Small Law


  • Tax Firm Must Disclose Case Info In Malpractice Suit

    A tax firm being sued for malpractice and unfair trade practices by former clients can't hide behind a state bar association rule to avoid producing discovery documents it claims are privileged, a Wisconsin federal court ruled Thursday.

  • Pa. Enviro Hearing Board Can Sanction Atty, Court Affirms

    Pennsylvania's Environmental Hearing Board was within its power to issue its first-ever sanctions against an attorney for trying to delay an appeal with false claims that the state Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were looking to talk to Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. over her case, a state appellate court ruled Thursday.

  • history_header.jpg

    Meet Attys In Malpractice Case Over Chicken Plant Pollution

    Attorneys for two firms and parents who say their child's "catastrophic injuries" were caused by contamination from a chicken plant are set to soon appear before Delaware's Supreme Court to determine whether the parents' malpractice claims will be revived.

  • Ex-Connecticut Town Officials Appeal Toss Of Defamation Claims

     A group of former officials from Newington, Connecticut, including its onetime town attorney, have appealed a state judge's decision to throw out all of their claims against the town and nearly all against tax assessors they had accused of defaming them with a false ethics complaint.

  • Courtney Rockett.png

    Sterlington Boosts Aviation Group With Ex-Mintz Member

    Sterlington PLLC has added a first-chair litigator in commercial, partnership, private aviation and intellectual property disputes from Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC as a partner in New York.

  • richard-marshack.png

    CFPB Subpoenas Trustee In Debt Relief Firm Bankruptcy Case

    The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has served a subpoena on the Chapter 11 trustee in charge of collapsed California debt relief law firm Litigation Practice Group's bankruptcy estate, the trustee's law firm said in a recent court filing.

  • Conn. Trial Firm's Dissolution Is In Disarray, CEO Tells Judge

    The windup of Connecticut Trial Firm LLC is "in complete controversy" and must be submitted to arbitration, CEO Ryan C. McKeen has told a state Superior Court judge, saying his onetime 50-50 partner, Andrew P. Garza, committed "self-dealing, waste and abuse" to benefit his new firm, Claggett Sykes & Garza LLC.

  • Girardi Pushes For New Trial Over Competency Claims

    Counsel for Tom Girardi told a federal judge the disbarred attorney is plainly mentally incompetent and deserves a new trial over charges he defrauded clients of $15 million worth of settlement money.

  • 3 Law Firms Can't Dodge TCPA Suit Over Camp Lejeune Claims

    A trio of law firms accused of calling a veteran dozens of times promising they could represent him in claims over toxic drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, despite his never having been stationed there, cannot evade the former soldier's lawsuit, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Tuesday.

  • joseph-d-lento.jpg

    Philly Atty, 'Danger To The Public,' Earns 5-Year Suspension

    Office mismanagement, blatant disregard for clients' needs and a lack of remorse for the consequences of his self-described "pragmatic" approach to the law compelled the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to slap a five-year suspension on a Philadelphia attorney who is described by the court's Disciplinary Board as a "danger to the public and to the integrity of the legal profession."

  • cravath-nameplate.jpg

    Cravath Matches Milbank On 2024 Associate Bonuses

    Longtime legal compensation leader Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP has reportedly announced year-end and special bonuses for its associates in line with those offered by peer law firm Milbank LLP over the summer and earlier this month.

  • Personal Injury Atty Buzbee Accused Of Assault, Malpractice

    Tony Buzbee, a high-profile Texas personal injury lawyer known for representing women who have accused Sean "Diddy" Combs and Deshaun Watson of sexual abuse, was hit with a legal malpractice suit in New York state court Tuesday alleging that he assaulted a client seeking a divorce and deprived her of millions of dollars in settlement funds. 

  • Conn. Firm CEO's Wife Dropped From Ex-Partner's Suit

    Connecticut lawyer Andrew P. Garza on Tuesday dropped attorney Allison M. McKeen, the wife of his former 50-50 law firm partner Ryan C. McKeen, from a lawsuit surrounding the breakup of Connecticut Trial Firm LLC, a high-dollar firm where all three once worked together.

  • Lying Lawyer Gets 2-Year Suspension From Ga. Justices

    The Supreme Court of Georgia hit a repeat offender attorney with a two-year suspension Tuesday for lying to the state bar, opposing counsel and his clients, at times costing those he was representing even more money in sanctions and fees after losing their cases.

  • iStock-1165760292.jpg

    Law Firms Set To Close Out 2024 With Near-Record Billing

    Amid high demand, billing rates at U.S. law firms were up 9% during the first nine months of 2024 compared to this time last year, revealing the industry is on track to see strong year-end financial results, according to survey results released Tuesday by Wells Fargo Private Bank.

  • iStock-1350597229.jpg

    Colo. Atty Suspended Over Online Comments About Ex-Client

    A Colorado attorney with a growing disciplinary history has been handed an 18-month suspension over misconduct in dealing with a client-turned-adversary, with the state's presiding disciplinary judge finding the lawyer knowingly misrepresented service against the ex-client, spoke to her directly about the case and posted case information publicly online.

  • Law Firm Wants Out Of Ex-Paralegal's OT, Disability Suit

    An Allentown, Pennsylvania, law firm is asking a federal judge to dismiss a former paralegal's claim that the firm fired her due to her panic disorder, arguing that among other things, the paralegal failed to prove she has a legitimate disability recognized by law.

  • Sexual_Misconduct_Diddy_94249.jpg

    Diddy Accusers' Atty Buzbee Accused Of Extorting Celebs

    An anonymous public figure lodged a suit in Los Angeles court Monday accusing personal injury lawyer Tony Buzbee of using false rape allegations to "shake down innocent celebrities, politicians and businesspeople" who have even the smallest ties to indicted hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.

  • iStock-1371706002.jpg

    In-House Female Attys Say They Prefer Work Culture, Balance

    In a first-of-its-kind survey by the National Association of Women Lawyers, in-house female attorneys report finding their work-life balance, work substance and workplace culture superior to that of law firms.

  • LA Atty Again Accused Of Bilking Inmates With False Hope

    A Los Angeles attorney accused of raking in thousands of dollars by giving inmates and their families intentionally misleading information about their chances for resentencing after convictions for violent crimes has been hit with more charges by the State Bar of California, this time an 18-count disciplinary notice that follows an earlier 18-count notice filed in August.

  • iStock-1497881503.jpg

    Why AI May Be The Secret Weapon For Starting A Law Firm

    The secret ingredient to opening a solo practice or small firm might be artificial intelligence, Chris Stock, a vice president at legal tech company Clio, said at the New York City Bar's Small Law Symposium last week.

  • NJ Justices To Consider Sanctions Against Town For Suing Attys

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has decided to weigh in on whether state law provides municipalities with immunity from sanctions for frivolous litigation, as it takes up a long-running affordable housing case in Englewood Cliffs.

  • iStock-1271192514.jpg

    Where Women Are And Are Not Getting Ahead In Law

    Women now make up the majority of law school graduates, law firm associates and lawyers in the federal government and will likely soon make up the majority of law school faculty, according to a report from the American Bar Association out Monday, however the proportion of women in certain positions of power within the profession continues to lag.

  • Calif. Bar Asks State High Court To Wipe Some Discipline Files

    Amid an effort to reform attorney regulation, the trustees of California's state bar have asked the state high court to approve a proposed rule change that would expunge older discipline files that don't involve disbarment. 

  • iStock-932559514.jpg

    Law Firms Dip Toes Into Agentic AI Following Gen AI Push

    Just as law firms were getting comfortable with generative artificial intelligence, a more advanced technology known as agentic AI is poised to become commonplace among lawyers.

Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Small Law archive.

Expert Analysis

  • How Generative AI's Growing Memory Affects Lawyers Author Photo

    A new ChatGPT feature that can remember user information across different conversations has broad implications for attorneys, whose most pressing questions for the AI tool are usually based on specific, and large, datasets, says legal tech adviser Eric Wall.

  • A Model For Optimal Legal Tech Investment Strategy Author Photo

    Legal organizations struggling to work out the right technology investment strategy may benefit from using a matrix for legal department efficiency that is based on an understanding of where workloads belong, according to the basic functions and priorities of a corporate legal team, says Sylvain Magdinier at Integreon.

