http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-22T17:40:55-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_tax_court_judge_should_be_suspended_9_months_without_pay_review_panel/ A review panel has recommended that the chief judge of the Minnesota Tax Court be censured and suspended without pay for nine months, because he routinely exceeded the three-month deadline for submitting his opinions and falsified dates to try to obscure his noncompliance. Nonetheless, Judge George Perez was known for… Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Tax Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Minnesota Tue, 14 May 2013 10:00:34 -0500 44158.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/minnesota_man_accused_of_shooting_teen_burglars_is_indicted_on_first-degree/ A retired State Department employee has been indicted on two charges of first-degree murder based on accusations he fatally shot two teens who broke into his home. Prosecutors announced the charges against Byron Smith, 64, of Little Falls, Minn., on Thursday, report the Associated Press, the Criminal Justice, States, Minnesota Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:16:02 -0500 43930.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/booted_from_big_enviro_case_covington_appeal_blames_ex-client_for_not_prote/ A Minnesota judge last year agreed with 3M Co. that its longtime counsel, Covington & Burling, could not continue to represent the state in a big environmental lawsuit against the corporation. But even if a legal ethics rule would otherwise have prohibited the representation, Covington should be allowed to continue… Appellate Practice, Corporate Law, Environmental Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Legal Ethics, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, 8th Circuit Court, States, Minnesota Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:36:50 -0500 43619.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/dorsey_whitney/ Revenue last year at Dorsey & Whitney was the lowest in six years. Yet the new managing partner of the Minneapolis-based law firm says he expects better things in 2013 and 2014, as the firm focuses on a financial turnaround, the Star Tribune… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms, Midsize Firm, Partners, States, Minnesota Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:59:26 -0600 43111.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/suspended_lawyer_is_charged_with_impersonating_dead_client_in_order_to_bilk/ A suspended Minnesota attorney has been criminally charged with impersonating a deceased client in order to bilk his estate. Linda Ann Brost is charged in Ramsey County District Court with identity theft, theft by swindle, aggravated forgery of a document and insurance fraud, the Star Tribune reports. Her… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Legal Ethics, Trusts & Estates, States, Minnesota Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:03:34 -0600 43014.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firm/ Several years before the recession hit, business was booming at Fafinski Mark & Johnson. But founding partner Robert Fafinski Jr. knew the good times weren't going to last forever and starting thinking ahead. Expanding the firm's bankruptcy, labor and employment and estate planning practices—as well… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Careers, Lawyer Pay, Law Firms, Partners, Solos/Small Firms, States, Minnesota Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:41:57 -0600 42999.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/riot_charges_may_be_filed_after_cafeteria_fight_involving_200-plus_students/ A cafeteria fight involving 200 to 300 students at a Minneapolis high school Thursday could result in riot charges, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The melee was so out of control that when 10 police officers arrived and shouted commands to disperse, the students… Criminal Justice, States, Minnesota Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:35:35 -0600 42897.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/matrimonial_lawyer_wrote_book_about_her_own_divorce_to_share_survival_tips_/ When Kristi Skordahl, a matrimonial attorney, got divorced from her husband, she wound up in a apartment with a single place-setting and a litter box for her cat, she says. But she made the best of the situation, getting a retail job while she reapplied for the bar exam since… Business of Law, Careers, Women in the Law, Family Law, Law in Popular Culture, Personal Lives, States, Minnesota Fri, 01 Feb 2013 11:25:54 -0600 42643.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/around_the_blawgosphere_associates_dying_declaration_justin_bieber/ The pool is drying up To an extent, in-house law departments and "New Normal" law firms are benefiting from the investment that "old normal" law firms make in training new associates. "My recollection of the stat is that after five years only two out of ten new… ABA Journal, @BlawgWhisperer, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Legal Technology, Criminal Justice, Internet Law, Law Firms, Associates, Legal Writing, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Michigan, Minnesota Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:45:51 -0600 42641.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/calling_doc_a_real_tool_isnt_defamatory_minnesota_supreme_court_rules/ Calling someone a “real tool” is an expression of opinion that isn’t defamatory, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled. On Wednesday, the court tossed a lawsuit filed by neurologist David McKee, who claimed he was defamed by several statements made by defendant Dennis Laurion on websites used to rate doctors,… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Health Law, Internet Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Minnesota Fri, 01 Feb 2013 06:30:02 -0600 42631.