Small Law


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    Strict Rules Limit Paraprofessional Ranks In Legal Deserts

    Legal paraprofessionals can offer much-needed legal aid to those who can't find attorneys, but difficulties scaling up nascent state licensing programs and getting paraprofessionals to rural areas is limiting their impact.

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    Patchwork Efforts Grow Lawyer Pipeline To Reach Legal Deserts

    A patchwork of local pipeline programs aims to educate and bring the next generation of attorneys to rural communities and legal deserts across the country.

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    Clancy Atty Denies Malpractice Claim By Man Serving Life

    A prominent Massachusetts criminal defense attorney best known for representing Lindsay Clancy has been accused in a separate case of "abandoning" a client who is serving life sentences for second-degree murder and home invasion, allegations the lawyer denies.

  • Paralegal Says Fla. Injury Firm Fired Her Over OT Complaints

    A Florida personal injury firm misclassified a paralegal and other workers as independent contractors, denied them overtime and fired the paralegal after she complained, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. 

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    Sorrels Law Expands Beyond PI With New Biz Law Practice

    Texas firm Sorrels Law has expanded beyond its flagship personal injury litigation offerings with a new business law practice group aimed at handling complex commercial disputes for corporations, businesses and individuals.

  • Colo. Firm Accused Of Withholding 33% Malpractice Fee

    A New York attorney claimed a personal injury firm won't pay the 33% portion of an attorney fee he is owed from a settlement in a medical malpractice lawsuit in violation of a written agreement between the parties, according to a complaint filed in Colorado federal court.

  • Ford Says Quill & Arrow Can't Escape Lemon Law Fee Fight

    Ford Motor Co. has told a California federal judge that Quill & Arrow LLP must face claims that it saddled Ford with high-priced legal bills for work purportedly handled by virtual assistants overseas or nonlawyers, saying the personal injury firm's "fraud factory" tactics cannot continue unchecked.

  • Apple Backs Its $132K Fee Ask Over 'Bad Faith' Subpoenas

    Apple has urged a California federal magistrate judge to grant its $132,700 attorney fee request as a sanction against plaintiff consumers' lead lawyer in antitrust litigation claiming Google muscles out rival search engines, but said Apple's counsel doesn't want to disclose their "highly and competitively sensitive" negotiated legal rates.

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    Trembly Law Absorbs Miami Probate Firm Get Ahead Legal

    Estate planning firm Get Ahead Legal has merged with the Miami-based Trembly Law Firm.

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    AY Strauss Adds Hartmann Doherty Corporate Partner In NJ

    A.Y. Strauss continued a string of new hires this year, announcing Wednesday a new corporate partner with experience in transactions for clients in consumer products, technology and other industries.

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    Burford Exec, Holland & Knight Adviser Open AI-Native Firm

    Two veterans of the legal industry announced on Wednesday that they have teamed up to launch FairPlay Law, an AI-native firm based in Manhattan and focused on representing employees.

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    Getting To Court Can Pose Barrier To Justice In Rural America

    In rural areas of the U.S., many people live great distances from courthouses and other legal services, creating major barriers to accessing justice and taking a toll on residents, lawyers and legal personnel.

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    Former Kline & Specter Attys Launch Firm With Help From AI

    Two former Kline & Specter PC attorneys have struck out on their own with a Philadelphia-based law firm built around complex litigation and a technology-forward approach to practicing law.

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    NY Boutique Yankwitt LLP Hires COO From Hecker Fink

    Yankwitt LLP, a litigation boutique based in Westchester County, New York, said that it has hired Hecker Fink LLP's chief operating officer to serve as its first COO. 

  • Colo. Firm Settles Clients' Immigration Advice Suit

    A Colorado personal injury law firm accused of giving two clients faulty legal advice on the filing of their immigration documents has settled the legal malpractice lawsuit against it, according to documents filed in Colorado state court.

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    Ex-Leader In NJ US Atty's Office Joins Biz Integrity Boutique

    A former federal prosecutor who was part of a short-lived trio leading the New Jersey U.S. attorney's office earlier this year has moved into private practice at the New York boutique Getnick Law, the firm announced Tuesday.

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    Legal Deserts: Millions Across America Struggle To Access Lawyers

    Tens of millions of Americans live in towns and counties across the nation with limited or no access to legal services. By one estimate, at least a third of the nation's counties qualify as a "legal desert," having only one or no attorney per 1,000 residents. Roughly 24 million Americans reside in these counties.

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    Pa. Justices Dubious About Disbarring Ex-Sacks Weston Atty

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday dug into its attorney disciplinary board's request for the disbarment of a former Sacks Weston Diamond Law LLC attorney who defrauded the firm out of nearly $320,000, suggesting in its questioning that the matter was not a clear-cut example for the application of the state's harshest penalty for lawyers.

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    Robbins Alloy, Robbins Gov't Affairs Add Atty From Resurgens

    Robbins Alloy Belinfante Littlefield LLC and its lobbying arm Robbins Government Relations have brought on a principal from Resurgens Strategies, adding an attorney with more than two decades of experience with law and politics.

  • 5th Circ. Backs Toss Of Texas Law Firm's Pandemic Loan Bid

    The Fifth Circuit upheld the U.S. Small Business Administration's denial of a Texas law firm's bid for forgiveness of a Paycheck Protection Program loan of about $249,000 due to the firm's failure to disclose a pending criminal complaint against its owner.

