Last year we wrote about the Lola v. Skadden Arp case wherein contract attorney, David Lola, brought suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) for overtime pay.  (See When Do Contract Attorneys “Practice Law”? and What Exactly is The Practice of Law). In or around December 16, 2015, the Lola case was settled and, on December 22, Judge

Continue Reading In Parallel Case to Lola v. Skadden Arps, 13-cv-05008, Quinn Emanuel Wins OT Challenge

On July 23, 2015, the Second Circuit, in Lola v. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Tower Legal Staffing, Inc., revived (see our earlier blog posts dated March 11, 2015) a putative collective action brought by David Lola, a contract attorney, against Skadden Arps and Tower Legal Staffing, Inc., alleging violations of the overtime provisions of

Continue Reading When Do Contract Attorneys “Practice Law”?

Perez v. Metro Dairy Corp., No. 13 CV 2109(RML), 2015 WL 1535296 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 6, 2015)

In this collective action seeking unpaid wages, overtime and other relief, Plaintiffs moved pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) 37 for spoliation sanctions attributable to Defendants’ failure to preserve, and ultimately produce certain relevant employment-related evidence, including, for example payroll records and

Continue Reading Sanctions Inappropriate When Failure to Preserve is the Result of Prior Court Order

In a case that helps clarify what discovery-specific activities constitute the practice of law, District Court Judge Richard Sullivan – a judge in the Southern District of New York – ruled that contract attorneys performing document review for a law firm are not entitled to overtime pay because they are engaged in legal work.

Specifically, the case involved a collective

Continue Reading What Exactly is The Practice of Law?