There may be some tense elevator encounters among attorneys at one Manhattan office building after the announcement of a planned defection of 15 lawyers from Dickstein Shapiro to Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman. That's because the New York City contingents of the two law firms both work in the same building, at 1633 Broadway, reports the American Lawyer in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.). The article is based on information from two unidentified sources. Led by Robin Cohen, the managing partner of Dickstein's New York office, the group announced its plans this week, and American Lawyer…

A five-lawyer San Francisco intellectual property law firm has largely abandoned the billable hour. Instead Smithline Jha charges a monthly subscription fee that is based on a client’s estimated annual spending, divided by 12, the Recorder reports. That translates to monthly fees from each client that range from $6,000 to about $30,000. The firm’s founders told the Recorder that Smithline Jha focuses on IP licensing for software and Internet companies, work that tends to be steady and well-suited for a monthly subscription arrangement. They began to make the switch early last year, and now collect about 90 percent of their…

A five-lawyer San Francisco intellectual property law firm has largely abandoned the billable hour. Instead Smithline Jha charges a monthly subscription fee that ranges from $6,000 to about $30,000, the Recorder reports. The firm’s founders told the Recorder that Smithline Jha focuses on IP licensing for software and Internet companies, work that tends to be steady and well-suited for a monthly subscription arrangement. They began to make the switch early last year, and now collect about 90 percent of their revenues from subscription billing. Founder and name partner Todd Smithline told the Recorder that the firm keeps track of assignments…

Could the new year bring good tidings for associates whose salaries have been frozen? At least one law firm, K&L Gates, is planning to lift its pay freeze in 2010, according to reports in Above the Law, which broke the news, and the Washington Business Journal. Partner Michael Missal told the Washington Business Journal that the freeze will be lifted March 1. Depending on performance and seniority, some associates will receive a “true up”—meaning their salaries will increase to the level they would have been if there had never been a freeze, he said. Incoming associates in four of the…

A lawyer who analyzes environmental policies achieved his 15 minutes of fame last weekend when he was briefly detained by a detective in what is being dubbed The Great Snowball Incident of 2009. It all began when lawyer Daniel Schramm responded to a text message inviting him to join hundreds of people for a snowball fight at a busy intersection during a record snowstorm in Washington, D.C., he writes for the Washington Post. At one point, the crowd threw snowballs at a Hummer that turned out to be owned by a D.C. police detective. The officer got out of his…

Before Tareq and Michaele Salahi gained fame for making their way into a White House party, they were well known in courthouses in Virginia and Maryland. In those states, more than 30 suits have been filed since 2004 against the couple or a company they ran, the Washington Post reports. "Every courthouse clerk in the vicinity recognizes the Salahi name,” process server Mark Simons told the newspaper. Plaintiffs included a hairstylist seeking $4,000 for hair extensions, a couple charged an extra $25,000 for their wedding at the Salahis’ vineyard, and a music promoter who says he was never paid for…

The chief judge of Brazil’s Supreme Court has ruled a 9-year-old boy in an international custody battle should be returned to his father in the United States. The ruling by Judge Gilmar Mendes appears to bring the case of the boy in accord with the Hague Convention, the Associated Press reports. The convention seeks to ensure that custody matters are handled by the courts of the country where the child originally lived. Sean’s father, Ronald Goldman, is seeking to transfer custody from the boy’s stepfather, a lawyer from a prominent family of Rio de Janeiro attorneys, AP says. Goldman’s wife…

President Obama’s Jan. 22 deadline for the closing of the Guantanamo detention facility will likely be missed by at least a year. Lack of money is the problem, the New York Times reports. Obama has decided the federal government should buy an Illinois prison to house the detainees that carries a price tag of about $150 million. Democratic leaders balked at including money for the prison and security improvements in a 2010 military spending bill; it passed Dec. 19 without the funds, the story says. The administration now hopes to include funding in appropriations legislation for the 2011 fiscal year.…

One of the most prestigious New York-based law firms made no new partners this year, and this wasn't because of the difficult economy, one lawyer tells the Am Law Daily. The reason why, this unidentified senior partner at Cravath Swaine & Moore says, is that "this year, no one met our standards." Only a small fraction of the 80 associates who joined the white-shoe firm as first-years in 2002 are still there, and some of the more promising associates went into investment banking back when the market was stronger, the legal blog recounts. "For our firm, whether to make someone…

The FBI today released more than 300 pages of documents in its files on Michael Jackson. They concern three child-molestation investigations in 1993 and 2004 and a probe of threats made against the famous pop singer in the early 1990s, reports the Arts Beat blog of the New York Times. An FBI press release contains links to the Jackson files. Additional related coverage: ABAJournal.com: "Michael Jackson’s Death a Homicide" ABAJournal.com: "Probe of Michael Jackson’s Death Zeros In On Prescription Drug Issues" ABAJournal.com: "As Michael Jackson Death Probe Begins, Attorney Recalls Famous Client" New York Daily News: "FBI's Michael Jackson files…