Upcoming lawyer face enormous financial debt from college only to enter into a legal market with no available jobs. Despite this disheartening fact, William Robinson, the president of the American Bar Association, thinks that law students should have researched the market more thoroughly to understand what they were getting into.

In response to a great deal of criticisms from the media, law students and even Congress, Robinson stood his ground and backed it up with the fact that any student interested in law school would already have an undergraduate degree or higher.

“It’s inconceivable to me that someone with a college education, or a graduate-level education, would not know before deciding to go to law school that the economy has declined over the last sever years and that the job market out there is not as opportune as it might have been five, six, seven, eight years ago. We’re not talking about kids who are making these decisions,” he said.

During the Great Recession of 2007, United States legal jobs shrank dramatically. The huge drop in the market has led many critics – among them being two United States Senators – to ask whether to ABA works hard enough to watch law schools. Allegations say that many statistics given to prospective students by a handful of schools project incorrect statistics regarding the market.

Several media outlets have questioned the process for law school accreditation. They suggested that the American Bar Association encouraging tenure, and some other standards, causes law school costs to unnecessarily rise.

Robinson believes those accusations have no standing. He contends, “None of the studies show that the ABA rules of certification are what’s responsible for the cost of legal education. Other factors, such as competition for professors, are driving the increase in cost.”

He continued by recalling his past with paying his way through University of Kentucky’s Law School in 1971, “When I was going to law school, and I sold my Corvair to make first-semester tuition and books for $330, a sizeable portion of the faculty had tenure. They had tenure then and they have tenure now.”

Nearly 68 ABA-accredited law schools keep tuition near or below $25,000 for those needing a low cost option. However, the American Bar Association is powerless when it comes to lowering the cost of elite law schools.

“I should take the lead in telling these schools that they should reduce their tuition to $25,000 a year? No, I don’t think I should do that. I don’t think it would be meaningful. I don’t think it would accomplish anything for me to do that. It’s a complex question as to whether to cost is higher than it should be or is justified.”

• Law Schools Offering More Opportunities to Study Abroad
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• New Dean of Law School in Texas is Veteran Judge
• ABA Tells Judge not to Overrule Denial of Duncan School of Law
• Law School Bubble Close to Bursting?

A Tennessee judge has been urged by the American Bar Association not to force the ABA to withdrawal its denial of accreditation of Lincoln Memorial University’s law school. The law school filed a lawsuit of antitrust last month.

The ABA, in its brief of response, said that the temporary restraining order request by the Duncan School of Law is “undeserved and unprecedented.” They also said that it should not be approved.

The denial decision was made on December 20 by the ABA, which says that Duncan has not run out of ways to appeal the decision. The decision was made by the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. The ABA also states that Duncan cannot show that it will be harmed beyond repair by the denial because the school can apply for accreditation from the ABA.

The response from the ABA also stated that if it was ordered to remove from its website the denial notice then truthful speech would be silenced. This is information that law students, both prospective and current, along with the public, need to know.

“There is a strong public interest in having those who look to the council’s evaluation of legal education — including current and prospective law students, faculty, state supreme courts and bar admission authorities, the U.S. Department of Education and the public — receive prompt and accurate information,” the response issued by the ABA explained. “Duncan’s requested restraint on truthful speech would harm this public interest.”

The Duncan School of Law is based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The ABA was sued by the school on December 22, 2011, claiming that the ABA practiced collusion with various law schools in order to restrain competition amongst other schools by denying accreditation for the school.

Instead of appealing the decision by the ABA, the law school has decided to file a lawsuit against the ABA. The school claims appealing would not work because of the “complete and utter disregard” by the Council of the ABA of all the data presented by the law school.

There are almost 200 students enrolled at Duncan, which opened during the fall semester back in 2009 for students going to school part-time and then opened to full-time students last year. The reason issued for the ABA denial to Duncan was that LSAT average scores for students incoming was too low for those studying at the school to finish their law study and then be admitted to the ABA.

In the lawsuit, Duncan alleges that there were no fewer than eight schools that have scores for the LSAT that average lower than those that were accredited by the ABA. In the ABA response, the bar claims that Duncan has not been able to provide enough information to prove claims of antitrust.

Michael L. Cioffi, of Blank Rome LLP, is the representative for Duncan along with Robert H. Watson Jr. of Watson Roach Batson Rowell & Lauderback PLC.

