Attytood: Abramoff law firm has a new scandal -- in Philly

Greenberg Traurig is a South Florida-based law firm that few people outside of its region had heard of some 10 years ago. Since 1997, according to its own Web site, Greenberg Traurig has quadrupled from eight office and 325 lawyers to 32 sites with 1,500 attorneys.

The firm also became a lot more political. In 2000, it played a key role in aiding George W. Bush become president in the Florida recount. The next year, it decided to ramp up its lobbying shop in D.C. by hiring Republican insider Jack Abramoff, triggering a series of events that is threatening to topple the GOP establishment in Washington.

Now, another hire from that time period is coming back to haunt the firm -- and it happened right here in Philly. That hire's name is Leonard Ross, and he was Major John Street's ex-law partner and close friend. Greenberg Traurig hailed the hiring of Ross in a news release on April 3, 2000, and it left little question why he was brought in.