2nd Circuit Court

2nd Circuit Reverses Disbarred Lawyer’s Fed’l Immigration Fraud Conviction Over Voir Dire Issue

A federal appeals court panel has reversed the immigration fraud conviction of a disbarred New York lawyer, finding that his constitutional right to a public trial was violated because the presiding judge excluded the attorney’s brother and the brother’s girlfriend from the courtroom during voir dire. The judge reportedly did…

Nov 13, 2012 11:10 PM CST

Federal Court Staff Attorney Takes Misdemeanor Plea in Child Sex-Abuse Case; Probation Expected

A lawyer who is employed as a staff attorney at a federal court in Syracuse, N.Y., has taken a misdemeanor plea in a child sex-abuse case and is expected to be sentenced to a six-year term of probation, a prosecutor tells the Post-Standard. Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Cali said Thomas…

Oct 30, 2012 5:47 PM CDT

As Hurricane Sandy Closes Many East Coast Courts, Supreme Court Stays Open on Monday

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court isn’t going to let Hurricane Sandy put a damper on its proceedings, at least not on Monday. Even as courts and governments across the Eastern United States are shutting down, the top court plans to stick to its oral argument schedule, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy…

Oct 29, 2012 11:38 AM CDT

2nd Circuit Rules for Surviving Gay Spouse, Says DOMA Violates Equal Protection Clause

A New York-based appeals court has ruled on behalf of a lesbian seeking an estate tax deduction after the death of her spouse in a constitutional challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. The 2-1 opinion (PDF) by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a section of…

Oct 18, 2012 4:27 PM CDT

Self-Help Guru Who Authored ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ Hit with $24M Judgment, But Still Worth a Bundle

A self-help guru who became well known as the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and went on to make a mint from his numerous books and speaking engagements, is about $24 million lighter in the wallet after a jury verdict earlier this year in federal court in Manhattan against…

Oct 10, 2012 7:15 PM CDT

Retired Dewey Partners Say Judge’s Fast-Track Clawback OK ‘Adds Insult to Injury,’ May Appeal

Accused in a Tuesday opinion by a federal bankruptcy judge of seeking an independent examiner merely as a litigation tactic, a committee of retired partners of Dewey & LeBoeuf say the claim they acted improperly by doing so in the law firm’s massive Chapter 11 case “adds insult to injury.”…

Oct 10, 2012 6:35 PM CDT

Judge OKs $71.5M Settlement with Ex-Partners of Dewey

Only a little more than four months after Dewey & LeBoeuf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court in Manhattan at the end of May, some 400 former partners of the once-storied law firm have agreed to give up part of their 2011 and 2012 pay in exchange for…

Oct 9, 2012 10:46 PM CDT

Claimed $40K Contract Hit Attempt on Fed’l Judge, Prosecutor Creates New Trouble for Jailed Con Man

Updated: A New York man who was serving time in federal prison in New York after selling overpriced coins in a $40 million telemarketing scheme on Long Island and in South Florida is now facing new trouble. Joseph Romano is accused of plotting from his prison cell to hire a…

Oct 9, 2012 9:01 PM CDT

Civil Suit Accuses Ex-Partner of Chinese BigLaw Firm of Conspiracy to Bilk US Clients of $10M

In a civil securities fraud suit filed in federal court in New York, a group of investors has accused a former partner in a Beijing-based BigLaw firm of conspiring with her husband to bilk them of $10 million. Helen Lv and her former 1,200-attorney law firm, DeHeng Law Offices, are…

Oct 9, 2012 8:22 PM CDT

Florida Trial Lawyer Willie Gary and His Law Firm Must Pay $12.5M to Litigation Funding Company

A Florida trial lawyer known both for the big verdicts he has won and his lavish lifestyle has been hit with a $12.5 million verdict in a case brought by a litigation funding company. Willie Gary, his law firm, Gary, Williams, Lewis & Watson, and another partner are the defendants…

Oct 4, 2012 3:48 PM CDT

New Indictment Expands Case Against Madoff Ex-Employees, Says Securities Fraud Started in 1970s

Five former longtime employees at Bernard Madoff’s now-defunct investment firm are facing new charges, in an expanded new indictment. The new indictment is apparently based on information provided by others who have taken pleas in the $20 billion swindle for which their former boss is serving a 150-year prison term.…

Oct 2, 2012 4:24 PM CDT

Ex-Hospital CEO Faces Criminal Racketeering Case, Accused of Taking $1.4M in Kickbacks Over a Decade

A former CEO of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York is facing a federal criminal racketeering case on charges that he took some $1.4 million in illegal kickbacks between 1996 and 2007 from vendors, a hospital employee and a United Kingdom healthcare organization. John R. Reynolds left his…

Sep 26, 2012 9:41 PM CDT

Former Programmer Accused of Stealing Source Code Wants Goldman Sachs to Pay $2.4M Legal Fees

A former computer programmer for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. who has now been charged in state court in Manhattan related to his alleged theft of confidential source code from his ex-employer to use in a new job has filed suit seeking over $2.4 million in legal fees. Sergey Aleynikov says…

Sep 26, 2012 8:07 PM CDT

9 Out-of-State Colleagues Will Help Overwhelmed Federal Court in Conn. Get on Top of Caseload

On paper, the federal district court in Connecticut has lost only one judge, who was elevated to the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. But three more have been sidelined by death, illness and, in the case of one senior judge, the need for a reduced schedule.…

Sep 24, 2012 6:31 PM CDT

Proposed $71M Dewey Clawback Deal Gives Nod to Jones Day Partners’ Fraud Claims

In the latest development in a proposed $71 million plan to claw back some profits from former partners of the failed Dewey & LeBoeuf law firm, those in charge of the deal have agreed to give four high-profile bankruptcy lawyers leeway to pursue fraud claims against their former firm. The…

Sep 17, 2012 11:05 PM CDT