Law Firm Mergers

  • Morning Docket: 04.26.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.26.17

    * Can you hear me now? Modern marvels of technology like cellphones and other electronic devices are barred from the Supreme Court during oral arguments, but yesterday, justice was interrupted by the ringing of… a Justice’s cellphone. Who was the culprit? The offending phone belonged to Justice Stephen Breyer. Oopsie! [AP]

    * After a week charged with sexual harassment allegations and the ouster of Bill O’Reilly, just when Fox News thought its troubles were over, a group of current and former employees filed a class-action lawsuit against the network alleging “abhorrent, intolerable, unlawful and hostile racial discrimination.” The plaintiffs’ lawyers got in this zinger of a statement: “When it comes to racial discrimination, 21st Century Fox has been operating as if it should be called 18th Century Fox.” [DealBook / New York Times]

    * Ever since it dumped Eversheds, Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner has been out on the prowl for another merger partner, and it looks like the firm has finally found its ideal mate in New York boutique Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman. The whole thing seems to be a bit “incestuous” if you ask us. We’ll have more on this later today. [Am Law Daily]

    * Ahead of his confirmation hearing todays, Makan Delrahim, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the antitrust division of the Department of Justice who’s been called a “centrist nominee,” has pledged to recuse himself from all matters involving his prior work as a lobbyist, including the merger between Anthem and Cigna. [Big Law Business]

    * At some firms, like Ballard Spahr, senior partners must “transition[] their practices” by age 60, but at other firms, like Cozen O’Connor, age is nothing but a number. “We have so many lawyers who are extremely productive and terrific lawyers and if they want to work well into their 70s, God bless ’em,” says CEO Michael Heller. [Philly Inquirer]

  • Morning Docket: 04.04.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.04.17

    Even conservatives are concerned about the damage that invoking the nuclear option for Judge Gorsuch’s SCOTUS nomination will do.

    * “This is going to haunt the Senate, it’s going to change the judiciary, and it’s so unnecessary.” Senate Democrats have secured the votes to filibuster Judge Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination, all but ensuring that Senate Republicans will invoke the nuclear option, and even conservatives are concerned about the damage it will do. [New York Times]

    * It turns out that the Wallace Global Fund tried hire another Biglaw firm to replace Morgan Lewis & Bockius prior to kicking the firm to the curb over its representation of President Donald Trump. Apparently Arnold & Porter “would have been perfect,” but that firm represents Trump too, so it was a “deal killer.” [Big Law Business]

    * “It’s like a marriage but infinitely complex. In the beginning, it was appealing, but as you went along you see the synergies are not there.” Following a short romance, it looks like Crowell & Moring and Herrick Feinstein are breaking off their engagement before wasting their time getting married and going through a messy divorce. [New York Post]

    * You give love legal ethics a bad name: Remember Tara Lenich, the ADA who was accused of forging judges’ signatures to wiretap a love interest and a coworker in a “love triangle gone wrong”? She pleaded guilty to two charges of illegal wiretapping, and could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. [Brooklyn Daily Eagle]

    * If you’re a prospective law student with a learning disability or attention disorder, you may be worried about keeping up with the rigors of legal study. Don’t let it get you down. Request an accommodation, but make sure you do so before it’s too late or you may screw yourself out of getting the help you need. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

  • Morning Docket: 03.23.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.23.17

    * “You have been very much able to avoid any specificity like no one I have seen before. And maybe that’s a virtue, I don’t know. But for us on this side, knowing where you stand on major questions of the day is really important to a vote.” Despite hours of questioning, Senate Democrats were unable to get Judge Neil Gorsuch to commit to any response beyond researched generalities. At this point, his confirmation seems inevitable. [New York Times]

    * Sure, Biglaw associates want their firms to be more progressive when it comes to flexible working arrangements, but that doesn’t mean they feel comfortable taking advantage of the programs being offered. Per a survey conducted by the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance, only 8.8 percent of lawyers at firms with reduced hours policies actually work reduced hours. We’ll have more on this later today. [Big Law Business]

