Sideways Society

The stunning news of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s new battle with cancer instantly changed the dynamics of the Supreme Court, posing painful challenges not only for the feisty justice but for the other justices and the Obama administration. One Court watcher says he suspects Ginsburg’s fellow justices are “furious beyond belief” at the immediate round of media speculation about her possible retirement — and who might replace her — and that it may even bolster her determination to remain on the bench.

In an unprecedented move, the Justice Department on Thursday released antitrust amnesty agreements that it has signed with some 100 corporations since August 1993. The release was part of a settlement of a FOIA suit against the government, which also agreed to pay $40,000 in attorney fees to White Case. Some juicy details have been edited out, but the release could still help other corporations that want to negotiate an amnesty agreement with the DOJ to avoid prosecution for violating federal antitrust law.

Attorney layoffs have become industry standard in recent months, with at least 50 of the nation’s top law firms ushering practitioners out their doors and into a torpid job market. But just how much do law firms stand to save by slashing ranks? A lot, as it turns out, considering the options. Law firm leaders and industry consultants say a firm cuts costs by an average of $250,000 for each attorney let go. For each legal assistant or other staffer laid off, a law firm saves about $100,000.

The number of newly minted partners at law firms has generally plummeted since last year — an obvious bow to economic reality. But then how to explain that some firms have increased their number of new partners over their numbers last year — even firms that have had layoffs, like Cadwalader, Wickersham Taft? Some firms may be acting on decisions or promises made long ago, when the economy was not such an issue. And it’s likely that there are more new income rather than equity partners among the batch.

In the middle of giving a presentation, do you ever feel like you’ve suddenly morphed into Ben Stein’s character in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” as far as the audience is concerned? It’s not a good sign if listeners look like they expect you to start saying, “Anyone? Anyone?” If you have had this experience, or dread the thought of having it in the future, then read consultant Joey Asher’s list of 10 challenges that listeners face during a presentation, to help you improve your skills as a speaker.

The ABA’s new social network, LegallyMinded, attempts to combine the best features of the top social networking sites with substantive legal information from the ABA’s library. Its lack of user connectivity makes it fall short as a social network, but it does work well as a portal.

The defunct Thelen law firm is telling state and federal courts its hands were tied when it closed shop last year and did not pay its employees accrued vacation or give 60 days’ notice of their impending joblessness. The firm filed a response Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court to a class action brought by former employees seeking damages under the federal WARN Act. The firm said its WARN obligations were impossible to fulfill and that informing employees would have jeopardized attempts to secure a loan.

The bogus world of a New York attorney who built a profitable business on title insurance while earning high fees on real estate closings came crashing down on Friday as a federal jury convicted him in a subprime mortgage scam. Alexander M. Kaplan’s defense lawyer argued that Kaplan was “played for a dummy” by the “ringleader” of the scam. But prosecutors persuaded the jury that Kaplan played a pivotal role in a wide-ranging conspiracy that ripped off lenders of millions of dollars.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has suspended from law practice for three months a former municipal court judge convicted of making threats to officers during a drunken-driving arrest. Though a disciplinary review board had recommended only a reprimand for George R. Korpita, finding his actions stemmed from his drunken state, not dishonesty, the court said his threats of harm to public servants constituted a criminal act that reflects adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer.

Marler Clark, the Seattle law firm that filed the first lawsuit over the recent salmonella outbreak in certain brands of peanut butter products, has added the Kellogg Co. as a defendant. The suit was filed last month on behalf of a couple whose 7-year-old son became sick after eating peanut butter cracker sandwiches made by Kellogg from products of the Peanut Corp. of America, whose Georgia plant has been identified as the source of the contamination that led to the outbreak.