Law Firm Mergers

Did Reed Smith Just Get Dumped In Merger Talks?

Love on the rocks!

Reed Smith Merger Talks Fuel Discontent At Firm

There has been lots of criticism about the way Reed Smith handled this potential merger.

Can A Merger Move Improve Morale At Reed Smith?

Reed Smith has a suitor, but the talks are still in the early stages.

Morning Docket: 03.30.16

* An odd order? Perhaps in an attempt to avoid yet another 4-4 split in a controversial case, SCOTUS justices have ordered parties on both sides of the contraceptive coverage battle in Zubik to file briefs describing how such coverage could be provided without religious groups having to put forth much effort to formally object. [Associated Press] * "It's mind bogglingly obvious, but often gets lost in the mix. Apart from checking there aren't any conflicts, clients are rarely put at the heart of these mergers." Go figure, but according to a new report by professional services consultancy Gulland Padfield, law firm mergers usually don't benefit clients in any way, shape, or form. [Am Law Daily] * It seems that Russian cybercriminal "Oleras" has hired hackers to break into the computer systems of 48 Biglaw firms so he can collect confidential client data and then trade on the stolen insider information. Thus far, he's been unsuccessful. Has your law firm been targeted? If you'd like to know, check the list here. [Crain's Chicago Business] * The NFL is so pissed that the New York Times recently published a story linking the league to the tobacco industry that it not only wrote a two-part rebuttal that was more than 3000 words long, but it also sicced Paul Weiss attorneys on the paper of record in search of a retraction, claiming that the story was defamatory in nature. [Yahoo! Sports] * "I will not go down. I want Bill Cosby in court." A Los Angeles judge has ruled that model Janice Dickinson's defamation case against Bill Cosby can move forward so that a jury can decide whether her allegations of rape are truthful, and further, whether a "liar" comment made by the comedian's ex-lawyer, Marty Singer, was defamatory. [Telegram]

Morning Docket: 03.18.16

* "In 2 to 4 years, a University administration will shut down a top law school and we may never see it coming." Uh-oh! Is a top law school really going to close? This law professor seems to think so, and she's pointing the finger at Minnesota Law, which has been experiencing a slew of financial troubles due to its enrollment issues. [Forbes] * "The employment numbers were very high in a huge economic downturn and it just felt suspicious. I decided to stand up for myself and others." Anna Alaburda, who sued Thomas Jefferson School of Law over its allegedly deceptive job statistics, took the stand this week, where she spoke about her failed legal career. [Courthouse News Service] * “The record number of deals in 2015 is a reflection of the intense competition among law firms for new work, and we expect the market to remain hot in 2016.” Oh boy! If you think 2015 set a merger record, you ain't seen nothing yet. We should apparently be expecting even more law firm merger mania this year. [Chicago Daily Law Bulletin] * Why on earth would a partner leave a firm like Munger Tolles, with profits per partner of $1.9 million, to go to a firm like Dentons, with profits per partner of $680,000, a considerably lesser amount? What's in that Biglaw behemoth's special sauce that's so amazing? It's the "irresistible" opportunities. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * As many of our readers have had the displeasure of experiencing firsthand, law school tuition can be absurdly expensive. If you're wondering which school took home the prize of being the most expensive for the 2015-2016 school year, it's Columbia Law, with a shocking sticker price of $62,700. Ouch, that's painful. [U.S. News & World Report]

Morning Docket: 03.17.16

* Been there, done that: The political standoff having to do with Chief Judge Merrick Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court is nothing new. When he was nominated to the D.C. Circuit by President Bill Clinton in September 1995, Senate Republicans refused to hold a confirmation vote for him until March 1997. If patience is a virtue, then Garland has got to be the most virtuous judge of them all. [WSJ Law Blog] * Is he the "most anti-gun Supreme Court nomination in decades"? Conservative group Judicial Crisis Network plans to spend $2 million on an ad campaign in opposition to Chief Judge Merrick Garland's SCOTUS nod, calling attention to his "history of general hostility to the Second Amendment," as well as his vote in the Heller case. [POLITICO] * Greenberg Traurig has called off its merger talks with London-based Berwin Leighton Paisner, citing the firm's "conservative approach to financial risk." Executive chair Richard Rosenbaum penned a 540-word break-up letter announcing the bad news. The combined firm would've had more than 2,500 lawyers. [Big Law Businness / Bloomberg] * Finally! The California Supreme Court approved of changing the state's grueling three-day bar exam to a two-day exam, effective 2017. The first test day will consist of five essays and a performance test, and the second day will be the MBE. Both days will be weighted equally, and test takers will surely be less stressed. [State Bar of California] * If you've started receiving law school admission offers, now is a great time to consider weighing your options for merit-based financial aid -- carefully. If you wind up with a conditional scholarship offer, you better make sure to read all of the fine print, because if you don't, you could wind up screwing yourself. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

Morning Docket: 02.23.16

* It's official: Justice Clarence Thomas hasn't asked a question during oral arguments at the Supreme Court in a decade. No other justice in history has ever done something like this, but Justice Thomas is "confident enough in his own skin not to care." [MSNBC] * Who would make a better SCOTUS justice, Judge Sri Srinivasan of the D.C. Circuit or U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara? President Obama may be wondering when deciding whether to appoint the high court's first Asian-American justice. [New York Daily News] * Judge H. Russel Holland was presiding over the DOJ's action against two allegedly discriminatory polygamous cities on the Utah-Arizona border when he was rushed away in an ambulance. He had a terrible case of bronchitis. Feel better, Your Honor! [AP] * Gowlings, Canada's second-largest firm, merged with UK-based Wragge Lawrence Graham to form an international firm with 1,400+ lawyers in 10 countries. Accept our cautionary congratulations, since layoffs usually follow mergers of this size. [Reuters] * Aww, how cute! After working as a fully integrated firm for almost two years, Squire Patton Boggs has announced its first-ever merger with another firm. Welcome San Francisco-based firm Carroll Burdick & McDonough to the party. [Plain Dealer] * Mayer Brown is relying on a lateral associate to help its Cuba practice shore up client relations on the island through all of her connections there, which have been described as "hot property." She even got her own press release. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