• Duncan School of Law Sues ABA
• The John Marshall Law School Launches New Law School in Savannah
• Denying Accreditation Gets ABA Sued
• Law Schools Offering More Opportunities to Study Abroad
• Proposed Law School Accreditation Standards to Change Reporting of Graduate Employment

Denying Knoxville, Tenn.-based Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law’s American Bar Association accreditation prompted the school to file a federal lawsuit Thursday. In court documents, the school claims the ABA violated antitrust laws, while “arbitrarily and capriciously” denying Duncan School of Law accreditation.

Duncan dean Sydney Beckman the ABA cited the school’s average Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores as one of the reasons. The suit notes that the school’s first class had a median LSAT score of 149. However, the next two classes had a median score of 147.

With that said, the suit filed in Eastern District of Tennessee’s U.S. District Court claims eight accredited schools have even lower median LSAT scores and offered a possible explanation.

“The only reasonable inference from this disparate treatment is that the ABA desires to restrain trade,” the complaint said.

The ABA has refused to comment about the lawsuit.

Duncan officials learned about the ABA’s accreditation denial in October. That prompted them to attend a December meeting in Puerto Rico to lobby for accreditation. That effort proved unsuccessful.

However, the ABA reportedly discovered compliance problems, in relation to strategic planning and academic standards as well as achievement.

“A law school shall not admit applicants who do not appear capable of satisfactorily completing its educational program and being admitted to the bar.”

While the ABA doesn’t dictate minimum LSAT scores, it requires that schools make sure students can complete their respective schools’ program. Duncan opened its door in 2009, but hasn’t graduated a class.

The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners and the Southern Association of College and School-Commission on Colleges, according to the suit, have given Duncan School of Law their blessing, while applying ABA-like standards.

” [Duncan] has been the victim of a group boycott orchestrated by defendant ABA in concert with these interested accredited law schools, to the detriment of [Duncan], its students, and the public at large,” the complaint reads.

Duncan is seeks a permanent injunction, which requires the ABA to grant it provisional accreditation. The law school also seeks damages in excess of $1 million as well as attorney fees.

• ABA Tells Judge not to Overrule Denial of Duncan School of Law
• Duncan School of Law Sues ABA
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• Judge Considers LMU Law School’s Request In Accreditation Dispute
• ABA Panel Says No to an Outside Law Firm Ownership

The law school at Lincoln Memorial University has sued the American Bar Association in Tennessee Federal Court. The law school claims that the association colluded with other law schools to lower competition by not accrediting the school purposely.

The lawsuit filed by the Duncan School of Law alleges that the ABA’s refusal to accredit the school is an attempt to restrain trade, which is a direct violation of the Sherman and Clayton acts. The lawsuit also alleges that the ABA acted together with other accredited law schools in an effort to boycott the law school at Lincoln Memorial University. This in turn injures competition and drives the cost of legal education higher.

“In addition to being unreasonable and arbitrary, the ABA’s decision was motivated by a desire to restrain trade and limit competition among law schools,” the complaint said.

The chairman of Lincoln Memorial University, O.V. ‘Pete’ DeBusk, said in a released statement that the ABA had the privilege to judge law schools in the United States by evaluating their applicable standards. He also mentioned that the ABA is the sole entity in the country doing this.

“What kind of example would we be setting for our law students if we allowed them and our school to be treated unfairly and took no action to right this wrong?” DeBusk said, according to Law360.

There are close to 200 students enrolled in the Duncan School of Law in Knoxville, which opened in the fall of 2009 for part-time students. The school opened to full-time students in 2010. On December 20, the ABA refused accreditation for the school, saying that the average LSAT scores for incoming students were too low for them to complete the program and gain admission to the ABA.

Duncan then claimed that no less than eight other law schools in the country with lower LSAT averages were awarded accreditation by the ABA, which makes the decision by the entity unreasonable. Duncan went on to claim that there was no factual basis for the decision by the ABA to deny the school accreditation. The complaint then goes on to detail that there were two other agencies in the country that found the school in compliance with standards as tough as those set forth by the ABA. Those two other institutions include the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners.

Since the school has not received accreditation from the ABA, it means that it will not be eligible for certain federal loan programs and other aid packages. For the school’s graduates to sit for bar exams in 48 states, the accreditation is needed from the ABA.

“In short, [the Duncan School of Law] has been the victim of a group boycott orchestrated by defendant ABA in concert with these accredited law schools, to the detriment of [the Duncan School of Law], its students and the public at large,” the complaint said.

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• Judge Considers LMU Law School’s Request In Accreditation Dispute
• Denying Accreditation Gets ABA Sued
• The John Marshall Law School Launches New Law School in Savannah
• Law Schools Offering More Opportunities to Study Abroad

An American Bar Association commission is considering recommending that the nonlawyers be allowed to take an equity stake in law firms for which they work while urging that an existing ban be maintained on the kind of outside investment in US firms that is now possible in the United Kingdom and Australia.

If the panel’s recommendation moves forward, the move to let the nonlawyers own a piece of firms that employ them would not become an ABA model rule for more than a year, and would still need to be adopted by individual states. While all 50 states currently ban such nonlawyer ownership of the law firms, Washington D.C. has allowed it for more than two decades.

At the same time, the ABA’s Commission on Ethics 20/20 came out firmly against any move that would open the door to law firms becoming either publicly traded entities or multidisciplinary practices designed, for an example, to serve as one-stop shops accounting and legal needs.

Formed in 2009 to address how technological advances and globalization are affecting the regulation of law firms and lawyers, the commission released a new draft paper (PDF) Friday that lays out the panel’s views and seeks input from members of the legal community. Any formal proposals that are adopted, after the comment period, will not go to the ABA’s decision-making body until February of 2013.

The commission’s recommendations aren’t going far enough for Thomas Gordon, legal and policy director for Responsive Law, which is a year-and-a-half-old nonprofit in Washington, D.C., that advocates on behalf of what the group cities as the 80 percent to legal representation.

”There needs to be much more openness to outside involvement in the legal professional for consumers to benefit,” says Gordon, who submitted comments to and testified before the commission earlier this year. ”In any service industry, consumers will benefit where there’s innovation.”

Paul Paton, who is a profession at Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, who also serves as reporter to the 20/20 commission, says that the panel considered the entire spectrum of alternative business structures found elsewhere in the world, discussed at length in an issues paper (PDF) in the month of April, but ”decided there were certain practices mapped out…that weren’t appropriate for adoption in the US at this time.”

The ownership model suggested in the draft report would allow firms to give the nonlawyers they employ a financial interest in the firm and a share in its profits. Among all the professionals cited as potentially qualifying to take such a stake: architects, social workers, engineers or investigators who assist in such practice areas as, respectively, land use, intellectual property, family law, or personal injury.

The commission does suggest placing some conditions on opening law firm ownership to nonlawyers, including: requiring lawyers to investigate the professional reputation of anyone considered for an equity stake; ensuring that a firm’s lawyers maintain a controlling financial interest and voting rights in the enterprise; and prohibiting nonlawyer owners from having their own clients or offering any services to firm clients outside of legal needs.

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The John Marshall LawSchool, located in Atlanta, Georgia, announced in recent days that it had received American Bar Association approval to launch a Savannah branch campus next fall. The new location will be called Savannah Law School.

Alan Boyer, associate dean for recruitment and marketing, was quoted as saying in the December 8^th Law.com article, “Law school establishing branch in Savannah”: “There is no other law school serving that part of the southern Atlantic region. As word has got out, we’ve had some applicants to the school here inAtlanta ask to switch over to Savannah.” The region is expected to experience a large population growth over the next ten to fifteen years.

The new campus will probably draw students from over twenty nearby colleges and universities, according to Boyer. The closest ABA-accredited law schools are the Charleston School of Law in Charleston, S.C., and Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Fla.. Each is 90 minutes or more away by car. The University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, Georgia State University of College of Law and John Marshall’s main campus are over four hours away.

Over 1,500 judges and lawyers work in the Savannaharea; this gives a strong indication that students would have opportunities for externships and clerk positions, according to John Marshall administrators.

The school plans to enroll almost 100 students next year, with 60 attending full-time and the rest part-time. The part-time program is aimed at doctors, law enforcement officers, paralegals and retired military servicemen and -women. A “noncompetitive” environment will be stressed, which is intended to encourage teamwork; this means there will be no forced grading on a curve.

