California

Manson Family Killer to Be Released? Longest-Serving Female Calif. Inmate

Susan Atkins, a member of the notorious so-called Charles Manson family group that killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others in a two-day spree in 1969, is dying and may soon be released from prison. After 37 years, she is the longest-serving female inmate in the California prison system.…

Jun 13, 2008 6:32 PM CDT

Berkeley to Offer Two-Summer LL.M. Program for International Students

The University of California’s law school at Berkeley is offering a new accelerated summer LL.M. program that will allow international law students to take the state bar exam after two summers of study. Professor Andrew Guzman, who will become chair of the school’s graduate programs this July, told the Recorder…

Jun 13, 2008 2:19 PM CDT

Stanford Law School Drops Letter Grades

Stanford University has become the third elite law school to drop letter grades. Under the new system Stanford students will receive grades of honors, pass, restricted credit and no credit, reports Inside Higher Ed. The system will change for students graduating in 2011, according to the Daily Journal (sub. req.).…

Jun 11, 2008 5:56 PM CDT

Akin Gump Will Close at Least One Office Due to Loss of IP Rainmaker

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has closed its Taiwan office and is re-evaluating its Silicon Valley office after the loss of rainmaker Yitai Hu. Akin Gump chairman R. Bruce McLean told the Recorder that Hu kept both offices busy with patent work since he opened them in 2005. Among…

Jun 11, 2008 2:51 PM CDT

Howrey Vice Chairman Dies of Cancer

The vice chairman of Howrey, Mark Wegener, has died at the age of 59. The cause was cancer, reports The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Wegener was also co-chairman of Howrey’s global litigation practice. In a press release, Howrey’s chairman Robert Ruyak called Wegener a mentor and friend who…

Jun 11, 2008 2:23 PM CDT

Heller Ehrman Sends Chairman to New York, in Something of a Trend

The last big San Francisco law firm to have its chairman full-time in the city has decided to send its leader packing to New York. Matthew Larrabee, chairman of Heller Ehrman, will move to the firm’s New York office this month, the Recorder reports. Larrabee told the publication the change…

Jun 11, 2008 2:12 PM CDT

French Judge Participating in U.S. Homicide Investigation

Stymied by the puzzling stabbing death of a 36-year-old French citizen, those in charge of the San Francisco investigation have turned for help to French authorities. A French investigator has been helping for several months, and a French judge will soon hear evidence from witnesses in federal court, reports the…

Jun 10, 2008 4:24 PM CDT

Special Prosecutor Named in Case Stemming from Improperly Named Defendants

A special prosecutor has been appointed to pursue a sanctions case against two plaintiffs lawyers in connection with misstatements made in a toxic-tort case. A panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appointed the prosecutor to pursue the case against Thomas Girardi and Walter Lack, the…

Jun 10, 2008 2:44 PM CDT

Dad and Daughter a Winning Trial Team, Racking Up $22M in Auto Case

Katie Grassini initially played a key role in one of her father’s personal injury trials long before she went to law school. When Lawrence Grassini needed an assistant to help him represent a ventriloquist in a syndication rights suit, he put his then-10-year-old daughter to work. She watched episodes of…

Jun 9, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

NYT Columnist Raps Lerach’s ‘Brazen’ Article Defending Kickbacks

A New York Times business columnist says an article by a former securities class action lawyer serving time for paying kickbacks is “a brazen, shameful piece of work.” “Some guys just don’t know when to shut up,” writes columnist Joe Nocera. “William S. Lerach is one of those guys.” Lerach…

Jun 9, 2008 12:26 PM CDT

Law Prof Denied Communion for Supporting Obama

Pepperdine law professor Douglas Kmiec says he was denied communion because he supports Barack Obama, a candidate who backs abortion rights. Kmiec, the former dean at Catholic University law school, told National Public Radio that he was asked to speak at a church about why he supported the candidate. Before…

Jun 6, 2008 12:49 PM CDT

Lerach Seeks Alcohol Treatment in Prison

Securities class action lawyer William Lerach, sentenced to two years in prison for paying kickbacks to lead plaintiffs, has asked the judge in his case to recommend him for an alcohol treatment program during his incarceration. Lerach’s lawyer, John Keker, made the request in a motion filed with the Los…

Jun 6, 2008 11:29 AM CDT

Calif. Judge Jails Lawyer With ‘Disturbing Pattern’ of Tardiness

A criminal defense lawyer with a history of tardiness and missing court dates was tossed in jail on Monday when he showed up 35 minutes late for court wearing a rumpled suit and no tie. Stephen Charles Hollingsworth remained in jail until Wednesday when the judge released him, the Los…

Jun 6, 2008 10:52 AM CDT

Lawyer Pursues New Career as a Track Coach

Sports enthusiast Brock Drazen says he never really enjoyed law practice as a criminal defense lawyer. Drazen, 44, made about $50,000 a year and says he could have earned more if he had the drive to do so. “I didn’t get a lot of pleasure out of my work, because…

Jun 5, 2008 5:35 PM CDT

Ed McMahon in Foreclosure in Beverly Hills

Updated: It isn’t just struggling blue-collar workers who are battling in court with mortgage lenders in the ongoing real estate meltdown. Ed McMahon, famous among late-night television fans as Johnny Carson’s longtime sidekick, could lose his Beverly Hills home to foreclosure due to health problems. As of late February, the…

Jun 4, 2008 4:19 PM CDT