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    Pa. Appellate Panel Scolds Attys In $18.5M Med Mal Case

    Attorneys from Burns White LLC and Philadelphia personal injury firm Bosworth & Associates both got a dressing-down from a Pennsylvania appellate panel over their conduct in a medical malpractice case, though the court upheld the $18.5 million jury verdict for the plaintiff.

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    What Happens When The Only Lawyer In Town Retires?

    Many rural attorneys, often the only lawyer in town, work until they die or simply close their practices when they retire. But small to mid-sized firms looking to expand into rural markets could help to make succession planning a real possibility for these solo practitioners.

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    First-Gen Students Pressured By Earlier BigLaw Recruiting

    Students who are the first in their families to attend law school have been thrown a new challenge at the beginning of their legal journeys, as BigLaw accelerates their recruitment timelines.

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    What Summer Associates Learned From Working At Firms

    From learning how to come back from mistakes to cross-team collaboration, this year's summer associates came away with lessons that will help them succeed in their future careers. Here's what they want law students to know as they begin their own journeys.

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    The 2026 Summer Associate Experience: AI Led The Way

    Summer associate programs give law students an up-close look at changes unfolding in the legal industry, and a new Law360 Pulse survey found artificial intelligence use and pay have reached new heights.

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Expert Analysis

  • Tips For Attracting Stellar CLOs In A Competitive Landscape Author Photo

    Amid a rapidly changing regulatory environment and a fierce market for talent, companies hoping to attract the best chief legal officers must have a strong grasp of their roles’ biggest selling points, and any roadblocks that may prevent them from recruiting the strongest choice, says Heather Fine at Major Lindsey.

  • 'Golden Handcuffs' May Be A Double-Edge Sword For Firms Author Photo

    As law firms increasingly use certain financial incentives to retain partners in a fierce lateral market, managing partners should consider the pros and cons of various deferred compensation schemes, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • The 10-Min. Rule For Building A Business Development Habit Author Photo

    Many lawyers assume that becoming a rainmaker requires a significant investment of time and effort, but the truth is that building a consistent habit of business development can start with just 10 minutes of strategic outreach a day, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 5 Pointers For Firm Leaders Communicating Tough Decisions Author Photo

    Certain law firm decisions — such as whether to challenge an executive order — cannot be crowdsourced, but leadership can collaboratively communicate these choices using strategies that build trust, reinforce values and preserve cohesion, says John Hellerman at Hellerman Communications.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Create A Succession Plan Author Photo

    ​​​​​​​Conversations around retirement and succession can be understandably difficult, but when attorneys make a plan for the transition early and effectively, they have the opportunity to not only keep work but also increase it, says Jillian McKenna at Verrill Dana.

  • Looking Under The Hood Of The $3,000 Billable Hour Author Photo

    In recent years, top-tier law firms have pushed hourly rates to unprecedented heights, with some partners commanding $3,000 per hour — but this eye-popping number doesn’t tell the full story, as there are numerous caveats and rigorous winnowing along the way, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • How Law Firms Can Keep Nonequity Partners Happy Author Photo

    Law firms that successfully manage two-tiered partnership do so by creating a culture that treats everyone with respect and by establishing financial incentives outside their base compensation to reward performance, says Carol Morganstern at Major Lindsey.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Leverage Your Atty Bio Author Photo

    If maintained properly, your firm bio can help attract potential clients and create authentic connections, so it's crucial to take steps to write an updated attorney profile that goes beyond a list of credentials, says Raychel Lean at Reputation Ink.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Can I Promote Thoughtful Use Of AI? Author Photo

    Eran Kahana at Maslon discusses how partners can encourage responsible use of artificial intelligence tools within their firms by learning to spot pitfalls common to AI-generated work product and championing firmwide procedures and trainings that address the risks of uncritically relying on this powerful but imperfect technology.

  • Making Legal Cents: Firm Culture Is The New Game Plan Author Photo

    Law firm culture is often dismissed as a soft factor — merely platitudes on a website that seem disconnected from the bottom line — but by intentionally embedding a strong culture into day-to-day operations, law firms can achieve sustainable success, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • 5 Questions Firms Must Ask For Successful Lateral Integration Author Photo

    To ensure that lateral partners effectively integrate their books of business, firms should design a structured transition plan based on a few fundamentals, from tracking the right data to implementing meaningful incentives, says Lana Manganiello at Practice Growth Partner.

  • Goldilocks Solution: Why The 4-Day Office Week Is Just Right Author Photo

    As law firms continue to wrestle with return-to-office policies, many are being pulled toward one or the other of two extremes: the rigidity of a five-day in-office schedule and the laissez-faire approach of a flexible three-day hybrid model — but a four-day in-office workweek may be the sweet spot, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • As Attys Adopt Generative AI, 3 Elements Should Be Cardinal Author Photo

    As the legal world increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence, lawyers and firms must develop and utilize strong prompting skills, keep a pulse on forthcoming tech evolutions, and remain steadfast to ethical obligations, say Michele Carney at Carney & Marchi and Marty Robles-Avila at BAL.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises Author Photo

    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Prioritize Connections Author Photo

    One reason business development in the legal industry seems so mysterious is because human relationships are so complex, but lawyers can reorient their thinking in two important ways to drive the process of connecting with new colleagues and contacts, say Jamie Lawless and Angela Quinn at Husch Blackwell.

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