Cozen O’Connor

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.31.15

* In the wake of fired CEO Martin Shkreli's arrest for securities fraud, KaloBios Pharmaceuticals has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company will be repped by Hogan Lovells (and likely won't be charged 4,000 percent more than it should be). [Reuters] * "Not all of it is law at its grandest but all of it is the practice of law." Yet another contract attorney's suit for overtime pay has bitten the dust with a recent dismissal. This time, Quinn Emanuel was the Biglaw firm victorious in keeping doc reviewers downtrodden. [WSJ Law Blog] * Since Dechert decided to up the ante on first-year associate salaries, other Philadelphia Biglaw firms have responded in kind. Drinker Biddle has matched, while Pepper Hamilton and Cozen O'Connor are following close behind. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * Facebook needs a "dislike" button: The social media titan's suit against DLA Piper and Milberg for their defense of alleged con man Paul Ceglia in a fraudulent breach of contract case versus Zuckerberg's first baby was dismissed. [Buffalo Business First] * From "weird to wildly costly," check out some of the craziest malpractice cases that were filed against Biglaw firms during the course of 2015. The McDermott Will & Emery elder abuse case here is particularly creative. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.03.15

* You don't hear this much, but The Daily News nails it with a biting criticism of the GOP presidential candidates' response to the tragic San Bernardino shooting: "Prayers aren’t working." [The Daily News] * Looks like Dickstein Shapiro is looking to get hitched before the end of the year -- they are reportedly talking to multiple potential merger partners. [Law.com] * Cozen O'Connor partner Wayne Rohde is accused of lying about his attorney disciplinary record. [National Law Journal] * Rahm Emmanuel is resisting calls for his resignation amid the scandal surrounding the shooting death by Chicago cops of Laquan McDonald. [CNN] * Browne George Ross LLP was hit with a $6 million malpractice suit. [Law360] * Law firms are getting in the holiday spirit, over 100 firms are working together on a clothing drive for the homeless. [Legal Times]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket 05.06.15

This profile makes the case for Elena Kagan to be your new favorite Justice. (Don't worry RBG, you'll always be first in Staci's heart.) [American Prospect] * The lateral partner wheel of fortune has taken another spin; Cozen O'Conner has added 8 lawyers from Dickstein Shapiro's state Attorneys General practice group, that's almost the entirety of the group. [National Law Journal] * Speaking of lateral partner moves, are they worth it when clients get fed up with the disruption and potential conflicts that these moves cause? [Law360] * After the scathing DOJ report detailing injustice, the City of Ferguson needs some quality lawyering. They got it in Winston & Strawn chairperson, Dan Webb, but it won't come cheap. [American Lawyer] * After egregious discovery delays caused a district judge to enter a default judgment as to liability against the defendant, a French drone maker, a jury awarded $7.8 million in damages in a patent infringement case. [Legal Intelligencer] * Loretta Lynch makes her first official trip as Attorney General, to Baltimore to meet with community leaders, police, and the family of Freddie Gray. [NPR]

