Corporate Law

Former Legal Chief for US Arm of Fujitec Is Accused of Stealing $180K via Fake Claims and Expenses

The former chief legal and administrative officer for the United States arm of an international Japan-based elevator manufacturing company has been indicted on charges that he stole $180,000 from his employer via faked legal matters and expenses. Darren Courtney, 48, was indicted Friday by a grand jury in Warren County,…

Jun 27, 2012 6:52 PM CDT

Top Texas Court Vacates Libel Appeal and Appellate Opinion Due to $8K Bribe Paid to Trial Judge

The Texas Supreme Court has vacated a lower appellate court’s opinion concerning an interlocutory appeal and voided the appeal itself, explaining that there is no jurisdiction to hear the matter because the trial judge accepted an $8,000 bribe to rule against a summary judgment motion. Hence, in a Friday opinion…

Jun 22, 2012 7:52 PM CDT

Supreme Court Rules Juries Must Determine Facts Used to Set Substantial Criminal Fines

The U.S. Supreme Court has extended its decisions that require juries to find facts that lead to increased prison sentences or capital punishment. In Southern Union Company v. United States, the court said the same principle applies to criminal fines. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the majority opinion (PDF). Justice Stephen…

Jun 21, 2012 2:35 PM CDT

Will Claim of Histrionic Personality Disorder Help Jerry Sandusky?

Lawyers for Jerry Sandusky claim the defendant’s extensive correspondence with one of his accusers was likely a symptom of histrionic personality disorder, rather than an attempt to groom the boy for molestation. Some experts question whether the claim can do much to help the defense, report the Associated Press and…

Jun 19, 2012 11:58 AM CDT

Former BigLaw Clients Helped Small Offit Kurman Add Nearly 80 Attorneys Since 2001, Partner Says

Founded by two brothers in 1987, a small Maryland-based law firm known as Offit Kurman grew gradually over the years but still had only 10 attorneys in 2001. But rapid BigLaw expansion and a recessionary economy in which other legal partnerships have struggled helped fuel a growth explosion at his…

Jun 18, 2012 3:55 PM CDT

Ex-McKinsey Chief Rajat Gupta Is Guilty in Insider-Trading Case Linked to Hedge Fund Head Rajaratnam

A 63-year-old former managing partner of McKinsey & Co. was convicted Friday in a high-profile insider trading case by a federal jury in Manhattan. Rajat Gupta, who is also a former director of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co., was accused by prosecutors of passing along boardroom…

Jun 15, 2012 7:22 PM CDT

Federal Jury Sides with Kevin Costner in Stephen Baldwin’s $17M Suit Over Oil Spill Cleanup Machines

Kevin Costner. s_bukley / Shutterstock.com Stephen Baldwin. s_bukley / Shutterstock.com A federal jury in New Orleans sided with Kevin Costner in a lawsuit brought by fellow actor Stephen Baldwin over his investment in an oil spill cleanup machine venture that earned millions for the Field of Dreams, Bodyguard and Dances…

Jun 15, 2012 5:37 PM CDT

Top Oregon Court Says Much, But Not All, of 1,247 Boy Scout ‘Ineligible Volunteer’ Files Are Public

In a decision considered important not only to those involved in child sex-abuse cases but to a wide array of organizations seeking to reveal or keep secret material that has been seen by a jury, Oregon’s top court on Thursday upheld a lower-court ruling that 20,000 pages of confidential Boy…

Jun 14, 2012 8:51 PM CDT

7th Circuit Nixes ‘Feeble’ Sears Class Action, Says Its ‘Only Goal’ Is Fees for Plaintiffs Lawyers

Saying that a shareholder derivative suit’s “only goal” appeared to be generating fees for the plaintiffs counsel, a federal appeals court on Wednesday not only held that a federal district judge had erred in refusing to permit an objector to intervene in a shareholder derivative suit but directed the judge…

Jun 14, 2012 4:42 PM CDT

Our Curious Attitude Toward ‘Selling’

I read with interest the comments on my confrere Pat Lamb’s recent post “Lawyers Are Not Special”. What struck me in particular was a deep aversion among many commenters to “selling.” I’m not sure where that aversion comes from, but seems to be rooted in a Death of a Salesman-esque…

Jun 14, 2012 2:51 PM CDT

Felony Franks Closes Restaurant Staffed by Ex-Offenders

The owner of Felony Franks has given up his battle to keep operating a hot dog stand staffed by ex-offenders on Chicago’s near west side. But although Jim Andrews said he was worn down by a long battle with City Hall over the legality of his sign and problems with…

Jun 13, 2012 11:22 PM CDT

Former Dewey Partner’s Suit Compares Firm Leaders’ Lateral Partner Recruitment to ‘Ponzi Scheme’

Updated: A former partner of Dewey & LeBoeuf has filed suit against leaders of the now-bankrupt law firm, contending that they engaged in a multiple acts of deceit after the 2007 merger that created the firm and misrepresented its revenue in an effort to persuade incoming lateral partners to contribute…

Jun 13, 2012 9:02 PM CDT

Company’s Civil Suit Says In-House Legal Chief Used Fake Law Firms to Add Millions to $110K Salary

In a civil lawsuit, a Texas company describes a stunning claimed fraud of millions of dollars by its former in-house legal chief, who it says set up multiple fake law firms and sent them millions in legal fees in a little more than a year before absconding at some point…

Jun 12, 2012 11:15 PM CDT

In-House Legal Chief Is Accused of Creating Fake Law Firm and Sending It $9M in Payments

A suspended New York lawyer is accused of creating a fictitious Texas law firm and then using his position as legal affairs chief at a Houston company to funnel $9 million in payments to the fake legal counsel. Anthony Chiofalo and his wife, Susan, face felony theft charges, according to…

Jun 11, 2012 10:11 PM CDT

Judge OKs Use of Predictive Coding to Cut E-Discovery Document Review Group from 2 Million to 5,000

A computer technique that can be used to drastically reduce the number of documents that must be reviewed by humans in litigation discovery has been OK’d by a Virginia judge despite opposition from the opposing party. Partner Thomas Gricks III of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis argued the contested motion…

Jun 11, 2012 4:10 PM CDT