California

Ex-MLB Star Lenny Dykstra Indicted, Accused of Stripping His Own $18.5M Home After Chapter 11 Filing

A former Major League Baseball star has been indicted in a bankruptcy fraud case. Lenny Dykstra is accused of stealing from the bankruptcy estate by taking and selling, or destroying, property including sconces, a chandelier and gold fixtures from his $18.5 million mansion in Thousand Oaks, Calif., after his Chapter…

May 9, 2011 5:57 PM CDT

2nd Mistrial for Brother Accused of Murdering McCormick Barstow Partner and Another Lawyer

For the second time, a murder trial of a relative accused of killing two California lawyers in the vacation home that was the subject of a legal dispute has ended without a verdict. A mistrial was declared today in the Santa Barbara murder trial of Corey Lyons, 52, after the…

May 5, 2011 11:32 PM CDT

Lawyer for Mel Gibson’s Ex Reverses Plan re Custody Case; Judge and Actor’s Lawyer ‘Visibly Shocked’

Both the judge and a lawyer for Mel Gibson were “visibly shocked” today when an attorney for the actor’s former girlfriend announced during a court hearing that she would no longer seek to have his alleged domestic violence considered concerning the custody of the celebrity couple’s child, TMZ reports. Sources…

May 4, 2011 10:01 PM CDT

New L.A. Suit Against Deutsche Bank Seeks to Hold ‘Slumlord’ Responsible for Foreclosures

In the latest suit against Deutsche Bank, the city attorney of Los Angeles is pursuing an unusual case contending that the mortgage lender is a “slumlord” and seeking a court order requiring it to clean up foreclosed properties and comply with landlord-tenant law. In response, a spokesman for the bank…

May 4, 2011 6:27 PM CDT

Law Students: Feeling Stressed By Exams? Therapy Dogs are Ready to Provide a Sympathetic Presence

Law students stressing out as finals loom at the University of San Francisco may need a furry friend, officials there have decided. So certified therapy dogs will be on hand to lend a sympathetic presence, provided by the local chapter of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to…

May 3, 2011 12:39 AM CDT

Allen Matkins Partner Pleads Not Guilty in DUI Manslaughter Case

A partner in the San Francisco office of Allen Matkins has pleaded not guilty in a drunken-driving and vehicular manslaughter case brought over the death of an 85-year-old neighbor. After the Dec. 2 accident, Robert David Wyatt, 70, was tested and allegedly found to have a blood-alcohol level more than…

May 2, 2011 9:40 PM CDT

Emerging Technologies at Odds with Long-Held Privacy Tenets

A California appellate court’s reversal of a drunk-driving manslaughter conviction is one of several cases pitting new technologies against long-held privacy principles. In May 2006, driver George Xinos struck and killed a teenager crossing a San Jose street. While Xinos’ car was in storage, police on orders from the district…

May 1, 2011 9:09 AM CDT

Site Lets Startups, Lawyers Interact

As long as there’s been an Internet, the Q&A site has proven a durable genre. Now LawPivot is spinning the traditional Q&A site in another direction, allowing startup entrepreneurs to pose private legal questions to as many as 10 knowledgeable lawyers. The questioners peruse the replies and can begin a…

May 1, 2011 6:40 AM CDT

Appeals Court OKs $20M Legal Malpractice Case; ‘How Could They Have Gotten It So Wrong?’ Says Atty

A class action plaintiff who filed a legal malpractice suit contending that a California law firm improperly took some $20 million from a $134 million settlement is back in the ball game. The trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Girardi Keese, held the California Court of Appeal, Second…

Apr 30, 2011 12:11 AM CDT

Diepenbrock Harrison Split Announced; Law Firm Partners to Separate Into Three Groups

One of the 10 biggest law firms in California’s state capital plans to split into three groups by June 1, reports the Sacramento Business Journal. “It’s a reflection of the times, including a tendency of clients across the country to want more focused groups of lawyers,” says partner Jack Diepenbrock.…

Apr 29, 2011 10:59 PM CDT

Plaintiffs’ New Suit Claims Ex-Employer Clothing Co. Posted Their Nude Photos Online in Fake Website

Three women who previously sued their ex-employer for sexual harassment have filed a new suit in California state court claiming that they were impersonated online by American Apparel Inc. and chief executive Dov Charney in retaliation for their earlier claims. Plaintiffs Alyssa Ferguson, Tesa Lubans-Dehaven and Irene Morales allege in…

Apr 29, 2011 6:53 PM CDT

Couple Plead Guilty in 1991 Kidnap of Jaycee Dugard, 11, Held Captive for 18 Years at Home

A husband and wife pleaded guilty today in a California court concerning the 1991 abduction of 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was allegedly held captive at their home for 18 years before finally escaping. Phillip Garrido pleaded guilty to kidnapping and 13 counts of sexual assault. Nancy Garrido pleaded guilty…

Apr 28, 2011 6:49 PM CDT

BigLaw Money Machine Revs Up Again: PPP Rose 8.4% at Am Law 100 in 2010, to Average $1.36M

The BigLaw money machine was back in business again in 2010, according to the American Lawyer’s annual survey of the nation’s 100 largest law firms. Average profit per partner was up 8.4 percent, to $1.36 million, after increasing only 0.3 percent in 2009 and falling 4.3 percent in 2008, reports…

Apr 28, 2011 12:11 AM CDT

First Lawsuit Filed Over Sony PlayStation Data Breach Affecting Up to 75 Million Customers

After news yesterday that hackers may have obtained personal information, including credit card numbers, of up to 75 million Sony PlayStation Network customers comes news today of the first litigation over the incident. The Rothken Law Firm has filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California on behalf…

Apr 27, 2011 8:09 PM CDT

Meet J. Thomas Schieffer, Akin Gump Attorney to Serve as Manager of Los Angeles Dodgers

A Texas lawyer who serves as senior counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has been tapped by Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig to oversee the operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers, reports the Am Law Daily. A three-term member of the state legislature, starting at age 25,…

Apr 26, 2011 11:20 PM CDT