By Kathryn Rubino
3rd Circuit

Morning Docket: 09.03.13

* We bet you never thought you’d be spending Labor Day weekend debating with your relatives the legality of a U.S. military strike on Syria and the intricacies of international law. Gee, thanks President Obama. [CNN] * Over the long holiday weekend, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg served as officiant at the gay wedding of John Roberts. No, not that John Roberts, but what an incredibly apropos coincidence that was. [Washington Post] * Speaking of same-sex marriage, even though “[n]o one told [him] it was an easy job when [he] signed on,” Justice Anthony Kennedy revealed himself to be an ally of the gay rights movement. [New York Times] * Two days after filing an appeal with the Third Circuit, the parents of a deceased Cozen O’Connor partner have ended their battle to deny their daughter’s profit-sharing benefits to her wife. [Law360 (sub. req.)] * Twitter’s general counsel deactivated his account position with the social media giant, and looks forward to “goofing off.” Congrats to Vijaya Gadde, who will head up the company’s IPO. [Bits / New York Times] * Biglaw’s latest scapegoat for the culling of the associate herd is the decline of Chapter 11 filings, otherwise known by industry insiders as the “bankruptcy recession.” [New York Law Journal (sub. req.)] * Without any rabbits left to pull out of hats, it’s been predicted that by 2018, the Magic Circle will be no more. This is one disappearing act lawyers obsessed with prestige hope will never happen. [The Lawyer] * If you want to learn more about fashion law, check out this interview with Barbara Kolsun, a woman who literally wrote the book on it (affiliate link) while serving as general counsel at Stuart Weitzman. [Corporate Counsel] * So what has Kenneth Randall been up to since he left the deanship at Alabama School of Law? He’s working to “train law students for jobs that don’t require a bar license” over at InfiLaw. Awesome. [Tuscaloosa News] * Legal commentators like Elie and Lat would be ecstatic if law school were two years long, but because so many others have a “vested interest in the status quo,” change will come at approximately half past never. [CNBC] * Ronald H. Coase, influential legend of law and economics and Nobel prize winner, RIP. [Chicago Law]

By Staci Zaretsky
Bankruptcy

Morning Docket: 08.30.13

* The Department of Justice won’t be harshing anyone’s mellow in Washington and Colorado just yet, because Eric Holder has more important things to do than to get involved in people’s pot. [CNN] * The IRS will now treat all legal gay marriages the same as straight marriages for tax purposes, no matter where the couples live. That’s absolutely fabulous! [Federal Eye / Washington Post] * Howrey going to deal with all of Allan Diamond’s unfinished business claims made as trustee on behalf of this failed firm? By claiming as a united front that “[c]lients are not property,” even if we secretly think they are. [Am Law Daily] * In this wonderful post-Windsor world, the parents of a deceased Cozen O’Connor attorney are appealing a judge’s ruling as to the dispensation of their daughter’s death benefits to her wife. [Legal Intelligencer] * Reduce, re-use, and recycle: environmentally friendly words used to reduce a Biglaw firm’s carbon footprint, not the number of its lawyers. Say hello to the Law Firm Sustainability Network. [Daily Report] * Disability rights groups are coming forward to defend California’s LSAT anti-flagging law because the amount of extra testing time you receive should be between you and your doctor. [National Law Journal] * If you thought Charleston School of Law was going to be sold to the InfiLaw System, then think again. The law school is up for grabs on Craigslist. Alas, the “[s]tudent body has been used.” [Red Alert Politics] If you’re interested in purchasing Charleston School of Law, keep reading to see the ad (click to enlarge)…

By Staci Zaretsky
9th Circuit

Morning Docket: 07.30.13

* The number of women arguing before the Supreme Court is still small, but most of its appellate practitioners follow sage advice like this: “Clerk, work, and don’t be a jerk.” [National Law Journal] * If you were curious about whether gays and lesbians could be excluded from juries on the basis of their sexual orientation, the Ninth Circuit is about to lay down the law. [New York Times] * Now that the Supreme Court has ruled in Windsor, Cozen O’Connor will be forced to give a deceased partner’s profit-sharing benefits to her wife, and not her parents. [Legal Intelligencer] * Who are Biglaw’s top innovators of the last 50 years? There are many familiar names, but one of them is near and dear to our own hearts at Above the Law: It’s our managing editor, David Lat. Congratulations! [Am Law Daily] * If you’re making a career change to go to law school, you should think about why the the hell you’d do such a thing right now — or try to leverage it in applications. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News] * In a surprise move, Wendi Murdoch, better known as Rupert Murdoch’s soon-to-be ex-wife, has hired William Zabel to represent her in the divorce. This is going to get very, very messy. [New York Times] * “Why you mad, bro?” Brian Zulberti, the man with the muscles, is trying to make the most of his 15 minutes of fame. He’s lined up several job interviews, so wish him good luck. [Delaware News Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky