Lawyers Set to Gain on Lehman

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which has established a record for the largest company to file for protection against bankruptcy, is poised to divest one of the biggest bonanzas for lawyers.

New York-based Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP earlier this week asked a federal judge in New York to sign a $ 55.1 million for the payment of its work, representing Lehman.

This marks the largest quarterly fee request by lawyers representing a company in bankruptcy, according to Lynn Lopuck, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, which manages a database of costs of bankruptcy. Dr. Weil believes that Lopuck stands at 200 million dollars in taxes by the end of the case. This exceeds the debtor the next board of higher fees, $ 159 million that Weil earned during the bankruptcy of Enron.

Weil A spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

The application fee payment, filed Monday in Bankruptcy Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, part of labor lawyers and other staff Weil say they have made between the 15 September and the end of January. The company says it has worked for more than 100,000 billable hours during this period. Lead lawyer Harvey Miller needed to be paid $ 950 for each of the nearly 795 hours he worked during the period.

An expenditure that the application has also filed Monday Weil includes more than $ 200,000 for business meals, $ 439,000 for the composition and "other" research, $ 115,000 on $ 287,000 in transportation costs and the duplication , at 10 cents per page.

"As employees of Lehman rushed to the offices of Lehman with boxes and suitcases filled with their belongings, [Weil] lawyers rushed in" the filing reads. "Literally overnight, WGM mobilized its resources in the world wide, including more than 490 lawyers. "

Weil has approximately 1,300 lawyers in the world.

Nearly a dozen other law firms have already submitted applications in the cost of Lehman question, requesting a total of 27 million. If the total cost of court-approved - to lawyers, financial advisers, restructuring consultants and others - could top $ 900 million, Mr. Lopuck estimates.

Lehman's Chapter 11 filing is one of the most complex in American history. The firm's petition for bankruptcy on September 15 marked one of the biggest shocks of the credit crisis that engulfed Wall Street last summer and continued throughout the fall. At the time of filing, Lehman had $ 613 billion of debt.

In these matters, lawyers are paid before creditors. Federal bankruptcy law requires a judge to approve payments for the debtor counsel. A hearing on the request is scheduled for May 13. Lehman creditors have until May 6 to file objections.

The United States Trustee's office, which oversees the bankruptcy, declined to comment. The main lawyer for the unsecured creditors committee, Dennis Dunne at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP in New York, did not return a request for comment.

Some bankruptcy experts say the fee clearly a fundamental flaw in the process by which advisers are paid, because there are few resources to check the cost of a business. Mr. Lopuck, often critical of the bankruptcy process, said companies, representing a group involved in a bankruptcy are often reluctant to challenge other companies to their charges.

John Marquis, the president of Legal Cost Control Inc., New Jersey-based accounts of legal fees, said that sometimes lead to bankruptcy, a law firm shed excess people out of a case. "Bankruptcies are, by their nature" Oh my God, situations and sometimes the lawyers will say: "Let what we have to make sure we can get this company to bankruptcy." "Companies at later agreed to cut their costs, he said.

Most lawyers and bankruptcy experts, while surprised by the size of Weil at the request, ceased to call it excessive short. David Skeels, a bankruptcy law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said the fees paid to Weil and other companies are often the results they provide. "Weil has done an excellent job in Enron," he says. "It began in chaos, but in the end, the creditors have a good recovery. They sold assets at decent prices and pulled back money from banks. "

The recent wave of filings has led to huge payday for some businesses, particularly those such as Weil and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, with a strong bankruptcy practice. But some firms in difficulty, including a handful of traders, chose to liquidate rather than to continue restructuring, mainly because of poor market conditions and a lack of debt financing.

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Minnesota man convicted of impersonating lawyer

A man accused of impersonating a lawyer at least 10 states was found guilty Wednesday of mail fraud and false statements to a government lawyer he hopes will be the first d a series of federal prosecutions across the country.

It took about an hour and a half for a federal jury to convict Howard O. Bismarck Kieffer, who was brought back in his chair and gulped as the verdict was read.

Authorities Kieffer lied on his application to practice law in the Federal Court, but still represented clients such as the St. Louis Blues former hockey player who pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill his agent.

At trial, two witnesses told the jury that each paid Kieffer at least $ 20,000 to appeal against prison sentences for their families later, it was not a lawyer. The prosecutors testified that they believed that Kieffer was one of their colleagues, because he seemed to know the Federal Court on the issues and because they have seen the lawyer training seminars.

Kieffer's lawyer, Joshua Lowther, called no witnesses, but he said that the Government has not proved his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The 54-year-old from Duluth, Minnesota, faces 25 years in prison and a fine of $ 500,000, a date for sentencing was not immediately established. Deputy Prosecutor of the United States, said David Kieffer Hagler may be prosecuted in federal court in other states where he posed as a lawyer.

