legal profession

  • Trump’s Win Brings New Opportunities, Challenges for Law Firms

    A change in presidential administrations always brings shifts for leading U.S. law firms. Corporate clients seek guidance on adjusting to new regulations and navigating evolving policy and business landscapes. Tuesday’s election saw Republican Donald Trump secure a clear victory, giving the GOP a majority in the U.S. Senate and possibly the House of Representatives. Trump’s…

  • 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…

  • Law School Applicant Numbers Surge, End of LSAT Logic Games is Possible Factor

    This year’s law school admission cycle kicks off with a strong start, showing a 26% increase in applicants for spots next fall compared to last year. Schools also report a 37% rise in the number of applications submitted. Although the Law School Admission Council, which develops the LSAT, anticipates a slowdown in this early surge—most…

  • 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…

  • ‘Varsity Blues’ College Fraud Prosecutor Joins Quinn Emanuel

    A federal prosecutor in Boston, Stephen Frank, who oversaw the “Operation Varsity Blues” investigation into the U.S. college admissions scandal and secured the conviction of a Kremlin-linked businessman involved in last month’s prisoner swap between Russia and the West, has joined the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Frank, who previously served as chief…

  • 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…