Contracts

Law Firm Loses Debt Collection Case; Plaintiff’s Attorney to Seek 6-Figure Fee

A federal judge has ruled against a New York law firm in a hard-fought case over its debt-collection practices, finding after a bench trial that Upton Cohen & Slamowitz conducted a “superficial” review that didn’t meet the standard required for a collection letter from an attorney. Section 1692(e) of the…

Oct 8, 2009 7:12 PM CDT

Recruiter Got Zip in 12-Lawyer Leap, Now Seeks $100M in Federal Suit

A legal recruiter has sued Los Angeles-based Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith for $100 million in actual and punitive damages, contending that the 700-attorney law firm squeezed C.B. Legal Search LLC out of a 12-attorney placement deal it helped orchestrate. In March, C.B. Legal Search introduced partner Edward Ruberry of…

Oct 7, 2009 6:16 PM CDT

Faced With Foreclosure, Homeowners Can’t Get Lawyers to Help

The foreclosure crisis is also a legal crisis, a new study says. When homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages try to find lawyers help them fight to hang onto their homes, many can’t do so, reports USA Today. Hiring a private lawyer to help with the complex proceedings can easily…

Oct 6, 2009 7:05 PM CDT

After 20 Years and $20M, Was $42M More Fair for 4 Months of Legal Work?

It’s been more than 25 years since Alice Lawrence asked Graubard Miller to help her liquidate her deceased husband’s share of a multi-million-dollar real estate empire. By 2004, she and her children had obtained $350 million in distributions, in a 22-year legal battle with his executor that racked up $18…

Oct 5, 2009 8:41 PM CDT

After Split & ‘Kate Plus 8’ Show Rename, Jon Now Finds TV Unhealthy for His Kids

Over the past four years, a television show about Jon and Kate Gosselin’s family life with their eight children–now 8-year-old twins and 5-year-old sextuplets–have made them a household name. But after a separation and divorce filing announced in June that put them on the front page of supermarket tabloids for…

Oct 2, 2009 7:44 PM CDT

Firm Calls Meeting to Remove Partner, But Doesn’t Get Enough Votes

Oops. Senior executive partners at LG called a meeting last month in order to vote to remove an equity partner who allegedly was under-performing. But when the ballots were tallied there weren’t enough, so the unidentified partner remains with the law firm, reports Legal Week. Because a number of partners…

Oct 1, 2009 7:01 PM CDT

CBS Proclaims ‘Total Victory’ as Court Dismisses Dan Rather Lawsuit

In a ruling that a CBS spokesman called “a total victory,” a New York appeals court today reversed a trial judge and said former network anchorman Dan Rather’s breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty claims against the network should have been dismissed. The $70 million case isn’t entirely…

Sep 29, 2009 7:57 PM CDT

Freed from Prison & Awarded $4M, Exonerated Man Fights $1M Legal Bill

Freed from a Texas prison and awarded $4 million in compensation after DNA evidence showed that he didn’t commit the sexual assaults for which he served 24 years, 51-year-old Steven Phillips is now fighting his $1 million legal bill. His new legal counsel is asking a state-court judge in Dallas…

Sep 23, 2009 4:37 PM CDT

Texas Firm Plans for 100 NYC Lawyers, Triples Office Space

Only two years after planting its flag in New York, a Texas-based law firm is tripling its Manhattan office space. McKool Smith has entered into a 15-year sublease of 30,000 square feet from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld at Bank of America Tower on West 42nd Street, reports Crain’s…

Sep 22, 2009 7:23 PM CDT

In Unusual Public Probe, Calif. Bar IDs 16 Lawyers in Loan Modification Case

In an unusual naming-of-names prior to any official determination of misconduct, the State Bar of California has publicly identified in a Sept. 18 press release 16 lawyers who are under investigation for alleged misconduct concerning loan modification services. Interim Chief Trial Counsel Russell Weiner said the public identification of the…

Sep 21, 2009 11:54 PM CDT

Fired Ave Maria Law Prof Gets Tenure in Whistle-Blower Settlement, Lawyer Says

A much-watched whistle-blower lawsuit by three former faculty members at Ave Maria School of Law is now concluded without ever having the central legal issue publicly addressed. A settlement by Stephen Safranek ends the Michigan state-court case, since the two other plaintiffs settled earlier this year according to the Naples…

Sep 21, 2009 6:18 PM CDT

Client’s Sons Sue Hogan & Hartson for $120M, Say Lawyer Fought Too Hard

When Robert Cave agreed to help Colleen Boland negotiate a settlement agreement to resolve alimony and child support issues with her ex-husband, the Hogan & Hartson partner thought of the matter as a quick favor. But nearly 12 years later, the matter—which survived his client’s death several years ago—has damaged…

Sep 8, 2009 8:33 PM CDT

Sued By Both Parties in N.J. Store Sale, Pa. Lawyer Wins Both Cases

A Pennsylvania solo who was sued by both parties over the papers she drew up for the $1.9 million sale of a New Jersey liquor store has won dismissals of both malpractice cases. But despite the rare double play executed by her defense lawyer, Michael Malin, the disgruntled liquor store…

Sep 2, 2009 7:22 PM CDT

Pfizer to Pay Record $2.3B, Subsidiary to Plead to Felony in Drug Marketing Case

A $2.3 billion global settlement by Pfizer Inc. detailed by federal authorities today reportedly includes a number of record payments to resolve both a federal criminal probe and a pharmaceutical whistle-blower case. The case concerns the company’s alleged illegal off-label marketing of multiple drugs and related claimed Medicare/Medicaid fraud, according…

Sep 2, 2009 5:41 PM CDT

10th Cir. Nixes Novell Win in Unix Case, Puts $1B IBM Copyright Claim on Track for Trial

A trial judge’s grant of summary judgment for defendant Novell in a key portion of a dispute over the ownership of the Unix code was overturned yesterday by a federal appeals court, putting it and a related $1 billion copyright dispute between the plaintiff and IBM back on track for…

Aug 25, 2009 9:03 PM CDT