This Week's Law Firms in the News - March 17, 2014

Winston & Strawn is representing a group of college basketball and football players in an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA, as well as five of the largest college conferences. The players allege that the limits defendants impose on players’ financial aid packets and compensation violate federal antitrust laws. How timely. Who would you bet on?

There’s good news for Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy out of the AmLaw 100 “Early Numbers” series: the firm has reported a 6% gross revenue increase and increases in profits-per-partner (5%) and revenue per lawyer (3%). So what’s the secret? 2013 was the first year under new leader Scott Edelman, but Edelman says that the firm’s management has not changed. Edelman attributes the firm’s success at least in part to some major matters in litigation and bankruptcy.

The DC powerhouse Williams & Connolly is the future employer for 29-year-old Zachary Warren, former employee of fallen law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf and current criminal defendant. The Georgetown Law grad and current Sixth Circuit clerk was indicted last week in the criminal fraud case arising out of Dewey’s demise. Williams & Connolly has not rescinded Warren’s offer. Why would they? As Above the Law points out, this top firm is all about protecting the rights of white collar defendants.

And this whole time we thought they were just badass MoFos. But there is more to the origin of Morrison & Foerster’s nickname than just guts. The Washington Post reports that “mofo” was used as the firm’s teletype address in the 1970s for the purposes of overseas cable communication. Since then, the firm has taken to using the abbreviation on swag such as tote bags and umbrellas. But the firm’s chief marketing officer maintains that “we don’t really refer to ourselves as MoFo.”

Holland & Knight seems to be adding new partners every day. The firm has announced new arrivals to the Tampa, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. offices in just the past week. These additions boost the firms Indian Law and Policy, Land Use, Environmental, Cross Border Transactions, Latin America, Corporate, Financial Services, Litigation and Real Estate practices.