The Docket


"Breaking stories and noteworthy information from the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly newsroom. If it impacts Massachusetts lawyers, we’ll be blogging about it here."

Author: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly news reporters, including David E. Frank, Noah Schaffer and Julia Reischel.

Blawg Related Categories: Trials & Litigation • States • Massachusetts • Legal News Publication

Recent Posts from The Docket


  • John P. Driscoll Jr. remembered

    John P. Driscoll Jr., a former partner at Nutter, McClennen & Fish in Boston and past president of the Boston Bar Association, died on Nov. 15. He was 77. Driscoll’s numerous professional accomplishments include his…

  • Concord Probate Court session to shut down

    The Middlesex Probate & Family Court in Concord has fallen victim to the budget crisis. According to a notice sent out on Monday by Chief Judge Paula Carey, the Concord session will be closed “temporarily”…

  • Ortiz confirmed as U.S. Attorney

    It’s official: Carmen M. Ortiz has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to succeed Michael J. Sullivan as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Ortiz becomes both the first Hispanic and the first…

  • Toomey portrait to be unveiled

    A portrait of the late Judge Daniel F. Toomey will be unveiled this Thursday at the Worcester Trial Court. Toomey, a Superior Court judge who often served in Worcester, died in 2002 at the age…

  • Patrick taps two for judgeships

    Gov. Patrick has nominated Department of Industrial Accidents Judge Martine Carroll to a Lawrence District Court judgeship and George F. Phelan to a Nantucket Probate and Family Court judgeship. The full press release from his…

  • Supreme Court grants cert in NLRB controversy

    The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in a closely watched case involving the National Labor Relations Board’s authority to decide cases and issue orders in unfair labor practice disputes with only two of its…

  • Juvenile Court schedule released

    The Juvenile Court has announced the judicial assignments for the month of November.

  • Disbarred Worcester lawyer pleads guilty

    A former Worcester lawyer has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a complex real estate scam that netted nearly $3 million in loans for fraudulent deals, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office said. Raymond A. Desautels…

  • Support staff axed at WilmerHale

    An e-mail went out across WilmerHale this morning announcing that a number of support staffers, rumored to be secretaries and paralegals, would be laid off from the firm today.   “There was no indication that…

  • SJC case aims to prevent crimes by ‘Mini Robots’

    Jay P. Mellen, a pro se litigant with a record of suing city and state officials, has a case pending before the Supreme Judicial Court that will be heard on Nov. 2. Mellen is suing…