Modern Lawyer


  • California Senate Confirms New State Bar Director

    The California State Senate confirmed longtime statewide courts administrator Laura Enderton-Speed as the state bar's new executive director Thursday, clearing the way for her to take on the unenviable task of rebuilding trust in an organization whose controversies culminated with the botched administration of last year's February bar exam.

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    Ex-K&L Gates Litigator Rejoins Colleagues At Blank Rome

    A former K&L Gates LLP attorney who focuses on advising clients on construction and infrastructure matters has moved his practice recently to Blank Rome LLP's Pittsburgh office and reunited with colleagues who left his previous firm two months ago.

  • K&L Gates To Part Ways With Singapore Law Firm

    K&L Gates LLP plans to separate from the Singapore law firm it combined with in 2019, while maintaining a presence in the city state, the firm announced on Friday.

  • Beltway Moves: DOJ, Cooley, Fenwick

    The U.S. Department of Justice official leading the Trump administration's bid to revive executive orders targeting law firms recently announced his impending departure from the agency in one of the latest major moves in the Washington, D.C., legal world.

  • Colorado Passes Bill Banning Fee Sharing With Nonlawyers

    The Colorado Legislature has approved a bill to bar attorneys and law firms operating in the state from sharing fees and revenue with non-attorney-owned firms, known as alternative business structure firms, making Colorado the latest state to tamp down the practice.

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    Latham Hires Ropes & Gray Practice Lead, DOJ Alum

    Latham & Watkins LLP announced that it has hired the former co-chair of Ropes & Gray LLP's global anti-corruption and international risk practice, touting the former federal prosecutor's experience helping clients with crisis management.

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    Kilpatrick Lands Calif. Patent Litigation Duo From Reed Smith

    Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP has expanded its patent litigation team in San Francisco with the addition of two partners from Reed Smith LLP.

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    Jenner & Block Hires 24-Year FCC Leader For Its DC Team

    Jenner & Block LLP has hired a former U.S. Federal Communications Commission leader who spent more than 24 years with the agency and most recently helped supervise investigations into unauthorized satellite operations, 911 outages and more, the firm announced this week.

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    Littler Names First-Ever Wellness Director

    Littler Mendelson PC has created a new role for one of its employment and labor law shareholders to develop and implement programs that support the mental, physical and emotional health of all firm employees.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry marked mid-May with another busy week as BigLaw firms expanded their practices and presence across the country. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    Insider Trading Case Shows BigLaw Associate Vetting Gaps

    A BigLaw attorney who was able to move through three major firms while allegedly orchestrating a massive insider trading scheme may have been aided by relatively loose hiring practices for associates that firms may consider strengthening moving forward, recruiting experts told Law360.

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    DOJ Asserts Broad Power In BigLaw Executive Order Appeal

    A Trump administration attorney told the D.C. Circuit on Thursday that the courts have no authority to review the president's decision to revoke someone's security clearance for any reason, including race, religion, or even refusal to pay a $1 million bribe.

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    Ballard Spahr Chair Elected To Second Term

    Peter V. Michaud has been elected to a second three-year term as chair of Ballard Spahr LLP and will steer the firm through the end of 2029, Law360 Pulse has learned.

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    Former New Jersey Enviro Chief Joins Greenberg Traurig

    The former leader of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has joined Greenberg Traurig LLP in its Garden State office, the firm announced Thursday.

  • Buchanan Ingersoll To Launch AI Platform With Tech Firm

    Pittsburgh-based Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC is teaming up with technology consulting firm HIKE2 to market its in-house artificial intelligence platform for other law firms and legal departments.

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    Fenwick Hit With FTX Suit In DC Over $525M Losses

    A group of former FTX customers has sued Fenwick & West LLP in federal court in Washington over its work representing FTX from 2018 to 2022, seeking to recover more than $525 million for losses stemming from the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse.

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    Del. Chancery Aims To Boost Atty Civility With New Guidelines

    Delaware Chancery's Court has published guidelines aimed at promoting civility among attorneys who litigate there, after some on the bench in recent years have raised concerns that problematic "rhetoric" and vexatious behavior are creeping into legal proceedings.

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    Office Snapshot: Quinn Emanuel Makes Room For Del. Growth

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP is moving into bigger, upgraded space in the same building it has been in since it launched its Delaware office in early 2024.

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    Meta's Legal Ops Chief Predicts Decline Of Billable Hour

    Meta's global head of legal operations predicts that the billable hour will be the exception, not the rule, in five years, telling a packed room of legal ops professionals at an annual conference this week that he is already asking law firms for fixed-fee agreements for their work.

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    Seward & Kissel Adds Milbank Lawyer To Lead Credit Team

    A former Milbank LLP attorney has joined Seward & Kissel LLP in New York as head of the firm's structured credit practice.

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    Blank Rome Adds Husch Blackwell's Dallas Leader

    Blank Rome LLP has added a former Husch Blackwell LLP lawyer to its finance, restructuring and bankruptcy practice in Dallas as the firm continues to strengthen its investment in the north Texas market.

