compensation structures evolve in response, firms should keep certain fundamentals in mind to build a successful partner reward system, say Michael Roch at MHPR Advisors and Ray D'Cruz at Performance Leader.

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