In the wake of reports Thursday night that Justice David Souter has told the White House he plans to retire from the Supreme Court, attention will turn immediately to possible picks to replace him. In fact, informed speculation began during the presidential campaign. In the ABA Journal's November issue, sources close to then-candidate Obama discussed lawyers he might nominate for a Supreme Court vacancy. The four lawyers most often mentioned by sources at that time as possible Supreme Court picks by a President Obama were: • Judge Diane Wood of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A Clinton appointee…

U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter has indicated he plans to retire, NBC News and NPR are reporting tonight. Souter, 69, is expected to remain on the bench until a successor has been chosen and confirmed, an early version of NPR's story reported. A later version said he "is planning to retire at the end of the current court term." He has informed the White House of his plans, both networks say. NBC is reporting it is unclear whether he will retire at the end of the current term or as soon as a nomination can be made. Souter, who…

Ali al-Marri, an accused al-Qaida sleeper agent and legal United States resident who was held more than five years in an American military brig without charges as an alleged "enemy combatant," has pleaded guilty in federal court in Illinois. His plea today to one count of conspiring to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization concerns support for two architects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, reports the Chicago Tribune in a breaking news story. Even after his guilty plea in the Central District of Illinois in Peoria, however, al-Marri may not have to serve much time,…

Implementing a restructuring plan announced earlier this year to deal with the dismal economy, Allen & Overy laid off about 250 lawyers and 200 staff today. Among the lawyers being let go are 47 partners, reports Legal Week. Another 35 partners at the London-based "magic circle" international firm are either having their pay cut or being de-equitized. Earlier coverage: ABAJournal.com: "A&O to Ax Up to 250 Lawyers and 200 Staff, Freeze Pay, Ask Partners for Capital"

Cash-strapped courts throughout the country could save a significant amount of money if they simply stopped prosecuting nonviolent misdemeanor cases, a study by a national defense counsel group suggests in a national report yesterday. Instead of seeking jail time, a system of civil fines and community service would be at least as effective and far less costly in many misdemeanor cases, says the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in an executive summary (PDF) of its report. This would also relieve burdensome caseloads on attorneys and judges that is preventing them from fulfilling their ethical obligations to provide full and…

Personality characteristics often associated with lawyers, such as perfectionism and competitiveness, when combined with depression may be contributing to a higher suicide rate in the legal profession, an expert says. Lanny Berman, executive director of the American Association of Suicidology, a group devoted to suicide prevention, says risk factors for suicide include depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicide ideation, divorce and stress. And lawyers experience many of these risk factors at higher rates than the general population, he says. Lawyers are also more likely to be perfectionist and competitive, personality traits that make a person considering suicide less likely to seek…

The disastrous economy is creating new career issues for fledgling legal eagles seeking to soar as law firm associates. But the overall problem is still the same: How to look out for one's own interests yet score points with the firm as a dedicated young attorney ready, willing and able to put his or her all into the job. How to resolve that conundrum isn't clear for a growing number of third-year law students offered an opportunity to take a year or more to work with a nonprofit agency or even simply vacation with pay after graduation, rather than start…

A federal judge who blasted federal prosecutors for failing to turn over evidence about a star witness in a Montana asbestos case is allowing the trial to continue. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula refused to dismiss criminal charges against W.R. Grace, accused of exposing residents of a small mining town to asbestos and causing hundreds of deaths, the New York Times reports. He also decided to allow the testimony of the star witness, former Grace employee Robert Locke, but he instructed jurors that Locke’s testimony should be viewed with “great skepticism,” according to the Times. On Monday, Molloy…

A lawyer who reportedly was laid off earlier this week at Kilpatrick Stockton apparently committed suicide this morning at the firm's Washington, D.C., office. Mark Levy, a 59-year-old Yale Law School graduate who headed the firm's Supreme Court and appellate advocacy practice group, died this morning at the firm's office, according to an e-mailed statement from the firm's co-managing partner and a report in Legal Times. Levy also worked in the U.S. Department of Justice as a senior political appointee during the Clinton administration. The firm doesn't address Levy's cause of death, but Legal Times indicates that he committed suicide,…

Chrysler is expected to file for bankruptcy after the collapse of negotiations with creditors that were led by the automaker’s lawyer, Corinne Ball. The bankruptcy filing will likely be in New York, according to the New York Times. Those who work with Ball describe her as charismatic, strong, creative and aggressive in her thinking, according to a Reuters profile. Ball co-chairs the restructuring and reorganization practice at Jones Day. She has worked on bankruptcies of auto parts supplier Dana Corp. and Drexel Burnham Lambert, as well as the Chrysler workout in the 1980s. Sources told the Washington Post that a…