A former partner in the New York office of Dorsey & Whitney is suing the Minneapolis-based law firm, claiming gender discrimination and violations of the whistleblower act, among other things.

Hennepin County District Court Judge Gary Larson heard an hour of arguments Tuesday on the Dorsey firm's motion to dismiss Kristan Peters' suit.

Peters began working as a Dorsey partner in January 2007 and left on June 23. At the core of the case is her handling of a trade secrets dispute on behalf of Wolters Kluwer Financial Services in New York. The matter drew media attention in trade publications, largely because of U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baer Jr.'s 129-page opinion criticizing Peters' behavior.

According to R. Scott Davies of Briggs and Morgan, who is representing Dorsey, Baier scolded Peters 22 times for her handling of the case. Davies said Peters played fast and loose with the litigation, lied to the court and misrepresented circumstances to the firm's partners.

Peters' lawyer James Kaster countered that the judge's behavior, not Peters', was unusual. The behavior Baer disliked -- such as scheduling a 7-hour deposition over two days and refusing to give bathroom breaks -- is not unusual, Kaster said.

Peters was denied her fair share of her $550,000 annual salary and an equity payment from the partnership, Kaster said. She claims the firm should indemnify her for issues stemming from the Kluwer litigation and seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000.

"The Dorsey law firm has a well-deserved reputation for excellence," Kaster said in court. "Frankly, I don't believe the treatment of Kristan Peters suits them."

He said Peters was let go because "she refused to fall on her sword" for Zach Carter, a "marquee partner" in the firm's New York office. She complained about his discriminatory behavior, ethical violations and violation of a court order to multiple members of Dorsey's managing team, the complaint said.

In his motion to dismiss the case, Davies said Peters made the claims when she could "see the writing on the wall" regarding her employment.

Peters' lawsuit claims that as a result of the complaints, she was told to resign or be fired and chose "resignation."

Davies said Peters' guaranteed $550,000 salary was "subject to her ethical duties as a lawyer." Peters did not act in good faith and is not entitled to indemnification, he said. He said it was unfair to criticize the judge.

Her conduct was "worse than unprofessional," Davies said. She deleted parts of an e-mail from the judge that she forwarded to a partner and ordered a copy made of disks despite a judge's order to return them to the court.

Davies contends she ordered a junior associate to alter documents so they could be classified as "work product." In filings, Peters claimed the destruction order was a "joke."

Davies also took issue with the gender bias claim, noting the firm's policy panel was led by managing partner Marianne Short from the time of Peters' hiring to her departure.

Peters did not attend Tuesday's hearing. Larson didn't say when he would rule, but asked the parties for an update on mediation within the week.

Birmingham law firm White Arnold & Dowd PC and fellow Birmingham firm Summey & Hennecy have merged.

Partners Sidney C. Summey and Karen M. Hennecy and their staff members recently agreed to join White Arnold & Dowd PC, which brings the firm's total staff to 17.

The move strengthens the firm's growing probate and elder law practice, a news release said.

Summey has more than 30 years of experience practicing in the probate and civil courts in Alabama and will continue his primary practice of wills, trusts and estates, assistance to litigators handling lawsuits for minors and incompetents, special needs trusts and planning, guardianships and conservatorships, elder law and litigation related to probate issues.

Hennecy will concentrate her practice on elder law issues, assisting clients and their families with matters including advance directives, durable powers of attorney, wills, trusts, asset preservation and Medicaid planning and administration of the estates of decedents and protected persons.

One of Kentucky's oldest law firms, Stoll Keenon Ogden, has announced changes in its top management position.

William M. Lear Jr., managing director for 18 years, will step down to return to full-time law practice.

The new managing director will be J. David Smith Jr., a lawyer with the firm.

Lear will remain with Stoll Keenon and continue as chairman of its board of directors for the next two years. Kendrick Riggs is vice chairman.

The managing director functions as the chief operating officer of the firm, Smith said, dealing mostly with financial issues. "We've got 150 lawyers in four cities. Managing director is, basically, a full time job." Smith said Lear "did an incomparable job."

Lear will concentrate on constitutional law cases, economic development and government relations. In the past five years, Lear has become a major downtown developer with several projects in the South Hill neighborhood, including Center Court loft condominiums.

In the community, Lear served as a state representative from 1985 to 1994. He is vice chairman of economic development for Commerce Lexington, and he serves on the board of the Speed Museum in Louisville. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers for Kentucky.

Smith, also included in Best Lawyers in America, has been with Stoll Keenon since 1982, and is active in the Kentucky Historical Society and the YMCA.

