• A federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit by a former Ropes & Gray associate who claimed the firm racially discriminated against him . The First Circuit panel called John Ray III’s allegations about the firm’s poor record of advancement of black lawyers “troubling,” but said he failed to prove his termination stemmed from his complaints about racial remarks made by Ropes & Gray partners. (National Law Journal)
• Law firm consultant Bruce MacEwen, a vocal critic of the American Lawyer’s rankings of the top 200 U.S. grossing firms, released a survey soliciting input from lawyers about the reliability of the AmLaw 200 list. His survey was emailed one day after MacEwen met for coffee with The American Lawyer editor-in-chief, Kimberly Kleman. (Big Law Business)
• A federal judge last week ordered attorney Camilo Salas to pay his female adversary in the courtroom $1,000 in compensation, and take a legal education course on professionalism, after Salas suggested his rival was going through menopause. A recent American Bar Association report suggests sexist comments by male attorneys is discouraging women from taking lead roles in arguing cases. (Big Law Business)
• From 2007 to 2011, lateral hiring of partners surged 10 percent while the number of promotions of associates to partnership declined 21 percent, according to data in a book by University of Tennessee law professor Benjamin Barton. (Global Legal Post)
Legal Market
• Australian listed law firm Slater & Gordon “got suckered” into buying the Professional Services Division of insurance claims provider Quindell, which is under criminal investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office for its business and accounting practices, writes a columnist. KMPG recently restated the group’s historical accounts, slashing the reported value of assets sold to the Australian firm. Slater’s own accounting practices are under investigation by Australian stock market regulators. (Financial Times)
Laterals and Moves
• Los Angeles-based Davis Wright Tremaine has recruited David Quinto from Kupferstein Manuel & Quinto. He was a name partner specializing in trademark, copyright, unfair competition and other complex business disputes. Quinto only last year joined Kupferstein from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which he co-founded. Also going to Davis Wright is former Quinn Emanuel IP litigation counsel Scott Commerson, most recently a partner at Kupferstein Manuel. After the departures, intellectual property and employment boutique Kupferstein Manuel has just four lawyers. (American Lawyer)
• DLA Piper has hired a three-partner team of construction specialists from Eversheds, three years after the same team came to Eversheds from Addleshaw Goddard and legacy McGrigors. David Moss and Paul Giles join DLA as partners in the firm’s global infrastructure, construction and transport sector, while Nigel Proctor comes as a consultant. (The Lawyer)
Technology
• Hilary Clinton’s handling of inquiries into her use of a private email server when she was secretary of state is a case study in “damage maximization,” writes a columnist, urging Clinton to admit her errors and make amends in the fiasco. (Financial Times)
Dewey
• Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP inflated key financial data by as much as 1,000 percent in years leading up to the law firm’s 2012 collapse, a forensic accountant told jurors Wednesday in the criminal trial of three former leaders of the fallen firm. (Wall Street Journal)
• In Wednesday testimony in the three former Dewey leaders’ trial, jurors heard conflicting views regarding the firm’s accounting practices. (American Lawyer)
Legal Education
• This week has seen a number of announcements blurring the line between law school, judicial bench and politics: University of Arkansas law professor Howard Brill was appointed chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court; the University of Georgia School of Law said that former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss would co-teach a law course on political leadership this fall; and Indiana Tech Law School said current State Attorney General Greg Zoeller will teach a class on Indiana constitutional law. (National Law Journal)
Miscellaneous
• Rather than resorting to so-called attack dog representation to dismantle legal foes in their product liability cases, companies including Merck & Co. Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC and General Motors Co. have turned to King & Spalding LLP’s Chilton Davis Varner, who is described by her colleagues as a “velvet hammer” who presents clear, concise information to juries. (Law360)
• The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Wednesday unsealed court documents linked to a scandal that Attorney General Kathleen Kane alleges underlies a conspiracy against her that she says is intended to suppress “obscene” email exchanges between two former state prosecutors through their government email accounts. Kane faces trial on charges she leaked secret grand jury information to embarrass a rival prosecutor. (WSJ Law Blog)
• In a Chicago federal court case nearing its end, defense lawyer Beau Brindley faces obstruction of justice, perjury and other charges linked to his alleged coaching of witnesses and defendants to lie during testimony. (New York Times/AP)
• Two corn refining companies filed an Aug. 20 sanctions motion in a federal district court alleging that a former Squire Patton Boggs attorney disqualified earlier this year from a high-stakes case between the sugar and high-fructose corn syrup industries is, in fact, still working on the case as a strategic adviser. (National Law Journal)
• Three U.S. firms — Baker Botts, Cravath, Swain & Moore, and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher — have advised on oilfield services company Schlumberger’s $14.8 billion acquisition of equipment provider Cameron International. (The Lawyer)