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Restriction on ads for New York law firms

Yet another headache for attorneys in the big New York corporate law firms! The New York State rules placed restrictions on advertising for lawyers. The rule change, effective February 1, was brought about by New York's appellate division's committee of seven judges who wrote the ethical rules governing the state's lawyers.

The move stemmed from disapproval regarding the lack of taste in billboard advertisements by a few big law firms. Seven judges were involved in the task to restrict such advertising. The new rules define advertising as "any public or private communication made on behalf of a lawyer or law firm about that law firm's services, the primary purpose of which is for the retention of the lawyer and the law firm."

Many firms already adopted the new rules in their emails as part service and part marketing. In the subject line, all the email messages must state that it is "attorney advertising," a designation that takes up a large part of the real estate on the subject line and one that can be trapped in the policed traffic of online mail, states nytimes.com. Though marketers are grumbling on the restrictions and citizens' groups have filed lawsuit seeking to block enforcement of the rules, most New York law firms have decided to add an advertising disclaimers to every page on its websites.

03-08-2007

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Johnnie Cochran's law firm sued for discrimination

Johnnie Cochran's law firm is being sued by a firm attorney for racial discrimination. The allegations brought about by Shawn Chapman Holley claim that she was demoted and then fired because she belonged to the African American minority community. Law firm Johnnie Cochran is highly regarded for its successful defense of O-J Simpson from murder charges.

In her lawsuit, Holley claims that after Cochran died, who was also from the same community, the firm's management composed of white men who discriminated attorneys and clients on basis of race. Holley was appointed as a liaison between the civil and criminal sides of the firm in 2005. She had worked with Cochran for 17 years.

Defending the firm's reputation as a most "racially diverse in the state", a firm partner Randy H. McMurray refuted the allegations as baseless and untrue. McMurray added that he and another partner in the Los Angeles office also belonged to the same community.

03-08-2007

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Smith Moore expands to Charlotte

In a bid to fortify its position as one of the most prominent Southeast-based law firms, Smith Moore has opened new shop in Charlotte. The firm hopes to hire some of North Carolina's top litigation and corporate attorneys to serve its clients in areas of business litigation, corporate law, real estate, tax, and wealth management. Larry Sitton, prominent commercial litigation attorney and former president of the North Carolina Bar Association, will be the senior litigator of Smith Moore's litigation team in the Charlotte office. Joining the team will be three accomplished commercial litigators from the firm's Greensboro office: Rob Marcus, Jon Heyl, and Heather White. Marcus will assist Sitton in leading the firm's litigation practice in Charlotte.

Rich Drake and Lynn Chandler will establish the firm's corporate law practice in Charlotte. The duo will join Smith Moore from Morris Manning & Martin. Drake practice centers on general business and real estate development, and Chandler focuses on tax law, wealth transfer, succession planning, and estate planning issues. Joining them will be Janice Davies and Tanya Oesterreich. The total number of attorneys in Charlotte will be eight.

The firm was planning to open a Charlotte office for some time, said managing partner Steve Earp. The firm got motivated to expand in the area owing to the region's emergence as the most dynamic business centers in the country and also in view of the growing scope of its practice areas. The firm's clientele in Charlotte and western North Carolina was the other factor.

03-07-2007

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Ken Mehlman rejoins Akin Gump

Ken Mehlman, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, rejoined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. In the firm, Mehlman will focus his practice on legislative, regulatory, corporate, and public relations matters. Earlier, Mehlman joined Akin Gump in 1991 as an associate and left the firm to pursue a career in politics. He also served as campaign manager for George Bush and Dick Cheney as they won a second term. The 900-lawyer Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is among the top law firm's in the world.

After serving in the capacity of the 62nd chair of the Republican National Committee, Mehlman said that he is looking forward to working with some of the "world's best lawyers and advisors to develop some of the most creative and effective solutions to solve problems at the nexus of business and public policy."

03-07-2007

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Proskauer partners PALS to help minority students

International law firm Proskauer Rose LLP teamed up with Practicing Attorneys for Law Students (PALS) to help with its Campaign to mentor minority law students and early-career attorneys. The campaign by PALS is a tactical initiative by the 22-year-old organization to mentor minority law students and young attorneys in the New York City metropolitan area.

The law firm committed the first leadership gift to Campaign for PALS. This partnership will boost PALS administrative capacity as well as improve its visibility through branding and marketing outreach. PALS fundraising capacity will also increase from the coalition. All this will help boost the organization's ability to provide minority law students and attorneys with help to develop their talent. Janice K. Smith, partner in Proskauer's Corporate Department and Vice Chair of PALS' Board of Directors, said the firm's decision to join the campaign was to "address the professional development needs of aspiring minority attorneys."

PALS' Board of Directors Chair and intellectual property attorney at Colgate-Palmolive Company, Amanda C. Samuel said that PALS is focused on "giving students and young lawyers the practical information they need to succeed." The campaign will bring together attorneys from top New York law firms and students from 13 area schools. PALS hopes to expand its Campaign for PALS through other similar events geared toward associates and women in law firms. Established in 1875, Proskauer Rose has more than 700 lawyers who provide a wide variety of legal services to its client's world over.

03-06-2007

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Schwebel Goetz adopts BigHand3 technology

Minnesota-based personal injury law firm, Schwebel Goetz & Sieben implemented BigHand3 Digital Dictation workflow technology in the law firm. The firm realized that the software, designed specifically for law firms, will help improve client servicing through improved response time. BigHand software is exclusively supplied and implemented by Loffler Companies Inc. across Minnesota. The BigHand system allows attorneys to send dictated case notes instantly to their assistants, even if they are not in office. It creates a 'virtual team' across the firm which ensures documents reach prospective clients as fast as possible. The system also allows attorneys to email dictation to assistants thereby speeding up the drafting and production process. Additionally, it will also help the firm save on its service calls and tape costs.

Describing the critical importance of the technology to the firm, Denise Lieske, Schwebel Goetz & Sieben Controller said, the need to respond fast in situations such as to newly published medical records and reports. BigHand is the leading digital dictation vendor in the global legal sector operating from three locations, Chicago, London, and Sydney and maintains legal installations for large law firms.

03-06-2007

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Sutherland's Atlanta attorneys get a raise

March means bonanza time for Sutherland Asbill's Atlanta attorneys. They raised salaries for their associates, everywhere. The Atlanta office towed the line at the end. This is the latest Atlanta firm to raise starting associate pay from $115,000 to $130,000. Sutherland has about 120 associates in Atlanta.

In January, the firm raised salaries to meet the new minimum of $115,000 for new recruits. However, the firm has "not yet finalized" whether the Atlanta pay raise will be by $15,000 across the board. Sutherland's managing partner Mark D. Wasserman is hopeful the pay raise will "float pretty much through all the classes."

Effective March 1, the firm in its New York office raised starting pay to $160,000 while in Washington it is $145,000, and in Houston office it remains at $135,000. The firm is raising starting pay firmwide for its patent attorneys, whose salaries often run up to $160,000. With this move, Sutherland joins few other big Atlanta firms such as Troutman Sanders, Alston & Bird, and King & Spalding that have raised starting pay to $130,000.

Jones Day and DLA Piper already increased starting pay for Atlanta associates to $135,000, and last week Hunton & Williams bumped its starting pay to $145,000. In what seems like a wait and see situation, Wasserman wants the firm to compensate its lawyers at the market rate, and not just join others blindly.

03-05-2007

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