http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-20T23:02:36-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/convicted_of_first-degree_murder_abortion_doc_strikes_deal_for_life_term_in/ Convicted earlier this week of first-degree murder in the deaths of three infants who survived late-term abortions only to be slain at his Philadelphia clinic, a Pennsylvania physician struck a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty. Kermit Gosnell, 72, will get a life term in prison without parole… Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Health Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Pennsylvania Tue, 14 May 2013 17:05:20 -0500 44179.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/cuffed_client_decks_lawyer_with_baseball_bat_fashion_punch/ A handcuffed client decked his defense lawyer Monday in a Blair County, Pa., courtroom, in front of the judge who was hearing his post-conviction argument that he should not be sentenced to the death penalty. Andre Staton, 50, slammed the blow in a "baseball bat fashion" squarely in the forehead… Appellate Practice, Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Public Defenders, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Judiciary, Court Security, States, Pennsylvania Tue, 14 May 2013 11:30:24 -0500 44169.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/dr._kermit_gosnell/ Following five weeks of testimony and 10 days of deliberation, the jury in a capital murder case against a Philadelphia late-term abortion doctor has found Kermit Gosnell guilty of three counts of first-degree murder concerning infants born alive whose spinal cords were then severed. He was acquitted Monday in the… Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, Health Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Pennsylvania Mon, 13 May 2013 14:59:07 -0500 44157.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyers_suit_claims_law_firm_wrongly_fired_her_then_misappropriated_her_lik/ A former lawyer with a construction law firm based in Philadelphia has filed a lawsuit accusing her one-time employer of improperly firing her and then misappropriating her likeness by keeping her photo on its website. The suit by Melissa Angeline also accuses law firm Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Careers, Labor & Employment, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Pennsylvania Mon, 13 May 2013 08:15:02 -0500 44143.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_charged_with_theft_accused_of_accepting_2k_to_represent_inmate/ A Pennsylvania lawyer has been criminally charged with theft in Berks County for allegedly accepting a little under $2,000 to represent a jailed client but then performing no work on his case. Investigators checked to see if David J. Delcollo had entered an appearance (they say he didn't) before charging… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, States, Pennsylvania Fri, 10 May 2013 13:25:12 -0500 44129.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_jails_lawyer_and_client_for_arriving_late_to_trial/ When a Philadelphia lawyer and his client arrived 50 minutes late for jury selection in a drug case on Monday, a Pennsylvania judge jailed them both. Holding lawyer B. David Marcial in contempt and upping the bond for his client, Jesus O. Ortiz, from $120,000 to $3 million, Judge Stephen… Criminal Justice, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Pennsylvania Tue, 07 May 2013 10:40:26 -0500 44064.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/aclu_domestic_violence_penalized/ The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit over a municipal ordinance that effectively penalizes individuals for calling police, if they are deemed to have engaged in "disorderly behavior," by pressuring landlords to evict them. Filed by Pepper Hamilton last week on behalf of Lakisha Briggs, the Philadelphia… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Family Law, Government Law, Real Estate & Property Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Pennsylvania Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:29:57 -0500 43964.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/claimed_anonymous_member_takes_plea_in_law_firm_computer_hacking_case/ A 21-year-old who claimed to be a member of the Anonymous hacking collective took a plea Monday in a case over an alleged unauthorized intrusion into a Pittsburgh law firm's computer. Matthew James West pleaded guilty to unlawful trafficking in computer passwords and reckless damage to a protected computer, both… Criminal Justice, Cybersecurity, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 3rd Circuit Court, States, Pennsylvania Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:12:43 -0500 43961.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/gas_from_shale_isnt_a_mineral_pennsylvania_supremes_rule_in_deed_dispute/ The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled on behalf of a couple who claimed they had retained all rights to natural gas derived from Marcellus Shale on their property, despite an 1881 deed giving another party partial rights to minerals in the land. The decision (PDF) issued on Wednesday… Energy Law, Real Estate & Property Law, States, Pennsylvania Fri, 26 Apr 2013 05:35:26 -0500 43914.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/on_probation_for_manslaughter_in_childs_death_couple_again_relies_on_prayer/ Sentenced to 10 years of probation in 2011 after their toddler died of bacterial pneumonia, Herbert and Catherine Schaible were back in court again on Monday, following the death last week of an eight-month-old baby. By again relying on prayer instead of seeking medical treatment for their son, Brandon, the… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Health Law, States, Pennsylvania Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:58:48 -0500 43876.