Dickstein Shapiro

Biglaw Lawsuit Drama: Partners Allege Merger Deprived Them Of Their Money

The partners allege they're owed more than $4 million.

Firm Finally Announces Raises And Associates Are Less Than Excited

After nine months, these associates have finally learned their new salaries.

Morning Docket 01.20.17

* Welcome to the Trump era! Have you considered pro bono work? [The American Lawyer] * Speaking of Republican leadership, former Speaker and Dickstein Shapiro alum Dennis Hastert trying to get out of paying the rest of that hush money that landed him in prison. [ABA Journal] * To the tune of Paula Cole’s magnum opus: Where have all the ampersands gone? [The Am Law Daily] * A profile of Nancy Hollander, the lawyer who won Chelsea Manning’s clemency. [The Litigation Daily] * Good tips on how to attract and keep the lawyer of the future. But I assume we’ll all just keep condescending to them anyway. [Law360]

Morning Docket: 05.13.16

* "Congress is the only source for such an appropriation, and no public money can be spent without one." The House was successful in its suit over the improper funding of an Obamacare subsidy program, but this victory may serve as a setback to those who have come to rely upon it. You can expect the Obama administration to appeal. [POLITICO] * The Ninth Circuit will allow attorneys who secured a victory in the Stetson BARBRI antitrust case to get a second chance to score the nearly $2M in attorneys fees they originally requested before Judge Manuel Real shot them down. Due to his prior "erroneous findings and conclusions," the Ninth Circuit has essentially removed Judge Real from the case. [Courthouse News Service] * “People are turned off on legal education because of a lack of suitable paying jobs." Even while facing a dearth of applicants, Minnesota Law has decided to scale back on the size of its first-year class -- taking in less of the tuition income that it needs to survive -- in order to preserve its standing as a top law school. [DealBook / New York Times] * Former partners of the dearly departed Dickstein Shapiro will no longer have to worry about that $8.4 million sublease lawsuit filed by Sullivan & Worcester after they left the firm's New York office to lateral en masse to Blank Rome. Both sides have amicably resolved their dispute, but we wonder how much it cost to do so. [Big Law Business] * A grand jury has upgraded the charges against Ryan Petersen, the man alleged to have shot 23-year-old law firm clerk Chase Passauer to death in his office chair. Peterson had been charged with second-degree murder in Passauer's death, but now faces a charge of premeditated first-degree murder for the commission of the crime. [Star Tribune]

Morning Docket: 04.11.16

* Professor Victor Williams of the Catholic University of America School of Law, who's been called the "Republican Lawrence Lessig" by some, is running a write-in campaign for president with the sole intent of eliminating Ted Cruz as a candidate due to his birth in Canada. He alleges that the Texas senator committed ballot access fraud by falsely swearing that he was a natural born citizen. Thanks to Williams's allegations, a primary disqualification hearing is being held today in New Jersey. [PR Newswire] * Does SCOTUS have a diversity problem? One justice thinks so. In the wake of President Obama calling attention to his nominee's whiteness, Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted the Court's homogeneity, saying that SCOTUS is currently at a "disadvantage from having [five] Catholics, three Jews, [and] everyone from an Ivy League school." [TIME] * Here's an interesting theory: According to Patterson Belknap senior partner Gregory Diskant, because the Senate has failed to give President Obama its advice and consent with regard to his Supreme Court nominee, it can be said the Senate waived its rights, leaving Obama free to appoint Judge Garland to the high court. [Washington Post] * "There is something seductively subversive about having a name that has a secondary street meaning, which, by the way, is not necessarily a bad thing to think of your lawyers as being." MoFo -- a law firm that's perhaps known as Morrison & Foerster in more conservative circles -- has fully embraced its sexy "street name." [Big Law Business] * Prosecutors say former House speaker and disgraced Dickstein Shapiro partner Dennis Hastert paid $3.5M to silence a boy he sexually abused, and molested at least four more children. Because the statutes of limitations have long since run on those crimes, he'll likely serve only six months for banking crimes related to his hush-money payoffs. [AP]

Morning Docket: 02.25.16

* Democrats held a press conference demanding that Republicans do their job when it comes to filling Justice Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court. My guess is a petition isn't going to change anyone in the GOP's mind on this one. [National Law Journal] * District Judge John Gleeson is stepping down from his position next month. He'll be returning to private practice at... Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. [Wall Street Journal] * Virginia is considering legislation that would actually hid the names of all police officers. Less transparency for law enforcement? That is pretty much the exact opposite of what is needed. [Washington Post] * You know how the NFL has been in the news a bunch for a variety of legal issues? The newly for-profit organization is releasing their tax filings, and their legal expenses are detailed. Ouch. [American Lawyer] * Looks like attorneys formerly of Dickstein Shapiro are making themselves right at home at Blank Rome if their latest win for client Oshkosh Defense LLC is any indication. [Litigation Daily] * Take a look at the details of the sexual assault lawsuit from the 90s against Donald Trump. [Law Newz]

Morning Docket: 02.22.16

* If there was ever a time to breach a contract, it would be now. A judge ruled that singer Kesha won't be able to escape from a six-album deal with Sony, despite the fact that her producer, Dr. Luke, is alleged to have psychologically abused her for a decade and raped her when she was an 18-year-old virgin. #FreeKesha [New York Daily News] * Justice Antonin Scalia's funeral offered DCers the chance to take a break from political wrangling, if only momentarily, to mourn a legend of the Supreme Court. It was "very non-Washington," and he "would have loved it." [Washington Post] * President Obama was spotted carrying a "thick binder filled with papers," presumably briefing documents from his staff related to potential SCOTUS picks to replace the late Justice Scalia. You can likely expect an announcement in the next few weeks. [Reuters] * Dickstein Shapiro's ex-chairman is blaming the media for his firm's demise, saying that since July, many of its partners' departures were "programmed" and had little to do with its performance. Don't stop believin', James Kelly. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Judge Thomas Griesa plans to lift an injunction that was keeping Argentina from raising new capital. Holdouts on the country's defaulted debt seem pissed about this decision, but it could eventually turn out well for them. [DealBook / New York Times]

Morning Docket: 02.17.16

* "There’s no unwritten law that says it can only be done in off years. That’s not in the constitutional text." Angering armchair constitutional scholars, President Obama vowed to appoint someone to replace Justice Scalia following his death, despite the fact that it's an election year. [New York Times] * "My gut tells me there is something fishy going on in Texas." The fact that Justice Scalia was found dead with a pillow over his head has made conspiracy theorists come out in droves. Some are "stunned" that an autopsy wasn't performed on the late justice. [Daily Intelligencer / New York Magazine] * Dickstein Shapiro partners were informed via letter that they'd face "the almost certain loss of all firm capital." For some equity partners, that's more than $1 million -- and the letter wasn't even signed "sincerely." How rude! [National Law Journal via ABA Journal] * Justice Scalia's passing could have an impact on the anti-marijuana legalization suit filed by Nebraska and Oklahoma against Colorado. The Court was supposed to discuss it this week, but the justices may not want to overpack their bowls, so to speak. [Guardian] * Troubled Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane will not be seeking reelection after her term expires in January 2017. With her license to practice law suspended and criminal charges pending, we'll see if she's even able to make it that far. [WSJ Law Blog] * Vigilante justice on the internet swift: Despite Google listing the firm as "permanently closed" and its brutal one-star Yelp rating, "Making a Murderer" prosecutor Ken Kratz assured reporters his law firm was still open, contrary to appearances. [Post-Crescent] * Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former U.N. Secretary General, RIP. [New York Times]

One More Angel In Law Firm Heaven

After nearly 65 years, Dickstein Shapiro LLP is no more.

Morning Docket: 02.12.16

* Riding high after his victory in New Hampshire, Donald Trump settled his $500 million lawsuit against Univision for the network dropping his beauty pageants. Ay dios mio, this must be some sort of a YUGE GRANDE ploy to win the Hispanic vote. [USA Today] * Dickstein Shapiro lawyers must be feeling pretty good about themselves right now. Their mass lateral move to Blank Rome isn't a merger, it's an "asset acquisition." You see that? You're all "assets"! Remember that next time a partner makes you cry. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * The ABA is considering toughening bar passage requirements for law school accreditation. Under the plan, schools would have to prove that 75 percent of graduates who took an exam within two years of graduation passed. Good luck! [ABA Journal] * Uh-oh! Are partners at large law firms getting screwed? Biglaw firms are asking for bigger capital contributions (30-35 percent of earnings on average), and holding on to that money for longer periods of time when those partners leave. [Am Law Daily] * Minnesota Law has been hit pretty hard by the law school crisis, with losses expected to hit $16.1 million by 2018. When the school's soon-to-be ex-Dean first started in 2008, "everything was good," but now, it's a huge sh*tshow. [Twin Cities Pioneer Press]

Non-Sequiturs: 02.11.16

* This sounds miserable: taking (and passing) the bar exam with an 8-week-old infant at home. [ABA for Law Students] * Maybe a new lawyer will be able to stiff-arm the DA’s office on LeSean McCoy’s behalf. [Buffalo Rumblings] * Dickstein Shapiro is “no longer engaged in the practice of law.” But don’t shed tears for the out-of-work attorneys just yet, the attorneys will move to Blank Rome in a wholesale lateral move. [National Law Journal] * Remember this case as you scramble for a last minute Valentine’s Day gift: a Valentine’s Day gift -- and the reaction to a terrible one -- can lead to a lawsuit. [Coverage Opinions] * Will the Bill Cosby case signal a change in the handling of sexual assault cases? [Huffington Post] * This is how police work can contribute to reasonable doubt. [Katz Justice] * Cheap furniture behemoth IKEA lost a trademark claim in Indonesia. Won’t somebody please think of the college students? [Jakarta Coconuts] * Sure diversity initiative may take hard work and trust, but, you know, they're still worth it. [Law and More]

Has Dickstein Shapiro Found A (New) Rescuer?

The firm's last proposed merger fell apart, but sources say this latest transaction is a "done deal."