  • Arbitrators See Global Stakes In Trump BigLaw EO Fight

    Ahead of a D.C. Circuit hearing on Thursday in the Trump administration's effort to revive executive orders imposed against four BigLaw firms, an official at the College of Commercial Arbitrators told Law360 this week there are several things arbitrators are going to be watching for.

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    Meet The Judges Hearing Trump Appeal On BigLaw EOs

    When lawyers present arguments before the D.C. Circuit on Thursday over the Trump administration's 2025 executive orders targeting four law firms, they will be heard by a three-judge panel made up of two judges appointed by former President Barack Obama and one by President Donald Trump.

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    McGuireWoods Public Finance Atty Rejoins Hunton In Atlanta

    A McGuireWoods LLP partner has returned to Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP in the firm's Atlanta office, strengthening its financing expertise, the firm announced on Wednesday. 

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    Dentons Hires Europe Head Of Legal Tech Enablement

    Ana Burbano, a legal operations and technology expert, announced on Wednesday that she has been hired as head of legal tech enablement for the European region at global law firm Dentons.

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Expert Analysis

  • Ask A Mentor: How Do I Help After Mental Health Leave? Author Photo

    Molly Ranns at the State Bar of Michigan suggests five ways to smooth a colleague's return to practice after short-term mental health leave, while creating a firm culture that protects employees’ emotional health.

  • Tips For Attracting Stellar CLOs In A Competitive Landscape Author Photo

    Amid a rapidly changing regulatory environment and a fierce market for talent, companies hoping to attract the best chief legal officers must have a strong grasp of their roles’ biggest selling points, and any roadblocks that may prevent them from recruiting the strongest choice, says Heather Fine at Major Lindsey.

  • 'Golden Handcuffs' May Be A Double-Edge Sword For Firms Author Photo

    As law firms increasingly use certain financial incentives to retain partners in a fierce lateral market, managing partners should consider the pros and cons of various deferred compensation schemes, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • The 10-Min. Rule For Building A Business Development Habit Author Photo

    Many lawyers assume that becoming a rainmaker requires a significant investment of time and effort, but the truth is that building a consistent habit of business development can start with just 10 minutes of strategic outreach a day, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 5 Pointers For Firm Leaders Communicating Tough Decisions Author Photo

    Certain law firm decisions — such as whether to challenge an executive order — cannot be crowdsourced, but leadership can collaboratively communicate these choices using strategies that build trust, reinforce values and preserve cohesion, says John Hellerman at Hellerman Communications.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Create A Succession Plan Author Photo

    ​​​​​​​Conversations around retirement and succession can be understandably difficult, but when attorneys make a plan for the transition early and effectively, they have the opportunity to not only keep work but also increase it, says Jillian McKenna at Verrill Dana.

  • Looking Under The Hood Of The $3,000 Billable Hour Author Photo

    In recent years, top-tier law firms have pushed hourly rates to unprecedented heights, with some partners commanding $3,000 per hour — but this eye-popping number doesn’t tell the full story, as there are numerous caveats and rigorous winnowing along the way, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • How Law Firms Can Keep Nonequity Partners Happy Author Photo

    Law firms that successfully manage two-tiered partnership do so by creating a culture that treats everyone with respect and by establishing financial incentives outside their base compensation to reward performance, says Carol Morganstern at Major Lindsey.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Leverage Your Atty Bio Author Photo

    If maintained properly, your firm bio can help attract potential clients and create authentic connections, so it's crucial to take steps to write an updated attorney profile that goes beyond a list of credentials, says Raychel Lean at Reputation Ink.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Can I Promote Thoughtful Use Of AI? Author Photo

    Eran Kahana at Maslon discusses how partners can encourage responsible use of artificial intelligence tools within their firms by learning to spot pitfalls common to AI-generated work product and championing firmwide procedures and trainings that address the risks of uncritically relying on this powerful but imperfect technology.

  • Making Legal Cents: Firm Culture Is The New Game Plan Author Photo

    Law firm culture is often dismissed as a soft factor — merely platitudes on a website that seem disconnected from the bottom line — but by intentionally embedding a strong culture into day-to-day operations, law firms can achieve sustainable success, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • 5 Questions Firms Must Ask For Successful Lateral Integration Author Photo

    To ensure that lateral partners effectively integrate their books of business, firms should design a structured transition plan based on a few fundamentals, from tracking the right data to implementing meaningful incentives, says Lana Manganiello at Practice Growth Partner.

  • Goldilocks Solution: Why The 4-Day Office Week Is Just Right Author Photo

    As law firms continue to wrestle with return-to-office policies, many are being pulled toward one or the other of two extremes: the rigidity of a five-day in-office schedule and the laissez-faire approach of a flexible three-day hybrid model — but a four-day in-office workweek may be the sweet spot, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • As Attys Adopt Generative AI, 3 Elements Should Be Cardinal Author Photo

    As the legal world increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence, lawyers and firms must develop and utilize strong prompting skills, keep a pulse on forthcoming tech evolutions, and remain steadfast to ethical obligations, say Michele Carney at Carney & Marchi and Marty Robles-Avila at BAL.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises Author Photo

    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

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