  • Series

    My Nonpracticing Law Job: Recruiter Author Photo

    Self-proclaimed "Lawyer Doula" Danielle Thompson at Major Lindsey shares how she went from Columbia Law School graduate and BigLaw employment associate to a career in legal recruiting — and discovered a passion for advocacy along the way.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Do I Balance Social Activism With My Job? Author Photo

    Corporate attorneys pursuing social justice causes outside of work should consider eight guidelines for finding equilibrium between their beliefs and their professional duties and reputation, say Diedrick Graham, Debra Friedman and Simeon Brier at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Personality Tests And Machine Learning Applications In Law Author Photo

    Mateusz Kulesza at McDonnell Boehnen looks at potential applications of personality testing based on machine learning techniques for law firms, and the implications this shift could have for lawyers, firms and judges, including how it could make the work of judges and other legal decision-makers much more difficult.

  • AI Is Reshaping Lawyering: What To Expect In 2024 Author Photo

    The future of lawyering is not about the wholesale replacement of attorneys by artificial intelligence, but as AI handles more of the routine legal work, the role of lawyers will evolve to be more strategic, requiring the development of competencies beyond traditional legal skills, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Embrace Active Voice In Legal Writing — In Most Cases Author Photo

    Legal writers should strive to craft sentences in the active voice to promote brevity and avoid ambiguities that can spark litigation, but writing in the passive voice is sometimes appropriate — when it's a moral choice and not a grammatical failure, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Help Associates Turn Down Work? Author Photo

    Marina Portnova at Lowenstein Sandler discusses what partners can do to aid their associates in setting work-life boundaries, especially around after-hours assignment availability.

  • How AI Legal Research Tools Are Shifting Law Firm Processes Author Photo

    Although artificial intelligence-powered legal research is ushering in a new era of legal practice that augments human expertise with data-driven insights, it is not without challenges involving privacy, ethics and more, so legal professionals should take steps to ensure AI becomes a reliable partner rather than a source of disruption, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Data Source Proliferation Is A Growing E-Discovery Challenge Author Photo

    With the increased usage of collaboration apps and generative artificial intelligence solutions, it's not only important for e-discovery teams to be able to account for hundreds of existing data types today, but they should also be able to add support for new data types quickly — even on the fly if needed, says Oliver Silva at Casepoint.

  • Bracing For A Generative AI Revolution In Law Author Photo

    With many legal professionals starting to explore practical uses of generative artificial intelligence in areas such as research, discovery and legal document development, the fundamental principle of human oversight cannot be underscored enough for it to be successful, say Ty Dedmon at Bradley Arant and Paige Hunt at Lighthouse.

  • Why I Use ChatGPT To Tell Me Things I Already Know Author Photo

    The legal profession is among the most hesitant to adopt ChatGPT because of its proclivity to provide false information as if it were true, but in a wide variety of situations, lawyers can still be aided by information that is only in the right ballpark, says Robert Plotkin at Blueshift IP.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Use Social Media Responsibly? Author Photo

    Leah Kelman at Herrick Feinstein discusses the importance of reasoned judgment and thoughtful process when it comes to newly admitted attorneys' social media use.

  • Yada, Yada, Yada: The Magic Of 3 In Legal Writing Author Photo

    Attorneys should take a cue from U.S. Supreme Court justices and boil their arguments down to three points in their legal briefs and oral advocacy, as the number three is significant in the way we process information, says Diana Simon at University of Arizona.

  • How Firms Can Stop Playing Whack-A-Mole With Data Security Author Photo

    In order to achieve a robust client data protection posture, law firms should focus on adopting a risk-based approach to security, which can be done by assessing gaps, using that data to gain leadership buy-in for the needed changes, and adopting a dynamic and layered approach, says John Smith at Conversant Group.

×

Law360

Law360 Law360 UK Law360 Tax Authority Law360 Employment Authority Law360 Insurance Authority Law360 Real Estate Authority Law360 Healthcare Authority Law360 Bankruptcy Authority

Rankings

NEWLeaderboard Analytics Social Impact Leaders Prestige Leaders Pulse Leaderboard Women in Law Report Law360 400 Diversity Snapshot Rising Stars Summer Associates

National Sections

Modern Lawyer Courts Daily Litigation In-House Mid-Law Legal Tech Small Law Insights

Regional Sections

California Pulse Connecticut Pulse DC Pulse Delaware Pulse Florida Pulse Georgia Pulse New Jersey Pulse New York Pulse Pennsylvania Pulse Texas Pulse

Site Menu

Subscribe Advanced Search About Contact