On the Record

By: Danny Jacobs

My expense report consists primarily of parking receipts and courthouse document copies. So I was impressed when I read a former legal secretary charged more than $46,000 on a company credit card to finance her side business - male exotic dancers.

Jarriette Richie, 41, was charged in Washington, D.C. federal court with fraud last week, according to The Washington Post. Richie worked at Saul Ewing LLP’s Washington office for three months in 2007, according to court filings. The credit card belonged to a lawyer whose firm merged with Saul Ewing, and all information related to the card was kept “in a locked room near Richie’s desk at Saul Ewing,” according to court filings.

Richie’s side businesses was Show N Tell Entertainment, which catered to female audiences and was based out of Richie’s Clinton home. The fraud charges stem from her planning an August 2007 trip to a Puerto Rican resort featuring the male performers. She used a personal credit cart to cover a $5,000 deposit, but then charged more than $21,000 on the company credit card for airline tickets and more than $25,000 for expenses at the resort, according to court filings.

Richie was released on her own recognizance following her initial court appearance Sept. 4, and her next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 18.

By: Caryn Tamber

Saul Ewing is cutting employees again, but the firm’s Baltimore lawyers seem to have dodged a bullet for the second time.

The Legal Intelligencer in Philadelphia is reporting that the Philly-based firm is cutting seven associates and seven staffers. Six of the lawyers are in Philly and one is in Washington. One of the staffers is in Baltimore.

As we posted back in January, Saul laid off 12 staffers at the beginning of the year. There were some Baltimore staffers in that group, but no lawyers.

As the AmLaw Daily points out, Saul was one of a group of regional firms the AmLaw folks pointed to in February as likely to benefit from bad economic times. The idea was that clients, sick of high rates at national firms, would move to less expensive, well-respected regional firms.