Legal Jobs Decline for Second Straight Month

Despite upbeat forecasts earlier this week, the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows slower than expected growth in the private sector, and a significant drop in jobs in the legal sector.

The report, released Friday, shows that the legal services sector lost 1,100 jobs in November after experiencing a drop in October, as well. Those losses come at a time when many analysts were expecting healthy growth. The New York Times reports that an increase of 150,000 jobs had been the consensus prediction. More.

Ex-Associate Sues Akin Gump for Biased Termination

An ex-associate in Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld's New York office has sued the law firm, claiming Akin Gump discriminated against her when it fired her for purported economic reasons in 2009.

Tameka Simmons, who said she was the only black female attorney in the New York office before being let go, accused the 800-lawyer firm of creating "pretextual" economic reasons for her firing. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District, also accuses the firm of denying Ms. Simmons mentoring, supervision and work opportunities promised when she was recruited from Debevoise & Plimpton in 2007.

Ms. Simmons, who is claiming discrimination and retaliation under federal and state law, is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. She also is seeking to force Akin Gump to reinstate her as an associate and pay her the earnings and benefits she would have received had she not been fired. More.

Dollar Declines to Weakest Level Since Before Lehman Bankruptcy

Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar declined to the weakest level against the euro since before the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., unwinding gains posted when the plunge in global financial markets spurred demand for safety.

Brazil’s real and Norway’s krone rose on speculation carry- trade investors bought higher-yielding assets at the expense of the greenback. The dollar’s decline helped push gold to a record high and oil above $74 a barrel for the first time since August. The pound fell to a six-month low against the euro on bets the Bank of England’s asset-purchase program will expand.

“Carry is king, and the dollar seems to be the currency choice for carry,” said Warren Hyland, a money manager in London at Schroder Investment Management Ltd., which oversees about $200 billion in assets.

The U.S. currency depreciated 0.4 percent to $1.4825 per euro at 11:01 a.m. in New York, from $1.4773 yesterday, after trading at $1.4876, the weakest level since Aug. 22, 2008. The euro was little changed at 132.81 yen. The dollar decreased 0.2 percent to 89.67 yen, from 89.82.

The dollar’s decline versus the euro accelerated after earlier breaching $1.4850, a level last touched a week after Lehman collapsed on Sept. 15, 2008. The dollar reached an 18- month high of $1.2330 on Oct. 28, 2008, as investors bought Treasury bills to weather the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The dollar lost 17 percent since then.

One central bank bought “a lot of euros” today, said Scott Ainsbury, who helps manage about $9 billion in currencies at FX Concepts Inc. in New York, adding that “the weak dollar trend” will be extended. More