New York

2nd Circuit: Man gets new trial in major tax fraud case because suspended lawyer lied to get on jury

A federal judge erred when he refused to grant a new trial to a man convicted along with two attorneys in a major tax fraud case in 2011, a federal appeals court has ruled. U.S. District Judge Willliam Pauley OK’d new trials for former Jenkens & Gilchrist partners Paul Daugerdas…

Jun 9, 2015 10:25 AM CDT

The great escape: Using power tools, two murderers burrow one block to exit NY prison

Two convicted murderers cut through a steel wall in their adjacent cells, climbed down catwalks and burrowed underground for more than the length of a city block to escape from New York’s Clinton Correctional Facility through a manhole over the weekend. Officials said Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34,…

Jun 8, 2015 2:15 PM CDT

Man accused of posing as lawyer is NY’s first immigration services fraud defendant

A nonlawyer is facing criminal charges after pretending to be an attorney with an office in the Brooklyn Bar Association law library, authorities say. Howard Seidler, 69, was arrested after an undercover investigator met with him there in April and allegedly paid over $3,000 for a green card and a…

Jun 4, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Former BigLaw partner takes felony tax fraud plea

A New York lawyer who until recently was earning nearly $1 million a year as a BigLaw partner has taken a felony tax fraud plea. Court filings say Jeff Galloway, a former partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, didn’t file New York state personal income tax forms or pay tax…

Jun 4, 2015 1:25 PM CDT

Store detectives’ suit says CVS required them to racially profile shoppers

Four former store detectives filed a federal class action lawsuit Wednesday in Manhattan against CVS Pharmacy Inc. It contends company managers required loss-prevention personnel in New York City to racially profile and track minority shoppers, in violation of state and municipal human rights laws, Reuters reports. The plaintiffs are themselves…

Jun 4, 2015 11:53 AM CDT

Chili’s waiter spit ‘loogie’ in my drink, customer says; suit is filed after cops test DNA

A police DNA test confirmed that a Chili’s restaurant waiter spit into a customer’s drink last July, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday. Ken Yerdon says he discovered the spit after taking his drink to go and the lid popped off in the car, report ABC News and Syracuse.com.…

Jun 4, 2015 7:26 AM CDT

Two upstate NY firms tie the knot; 275-attorney shop is largest in Northeast outside of big cities

Only a few months ago, two major regional firms in upstate New York said they were dating but nowhere near ready to get engaged, let alone tie the knot. On Monday, Hiscock & Barclay and Damen Morey announced their merger. Effective immediately, the 275-attorney melded firm will be known as…

Jun 2, 2015 11:15 AM CDT

Claimed mastermind of Silk Road drug-sale website gets life without parole, is ordered to pay $183M

The claimed mastermind of a hidden website that the feds said generated some $213 million in drug sales over little more than two years was sentenced Friday to a life prison term with no possibility of parole. Ross Ulbricht, 31, who at least at one point was known as the…

Jun 1, 2015 12:30 PM CDT

2nd Circuit nixes Apple campaign to boot BigLaw partner as court-appointed monitor in e-book case

A federal appeals court has nixed a campaign by Apple Inc. to replace a monitor appointed by a federal judge to oversee the company’s compliance with her orders in e-book antitrust litigation. “This appeal touches upon the scope of a district court’s power under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53…

May 28, 2015 2:20 PM CDT

FIFA officials indicted by US in claimed $150M ‘World Cup of Fraud’ scheme

U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday announced a racketeering case against nine current or former FIFA officials, contending that they had operated international soccer’s governing body as a criminal enterprise that collected some $150 million in illegal profits. One FIFA official got $10 million in bribes, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said…

May 27, 2015 3:40 PM CDT

London judge sides with divorcing US lawyer in battle over baby grand piano

Attorney Richard Fields doesn’t play the piano at all and his estranged wife Ekaterina admittedly is no expert. But somehow a $100,000 baby grand piano in the couple’s former New York apartment has become a focal point in divorce proceedings in the family division of London’s High Court. Legal fees…

May 20, 2015 12:30 PM CDT

Did passenger control plane by hacking into its computer? FBI probes Twitter claims

A cybersecurity consultant who claims he hacked onto airline computer systems while on board as a passenger and once briefly controlled a plane is being investigated by the FBI. Federal court documents say Twitter posts by Chris Roberts alerted the authorities to his claimed ability to hack into the onboard…

May 19, 2015 1:10 PM CDT

Manicurists sue over alleged labor violations, seek class action status

Two manicurists have sued four New York City nail salons for alleged violations of labor laws in a suit that seeks class action status for other workers at the salons. The suit, filed in federal court on Thursday, follows New York Times stories (here and here) on financial exploitation of…

May 15, 2015 10:44 AM CDT

Dean Watch: Legal innovator to head Suffolk, first woman to lead Cardozo

Suffolk University didn’t have to look far to find a new dean for its law school. Already a law professor there and known for his innovative approach to technology, Andrew Perlman was announced this week as the law school’s new leader. He will take office Aug. 1. Perlman is the…

May 14, 2015 5:31 PM CDT

2nd Circuit appears sympathetic to Litvak’s argument that Wall Street traders often lie

Counsel for a former Wall Street trader convicted of lying to customers about how much he paid for securities argued in federal appeals court Wednesday that he was simply following common industry practice, as was well understood by the sophisticated investors with whom he was dealing. And the New York-based…

May 13, 2015 1:55 PM CDT