    * Is this the end of the Swiss verein? While the legal structure has been adopted in almost every major cross-border law firm merger in recent memory, both of the last two transatlantic Biglaw tie-ups opted to use an entity called the company limited by guarantee (CLG). Apparently this legal structure is being favored for new law firm combinations because there are still questions about vereins’ proper use. [Am Law Daily]

    * Dean Alex Acosta of Florida International University School of Law, a man who is better known these days as Trump’s nominee to be the Secretary of Labor, not only says the fiduciary rule requiring retirement investment advisers to put their clients’ interest first goes too far, but indicated that he may decline to defend a rule doubling the salary ceiling under which employees would be eligible for overtime pay. Ouch. [Reuters]

    * Now that Harvard Law has decided to accept applicants’ GRE scores in lieu of their LSAT scores for admissions purposes, other law schools have decided to try the alternative exam on for size. Suffolk Law, for example, launched a study last week and offered students $100 to take the GRE. Suffolk’s dean says that “the mad dash for the GRE is not being driven by declines in applications.” Bless your heart. [Boston Globe]

  • Morning Docket: 02.10.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 02.10.17

    * Law forces Oklahoma town to cancel Valentine’s Day dance. But, you know, keep worrying about states imposing Sharia law. [ABC News]

    * When a lawyer who routinely represented sexual assault victims as part of a referral program at Stanford pointed out that the school’s policies made it difficult for victims, the school took this criticism seriously, engaged in thorough introspection, and, regardless of the outcome of their review, thanked the attorney for her honest assessment. Nah, just kidding, they fired her. [Inside Higher Ed]

    * Lateral hiring by the numbers. This may come as a shock, but partners are more likely to bolt when PPP declines. [The American Lawyer]

    * Republicans have renewed efforts to break up the Ninth Circuit. To create… two different liberal circuits? [Fox News]

    * The Bio-Rad case may influence more GCs to blow the whistle. [Law360]

    * Are Trans-Atlantic Biglaw mergers the new normal? [Am Law Daily]

    * Covington & Burling partner James Garland discusses “when Tweets attack,” specifically how a company should deal with a rogue Tweeter in the White House. [Law.com]

    * I wonder if Fragomen is busy right about now… [Big Law Business]

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  • Morning Docket: 01.06.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 01.06.17

    * What’s it like to be the “tweetingest judge in America”? Justice Don Willett of the Texas Supreme Court tells us what it’s like to live a week in his life in this endearing column. From letting us know where he spends much of his time (the local Chick-fil-A) to revealing the reason he Tweets so much (to get reelected) to describing his love for his children, Justice Willett is a true gem of the judiciary. [Wall Street Journal]

    * Judge Timothy Parker of the Carroll County District Court in Arkansas has resigned from his post and agreed to never serve as a judge again to avoid being charged with ethical misconduct. Judge Parker was accused of arranging for defendants’ pretrial releases in exchange for sexual favors, but says he never contested the allegations on the record because he has kids and “[didn’t] want them exposed to that kind of crap.” [AP]

    * The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund has threatened to file suit against the National Park Service for “stonewalling and refusing to release permits that are vitally needed by organizers in order to plan and execute peaceful, lawful free-speech activities” — that is, protests and rallies — of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. Only three groups out of 26 have received permits, and the inauguration is in two weeks’ time. [Reuters]

    * “While it is encouraging to see small gains in most areas this year, the incredibly slow pace of change continues to be discouraging.” The most recent National Association for Law Placement report has revealed that as usual, women and minorities are just barely making progress at the nation’s largest law firms when it comes to their representation as a whole and their presence in firm partnerships. [DealBook / New York Times]