"I hope that other districts in the country that something is going to continue," said Hagler, immediately after the two-day trial.

Kieffer case outside of North Dakota, especially the former player from St. Louis Blues Michael Danton, who pleaded guilty in 2004 for conspiring to kill his agent.

Kieffer was charged in North Dakota last year, after one of its customers, a man accused of child pornography, says a federal judge in Bismarck, which raises questions about whether Kieffer has never been licensed lawyer.

Hagler said Kieffer not verify his credentials.

"They thought he was a lawyer and trusted him," said Hagler the trial began. "Many people have made this mistake."

Court records show Kieffer was convicted of theft earlier and filing false tax returns and served in a federal prison from 1989 to 1992.

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Recession Lawyer Layoffs Because of The Large Companies

WASHINGTON - In America, there are always people to continue or to negotiate contracts, right? Apparently there is not enough.

The recession is high toll on the legal profession, an industry long considered immune from the ups and downs of the economy. Trying to overcome the financial crisis, the largest law firms are laying off and delay the commitment of others.

More than 3,000 lawyers were laid off in the first three months of 2009.

"Many people go into law because it is one of those professions where you are still under work. There is not usually large layoffs, "said Samuel Smith, of Charlotte, NC" In fact, I do not think people saw coming. "

Last summer, Smith worked at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, while flirting with opportunities for some other companies. But in August, Smith was laid off as the economy deteriorated. Companies that had previously been involved are now reluctant to hire.

"I'm still looking for jobs," said Smith, who http://www.rateapartner.com launched a Web site links to news articles and legal firms allows lawyers and clients anonymity rate firm partners.

At what point is there?

The Labor Department said the number of unemployed jumped by 66 per cent of lawyers last year to 10-year high of 20000.

The first time this year that three consecutive working days passed without one of the highest law of the companies announcing job cuts came in mid-March, according to the website Lawshucks.com. They counted 3149 lawyer layoffs - only in large companies, only in the first three months of the year.

New York City Bar Association, for the first time in more than 135 years, offering career counseling to lawyers between jobs.

Law firms are delaying the hiring last year of law students that are normally given on a year in advance of graduation. Students graduating in law at the job this spring are paid to delay their start date. Some have said there will be no work later this year, perhaps in 2010.

Thus, many are being lawyers face this situation, volunteer lawyers from the Justice, a group that trains volunteers to provide free legal assistance to low-income clients, held a "deferred Associates Job Fair "in Newark, NJ, for graduates looking for temporary work until permanent jobs through.

For some Americans, there is little sympathy for lawyers who are suddenly unemployed.

They make more money than the average Joe, with the nation of millions-or-if the lawyers averaged $ 118,280 in 2007, or $ 56.87 an hour, according to the Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And the number of out-of-work lawyers was minuscule compared with the manufacturing sector, which had 945,000 unemployed workers last year, or the construction industry, which saw more than 1 million jobs vanish in 2008.

But these jobs do not require four years of college, plus a degree from a law school which costs about $ 70,000 to attend.

"My computer is about to die with the amount of CV that I sent," said Tim Brown, 32, from Alexandria, Va.

Brown was fired from his job on the right franchise for the National Auto Dealers Association by March 26 and sent hundreds of resumes. The answer?

"We have received your CV. Thank you very much, "said Brown, who made the payment of the loan in April, but is concerned by May

Karla Cortes, 33, lost his job as the Nature Conservancy, a lawyer in November, just two years after graduating from American University Law School.

Money is tight now, "said Cortes, who attended a workshop at George Washington University to get a job in the difficult economy. "I hope to find a job soon," she says. "Otherwise, I will have to return to Puerto Rico because my savings were exhausted."

Tommy Wells, president of the American Bar Association, said counsel for the increase in dismissals is partly the fault of the legal industry.

In the past, large law firms that have diversified by work in areas such as bankruptcy and litigation that could help companies and mergers and acquisition work when the economy worsened and vice versa, he noted .

"Companies may have a little balance in terms of practice areas and putting a lot of resources in areas that are unfortunately not nearly as much as they were a few years ago," he said.

The economy is responsible for all law firms in the course title.

In Philadelphia, WolfBlock, which has been in business since 1903 and has more than 300 lawyers in several states, is "ending" in preparation for closure. Partners blames the banking crisis, the recession - especially in the core business of real estate practice - and the lawyers and clients bailing like writing on the wall became clearer.

In New York, Thacher Proffitt & Wood, in business since 1848, survived the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, it had offices in the World Trade Center and has lost none of its more than 300 lawyers and support staff. But he could not survive the bad economy and closed in September.

