The Florida attorney general's office is investigating possible misconduct by a large law firm that files foreclosures for banks, according to a posting on its Web site.

The Web site said the office is looking at whether Florida Default Law Group, based in Tampa, was involved in "fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading documents in foreclosure cases." Mortgage documents that are used to prove a bank has a right to foreclose "have later been shown to be legally inadequate and/or insufficient," the Web site said.

A spokeswoman for Florida Default declined to comment. Ryan Wiggins, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill McCollum, said the investigation began last fall.

The civil probe comes as some judges and federal prosecutors in Florida are paying close attention to how banks—and so-called foreclosure-mill law firms that work for banks—are attempting to take control of homes from borrowers in default. Judges across the country have chastised banks and their attorneys for attempting to seize properties they can't prove they own.

Midsize law firm Pryor Cashman is making the most of its routine news and communications, using e-mail to help create new sales opportunities. The company, which has 125 attorneys and 90 practice areas, has been using e-mail marketing for about five years. Before that time, said Elizabeth Wall, the company’s marketing manager, Pryor Cashman--with offices in New York and Los Angeles--used direct mail such as holiday cards to communicate with its clients and prospects.

Back in 2008 Wall wanted to find a way to send out holiday cards electronically as part of a new environmental mission called Thinking Green. The e-cards would eliminate paper waste as well as wasted time--no small feat for a two-person marketing department. Traditionally it took between three and four weeks to get the holiday cards ready for mailing because the marketers had to coordinate which partners had to sign which cards and make sure the right clients were on a master mailing list. “It was amazingly inefficient,” Wall said.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is fighting to clear its name, but not in a court of law.

Goldman has hit back hard against civil fraud charges with a public relations blitz aimed at poking holes in the Securities and Exchange Commission's case and repairing the bank's reputation. Every time the SEC has punched, Goldman has quickly counterpunched.

Public relations consultants say it's too early to know if the strategy is working for Wall Street's most powerful bank. Some big Goldman clients are publicly backing the firm, yet its stock has yet to recover from the double-digit nosedive that followed the SEC lawsuit on April 16.

To help its cause, Goldman has hired Mark Fabiani, a big player in the PR world with strong ties to top Democrats. Fabiani earned the nickname "Master of Disaster" for his handling of crises during the Clinton administration. He now works as a media consultant specializing in corporate crisis management. Goldman has also brought in top corporate attorneys. And its executives, including CEO Lloyd Blankfein, have been out in public, not hunkering down.

The damage control efforts will be on display Tuesday when Blankfein and Fabrice Tourre, the employee named in the SEC fraud charges, are questioned by a Senate subcommittee probing the bank's role in the financial crisis.

Goldman's PR campaign, which runs counter to its long history of secrecy, is a bold yet risky move. Some analysts say a poor performance on Capitol Hill could worsen the bank's image problems and make it harder for it to attract and retain lucrative clients. If the strategy fails, analysts say, it could cost Blankfein and other Goldman executives their jobs.

But the company got a boost last week when several big clients including the investment firm Blackstone Group and Ford Motor Co. said they're sticking by the bank. More support came from Warren Buffett, whose company, Berkshire Hathaway, has a big Goldman stake. Berkshire Hathaway has said Buffett isn't concerned about his investment in the bank.

The nation's largest court system is in the midst of a painful budget crisis that has shut down courtrooms and disrupted everything from divorce and custody proceedings to traffic ticket disputes.

The Los Angeles court system has already closed 17 courtrooms and another 50 will be shut down come September unless something is done to find more money. The judge who presides over the system predicts chaos and an unprecedented logjam of civil and family law cases in the worst-case scenario.

The crisis results from the financially troubled state's decision to slash $393 million from state trial courts in the budget this year. The state also decided to close all California courthouses on the third Wednesday of every month.

What has emerged is a hobbled court system that is struggling to serve the public.

Custody hearings, divorce proceedings, small-claims disputes, juvenile dependency matters and civil lawsuits have been delayed amid the courtroom shutdowns in Los Angeles. Drivers who choose to fight traffic tickets now have to wait up to nine months to get a trial started.

Complex civil lawsuits, those typically involving feuding businesses, could really feel the hit. It now takes an average of 16 months for such cases to get resolved, but court officials expect the cuts to bog down these civil matters to the point that they take an average of four years to finish.

Seattle-based Perkins Coie has opened an office in Dallas, which the law firm says will allow it to better serve the interests of national clients in Texas. Former Greenberg Traurig shareholder Steven R. Smith has joined the firm and will head the new office, focusing his practice on real estate workouts and lending.

The addition of Smith helps Perkins expand its representation of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) special servicer clients, many of which have offices in Dallas.

"We are committed to expanding our real estate capabilities and Steve will help us pursue that strategic goal,” states Perkins Managing Partner Bob Giles.

In addition to representing CMBS special servicers, Smith will represent conduit and other lenders involved in the financing of commercial real estate. He brings to the firm experience working with defeasance transactions, assumptions, loan modifications, REMIC tax issues, pooling and servicing agreement compliance and review, workouts, receiverships, foreclosure, bankruptcies, asset dispositions, litigation, and loan sales.

With tragedy comes an outpouring of support but an area law firm's way of helping is raising some eyebrows.

Underwood Law Firm wasted no time putting ads in local newspapers a week after the deadly blast killed 29 miners at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County.

Attorney Mark Underwood says he stands by his decision; especially because he says benefit packages are often difficult to understand.

"I think it was perfect timing in light of the fact that Massey came out with a benefits package the very next day," Underwood said.

Underwood said his grandfather was killed in an industrial accident years ago. His family understands what happens following the funeral with emotions running high, and the daunting task of legal paperwork.

"The family members that would be considering those benefit packages need to seek some sort of legal counsel whether it's our firm, another firm, a friend or a neighbor that's a lawyer," Underwood said. "They need to go and sit down and talk to a lawyer before they agree to anything with Massey."

But how soon, is too soon? It's a question many people started asking as ads popped up before all the funerals had even been finished.

"The timing of this...was it the right thing to do immediately after the tragedy or before all the funerals had taken place or would it have been better to wait until later?" Patrick Gallagher said.

SIGNS of the damaging effects of the global recession on law firm business came as the top 10 US law firms with offices in London reported an average double-digit fall in financial figures for 2009.

Often described as the bellwether for how the UK’s law firms will report finances for the year, US firms saw an overall average drop of around 12 per cent in London revenue in 2009.

White & Case, which held on to its spot as the top US firm by revenue, saw London fee income fall from $245.9m to $197m for the year, while Baker & McKenzie saw its numbers fall to $184.5m.

“International law firms with offices in London which have heavily relied on transactional practices had a difficult year in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers crash,” said Baker & McKenzie London managing partner Gary Senior.

US firms have been particularly hit by the drop off and lack of M&A work, as well as a fall off of banking and capital markets work.