Richardson Lynn, dean at John Marshall, will oversee operations in Savannah, which will maintain a separate faculty from that at the main campus. He was quoted as saying: “With the new Savannah Law School, students from theSavannaharea and throughout the Atlantic coastal region can begin their legal careers closer to home. And students from around the country and the world can live and learn in a community rich in culture, heritage and southern hospitality.”

The school will begin hiring for the new branch in the spring. Interested students are able to begin the application process this month.

Though the ABA has approved new campus, theSavannahLawSchoolstill needs to get provisional accreditation. Boyer was quoted as saying: “Our plan is to immediately begin that process so that the inaugural class will be able to sit for the bar inGeorgia.”

In addition to the city of Savannah getting a new law school during the next academic year, a small group of lawyers is planning to open the California Desert Trial Academy College of Law in Indio,Calif., in September. As well, plans for other new law schools are underway in the Louisiana and Indiana. In addition, the Thomas M. Cooley Law School has plans to open a new campus inTampa, Fla., next year.

Although some legal educators are skeptical about launching new, additional law schools during a time when hiring in the legal industry has declined, the ABA is of the mind that limiting the number of law schools could pose an issue with regard to antitrust laws.

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The opportunities to study abroad are increasing accordingly. In 2009, over 100 U.S. law schools offered over 250 such programs, according to the ABA.

In the usnews.com article, Hulett Askew, a consultant for the American Bar Association’s legal education and admissions section, was quoted as saying about foreign study programs: “The growth overall in the last 5 or 10 years has been steady—and even dramatic.”

 The most common study abroad opportunities are offered during the summer. Approximately 8,000 U.S. law students participated in a foreign program in 2009, despite the downturn in the economy. According to the ABA, around 40 U.S. law schools have semester abroad options.

Alexis Paddock, a Georgetown graduate, spent a semester at the school’s Center for Transnational Legal Studies. “It’s like going to 10 countries” to study,” she was quoted as saying.

Steven Ratner, a professor at the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor Law School was quoted as saying: “It’s simply impossible to be a competent lawyer” without understanding “how law works across borders.”

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The American Bar Association has made new drafts to its law school accreditation standards.  These proposed changes would change the way that law schools report employment information for their graduates, as well as making the requirements for passing the bar stricter, and allowing distance education students to take more credit hours.  Several other major changes have also been proposed.

According to a letter from the consumer information subcommittee of the Standards Review Committee of the ABA, the requirement that exists for law schools to publish “placement rates” and “basic consumer information” leaves a lot open to interpretation.

The subcommittee also wrote the following: “Not surprisingly, with such a vague standard, schools’ practices vary widely.  Some schools provide detailed information; others provide a bare minimum.”

According to the new proposal, the employment status of students after nine months would be disclosed by law schools, in addition to the percentage of the students in law school-funded jobs.  They would also be required to give information about the percentage of graduates with employment that requires bar passage and those who hold non-legal jobs.  Schools will also be required to specify how many students they have in part-time and full-time jobs.

These proposals will be discussed in Chicago by the Standards Review Committee on April 2 and 3.  It will have an open forum as part of the meeting so that other parties can give their own comments about the proposals.

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Donald Polden, dean of Santa Clara University School of Law, said that ABA will most likely adopt the new proposition. “The committee reviewing the standards is leaning toward dropping the rule that law schools require J.D. applicants to take a ‘valid and reliable admission test.”

David Yellen, a member of the review committee and dean of Loyola University Chicago School of Law, explained that one of the principles behind the elimination of LSAT, which ABA committee is highly considering, is to give law schools more independence on their own admission policies. “Is taking a standardized test the only way to determine if someone should be able to go to law school? Schools ought to be able to decide how they want to admit students.” Yellen added that regardless of ABA’s recommendation, he believes that most law schools would still support the administration of LSAT as a requirement in admissions. “I believe that most schools would continue to require the LSAT, in part because it is the most reliable way to measure applicants against each other and make merit-based financial aid decisions.”

The members of the US legal community have varying reactions and predictions over the latest industry news. Some said that those established law schools will continue to require LSAT while some may adopt the new option, especially those newly opened law schools which are in need of students. As of today, ABA committee is still reviewing the new proposal.

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Mr. Reyna is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Williams Mullen.  He sits on the firm’s board of directors, and directs the firm’s International Trade and Customs Practice Group.

The CAFC has nationwide jurisdiction of appeals arising from a range of courts, including federal district courts, the Court of International Trade, and the U.S., Court of Claims. The jurisdiction of appeals also arises from a variety of agencies involving a number of subject matter areas, including international trade, government contracts, patents, trademarks, and certain money claims against the United States government.

With over three decades of legal experience and 24 years as an international trade practitioner, Mr. Reyna is well qualified to serve on the CAFC bench. Mr. Reyna has been a valued and effective advocate for corporate clients in a broad range of U.S. and foreign venues. He has authored numerous books and articles on international trade, trade policy and customs. He has earned a stellar reputation as a practitioner and a scholar.

Mr. Reyna has a long record of service to the legal profession and the community. He served on numerous positions in the American Bar Association (ABA) and the HNBA. He served as HNBA National President from 2006-2007. He founded the HNBA Journal of Law and Policy, and has served as its Editor-in-Chief for many years.  He also has a record of service with the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, the ABA Presidential Commission on Diversity and the ABA House of Delegates, and within the ABA International Law Section. For over ten years, Mr. Reyna has been a director of Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children, a service organization in Maryland. He has mentored many lawyers and law students over his 30-year career. In 2009, the Government of Mexico honored Mr. Reyna with its Ohtli Award, in recognition of his contributions to opening pathways for the Mexican-American and Latino communities in the United States.

The HNBA is an incorporated, not-for-profit, national membership organization that represents the interests of the more than 100,000 attorneys, judges, law professors, legal professionals, and law students of Hispanic descent in the United States, its territories and Puerto Rico.

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Nelson is office chair of the firm’s labor and employment practice in Sacramento. He is an elected Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, and will be inducted as an elected Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers in November 2010. He is also an editor of the Employee Benefits Committee Newsletter for the ABA’s Labor and Employment Section, and author of “Health and Welfare Benefit Plans: A Legal Guide to Planning and Management.”

Greenberg Traurig’s Global Labor and Employment Practice consists of over 100 lawyers in the United States and abroad who provide practical workplace strategies, counseling, technical assistance, and litigation services to clients in a wide range of industries.

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• Greenberg Traurig Partner Named ABA Committee Co-Chair
• ABA Tells Judge not to Overrule Denial of Duncan School of Law
• Duncan School of Law Sues ABA
• The John Marshall Law School Launches New Law School in Savannah

Former Merrill Lynch counsel John Bevilacqua joined Fulbright…

Johnsrun and Knuesel, LLC, based in Winona, Minnesota, took over court-appointed counsel in Houston County…

Dallas-based law firm Goldfarb Branham LLP launched an investigation into Marlin Equity Partners buyout of Phoenix Technologies…

Howrey’s Jerrold Ganzfried assumed Chairmanship of ABA’s Council of Apellate Lawyers…

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Mr. Ganzfried is one of the original founders of the Council, which is the only nationwide bench-bar organization devoted to appellate courts and practice. The Council seeks to foster a dialogue among federal and state appellate judges and lawyers that will improve appellate advocacy and the administration of justice.

As Chairman of the Council, Mr. Ganzfried will also sit on the Board of Directors of the Appellate Judges Education Institute (AJEI) and on the Executive Committee of the ABA’s Appellate Judges Conference. These entities work closely with the Council.

Throughout his career, Mr. Ganzfired has handled the largest, most complex and most sensitive cases for major national and international firms. His vast experience includes litigating a broad range of cases and arguing appeals for the foremost companies in a variety of industries, including high technology, oil and gas, and financial services. He has served as counsel in many of the landmark antitrust, securities and intellectual property cases decided in the past two decades by the Supreme Court and the federal courts of appeals.

Mr. Ganzfried’s most recent successes include the reversal on appeal of a judgment arising from a dispute in a $100 million real estate transaction. In the past five years, he has won high-profile appeals involving the savings and loan industry crisis, securities class actions, a contract/patent licensing dispute over cutting-edge biotechnology, and one of the largest corporate tax cases ever reversed on appeal.

According to the August 17 article at citbizlist.com, Mr. Ganzfried was quoted as saying: “I look forward to the coming year. The Council is dedicated to the professional development of appellate lawyers through creative, effective programs and productive dialogue with judges who sit on appellate courts at all levels across the country. I am honored to have been asked to serve.”

Founded in 1956, Howrey LLP is a global law firm with over 625 attorneys and more than 35 economic, financial and regulatory consultants. A consistent American Lawyer “A-List” and PLC Which Lawyer? “Global 50″ firm, Howrey is one of the most frequently used law firms by the world’s leading companies.

