Small Law


  • $268K Fee Challenge Nixed In 9th Circ. Chevron Award Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday refused to reconsider its order slapping a six-figure fine against a Seattle attorney for fabricating a news article to bolster his clients' efforts to enforce an allegedly fraudulent $18 billion arbitral award against Chevron, effectively ending the long-running saga for now.

  • SoloSuit Adds Client Development Lead To Push Latest Tool

    Legal tech startup SoloSuit recently appointed a former president of the National Creditors Bar Association as its director of client development, expanding the company's potential reach in helping consumers resolve debt collection lawsuits.

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    Attorneys Mourn Slow Death Of Deal 'Tombstones'

    Attorneys said the gifting of tombstones, or deal toys, to mark the end of transactions has become less common in recent years despite a steady flow of mergers, acquisitions and other transactional work.

  • Houston Firm Accuses Legal Marketing Services Biz Of Fraud

    A Houston law firm has filed a complaint in Texas state court accusing a business that provides marketing services to law firms of a Ponzi-like scheme that misused money provided for two marketing campaigns.

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    Seattle Lawyer And Wife Leave $45M To Law School

    In an unusually large gift to a law school, the University of Washington School of Law announced this week that it had received a $45 million bequest to expand a program that trains mid-career lawyers from developing countries.

  • Conn. Firm Beats Ex-Client's Negligence, Conversion Claims

    Connecticut law firm Evans & Lewis PC and partner Douglas J. Lewis have prevailed in a professional negligence lawsuit in state court alleging that their incompetence caused a former client's home to go into foreclosure and that they pocketed a $1,500 fee for services that they didn't provide.

  • Lowenstein Sandler Snags Another VC Pro From Boutique

    Lowenstein Sandler LLP has added a New York City lawyer from prominent boutique corporate law firm Buhler Duggal & Henry LLP to its emerging companies and venture capital group, the firm announced.

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    Law Firm Real Estate Report

    Law firms from A to Z found opportunities in October to upgrade their offices or adjust their footprints in cities both in the U.S. and abroad, with some completing moves to new locations and others setting plans in motion that won't be completed for several years.

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    The 2024 Practice Footprint Ranking: How Firms Stack Up

    These firms are being singled out for their stellar litigation footprints and transactions work. See who's leading the pack in four categories: variety of cases, range of jurisdictions, closing large merger and acquisition deals, and handling registered offerings.

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    The Litigation Footprints Of The 2024 Leaderboard Firms

    Follow a firm's litigation tracks through federal district courts across the country with our interactive map.

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    These Firms Top The 2024 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard

    Presenting the 2024 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard — the 100 firms that are besting their peers on measures of prestige, social responsibility and the reach of their legal practice.

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    Firms' Hiring Strategies Are Evolving In Fight For Top Spot

    Competition for top talent among elite law firms shows no signs of slowing down, even amid economic uncertainty, with financially strong firms deploying aggressive strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals to solidify their market position.

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    Connolly Gallagher Gets 2 Attys For Trusts, Estates, Tax Dept.

    Delaware firm Connolly Gallagher LLP has added a former Ernst & Young tax consultant and an attorney who previously worked at Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP to its trusts, estates and tax department.

  • Firms Fight Bid To Revive Malpractice Suit Over Liability Case

    Two firms are asking the Delaware Supreme Court to affirm the dismissal of a malpractice suit filed by parents over damages sought for their child's "catastrophic injuries," allegedly caused by contamination from a chicken plant.

  • DC Firms Say They Must Be Allowed To Exit $120M Iraq Row

    Two boutique firms are fighting a construction company's effort to make them stay on as counsel to Iraq in a D.C. federal court case related to a nearly $120 million arbitral award, saying Wednesday the country has stopped paying fees.

  • Treasure Hunter Urges Atty DQ In Fla. Shipwreck Suit

    A member of an ocean salvage company urged a Florida federal court Wednesday to disqualify counsel applying to represent his opponent in a lawsuit over a claim to a Spanish galleon's sunken treasure, saying the attorney previously represented the company in a separate dispute involving the same wreckage.

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    Ohio Justices Say Attorney In Prison Should Not Be Disbarred

    The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that an attorney in federal prison for his participation in a tax fraud scheme should not be disbarred, and should have a chance to reapply for his law license in the future

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    Gunster Expands With Private Wealth Pro From Tampa Firm

    Florida business law firm Gunster has brought on a private wealth services shareholder in Tampa from Bleakley Bavol Denman & Grace as part of the firm's effort to meet growing client demand.

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    Room For Improvement: How To Hone Atty 'MarTech' Use

    Improving attorney adoption of marketing technology — otherwise known as "MarTech" — is a critical business need for law firms, but not enough lawyers have the skills needed to use such tools, platforms and software, according to an industry report made public Wednesday.

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    Pervasive Bullying In Law Is Impacting Young Attorneys

    A report released earlier this month cataloging the experiences of more than 6,000 Illinois lawyers found that one quarter say they have experienced bullying within the last year. Among the youngest lawyers, that number jumps to 39%.

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    NJ Judge Exits Disbarred Atty's Suits Over Ties To State Bar

    A disbarred New Jersey civil rights attorney persuaded a New Jersey federal judge to recuse herself from cases he has pending before her due to the "slim, but conceivable chance" of an appearance of impropriety stemming in part from her time as president of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

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    Approach The Bench: Judge Rosenthal Praises Zoom Hearings

    While U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal calls the pandemic a disaster that "discombobulated" the federal courts, she thinks there was also a silver lining to the experience.

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    Legal Marketer Sues To Halt New Pa. Atty Text Solicitation Ban

    A marketing company focused on soliciting criminal defendants on behalf of attorneys has filed suit in Pittsburgh federal court looking to overturn a new Pennsylvania ethics rule barring lawyers from using text messages to recruit clients.

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    How Certifications Became Ubiquitous For Privacy Attorneys

    As privacy has become a more prominent and popular practice area, many attorneys have turned to certifications offered by the International Association of Privacy Professionals to market their skills, with those in the field saying that the popularity is the result of privacy's rapid evolution and the ubiquity is unlikely to diminish.

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    Circuit Judge Rips Atty's 'Unearned Windfall' In Liability Case

    Although the Sixth Circuit has affirmed a decision awarding roughly $353,000 to a Texas attorney in a decadelong fee dispute over his representation of a client in a product liability case, one circuit judge expressed "extreme disapproval" over the lawyer's conduct in the matter.

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Expert Analysis

  • Resume Gaps Are No Longer Kryptonite To Your Legal Career Author Photo

    Female attorneys and others who pause their careers for a few years will find that gaps in work history are increasingly acceptable among legal employers, meaning with some networking, retraining and a few other strategies, lawyers can successfully reenter the workforce, says Jill Backer at Ave Maria School of Law.

  • Law Firm Guardrails For Responsible Generative AI Use Author Photo

    ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools pose significant risks to the integrity of legal work, but the key for law firms is not to ban these tools, but to implement them responsibly and with appropriate safeguards, say Natalie Pierce and Stephanie Goutos at Gunderson Dettmer.

  • Opinion

    We Must Continue DEI Efforts Despite High Court Headwinds Author Photo

    Though the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down affirmative action in higher education, law firms and their clients must keep up the legal industry’s recent momentum advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the profession in order to help achieve a just and prosperous society for all, says Angela Winfield at the Law School Admission Council.

  • Law Firms Cannot Ignore Attorneys' Personal Cybersecurity Author Photo

    Law firms that fail to consider their attorneys' online habits away from work are not using their best efforts to protect client information and are simplifying the job of plaintiffs attorneys in the case of a breach, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy and Protection.

  • Why Writing CLE Should Be Mandatory For Lawyers Author Photo

    Though effective writing is foundational to law, no state requires attorneys to take continuing legal education in this skill — something that must change if today's attorneys are to have the communication abilities they need to fulfill their professional and ethical duties to their clients, colleagues and courts, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona.

  • How To Find Your Inner Calm When Client Obligations Pile Up Author Photo

    In the most stressful times for attorneys, when several transactions for different partners and clients peak at the same time and the phone won’t stop buzzing, incremental lifestyle changes can truly make a difference, says Lindsey Hughes at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Support Gen Z Attorneys? Author Photo

    Meredith Beuchaw at Lowenstein Sandler discusses how senior attorneys can assist the newest generation of attorneys by championing their pursuit of a healthy work-life balance and providing the hands-on mentorship opportunities they missed out on during the pandemic.

  • Law Firm Cybersecurity Should Not Get Lost In The Cloud Author Photo

    A recent data leak at Proskauer via a cloud data storage platform demonstrates key reasons why law firms must pay attention to data safeguarding, including the increasing frequency of cloud-based data breaches and the consequences of breaking client confidentiality, says Robert Kraczek at One Identity.

  • Advice For Summer Associates Uneasy About Offer Prospects Author Photo

    There are a few communication tips that law students in summer associate programs should consider to put themselves in the best possible position to receive an offer, and firms can also take steps to support those to whom they are unable to make an offer, says Amy Mattock at Georgetown University Law Center.

  • 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.

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