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Lessons for Working With Support Staff
Although more law schools are teaching future lawyers about the economics of law firm life, there are no courses on how to work with support staff. Most new lawyers arrive at their desks without any prior experience in managing and supervising others. Relax, says Molly Peckman, director of associate development at Dechert. There are tons of books and online survival guides for supervisors, but all you really need to know about working with support staff are lessons you learned in kindergarten.
Large-Firm Attorneys Start ADR Firm
A group of attorneys from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney and other law firms have started a national mediation and arbitration services business that will be given back-office support by Buchanan Ingersoll. Edwin Klett, counsel at Buchanan Ingersoll, will serve as president of Trial Advocate Resolution Services. The concept, which was Klett's brainchild, was to create an enterprise that would be supported by a law firm while maintaining at least a 70 percent equity control among the mediators and arbitrators.
A Lawyer Turned Hoops Analyst
Jay Bilas has been a full-time basketball TV analyst with ESPN since 2000, providing courtside and studio commentary from October through the Final Four in April. Bilas also serves as a talent evaluator and analyst on ESPN's coverage of the NBA Draft. But before joining ESPN, Bilas, a Duke University law school graduate, practiced law full time from 1992 to 2000 at Moore & Van Allen in Charlotte, N.C., where he still remains on staff as of counsel. "Basketball is in my blood," he says. "I love it."
Women Buzz About Bridging Pay Gap
The gender pay gap has always been a sore subject bubbling near the surface of law firms across the nation. Now it has boiled over the top. A recent report by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that women lawyers still earn far less than their male counterparts. The statistic didn't surprise anyone, but it triggered a fresh round of debate. Arent Fox partner Bernice Leber says the salary gap won't shrink until more women make managing partner and more women sit on executive compensation committees.
Prepare for an Economic Downshift With Your Salary
Suddenly, even six figures doesn't feel so comfortable, does it? Junior associates at the largest firms earn $160,000 and up a year. But they also face significant student loan debt and, now, a precarious economy that has already led to layoffs and the loss of high salaries for some. In light of this uncertainty, here are some suggestions that new lawyers should be doing financially: Stay modest, be shrewd with consumer credit and get your emergency fund in shape -- and start one if you haven't done so yet.
Firms Scramble to Create 'Crisis' Groups
Law firms with banking and finance practices that were recently making deals with free-flowing credit are now scrambling to launch new groups to help clients simply survive the credit crisis. The ripples of collapsing financial institutions are already reaching areas such as white-collar crime, banking, securities and transactions. "Anyone who says they know where this is going is full of baloney," says Bracewell & Giuliani Chairman Pat Oxford, who is heading the firm's new financial industry task force.
Advice for the Lawlorn
Readers respond to last week's column on sexual harassment in Biglaw.
Standing to Sue LLC Ruled Limited to Current Owners
Relying on two precedents from the New York Court of Appeals that were written more than a century apart, a New York state judge has decided that a person must be a current member of a limited liability corporation to have standing to bring a derivative claim against its officers for self-dealing or other alleged wrongdoing.
Second Circuit: Analysts Bound by Same Liability Presumption as Issuers for 'Fraud on Market'
A federal appeals court has put research analysts on the same footing as stock issuers for claims they should be held liable for misrepresentations under the fraud-on-the-market theory. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that no greater showing is required to warrant application of that presumption than is the case in lawsuits against securities issuers.
Walgreens Loses Bid to Block Ban on Tobacco Sales
A San Francisco law banning the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies, possibly the first of its kind in the country, will go into effect today after surviving an attempt by Walgreens to halt it. The Deerfield, Ill., company had sought a preliminary injunction Tuesday in Superior Court, arguing that its suit challenging the law is likely to succeed and that its stores would suffer millions of dollars in lost revenue in the meantime.
Shareholder Suits Face Uncertainty, Higher Hurdles
The bailouts and bankruptcies of some of Wall Street's most prominent financial firms could hinder the claims of plaintiffs who have filed shareholder lawsuits against those companies. Also, attorneys warn that shareholder actions face much greater difficulty than those filed against Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc.
Facebook Surprises by Naming GOP Insider Its New GC
Facebook has hired a GOP insider as its new GC, surprising scores of Silicon Valley lawyers who'd been vying for the hottest in-house gig in town. The social networking site announced Monday that its legal department will be led by Theodore Ullyot, a Kirkland & Ellis partner who has worked in the Bush White House and the Gonzales Justice Department. In fact, Ullyot's policy background may be a big reason why Facebook chose him over more traditional Silicon Valley types.
Pre-emption Looms Large in Supreme Court's Upcoming Business Cases
The Roberts Court's affinity for issues close to the heart of the nation's business community will continue into the upcoming Supreme Court term as the justices take on major questions concerning federal pre-emption of state tort suits, environmental regulation, workplace discrimination, arbitration, pensions and antitrust. Pre-emption, which dominated the business docket last term, is once again "the issue keyed up front and center for business in the new term," said one high court litigator.
null: In re Ballard
Federal law did not preclude auto manufacturer from filing unsecured deficiency claim based on state law where Chapter 13 consumer debtor proposed to surrender "910 vehicle" whose value was less than balance remaining on auto loan (applying "hanging paragraph" to cases involving surrender of 910 vehicle).
null: Siepel v. Bank of America, N.A.
Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act preempted state-law claims that trustee breached fiduciary duty by failing to disclose conflicts of interest in selection of nationally-traded investment securities.
Dual Enforcement of Antitrust Laws Keeps Businesses in Line
Teddy Roosevelt, the original trust buster, "spoke softly and carried a big stick." Modern day trust busters wield two big sticks: public and private enforcement of the antitrust laws. Both government authorities and an organized, well-funded antitrust bar aggressively enforce these laws.
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