Flaum and his client, Wells Fargo, took a gamble when they maneuvered to get all of the bank's subprime securities litigation before one judge. $109 billion in exposure was on the line when Judge Richard Sullivan ruled on the bank's motion to dismiss. For Flaum and Wells Fargo, that proved to be a good bet.

When Latham & Watkins IP partners David Nelson and Sean Pak joined Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges last month, managing partner John Quinn said it was "almost unheard of" to find two young IP lawyers with "significant trial experience." But that hasn't stopped Quinn Emanuel from trying to limit the finders fee it has to pay. On Tuesday the firm filed a suit in Los Angeles County superior court, claiming that Major Lindsey & Africa, the legal recruiting company that brokered Nelson's lateral move, doesn't deserve the fees it's demanding from Quinn Emanuel for Pak and future Latham laterals.