Law firm Hill Dickinson has launched a new fixed-cost service for SMEs to help them keep employment contracts up-to-date.

The Employment Contracts Diagnostic Toolkit has been created to review companies’ contracts and prepare a clear report, which identifies any areas of legal non-compliance, commercial weaknesses and other legal risks.

“British employment laws are notoriously strict and change on a regular basis,” said Will Clayton, an empployment partner at Hill Dickinson. “As a result, any errors or weaknesses within contracts of employment can not only create misunderstandings and loss of productivity, but can also increase the likelihood of disputes and legal claims.

In recent years, law firms have lost market share advising employers on employment law by a number of firms such as Salford-based Employment Law Advisory Services and Peninsula Business Services – both of which charge companies a subscription fee based on updating firms on employment and health & safety law as well as providing insurance against legal costs if a business does find itself brought before an employment tribunal.

However, Clayton said that it encouraged clients “to do more than merely comply with their minimum legal obligations by using their contracts with employees as a business tool to protect their commercial interests, improve labour relations and encourage employees to perform at their best”.

“We believe this service is unique in its offer and is one of several products that will be developed to support our client base.”

Whiteman Osterman and Hanna LLP, the Capital Region's largest law firm, has announced that John Alsina of Saranac Lake, will be joining the firm.

Alsina's practice will focus on European and Canadian clients with business interests in New York, and on issues involving technology development and application. Mr. Alsina has been Of Counsel to Weissberg, Gaetjens, Zeigenfeuter and Associates, a law firm in Paris, France, where he will continue to act as a consultant on specific matters. Previously, Mr. Alsina held positions at Telecordia and Bellcore, where he was involved with telecommunications technology and software, and at Viacom, where he advised on technology strategies and intellectual property protection.

Alsina graduated with a B.A. degree from Columbia University. He obtained his M.B.A. degree from the University of Chicago and his Juris Doctorate from Cornell University. Mr. Alsina will maintain an office in Whiteman Osterman & Hanna's Albany and Plattsburgh offices.

Thelen LLP, a U.S. law firm that once had more than 600 lawyers, said it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation after Citigroup Inc (C.N), a large creditor, cut off needed funding.

The 85-year-old firm said Citigroup "is no longer willing to advance funds for the cost of collection and (to) wind down operations," or to fund the costs of a Chapter 11 proceeding, according to a filing on Thursday with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan."

Thelen also said its estimated assets "will be insufficient to result in any meaningful payment" to unsecured creditors, in light of Citigroup's $7.2 million secured loan.

A Citigroup spokeswoman declined to comment.

According to its bankruptcy petition, also filed on Thursday, Thelen has between $10 million and $50 million of assets, and between $50 million and $100 million of liabilities.

Thelen shut down in late 2008 after the recession hurt revenue, many partners departed, and efforts to merge with another firm fell apart.

The San Francisco-based firm had reached its maximum size following a 2006 merger with New York's Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP. Thelen said its largest remaining creditors are in New York.

A debtor can liquidate under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code. A Chapter 11 liquidation can make more economic sense for a debtor and give creditors more of a say in how proceeds are distributed.

Houston trial lawyer Mark Lanier of The Lanier Law Firm has been selected by his peers as one of the Top 10 attorneys in Texas.  Mr. Lanier is recognized in the annual Texas Super Lawyers list published in Texas Monthly magazine.

This is the seventh consecutive year that Mr. Lanier has earned selection to the list of the state's top attorneys, and the second time he has been named among the Top 10 lawyers in Texas.  He has been listed among the Top 100 attorneys in Houston and the Top 100 in Texas since the list was first published in 2003.

The attorneys selected for the Texas Super Lawyers list represent less than 5 percent of all Texas attorneys. Mr. Lanier earned his place among the Top 10 attorneys in the state based on his overall point score in the judging process.

Thomas J. Campbell, managing partner of the law firm Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, L.C., has been appointed by St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley to serve a four-year term on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District, one of the largest districts of its kind in the nation.  

Formed in the late 1960s, the District today is the tax-supported funding body for the Saint Louis Zoological Park, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Saint Louis Science Center, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Missouri History Museum sub districts. As one of the largest tax-supported cultural districts in the U.S., it is a model for those in many other cities.

The District’s governing body includes eight board members, including four representing St. Louis County appointed by the St. Louis County Executive and four representing the City of St. Louis appointed by the Mayor.  

Campbell also serves on the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association Board of Directors and its Executive Committee. He is active in many other community organizations.

Campbell received his J.D. from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and B.A. and M.S. degrees in political science from Illinois State University.  He has extensive experience representing clients in matters involving local, state and federal governmental entities and agencies.

Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, L.C., a full service law firm of 80 attorneys, has provided legal services to clients in diverse industries since its founding in 1976 and is one of the largest law firms in St. Louis. The firm serves public corporations; privately-held companies; entrepreneurs and start-up enterprises; individuals and families; trustees and trust beneficiaries; charities; and non-profit entities. The firm is located at 101 South Hanley Road, Suite 1700, in Clayton, Missouri.  

For more information about Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, please contact Lois A. LaDriere at 314.615.6000 or visit the website www.GJN.com.  

The Hamilton Southeastern Schools' board this morning retained a Chicago law firm with ties to the U.S. Department of Education to help the district with its case against the state for more equitable funding.

The board voted 7-0 to hire Franczek Radelet P.C., a firm that describes itself as being among the nation's leading education law firms. One of the firm's founding partners was named general counsel to the Education Department earlier this year.

Terms of the contract with the law firm were not immediately available.

Superintendent Brian Smith said the firm agreed to take on the case because "they feel confident that we have a good challenge." The district claims the state's method for distributing school funds is inequitable, mainly because per-pupil spending does not keep up with HSE's growing enrollment. Smith said filing a lawsuit and winning is the only way to ensure schools get an equitable distribution of funds.

The district argues that among the 346 school corporations in Indiana, HSE will rank 338th in state dollars allocated to educate each student in 2011. They claim the district's funding levels are going down each year as the cost of educating students continues to rise.

HSE's case against the state comes at a time when a $5.2 million budget shortfall over the next two years threatens cuts of about 60 classroom teachers if something is not done to make up for the deficit, officials said.