District of Columbia

Former ACLU Lawyer Disbarred After Child Porn Plea

The former president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia has been disbarred after his guilty plea last year to child porn charges. In July 2007, Charles Rust-Tierney pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography, The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times reported. A statement of facts filed with the…

Sep 5, 2008 2:37 PM CDT

Law School Offers Re-Entry Course for Those Returning to Law

American University’s Washington College of Law will help lawyers who have left legal careers with a new course that helps them get back into the job market. The six-day re-entry program has four parts, executive director Linda Mercurio told The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. First, participants set goals.…

Aug 29, 2008 1:45 PM CDT

Successful Second Amendment Legal Team Seeks $3.5M in Fees

The legal team that won a U.S. Supreme Court Second Amendment ruling is seeking $3.5 million in legal fees. Lawyer Alan Gura says in a motion filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., that he and two other lawyers worked more than 3,000 hours on the case, Legal Times reports.…

Aug 27, 2008 5:54 PM CDT

Suit Claims Phillips & Cohen Failed to Pursue Whistle-Blower Case

A malpractice suit claims Washington, D.C.-based law firm Phillips & Cohen failed to pursue a whistle-blower case against a contractor for a Massachusetts highway project. The plaintiff says he didn’t realize he suffered damages from the law firm’s lack of action until September 2006; the law firm claims the statute…

Aug 27, 2008 2:21 PM CDT

Fish & Richardson Sends Kids to Space Camp

Thirty-three children will be going to NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., courtesy of Fish & Richardson. Each of the patent law firm’s 11 offices chooses three underprivileged children each year to send to the camp, Legal Times reports. James “Tripp” Fussell, an associate who leads the firm’s scholarship committee…

Aug 21, 2008 3:24 PM CDT

Interpreter Shortage Could Delay Detainee Hearings in U.S. Courts

Lawyers representing detainees at Guantanamo Bay are rushing to meet with their clients who are challenging their detention in federal lawsuits, but a shortage of interpreters could create a logjam. About a dozen interpreters who live throughout the United States and visit Guantanamo have handled much of the critical work…

Aug 20, 2008 2:45 PM CDT

Researcher Testifies Job Offer Rescinded After Sex Change Disclosed

A terrorism researcher testified yesterday that her job offer with the Library of Congress was rescinded after she disclosed she was planning to undergo a sex change. Diane Schroer choked back tears during her testimony in a Washington, D.C., federal courtroom, the Washington Post reports. “I honestly felt a little…

Aug 20, 2008 1:02 PM CDT

Fried Frank Cuts Administrative Staff

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson has cut its administrative staff in New York and Washington, D.C. The firm says the layoffs amount to less than 10 percent of its 730 administrative staffers firmwide, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. The cuts are primarily hitting floating secretaries, part-time assistants,…

Aug 19, 2008 2:20 PM CDT

Law Firms Find Going ‘Green’ is Easy, and a Client-Pleaser

From sending rejection letters by e-mail instead of regular mail to eliminating bottled water and investigating alternative energy sources, a growing number of law firms throughout New Jersey are increasingly focused on “green” alternatives to traditional practices that waste resources. Doing so not only cuts costs over time but is…

Aug 18, 2008 4:11 PM CDT

Court Says Lawyer’s ‘Go to Hell’ Letters Not Enough for Additional Sanction

A lawyer will face an ethics hearing in Washington, D.C., after an appeals court gave him the benefit of the doubt for writing two letters telling bar counsel and a judge to go to hell. Lawyer Michael H. Ditton had been suspended for five years in Virginia. The District of…

Aug 15, 2008 5:12 PM CDT

Judge Slashes Fee Request for WilmerHale and Wiley Rein

Updated: A federal judge has slashed an attorney fee request in a false claims suit from $20 million to a little more than $7.5 million. His opinion explaining his action takes aim at fees charged by the two plaintiffs’ firms, WilmerHale and Wiley Rein. Chief U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth…

Aug 14, 2008 2:42 PM CDT

Jury Hooks D.C. Firm With $500K Malpractice Verdict

After a nearly four-week trial, a Washington, D.C., jury returned a $500,000 verdict against plaintiffs firm Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll. The firm’s ex-clients, Thomas T. Prousalis Jr. and Gayle Prousalis, sued in 2003, claiming the firm fouled up a suit against the pair’s stockbrokers by, among other things, not…

Aug 12, 2008 12:22 PM CDT

Evidence Against Anthrax Scientist Is Mostly Circumstantial

The government scientist who killed himself before he could be indicted in the 2001 anthrax attacks was linked to the crime by the DNA of an anthrax strain he handled at a government laboratory. Anthrax spores were found on a bookcase and several other locations in or near the office…

Aug 4, 2008 10:47 AM CDT

Judge Rejects Absolute Immunity Claim by Bush Aides in Prosecutor Firing Probe

Updated: A federal judge has rejected claims of absolute immunity asserted on behalf of former White House counsel Harriet Miers and former chief of staff Josh Bolten in an investigation into the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. U.S. District Judge John Bates “strongly rejected the administration’s legal arguments,” the Associated…

Jul 31, 2008 3:51 PM CDT

As O’Melveny Chair Pushes for International Expansion, Criticism Grows

O’Melveny & Myers chairman Arthur “A.B.” Culvahouse is facing his own election battle even as he leads the search for John McCain’s running mate. Culvahouse, former White House counsel to President Reagan, has served as O’Melveny chairman for two terms encompassing eight years. Sources told the Daily Journal (sub. req.)…

Jul 30, 2008 12:10 PM CDT