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Criminal Justice

Wife convicted of murdering prominent attorney husband claimed to reveal real killer at her sentencing

By Debra Cassens Weiss

December 9, 2024, 1:04 pm CST

A Georgia woman convicted of murdering and burning the body of her husband, a prominent Atlanta-area attorney, was sentenced to life in prison after a Dec. 5 sentencing hearing in which she claimed that the real killer was the man’s son.

Melody Walker Farris, 64, of Georgia was convicted last month for the 2018 murder of lawyer Gary Wayne Farris, who was the 58-year-old managing partner of the Atlanta office of midsize law firm Burr & Forman at the time of his death, Law360 reports.

Gary Wayne Farris was the chair of Burr & Forman’s lending practice and a member of the executive committee, the article reports. He was a graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law.

Publications with coverage besides Law360 include Court TV, WXIA-TV, Courthouse News Service, Fox 5 Atlanta and the Independent.

Witnesses said Farris had two affairs before her husband’s death at their farm in Alpharetta, Georgia. She and her husband had also argued about money, and she stood to benefit if he died, prosecutors said. The Independent cited a report by the Cherokee Tribune & Ledger News that Farris was the beneficiary of a $2 million life insurance policy.

During the sentencing hearing, Farris said she has kept the real killer’s identity secret for six years. Courthouse News Service reported on her words.

“I want the world to know who did this. Not only did I not do this, I know who did,” Farris said. “I know Scott killed his father.”

Farris said her mother had advised her to take the blame for the killing, but she would no longer protect her son Scott Farris. Farris said she saw Scott Farris coming from the burn pile, where the remains had been found, and described other circumstances that she found suspicious.

The defense previously suggested that Scott Farris could be involved in the murder because he was missing a gun that had the same kind of bullets used in the killing, according to Courthouse News. Defense lawyer Michael Ray said investigators did not search for evidence in Scott Farris’ room, which was filthy in contrast to his spotless bathroom.

Investigators first thought that Gary Wayne Farris may have fallen onto the burn pile during a medical emergency. They later found a bullet in his rib cage.

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Lawyer Pay

$1M-plus bonuses will be paid to ‘multiple associates’ at this prominent law firm

By Debra Cassens Weiss

December 11, 2024, 10:10 am CST

“Multiple associates” at Boies Schiller Flexner are receiving bonuses of $1 million or more this year, thanks to a formula based on law firm contributions and revenue generation, according to an internal memo obtained by several publications.

In addition, the memo said, “numerous associates—including some very junior associates—received bonuses far in excess of the very top of the market, including several who received bonuses of $300,000 or more.”

Bloomberg Law broke the news. Stories followed by Law360, Law.com and Above the Law, which published the full memo.

More than 30 mostly BigLaw firms have announced that they are paying year-end and special bonuses that match the schedule sent by Milbank. The totals range from $21,000 to $140,000, based on associate year.

In all, more than 95% of Boies Schiller associates are receiving bonuses on a par with or higher than market-rate bonuses, the memo said. Those who received less “invested material time in one or more contingency cases that have not yet paid out,” the memo said.

Boies Schiller announced in 2020 that it was changing its bonus structure to offer associates a choice between market-rate bonuses and bonuses based on a formula with a revenue-share component The outsized bonuses are being paid to many associates who chose the revenue formula.

Associates were split about 50-50 in their initial choices, Matthew L. Schwartz, Boies Schiller’s managing partner and chairman-elect, told Bloomberg Law.

Since then, he said, the vast majority of associates chose formula bonuses. Now, the firm no longer allows incoming associates to choose the market scale. The market-rate system will end when current associates who chose that option are promoted to partner.

Schwartz told Law360 that the firm’s formula bonus rewards lawyers who worked incredibly hard for clients.

“Sometimes that is the result of contingency or other cases earning a premium; sometimes it is related to business generation; and sometimes it’s tied to the number of hours worked,” Schwartz said. “We ask our associates to take on significant responsibilities early in their careers, and we’re more than happy to reward them by sharing in the upside of the returns the firm receives as a result.”

Boies Schiller is taking two other steps to attract top-quality associates. Any current associate who successfully recruits a lateral associate will earn a $25,000 referral bonus after both remain employed there for six months.

In addition, the firm will pay a $150,000 signing bonus for any associate who joins the firm directly from a clerkship with a federal court at the district or appellate level. A new associate with multiple qualifying clerkships will get a $175,000 hiring bonus.

The new clerkship bonus schedule “puts Boies Schiller ahead of competitors by at least $25,000,” Law.com reports.

Bloomberg Law reports that Boies Schiller “is in a position to give higher bonuses after turning around its financial trajectory.” The publication cited American Lawyer data showing that the firm earned $246 million in revenue in 2023 following a down year in 2022 when revenue decreased to $220 million.

Firms paying market-rate bonuses are listed on Above the Law’s bonus scorecard.