States

Supreme Court Stops TX Execution

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a stay of execution for a Texas death-row inmate in a move that suggests it may agree to halt lethal injections in additional cases. The court yesterday agreed to block the execution of Carlton Turner Jr., convicted of killing his adoptive parents, the New…

Sep 28, 2007 3:45 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Robbery Leaps From Ledge

An Oklahoma lawyer accused of robbing a drugstore is in critical condition after leaping from a hospital window yesterday, landing on a roof of a building three stories below. Robert Behlen was taken to the University of Oklahoma Medical Center after he stabbed himself in the neck with a pencil…

Sep 28, 2007 2:59 PM CDT

Akin Gump Narrows Malpractice Claims

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has fewer claims to defend in a $4.4 billion suit filed against the law firm by former hedge fund managers. Judge Bernard Fried of Manhattan dismissed five causes of action in the suit because they duplicated legal malpractice claims, the New York Law Journal…

Sep 28, 2007 2:19 PM CDT

Judge’s Penis Pump Conviction Affirmed

A former Oklahoma judge convicted for using a penis pump while presiding over trials has lost his appeal. Retired Judge Donald Thompson was convicted of four counts of indecent exposure and sentenced in August 2006 to four years in prison, the Associated Press reports. Yesterday, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal…

Sep 28, 2007 12:51 PM CDT

Ex-Managing Partner Joins Girl Scouts

The former managing partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is leaving the law firm to join the Girl Scouts. Marina Park will become CEO of the Northern California Girl Scouts, the Recorder reports in a story republished by New York Lawyer (reg. req.). Park says she will take lessons learned…

Sep 28, 2007 12:31 PM CDT

KPMG Judge Backs Laws to Curb Prosecutors

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of New York isn’t done making news with his comments on strong-arm prosecution tactics. This time he’s speaking out at a seminar for criminal defense lawyers. Kaplan is known for his decision to dismiss charges against 13 KPMG defendants because the government pressured the accounting…

Sep 28, 2007 11:42 AM CDT

CA Legal Malpractice Window Narrows

California law firms got some help from the state supreme court yesterday in a ruling that narrows the window for filing suits for legal malpractice. The court ruled that the statute of limitations begins to run when a client leaves a law firm, even if the client is represented by…

Sep 28, 2007 10:48 AM CDT

Real Time for Fake Attorney in $6 M Scam

A sham lawyer scam that reportedly cost clients of an impersonated Long Island attorney $6 million has netted a hefty prison sentence for the paralegal perpetrator. Mohammed Rafikian was sentenced to prison terms totaling as much as 50 years for persuading eight clients of an attorney for whom he worked…

Sep 28, 2007 12:18 AM CDT

Five Firms in Attorney Fee Free-for-All

After fighting together to win a settlement in a class action over mortgage lender closing costs, a group of Illinois plaintiffs lawyers squared off for a new battle—fighting with each other about how to divide the $1.6 million attorney fee. It appears that a badly drafted attorney fee letter agreement…

Sep 27, 2007 9:23 PM CDT

Small Firm, Big Litigation

In more than 30 years of mass torts practice, Mark Robinson has helped his small Calfornia law firm make a big mark. Founded in 1978 after Robinson won a $128 verdict for a 13-year-old plaintiff with burn injuries in a Ford Pinto gas-tank case, Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson had evolved…

Sep 27, 2007 7:48 PM CDT

Life for 48 Murders, So Why Me?

The notorious Washington state killer who murdered 48 women didn’t get the death penalty. And Robert Yates Jr. didn’t, either, when he confessed in a Spokane County plea deal to murdering 13. But two of the killings about which he gave information wound up being prosecuted in a separate case…

Sep 27, 2007 6:25 PM CDT

Lawyer Shells Out Big Bucks for Dating Coach

The dating game is getting so complicated that some people are hiring coaches to help them navigate the process. One person who is willing to pay for such expert advice is Kristen Skaff, a 35-year-old Detroit-area lawyer, the New York Times reports. She attended a dating boot camp in Los…

Sep 27, 2007 6:04 PM CDT

Cuban Dad Gets Girl Over FL’s Objection

A hard-fought child custody case pitting a 5-year-old girl’s Cuban father against Florida officials and wealthy foster parents has ended with a ruling upholding the dad’s parental rights. Although the Florida Department of Children & Families said Rafael Izquierdo abandoned his daughter after her mother brought her to South Florida…

Sep 27, 2007 5:50 PM CDT

Lawyer Admits Destroying Child Porn Evidence

A Connecticut lawyer has entered a guilty plea and admitted he destroyed a computer that contained evidence of child pornography. Philip Russell pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony for failing to report knowledge of a felony to law enforcement, the Associated Press reports. Russell had represented a Greenwich church…

Sep 27, 2007 5:11 PM CDT

Judge Orders Breastfeeding Breaks

A Massachusetts appellate judge has ruled a Harvard med student should get more break time during a clinical licensing exam so she can pump breast milk. Student Sophie Currier had claimed she needed an extra hour of breaks during the two-day exam. Judge Gary Katzmann agreed that the allotted 45…

Sep 27, 2007 3:28 PM CDT