Authorities say paralegal stole nearly $440K, created fake real estate parties to cover up

A paralegal at an unidentified southern Delaware law firm stole nearly $440,000 from her employer’s trust account over a period of five years or more, authorities say. Penni Enama, 50, pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to wire fraud and tax evasion concerning the $439,824.40 theft. Prosecutors said she…

Dec 10, 2015 4:10 PM CST

More than 30 lawyers exit as law firm splits

Due to differing “strategic visions” and “philosophical beliefs,” a Mississippi law firm has undergone what at least one exiting partner describes as an amicable split. More than 30 attorneys have left the firm that was until recently known as Forman Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy for Delaware-based Maron Marvel Bradley…

Oct 16, 2015 11:40 AM CDT

Kramer Levin is sanctioned $135K for deposition conduct

A Delaware judge has ordered Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel to pay $135,000 for a deposition in which its lawyer repeatedly instructed a witness not to answer questions. Chancellor Andre Bouchard set the amount of the sanction in a Sept. 17 order, the New York Law Journal reports. The money…

Sep 30, 2015 9:10 AM CDT

Temple law grad is charged with fatally shooting classmate during claimed drug deal

A Temple University law graduate found shot to death in his car last month near his family’s Delaware home was murdered by a classmate during an apparent drug deal, police said Wednesday. Benjamin Rauf, 25, was arrested in his home state of New York. He is being extradited to Delaware…

Sep 16, 2015 12:10 PM CDT

Law grad is shot and killed; his body is found in parked car

A Temple University law graduate was found dead in his car in a nursing home parking lot in Delaware on Monday. Police found the victim, 27-year-old Shazim Uppal, in the parking lot of Genesis Healthcare in Hockessin, Delaware, report Delaware Online and NBC Philadelphia. He died from gunshot wounds to…

Aug 26, 2015 7:44 AM CDT

LeClairRyan opens in Delaware, its 3rd new office this year

LeClairRyan has opened a Delaware office, its third new location this year. The office will be headed by Andrew Cole, a bankruptcy and corporate practitioner who previously worked for Franklin & Prokopik. The new office is looking to hire additional attorneys and staff, LeClairRyan chief David Freinberg tells the Wilmington…

Aug 18, 2015 4:10 PM CDT

Lawyer’s repeated instructions to not answer deposition questions draws sanction for Kramer Levin

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel will have to pay attorney fees covering an opponent’s deposition costs because one of its lawyers repeatedly instructed a witness not to answer questions. Delaware’s chancery court imposed the sanction in an Aug. 14 letter opinion, the Legal Profession Blog reports. According to the opinion,…

Aug 18, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Former prosecutor is suspended for demeaning remarks, false denial about snitch threat

A former Delaware prosecutor has been suspended from law practice for his conduct during a death penalty trial that included disparaging and demeaning remarks about the pro se defendant. The lawyer, former Deputy Attorney General R. David Favata, was suspended for six months and a day, which means he can’t…

Jul 29, 2015 7:49 AM CDT

Suit claims sapphire purchased by lawyer for $9,000 is actually worth about $30

A lawyer in Wilmington, Delaware, says he paid $12,000 in 1999 to surprise his wife with a 4-carat pink sapphire ring on her birthday. Lawyer Sam Frabizzio says the sapphire itself cost $9,000, while the gold ring and six diamond baguettes added $3,000 to the cost. When Frabizzio had the…

Jul 13, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Courthouse shooter’s relatives convicted of cyberstalking, face possible life prison terms

A federal jury in Wilmington, Delaware, has convicted three family members of a courthouse shooter of cyberstalking causing death. Lenore Matusiewicz and her children, David Matusiewicz and Amy Gonzalez, now face possible life prison terms when they are sentenced in October in the landmark case. Prosecutors say this is the…

Jul 10, 2015 11:40 AM CDT

Were relatives culpable in shooter’s deadly courthouse attack? Jury to decide in cyberstalking trial

A federal jury began deliberating Wednesday in an unusual cyberstalking case against three relatives of a man who committed a fatal courthouse shooting. Prosecutors say the wife, son and daughter of Thomas Matusiewicz played a role in his deadly Feb. 11, 2013 attack on Christine Belford and Laura Mulford, by…

Jul 9, 2015 12:10 PM CDT

Delaware leads the way in adopting legislation allowing estate executors access to online accounts

Jul 1, 2015 4:30 AM CDT

Delaware bans bylaws imposing legal fees on plaintiffs in losing shareholder litigation

A law banning corporate bylaws that impose a hefty price on investors who file unsuccessful shareholder derivative suits has been signed by Delaware’s governor. It prohibits companies from requiring plaintiffs in such cases to pay the company’s attorney fees. However, in a nod to disappointed companies, the new law does…

Jun 25, 2015 3:15 PM CDT

Federal cyberstalking trial blames courthouse shooter’s widow, son and daughter for slaying of woman

There’s no dispute that former police officer Thomas Matusiewicz shot two women to death at a Delaware courthouse on Feb. 11, 2013, as they were headed to a child-support hearing, and then committed suicide. But an unusual federal cyberstalking trial now underway in Delaware also seeks to hold his widow,…

Jun 12, 2015 11:10 AM CDT

Jury in Delaware awards $100M to 51-year-old woman in transvaginal mesh case

Delaware is not a state known for big jury verdicts in individual personal injury cases. But on Thursday a jury there awarded a 51-year-old former bank teller $25 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitives against Boston Scientific Corp. Deborah Barba said she suffered constant discomfort, urinary tract…

May 29, 2015 12:25 PM CDT