District of Columbia

Suit Claims Bouncers Severed Lawyer’s Pinkie Finger While Ejecting Him from Popular DC Bar

A Virginia lawyer is suing a Washington, D.C., bar for $500,000, claiming bouncers accidentally severed his pinkie finger while ejecting him from the popular nightspot. Lawyer Robert Dyer of Arlington is suing the owners of the Smith Point bar and restaurant, report the Washington Post and the Washington City Paper.…

Sep 19, 2012 12:13 PM CDT

Instruction on Slaying Defendant’s New Eyeglasses at Issue on Appeal

An appeals court is considering whether a slaying defendant deserves a new trial because of a judge’s instruction allowing jurors to consider whether he tried to change his appearance by wearing glasses. A panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals is considering the issue in an appeal by…

Sep 14, 2012 2:52 PM CDT

Gay Man Sues Library of Congress, Alleging ‘Sex Stereotyping’ Discrimination

Peter TerVeer says he was an up-and-coming auditor for the Library of Congress’s inspector general’s office until his boss found out that he was gay. Then his boss started harassing him with religious-based homophobia and eventually got him fired, TerVeer claims in a federal lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed Aug. 3…

Aug 30, 2012 9:00 PM CDT

Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction to Fired Law Prof

Stephanie Brown, a former professor at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law who sued the school after she was refused tenure and subsequently fired, was denied a preliminary injunction to hold off her termination. Although U.S. District Judge Richard Leon didn’t rule on…

Aug 30, 2012 5:57 PM CDT

Pepper Hamilton Acquires Law Firm of Former FBI Director Louis Freeh

Highlighting the importance of internal corporate investigations as a practice area for major law firms, Pepper Hamilton has announced plans to acquire the law firm of Louis Freeh, a former director of the FBI, as well as an investigative firm affiliated with the law firm. Freeh and his law firm,…

Aug 28, 2012 5:50 PM CDT

House Committee Sues AG Holder for Civil Contempt, Asks Judge to Nix Obama Executive Privilege Claim

Setting the stage for a constitutional showdown during a presidential election year, an expected effort has begun to enforce a historic contempt citation of a sitting U.S. attorney general by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this summer. On Monday, the House Oversight Committee filed a federal civil contempt lawsuit…

Aug 13, 2012 6:30 PM CDT

Wash. DC Jail Eliminates In-Person Visits with Inmates, Offers Electronic Alternative

As of this week, family and friends can no longer visit inmates at the Washington, D.C., jail in person. Instead, they are allowed one free 45-minute electronic contact per week, which must be scheduled in advance, as the District of Columbia Department of Corrections explains on a web page. The…

Jul 27, 2012 6:24 PM CDT

After Blasting Prosecutors, Federal Judge Releases Piracy Case Defendant, Axes 2 of 4 Charges

After blasting prosecutors in a Friday hearing, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday released a defendant in a Somali piracy case while the government appeals some of her pretrial rulings and dismissed two of the four counts he faced. The appeal could delay the trial of Ali Mohamed…

Jul 24, 2012 9:53 PM CDT

Federal Judge Blasts US Prosecutors for ‘Unbelievably Inexcusable Behavior’ in Somali Piracy Case

Visibly angry and getting more so after learning shortly before trial that prosecutors could place a Somali piracy case defendant in international waters for only 24 to 28 minutes, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., gave them a piece of her mind. Saying that she was “misled” by a government…

Jul 23, 2012 10:11 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge Nixes SEC Suit, Says SIPC Not Liable for Bank CDs Bought by Victims of Stanford Swindle

A federal judge district court judge in Washington, D.C., has sided with the Securities Investor Protection Corp. in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in an effort to provide some reimbursement to the victims of the $6 billion to $7 billion Ponzi scheme overseen by R.…

Jul 3, 2012 5:12 PM CDT

DOJ Won’t Prosecute AG Holder re US House Contempt Citation

Saying that it wasn’t a crime for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to withhold information sought by a congressional committee concerning the feds’ botched Fast and Furious gun-trafficking investigation, the Department of Justice has announced that it won’t prosecute the nation’s top law enforcement officer for contempt. In a letter…

Jun 29, 2012 8:26 PM CDT

Jury Verdict in Roger Clemens Perjury Case: Not Guilty

More than two months after jury selection began, a verdict has been reached in the perjury trial of baseball great Roger Clemens. Accused of lying when he told a congressional committee in 2008 that he had never used steroids or human growth hormone, the former star pitcher for the New…

Jun 18, 2012 8:54 PM 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

Lawyers Say They Lost Millions to Con Artist Working as Elite Security Consultant

Kevin Richard Halligen wasn’t the elite intelligence operative he claimed to be, but a charming and audacious con artist who lived a luxe lifestyle by fleecing others, including a number of lawyers, of millions, authorities say. After he had already duped high-level contacts on the other side of the Atlantic,…

Jun 11, 2012 1:45 PM CDT

Panel Suggests 2-Year Suspension for Lawyer, Citing His Attitude and Refusal of Informal Admonition

The opening salvo in a disciplinary case against Andre P. Barber was an effort to impose an informal admonition on the District of Columbia attorney concerning his conduct in a personal landlord-tenant matter. But Barber rejected the penalty and fought the legal ethics case, resulting in a 97-page report (PDF)…

Jun 5, 2012 8:52 PM CDT