New York

Cleary Gottlieb seeks $3M for Hurricane Sandy damage in suit filed against law firm’s insurer

Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge shut down electric service, heat and telephone service for several days in 2012, and it resulted in a $3 million loss of business to Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, the New York law firm says in a lawsuit filed against its insurance company. But although the…

Feb 11, 2014 11:20 PM CST

2nd Circuit puts court-appointed monitor back to work in Apple e-book case but limits his duties

A federal appeals court has put a Washington, D.C., lawyer back to work as an $1,100-an-hour court monitor while an appeal of his appointment is pending in a hard-fought New York case in which Apple Inc. was accused of conspiring with publishers to fix e-book prices. However, the role of…

Feb 11, 2014 9:30 PM CST

ReInvent Law NYC implores lawyers to embrace change and technology

Lawyers need to embrace technology, can’t be afraid to try new things, and must focus primarily on improving their clients’ experience. Those were the main takeaways from Friday’s ReInvent Law conference in New York City. More than 800 lawyers, academics, business owners, students and others in the legal industry packed…

Feb 10, 2014 3:06 AM CST

Sued by ex-girlfriend in domestic abuse case, associate vanishes from white-shoe law firm website

An associate attorney at a white-shoe New York City law firm who made headlines earlier this week after he was sued for domestic abuse by an ex-girlfriend is now no longer with Schulte Roth & Zabel. Samir Tabar’s bio page had vanished from the firm’s website as of Thursday, and…

Feb 7, 2014 3:50 PM CST

2 men poised for release in NYC murder case, but dozens more wrongful conviction claims await new DA

Two New York City men are poised for release at a Thursday court hearing, after serving over 20 years for murders they did not commit, defense lawyers say. But dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of murder cases in which defendants also say they were wrongfully convicted remain in the pipeline waiting…

Feb 6, 2014 5:10 PM CST

Despite money-laundering case, Bitcoin evangelist sees bright future for virtual currency

The arrest late last month of 24-year-old Charles Shrem in a federal money-laundering case wasn’t good news for the developing Bitcoin industry. But the founder of BitInstant, an exchange site for the virtual currency, said from his lawyer’s office that he still sees a bright future for Bitcoin, reports the…

Feb 6, 2014 3:05 PM CST

Trio of labor and employment partners exits Paul Hastings for Proskauer

The co-chair of the employment discrimination practice group at Paul Hastings is leaving the firm, along with two colleagues, for Proskauer Rose. Joining Zach Fasman at Proskauer are Allan Bloom and Erika Collins, reports the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.). “We felt as though we had a triple…

Feb 3, 2014 7:30 PM CST

BigLaw ‘partner’ files for personal bankruptcy, lists $800 cash, clothes worth $900 and broken watch

With a BigLaw job in New York that pays him around $375,000 a year, attorney Gregory M. Owens obviously is doing better than many in the legal profession. But career success is relative, and a recent Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition shows the 55-year-old White & Case partner hasn’t been doing…

Jan 28, 2014 12:10 AM CST

Judge nixes ex-wife’s civil racketeering claim against billionaire Steven Cohen, but OKs fraud case

A federal judge in New York on Monday dismissed a civil racketeering count in a fraud case filed against billionaire Steven Cohen by his ex-wife, Patricia Cohen. However, U.S. District Judge William Pauley gave a green light to her fraud case against the hedge fund manager even though Pauley nixed…

Jan 27, 2014 6:30 PM CST

Inmate is convicted in plot to behead federal judge and prosecutor

A New York man who pleaded guilty in a scheme to sell overvalued coins has been convicted for plotting to behead the federal judge and lead prosecutor who put him behind bars. Jurors convicted Joseph Romano on Thursday for seeking the murders of U.S. District Judge Joseph Bianco and Assistant…

Jan 24, 2014 1:10 PM CST

Judge tosses libel counterclaim against legal secretary who criticized her former firm before suing

A legal secretary who criticized her former law firm in a newspaper article was protected by the fair report privilege, a Manhattan judge has ruled. Judge Shlomo Hagler found that Theodora Benedict’s remarks were a fair report of an age and disability claim she made with New York’s Division of…

Jan 24, 2014 11:40 AM CST

Suspect in JFK airport $5M cash heist portrayed in ‘Goodfellas’ is among 5 indicted by feds

More than 30 years after hooded gunmen stole $5 million in cash from a cargo terminal of John F. Kennedy International Airport, a reputed crime family member is accused of a role in the record-breaking theft in a federal indictment unsealed Thursday. Vincent Asaro, said by the feds to be…

Jan 23, 2014 5:50 PM CST

Hasidic merchants won’t have to pay fines for dress-code signs

Seven Hasidic merchants won’t have to pay fine for posting dress-code signs as a result of a settlement on Tuesday with New York City. The city had claimed the signs discriminated against women and non-Orthodox men, the New York Times reports. The signs read: “No shorts, no barefoot, no sleeveless,…

Jan 22, 2014 6:07 PM CST

When can cops lie to get a confession? New York’s top court considers the issue

In oral arguments on Tuesday, New York’s top court considered how far police can go in telling lies to obtain confessions. Two cases were before the justices, the New York Times and the Associated Press report. In both, police said doctors needed the suspects’ help to save the victims, who…

Jan 16, 2014 11:45 AM CST

Federal judge rebukes Apple for its conduct to court-appointed monitor, defends his $1K hourly rate

Weighing in for the first time on a long-simmering dispute between Apple Inc. and a court-appointed monitor, a federal judge in New York on Monday rebuked the company for its treatment of the monitor and defended his $1,100 billable hourly rate. The computer Goliath had sought an order removing Goodwin…

Jan 14, 2014 5:10 PM CST