You can't get away from the the legal market is beginning to slow quite dramatically. Especially hard hit have been paralegals and attorneys working in the securities, finance and real estate sectors. Not to mention what's happening out here in Los Angeles with the continuing Writers Guild strike. Companies and law firms have begun layoffs of attorneys and paralegals and despite the roar of the...
With the doom and gloom news about slow growth and possible recession swirling around us, there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Wait! It's not a train coming at us. It's actually good news. According to a press release from Robert Half issued today, The hiring of paralegals is expected to remain steady as law offices continue to build teams to handle...
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Or, maybe it's happened and we just don't know about it. A dispute between Sullivan & Cromwell and e-discovery vendor, Electronic Evidence Discovery (EED) has escalated into all out war as S&C files a suit in state supreme court in Manhattan while EED countersues in Seattle. The original suit filed by S&C alleges that EED which...
It’s not unusual for a firm to use tough tactics when litigating a case. But tough tactics cost Patricia Dillman, (a litigation support manager who came up through the ranks as a paralegal) her job. This story seems to be everywhere. After working under three bosses in less than a year, Dillman, the director of Holland & Knight’s litigation support group, decided to look for a fresh...
If you have ever spent more than 3 hours waiting on a tarmac, trapped in a huge metal contraption with screaming babies, no food, overflowing toilets and stale air, you will definitely view the Airlines as the Monster of the Century. Unbelievably, an airline industry trade group has filed a notice of appeal in its challenge to New York state's new law requiring better treatment of...
A boutique business law firm for life sciences companies is luring clients with a lower-rate structure that relies on nonlawyer contract experts for template contract work. Waltham, Mass.-based Faber Daeufer & Rosenberg has attracted more than 200 clients since its October 2003 launch. According to an article from law.com, the firm began with two lawyers from Cambridge, Mass.-based drug maker...
The toy recalls coming out of China apparently have more consequences than U.S. citizens seem to realize. According to an article written in YaleGlobal online, not often noted in the uproar was that the toys shipped from China are mostly made by Hong Kong firms using cheap labor in China. Their factories in China make toys for big brand-name companies such as Mattel and Disney based on...
A brand new term, secondments, the transfer of employees from one organization to another on a temporary basis has sprung up in the corporate world. The reality is, this lending of employees from law firms to in-house legal departments is not anything that's brand new. It's been going on for years. However, recently, secondments are gaining popularity with U.S. firms, as described in...
Sometimes it's just the small things that matter. When workdays stretch into worknights and the pressure to meet the quota for billable hours grows, lawyers and paralegals at the firm of Perkins Coie can often expect a little bonus. The firm actually has a "Happiness Committee" that surprises lawyers and staff members with lifestyle perks to keep morale up and takes the pressure...
Law firms may be more in dire need of a Chief De-Stress Officer but Nixon Peabody announced that it has appointed its first Chief Sustainability Officer. This week the firm appointed Carolyn S. Kaplan, an attorney in Nixon Peabody's energy and environmental practice, to the new role of Chief Sustainability Officer. The law firm says Kaplan is the first attorney to hold this position in the...