Federal Government

NJ Gov. Chris Christie Blasts Pension Ruling and Judicial ‘Elitists’; State Bar Blasts Christie

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called a news conference on Tuesday to blast a ruling that judges are exempt from a state law requiring state employees to pay more for pension and health benefits. Judge Linda Feinberg ruled Monday that judges can’t be required to pay more because of the…

Oct 20, 2011 2:17 PM CDT

Scholars Propose Emergency Court, If 4 or More Supreme Court Justices are Killed in Terrorist Attack

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, constitutional scholars have done a lot of thinking about what would happen if a catastrophic strike took out top federal government officials. Now the AEI-Brookings Continuity of Government Commission is proposing an advance plan for dealing with a situation in…

Oct 19, 2011 10:29 PM CDT

DOJ Plan to Close Offices Likely to Result in De Facto Layoffs of Career Antitrust Lawyers

A plan by the Department of Justice to close regional antitrust offices in Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas and Philadelphia likely will result in de facto layoffs of veteran antitrust attorneys. Although the DOJ has offered to transfer antitrust lawyers to offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and…

Oct 19, 2011 2:01 AM CDT

Help Wanted: Case Delays Likely to Grow with Deaths of Five 9th Circuit Judges This Year

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals takes more time to issue opinions than any other appeals court. Some fear the pace will slow even more with the deaths of five appeals judges this year. The average length of time to issue an opinion after an appeal is…

Oct 17, 2011 11:32 AM CDT

Appeals Court Blocks Surrender of RI Defendant to Federal Authorities

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Rhode Island officials don’t have to surrender custody of an accused murderer to federal authorities in a dispute over the death penalty. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston held (PDF) that the federal government is bound by the terms of…

Oct 14, 2011 7:31 PM CDT

Senators Seek Decade of Detailed Law School Placement, Bar Passage and Student Debt Data

Two U.S. senators have asked federal educational officials to turn over detailed information about law school enrollment, tuition, finances, job placement, bar passage and student debt rates over the past 10 years. In a statement Friday, the two—Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)—said they were acting in…

Oct 14, 2011 6:24 PM CDT

Reagan Speech on Taxing Millionaires Goes Viral After Georgetown Law Grad Takes Notice

A 1985 speech by President Reagan calling for fair taxation of millionaires had only 800 views before Georgetown University law grad John Craig located the video posted by the Reagan Foundation. Craig was interning for the liberal group Center for American Progress when he found the video, the Washington Post…

Oct 13, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

Wilson Sonsini Cites ‘Ethical Wall’ in Defending Its Solyndra Work

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati says it built an “ethical wall” around a lawyer married to an energy department official who pushed for a loan to Solyndra before its collapse. Wilson Sonsini advised Solyndra on a failed initial public offering and received $2.4 million in fees from the solar energy…

Oct 12, 2011 1:27 PM CDT

Gingrich’s Plan to Chastise Judges: Subpoena Them, Ignore Their Decisions, Slash Their Budgets

Corrected: Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is elaborating on his plans for taming the federal judiciary. On national security issues, Gingrich said at a Values Voters Summit on Friday, he saw no reason to obey some U.S. Supreme Court rulings, report CBS News and the Atlantic. “I would instruct the…

Oct 12, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

DOJ Asks 11th Circuit for Emergency Stay of Ala. Immigration Law

After a partial defeat in its effort to block enforcement of a contraversial new immigration law in Alabama at the federal district court level, the U.S. Department of Justice is now seeking an emergency stay from a federal appeals court. In a filing today, the DOJ asked the Atlanta-based 11th…

Oct 7, 2011 7:28 PM CDT

ABA Urges Congress to Bolster Legal Services Provisions in Older Americans Act

With the Older Americans Act of 1965 coming up for reauthorization this year, the ABA is working with other organizations to make sure that meeting the critical legal needs of the nation’s most vulnerable elderly citizens gets the attention of Congress. “Legal services can be a key access service that…

Oct 1, 2011 6:20 AM CDT

IG Says Feds Paid Major Law Fims Millions Based on Bills That Didn’t Describe TARP Work Done

In a blistering report (PDF) this week, a special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program says major law firms were paid millions by the U.S. Treasury Department based on bills that provided little or no explanation of the work that was done. Although it stopped short of saying…

Sep 30, 2011 3:47 PM CDT

Feds Say Would-Be Jihadist US Citizen Plotted to Bomb Capitol and Pentagon with Small Drone Planes

As federal authorities were checking commercial airline passengers with controversial scanning devices and body pat-downs this year, a United States citizen with a physics degree was allegedly modifying cell phones to use with small remote-controlled drone planes filled with plastic explosives in a planned attack on the Pentagon and the…

Sep 29, 2011 11:32 AM CDT

DOJ to Mull Possible Criminal Probe of Former SEC General Counsel’s Role in Madoff Liquidation

Already facing a clawback suit, along with siblings, concerning an investment account with convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff that was part of his mother’s estate, a former general counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission is now potentially the subject of a federal criminal probe. In a report (PDF) dated…

Sep 20, 2011 10:34 PM CDT

2 High-Level SEC Veterans Move to BigLaw Jobs, Where They Will Help Clients Comply with Dodd-Frank

After decades with the Securities and Exchange Commission, two high-level veterans are leaving to take BigLaw posts in which they will help clients comply with the Dodd-Frank Act. After 25 years with the SEC, James Brigagliano is leaving his job as deputy director of the trading and markets division for…

Sep 19, 2011 5:14 PM CDT