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Channel: FindLaw News - Top Stories
Channel: Law.com - Newswire
- Howrey to Cut Between 20 and 30 Partners
Robert Ruyak, Howrey's managing partner, confirmed Thursday that the firm plans to cut between 20 and 30 partners. The firm's profits per partner dropped 35 percent in 2009, and the acquisition of high-profile laterals created internal client conflicts that hurt some partners, sources say. Ruyak says that the hope is to keep the partners at Howrey until helping them land elsewhere. The plan is to position Howrey for a fast recovery, and Ruyak says he believes the firm can thrive by focusing on its core litigation practices. More
- DLA Piper Sued Over Associate's Alleged Discovery Snafu
What may have been a case of oversharing on the part of a DLA Piper associate has dragged the firm into court to defend a legal malpractice lawsuit. Former client George Sutton & Associates, a San Diego software company, claimed in a complaint filed on Tuesday that DLA Piper unlawfully "rifled through" its files and disclosed confidential information to a third party, resulting in about $1.2 million in damages. More
- 3rd Circuit Asked to Clarify Student Internet Speech Cases
Cutting-edge questions in the First Amendment arena have recently stemmed from clashes between students and school districts over limits put on speech posted on social networking sites. Now lawyers on both sides of the issue are urging the 3rd Circuit to vacate two seemingly conflicting decisions by two different three-judge panels, and to hold rearguments before the full court. Both cases involved high school students suspended for creating fake MySpace pages on their home computers ridiculing their principals. More
- The Evolving Landscape of Data Privacy
The regulatory and legal landscape for data privacy is changing rapidly. Although these changes have not garnered much attention, say attorneys Satish M. Kini and Thomas S. Wyler, they deserve careful consideration by in-house counsel, privacy compliance staff and IT departments. More
- Judge: DOJ Unlawfully Recorded Former Congressman's Calls
The Justice Department unlawfully recorded privileged phone calls between former Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., and his lawyers during an insurance fraud probe, a federal magistrate judge in Arizona ruled Thursday in recommending the recordings be suppressed. Magistrate Judge Bernardo Velasco found that prosecutors made false statements to the supervising judge, but is recommending that Renzi's motion to dismiss the indictment be denied, noting that the government's conduct "does not rise to the level of outrageousness." More
- Quinn Emanuel Becomes First Am Law 100 Firm to Have a Female Name Partner
When Kathleen Sullivan began practicing law about 30 years ago, there were no female litigation partners practicing at big firms. On Thursday, capping a career that has also included stints as a Harvard Law School professor and the dean of Stanford Law School, Sullivan became a name partner at Quinn Emanuel, marking the first time a woman's name is on the door of an Am Law 100 firm. More
- Charging Corruption, House Impeaches Federal Judge
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to adopt four articles of impeachment against Eastern District of Louisiana Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr., wrapping up a wide-ranging investigation into allegations that Porteous took cash and gifts from lawyers and lied in his own bankruptcy case. The stage is set for a trial in the Senate unless Porteous resigns from his seat. He has so far declined to do so, despite high-profile investigations by the House, the 5th Circuit Judicial Council and the Department of Justice. More
- Reinhardt Stands Alone on 9th Circuit's Pledge of Allegiance 'Under God' Ruling
Both appointed to the 9th Circuit in 1979 as part of a historic reshaping of the court, Stephen Reinhardt and Dorothy Nelson parted ways Thursday as Nelson handed Reinhardt a bitter defeat by siding with conservative Judge Carlos Bea in an opinion upholding the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The ruling is the latest episode in a case that has brought scorn upon the 9th Circuit from across the country and has highlighted Reinhardt as an unapologetic -- yet increasingly solitary -- iconoclast. More
- Federal Circuit Rules Against Microsoft in $290 Million Patent Judgment
The Federal Circuit has offered more guidance on willful patent infringement in a revised ruling in i4i Limited Partnership v. Microsoft Corp. The ruling upheld a lower court's $290 million patent judgment against Microsoft and found that Microsoft must stop selling an infringing version of Microsoft Word 2007. The holding is important because it said that, even if Microsoft had preserved its right to appeal the jury's willfulness verdict, there was sufficient evidence to sustain that verdict, said a lawyer for i4i. More
- Settlement Reached With NYC and Contractors in 9/11 Respiratory Cases
A settlement has been reached by New York City and its contractors with plaintiffs in the more than 9,000 cases involving respiratory and other illnesses suffered by police, firefighters and workers who responded to the World Trade Center terror attacks and cleaned up the site. A federal judge is set to receive the parties today to discuss the settlement, which comes just two months before trial on 12 "bellwether" cases brought by plaintiffs who claim that the city and its contractors failed to warn and protect workers. More