Koszeg Fanni, 34 years old, lost his job at Thacher, in April 2008. Koszeg thought she would be out of the summer and may return to work as a public interest lawyer.

"It was very naive on my part," said Koszeg. "Now, all other law firms have been laying off hundreds of lawyers."

It was more than a decade, as the market is this bad for lawyers, "said David P. Landau Klein, Landau & Romm, one of the oldest continuously operating legal research companies in the United States.

"We'll get out of this, we always do," said Landau, who has been recruiting lawyers for more than two decades. This recession, he said, "is a little deeper. It May take more time."

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Administration lawyer delays the debut of Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - Elena Kagan, the Obama administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, is to pass the chance to claim his first high court in a case of largest minority voting rights.

Instead, Kagan, confirmed by the Senate last month as solicitor general, will wait until fall to make its debut, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Justice Beverley Lumpkin said Tuesday.

When Kagan took office, Lumpkin said, most cases, the court will hear in April had already been assigned.

"I guess she would have spent the last few weeks doing nothing, but the preparation, but this is not something she wanted to do. There is much to do to speed up in the office, "said Lumpkin.

The Solicitor General deals usually the case in court. The challenge to a provision of the law on voting rights, which will be discussed April 29 is perhaps the term most cases.

Kagan has a resume more impressive - former dean of Harvard Law School, Clinton White House official and clerk of the Supreme Court - but she has little courtroom experience.

David Garrow, a historian at the University of Cambridge, who wrote on the court and voting rights, said recently that Kagan would do better to break with a more easy. In the area of voting rights, Garrow said, "You would run a significantly higher risk of making a mistake as you would on most things."

Kagan's top deputy, Neal Katyal, will undertake the administration of the argument in the case, Lumpkin said. He argued three cases before and won a great victory in 2006 when he represented the Guantanamo detainees who were facing military tribunals.

What is the ultimate luxury? Justice Clarence Thomas has answered this question how many former southern air conditioning.

Thomas, who spent part of his childhood in Georgia, in an apartment without inside a toilet, let alone air conditioning, told a group of students winning essay in a recent speech that they need to find out adapt their expectations and appreciate all that life has to offer in good times and bad.

"Many of us have come to believe that we are owed prosperity," Thomas said at a dinner sponsored by the Institute of Human Rights.

Thomas, 60, said he had learned as more and more of what it is not always fun and success. "There were no guarantees, except that we had the right to try," says Thomas.

The pitfalls of modern life, people are a little spoiled, "said Thomas. He remembers when he asked a group of students who came to see him in court if one of them had a cell phone. Each of them has done.

"I am one of those who think that the dishwasher is a miracle," says Thomas. "And I must admit, I like to load."

After his speech, Thomas was asked how his judicial philosophy has changed from his time at Yale Law School. He laughed and said he did not have a judicial philosophy at the time. "I was trying to get a degree," he said.

Justice John Paul Stevens, turns 89 on Monday, when the judges return to the bench for the last two weeks of arguments this term.

Stevens is only the second justice to be celebrating its 89th anniversary while the court. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who retired at age 90 in 1932, was another.

Do not expect birthday wishes to be offered in the courtroom. That will come later, during lunch from judges, the days of the court is in session. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg noted in a recent speech, the judges in general "to celebrate a birthday with a pre-lunch toast and a 'Happy Birthday' chorus usually headed by Justice (Antonin) Scalia.

Why Scalia? "Because to us, it is better able to carry a song," says Ginsburg.

Her husband, noted tax lawyer and Georgetown University law professor Martin Ginsburg, sometimes cooked a cake for the occasion, she said.

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Criminal Background Checks - It is important in today's world to ensure that your family is protected

It is very important in today's world to protect your family and make sure they are safe. There are people around us who are predators, and seek to harm your family if you do not protect them well. You can now check in from any person you want all the way to your neighbor for certain that you are coming from abroad who have come together. It is very important to know that surrounds you every day and criminal background checks give you the comfort you need to feel safe.

There was a time when you had to pay a lot of money and wait for long periods of time to obtain such information, but now it is no longer necessary. With services available now, you are able to tap into the same database that uses law enforcement when they conduct research on a person.

All you have to do is enter a little information about the person you want to know about the site and let them do the rest. You'll have quick access to documents such as records of crime, crime records, the status of marriage, tax records, sexual crimes and many more. This service is great and almost necessary now days when you want to move to a new neighborhood, taking your child to a new nursery, using a new baby-sitter, starting a new job or a new date.

How many times have you heard of people who found the person they were dating was already married? I can imagine that this is not fun!

Now, with a criminal record search, you do not have to worry about being in this position.

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