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The employment rights committee addresses developments in the law governing the rights and responsibilities of individuals in the workplace and the resolution of disputes between workers and employers. Goldich has served as program chair and administrative chair of the ERR Committee, and also co-chair of its Trial Advocacy Subcommittee and ERISA Litigation Subcommittee.

Goldich is a member of Greenberg Traurig’s labor and employment practice in Philadelphia. He is an elected Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.
Greenberg Traurig’s Global Labor and Employment Practice consists of over 100 lawyers in the United States and abroad who provide practical workplace strategies, counseling, technical assistance, and litigation services to clients in a wide range of industries.

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• The John Marshall Law School Launches New Law School in Savannah

The National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms will hold its diversity conference in Washington D.C….

Boies, Schiller & Flexner partner Zack takes reins as ABA president…

Vault.com ranked Ropes & Gray as the “Best Firm to Work For” for the second year in a row…

Florida Attorney General issued subpoenas to three South Florida foreclosure law firms…

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Multiple reports noted that Cuban-born Zack is the first Hispanic to serve as president of the ABA.

Zack’s main practice area is complex commercial litigation, emphasizing class actions, products liability cases and federal multi-district litigation. He is a specialist in civil trial law, as well as eminent domain, corporate and international law.

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Zimmer focuses his practice on energy project development and regulation, climate change, energy project acquisitions and finance transactions. He has more than 35 years of legal experience and has served clients in more than 35 states and 20 countries.

Zimmer has served in various capacities with the American Council for Renewable Energy and the marketing committee of the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition and the ABA. He was also the only practicing lawyer on the U.S. Green Building Council Energy & Atmospheric Technical Advisory Group (EATAG) Committee from 2005-2009.

Thompson Hine is a business law firm with more than 400 lawyers in offices in Atlanta, Brussels, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, New York and Washington D.C. It was established in 1911.

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Seyfarth Shaw

Culver joins the firm’s international labor practice. She advises on a wide range of international employment matters in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North and South America and is also the co-chair of the International Law Committee of the American Bar Association.

“Marjorie is a leading international employment lawyer, and her approach and extensive experience in a wide range of international matters are an excellent fit with our international employment law practice,” said Darren G. Gardner, , Chair of Seyfarth Shaw’s international labor & employment law practice.

Seyfarth Shaw’s New York office opened in 1979 and is home to more than 100 attorneys.

Steinert was a partner in Seyfarth’s Los Angeles office from 2003-2007, but left to serve as vice president and senior employment counsel for Wachovia Corp. He then became senior counsel of Wells Fargo in 2009 when the banks merged.

“[Steinert’s] practice touches upon nearly every type of employment matter from wage and hour litigation to traditional labor law,” said Lisa J. Damon, chair of Seyfarth Shaw’s labor and employment department. “Eric is truly a jack of all trades and his experience adds tremendous value to our firm.”

Steinert’s practice is focused on representing clients in the financial services industry, and he has represented financial services companies extensively in FINRA arbitrations, wage and hour class actions and single-plaintiff employment litigation.

Seyfarth Shaw’s labor & employment department consists of nearly 350 employment attorneys nationally.

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Opportunity For Firms To Re-learn and Re-market Real-Estate Practice…

Legal Heavyweights Speak About Arizona Immigration Legislation…

Clifford Chance To Deepen Bankruptcy Practice Group…

Firms Hire MDs to Combat Government Suits Over Medicare Billing…

Lucado Law Firm Opposes BP’s Motion To Have All Lawsuits Involving Gulf Oil Spill to Houston…

Nevada School District Hires Littler Mendelson…

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Albeit that the real-estate business in the last two years has taken a turn for the worst, the business of real-estate related law has not, according to the post.  Firms have been actively restructuring their practices to deal with the recent fall out in the real estate market.

The post focuses particularly on firms in Pennsylvania, one of the markets hit hardest by the real-estate bubble bust. Although the firms highlighted in the post, which include Ballard Spahr, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, and K&L Gates, showed a decline of nearly $30 million in revenue in the years 2008 and 2009 in their real-estate related practices, the post also emphasized that these firms, among others in both Pennsylvania and the nation, are on the cusp of launching initiatives to tackle the new real-estate market landscape.