    * Per Altman Weil’s latest report on law firm mergers, there were six fewer mergers in 2016 than in 2015. Although just 85 deals were announced last year compared to 91 in 2015, they were “better” than those announced in years prior, and in fact, some of the biggest names in Biglaw agreed to combine, including the Eversheds and Sutherland Asbill merger and the Arnold & Porter and Kaye Scholer merger. [Big Law Business]

  • Morning Docket: 12.14.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.14.16

    * “As a federal prosecutor for 19 years… I know better.” Leslie Caldwell, who oversees the Justice Department’s criminal division, sent a letter of apology to federal prosecutors across the country for remarks made at a Federalist Society event where she intimated that many of them don’t understand rules for white-collar criminal cases. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * It seems that D.C.-based Crowell & Moring and New York-based Herrick Feinstein are hoping to bump into each other under the mistletoe this year, because they’re reportedly in close merger talks. A combination would create a firm with about 570 lawyers and $478 million in gross revenue. We’ll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily; Real Deal]

    * Biglaw behemoth Dentons is politely bowing out of the competition when it comes to a takeover of the European and Middle Eastern arm of King & Wood Mallesons. With Dentons out of the picture, it’s unlikely that a single firm will rescue the entirety of the branch, but numerous firms are interested in picking apart bits and pieces. [Legal Week]

    * Calling their behavior “uncivil,” Judge Steven O’Neill was forced to scold lawyers on both sides during a dramatic shouting match that erupted at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial after the defense team insisted that the comedian’s accusers ought to be named in public documents, saying they’re “witnesses in a trial, not children.” [USA Today]

    * Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Victoria Brennan, who was accused of using a metal pipe to smash a man’s windshield this summer (but was never formally charged), is going to step down from her position on the bench. Her last day will be December 31, and per her resignation letter, she is “looking forward to the future.” [Miami Herald]

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  • Morning Docket: 12.12.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.12.16

    * Duncan Lloyd, the Philadelphia assistant city solicitor who spray-painted “F*ck Trump” on a building while wearing an ascot and holding a glass of wine, will be able to keep his job after completing 40 hours of community service. We’re sure many Americans feel that he has already completed his community service through his actions. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

    * Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who took a leave of absence from Greenberg Traurig to support Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump through the end of the election, has removed his name from consideration for any position in President-elect Trump’s administration (but only after reportedly being offered three other positions that he didn’t want). He’ll now be returning to his law firm. [ABC News]

    * The struggling European and Middle East arm of King & Wood Mallesons has received “a number of indicative purchase offers” from other law firms. Biglaw behemoth Dentons is rumored to be a potential merger partner for firm’s EUME branch, with DLA Piper and Greenberg Traurig ready to make lateral offers to partners. [Big Law Business]

    * Just because your law school isn’t one of the best in the nation, it doesn’t mean that you can’t dream big. Case in point: The most recent winners of the prestigious Skadden public interest fellowships has been announced, and two of them will graduate from CUNY School of Law. We’ll have more on the new Skadden Fellows later. [Skadden]

    * Dislike? A woman who wanted to serve her estranged husband with divorce papers via Facebook has been denied by a judge who noted that the social networking profile had been inactive for two-plus years, writing that to allow service would be “akin to the Court permitting service by nail and mail to a building that no longer exists.” [WSJ Law Blog]

  • Morning Docket: 11.01.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 11.01.16

    * Is there a constitutional right to smoke weed? This defendant says he was prescribed medical marijuana to help him kick an opioid addiction, and his bail conditions must be revised to allow him to keep smoking it, lest his Sixth Amendment right to participate fully in his own defense be impaired. How high were the Katten Muchin lawyers who thought up this creative defense? [Reuters]

    * Baker Donelson plans to merge with Ober Kaler to create one of the largest Biglaw firms in the country. Effective January 1, the firm will have more than 800 attorneys, and one of the largest health law practices in America. The $400+ million in revenue expected to be brought in by the merger isn’t too shabby, either. [Big Law Business]

