Law.com's weekly US Briefing brings you the pick of this week’s news, analysis and comment from the States
Court dismisses recruiter's lawsuit against Akin Gump
New York Law Journal
A New York judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought against Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld by a recruiter who claimed the firm stiffed him on a partner placement commission. Eric Sivin of Sivin-Tobin Associates claimed he was entitled to a fee because he first introduced the firm to Korea specialist Chang-Joo Kim, who joined the firm as a lateral partner in 2006. The dispute highlighted the difficulties that can arise in a market for lateral partners that can be as competitive for recruiters as for the lawyers they represent.
Son of Sonsini quits Wilson firm
The Recorder
The scion of Silicon Valley's best-known lawyer is leaving his father's firm. Matthew Sonsini - often speculated to be an heir apparent at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati - is joining Valley real estate giant the Sobrato Organization as executive vice president. A partner for seven years at the firm his father, Larry Sonsini, built from scratch, the younger Sonsini now joins a company founded by his billionaire father-in-law, John Sobrato. But the move might not be the end of his Wilson career - Sonsini said he is not resigning from the partnership and may eventually return to the firm.
Proskauer to open in Chicago with former Mayer Brown partners
The National Law Journal
Proskauer Rose is grabbing three attorneys from Mayer Brown to launch its new office in Chicago, opening the doors with a group of litigators in the insurance arena. All the lawyers have focused their work on representing corporate policyholder clients as opposed to insurance companies. Proskauer has been seeking a foothold in the Chicago market since last year, following in the footsteps of other national firms that have set up an outpost in the Midwest's largest city in recent years.
Firms fend off more malpractice actions as failed deals fuel suits
The National Law Journal
Law firms are having mixed success in dismissing a growing number of high-dollar malpractice and fraud claims brought over failed corporate deals. In the past few years, law firms have faced some of the most aggressive and expensive malpractice and fraud lawsuits over their corporate work, with several seeking more than $100m in damages. Among them are Mayer Brown, Clifford Chance and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
Texas plaintiffs firm opens IP office in Silicon Valley
The Recorder
Mark Lanier, the Texas plaintiffs lawyer known for asbestos and Vioxx cases, is ambling into Silicon Valley with a new practice: intellectual property. The Lanier Law Firm announced Monday that it had hired Christopher Banys, an IP litigation associate from an AmLaw 100 firm, Howrey, to open a new office in Palo Alto. Lanier said. As the value of IP cases has increased, plaintiffs firms like Lanier's have jumped into the practice area. Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins, known for its securities lawsuits, started a practice earlier this year.
GC Mid-Atlantic
Many companies are instituting new policies for hiring outside counsel - policies that are making some general counsel squirm and some law firm lawyers shudder. Corporations are mandating that their procurement or purchasing departments become involved in every decision to outsource services - including legal work. Some say this focus on cost-cutting has resulted in a "commoditisation" of legal services that may threaten the trusted relationship between in-house counsel and outside attorneys.
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