“Roche Cyrulnik Freedman LLP has filed a federal lawsuit against founding name partner Jason Cyrulnik, alleging he was unanimously voted out of the firm for ‘abusive, destructive, erratic, and obstructive behavior,’ but has refused to leave,” posts Thomson Reuters Westlaw Today.

“The 25-page lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on Saturday asks a judge to rule that Cyrulnik was properly voted out of the partnership. The firm accused Cyrulnik of refusing to leave unless he receives ‘excessive payments.'”

“The firm voted Cyrulnik out on Feb. 12. Although he is no longer on the website, Cyrulnik, through his attorney Marc Kasowitz of Kasowitz Benson Torres, told his colleagues he has no intention of leaving, according to the lawsuit.”

Read the article.

“Three top U.S. law firms, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and Latham & Watkins, announced Monday they hired antitrust partners, signaling growing demand as regulators more closely scrutinize potential anticompetitive behavior,” reports Rebekah Mintzer in Bloomberg Law’s The United States Law Week.

“The four new hires have government antitrust enforcement experience that could be useful for clients facing an anticipated growth in scrutiny under the Biden administration and public debate about “breaking up” Big Tech and other industries.”

“According to data from Decipher, which performs due diligence for law firm hires, between November 2020 and January 2021 there have been 80% more antitrust lateral moves announced by Big Law compared to an average of the same period from the previous three years.”

Read the article.

“Two property titans’ real estate development firms, MV Ventures and Turnberry Associates, have picked up a pair of law firm partners to be their top lawyers,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“Eagan, Minn.-based MV Ventures, owned by the family of shopping mall billionaire and Minnesota Vikings owner Zygmunt “Zygi” Wilf, hired Matthew Slaven to be its general counsel as of Feb. 15. Slaven was a real estate, environmental, and construction law partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Minneapolis.”

“Turnberry Associates, an Aventura, Fla.-based real estate developer controlled by the family of billionaire Donald Soffer, brought on Julian Chung to serve as its general counsel. Chung was a Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson real estate finance partner in New York.”

Read the article.

Boies Schiller & Flexner announced bank breaking bonuses, but they aren’t done spreading the good news, reports Kathryn Rubino in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“BSF has revealed a new program designed to make it a little easier for those that are on the precipice of starting their legal career. Though they’ve yet to start work at the firm (they’re scheduled to start next month), they’re still sharing in the firm’s successes — to the tune of $20,000. That’s right: incoming associates will receive sizable welcoming bonuses at BSF.”

Read the article.

“Fake websites for four large law firms created in 2008 might have been part of an attempt to get insider information on pending Wall Street deals, according to newly declassified FBI documents,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Cybersecurity News.

“The targeted law firms were Greenberg Traurig; Sullivan & Cromwell; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and Cravath, Swaine & Moore.”

“Sullivan & Cromwell told the FBI that it thought the scammer was trying to intercept email with information about mergers and acquisitions.”

Read the article.

“Biglaw is an industry-specific nickname for high-revenue law firms with large headcounts. It can also refer to smaller firms that pay their lawyers a market rate salary, or even a medium-sized outfit with wide, international reach and notoriety,” writes Joshua Holt in Law Fuel’s blog.

“All of these types of firms are typically headquartered in major US cities, like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, with multiple branches in smaller markets. And, most notably, lawyers who work in Biglaw can expect to be paid based on the Cravath scale.”

“The Cravath Scale, an offshoot of the Cravath system, is named after Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, the firm which is generally considered the authority on setting associate salaries. Its compensatory functions include factors like the number of years out of law school and particular law school classes, among others.”

“Lawyers on this pay scale not only earn the same salary but can also anticipate receiving the same annual market bonus. Based on the lockstep and closely monitored structure of the scale, if one firm offers an associate a higher salary, other firms tend to follow suit. But while this scale is based on a platform of consistency, changes have been experienced throughout the years.”

Read the article.

Live Summit:
Thursday, June 9,
New York, NY

Registration is being accepted for Bloomberg Law’s premier legal event, the annual Big Law Business Summit in New York City, scheduled for Thursday, June 9.

The event will be at the Apella, Event Space at Alexandria Center, 450 E 29th Street in New York, NY 10016, beginning with breakfast and registration at 8:15 a.m. EDT and ending with a closing keynote and then a party at 5:50 p.m.

General Counsel News readers may attend at no charge. (Registration form)

Two of the speakers will be :

• Magistrate Judge James Orenstein, U.S. District Court (E.D.N.Y.), who recently entered the debate around the government’s ability to compel unlocking of cell phones. Bloomberg News reports, “Orenstein is the first judge to thoroughly explore what the government can and cannot access.”
• Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., who will speak on collaborating across borders and sectors to detect and prevent cybercrimes. He recently testified before the House Judiciary Committee on default device encryption and the need for a federal legislative solution.

Register for the summit.