    * “[N]o one is dragging their feet here. The Justice Department is committed to working with the FBI to move the case forward.” AG Loretta Lynch and Deputy AG Sally Yates are trying to get FBI Director James Comey to wrap up his renewed interest in the Hillary Clinton email probe as quickly as possible before the election next week. [Politico]

    * “You haven’t been able to do it with trademark law. You haven’t been able to do it with patent designs. We are now going to use copyright law to kill the knockoff industry. I don’t know that that’s bad. I’m just saying.” Differing opinions about the fashion industry emerged during oral arguments in the Star Athletica case. [New York Times]

    * “We are all feeling a little less confident. … [T]here is an incredible amount of uncertainty that comes with this.” Some U.S. firms with offices in London and Europe are contemplating what Brexit’s effects will be on their business — or if Brexit will have any effect on their business at all. At this point, no one knows. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

  • Morning Docket: 10.21.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.21.16

    * Rhonda Crawford, the Illinois law clerk who allegedly posed as a judge and was running unopposed for her own judgeship, was indicted for her judicial impersonation. Crawford does not intend to drop out of the race for a seat on the bench, despite the state bar ethics commission seeking to suspend her license to practice. [Chicago Tribune]

    * London firms CMS and Olswang are merging with international firm Nabarro for a three-way combination that’s set to close in May 2017 and operate under the name CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, but rumor has it an American firm wants to get in on the action. Will Hunton & Williams join in for four-way fun? [The Lawyer]

    * “[M]aybe Republicans can stop with the 60-something repeal votes they’ve taken … and just work with the next president to smooth out the kinks.” President Obama hopes that maybe when his second term in the White House is over, his signature healthcare law can be fixed. He doesn’t even care if they change its name to “Reagancare.” [Reuters]

    * “The panic is starting to set in. Those who have a lot of interests at stake need to do work now.” Lawyers across the pond are poised for a profitable 2017 thanks to people scrambling for legal advice following Brexit, but those billables won’t last forever; after all, lawyers aren’t “immune to a broader economic slowdown.” [Big Law Business]

    * More law schools are partially or completely covering bar exam preparation costs for their students, but with pass rates plummeting across the nation, you must be curious if this trend has had any positive effect. It worked for Loyola New Orleans and Southern University, whose pass rates for first-timers increased quite a bit. [ABA Journal]

  • Morning Docket: 10.11.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.11.16

    * As we previously mentioned, London-based firms CMS and Olswang and international firm Nabarro were considering entering into a merger. Partners at all three firms have officially voted in favor of the merger, which will close in May 2017. The new firm will operate under the CMS name. We’ll have more on this later. [Legal Week]

    * “The infringement has been affirmed, now it’s whether this huge judgment should be affirmed.” In the Supreme Court’s first design patent case in more than 120 years, Samsung will face off against Apple today, where the smartphone companies will duke it out over how much Samsung should have had to pay for copying the iPhone. [Reuters]

    * “Justice [Ruth Bader] Ginsburg no longer needs to worry about whether she seems threatening to the Court. She is the Court.” A new linguistics research study tells us what we can learn from Justice Ginsburg’s accent as a lawyer versus her accent as a Supreme Court justice, and how all lawyers make accommodations in their speech. [TIME]

    * By edict of a federal court — and over Governor Rick Scott’s objections — Florida’s voter registration deadline has been extended to 5 p.m. Wednesday thanks to Hurricane Matthew’s interference with last-minute sign-ups. Florida’s Democratic Party alleged many voters would be “severely burdened” by the hurricane’s effects. [CNN]

    * Sorry, social justice warriors: Harvard Law 1Ls wanted to feed the university’s striking dining services workers at their sections’ social committee events, but Dean Marcia Sells shut down their plans, saying it “does not seem to make sense for us to encourage … students to bring in food to feed workers who are on strike.” [The Concourse / Deadspin]