Trials & Litigation

20894 ABA Journal Trials & Litigation articles.

Tom Hanks Loses Contractor Dispute Before Arbitration Panel

The actor who starred in a movie about slow-moving contractors and a crumbling house has lost his own real-life battle over home defects. Tom Hanks, who starred in The Money Pit, lost a bid for $3 million in damages before a three-member arbitration panel, report the Associated Press and the…

May 26, 2011 1:23 PM CDT

Not UPL: Suspended Lawyer’s ‘Somewhat Lawyerly’ Tone, Threat to Go ‘Mano a Mano’ Post-Reinstatement

A Colorado attorney working as a paralegal after his law license was suspended has been cleared of legal ethics allegations concerning correspondence he wrote on behalf of a client under the supervision of another attorney. While Matthew Smith’s letters to opposing counsel took a “somewhat lawyerly” tone, the Colorado Hearing…

May 25, 2011 11:59 PM CDT

DOJ Reportedly OKs Possible Prosecution of John Edwards re Affair Cover-Up Payments

Updated: Relying on unidentified sources, major news organizations are reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the pursuit of a possible criminal indictment against former presidential candidate John Edwards related to money spent to cover up an extramarital affair. The affair cover-up expenditures could have violated campaign-finance law…

May 25, 2011 8:46 PM CDT

Suspect in Slaying of Chief Ariz. Fed’l Judge, Shooting of Congresswoman Found Incompetent for Trial

Jared Lee Loughner, the suspect in the slaying of Arizona’s chief federal district judge and the wounding of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords during a spree shooting earlier this year, has been found incompetent. Under the ruling today by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns, the 21-year-old Loughner will now spend up to…

May 25, 2011 7:37 PM CDT

Trustee Picard Will Be ‘Richer Than Madoff’ Once Legal Bills are Paid, Investor Lawyer Says

A lawyer for 800 investors defrauded in Bernie Madoff’s stunning Ponzi scheme complains that trustee Irving Picard will be “richer than Madoff” once his law firm’s legal bills are paid. Attorney Helen Chaitman, who is contesting the latest $44 million bill from Baker & Hostetler, says Picard himself is getting…

May 25, 2011 6:01 PM CDT

Blind Law School Applicant’s Suit Contends ABA Violates ADA by Promoting LSAT

A federal lawsuit filed in Michigan yesterday by a legally blind law school applicant contends that the American Bar Association is discriminating against the blind and visually impaired in the manner in which it accredits law schools. By pushing law schools to use the Law School Admission Test administered by…

May 25, 2011 6:00 PM CDT

Molested Teen Awarded $15M in Suit Against Antitrust Lawyer in Prison for the Assault

A Minneapolis judge has awarded a teenage boy $15 million in a civil lawsuit against the once-prominent lawyer he accused of sexually assaulting him. Judge Denise Reilly ordered former antitrust lawyer Aaron Biber to pay $10 million in punitive damages and $5 million for assault, battery and emotional distress, the…

May 25, 2011 3:40 PM CDT

After Reversal-of-Fortune Win, Bratz Doll Maker Seeks $130M in Legal Fees

Corrected: After a stunning turnaround win in a copyright case, Bratz doll manufacturer MGA Entertainment is seeking nearly $130 million in legal fees. U.S. District Judge David Carter of Los Angeles will hold a hearing today on MGA’s claim for $177 million in punitive damages, along with restitution, attorney fees…

May 25, 2011 2:54 PM CDT

Ex-AG Alberto Gonzales Confesses to ‘Disappointment in Myself’ over DOJ Political Hiring

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales regrets political hiring in the Justice Department’s honors program and says he is “disappointed in myself” for failing to stop it. Gonzales made his remarks in a deposition last September in a lawsuit claiming the Justice Department refused to hire the plaintiffs for political or…

May 25, 2011 2:02 PM CDT

9th Circuit Cites ‘12 Angry Men,’ Says Holdout Juror Should Not Have Been Dismissed

A federal appeals court based in San Francisco has cited the classic film 12 Angry Men to illustrate why a holdout juror in a murder trial should not have been dismissed for bias. The May 23 opinion (PDF) by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the murder conviction…

May 25, 2011 1:18 PM CDT

Prosecutor Says Lawyer’s No-Contest Plea in Hunter’s Death Is ‘Repugnant’

A Pennsylvania lawyer who had prior run-ins with the law has pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and illegal gun possession in the accidental shooting death of a hunter. David Manilla faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 8, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The…

May 25, 2011 12:42 PM CDT

Motion Claims Buxom Woman with Opposing Counsel Is Intended as Jury Distraction

A Chicago lawyer wants a judge to exclude a buxom woman from the opposing counsel’s table at an upcoming trial over a car dealership’s warranty on a used Cadillac. A motion filed by the lawyer for Exotic Motors, Thomas Gooch, asks the judge to order the woman to sit in…

May 25, 2011 12:13 PM CDT

Ex-Jenkens & Gilchrist Partners Paul Daugerdas and Donna Guerin Found Guilty in Tax Shelter Case

After nearly two weeks of deliberations, two former partners of Jenkens & Gilchrist were convicted today by a federal jury in Manhattan on multiple counts in a tax-shelter case. Paul Daugerdas was found guilty of 23 counts, and Donna Guerin of 12, Reuters reports. Both of the Illinois attorneys were…

May 24, 2011 11:45 PM CDT

$6.3M Settlement Wired to Marc Dreier Is Toast, Bankruptcy Judge Tells Ex-Lawyer’s Ex-Client

A former client has lost a legal battle to recoup a $6.3 million settlement stolen by his then-legal counsel Marc Dreier after it was wired to his attorney trust account. Technology investor Paul Gardi and his company, Alix Interactive Media, are bound by the purported Gardi signature Dreier forged on…

May 24, 2011 7:38 PM CDT

Former Attorney Takes Plea in Child Porn Case, Will Get 24 to 37 Months

Two years after the FBI raided his home, a now-disbarred Baltimore attorney has been charged with downloading images of children involved in “explicit” activity from a website controlled by an undercover FBI agent and pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. After his guilty plea today in Maryland federal court,…

May 24, 2011 6:04 PM CDT

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