Morning Docket: 02.04.16

* Although he's only seen commercials for the show, O.J. Simpson is none too pleased with the way The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story portrayed his lawyer, Johnnie Cochran. The Juice thinks Cochran is being "unfairly depicted as ruthless and overly ambitious." [Washington Post] * A Pennsylvania judge has ruled that the sexual assault case against Bill Cosby can move forward and include the comedian's 2005 deposition testimony, despite the fact that he only sat for that deposition because he was promised by a district attorney that he wouldn't be prosecuted. [CNN] * While Dentons may have been written off dismissively about two years ago, since then, the Biglaw firm has "grown faster than any law firm ever," and now people are starting to wonder whether the megafirm will be able to live up to all of the hype. [Legal Business] * Perhaps we need to start a Blue Ghetto series for our male readers? A former editorial director at Yahoo! has filed a wrongful termination suit against the company, with claims that he was discriminated against by his superiors because he was a man. [Fox News] * Under the guidance of his new lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, Martin Shkreli has adopted an intelligent new legal strategy: shutting his incredibly punchable mouth before it gets him into even more trouble. Let's see how long this lasts. [DealBook / New York Times]

Law Firm Merger Mania: Greenberg Traurig Flirts With A British Suitor

Greenberg Traurig's CEO has criticized mergers with overseas law firms in the past, but could this particular deal make strategic sense?

Morning Docket: 02.02.16

* Carmen Electra filed a federal suit against a strip joint, alleging that the gentleman's club defamed her by using a scantily clad picture of her without her prior consent, thereby insinuating that she removes her clothing for money there or otherwise endorses its sexy services. [New York Daily News] * Happy anniversary to our favorite SCOTUS monk: If Justice Thomas sticks to his usual routine when the Supreme Court returns from its winter break, he'll have officially gone a decade without asking a question from the bench. [New York Times] * Aloha! Just one week after receiving a $25 million donation and changing the name of the school, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law is losing its dean to Hawaii Pacific University, where he'll serve as president. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * DLA Piper recently acquired Peltonen LMR, a Helsinki firm, bringing its grand total of Nordic offices to three. Unlike in the past, we hope that this time DLA Piper knows what country its new office is located in. Pssst... it's Finland. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * If you've been waitlisted by the law school of your choice, we hope that you're a particularly patient person, because you may be waiting to find out your academic fate until April, or worse yet, July. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

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."

Morning Docket: 01.07.16

* The statute of limitations giveth, and the statute of limitations taketh away. Los Angeles prosecutors have declined to charge Bill Cosby in a case where a woman claimed that the comedian raped her in 1965 when she was 17 years old. [L.A. Now / Los Angeles Times] * Apparently sick and tired of people continuing to just waive in, the D.C. Court of Appeals is considering allowing third-year law students to take the D.C. bar up to 190 days before they even graduate, making it the most permissive early bar program in the country. [Blog of Legal Times] * This is apparently the new way for law firms of all sizes to survive and thrive: Per Altman Weil, 2015 was yet another record year for law firm mergers and acquisitions, with 91 announced over the course of the year. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Congratulations to Elizabeth "Betty" Temple, the first woman to serve as chair and CEO of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. She joins about two handfuls of other women who are leading some of the country's largest law firms. You go, girl! [WSJ Law Blog] * "The food-borne illness costs extra. Is that okay?" Thanks to numerous food scares and an outbreak of norovirus, Chipotle now finds itself at the center of a federal criminal investigation being conducted by the Central District of California and the FDA. [AP]

Morning Docket: 01.05.16

* If you haven't been watching Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer, then you're missing Dean Strang's turn on the catwalk. The compassionate defense attorney has turned into an "unlikely sex symbol." Are you part of the #StrangGang? [The Guardian] * Sometime later today, President Barack Obama will announce a sweeping package of executive actions related to gun restrictions. Stay tuned, grab your popcorn, and get ready for some hardcore constitutional litigation. [Washington Post] * Happy New Year! We're not even a full week into 2016, and the first Biglaw merger has already been announced. Lewis Roca Rothgerber has picked up Christie Parker & Hale, a 40-lawyer Southern California IP boutique. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Hipsters, thou shall be avenged sevenfold: The Justice Department has filed suit against Volkswagen in the wake of the automaker's massive emissions scandal. The DOJ is seeking billions in damages over VW's air-pollution violations. [New York Times] * According to Ethan Couch's lawyer, it may be weeks or months before the affluenza teen returns to the United States. A judge issued a temporary stay in his case after Couch argued that being deported from Mexico would somehow violate his civil rights. [CNN] * Robert Wonsch, an Oklahoma process server, was arrested after allegedly coercing his female clients into performing sex acts in exchange for lowering his fees. He's now facing several criminal counts. Good Lord, talk about ineffective service of process... [Reuters] * Dale Bumpers, President Clinton's impeachment defense lawyer, RIP. [New York Times]