Channel: ABA Journal Top Stories
- 9th Circuit Upholds Pledge?s ?Under God? in Public Schools
Because its "ostensible and predominant purpose was to inspire patriotism, the "under God" phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance doesn't violate the Constitution's establishment clause, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. In its opinion (PDF), the court also reversed an injunction banning students from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in the district's schools and ruled in a separate case that the "In God We Trust" motto on U.S. currency is also constitutional, Bloomberg reported. In a dissent to today's case, Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote that the "under God" phrase, inserted into the pledge during the Cold?  More
- Crunching the BigLaw Numbers: Equity Partner Profits Drop Less than 1%
Equity partners at the nation?s top law firms didn?t have to take much of a financial hit last year, thanks to layoffs of associates and staffers. Legal consulting firm the Zeugheuser Group crunched the numbers, charting financial results reported as of March 1 for 52 of the nation?s top 100 law firms and 15 firms in the second 100. The American Lawyer collects the results and publishes them as they trickle in. Zeughauser's findings (PDF): Profits per equity partner dropped an average of only .8 percent at the top law firms, while their gross revenues dropped an average of 3.8?  More
- Federal Judge Impeached by House in Unanimous Vote
The House of Representatives voted 412-0 today to approve the first of four articles of impeachment against New Orleans District Judge Thomas Porteous. The article found the judge was engaging in misconduct by not disclosing his relationship with a lawyer before him in a hospital case, the Times-Picayune reported. House votes on the other three articles are pending. "Litigants have the right to expect a judge hearing their case will be fair and impartial, and avoid even the appearance of impropriety," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. "Regrettably, no one can have that expectation in Judge Porteous' courtroom. We hope the?  More
- Quinn Emanuel Makes Kathleen Sullivan Name Partner
Partner John B. Quinn announced today that it's changing its name to add its appellate chair, Kathleen Sullivan, as a name partner to the firm which is now known as Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. "Kathleen Sullivan would be on anyone's list of the top three or four advocates practicing in the United States today," Quinn said in a press release (PDF). Sullivan is a former professor and dean at Stanford Law School who has been at Quinn Emanuel since 2005. Last year, Sullivan was also considered by scholars and others as a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee. (In 2008,?  More
- After a Disappointing Year, Howrey Plans to Axe Up to 10% of Its Partners
Howrey is planning to oust up to 10 percent of its partners, a move that follows a year of disappointing revenue numbers. Howrey is expected to cut between 25 and 30 partners, most of them in the United States, Legal Week reports. The decision to make the cuts was made before Christmas, according to the story. Both equity and nonequity partners will be let go. Last month the law firm laid off 29 associates and 65 staffers from its 10 U.S. offices. The move comes after Howrey saw a 35 percent drop last year in profits per equity partner and?  More
- EEOC Subpoenas Law Firm Documents in Sex Harassment Probe
The Malaise Law Firm in San Antonio, Texas, is clashing with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the agency?s investigation of alleged sexual harassment at the law firm. The EEOC announced in a press release that it has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to enforce a subpoena for information from the firm. The EEOC had sought the addresses of people working in the law firm?s personal injury department, identifying them as potential witnesses, but the firm refused to fully comply, according to a court document (PDF by Texas Employment Law Update) filed by the EEOC. The firm, which touts its?  More
- N.J. Judge Reprimanded for Rant About Undocumented Aliens, O.J. Remark
Two New Jersey judges have been reprimanded for making remarks in the courtroom that touched on race, ethnicity or physical disabilities. One of the judges, James Citta of Ocean County, ridiculed a defendant?s English-speaking skills and compared another to O.J. Simpson, according to the New Jersey Law Journal, NJ.com and the Associated Press reports. The other judge, James Convery of Essex County, asked a Hispanic lawyer when she became an illegal alien, according to the New Jersey Law Journal and NJ.com. He also joked about a litigant?s hearing aid and "Bionic" hip and knee replacements, the stories say. Both waived?  More
- Prosecutor: Third Trial for Hal Turner, the Blogger Accused of Judge Threats, Is Highly Likely
For a second time, jurors were unable to reach a verdict in the trial of a blogger accused of threatening three federal appeals judges for their ruling in a gun rights case. Blogger Harold Turner, aka Hal, was charged after he wrote that Judges Richard Posner, William Bauer and Frank Easterbrook ?deserved to be killed? and ?must die? for their ruling, according to the Associated Press and the New York Law Journal. Turner also published work addresses and photos of the judges. "If they are allowed to get away with this by surviving, other judges will act the same way,"?  More