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In the story, Greenberg Traurig partner Leslie Corwin called the provision “one of the biggest issues facing the legal profession and other professional service firms today.”

When the American Bar Association recommended law firms end mandatory retirement policies back in 2007, several firms heeded the advice, according to the report, including Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Pillsbury, and K & L Gates. Kelley Drye joined the ranks last week when it announced it had dropped its mandatory retirement policy in the face of the EEOC lawsuit.

According to the report, only 38 percent of firm leaders who have set retirement ages felt it should be enforced. The story goes on to note industry experts believe firms are liable “to pay the price when partners forgo retirement benefits to defect to competing firms and take their clients with them.”

The New York Law Journal lists several New York firms that still have mandatory retirement. They include Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which has a retirement age of 65; Weil Gotshal & Manges has 68 as its mandatory retirement age; Paul Weiss lists the age at 70; and at Willkie Farr, the age is 65.

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The magazine notes that as firms froze salaries and commenced layoffs during this last economic downturn, law school tuition continued to increase. As a result, “jobs are no longer a sure thing and loans are harder to pay back.”

According to the story, American Bar Association statistics show tuition increased 6 percent at private law schools to $34,298 from 2007 to 2008 and 9 percent, to $16,836, at in-state public schools.  That has led to more than 80 percent of law students to rely on loans, often at six-figures.

U.S. News & World Report ultimately offered this advice: “Although the job market is improving, experts caution that law school hopefuls need to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of a law degree and, whether aiming for big law or Legal Aid, estimate their personal return on investment.”

The report goes on to note that the number of people who took the Law School Admission Test hit a decade high in 2009, up 6.4 percent from the year before. That leaves little incentive for law schools to rein in tuition, and leaves graduates facing a higher debt in a tighter labor market.

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Pilecki’s practice concentrates on representation of foreign and domestic banking organizations on regulatory and corporate matters. He also has experience helping bank organizations plan new activities and corporate structures for their U.S. activities, according to a firm press release.

Pilecki also serves as chair of the Executive Council of the Federal Bar Association’s Banking Committee.

Mancusi focuses his representation on foreign and domestic banking organizations in regulatory, compliance and enforcement matters. He also comes with experience representing clients in government and corporate internal investigations.

He currently serves as chair of the American Bar Association Banking Law Committee’s Enforcement, Director Liability, and Problems Banks Subcommittee.

Kilpatrick Stockton is an international law firm with nearly 500 attorneys in nine offices around the world, including Atlanta and Augusta, Ga. Charlotte, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem N.C., New York City, Washington D.C., Dubai and Stockholm.

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• Winston & Strawn LLP Adds Two Partners to Los Angeles Office
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• Seyfarth Shaw Boosts Employment Practice on Both Coasts

Reid was upset by the ABA’s rating of Gloria Navarro, nominated for the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. “I think the ABA should get a new life and look at whether people are qualified, not whether they have judicial experience”, Reid said during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he introduced Navarro. Reid also said, “The ABA says she hasn’t had judicial experience. That is upsetting to me…I asked President Obama, ‘Let’s get someone on the court that hasn’t been a judge. I think we need people on the bench who have been out there, like Gloria…She has had experience in the real world of government and in the real world of the law.”

Navarro has never been a judge but she has worked as a government lawyer handling civil litigation, a public defender and a lawyer in private practice.

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At their midyear meeting in Orlando, Florida the new dues structure was approved by the House of Delegates. Dues will be reduced by 50% for solo practitioners and 25% for other lawyers. The changes will go into effect in May. The ABA will also create installment plan options to be available in August.

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The report concluded that the disparity cannot be attributed to a lack of qualified women. According to the American Bar Association, women make up 48% of law school graduates and 45% of law firm associates. The report believes a lack of opportunity and access has led to such a disparity.

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Mings was fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, possessed a unique sense of humor and was an avid sailor and member of the Houston Yacht Club. He belonged to several IP, trademark and arbitration bodies and frequently spoke at conferences in the U.S. and South America.

According to the police, witnesses observed Mings sitting alone on the waters edge at a Galveston, Texas beach early Monday afternoon. Police called to the scene found him lying partially in the water, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. Mings is survived by his wife and two children.

The American Bar Association provides resources and assistance to lawyers struggling with depression, alcoholism, stress and other emotional health issues. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-TALK) is also available 24/7 to anyone in an emotional crisis and/or contemplating suicide.

