Contracts

5th Circuit OKs $353K and Legal Fees Award to Recruiter Paid Zero for Introducing 10 Lawyers to Firm

A federal appeals court has affirmed a magistrate judge’s decision awarding $353,000 to a legal recruiter paid zero for allegedly introducing a 10-lawyer group to Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith. CB Legal Search also is to have its litigation costs covered by the law firm, the Am Law Daily reports.…

Sep 16, 2011 10:25 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Wife Can Sue Nixon Peabody Attorney re Claimed Injuries Due to Her Own Husband’s Fraud

Once a prominent New Hampshire attorney, Thomas J. Tessier was disbarred in 2008. He is serving a four-year federal prison sentence after allegedly funneling some $2.3 million from an estate for his own personal use while working at Christy & Tessier in Manchester, according to an Associated Press article published…

Sep 15, 2011 8:27 PM CDT

Joke May Be on Toyota re Online Prank: Lack of Consent Voids Arbitration Pact, Appeals Court Says

It looks like the joke could be on Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., concerning an unusual Internet advertising campaign the automaker developed with Saatchi & Saatchi North America Inc. to market its Matrix automobile. The campaign, which was targeted at young men, encouraged them to provide Toyota with the name…

Sep 12, 2011 11:19 PM CDT

Complex Labyrinth of Rules Can Wreak Havoc on a Seemingly Clear-Cut Plan for Retirement Assets

Think you know who will get your retirement-account assets after your death? Think again. Even those who seemingly have named beneficiaries on the right form might be surprised if they could see who actually gets the money, according to the Wall Street Journal. Federal law, for example, trumps beneficiary designations…

Sep 7, 2011 8:49 PM CDT

Hastings Dean Invites Law Students to Walk with Him, After They Execute a Release

The dean of a California law school is taking the concept of office hours to an entirely new environment, by inviting students to join him on his morning walk to work. But there are a couple of advance requirements, explains Frank H. Wu, who serves as chancellor and dean of…

Sep 7, 2011 12:36 AM CDT

Mass. Appeals Court Allows Suit by Man Who Volunteered DNA Sample, Wants Genetic Profile Destroyed

A Massachusetts man who voluntarily provided DNA in 2002 to police investigating a murder may pursue a privacy invasion suit seeking return of his genetic profile, a state appeals court has ruled. Keith Amato claims in his class action suit that police promised the sample and data would not be…

Aug 26, 2011 12:17 PM CDT

Actors Want Share of ‘Happy Days,’ ‘Partridge Family’ & ‘A Christmas Story’ Merchandise Sales

Zack Ward, the actor who played the red-headed bully Scut Farkus from the 1983 movie A Christmas Story is suing Warner Bros Entertainment Inc., claiming the company used his image to produce toy action figures without his permission. Ward, who filed suit in federal court in California this week, maintains…

Aug 19, 2011 9:28 PM CDT

PI Jailed for Phone Hacking Sues News Corp., Says UK Tabloid Reneged on Promised Legal Fees Payment

A private investigator at the center of the ongoing international probes over alleged widespread phone hacking by a British tabloid of celebrities, crime victims and others has sued the newspaper’s United States-based parent company, News Corp. Glenn Mulcaire alleges in a lawsuit he filed Wednesday in the U.K.’s High Court…

Aug 19, 2011 1:42 PM CDT

After Supreme Court Win Forcing Customers to Arbitrate, AT&T Now Sues to Stop the Arbitration

Victorious a few months ago before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that held customers were required by their phone contracts to arbitrate claims rather than sue, AT&T is now trying to put the genie back in the bottle. The telecommunications giant has filed suit in eight federal courts…

Aug 17, 2011 7:03 PM CDT

Baxter Lawyer Reportedly Caught on Tape Offering to Pay Opposing Expert to Leave Town

A lawyer in Mexico City for U.S. drug maker Baxter International was caught on tape offering to pay an opposing expert witness to get out of town on a key court date, according to sworn testimony. The Associated Press obtained the testimony and the tape recording of the lawyer, Jorge…

Aug 17, 2011 11:55 AM CDT

Irell Says Hollywood Dreams, Rather than Bias, Spurred Former Partner to Leave

Irell & Manella is contradicting the claims of a former partner who claims in a lawsuit that the law firm cut her pay because of lost hours during maternity leave. Irell asserts that Juliette Youngblood left the firm in 2009 to pursue dreams of becoming a Hollywood producer, the Am…

Aug 15, 2011 1:53 PM CDT

Plaintiffs Apparently Settle Suit Against Dr. Phil over Naked Man Appearance

Corrected: Two women who appeared on a Dr. Phil spinoff show have dropped their lawsuit claiming they were traumatized by the unexpected appearance of a naked man. Defense lawyer Kelli Sager refused to say whether the suit was settled, the Orange County Register reports. TMZ.com interprets Sager’s response as indicating…

Aug 12, 2011 2:43 PM CDT

Rocket Lawyer Raises $18.5M; Google Ventures Is Among the Investors

The online legal document service Rocket Lawyer has raised $18.5 million from a group of investors that includes Google Ventures. Rocket Lawyer already has 70,000 users a day, Forbes reports. Founder Charley Moore tells the publication that Rocket Lawyer allows consumers to pay for a lawyer to review their documents,…

Aug 11, 2011 4:03 PM CDT

Redaction Flub Reveals Facebook Claim It Unearthed ‘Authentic Contract’ in Ceglia Suit

A federal judge has ordered the plaintiff claiming he has a 50 percent stake in Facebook to turn over 120 documents despite claims of confidentiality. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lesslie Foschio ordered Paul Ceglia to submit the documents for review on Wednesday after Facebook alleged that it had found a “smoking…

Aug 11, 2011 1:11 PM CDT

Stroock Partner Who Jumped to Locke Lord Sues Former Firm for Retirement Benefits

A securities litigator who left a partnership at Stroock Stroock & Lavan to jump to Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell claims in a lawsuit that his former firm is withholding retirement benefits. The complaint filed on Aug. 5 by 64-year-old Michael Perlis in Los Angeles superior court has few details,…

Aug 11, 2011 11:20 AM CDT