- RIP: Despite His Allure, Andy Bernard Is Gone from Cornell Law?s Website
Cornell Law School may have the Office?s Andy Bernard to thank for an unprecedented 52 percent spike in applications, but his picture was gone from its website Thursday morning. Visitors to the website were invited to click on a series of photos and videos about distinguished alumni?all but one of them real. Among them was the Andy Bernard character with the slogan, "I went to Cornell. ... Ever heard of it?" The promotion got noticed. Above the Law and TMZ wrote about it. They pointed out that the character was on the law school website, even though he bragged in?  More
- Another False Rumor: Chief Justice Turns the Table on Law Prof
Chief Justice John G. Roberts told University of Alabama law students on Tuesday that he has an announcement about an impending retirement. But it wasn?t his own retirement, briefly announced and then retracted by a website last week. The rumor apparently made its way into cyberspace after Georgetown University law professor Peter Tague told his class that Roberts was retiring?a false statement designed to demonstrate the unreliability of evidence. Tague later explained that the statement wasn?t true, but by then the rumor was spreading, Above the Law reported last week. "I do have to announce something," Roberts said on Tuesday.?  More
Channel: AOL News
- Court to Decide Value of a Dog's Love
Vermont's highest court is being asked to decide what a dog's love is worth. The state Supreme Court on Thursday was to hear a case that began in July 2003, when Denis and Sarah Scheele, who were visiting relatives, let their mixed-breed dog wander into Lewis Dustin's yard and he fatally shot it. Now the Scheeles are asking the court to carve out a new legal doctrine that a dog's owners can sue for emotional distress and loss of companionship, just like parents can when they lose children. More
- NYT: Blackwater Participated in CIA Raids
Security guards working for Blackwater USA participated in clandestine CIA raids in Iraq and Afghanistan, says The New York Times. Blackwater's role points to a much deeper connection between the company and the spy agency, and raises concerns over the legalities of private contractors taking part in such sensitive operations. More
- Gambler Wants Huge Debt Forgiven
A man who lost $127 million at two Las Vegas casinos after a two-day, vodka fueled gambling binge is now suing. Terrance Watanabe's lawyers say the casinos enticed their client with rewards and free liquor in order to milk him of his fortune. Harrah's casino says Watanabe is a deadbeat who still owes nearly $15 million. More
- Salahis to Be Subpoenaed
The Virginia couple who slipped through White House security and shook hands with President Obama will invoke the Fifth Amendment, which protects against self-incrimination, if subpoenaed to testify to Congress, according to a letter from the couple's lawyer. The House Homeland Security Committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on whether to subpoena Tareq and Michaele Salahi to answer questions about how they gained entry to the White House on Nov. 24 despite not being on the guest list to attend a state dinner for the prime minister of India. More
- Teacher's Sex Trial Defense: It Was Love
An attorney for a Georgia teacher charged with having sex with a 17-year-old student claims it's not a crime because the pair were in love. More
- Prisoner Seeks DNA Testing on Victim
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (Dec. 8) - Alex Palmieri was 15 when witnesses say he was repeatedly beaten with a baseball bat in a Bridgeport, Conn., garage in 1984. Now the man convicted of the killing is trying to win a new trial with DNA testing. But there's an unusual twist: Thomas Marra Jr. wants DNA tests done on the bones to determine whether authorities actually found the victim. More
- Meeting on Openness Closed to Public
It's hardly the image of transparency the Obama administration wants to project: A workshop on government openness is closed to the public. The event Monday for federal employees is a fitting symbol of President Barack Obama's uneven record so far on the Freedom of Information Act, a big part of keeping his campaign promise to make his administration the most transparent ever. As Obama's first year in office ends, the government's actions when the public and press seek information are not yet matching up with the president's words. More
- Virginia Tech Report Details Missteps
Some Virginia Tech officials warned their own families and the president's office was locked down well before a campus-wide alert was issued in the 2007 slayings of 32 people, according to a revised state report that details new fumbles in the response to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. More
- Man Wrongly ID'd as Shooter Files Suit
An Ivy League professor who shares a name with a man accused of killing a Wesleyan University student has sued the school, saying it circulated his photo instead of the suspect's and dragged its feet to correct the error. More
- Trial of Suspected Nazi Demjanjuk Opens
John Demjanjuk was brought by ambulance to a Munich court on Monday to face charges of being an accessory to the murder of 27,900 Jews at a Nazi death camp, opening the final chapter of about 30 years of efforts to prosecute the retired Ohio autoworker. More
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