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ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB119682685971814158\nHow Scruggs Case Engulfs Life of an Insurance Blogger\nBy Nathan Koppel\nDec. 5, 2007 12:01 am ET\nOne of the more unlikely figures to have emerged as a prominent voice on the saga in Mississippi involving famed plaintiffs lawyer Richard \"Dickie\" Scruggs is an insurance lawyer in Portland, Ore., who's never set foot in the state.\nSomehow, in between his day job as a law-firm partner and his night job as a husband and father to three young children, David Rossmiller blogs about insurance. These days, he's 95% focused on the Scruggs affair, in which he has no formal role. On the matter, he has been cited in publications including the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Los Angeles Times and the online magazine Slate.\nKatrina damage in Gulfport, Miss.\nThe blog, insurancecoverageblog.com, began in early 2006 as a repository for Mr. Rossmiller's thoughts on the insurance industry. But earlier this year, he says, he delved into the coverage battles involving Hurricane Katrina victims and State Farm Insurance Co., which he found \"absolutely fascinating.\" He weighed in on court decisions, focusing largely on clauses in many homeowner policies that, asserted lawyers for policyholders, State Farm was using to justify denials in coverage.\nMr. Rossmiller came down hard on the plaintiffs lawyers, many of whom he felt were making misleading assertions about the provisions. \"The episode caused a lot of people to accuse me of being pro-insurer, but I'm really not,\" he says. \"On the blog, it's different than representing a client. I'm not shilling for any particular point of view, I'm just trying to call it like I see it.\"\nDespite the criticism, Mr. Rossmiller \"kept plugging away,\" writing on his blog every weekday, often until the wee hours of the morning. He says he's put up at least one post every weekday for almost two years. \"This thing has a life of its own. My readers feel like family, and I don't want to let them down.\"\nMr. Rossmiller says that though he's no criminal lawyer, he'll continue to cover the saga's latest development: the federal indictment announced last week accusing Mr. Scruggs and four others of conspiring to bribe a judge. Is a trip to Mississippi in the near future? \"I'd love to,\" he says. \"But I have three kids and a day job. Now, if someone offered me a book deal...\"\nPartner Poach\nThough some junior lawyers are facing a tougher job market thanks to Wall Street woes, partners remain hot commodities.\nLast week, Martin Bienenstock, a leading bankruptcy lawyer at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP made a jump to Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, just as this practice area is expected to heat up. New York-based Dewey & LeBoeuf is the product of a merger from earlier this year, but even before the hookup, LeBouef had been making some high-profile partner hires.\nChairman Steven Davis, who hails from the LeBoeuf side, says LeBoeuf had a long tradition of hiring partners from other shops, but in the past it focused more on courting people in areas in which the firm was already strong. The firm later realized, he says, that if it wanted to make a mark in a new practice area, it had to go after bold-faced names.\nThe key to landing the big name, he says, is to find a go-between. When LeBouef lured away securities litigator Ralph Ferrara from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in 2005, for example, a LeBoeuf partner who knew Mr. Ferrara made the introduction. \"I wouldn't have just picked up the phone and called Ralph Ferrara,\" Mr. Davis says. As for Mr. Bienenstock, he says, \"We approached him. We have people here who are friends of his.\"\nWill LeBoeuf announce more hiring news soon? The firm's executive committee wants to \"slow things down a bit,\" says Mr. Davis, given that the firm is still digesting its recent merger.\nBut other firms will likely remain busy. Sharon Mahn, a New York recruiter with Major, Lindsey & Africa, says the market for partner moves is still robust. \"If you are a partner with business, there will always be a place for you to move, even in a down economy. Probably more so in a down economy.\"\nDLA's Big Day\nAny day now, the sports pages will fill with news about the report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. But some lawyers at one law firm have known the details for months.\nThe report, expected by year-end, was completed by attorneys at DLA Piper, which lately has made headlines of its own. Last month, the National Law Journal reported that DLA was the largest law firm in the country, as measured by number of attorneys. The firm unseated Baker & McKenzie, which had held the spot for nearly 30 years. The leader of the investigation, former Sen. George Mitchell, in 2003 joined a firm that ultimately merged into DLA.\nDLA's ascendance is noteworthy not just because of the firm's sheer numbers -- it is home to more than 3,600 attorneys world-wide. Also generating buzz is the speed of the firm's expansion. The firm effectively didn't exist 10 years ago; it was created through a series of mergers of midtier firms coupled with extensive, targeted hiring of individual partners. Among its higher-profile lawyers: Amy Schulman, who represents Pfizer Inc. in its litigation over painkiller Celebrex, former U.S. Reps. Dick Armey and Dick Gephardt, and well-known corporate finance attorney Roger Meltzer.\nStill, in the legal world, where some view size as inversely proportional to quality, DLA is striving to secure prestige to match its breadth. \"We are the largest firm that no one has ever heard of,\" says Frank Burch Jr., one of the firm's \"CEOs.\" \"You don't own a brand just because you do a few big transactions. You have to earn it.\"\nPerhaps the MLB report will help. Between 25 and 50 attorneys have worked on it for a year and a half, Mr. Burch says. \"We believe it will have a profound impact not just on baseball but on professional sports generally.\" The firm's growth helped it land the assignment, he adds. \"Some people say that the ideal size for a firm is 200 lawyers. Try getting the MLB investigation with 200 lawyers.\"\n—Ashby Jones contributed to this article.\nWrite to Nathan Koppel at nathan.koppel@wsj.com\nBoscov's:\nBoscov's Winter Sale - Extra 20% off kids' outerwear\nSave up to $200 on an iMac Pro and up to $100 on an iPad with Apple education pricing.\nTrump Leaves Washington the Way He Entered—as a Political Outsider\nHow Volkswagen’s $50 Billion Plan to Beat Tesla Short-Circuited\nBiden Will Lead an Older, Polarized and Financially Insecure Nation\nTrump Issues 74 Pardons, Including to Ex-Aide Steve Bannon\nMountain of Small Loans Looms Over Europe’s Pandemic-Hit Banks\nStocks Could Plunge Even if the Economy Booms\nBiden Moves to Reverse Trump Environmental Policies\nSubdued Inauguration Day Lacks Usual Crowds Due to Covid-19 Pandemic\nGovernors Island Rezoning Plan Faces Pushback\nCopyright © 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved"