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Simmons rated as UK's most gay-friendly firm
Legal News |
2010/01/12 09:05
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pFour law firms have been included in this year's Workplace Equality Index compiled by gay rights charity Stonewall./ppThe index, which ranks the top 100 gay-friendly employers in the UK, included Simmons amp; Simmons as the highest-ranked law firm in 15th place, up from 31st place last year./ppElsewhere, Pinsent Masons ranks 36th, up from 50 in 2009, Herbert Smith moves from 77th to 56th position and Eversheds has risen to 85th up from 100 last year./ppIn total, 24 law firms submitted entries to Stonewall this year./ppComputing giant IBM topped the rankings for the second time in four years, replacing last year's winner Lloyds TSB./ppThe process sees companies nominate themselves to participate through an online survey giving evidence of their policies. An anonymous staff survey is then carried out, which this year saw 7,000 lesbian, gay and bisexual participants. The top 20 finalists are then separately audited./ppStonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill said: We received more entries than any previous year from employers who understand and have benefited from Stonewall's research which found that gay people are far more likely to buy goods or services from companies they know are gay-friendly.
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Law firm mergers down 24 percent in 2009
Legal News |
2010/01/06 12:53
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pLast year, law firms chose to buckle down and manage their expenses instead of expanding their businesses with mergers and acquisitions, according to recently released data./ppIn 2009 there were 53 new law firm mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. That was down 24 percent over 2008’s total, according to a report from legal research firm Altman Weil MergerLine./ppAbout 79 percent of 2009’s deals involved the acquisition of small law firms with 20 or fewer lawyers, per the report./pp“This reflects law firms’ cautious approach last year, as most firms spent 2009 focused on internal issues of cost cutting, layoffs, and compensation adjustments in response to the Great Recession,” said Altman Weil principal Ward Bower, in a statement. “But we expect to see an uptick in 2010 as deals currently on hold pending 2009 year-end results are finalized.”/ppOne of the big exceptions to that, which was cited in the report, involved Boston-based Bingham McCutchen, which acquired McKee Nelson, a 120-attorney firm, in August. Another big deal saw Kamp;L Gates, which has a large presence in Boston, acquire Bell Boyd and Lloyd in January./ppThe biggest deal, per the report, was the merger of the U.K.’s Lovells LLP with Washington, D.C.-based Hogan amp; Hartson. When that deal is ultimately finalized in May of 2010, it will be the second largest law firm merger ever accomplished, forming a 2,500-lawyer firm, according to Altman Weil.
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Judge names Houston attorney to monitor company
Legal Line News |
2009/12/28 21:01
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A Houston lawyer will serve as a court-appointed ombudsman to monitor a venerable Texas company that has been cited for discriminating against black employees.
pTony P. Rosenstein, an employment lawyer with the Houston firm Baker Botts, will investigate complaints from Lufkin Industries employees and act to resolve them, according to an injunction issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark of Beaumont./ppThe injunction is part of the resolution of a class-action lawsuit brought against the 107-year-old company by black workers 12 years ago./ppClark ruled last June that Lufkin Industries' more than 1,000 current and former black employees are due to divvy up back pay and interest of approximately $5.5 million. The judge awarded the damages as compensation for what he called the company's unlawful discrimination in awarding promotions./ppLufkin Industries, publicly traded since 1990, manufactures oil field equipment and industrial gearboxes. It employs about 1,200 in Lufkin, a city of 33,000 about 120 miles northeast of Houston, making it one of the area's largest employers./p |
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6 accused in Mass. mortgage scheme
U.S. Court News |
2009/12/24 21:03
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| Three real estate investors, two mortgage brokers and a disbarred attorney have been indicted for allegedly participating in a complex scheme to defraud homeowners and mortgage lenders in the Boston area, authorities announced Tuesday.pThe six defendants are charged with larceny and making false or exaggerated statements./ppState Attorney General Martha Coakley, who announced the indictments at a news conference, said the scheme netted more than $2 million in proceeds./ppThose charged were: Joshua Brown, 29, of Brockton; Brian Frank, 32, of New Hartford, N.Y.; and John Sweetland, 28, of Yorba Linda, Calif., all identified as real estate investors. Mortgage brokers Linda Defeo, 28, of Springfield, and Brian Arrington, 39, of Boston, were also charged./ppFormer attorney Bruce Namenson, 47, of Walpole, was also charged. In unrelated cases, Namenson was disbarred in 2008 for converting clients' money for his own use and sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to motor vehicle insurance fraud./ppAuthorities allege that Brown, Frank and Sweetland, of Boston Equity Investments, used inflated property appraisals and other fraudulent documents to obtain approximately $12.5 million in loans from more than a dozen financial lending institutions to purchase 26 multifamily homes./ppThey allegedly arranged for the sellers to receive much less money for the sales than the maximum amount of financing that BEI was able to get from the lenders in the homebuyers' names. At closings, BEI would pocket the difference, which was usually between $50,000 and $100,000, and sometimes as much as $150,000, Coakley said./p |
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