Guard Changing at Cozen O’Connor

The guard is about to change Cozen O’Connor, a 546-lawyer Philadelphia-based law firm known as an international insurance coverage powerhouse.The two name partners, although they have signed employment contracts to remain at the helm for another decade, are ceding significant control to the next generation of lawyers and the firm…

Jun 25, 2007 11:37 PM CDT

Paris Hilton Prosecutor on Hot Seat Now

It isn’t just Paris Hilton who’s recently learned that the media spotlight can cast an unwelcome light on personal failings. Now the prosecutor in her case is taking his turn in the unpleasant glare. Rocky Delgadillo was tough on crime when he was attacking the two-tiered justice system that allegedly…

Jun 25, 2007 9:06 PM CDT

‘Pepgate’ Pits Prosecutor Against Police

Only five months into his new job, the top prosecutor in rural Knox County, Illinois, several hundred miles southwest of Chicago, is already at odds with local authorities. Accused in a federal lawsuit of sexually harassing female employees, State’s Attorney John Pepmeyer fired several lawyers in his office who supported…

Jun 25, 2007 6:39 PM CDT

Longtime Judge Desegregated Schools,  Sat on Watergate Hearings Panel

A retired federal judge known for his role in helping to desegregate the St. Louis schools–as well as, during an earlier stint in Congress, for sitting on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate hearings–has died. William Hungate died today of complications from surgery June 6 for a brain hematoma…

Jun 23, 2007 12:21 AM CDT

Yankees’ Giambi to Testify About Steroids

A designated hitter for the New York Yankees will be the first baseball player to testify before a major league baseball steroids use investigator. Under an agreement announced today that could save him from suspension by major league baseball, Jason Giambi is expected to discuss with George Mitchell his own…

Jun 22, 2007 1:17 AM CDT

Bribe Puts Would-Be Legal Eagle’s Fledgling Law Career at Risk

A New Jersey man’s fledgling law career is not off to a good start. Eager to get into a well-regarded law school, Kevin B. Siangchin of North Plainfield tried to bribe workers responsible for administering the crucial Law School Admission Test to give him an advance copy. But the effort…

Jun 20, 2007 10:18 PM CDT

Judge: Duke Rape DA Must Go Now

After working for almost 30 years in the Durham County, N.C., District Attorney’s office, disbarred DA Mike Nifong thought he could take one more month to wind up his work there. But a local judge disagreed. Nifong, who was disbarred Saturday due to the way he handled the rape prosecution…

Jun 19, 2007 9:03 PM CDT

Anna Nicole Judge Quits; TV Show Next?

Move over Judge Judy. A new star may be rising from the ranks of state-court jurists to compete for reality show television ratings. Larry Seidlin, a Miami area judge who gained at least 15 minutes of fame when he tearfully ruled on competing claims for Anna Nicole Smith’s body after…

Jun 19, 2007 8:04 PM CDT

Another Justice Department Aide Resigns

Another Justice Department aide with a link to the controversial firings of nine U.S. attorneys as part of an alleged political purge has resigned. Mike Elston, chief of staff for departing Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, is leaving in a week to join a Washington, D.C., law firm. He is…

Jun 16, 2007 3:27 AM CDT

One Federal Judge in Western Michigan

With three of four federal judge seats vacant for well over a year in the Western District of Michigan, the one sitting jurist has more than a full plate. “For the last year or so, I think my car’s been the first one in the court garage in the morning…

Jun 15, 2007 10:50 PM CDT

Duke Lacrosse Rape Case DA to Resign

Regardless of what happens at his ongoing trial for allegedly violating attorney ethics rules, the Durham, N.C., district attorney who prosecuted the rape case against three former Duke University lacrosse team members says he is going to resign from office. “It is my intention,” testified a teary-eyed Mike Nifong today,…

Jun 15, 2007 9:54 PM CDT

Lawyer Rating Site Faces Suit

A prominent Seattle class-action lawyer says he will file suit against Avvo, a new Web site that rates lawyers.

Steve Berman claims the site does not benefit consumers because its rating system is unreliable, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

Mark Britton, the former general counsel of Expedia, is the founder of Avvo. He defends the rating system, saying it shines a light on information that is hard to find.

Jun 13, 2007 2:58 PM CDT

No Tenure for DePaul’s Finkelstein; Harvard Law Prof’s Tempest a Factor?

Pleas by one of Harvard Law School’s most prominent professors, among others, to refuse tenure to an assistant political science professor at DePaul University, had no effect, according to DePaul’s president. But Norman Finkelstein, perhaps best known for his controversial views on Jews, the Holocaust and Palestine, was reportedly denied…

Jun 11, 2007 8:55 PM CDT

White House Counsel Hires 10 Attorneys

Ongoing investigations of the Bush administration by the Democrat-controlled Congress are good news for attorneys seeking work in the White House. White House Counsel Fred Fielding announced today that his office has hired nine lawyers, five of them for newly created positions, reports the Washington Post. A source says a…

Jun 9, 2007 4:35 AM CDT

‘Defending the Damned’ Isn’t Pretty

A new book on the work being done by public defenders in and around Chicago doesn’t sugarcoat the aggressively adversarial nature of their practice. But “Defending the Damned” does provide a fascinating in-your-face, fly-on-the-wall view of what actually happens in the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, as lawyers go about…

Jun 7, 2007 7:19 PM CDT