New York

Judge: Bank of America Must Repay $500M Seized From Lehman Bros in ‘Brazen’ Action

Saying that he considered it “astonishing” that a major lender would act in such “brazen … unauthorized and impermissible” conduct, a federal judge yesterday ordered Bank of America Corp. to return $500 million, plus interest, that it seized from a cash collateral account after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for…

Nov 17, 2010 5:28 PM CST

Stung By Escapes from Court, NYPD Now Uses Eye Scans to ID Defendants

Following several embarrassing incidents in which prisoners walked out of New York courts–one involving an inmate who successfully pretended to be a lawyer–a new policy has been put in place requiring guards to match defendants to scans of the irises in their eyes. However, the new technology has been criticized…

Nov 17, 2010 3:30 PM CST

Move Over Socratic Method, ‘Clicker’ Offers Law Profs New Option to Monitor Student Progress

As some law profs and law school administrators bemoan or ban the electronic devices that make it easy for today’s students to sit in the back row and text and e-mail during class, a growing number of educational innovators are adding new wireless technology to their arsenal of teaching tools…

Nov 17, 2010 3:00 PM CST

Threatened with 6-Month Jail Term, Attorney Pays Daughter’s $9,733 Tuition Bill

Threatened with a six-month jail term after his wife for the third year running sought a contempt order, a New York lawyer has narrowly avoided the slammer and purged a contempt order after paying his daughter’s court-ordered $9,733 tuition bill. Attorney John J.P. Krol also was required to pay his…

Nov 10, 2010 6:34 PM CST

Prince’s Case Is About Alleged Overcharges by His Lawyers, Not Sex or Harem, Judge Says

Limiting the evidence that can be introduced in an ongoing trial over alleged overcharging by the prince of Brunei’s lawyers, a New York judge today nixed as inadmissible both life-size statues of Prince Jefri Bolkiah having sex with a girlfriend and information about his many wives and harem, reports the…

Nov 9, 2010 8:33 PM CST

Panel: Judge Who Quit Must Be Removed; Cites Due-Process Issues, Sexual Talk About Turtle T-Shirt

A family court judge in New York abruptly quit last month after facing criticism for the way he treated multiple defendants on his call. But Gilbert Abramson should still be removed from the bench, the state Commission on Judicial Conduct has determined (PDF), because of his disregard for their due-process…

Nov 8, 2010 10:31 PM CST

Oops. Partial NY Bar Results Posted Early, So Officials Publish Full List Ahead of Schedule

After accidentally posting a partial list of those who passed the New York bar exam for a brief time last week, the state Board of Law Examiners decided to make the full pass list for the July exam public earlier than expected. Initially, the plan was to alert test-takers tomorrow…

Nov 8, 2010 9:08 PM CST

Suit Claims Keyless Ignition Is to Blame for Lawyer’s Death

A lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., claims Toyota is to blame for the carbon monoxide death of a 79-year-old lawyer and the brain injury of his companion. Ernest Codelia Jr. was still practicing law in the Bronx when he died in February 2009, the New York Daily…

Nov 8, 2010 4:09 PM CST

Fraud Indictment Accuses Lawyer of Hiding Superfund Status of Property

A New York State lawyer who represented both the buyer and seller in the sale of a paper mill has been indicted on federal fraud charges for alleged failure to disclose that the property was a Superfund cleanup site. Saratoga Springs lawyer John Hogan Jr., 75, faces seven fraud charges…

Nov 8, 2010 3:38 PM CST

2nd Circuit Tosses Elderly Woman’s Hot Tea Lawsuit

An elderly woman who was burned when she spilled her Starbucks tea as she tried to open the lid won’t be able to pursue her $3 million lawsuit due to a federal appeals court ruling. Rachel Moltner had contended the tea was in a double cup that changed the center…

Nov 5, 2010 2:40 PM CDT

Judge’s Plea Deal for Law Grad in Chapel Fire Is Better Than Prosecutor’s

A Manhattan judge has offered a Harvard law grad a no-jail plea deal in the arson of a Sept. 11 memorial chapel. Prosecutors had asked for a one-to-three-year prison term for Brian Schroeder, 27, if he pleads guilty to the fire, set on Halloween morning last year. But Judge Rena…

Nov 4, 2010 11:23 AM CDT

Partner Fired for ‘Abject Laziness’ Had No Meaningful Caseload for Nearly 10 Years, Filing Contends

Firing back in response to a $7 million lawsuit over a partner’s removal, the managing partner of three New York law firms says in a court filing that he ousted his own brother from a partnership in the three firms due to his “abject laziness” and “flagrant acts of disloyalty,”…

Nov 3, 2010 7:17 PM CDT

Juror Removed in Citigroup Case After Google Search Revealed Michael Moore Link

A dance teacher and former circus performer sitting as a juror in a case involving Citigroup was dismissed after a law firm Google search showed she was associated with a film by muckraking filmmaker Michael Moore. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of Manhattan dismissed the juror after he concluded she…

Nov 3, 2010 1:24 PM CDT

Securities Lawyer Closes Boutique He Founded 40 Years Ago, Joins Wolf Haldenstein

After 40 years at the boutique law firm he founded, securities lawyer Charles Hecht has decided to close shop and join Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz as a partner. Hecht cites a couple reasons why he decided to close his New York boutique, Hecht & Associates, and move to…

Nov 3, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Ex-New York Associate Sues Clifford Chance, Alleges ‘Blatant’ Discrimination Against Blacks & Women

A former associate at Clifford Chance in New York hesitated to sue the firm. But after being unemployed for several years after she and five other U.S. associates of the London-based international megafirm were laid off, Karen Ramdhanie apparently felt she had no other choice. Now 48, she alleges that…

Nov 2, 2010 5:59 PM CDT