Government

Fact-Finder or Legal Shield? Internal Probe a Tough Gig for In-House Counsel

In-house counsel are in a tough position when they oversee an internal corporate investigation. On the one hand, the company needs to understand the facts to make appropriate determinations. But, on the other hand, the facts may establish liability to third parties for any corporate wrongdoing. That essentially was the…

Sep 15, 2009 9:31 PM CDT

As More Laws Restrict Windmills, Some Homeowners Fight Back

Wendie Howland drives a Prius and uses solar panels to heat water, but she won’t be able to install a windmill to generate electricity for her home. The Bourne, Mass., resident took her case to court after the local planning board refused to allow her to install the 132-foot windmill.…

Sep 15, 2009 6:46 PM CDT

NYC Officials Seek Smoking Ban for Public Parks and Beaches

When a deal to ban smoking indoors was struck in 2002 between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council, some were furious. But now, less than a decade later, officials are poised to go further, and even a number of smokers appear resigned, according to the City Room…

Sep 14, 2009 11:54 PM CDT

County Attorney Gets House Arrest in Redo of ‘Unreasonable’ Probation

A former government attorney at the helm of Monroe County, Fla., legal matters has been resentenced after a federal appeals court said his original five-year probation term in a public corruption case was “unreasonable.” But James Hendrick, 61, once again escaped prison time, reports the Miami Herald. Instead, he was…

Sep 11, 2009 8:45 PM CDT

Group Sues for Info About Reporters Paid By US to Cover Criminal Trial

At the same time that the United States was prosecuting five Cuban intelligence agents in Miami nearly a decade ago, the government’s Office of Cuba Broadcasting was also paying local journalists, on a freelance basis, to prepare critical media reports on the trial for a Cuban audience. That may have…

Sep 9, 2009 11:26 PM CDT

Feds to Ramp Up Enforcement of ‘Rampant’ Wage-and-Hour Violations

After the release last week of a 72-page report documenting what the National Law Journal sums up as alleged “rampant” violations of wage-and-hour laws by employers, the U.S. Department of Labor is already gearing up for more stringent enforcement. It is hiring 250 additional investigators to pursue claimed widespread practices…

Sep 9, 2009 8:48 PM CDT

15 Madoff Investors in Mass. to Share $8M Fairfield Settlement

Fairfield Greenwich Group has agreed to pay $8 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the Massachusetts Secretary of State over serving as a feeder fund to Bernard Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme. Under today’s settlement, all 15 of the identified investors in Massachusetts who put money into Madoff’s $65 billion…

Sep 8, 2009 10:39 PM CDT

N.Y. AG Calls Bank’s Privilege Claims ‘Indiscriminate,’ Seeks Waiver

Stymied in his efforts to determine whether the Bank of America and executives complied with disclosure requirements concerning its merger with Merrill Lynch by what he terms an “indiscriminate” use of attorney-client privilege, the New York attorney general is calling for the bank to make its inside and outside counsel…

Sep 8, 2009 9:45 PM CDT

After Chevron Posts YouTube Video, Ecuador Judge Steps Down in $27B Case

Saying that he did nothing wrong but doesn’t want to impede an ongoing investigation, a judge in Ecuador has recused himself in a $27 billion environmental case following a claim by Chevron Corp. that he discussed his planned upcoming ruling in the ongoing litigation with two businessmen. In a highly…

Sep 4, 2009 8:58 PM CDT

Accused Lawyer ‘Hung Out to Dry’ By Ex-Detroit Mayor, Expert Witness Says

A lawyer accused of violating legal ethics rules while representing then-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in police whistle-blower litigation did nothing wrong, says a former Michigan state bar president. Testifying today for attorney Samuel McCargo at an attorney disciplinary trial, expert witness Thomas Cranmer said McCargo “was hung out to dry…

Sep 4, 2009 7:00 PM CDT

There Ought to Be a Law ... Against Body Odor and Being Loaded While Loaded?

Despite a plethora of laws already on the books, there’s still plenty of bad behavior that hasn’t yet been banned. But officials in New York and Hawaii are proposing laws to close two such loopholes. Noting that there is no law making it criminal to carry a loaded weapon while…

Sep 3, 2009 10:24 PM CDT

Definition of ‘Service Animal’ a Hot Issue in Pet-Friendly Portland, Ore.

It may seem like a no-brainer that dogs don’t belong in a supermarket. But in pet-friendly Portland, Ore., the question is controversial enough to require state officials to weigh in with a new campaign intended to educate the public about what is and is not a service animal, reports the…

Sep 3, 2009 7:32 PM CDT

Madoff Thought Jig Was Up in 2006, But SEC Didn’t Check Trades

Questioned by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2006, Bernard Madoff gave the feds his account number at the Depository Trust Co. independent clearing agency and figured he was only hours away from being exposed as the architect of a massive investment fraud. “I thought it was the end,…

Sep 3, 2009 6:12 PM CDT

Study: US Government Will Need to Go on Hiring Binge, Legal Jobs Included

A study by a think tank says the federal government needs to hire more than 270,000 workers in “mission-critical” jobs, and the legal sector is one of five fields where more workers are needed. The study by the Partnership for Public Service says hiring will need to be beefed up,…

Sep 3, 2009 11:31 AM CDT

Pfizer Whistle-Blower’s $51.5M Payday Could Spark More Qui Tam Suits

Five whistle-blowers will share $102 million as part of a record-breaking $2.3 billion settlement by Pfizer Inc. of a federal criminal probe and civil qui tam litigation over the company’s drug-marketing practices. Among those expecting a hefty payday under the False Claims Act is a former Texas sales representative for…

Sep 3, 2009 12:09 AM CDT