States

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

Hotel Pays $1.2 M for Toilet Injury

The Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit by a woman injured when her hotel room toilet broke away from the wall while she was sitting on it. The 74-year-old Philadelphia woman had originally demanded a $2 million settlement, the Legal…

Sep 4, 2007 1:02 PM CDT

Morgan Lewis Helps Struggling Homeowners

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is offering pro bono help to low-income homeowners who fall behind on property tax payments. The firm’s pilot project in Washington, D.C., which started in July, seeks to avoid foreclosures of homes for unpaid taxes, the New York Law Journal reports. The law firm has access…

Sep 4, 2007 12:48 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

Alston & Bird Plans: TX, Maybe CA, London

A major Atlanta-based law firm has announced plans to open an office in Dallas and is thinking about expanding into California and London as well. Alston & Bird will start small in Dallas, with an eight-lawyer office, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Dallas office will be staffed by five attorneys…

Sep 1, 2007 12:27 AM CDT

Nifong in Contempt, Gets 1 Day in Jail

The disgraced former prosecutor responsible for filing unfounded rape charges against former members of the Duke University men’s lacrosse team was found in criminal contempt of court today and sentenced to one day in jail. Former Durham County, N.C., District Attorney Mike Nifong’s decision to withhold DNA evidence from defense…

Sep 1, 2007 12:02 AM CDT

2 Men Wed, Then Iowa Ruling Suspended

Two gay men in Iowa persuaded a judge to approve an expedited wedding, paid an extra $5 fee and were married today, apparently becoming the first same-sex couple to wed in state history. But then the judge who approved same-sex Polk County marriages yesterday, saying that a previous legal ban…

Aug 31, 2007 11:10 PM CDT

$75 Million Attorney Fee an Iowa Record?

A judge’s approval today of a $180 million antitrust settlement by Microsoft Corp. includes $75 million in attorney fees and costs, which apparently sets an Iowa record. Lead counsel Roxanne Conlin of Des Moines, who brought the case with Richard Hagstrom of Minneapolis, says one reason why the legal bill…

Aug 31, 2007 10:22 PM CDT

Told of Threat to Tot, Lawyer Kills, Repents, Gets 12 Years

A Connecticut patent lawyer who killed his neighbor after his wife reportedly told him the man had molested their 2-year-old daughter was sentenced today to 12 years in prison. Meanwhile, it appears that the alleged Aug. 28, 2006 attack on the toddler that led to the killing may never have…

Aug 31, 2007 9:21 PM CDT

Column: Legal Secretary Isn’t ‘Furniture’

Many lawyers are frustrated when they deal with their legal assistants (and vice-versa). But a new column by a legal secretary seeks to narrow that gap by telling attorneys what their staff members wish they could tell the boss. Legal assistants aren’t “furniture,” writes the anonymous 15-year-veteran in a New…

Aug 31, 2007 8:57 PM CDT

Renowned Hands-On Legal Scholar Dies

Benjamin Aaron, a UCLA professor known both for his legal scholarship and his ability to settle a labor dispute, has died. He was 91. Appointed by five U.S. presidents to various national boards and commissions, Aaron played a pivotal role in resolving aircraft company labor disputes after World War II,…

Aug 31, 2007 7:17 PM CDT

Scientists Challenge Background Checks

Twenty-eight contract scientists, engineers and other workers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California have filed a suit claiming that newly instituted security checks invade their privacy. The suit claims the government is seeking detailed information covering areas such as sexual history and is asking for waivers so past employers…

Aug 31, 2007 4:21 PM CDT

State Secrets Often Cited to Crush Suits

The Bush administration is apparently relying on the state secrets privilege in a motion seeking dismissal of a lawsuit claiming a Belgian banking cooperative gave customers’ records to the United States without a warrant. The Justice Department says in a July 25 motion that the suit should be dismissed to…

Aug 31, 2007 3:54 PM CDT

Panel Allots Blame for Va. Tech Massacre

A lack of communication, misunderstood medical privacy laws and inadequate mental health treatment options share the blame along with gunman Seung Hui Cho for a shooting spree in which he killed 32 fellow students and faculty at Virginia Tech earlier this year before killing himself Those were the conclusions of…

Aug 31, 2007 3:04 PM CDT

Law Grad Wins Case, Keeps on Truckin’

A would-be lawyer with a green pickup has succeeded in overturning a Florida city ordinance that barred him from parking overnight in residential areas. Lowell Kuvin, who is waiting for bar exam results after graduating from Miami’s University of St. Thomas School of Law, won his case last week before…

Aug 31, 2007 2:40 PM CDT