New York

Lawyer Says His Experience as an Extortion Victim Helps Him Defend Battered Women Who Kill

Michael Dowd, 69, is now a well-known New York criminal defense lawyer who specializes in representing battered women who kill their husbands. But his career hit a rough patch in the 1980s, when he became a star witness for then-prosecutor Rudolph W. Giuliani in a corruption case after revealing that…

Oct 3, 2011 9:50 PM CDT

In Latest Misclassification Suit, Interns on Hit Movie Black Swan Seek Pay for the Work of 100s

Under labor laws, for-profit companies generally can’t legally replace a paid worker with an unpaid intern. But some employers nonetheless do so, and there’s no shortage of young people eager to get a foot in the door in a down economy who are willing to work for free. There a…

Sep 29, 2011 12:44 PM CDT

Ex-Associate with ‘Superior Legal Mind’ Calls Kasowitz ‘Extraordinarily Vindictive’ in Latest Salvo

A former associate of Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman who sued the law firm last month saying that he was fired a few days after sending an internal email touting his “superior legal mind” and asking for more work, has launched another salvo. In a Monday filing in the New…

Sep 27, 2011 10:46 PM CDT

Lawyer Said to Be Defending His Wife’s Jacket Gets Probation for Concert Assault

A Buffalo, N.Y., lawyer has avoided jail time for a misdemeanor assault stemming from a scuffle at a Train rock concert last year. Lawyer John Liberti was sentenced to three years of probation and 300 hours of community service, the Buffalo News reports. He is accused of scuffling with off-duty…

Sep 27, 2011 2:23 PM CDT

2nd Circuit Revives Suit Against Leeds Morelli, Says Clients Couldn’t OK ‘Enormous’ Nextel Conflict

Saying that an “enormous conflict” inherent in a law firm’s agreement with an opposing party couldn’t be waived by a law firm’s clients, a federal appeals court has reinstated a malpractice suit against Leeds Morelli & Brown. Filed by a group of clients the New York law firm represented in…

Sep 26, 2011 11:25 PM CDT

Client Sues Crowell & Moring, Claims Law Firm Can’t Account for $5.5M in Escrow Money

A real estate management company represented by Crowell & Moring sued the law firm today in New York state court. The Manhattan Supreme Court complaint (PDF) contends that Crowell & Moring can’t account for some $5.5 million being held in escrow on behalf of Regal Real Estate and other plaintiffs…

Sep 24, 2011 1:04 AM CDT

In Frenzied Free-for-All Judges Use Exploding Offers to Vie for Clerks; Efforts Start ‘At Birth’

When it comes to competing for law clerks, the rules are optional for a number of arbiters of the law in well-regarded courts. Vying to lock up the best and the brightest law students, some judges shamelessly violate the Sept. 15 deadline for starting the interview process, for instance, reports…

Sep 23, 2011 6:41 PM CDT

Oops. Six Years into Securities Suit, Lawyers Learn Lead Plaintiff Didn’t Own Shares

U.S. District Judge William Pauley of Manhattan has chastised lawyers for “a remarkable revelation” after six years of “hard-fought and costly litigation” in a shareholder securities fraud suit: The lead plaintiff didn’t own any of the funds at issue. In a memorandum and order (PDF) released Thursday, Pauley said the…

Sep 23, 2011 12:16 PM CDT

BigLaw Attorney Is Accused by Client of Stealing $2.5M in Escrowed Funds

A counsel for Crowell & Moring no longer listed on the Washington, D.C., law firm’s website has been accused by a client of embezzling some $2.5 million of escrowed funds. Douglas R. Arntsen has been arrested and is being held in Hong Kong, where he is awaiting extradition to the…

Sep 22, 2011 7:22 PM CDT

Poker Site Ponzi Scheme Paid $440M to Board, Celebrity Players, Other Owners, Feds Say in Suit

In a stunning follow-up to an earlier civil forfeiture and money-laundering complaint unsealed in April, federal prosecutors today accused owners and operators of the Full Tilt Poker website of running a massive Ponzi scheme. As board members and owners, including star celebrity players Christopher Ferguson and Howard Lederer, allegedly pocketed…

Sep 20, 2011 7:30 PM CDT

2nd Circuit Nixes Injunction 3 Days After Hearing, Lifts Ban on Pursuing $18B Award Against Chevron

After losing an environmental case in Ecuador in which $18 billion was awarded to the plaintiffs, Chevron Corp. filed a civil racketeering lawsuit in federal court in the United States. It contended that the lawyers for the plaintiffs conspired to fabricate evidence. Earlier this year, a federal judge overseeing the…

Sep 20, 2011 6:01 PM CDT

US Attorney’s Office Will Check New York’s Most Popular Restaurants for ADA Compliance

The office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara will be reviewing more than 50 New York restaurants, but the critique won’t be culinary in nature. Bharara’s office will review the restaurants voted most popular in the 2011 Zagat guide for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, report Bloomberg News…

Sep 20, 2011 3:51 PM CDT

Kramer Levin Opens Silicon Valley Office, Its 3rd, with 2 IP Partners from King & Spalding

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel today announced that it is opening a Silicon Valley office with two partners from King & Spalding. Paul J. Andre and Lisa Kobialka focus their practice on high-tech and life sciences litigation. The new office they will establish is the New York City-based firm’s third…

Sep 19, 2011 10:27 PM CDT

Judge Scheindlin Might Require Jurors in Weapons Case to Sign Pledge They Will Avoid the Internet

The Manhattan federal judge known for her opinions setting out rules for e-discovery has turned to the problem of “Google mistrials.” U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin says she is “keenly aware” of convictions set aside because jurors have looked up information on the Internet during trial, the New York Times…

Sep 19, 2011 12:33 PM CDT

Fordham Shuts Down 3L’s Farm Program, Makes ‘Catch-22’ Demand for Catering Permit

Fordham University has shut down a third-year law student’s farm-share program that benefited a local soup kitchen as well as students and faculty hungering for fresh produce. The university claimed the Farm to Fordham program needed a catering permit, the New York Times reports. Buyers had paid about $150 a…

Sep 19, 2011 11:56 AM CDT