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A Florida man serving time for investment fraud is arguing that the assistant U.S. attorneys on his case were not properly authorized to prosecute him, but the lawsuit could prove challenging as it gets to the heart of what allows federal prosecutors to do their jobs.
Law firm partners are busy. Even as some flexibility has emerged for other lawyers in law firms, those who have taken on the partner role often have a heavy workload. Here, five busy partners on their strategies for balancing work and everything else in their lives.
Florida will adopt a new bar exam test component, known as the NextGen Bar Exam, from the National Conference of Bar Examiners beginning July 2028, the state's board of bar examiners announced Thursday.
Federal judges may be running afoul of ethics rules in boycotting law clerks from certain schools over political activity related to the Israel-Hamas war, a move that could erode confidence in the courts, exacerbate inequities in the clerk-hiring process, and ripple out to law firms and their clients, experts say.
Reed Smith LLP announced Thursday that it has promoted an information technology pro who has been with the firm for more than two decades to be its chief information officer.
Suspended Florida prosecutor Andrew Warren should not be allowed to "rush" the Eleventh Circuit's consideration of the prosecutor's case, which could have "sweeping implications" for Florida's government, Gov. Ron DeSantis told the appellate court Thursday.
Balch & Bingham LLP has hired a corporate partner in Jacksonville, Florida, who joins with a wealth of experience in complex commercial contracting, and familiarity helping clients navigate a suite of transactional matters, the firm announced Wednesday.
Special Counsel Jack Smith told a Florida federal court Wednesday that he was challenging U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's order earlier this week tossing the classified documents criminal case against Donald Trump, according to a notice of appeal.
A Florida federal judge has granted YouTube more than $92,000 in legal costs after the company defeated copyright claims by a movie producer who said the platform failed to remove all videos from his large collection of Mexican and Latin American films.
Labor and employment law firm Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC announced Wednesday that it has added a partner in Miami with decades of experience who joined from Fox Rothschild LLP.
Diaz Reus LLP picked up a new partner for its Miami headquarters who handles complex commercial litigation, class action defense and securities and fraud litigation from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP.
With the deals market showing signs of recovery, law firms are once again actively hunting top corporate lawyers, especially those skilled in mergers and acquisitions and private equity, as they seek to get ahead of the anticipated uptick in transactional activity.
When U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Florida over what she said was an unconstitutional appointment of a special prosecutor, she staked out a position that few other jurists have taken, but that could find support among some appellate judges, experts said.
Jackson Lewis PC has brought aboard a new chief technology officer with decades of law firm-focused information technology and management experience, who most recently held the role of chief digital officer for professional services firm Citrin Cooperman.
Florida's Shutts & Bowen LLP has tapped a pair of its partners to serve at the helm of its intellectual property practice group, the firm announced Tuesday.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP's Miami litigation practice group leader, who describes himself as "fanatically passionate" about trial work, has hopped over to Sidley Austin LLP as a partner in the firm's commercial litigation and disputes practice.
Law firms' ongoing initiatives to address diversity challenges have driven another year of progress, with the representation of minority attorneys continuing to improve across the board, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. Here's our data dive into minority representation at law firms in 2023.
Attorneys of color now represent 27.6% of nonpartners at law firms, a new high-water mark for the industry. But progress has lagged higher up. Here's a more detailed look at the representation of minority attorneys at the associate and partner levels.
Data from Law360 Pulse's law firm survey reveals that while firms are continuing to diversify their attorney ranks, progress has slowed. Just 15.6% of firms top the benchmarks for the 2024 Diversity Snapshot ranking — a lower percentage than last year. Here’s the latest look at how diversity in law firms' headcounts compares with what it could be based on the potential marketplace of new hires.
Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.
Have initiatives and programs to address work-life balance reached the equity partnership, or is it still the exception in the legal industry?
Many lawyers of color say they are included in their law firm's client pitches but are not assigned to the resulting work, pointing to some firms' "window dressing" approach to diversity and inclusion, according to a report reviewed by Law360 Pulse that will be released publicly on Tuesday.