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/drexel_to_offer_2-year_fast-forward_juris_doctor_degree_program/ Drexel University will soon offer a new "Fast-Forward" option that will allow some law students to earn a juris doctor degree in two years instead of three. The program will cost the same as a traditional three-year degree, will require students to earn the same number of credits, and "they’ll… Law Schools, States, Pennsylvania Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:16:22 -0500 43528.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/4_partners_exit_top_local_firm_to_open_new_wilmington_del._office_for_kl_ga/ K&L Gates is the only Pittburgh-based BigLaw firm without an office in Philadelphia. But it now has one a short distance away in Wilmington, Del., which is opening with a four-lawyer corporate group from one of the city's longtime top law firms. Partners Eric Feldman, Nicholas Froio, Christina Houston and… Corporate Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Midsize Firm, Partners, States, Delaware, Pennsylvania Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:01:52 -0500 43513.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/detroits_clark_hill_to_meld_with_pittsburgh-based_thorp_reed_forming_300-la/ A longtime Pittsburgh law firm has agreed to join forces with Clark Hill, a 200-attorney counterpart based in Detroit. Together, Clark Hill and Thorp Reed & Armstrong will have 300 lawyers in 12 offices when they formally merge in the second quarter of this year, reports the Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms, Midsize Firm, Partners, States, Michigan, Pennsylvania Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:38:25 -0500 43492.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/libel_claim_fails_because_in-house_lawyers_letter_was_opinion_judge_rules/ A contractor who didn't like what an in-house lawyer for Merck had to say about him sued the company and the lawyer. But a federal judge in Pennsylvania has tossed the claim, saying the letter was opinion and fell short of the standard for defamation, the Legal… In-house Counsel, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, States, Pennsylvania Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:56:29 -0500 43460.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-associate_sues_law_firm_says/ Jeffrey Downs says he was all set to follow partner Mark LeWinter last year when he exited Philadelphia personal injury law firm Anapol Schwartz to take a job with competitor Raynes McCarty. But then his Raynes job offer was rescinded, Downs contends in a lawsuit filed this week in the… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Labor & Employment, Law Firms, Associates, Midsize Firm, Partners, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Pennsylvania Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:06:07 -0500 43412.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_allows_suit_claiming_widener_law_school_posted_misleading_job_stats_c/ A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that Widener University School of Law posted misleading and incomplete job statistics. Senior U.S. District Judge William Walls of New Jersey allowed the suit to proceed in an opinion (PDF) published last week. Eight Widener law grads claimed… Consumer Law, Law Schools, Law Students, Trials & Litigation, States, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania Mon, 25 Mar 2013 06:30:20 -0500 43410.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/familys_lawsuit_seeks_to_force_sex-offender_neighbor_to_buy_their_home/ A Pennsylvania couple claims in a lawsuit that a neighbor who was convicted of sexually assaulting their daughter should be forced to buy their home. The neighbor, 65-year-old Oliver Larry Beck, has been released from prison after pleading guilty in 2011 to indecent assault of a child under the age… Criminal Justice, Real Estate & Property Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Pennsylvania Mon, 25 Mar 2013 06:14:59 -0500 43406.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/accused_ringleader_in_70m_law_firm_scam_takes_plea/ A foreign citizen accused of acting as a ringleader in a scheme in which prosecutors say U.S. and Canadian law firms were scammed out of some $70 million has pleaded guilty in federal court in Harrisburg, Pa. Emmanuel Ekhator, 42, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to commit mail… Banking Law, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Criminal Justice, International Law, Law Firms, 3rd Circuit Court, States, Pennsylvania Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:24:20 -0500 43288.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/jury_convicts_irs_worker_of_masterminding_bogus_tax_refund_scheme/ A federal jury in Philadelphia on Wednesday convicted a former Internal Revenue Service employee of masterminding a scheme to collect fraudulent tax refunds while working at the IRS, often using straw filers. Aware that the IRS didn't check telephone tax credit requests from filers owed less than $1,500, or ask… Criminal Justice, Tax Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 3rd Circuit Court, States, Pennsylvania Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:36:41 -0500 43271.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_judges_family_sues_over_his_fatal_fall_at_party_hosted_by_securities/ A prominent securities class action lawyer is facing a lawsuit by the estate of a former Pennsylvania judge who died after falling down the stairs during a party at the lawyer's home. The family of former Judge Robert Daniels filed the suit on Tuesday in Philadelphia court, the Judiciary, Tort Law, States, Pennsylvania Thu, 14 Mar 2013 08:55:34 -0500 43257.abajournal.com