The former chair of Sullivan & Cromwell’s trusts and estates practice rejected suggestions by a prosecutor yesterday that he had divided loyalties when he represented both Brooke Astor and her son, Anthony Marshall. Testifying in the trial of Marshall, longtime Astor lawyer Henry Christensen III acknowledged he represented both mother and son, but said in estate planning matters, he represented only Astor, the New York Law Journal reports. Marshall is accused of taking advantage of his mother’s declining mental condition to benefit himself and another lawyer, Francis X. Morrissey. He is also charged with larceny for taking a $2 million…

Before settling on Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his U.S. Supreme Court nominee, President Obama explained that he wanted the court’s newest justice to have empathy for others and their struggles. But Obama had dropped the word when he introduced Sotomayor at a press conference this week, and the GOP’s attempt to characterize the word as a synonym for activist judges may be the reason, the New York Times reports. Instead Obama talked about the need to “approach decisions without any particular ideology or agenda.” A necessary ingredient, he said, is “an understanding of how the world works and how ordinary…

Bigger isn’t always better. The top 100 law firms saw an average revenue decline of 1.2 percent last year, compared to flat numbers for law firms in the second hundred, the American Lawyer reports. The publication sees the percentages as something of a vindication for the somewhat smaller firms that had been criticized for being too big to compete with boutiques and too small to match their bigger counterparts. “What's more, the firms that outperformed were the ones that pointedly ignored The Am Law 100's usual recipe for growth—relentless focus on the most lucrative markets, practices and clients,” the story…

Pittsburgh-based Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott has hired 38 lateral lawyers this year, bringing on five labor lawyers from Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll in its latest acquisition. “Despite an economy in which many large firms are shedding attorneys, Eckert Seamans has been on a bit of a growth spurt,” the Legal Intelligencer reports. The new group will join Eckert’s D.C. office, bringing the total lawyers there to 17. Among those making the move is partner F. Joseph Nealon, who oversaw Ballard Spahr's litigation practice in Washington, D.C., according to the Intelligencer and Pittsburgh Business Times. Eckert CEO Timothy Ryan…

Some law firm leaders are eying a potential paradigm shift in major-firm legal practice with dread. Others are stepping forward to embrace it. Among the latter group is Gregg Melinson, the national marketing partner of Drinker Biddle & Reath. After the Association of Corporate Counsel issued its Value Challenge in 2008, the firm formed an internal task force to educate its lawyers about the issues ACC discussed in a written overview and determine how to address them. So, as the economy began to nosedive last year and announcements of BigLaw layoffs and pay cuts as well as client pressure for…

Judge Sonia Sotomayor is known for her sometimes sharp tongue—as well as her ability, behind the scenes, to help colleagues reach consensus. Although criticized by some for undue harshness, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals jurist is also appreciated for her assertiveness and keen involvement in the cases before her, reports the New York Times. And, the newspaper notes, Sotomayor is likely to hold her own, if her nomination to the nation's top court is confirmed, against another well-known acerbic questioner—U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. “In some ways she could match, well, the other New Yorker on the…

ABAJournal.com: "Sotomayor Confirmation Is a Certainty, SCOTUSblog Says" Newsday: "Sotomayor no stranger to Senate confirmation process" Washington Post: “Rigorous Questioning Hasn't Fazed Nominee” New York Times: “Sotomayor Pick a Product of Lessons From Past Battles” Associated Press: “Sessions: Sotomayor Must Explain Policy Remark” Blog of Legal Times: “A Catholic Super-Majority on the Supreme Court” FOX News: "Sotomayor's Gun Control Positions Could Prompt Conservative Backlash" New York Times: “Sotomayor’s Appellate Opinions Are Unpredictable, Lawyers and Scholars Say” Philadelphia Inquirer: "Sotomayor helped to end baseball strike" U.S. News & World Report: "The Myth of Sotomayor's 60 Percent Supreme Court Reversal Rate" Wall…

Management changes may be in the works at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, after President Barack Obama yesterday nominated the firm's chief executive officer, John Roos, as U.S. ambassador to Japan. But the Silicon Valley tech firm says it is ready for the challenge, reports the Am Law Daily. "Regarding the CEO position, we have a sound management structure with an executive chairman, experienced board and management team, and a succession process," spokeswoman Courtney Dorman tells the Am Law Daily in an e-mail. "If John is confirmed, we will announce our plans at that time." Two other lawyers also were…

Only two days ago, Tom Goldstein was outlining possible lines of attack against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in a SCOTUSblog post. But now the well-known Supreme Court practitioner and journalist says in a SCOTUSblog post today that 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals jurist is virtually certain to be confirmed for a seat on the nation's highest court. Although he personally is a believer in the importance of a "substantial, sustained inquiry" into a nominee's judicial philosophy and intellect, the political reality is that "it is all over but the swearing in," he writes, given the Democratic majority…

A beloved actor perhaps best known for hiding his keen detective skills under a bumbling police persona in the Columbo television series is now reportedly more than absent-minded in real life. The daughter and wife of 81-year-old Peter Falk are battling in court for control of his affairs, in one of several high-profile cases that have put the issue of dementia and how best to deal with the financial concerns it can create in the news lately. She and her stepmother have not gotten along well for decades, Catherine Falk testified yesterday in California, and she is seeking to be…