U.S. law firms have been working to reduce the amount of office space allocated per attorney. Despite these efforts, a recent report by the real estate services company Savills Inc. found that the average square footage per attorney still remains higher than the occupancy ratios most firms aim for.
The Eleventh Circuit found Monday a bankruptcy court didn't abuse its discretion when it awarded attorney fees to Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLP, Fox Rothschild and a firm that merged with Venable for representing the Chapter 7 trustee in a nursing home operator's insolvency.
Merger talks between Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP and Locke Lord LLP are progressing, with the deal on track for a late summer partner vote and a hoped-for year-end closure, according to sources close to the deal who spoke to Law360 Pulse on the condition of anonymity.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Turn Deferral To My Advantage?Diana Leiden at Winston & Strawn discusses how first-year associates whose law firm start dates have been deferred can use the downtime to hone their skills, help their communities, and focus on returning to BigLaw with valuable contacts and out-of-the-box insights.
Female attorneys and others who pause their careers for a few years will find that gaps in work history are increasingly acceptable among legal employers, meaning with some networking, retraining and a few other strategies, lawyers can successfully reenter the workforce, says Jill Backer at Ave Maria School of Law.
ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools pose significant risks to the integrity of legal work, but the key for law firms is not to ban these tools, but to implement them responsibly and with appropriate safeguards, say Natalie Pierce and Stephanie Goutos at Gunderson Dettmer.
Opinion
We Must Continue DEI Efforts Despite High Court HeadwindsThough the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down affirmative action in higher education, law firms and their clients must keep up the legal industry’s recent momentum advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the profession in order to help achieve a just and prosperous society for all, says Angela Winfield at the Law School Admission Council.
Law firms that fail to consider their attorneys' online habits away from work are not using their best efforts to protect client information and are simplifying the job of plaintiffs attorneys in the case of a breach, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy and Protection.
Though effective writing is foundational to law, no state requires attorneys to take continuing legal education in this skill — something that must change if today's attorneys are to have the communication abilities they need to fulfill their professional and ethical duties to their clients, colleagues and courts, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona.
In the most stressful times for attorneys, when several transactions for different partners and clients peak at the same time and the phone won’t stop buzzing, incremental lifestyle changes can truly make a difference, says Lindsey Hughes at Haynes Boone.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Support Gen Z Attorneys?Meredith Beuchaw at Lowenstein Sandler discusses how senior attorneys can assist the newest generation of attorneys by championing their pursuit of a healthy work-life balance and providing the hands-on mentorship opportunities they missed out on during the pandemic.
A recent data leak at Proskauer via a cloud data storage platform demonstrates key reasons why law firms must pay attention to data safeguarding, including the increasing frequency of cloud-based data breaches and the consequences of breaking client confidentiality, says Robert Kraczek at One Identity.
There are a few communication tips that law students in summer associate programs should consider to put themselves in the best possible position to receive an offer, and firms can also take steps to support those to whom they are unable to make an offer, says Amy Mattock at Georgetown University Law Center.
Many attorneys are going to use artificial intelligence tools whether law firms like it or not, so firms should educate them on AI's benefits, limits and practical uses, such as drafting legal documents, to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving legal market, say Thomas Schultz and Eden Bernstein at Kellogg Hansen.
Dealing with the pressures associated with law school can prove difficult for many future lawyers, but there are steps students can take to manage stress — and schools can help too, say Ryan Zajic and Dr. Janani Krishnaswami at UWorld.
Amid ongoing disagreements on whether states should mandate implicit bias training as part of attorneys' continuing legal education requirements, Stephanie Wilson at Reed Smith looks at how unconscious attitudes or stereotypes adversely affect legal practice, and whether mandatory training programs can help.
To become more effective advocates, lawyers need to rethink the ridiculous, convoluted language they use in correspondence and write letters in a clear, concise and direct manner, says legal writing instructor Stuart Teicher.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Negotiate My Separation Agreement?Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey discusses how a law firm associate can navigate being laid off, what to look for in a separation agreement and why to be upfront about it with prospective employers.