Robert Ruyak, Howrey's managing partner, confirmed Thursday that the firm plans to cut between 20 and 30 partners. The firm's profits per partner dropped 35 percent in 2009, and the acquisition of high-profile laterals created internal client conflicts that hurt some partners, sources say. Ruyak says that the hope is to keep the partners at Howrey until helping them land elsewhere. The plan is to position Howrey for a fast recovery, and Ruyak says he believes the firm can thrive by focusing on its core litigation practices.

What may have been a case of oversharing on the part of a DLA Piper associate has dragged the firm into court to defend a legal malpractice lawsuit. Former client George Sutton Associates, a San Diego software company, claimed in a complaint filed on Tuesday that DLA Piper unlawfully "rifled through" its files and disclosed confidential information to a third party, resulting in about $1.2 million in damages.

Cutting-edge questions in the First Amendment arena have recently stemmed from clashes between students and school districts over limits put on speech posted on social networking sites. Now lawyers on both sides of the issue are urging the 3rd Circuit to vacate two seemingly conflicting decisions by two different three-judge panels, and to hold rearguments before the full court. Both cases involved high school students suspended for creating fake MySpace pages on their home computers ridiculing their principals.