New York

NY State Lawyer Resigns from $104K Civil Service Job, Takes Plea in Hate-Crimes Case

A New York state government lawyer accused of making anonymous racial threats over the telephone to his black neighbors in Albany has resigned from his $104,000-a-year civil service job and taken a plea today in a hate-crimes case. James Hennessey Jr., 58, faces a maximum sentence of one to three…

Feb 1, 2012 10:04 PM CST

New York Prosecutors Subpoena Occupy Protester’s Twitter Posts

Occupy Wall Street protester Malcolm Harris says he’s not sure why the Manhattan District Attorney’s office has subpoenaed his Twitter posts. Harris, a freelance writer and editor, was charged with disorderly conduct after his arrest during an October protest on the Brooklyn Bridge, report Reuters and International Business Times. Harris’…

Feb 1, 2012 12:40 PM CST

NY Attorney Withdraws Last-Minute Claim to $7.5M Iowa Lottery Jackpot

A New York lawyer who submitted a winning $7.5 million Iowa lottery ticket by overnight delivery, with the help of a local law firm, has withdrawn his claim to the prize after officials demanded he prove ownership. However, Crawford Shaw’s decision not to seek payment doesn’t resolve all questions concerning…

Jan 27, 2012 8:50 PM CST

Brooklyn Appeals Judges Clamor for Top Job; Are Luxe Offices the Reason?

The presiding judgeship of New York’s appeals court in Brooklyn is a popular job. According to the New York Times, “fully half of the court’s 19 judges have applied for the job” in “a backstabbing competition to get the attention of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.” The newspaper ventures a reason…

Jan 26, 2012 3:19 PM CST

May Lawyers Offer Groupon Deals? New York Ethics Opinion Allows It, with Caveats

Lawyers who want to market discounted services with Groupon or similar websites won’t run afoul of state ethics rules if guidelines are followed, according to a New York ethics opinion. The money paid to the website running the ad is not an improper referral fee, as long as it is…

Jan 26, 2012 1:50 PM CST

Former Union Lawyer Accused of Claiming $100K in Fake CLE Expenses

A former general counsel for a Teamsters union has been accused of collecting $211,000 by submitting false expense reports for bogus CLE classes, law books never purchased and shipping at a UPS store that doesn’t exist. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan announced the indictment of Amherst, N.Y., lawyer Kevin Clor on…

Jan 26, 2012 12:51 PM CST

Ex-Prosecutor Told Cops She Fired 9mm ‘Barbie Gun’ to Show Local Teen It Wasn’t a Toy

A former New York prosecutor who is now in private practice reportedly told police she fired a pink 9mm pistol into a ground to show a neighborhood teen it wasn’t a toy “Barbie gun” after becoming exasperated when somebody repeatedly rang her doorbell and disappeared. “I shot that gun yesterday…

Jan 25, 2012 6:13 PM CST

Ex-Crowell Lawyer Held Without Bail in $2.5M Client Theft is Investigated re $21M More, Gov’t Says

A former Crowell & Moring lawyer accused of embezzling $2.5 million in escrowed client funds was arraigned on Friday in criminal court in Manhattan and ordered held without bail as a flight risk. Douglas Arntsen, 34, faces charges of grand larceny and scheming to defraud. He is also under investigation,…

Jan 23, 2012 5:52 PM CST

Domestic Violence Defendant Accepts Boyfriend’s Courtroom Marriage Proposal

A judge in Syracuse, N.Y., had to alter an order of protection last week to allow a domestic violence defendant to answer a courtroom marriage proposal by her boyfriend. The defendant, Nicole Osbourne, answered yes, the Syracuse Post-Standard reports. Osbourne’s boyfriend, Theodore Murphy, had asked Osbourne’s defense lawyer to relay…

Jan 23, 2012 3:06 PM CST

Disbarred NY Lawyer, 82, Gets 45 Days for Hiding $26M in Swiss Bank

A disbarred New York lawyer was sentenced today to only 45 days for tax evasion by a federal judge in Manhattan, apparently because of his advanced age and failing health. Kenneth Heller, 82, had faced a maximum 15 years in prison, and sentencing guidelines called for 30 to 37 months.…

Jan 20, 2012 7:09 PM CST

‘Doubly Snake Bit’ NY Law Firm Must Pay 2nd Suspended Ex-Partner Full Agreed Buyout Amount

A New York law firm contesting its contractual duty to pay an agreed $750,000 buyout to a partner who was suspended from practice the day after the June 6, 2001, deal was struck was “doubly snake-bit,” a judge said in a Nassau County Supreme Court opinion. That’s because the same…

Jan 19, 2012 11:33 PM CST

Jacoby Brief Asserts Need for Judge with ‘Profile in Courage’ and a Cash Infusion

The law firm Jacoby & Meyers is attacking the “blunderbuss of procedural arguments” raised by defendants seeking to uphold a ban on outside ownership of law firms in New York state. The defendants are New York judges, and the state attorney general is asserting immunity and other procedural bars to…

Jan 19, 2012 12:35 PM CST

Judge Points Finger at 10-Year-Old’s iPhone, Likens It To a Spy Tool for One of Two Warring Parents

Blaming a 10-year-old’s iPhone for creating further problems in a hard-fought child custody case, a New York judge has likened it to a spy tool for the noncustodial parent and called for it to be replaced with an ordinary cell phone. Saying that the boy uses it to make photos…

Jan 13, 2012 12:10 AM CST

NY Judge Nixes Bank’s Foreclosure Judgment Because Process Server Didn’t Keep Records

Opening a door to a potential defense that apparently has largely or entirely gone unnoticed in mortgage foreclosure cases, a New York judge last month overturned a bank judgment because a process server didn’t keep records required by law. A former police officer working for A&J Process Service admitted to…

Jan 12, 2012 10:02 PM CST

Senior Cravath Partner Makes Rare Lateral Leap

A senior partner of Cravath Swaine & Moore has made a rare lateral leap to another law firm. Jeffrey Smith, who founded the firm’s environmental practice group 20 years ago as a lateral hire (also unusual at Cravath), left his role as head of that practice group to join Crowell…

Jan 11, 2012 11:59 PM CST