Jennifer Smith

King & Wood Mallesons Names New Australia Head

online.wsj.com — Growing pains have triggered a management shake-up at Asia-centered law firm King & Wood Mallesons, which made its splashy debut on the world legal stage just 14 months ago.

Forecasters Predict Busy Hurricane Season

online.wsj.com — The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration released its hurricane forecast for the Atlantic basin, predicting up to 20 named storms and up to six major hurricanes.

Lower Insurance Payouts Likely After Oklahoma Tornado

online.wsj.com — As Oklahomans recover from a tornado likely to be among the costliest in U.S. history, many will find that insurance will cover less of the tab than after past storms.

A Bitter/Sweet Shift in Cockroach Defenses

nytimes.com — Everyone knows that cockroaches are the ultimate survivors, with enough evolutionary tricks up their carapaces to have thrived for 350 million years and to have completely adapted to the human species. But the nature of the adaptation that researchers in North Carolina described on Thursday in the journal Science is impressive even for such an ancient, ineradicable lineage, experts say.

Caution: Lawsuits Ahead

blogs.wsj.com — With the arrival of Allan Diamond in Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP's liquidation, former partners and their new law firms should hang onto their hats-and their wallets. Diamond and his firm, which have filed more than a dozen unfinished business lawsuits in the bankruptcy of Howrey LLP, have now been retained to investigate similar claims in Dewey's bankruptcy case, court papers show.

Chief Justice, Attorney General Get Cool Swag from Foreign Dignitaries

blogs.wsj.com — The State Department's Office of the Chief of Protocol has provided a list of the goodies federal government officials received from foreign officials in 2011 and 2010. This being a legal blog, we noted with particular interest the "Soapstone bookends" (estimated value: $414.00) that the chief justice of Canada, Beverley McLachlin, gave to Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.

The Careerist: Man Enough to Take Your Wife's Name?

americanlawyer.com — I thought I had exhausted the issue. But then I heard from a Big Law partner, who offers another twist: Not only did he not expect his wife to take his name, he volunteered to take hers. So the former Neil Friedman became Neil Popovic. Presto! Click here to continue.

Management Shakeup at King & Wood Mallesons

blogs.wsj.com — Pacific Rim law firm King & Wood Mallesons has appointed a new managing partner for its Australian arm, capping a management shakeup that emerged earlier this week. The firm announced early Friday (Sydney time) that Sue Kench, a real estate lawyer, is to replace outgoing managing partner Tony O'Malley.