States

Lindsay Lohan Jail Term: One Day

Actress Lindsay Lohan pleaded no contest today to seven misdemeanor counts of drunk driving and cocaine possession that arose from two separate arrests in May and July. In exchange, she was sentenced to two days in jail, but given credit for one day of time served, reports Reuters. She also…

Aug 23, 2007 11:16 PM CDT

Promise to Pay for Law School is Enforceable

A Minnesota man who promised to pay for a neighbor to attend law school must ante up, a state appeals court has ruled. Walter Fields is required to honor his admitted promise and pay for Marjorie Conrad’s legal education, ruled the Minnesota Court of Appeals, upholding an $87,000 trial court…

Aug 23, 2007 10:36 PM CDT

Refco Trustee Seeks $2 Billion from Mayer Brown, Others

A court-appointed trustee for creditors of Refco Inc. is now seeking $2 billion from defendants, including Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, in a lawsuit over a 2005 initial public offering of the commodities firm. The suit, filed Tuesday in Illinois state court in Chicago, and the trustee, Marc S. Kirschner,…

Aug 23, 2007 9:45 PM CDT

Fake Law Firm Web Site Mirrors Reality

A fake law firm Web site created to promote a new television legal drama at least arguably is uncomfortably close to some real-life versions. Streaming video makes the “Hewes & Associates” site difficult to navigate. The 15-year-old fictional Manhattan firm promotes itself in over-the-top (albeit satirical) terms as “one of…

Aug 23, 2007 8:50 PM CDT

Citizen Complaint re Cozen O’Connor

Cozen O’Connor’s new president and chief executive officer has been in charge of the Philadelphia-based international insurance coverage powerhouse for less than a month. But Thomas A. “Tad” Decker and other firm attorneys are already the subject of a complaint by citizen groups to the state supreme court’s disciplinary board.…

Aug 23, 2007 7:16 PM CDT

TN Divorce Lawyer With Wife—and Law Firm—30 Years

A Tennessee divorce lawyer who has been married to the same woman–and working at the same law firm–for 30 years credits luck and a strong family life for his good fortune. A partner at a Memphis law firm established by his father in 1951, George Lawrence “Larry” Rice III now…

Aug 23, 2007 6:31 PM CDT

Law Firm Benefit: $4 Back-Up Child Care

One of the biggest personal issues faced by attorneys and other law firm employees is emergencies that require them to stay at home with their children or other family members. “You really need a safety net for all purposes,” says Marcy Greer, a partner at Fulbright & Jaworski’s office in…

Aug 23, 2007 5:53 PM CDT

New Legal Strategy for Star Student in Deportation Case

With a lot of help from his friends and well-wishers, a star Miami student facing deportation with his family for overstaying their visitor visa has developed a new legal strategy. Juan Gomez, 18, his 19-year-old brother and their parents may have a good chance of successfully reopening their asylum petition,…

Aug 23, 2007 5:12 PM CDT

Maid’s Suit Can Raise Model’s Past

A Manhattan judge has ruled that a former maid for Naomi Campbell can introduce evidence of past dust-ups with hired help in her lawsuit against the model. Gaby Gibson claims Campbell hit her and made discriminatory comments when she couldn’t find a pair of Stella McCartney jeans, the New York…

Aug 23, 2007 3:36 PM CDT

Ex-Exec’s Wal-Mart Suit Tossed

A Michigan state judge says a former Wal-Mart executive’s lawsuit was filed in the wrong state. Julie Roehm should have filed her wrongful termination suit in Arkansas rather than Michigan, according to Judge Denise Langford Morris of Oakland County, who dismissed the suit. Roehm’s lawyer, B. Andrew Rifkin, told the…

Aug 23, 2007 3:06 PM CDT

Va. Bad Driver Revisions Proposed

GOP leaders plan to introduce legislation to revise Virginia’s controversial law that imposes fees as high as $3,000 on in-state drivers who commit reckless driving offenses. The revisions would limit the number of offenses covered by the law, and would apply the high fees to out-of-state as well as in-state…

Aug 23, 2007 2:51 PM CDT

Court Nominee Withdraws Over Illegal Alien Claim

A nominee for the Connecticut Appellate Court has withdrawn his name from consideration after a flap over his claim that the court system is closed to illegal aliens. John R. Downey, a judge on the state’s superior court, apologized in a letter announcing his decision, the New York Times reports.…

Aug 23, 2007 2:27 PM CDT

Rapper Jailed After BlackBerry Incident

Rapper Foxy Brown has been jailed for violating probation after her arrest on charges she hit a neighbor with a BlackBerry last month. Jack Ryan, a spokesman for New York’s probation department, told the New York Times that the arrest was one of several probation violations. He said Brown also…

Aug 23, 2007 1:26 PM CDT

Bill Targets Stairway Peepers

It’s perfectly legal for someone to stand under a stairway and look up women’s skirts, according to a Queens, N.Y., city council member who intends to do something about it. Peter Vallone Jr. has introduced an ordinance barring nonconsensual voyeurism, the New York Times reports. Penalties for violations can include…

Aug 23, 2007 1:14 PM CDT

Rove Comments Led to Firing, Lawyer Says

A Texas lawyer contends in a lawsuit that she was fired from the state secretary of state’s office in violation of her First Amendment rights for comments she made in an article about Karl Rove. Elizabeth Reyes claims she was fired in 2005 because her remarks to a Washington Post…

Aug 23, 2007 12:15 PM CDT