New York

News Reports Claim Murdoch Entities May Have Hacked and Bullied at US Companies, Too

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been asked to expand its investigation of possible telephone voicemail hacking in the United States by individuals and entities related to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. In a letter sent today to Attorney General Eric Holder and the head of the FBI, Sen. Frank Lautenberg,…

Jul 21, 2011 12:14 AM CDT

Despite Job Contract for ‘Models’ and Website Disclaimer, Elite Escort Service Operators Indicted

An alleged New York prostitution ring catering to Wall Street clients with money to burn hired a law firm to draft employment contracts for its prostitutes. Police say the documents referred to the prostitutes as models, and contend they fraudulently agreed in the contracts to refrain from sex with customers,…

Jul 20, 2011 7:19 PM CDT

3rd Staten Island Cop Charged in Claimed Scheme to Justify Overtime by Writing Phantom Tickets

A Staten Island, N.Y., police officer has been criminally charged for allegedly writing 36 phantom tickets between March and June in an effort to justify substantial overtime hours on the job. Officer Paul Pizzuto, 40, a 17-year veteran of the department, is accused of submitting paperwork for the tickets—some of…

Jul 20, 2011 5:36 PM CDT

Lawyer Convicted in $100M Pump-and-Dump Scheme; Two Law Firms Face Civil Suits

A lawyer from suburban Cleveland has been convicted of securities fraud in a $100 million pump-and-dump stock scheme. Lawyer James Margulies was convicted in a scheme to inflate the price of stock for New York-based Industrial Enterprises of America Inc., which owns a company that makes antifreeze and other car…

Jul 20, 2011 2:01 PM CDT

NY Budget Cuts Lead to Extended Jail Stays for Some Arrestees, Including a Disgusted Lottery Player

Budget cuts have brought longer waits to see a judge for some New York defendants, particularly in Brooklyn where some people arrested for minor offenses are spending up to three nights in jail. The New York Times offers the experience of construction worker Andre Parker as an example. He was…

Jul 20, 2011 1:17 PM CDT

NY Law Dean Responds to Times Critique, Cites ‘Lifelong Value’ of Legal Education

Replying to a Sunday New York Times article on law school economics that obviously hit a nerve, the dean of New York Law School today said that prospective students are not, as the article seemingly implies, “sheep who do not know that we live in challenging economic times.” Many read…

Jul 19, 2011 8:43 PM CDT

Rheingold Firm Seeks TRO Against Ex-Partner, Says He Took 600 Client Files to Napoli Bern

Updated: Hunter Shkolnik wore jeans to his new law office at Napoli Bern Ripka today, expecting to work on putting away his client files. But at 10:30 a.m. he found out he had a court hearing later in the day in a case filed this morning by the New York…

Jul 18, 2011 5:23 PM CDT

Former Kirkland & Ellis Partner Indicted, Accused of Cheating on Personal Income Tax

A former bankruptcy partner at Kirkland & Ellis has been indicted on four counts of income tax fraud. Theodore Freedman, 63, is accused of underreporting by over $2 million his nearly $5.4 million in total income between 2001 and 2004. He is also accused of claiming over $500,000 in expenses…

Jul 14, 2011 6:38 PM CDT

New Secondhand-Smoke Frontier Focuses on Shared Residential Buildings

Smoking has been banned in a number of public places and worksites. But, although individuals also have a right to live smoke-free in their own homes, if they wish, there’s no comparable law prohibiting smoking in residential buildings, the New York Post reported. And that’s creating work for a number…

Jul 14, 2011 6:17 PM CDT

John Edwards Had Planned to Launch Public Interest Law Firm, Prior to His Indictment

Before being indicted for alleged campaign financing law violations concerning donations he accepted to cover up an extramarital affair, politician and trial lawyer John Edwards had planned to launch a public interest law firm in New York City. The former Democratic presidential candidate looked at real estate and conducted attorney…

Jul 13, 2011 9:52 PM CDT

US Wiretapped 104 Callers to Primary Global’s Conference Lines

With the permission of a federal judge in Manhattan, federal investigators in 2009 listened in to conversations involving 104 callers to conference lines at Primary Global Research, Bloomberg reports. The so-called expert networking firm is at the center of an ongoing insider-trading probe. A lawyer for at least one defendant…

Jul 13, 2011 5:12 PM CDT

Feds Try to Kick Prominent Defense Lawyer Off Hip-Hop Mogul’s Drug Case, Calling Him House Counsel

Claiming that a prominent New York defense lawyer has multiple conflicts of interest and has acted unethically by accepting attorney’s fees in cash, prosecutors are asking a federal judge in Brooklyn to bar Jeffrey Lichtman from defending a hip-hop mogul in a major drug case. However, Lichtman says he has…

Jul 13, 2011 12:30 AM CDT

Lateral Associate Working at Clausen Miller Wasn’t a Licensed Attorney, Law Firm Concludes

A lateral associate at Clausen Miller who reportedly worked at two law firms for nearly a decade apparently may never have been licensed to practice. In fact, it’s not even clear that Mark Pastuszak graduated from law school, the Daily Business Review reported. Pastuszak worked as an insurance coverage associate…

Jul 11, 2011 11:40 PM CDT

Called for Jury Duty, Jailed Shooting Suspect Frets About New ‘Legal Troubles,’ Writes to Be Excused

Jailed on what he describes as “some very serious felony charges,” a suspect in the shooting deaths of four people at a Long Island, N.Y., pharmacy last month was worried that failing to respond to a summons for jury duty after his arrest could create more “legal troubles.” So David…

Jul 7, 2011 9:51 PM CDT

Growing LeClairRyan Acquires 14-Lawyer Euro-Focused NY Boutique

A growing Atlantic and Northeast regional law firm is expanding the attorney roster at its New York office by more than 50 percent with the acquisition of a 14-lawyer boutique there. Based in Richmond, Va., LeClairRyan will have about 350 lawyers on its roster and 40 in its New York…

Jul 7, 2011 9:17 PM CDT