Legal career

  • No bar exam? Utah considers it

    Utah is moving forward with a proposal to allow law graduates to become licensed without taking the bar exam, following a trend set by a few other states that have introduced alternative pathways to legal licensure in recent years. On Monday, the Utah Supreme Court unveiled a plan that would enable graduates of American Bar…

  • Law Firms Ride Private Credit Wave as Market Evolves

    The burgeoning private credit market is creating significant demand for U.S. finance lawyers, particularly as recent partnerships between banks and non-bank lenders expand opportunities in this sector. With private credit now a $2 trillion market, non-bank lenders are increasingly filling gaps left by traditional banks, benefiting from less stringent regulatory requirements. Prominent law firms are…

  • Ex-Seattle Mayor Joins Law Firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

    Law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) announced on Wednesday that it hired Jenny Durkan, the former mayor of Seattle and a former U.S. attorney. Durkan will lead BCLP’s U.S. white-collar practice from the firm’s Seattle and Washington, D.C., offices. BCLP opened its Seattle office last year, marking the firm’s first new U.S. office since…

  • New York Bar Exam Pass Rate Highest Since 2013

    New York has joined the growing number of states reporting a higher pass rate on the July 2024 bar exam, with 69% of examinees successfully passing the attorney licensing exam. This figure marks New York’s highest overall pass rate since 2013, showing a 3 percentage point increase from 2023’s 66%, according to the New York…

  • First Openly Transgender Lawyer to Argue at Supreme Court

    In December, Chase Strangio, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer, will make history as the first openly transgender attorney to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. Strangio opposes Tennessee’s Republican-backed law that bans gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. Strangio, 41, represents a group of transgender individuals who filed a lawsuit challenging this law, which…

  • Los Angeles Lawyer for Rodney King to Plead Guilty to Tax Evasion

    A lawyer who represented Rodney King after Los Angeles police officers beat him in 1991 has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges for failing to pay over $2.4 million in taxes. Milton Grimes will plead guilty to one count of tax evasion, resolving allegations that he did not pay taxes for nearly a…

  • Law Firm Paul Hastings Taps Appellate Leader Amid Fights Over Federal Powers

    On Wednesday, the U.S. law firm Paul Hastings announced the hiring of Benjamin Snyder, a government lawyer who argued a significant case on federal agency powers before the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year. Snyder will join the firm’s Washington, D.C., office as a partner and co-chair of its appellate practice. Snyder previously served as…

  • FTX Investors Drop Lawsuit Against Law Firm Sullivan & Cromwell

    A group of FTX investors informed a Miami federal court on Wednesday that they will voluntarily dismiss their proposed class action against the prominent U.S. law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. The investors accused Sullivan & Cromwell of participating in the multibillion-dollar fraud of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange and enriching itself as FTX’s lead bankruptcy counsel.…

  • Indiana Joins Legal Services Reform Push, Citing Lawyer Shortage

    Indiana is moving toward allowing alternative approaches to delivering legal services, following the lead of other U.S. states. On Thursday, the Indiana Supreme Court directed its innovation committee to develop parameters for a “legal regulatory sandbox,” with the goal of creating more flexible legal service models. The committee must submit its proposals by March 1.…

  • Legal Fee Tracker: Whistleblower Lawyers Could Lose Big in False Claims Act Fight

    A Florida federal judge issued a ruling this week that threatens to dismantle a key part of the federal False Claims Act, a Civil War-era law designed to combat fraud against the U.S. government and reward whistleblowers who expose it. The law’s whistleblower provisions, strengthened by Congress in 1986, have created a lucrative practice for…