New York

Dozens of lawyers join protests over police slayings

Dozens of lawyers in New York City and elsewhere joined protests Wednesday over recent police slayings of unarmed individuals and the way they have been handled by the criminal justice system. Public defenders marched with other lawyers at Brooklyn courthouses and at least one prosecutor’s office and also participated in…

Dec 17, 2014 3:10 PM CST

Teen retains lawyer after claiming 8-figure stock profits; New York Magazine: ‘We were duped’

When a 17-year-old who hasn’t yet graduated from high school claimed to have a net worth in the in the “high eight figures” from stock trading, New York Magazine took a look at the bank statement he provided and published a story. In fact, Mohammad Islam almost immediately admitted to…

Dec 16, 2014 1:05 PM CST

Lawmakers say piercings and tattoos are for people, not pets

Joining at least one other state, lawmakers in New York have banned people from piercing and putting tattoos on their pets. The law was signed Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and takes effect in 120 days, reports the Associated Press. It contains some exceptions, including identification marks and work done…

Dec 15, 2014 5:25 PM CST

Personal injury lawyer is indicted, accused of stealing $600K in client settlements

A 62-year-old New York City personal injury lawyer has been indicted on charges that he stole more than $600,000 from client settlements in less than six years, the Manhattan district attorney announced Monday. Stephen Krawitz is charged with a scheme to defraud and grand larceny after allegedly providing no money…

Dec 15, 2014 3:58 PM CST

Lawyer who survived leap into river disclosed ‘huge Ponzi scheme’ in suicide note, prosecutors say

A former BigLaw associate was arraigned on wire and securities fraud charges remotely from his hospital room on Friday. Charles Bennett, 56, is recovering from a collapsed lung suffered after he leapt into the Hudson River in New York on Nov. 3, report the New York Daily News, the New…

Dec 15, 2014 7:07 AM CST

Acclaimed film on ‘Dinosaur 13’ legal battle airs on CNN

An acclaimed documentary about a legal battle related to the ownership of a 67 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton known as Sue aired on CNN on Thursday. Eventually purchased by the Field Museum, the famous set of fossilized T. rex bones was named in honor of Sue Hendrickson, a paleontologist who…

Dec 11, 2014 3:55 PM CST

NYC court clerk to retire after 45 years on job, 11M jury summonses

Norman Goodman is something of a fan of Frank Sinatra, who performed at his high school prom in 1941, along with Tommy Dorsey’s band. But he is also acquainted with Madonna, with whom he chatted at length in July while she waited in his office at the imposing New York…

Dec 11, 2014 1:50 PM CST

Lawyer for convicted murderer says he obtained the gun possibly used by the real killer

A lawyer who represents a double-murder defendant says he received a handgun from a woman who said it was used by the real killer in one of the crimes. Judge Alex Renzi pushed back the sentencing of defendant Michael Walton until Jan. 7, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports. Walton…

Dec 10, 2014 4:03 PM CST

2nd Circuit reverses 2 insider-trading convictions, narrowing scope of future prosecutions

In a blow to the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal appeals court on Wednesday reversed the insider-trading convictions of two former hedge fund portfolio managers. Finding that the government failed to prove defendants Anthony Chiasson and Todd Newman had prerequisite knowledge of wrongdoing, the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit…

Dec 10, 2014 2:30 PM CST

Disbarred lawyer pleads guilty to using another lawyer’s identity to practice law

A disbarred lawyer has pleaded guilty to practicing law using the stolen identity of a lawyer with a similar name. Steven Dickman, 69, pleaded guilty on Monday in Brooklyn federal court, the New York Daily News reports. He collected fees from about 50 “clients.” Dickman admitted that he practiced law…

Dec 9, 2014 9:04 AM CST

Minority law student groups seek exam delays due to grand jury rulings; Columbia partly acquiesces

Columbia Law School has announced it will consider applications to delay final exams by students traumatized by recent grand jury decisions in New York and Ferguson, Missouri, but that decision doesn’t completely satisfy a group seeking exam delays. The Coalition at Columbia Law opposes the school’s requirement for individual explanations…

Dec 9, 2014 7:18 AM CST

Madoff operations chief gets 10 years in $20B swindle; judge says he was not ‘evil at heart’

Federal sentencing guidelines had called for 67-year-old Daniel Bonventre to spend the rest of his life in prison, and the prosecution and the probation department had sought a sentence of 20 years or more. But on Monday, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain gave him only 10 years. “You were…

Dec 8, 2014 2:55 PM CST

Appeals court denies habeas for Tommy the chimp, said to be in ‘solitary confinement’

An appeals court in New York has ruled that Tommy the chimpanzee does not qualify as a person entitled to the protections of a writ of habeas corpus. The Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department ruled against the petition filed by lawyer Steven Wise of the Nonhuman Rights Project, who…

Dec 5, 2014 7:54 AM CST

US judge’s name is a household word in Argentina

A federal judge who rarely makes headlines in the United States is a household name in Argentina, and not in a good way. The judge is Thomas Griesa of Manhattan, who supported the claims of “vulture” hedge funds that purchased Argentina’s bonds for pennies on the dollar when the country…

Dec 5, 2014 5:45 AM CST

‘Real Housewives’ star files $5M suit against her bankruptcy lawyer, blames him for prison sentence

Reality television star Teresa Giudice filed a $5 million malpractice suit against her former bankruptcy lawyer Wednesday. It accuses attorney James Kridel of making mistakes both on her family’s original 2010 bankruptcy filing and in subsequent amendments, and blames him for the fact that she is headed to federal prison…

Dec 3, 2014 5:30 PM CST