Keith Halleland, one of the founders of Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson, is leaving to start a new law firm — and taking his name with him.

Halleland’s new firm will focus on business law and consulting when it launches this spring, according to a news release issued Thursday by the 50-attorney, Minneapolis firm now known as Nilan Johnson Lewis.

“I am proud of what we have achieved together over the years,” Halleland said in the release. “I am very excited about building something new, and I look forward to establishing a firm where my focus will be on the work I really love – business law and consulting.”

Nilan Johnson Lewis President Matthew Damon called Halleland “a big part of our growth and success over the 13 years we have been in business,” and said he expects the two firms to work together.

Robert Joffe, an antitrust, corporate governance and litigation specialist who worked for more than four decades at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, including eight as presiding partner, has died.

Joffe, 66, died on Thursday from cancer, according to Greg Johnson, chief executive of asset management company Franklin Resources Inc (BEN.N), where Joffe was a director and chaired the corporate governance committee.

Johnson spoke on a conference call. A spokeswoman for the law firm confirmed Joffe's death.

Joffe was principal litigator for Time Inc in its efforts in 1989 to resist a takeover by Paramount Communications Inc, according to a biography on Cravath's website,.

It said he later represented Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) in connection with its merger with America Online Inc, and a proxy fight by the investor Carl Icahn.

Los Angeles DUI Lawyer

Michael Bialys, a Los Angeles DUI lawyer also known as theDUI Guy, is the former managing partner of a large criminal defense firm.  In his time in that role, he saw manymismanaged DUI cases and realized his true calling was to go into DUIdefense.  Mr. Bialys’s philosophy is thateveryone should be able to get a comprehensive and aggressive defense, and withthat ideal in mind he opened up his own DUI defense law firm.

Mr. Bialys prides himself on offering client orientedservices, focusing on one-on-one personal relationships with his clients.  He has a full understanding of the long termeffects of criminal records on areas of life such as employment opportunitiesand knows how important it is to get records expunged.  If you have been in a related accident andwish to be fully and comprehensively defended by a premier Los AngelesDUI lawyer, call Michael Bialys today at 1-888-DUI-1-GUY.

According to The National Law Journal, a federal judge on Friday revived the discrimination suit filed by former Covington & Burling staff attorney Yolanda Young against her old firm. Last we reported, Judge Reggie Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia had dismissed the case after Young and her attorney, Latif Doman of Doman Davis, failed to show up in court.

Young asked the judge to reconsider, saying that Doman had simply written down the wrong time for the conference on his calendar. She pointed out that although the judge had dismissed the case without prejudice, more than 90 days had passed since she received a right-to-sue notice from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Therefore, she would not be able to file another claim under Title VII or the D.C. Human Rights Act. That was far too harsh a penalty for a small oversight, Young contended.

Walton seems to have agreed. The case is back on, with the next status conference scheduled for Dec. 18.

Young, for those who don't recall, is the writer who after leaving Covington, published a long essay on the Huffington Post comparing conditions at her erstwhile employer to the Jim Crow South.

The Shuman Law Firm today announced that it is investigating potential breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with the proposed acquisition of Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. ("Advanced Medical Optics" or the "Company") (NYSE:EYE).

On January 12, 2009, Advanced Medical Optics announced their intent to sell the Company to Abbott Labs, Inc. (NYSE:ABT). Under the terms of the merger agreement, Advanced Medical Optics shareholders would receive $22 per share in cash for a total sale price of approximately $1.4 billion. Advanced Medical Optics is a leader in LASIK vision correction surgery and surgical contact lenses. One analyst noted that the Company was a "depressed, distressed asset, not so much because of the product portfolio, but because of under-management and a cyclical, tough environment for Lasik." Advanced Medical Optics stock had traded at more than $22 per share within the past four months.

If you currently own Advanced Medical Optics common stock and would like a free consultation concerning your rights and interests, please contact Kip Shuman, Esq. or Rusty Glenn, Esq. toll-free at 866-974-8626 or email Mr. Shuman at kip@shumanlawfirm.com or Mr. Glenn at rusty@shumanlawfirm.com.

The Shuman Law Firm represents investors throughout the nation, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation.

The members of the Supreme Court, by age:

John Paul Stevens, 88

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75

Antonin Scalia, 72

Anthony Kennedy, 72

Stephen Breyer, 70

David Souter, 69

Clarence Thomas, 60

Samuel Alito, 58

John Roberts, 53

___

The last 10 justices to leave the Supreme Court, with their age and date of retirement:

Sandra Day O'Connor, 75, Jan. 31, 2006

William Rehnquist, 80, Sept. 3, 2005-x

Harry Blackmun, 85, Aug. 3, 1994

Byron White, 76, June 28, 1993

Thurgood Marshall, 83, Oct. 1, 1991

William Brennan, 84, July 20, 1990

Lewis Powell, 79, June 26, 1987

Warren Burger, 79, Sept. 26, 1986

Potter Stewart, 66, July 3, 1981

William Douglas, 77, Nov. 12, 1975

x-died while chief justice.