A part-time private attorney who was listed as a full-time employee by five school districts - enabling him to earn health benefits and a nearly $62,000-a-year state-funded pension, while his law firm was paid millions of dollars in fees - has been suspended by his current law firm, one of its partners said yesterday.

Steven Schlesinger, a partner in the Garden City law firm of Jaspan, Schlesinger, Hoffman, said yesterday that his firm had suspended Lawrence Reich and asked for his resignation. Reich had been serving as of counsel, or as a consultant, to the law firm since Jan. 1.

Newsday reported Friday that five school districts falsely reported to the state that Reich, 67, was a full-time employee in each district at the same time. The districts were Baldwin, Bellmore-Merrick High School, Copiague, East Meadow and Harborfields.

"Based on the publicity, it's not any good to have him at the firm," Schlesinger said. "I don't need P.R. liabilities."

He added, however, "I don't think any laws were violated."

Schlesinger said the firm has not heard from Reich since the disclosures. "We're trying to locate him."

Reich, who lives in Centerport, did not return a call for comment yesterday. In an earlier interview, he defended his arrangement with the five districts as "common practice."

At the same time that the districts claimed Reich as an employee, they paid his then-law firm, Ingerman Smith of Hauppauge, more than $2.5 million in fees, according to district records. Under Internal Revenue Service rules, a person cannot be treated as both an employee and independent contractor for the same work.

After the Newsday story appeared, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation served all five districts with subpoenas for financial records.

In addition, the New York State comptroller has sent letters to four of the five districts, notifying them that they would be audited. Reich left the payroll of East Meadow on Nov. 30, 2001, according to records.

Reich retired with an annual pension of $61,459 in September 2006. But he continued working for some of the districts, according to letters he sent asking them to "reconfigure" his pay as a retainer, rather than as a salary.

Last July, state auditors uncovered the problem in an audit of the Harborfields school district. Reich said he then contacted the state about his pension eligibility and was assured it was common practice.

The state took no action, and the issue was not included in the final audit of Harborfields.

Nonetheless, Reich notified the districts that he was retiring for good in October.

In December, Ingerman Smith notified the districts that Reich was leaving the firm.

Who’s the hottest young female lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom? Last week that question sent the New York firm into a bit of a tizzy.

On Feb. 4, Skadden Insider, a blog written by two anonymous firm employees and dedicated, unofficially, to all things Skadden, announced the winner of its weeklong poll to decide the firm’s "Hottest Female Associate."

The American Lawyer notes that the contest was hardly Skadden Gone Wild - most of the photos of the eight contestants were relatively innocuous head shots. The winner, a blond litigator, drew 400 votes from Skadden cognoscenti.

The firm, however, was not amused. On Feb. 7, Henry Baer, the firm’s employment adviser, sent an e-mail to all Skadden lawyers in the United States, chastising the blog.

"Numerous attorneys at the firm have expressed their concern and, in some cases, embarrassment at such contests," wrote Mr. Baer, who said the competition was "inappropriate" and inconsistent with Skadden’s "values and standards of behavior."

The bloggers responded in a post titled "Not So Hot": "Damn, we feel like we were called to the Vice Principal’s office today and had our knuckles wrapped."

"The contest, although sophomoric, was done all in good fun," the writers continued. " We’re sorry if anyone was embarassed by it. We wish you had just chuckled, rolled your eyes or merely clicked away."

However, the lawyerly bloggers didn’t seem entirely abashed by the firm’s stern response.

"We’re not quite sure what Skadden’s "values" are (or, for that matter, the Firm’s "standards of behavior")," they said, adding that they had suspended nominations for the Hottest Male Associate.

A jury in October acquitted Richard Convertino of accusations that he presented false evidence and concealed evidence when he prosecuted North African immigrants in 2003. The government dismissed an obstruction of justice charge a month later.

Convertino asked a Detroit judge last month to order the government to pay his defense costs.

Convertino told The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press for stories Tuesday that the government continues to try to discredit him, despite his acquittal. He said many of the allegations are false or so old that they are difficult to confirm or deny.

The Justice Department's accusations include that Convertino falsely claimed a high school class presidency as well as college and law school honors. The allegedly padded resumes were used to get positions within the Justice Department and were submitted to the White House in 2001 when he was seeking a judgeship, according to the filing.

"I will fight them until hell freezes over and then on the ice," said Convertino, who is planning a malicious prosecution lawsuit. "This is our government that is conducting themselves in this manner, and it's disgusting that they're able to do that."

The Justice Department argued the allegations are relevant in deciding whether the government should pay Convertino's defense costs because it's important to know the information prosecutors acted on.