Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell

When will the merger go into effect, and how big will the post-merger firm be?

Law firm mergers are often bad ideas; if you're going to do one, do it right.

Who is leaving Edwards Wildman, and what implications might this have for the Locke Lord transaction?

How do the firms compare financially, and what would the new firm be called?

* Kansas Law School has been fined and censured by the ABA for recruiting violations surrounding Andrew Wiggins. Wait, no, I got that wrong. KU Law started an LL.M. program without asking, which I’m sure they did only because Wiggins is from Canada. [Topeka Capital-Journal]

* The proposed merger between Patton Boggs and Locke Lord has been called off. Fingers crossed that Bendini Lambert is the next target for Locke Lord. [Am Law Daily]

* Mayor Bloomberg swears at his last set of judges. I mean swears “in.” Man, who gets up this early? [NYC.gov]

* President Obama commutes the sentences of eight inmates convicted of crack-cocaine offenses. [New York Times]

* New Mexico is Breaking Gay. [Bloomberg]

* Did EA know Battlefield 4 would kind of suck before they released it? [Techspot]

* So evidently R. Kelly isn’t “trapped” in the closet, so much as he’s hiding there waiting for your daughter to come home. [The Root]

* Here’s your homework for today: everybody has to go find a dispirited Duck Dynasty fan and patiently explain to him or her the difference between a government infringement on free speech and a network momentarily suspending a bigot. You’re not allowed to punch the fans, you can only use words, and if necessary, hand gestures. [Huffington Post]

* An inside look at the jury deliberations in the recent insider trading trial of Michael Steinberg of SAC Capital. [New York Times]

How does a new boutique law firm go about looking for office space?

Please welcome our newest columnist covering the world of small law firms, the founder of his own IP boutique.

How is Patton Boggs trying to save itself, and will its plan work?

Guess which firm just laid off both support staff and lawyers?

Alimony definitely has its downfalls, especially if when you're forced to leave your Biglaw firm.

Yesterday we reported on a change in management at Nixon Peabody. We understand that some people at Nixon hope that the shift at the top will be followed by a return to Nixon Peabody’s old law firm culture. But maybe NP people will have to get ready to assimilate into an entirely different culture? A […]

Earlier this week, Locke Lord’s Larry Gray — managing partner of the firm’s Chicago office, and a lawyer at the firm for more than 35 years — passed away. He suffered a heart attack on Monday at the office. The firm was informed via an email from firm-wide managing partner Jerry Clements, on Monday night: […]

We have previously predicted that, when the American Lawyer releases its data on profits per partner in 2009, we’ll see some declines over 2008. Last year was not a pretty one for the profession (although most of you think this year will be better). But could our prediction be wrong? Is it possible that, owing […]

Our latest Eyes of the Law celebrity sighting involves a household name: former White House counsel and Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. She may not have succeeded in getting on to the SCOTUS, but apparently she has joined another D.C. institution. We received this tip from a reader yesterday: FWIW…. Just got sworn into the […]

We are so close to the end of the Vault open threads that I’m starting to get my second wind. I don’t know much about the firms on this part of the list, but you guys do. You know a lot. You’re so smart, you probably don’t even need this quick recap of the next […]

Every once in while, we like to explore career alternatives for attorneys, i.e., things you can do with a law degree that don’t involve Biglaw or contract attorney work. These days, we’ve come to think of the series of open threads as things you might do if you can’t find Biglaw or contract work. Do […]

Last month, we brought you Open Thread: Nationwide Start Date Round-up. After a flood of tips in response to that, we brought you an Expanded Nationwide Start Date Round-up. After that post, we got another deluge of tips. So now we bring you the latest and greatest round-up: more firms, more 2010 start dates, more […]

It wasn’t that long ago that Locke Lord was provided a lifeboat for a select few partners, associates, and staff from dissolving Morgan & Finnegan. But it appears that was a most temporary landing for the ex-Morgan & Finnegan employees. We’ve been fielding layoff reports from Locke Lord’s offices in Chicago, New York and most […]

Last week we brought you news of an impending partner defection from Morgan & Finnegan to Locke Lord. Today, Locke Lord made it official. A press release from Locke Lord heralds the bad news for Morgan & Finnegan: Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, a full-service national law firm of approximately 700 attorneys, announces that more […]

The law firm of Morgan & Finnegan, a leading intellectual property boutique, will be dissolving imminently, according to several sources at the firm. Some (but not all) of its lawyers, including prominent partners John Sweeney and James Gould, will join Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell. Last month, we mentioned the possibility of a merger between […]