New York

Former Colleague’s ‘Unraveled’ Doc Film Focuses on Ex-Attorney Marc Dreier’s Spectacular Downfall

When Marc Dreier’s 250-attorney law firm collapsed at the end of 2008, as news began to come out that the powerful partner had been running a $400 million Ponzi scheme, his downfall was a personal tragedy for Marc H. Simon. Simon had worked at the firm, on Park Avenue in…

Mar 16, 2012 8:32 PM CDT

Judge Says Lawyer Who Wants to Use His Own $2.5M Loft for Accused Madam’s $2M Bond Isn’t Her Counsel

A lawyer who offered to put up his $2.5 million New York City loft as collateral for his client’s $2 million bond in a high-profile prostitution case isn’t her counsel any more, a Manhattan judge has ruled. Peter Gleason is “no longer an attorney in the case. He’s an attorney…

Mar 15, 2012 5:49 PM CDT

NY Lawyer Convicted in Witness-Tampering Case Is Disbarred

The conduct on which New York attorney Robert M. Simels’ federal bribery conviction was based would also constitute a crime under state law, a state appellate court panel has determined. So the Appellate Division, First Department granted today a disciplinary committee petition to disbar him, under a legal ethics rule…

Mar 14, 2012 4:28 PM CDT

NYU Law School Pays $3.6M for Faculty Condo

New York University law school has purchased another condo. This time the school paid $3.6 million for an Upper West Side condo, International Business Times reports. Law school spokesman Michael Orey says the condo will be used by a faculty member who will pay rent. The publication has photos. According…

Mar 14, 2012 12:03 PM CDT

Thomas Puccio, Abscam Prosecutor and Defense Lawyer in von Bulow Acquittal, Is Dead at 67

A New York lawyer who first made a major name for himself prosecuting congressmen in the Abscam trials of the 1980s and then represented big-name defendants has died of leukemia. Thomas P. Puccio was 67 years old, reports the New York Times (reg. req.). Among his most famous cases was…

Mar 13, 2012 8:55 PM CDT

Disinherited Charities Sue Ex-Nixon Peabody Lawyer Over $748,500 They Say He Got Via Undue Influence

A former Nixon Peabody lawyer is facing a case brought by another well-known law firm in Buffalo, N.Y., over $748,500 that onetime charitable beneficiaries of a woman who died in 2008 say he obtained through undue influence. The Erie County Surrogate’s Court is being asked to sort out the claims…

Mar 12, 2012 4:20 PM CDT

Defense Lawyer Offers His Own NYC Loft to Back Client’s $2M Bond in High-Profile Prostitution Case

In a highly unusual move, a New York defense attorney is offering his own TriBeCa loft as collateral for a client’s $2 million bond in a high-profile case involving a single count of promoting prostitution. Attorney Peter J. Gleason also said in a court filing to be made today that…

Mar 12, 2012 3:30 PM CDT

How Is Arent Fox Like Letterman and Regis Philbin? All are Honored in Deli Sandwich Names

A neighborhood deli near the New York office of Arent Fox has put the law firm in the same category as celebrities like David Letterman and Regis Philbin, who also work in the vicinity. The Hello Deli has named a sandwich after Arent Fox. Featuring hot ham or turkey and…

Mar 9, 2012 5:51 PM CST

Federal Judge Nixes Jacoby & Meyers Challenge to Non-Lawyer Firm Ownership, Cites Lack of Standing

Saying that Jacoby & Meyers has no standing to challenge a New York legal ethics rule against non-attorney ownership of law firms because the well-known personal injury firm has not been harmed by the rule, a federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday threw out the firm’s lawsuit, Reuters reports. “The…

Mar 9, 2012 3:05 PM CST

Kelley Drye and EEOC May Be Near Settlement of Partner Age-Discrimination Case

A New York law firm may be close to a settlement with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in an age-discrimination case focused on an 81-year-old partner. A settlement conference is scheduled Friday in federal court in Manhattan, although terms of any potential pact aren’t known, reports the Wall Street…

Mar 7, 2012 11:08 PM CST

CUNY Law Grad Reveals Undocumented Status, Fears He Can’t Practice Despite Passing NY Bar

A 28-year-old Mexican immigrant who graduated from law school at the City University of New York and passed the state bar exam in November fears he will not be able to practice law in New York because he was illegally brought to this country as a 5-year-old child by his…

Mar 7, 2012 2:33 PM CST

5 Claimed ‘Anonymous’ Affiliates Face US Hacking Case After Leader Took Plea in Secret Court Hearing

In what authorities are calling the first case brought in the United States against defendants they say are affiliated with the hacktivist groups known as Anonymous and Lulz Security, five individuals have been charged with the help of a notorious computer vandal who reportedly served as an FBI informant. Known…

Mar 6, 2012 11:47 PM CST

Supreme Court Takes ‘Harder Look’ at Cert Petition Challenging NY Rent Control

A former prosecutor is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant cert in a challenge to New York’s rent control regulations that has lost at the trial and appellate levels. James Harmon, who now runs a corporate investigations firm, is seeking to overturn the regulations in a Fifth Amendment suit…

Mar 6, 2012 11:30 AM CST

2nd Circuit Nixes Confusing Disclaimer Required of NY Attorneys Advertising Specialist Certification

A New York personal injury lawyer appearing pro se has notched a victory in a battle against the state attorney grievance committee, persuading a federal appeals court that an advertising ethics rule upheld by lower court rulings is vague and unduly restrictive. J. Michael Hayes of Buffalo had repeatedly been…

Mar 5, 2012 10:26 PM CST

Med-Mal Plaintiff Granted New Trial Based on Defense Counsel’s ‘Inflammatory’ Comments

A defense lawyer in a medical malpractice trial who complained the plaintiff was “working the system” has lost an appeal that targeted the counsel’s comments. A New York appeals court granted a new trial to the plaintiff, citing the lawyer’s “inflammatory and improper summation comments” and an “inappropriate cross-examination,” the…

Mar 5, 2012 12:00 PM CST