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Carolyn Lamm, ABA President, said last week that the association will keep pushing by building support for student loan relief for recent graduates.

The ABA has been lobbying the Obama administration in response to the growing debt of recent graduates who have been unable to find jobs because of the recession.

Lamm says that she and other ABA officials have met with aides on Capitol Hill, at the U.S. Department of Education and in the White House to press their case, so far without success. She goes on to say that while they are interested in education and in helping, they have yet to find a solution.

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A judge in Louisiana held that the US Army is liable for some Katrina damage…

Google debuts its new case law database….

Winston & Strawn has two new offices in Asia…

David Hamilton is getting his up or down vote for confirmation…

and the ABA is looking for a new leader….

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The ABA is the world’s largest voluntary membership professional organization, counting over 40,000 members on its rolls. Among other things, the ABA is in charge of law school accreditation.

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Greg L. Berk joins Orange County, California’s Carlton DiSante & Freudenberger as a partner, to chair the new Immigration Practice Group. He joins from Atkinson Andelson in Irvine. Berk is a past Chair of the Orange County Bar Association Immigration Section, and currently serves on their Lawyer Referral Advisory Committee.

Roger D. Winston has been named chair of the real property, trust and estate law section of the American Bar Association. Winston is co-leader of the Planned Communities and Condominiums Group at Ballard Spahr’s Bethesda, Maryland office. His JD is from the University of Maryland School of Law, and his LL.M is from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Mark Costley joins Drinker Biddle as a partner in Washington DC. He was previously a partner with Alston & Bird, where he represented broker-dealers and investment advisers. His JD is from George Mason University.

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What Lawyers Need to Know About Suicide During a Recession: Prevention, Identity and Law Firm Responsibility is a free MP3 audio download available here.

From the ABA:

Suicide is our most preventable form of death. Many attorneys are in frequent contact with populations at elevated risk for suicide. In their professional roles, attorneys occupy a strategic position to intercept suicidal communications and identify and refer potentially suicidal clients, as well as employees and colleagues, for professional assessment and possible life-saving treatment. In addition Model Rule 1.14 gives the attorney broad power and responsibility when representing clients with diminished capacity.

Attorneys also have the highest rates of depression and suicide of any profession. Statistics suggest that the rate of suicide attempts among attorneys and their clients is increasing as the effects of the recession widen.

This program addresses the ethical responsibility employers have to assist attorneys in their employ that may be suicidal.

The complimentary download is cosponsored by the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs.

• Update: Another Laid Off Lawyer Takes Her Own Life
• ABA Tells Judge not to Overrule Denial of Duncan School of Law
• Duncan School of Law Sues ABA
• The John Marshall Law School Launches New Law School in Savannah
• Law Schools Offering More Opportunities to Study Abroad

In February, the group estimates 2,000 jobs were lost, with 1,500 on the street in January.

Firms that did not report solid layoff numbers were not included in the tally.

In just the last week, JDJournal estimated the loss of 455 lawyers and 219 staff; the week before, 91 lawyers and 177 staff; and the week before that, 574 lawyers and 812 staff.

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The CJA was enacted in 1964 to establish a comprehensive system for appointing and compensating lawyers to represent defendants financially unable to retain counsel in federal criminal proceedings.

Federal defender organizations, together with the more than 10,000 private panel attorneys who accept CJA assignments annually, represent the vast majority of individuals who are prosecuted in the nation’s federal courts.

Nationwide, federal defenders receive approximately 58% of CJA appointments, and the remaining 42% are assigned to the CJA panel.

The new fee pays panel attorneys an hourly rate of $110 per hour in non-capital cases, and a maximum rate of $175 per hour for capital cases.

President Obama signed the new rate into law on March 11 for work performed on or after that date.

The American Bar Association had urged the Obama administration and Congress to support increases in the panel rates.

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Candidates must be second-year students for the 2009-2010 academic year at an American Bar Association-accredited law school, and be eligible to sit for the patent bar exam.

Applications for the $1,000 scholarship are due July 31.

Protas joined the firm as a summer associate in 2003 and 2004, and in 2005 joined the firm as a full-time associate.

Chicago’s Marshall, Gerstein & Borun was ranked in the top 15% among 352 law firms as a “Top Patent Firm” by Intellectual Property Today (March 2008).

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