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K&L Gates Looks to Enter Chicago With Bell Boyd Merger

The Legal Intelligencer

K&L Gates may finally get its wish to be in the Windy City. The firm announced on Thursday that it is in late-stage talks with Chicago-based Bell Boyd & Lloyd that, if approved by the partnership, would see the two firms merge into a 2,000-lawyer firm in the first quarter of 2009.

Bradley Arant and Boult Cummings to Tie the Knot

The American Lawyer

Birmingham, Ala.'s Bradley Arant and Nashville's Boult Cummings have voted to merge. At more than 350 lawyers, the merged firm will be one of the largest firms in the region. Merger discussions entered into last year failed, but it appears the firms have had a change of heart.

2nd Circuit Approves Sentencing Bump for Urban Weapons Trafficking

New York Law Journal

The wide-ranging discretion in federal sentencing given to district judges by the U.S. Supreme Court allows a tougher prison term to a gun offender in New York City than in other parts of the country, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

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LEGAL BLOG NEWS

Callous Lawsuit of the Day

Here is a lawsuit sure to tug at the heartstrings of even the most callous among us, writes Robert Ambrogi. In the latest of its battery of lawsuits targeting illegal music downloads, the RIAA has won a default judgment against a young Pittsburgh woman who is disabled and in need of a transplant. The RIAA claims she downloaded 10 songs.

-Legal Blog Watch

In Patent Fights, It's Good to Be the King

A plucky Berkeley, Calif., solo who's been trying to convince at least one court that it isn't fair that the state of California can sue for patent infringement, but not be sued for the same, may be at the end of the road.

-Legal Pad

Harriet Miers Named in New York Times Editorial

Ensconced as a partner back at her old firm, now called Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, former White House counsel Harriet Miers couldn't have welcomed Wednesday's New York Times editorial calling for her to testify in the U.S. Attorneys scandal.

-Tex Parte

FEATURES

Will Billing Rate Freezes Become a Trend?

The National Law Journal

Levenfeld Pearlstein, which targets middle-market clients, won't raise billing rates next year after learning that 2009 corporate budgets will be under pressure. And Connecticut's Pepe & Hazard has announced a rate freeze for existing clients as a way of sharing the economic burden.

Sixteen Reasons to Tweet on Twitter

Law Technology News

Why are so many lawyers atwitter over Twitter? Attorney Robert J. Ambrogi wondered what value there could be in a microblogging tool that limits each post to 140 characters, so Ambrogi strapped on wings and gave it a try. Now Twitter has a new songbird ready to sing its praises.

Analyzing the Credit Crisis: Was the SEC Missing in Action?

New York Law Journal

A critical issue in analyzing the credit crisis is the extent to which there was a regulatory failure. What responsibility does the SEC bear for not resisting the steady slide of the major investment banks into insolvency? Law professor John C. Coffee Jr. examines the issue.

Updated Special Report: Crisis on Wall Street

Incisive Media

Fannie, Freddie, Lehman, AIG: As Wall Street's woes continue, Law.com presents ongoing coverage of the financial meltdown from across the globe, with updates on what it means for law firms and lawyers. See if your law firm is on The Layoff List.