LAW FIRM

The death knell for embattled BigLaw Howrey could ring as early as this week with firm partners reportedly set to vote on winding down its operations.

A veteran Cigna Corp (CI.N) manager sued the U.S. health insurer on Thursday, saying it unfairly blocks female employees from promotions and higher-paying jobs. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, seeks $100 million in damages and asks for class-action status.

A sweeping insider trading case that shook the hedge fund world is finally set for trial, with onetime billionaire Raj Rajaratnam fighting to stay out of prison in a courtroom drama over corporate secrets, tapped telephones and friends-turned-government witnesses.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp took a huge step toward securing its prized $14 billion buyout of satellite broadcaster BSkyB when Britain accepted its proposals to ease competition concerns.

Consultants hired by Algeria to value Orascom Telecom's local mobile phone unit are scheduled to complete their work by the end of May, Algerian telecommunications minister Moussa Benhamadi told Reuters.

An investigation by U.S. immigration officials into illegal unemployment at Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N) is making some investors nervous and could have implications for the fast-food industry as a whole. Chipotle, based in Denver, is one of the highest-profile employers to come under the scrutiny of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in recent years.

A former public relations employee has sued Publicis Groupe SA for $100 million, saying the French advertising company discriminates against women in pay and promotions. Women make up 70 percent of the company's public relations staff but hold only about 15 percent of leadership positions, the lawsuit says.

Top lawyers are deserting Howrey en masse and are joining rival law firms in search of greener pastures.

Wragge & Co has played a leading role in advising the UK's largest branded food producer Premier Foods Plc on the £182m sale of its canned groceries business to rival Princes.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued a former CEO and two former CFOs of failed mortgage lender IndyMac Bankcorp, accusing them of securities fraud.

Metzler, Timm, Treleven, Pahl, Beck, S.C., a Green Bay-based law firm has offered to donate money towards the cost of renaming a street in honor of Packers coach Mike McCarthy after his team emerged victorious in the Super Bowl.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has sued a law firm in Henry County, Georgia, and one of its partners, accusing them of professional negligence, legal malpractice and other misconduct related to multi-million dollar real estate loans that contributed to the 2009 collapse of Neighborhood Community Bank (NCB) in Newman.

Anonymous, the hacker collective known for its attacks on WikiLeaks detractors, has crossed swords with HBGary and other security firms in retaliation to the HBGary Federal CEO Aaron Barr's earlier threat.

Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft's gross annual revenue has slipped 6 percent in 2010 despite profit per partner (PPP) being slightly up compared to prior year.

A Maine judge has upheld a jury verdict that awarded $7.3 million in damages to a businessman who has accused a law firm of causing him emotional distress.

Robert Bob DuPuy, former Major League Baseball (MLB) president, has rejoined law firm Foley & Lardner's sports industry practice group in New York as a partner.

Digital media giant AOL and popular political blog site The Huffington Post had hired Simpson, Thacher & Barlett and Latham & Watkins respectively to advise them on the recently announced $315 million acquisition deal.

Fannie Mae has booted Florida-based foreclosure law firm Ben-Ezra & Katz from its retained attorney network after noticing that the firm was not handling its matters in strict compliance with proper procedures, ethical codes of conduct and legal requirements.

NEW YORK, Feb 14 - Technology communications company VoIP Inc sued Google Inc. in New York Supreme Court on Monday, accusing the Internet giant of stealing its trade secrets related to online voice technology.

Harvard Law School has announced a new multi-year training program for providing executive education to mid-level associates at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy over the course of their careers.

Mario Cuomo, the former New York governor, was named as mediator in the $1 billion legal battle between the owners of the New York Mets baseball team and the trustee for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.