Ethics

NY Lawyer Pleads Guilty in Runner Probe

An investigation into a runner accused of visiting hospitals to find personal injury clients has resulted in another guilty plea. New York lawyer David Sheeger of Sheeger, of Kafko, Schnitzer & Sheeger pleaded guilty to filing a false “retained statement” that failed to reveal the source of a referral, the…

Aug 2, 2007 11:06 AM CDT

House Ethics Bill Passes in 411-8 Vote

Legislation hailed as the most sweeping Congressional ethics reform since the Watergate era of the 1970s passed the House of Representatives by an overwhelming 411-8 majority yesterday and appears poised for approval in the Senate. Drafted, ironically, behind closed doors, the ethics bill for the first time requires lawmakers to…

Aug 1, 2007 9:55 PM CDT

Observers Differ Over Gonzales’ Future

As 15 Democratic members of Congress piled onto the controversy over Albert Gonzales by calling yesterday for a investigation of whether “sufficient grounds” to impeach him exist, observers are split about the U.S. attorney general’s future. “Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, it gets worse,” Douglas Kmiec,…

Aug 1, 2007 8:25 PM CDT

New Standard Lets Weil Sue Mayer

A private equity firm’s selection of New York City bankruptcy powerhouse Weil Gotshal & Manges to handle a $245 million claim against Chicago-based Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw probably wouldn’t have been possible in the not-so-distant past. That’s because Weil likely would have been conflicted out of representing Thomas H.…

Aug 1, 2007 4:53 PM CDT

You’re NOT the Boss of Me

It’s hard to shock them in Las Vegas, but a former law clerk is managing to do just that

Aug 1, 2007 11:26 AM CDT

Scary Parts of Ghostwriting

While hailed by many lawyers, the practice can come back to haunt them

Aug 1, 2007 9:24 AM CDT

The Toughest Call

Lawyer’s life changed when he decided to keep a client’s confession confidential

Aug 1, 2007 8:34 AM CDT

Dear Son: I Stole From Firm Clients

When attorney Christopher Hoyt began reading the letter from his father earlier this month, it was clear he wasn’t going to be having a good day. “I have embezzled funds from my clients,” his father, Clinton, Conn., attorney Jonathan Hoyt, wrote in the July 7 missive. It includes advice on…

Jul 30, 2007 11:06 PM CDT

Jury’s Out on Drug Court Judge’s Legacy

A community in suburban Chicago is divided over a drug court judge who saw amazing successes, a record that some say is the result of bullying and improper tactics. Supporters say Judge Jim Doyle worked tirelessly to nudge drug-addicted suspects to reform, helping turn around the lives of thieves and…

Jul 30, 2007 4:16 PM CDT

Nev. Judge to Appeal Suspension

The lawyer for controversial Las Vegas Judge Elizabeth Halverson promises an appeal of her interim suspension. William Gamage did not offer comment on the details of his client’s case, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. The suspension will remain in effect pending a decision on whether to formally charge the judge…

Jul 27, 2007 8:28 PM CDT

Ex-DA Apologizes, More Fully

The former district attorney for Durham County, N.C., apologized yesterday as a judge considers whether to hold him in criminal contempt of court. Newsday says it was the first “complete and unqualified” apology by Michael Nifong. The disbarred DA acknowledged there was “no credible evidence” that three former Duke lacrosse…

Jul 27, 2007 2:35 PM CDT

NJ Firm Bows Head re Unadmitted Atty

In a rare sanction of a law firm that names no individual partner names, the New Jersey Supreme Court has reprimanded Newark-based Sills Cummis Epstein & Gross for allowing an associate not admitted to the state bar to work on transactional matters for seven years. There are conflicting accounts of…

Jul 27, 2007 12:03 AM CDT

US Attorney to Judge: No Scruggs Case

A federal prosecutor in Alabama has declined a federal judge’s suggestion that she should prosecute Richard Scruggs, a prominent Mississippi plaintiffs lawyer, for contempt of court. U.S. Attorney Alice Martin said yesterday in a letter to U.S. District Judge William M. Acker Jr. that “following a serious and thorough review…

Jul 26, 2007 5:43 PM CDT

Scott Turow: Ban Billable Hour

When Scott Turow’s daughter mentioned that she might want to be a litigator, his reaction was not positive. At the time the best-selling author quit his former job as a prosecutor to enter private practice in Chicago in 1986, attorneys at big firms were expected to bill perhaps 1,800 hours…

Jul 26, 2007 5:52 AM CDT

Nev. Judge Suspended, Poses ‘Substantial Threat,’ Commission Finds

A controversial Nevada judge was suspended today by the state Commission on Judicial Discipline, which found that Elizabeth Halverson “poses a substantial threat of serious harm” to the public and the administration of justice. In a final order of interim suspension filed today, the commission suspended the judge with pay,…

Jul 26, 2007 12:55 AM CDT