“The Current Landscape of Technology Assisted Review”
Date and Time: Thursday, May 30, 2013 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST
Since the issuance of Judge Peck’s Computer Assisted Review Opinion and Order on February 24, 2012, there have been a number of new developments and additional court rulings. As Judge Peck concluded, “what the Bar should take away from this opinion is that computer-assisted review is an available tool and should be seriously considered for use in large-data volume cases where it may save the producing party significant amounts of legal fees in document review. As with keywords or any … Read the rest
20 May 2013 - Interesting piece in today’s
National Law Journal on how law schools are expanding their programs for non-lawyers. They lead with Emory law school which is among nearly 30 law schools that have or soon will offer a master’s degree for non-lawyers, up from just a handful two years ago.
The programs differ slightly in name, structure and cost, but they generally are marketed to working professionals. The programs typically cost about the same as one year of J.D. tuition, with some priced slightly less.
LL.M. programs remain a robust source of growth, but law schools are not … wink, wink, nudge, nudge … not entirely motivated by the …
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14 May 2013 – A federal judge in New York approved a hotly disputed fee for lawyers who negotiated a $217 million settlement with Madoff “feeder funds,” but only after leveling harsh criticism at the firms for trying to obtain excessive markups for low-paid contract attorneys.
In a 43-page opinion issued last week, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon rejected the New York Attorney General’s objection to a $40.7 million fee request from lawyers led by Lowey Dannenberg who obtained the settlement from Ivy Asset Managment on behalf of pension funds that lost money in the Bernie Madoff swindle.
The NYAG argued the fee was excessive because the state …
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“Utilizing Technology for Data Management and Information Readiness – Managing False Claims Act Litigation”
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST
The Lance Armstrong False Claims Act (FCA) suit for violating the terms of his U.S. Postal Service sponsorship agreement is a good example how the FCA can reach far beyond its traditional focus on defective military goods. The False Claims Act has traditionally applied to defense contractors and the U.S. Department of Justice has used the law to attack fraud in healthcare. But today the FCA is expanding its reach into other industries and companies must be able to manage the data and information readiness … Read the rest
25 April 2013 - Interesting story in the Washington Post a few days ago in case you missed it: the law firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner will reimburse non-lawyer staff members who seek to better themselves by pursuing a law degree.
From the article:
For many prospective students, the decision to go to law school means taking on a hefty burden of debt. But not for future attorneys at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, a law firm that specializes in patent and trademark work. Finnegan has a generous reimbursement program that covers 100 percent of staffers’ law school tuition.
To qualify for the reimbursement, employees must work … Read the rest
28 March 2013- Coming hot and heavy after the New York Times piece (click here) on the lawsuit involving DLA Piper and law firm over billing (“churn that bill, baby!”) comes — the comment and analysis! Of course DLA Piper’s immediate reaction was this is all just an “offensive attempt at humor”, issuing a memo to the entire firm and hastily arranging client conference calls (click here).
Our favorite is the piece by D. Casey Flaherty, corporate counsel, Kia Motors America, who has written numerous posts about the law firm over billing issue. In a piece today in Law Technology News … calling the … Read the rest
26 March 2013- Ah, The Law Factory. A few weeks ago we had a U.S. District Court ordering a law firm to hand over information about contract attorneys it employed with respect to a lawsuit where the legal fees were deemed “excessive” (click here).
In today’s New York Times another doozy. The Times has a background story on the lawsuit involving DLA Piper and law firm billing. Lawyers at DLA Piper traded casual e-mails about a client’s case. One made a sarcastic joke about how the bill was running way over budget. Another described a colleague’s approach to the assignment as “churn that bill, baby!”
The … Read the rest
6 March 2013- A lawyer who performed document review for Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan on a contract basis claims in a lawsuit that he is entitled to overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours a week.
The plaintiff, New York lawyer William Henig, claims he typically worked 57 to 60 hours a week in the position that began in August 2012 and lasted about six weeks. Am Law Daily and Above the Law have reported on the case and it has been rocketing around numerous social media sites. Above the Law has provided a link to the case (click here). … Read the rest
5 March 2013 – Last week the federal judge in In re Citigroup Inc. Securities Litigation, a shareholder lawsuit against Citigroup being heard in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York) ordered a law firm to hand over information about contract attorneys it employed. It was considered a victory to a shareholder who is challenging the firm’s fees as excessive.
Kirby McInerney, a New York-based plaintiffs’ firm, represented shareholders who in 2007 brought a class action in Manhattan federal court accusing Citigroup of hiding tens of billions of dollars in toxic mortgage assets. Citigroup agreed last year to settle the lawsuit for $590 million.
The agreement resolved claims for … Read the rest
5 March 2013 – The American Bar Association now requires law schools to be more upfront about how their graduates perform on the job market, but problems with misleading or incomplete employment data persist, according to a watchdog group.
The nonprofit Law School Transparency, formed in 2009 by two then-Vanderbilt law students, examined postgraduate employment data posted on the websites of all 199 ABA-accredited law schools. It concluded that close to half haven’t met the expectations set by Standard 509, the ABA’s tougher reporting requirements.
Law School Transparency stopped short of accusing those schools of violating the standard, saying it’s not in a position to make that determination.… Read the rest
