New York

Judicial Watch Founder Loses Pro Hac Vice Bid

The Miami lawyer who founded Judicial Watch, a group that filed several lawsuits against the Clinton administration, has been denied pro hac vice admission for a New York case. In denying temporary bar admission, the judge cited other judges’ past complaints about lawyer Larry Klayman, including one judge’s decision to…

Sep 7, 2007 11:09 AM CDT

Judge: Patriot Act Threatens Constitutional System

Warning of “potential dire effects to individual freedoms,” a federal judge in New York has struck down revisions to the USA Patriot Act for violating the First Amendment and restricting the power of the courts to rule on the constitutional issue. The decision was a victory for the American Civil…

Sep 6, 2007 6:26 PM CDT

Client Turns Tables on Firm in Fee Dispute

A Texas plaintiffs firm that sued to collect an attorney fee from a former client in a medical malpractice case won exactly nothing after a three-day jury trial. But a Tarrant County jury awarded the client $1.4 million last month on his counterclaim against the firm for intentional infliction of…

Sep 5, 2007 11:47 PM CDT

Firm Survives 9/11 Attack, But Changes

It takes a lot today to create a crisis at Harris Beach. Its law offices at 2 World Trade Center were obliterated on Sept. 11, 2001, killing three lawyers, two staff members and a contractor supervising an almost-completed $4 million renovation project. Now, many among the more than 100 who…

Sep 5, 2007 6:16 PM CDT

Joel Steinberg Wants $15 M Award Tossed

Disbarred lawyer Joel Steinberg, convicted of manslaughter for killing his adopted daughter with a blow to the head, is asking New York’s highest court to overturn a $15 million civil judgment against him. Six-year-old Lisa endured “at most, eight hours of pain and suffering,” Steinberg says in legal briefs filed…

Sep 5, 2007 3:47 PM CDT

Tax Protest Site Wins Reprieve

A tax protest Web site has won a temporary reprieve from an order to turn over identifying information about people who accessed certain online information. The order would have required givemeliberty.org to give the government information about people who learned how to keep the federal government from withholding taxes from…

Sep 4, 2007 3:46 PM CDT

Noneconomic Damages Key in 9-11 Suits

Liability for pain and suffering is a key issue in 41 pending lawsuits against airlines, security companies and other defendants alleging negligence in the Sept. 11 attacks. The plaintiffs in many of the cases would not have received high awards from the federal fund set up to compensate victims, the…

Sep 4, 2007 2:57 PM CDT

Husband’s Tactics Influenced Award, Court Suggests

A New York appeals court has vacated a spouse’s award in a divorce case, saying the result was likely influenced by the husband’s litigation conduct. The husband, investment banker Richard Houghton, fired his lawyers at least twice and missed several hearings, the New York Law Journal reports. The couple married…

Sep 4, 2007 1:35 PM CDT

Rising From The Rubble

In the aftermath of 9/11, lawyers at New York’s Harris Beach don’t practice law the same way they once did

Sep 1, 2007 8:30 AM CDT

New NY Bar Exam Woes

Would-be lawyers who had trouble uploading their essays for the New York bar exam may be facing a new problem: incomplete essay answers. About 400 essays appear to be incomplete, New York Lawyer reports, reprinting a story from the New York Law Journal. The students began getting e-mails this week…

Aug 31, 2007 2:01 PM CDT

Quattrone: ‘I Am Innocent’

Updated: A federal judge has approved a prosecution request to drop charges against former investment banker Frank Quattrone, whose conviction for obstruction of justice and witness tampering was overturned 17 months ago. Quattrone was prosecuted for an e-mail reminding employees of document retention policies during an investigation into whether Credit…

Aug 30, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

Canceled Wedding Suit Settles

A bride-to-be has settled her lawsuit against the company that owned a posh New York penthouse that canceled her scheduled wedding a few months before the event. The case settled soon after a New York judge ruled that Sky Studios had to perform its contract to serve as the site…

Aug 30, 2007 12:54 PM CDT

UK Magic Circle Firms Add US Lawyers

Some of London’s biggest and best-known law firms are signaling their intention to establish a higher-profile presence in the U.S. legal market. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has sent two partners and three associates into the firm’s New York office from international locations, reports New York Lawyer (reg. req.), reprinting a Legal…

Aug 29, 2007 7:59 PM CDT

Enron Claims Ruling Overturned

A federal judge in New York has overturned a ruling in Enron bankruptcy litigation that had caused consternation on Wall Street. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that good-faith purchasers of claims against bankrupt companies should not be penalized under bankruptcy laws, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). A…

Aug 29, 2007 6:21 PM CDT

Helmsley Will: Dog Gets $12 Million

Leona Helmsley’s dog, a Maltese named Trouble, is to get the benefit of $12 million under the luxury hotel queen’s will. The money is to be in trust, of course, since animals can’t directly hold funds. Helmsley, who died last week at age 87, also left $10 million to her…

Aug 29, 2007 2:55 PM CDT