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/driver_is_ticketed_for_speeding_4_times_in_3_hours/ Loretta Lacy was ticketed four times in less than 3 hours in Minnesota on Friday as she drove from South Dakota to Wisconsin along Interstate 90. Said by other motorists to be speeding and weaving through traffic, the 49-year-old was first ticketed by the state patrol at around 2:30 p.m.… Criminal Justice, States, Minnesota Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:12:41 -0600 42619.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_who_had_affair_with_divorce_client_is_suspended_indefinitely_from_pr/ A longtime Minnesota lawyer who admittedly had an affair with a matrimonial client and billed her for meeting time spent having sex has lost his law license for an indefinite period. Thomas P. Lowe, 58, will have to wait at least 15 months to apply for reinstatement of his suspended… Family Law, Legal Ethics, States, Minnesota Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:33:43 -0600 42421.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/indiana_boy_who_disappeared_in_1994_is_found/ A 5-year-old Indiana boy who disappeared 19 years ago has been found living under an assumed name in Minnesota. Richard Wayne Landers Jr., who apparently was abducted from the Wolcottville, Ind., home where he lived since birth with his paternal grandparents in 1994, was tracked down in Long Prarie, Minn.,… Criminal Justice, Family Law, States, Indiana, Minnesota Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:54:55 -0600 42319.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/missing_citations_and_missed_deadlines_irk_federal_judge_who_tosses_bias_su/ A federal judge in Minnesota has dismissed a job bias suit by six plaintiffs against the Minneapolis Convention Center in an opinion that expresses frustration with their lawyer. U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery said the plaintiffs had failed to offer statistical evidence of discrimination or other evidence showing the convention… Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment, Trials & Litigation, States, Minnesota Mon, 17 Dec 2012 07:15:35 -0600 42057.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-neighbor_convicted_of_plot_to_murder_minn._prosecutor/ A former neighbor of a Minnesota prosecutor was convicted by a jury Friday of plotting his murder. Stephen Woodward was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the premeditated first-degree murder of Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom, the Lakeville Patch reports. Woodward apparently blamed Backstrom for a drug… Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Judiciary, Court Security, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Minnesota Mon, 10 Dec 2012 11:45:45 -0600 41937.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/sports_lawyer_faces_discipline_case_after_conviction_re_indecent_exposure/ A former adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law is facing an attorney disciplinary case after taking a plea deal earlier this year concerning a misdemeanor count of indecent exposure to a student after he met with her in a restaurant to discuss her participation in a legal clinic.… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Law Professors, Law Schools, Law Students, Legal Ethics, States, Minnesota Thu, 29 Nov 2012 14:13:57 -0600 41817.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firm_to_exit_downtown_austin_texas_for_new_office_with_parking/ Traditionally, law firms have been located in the center of the city they service, close to the courthouse. But a tight market for downtown office space in Austin, Texas, where a growing number of energy and technology companies are competing for the same buildings as law firms, is prompting some… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms, Midsize Firm, Legal History, States, Minnesota, Texas Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:01:16 -0600 41781.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_tax_court_judge_in_minnesota_is_accused_of_missing_deadlines_evading_wo/ The chief judge of Minnesota’s tax court is accused in a judicial misconduct complaint of routinely missing the statutory three-month deadline to issue decisions and handling fewer cases than his colleagues. The Board on Judicial Standards filed the complaint (PDF) against Judge George Perez on Tuesday, report the… Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Real Estate & Property Law, Tax Law, States, Minnesota Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:08:45 -0600 41777.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-cop_awarded_more_than_1_million_after_officers_illegally_accessed/ A number of Minnesota cities have settled with a former police officer who sued them after more than 100 of their officers illegally performed hundreds of searches for her photo and address in the state's driver's license database. Minneapolis approved a $392,500 settlement with Anne Marie Rasmusson last week and… Privacy Law, States, Minnesota Fri, 09 Nov 2012 12:00:13 -0600 41540.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_who_skipped_trial_traveled_to_paris_wedding_is_convicted_of_contempt/ A lawyer who clashed with a Minnesota judge says an appeal is likely after she was convicted of misdemeanor contempt for skipping a trial last year to attend her brother’s wedding in Paris. After the verdict on Thursday, lawyer M. Tayari Garrett declared that “an injustice has been done,” the… Criminal Justice, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, States, Minnesota Mon, 22 Oct 2012 06:15:27 -0500 41223.abajournal.com