States

Cravath Signs $900 M Midtown Lease

One of New York’s best-known white-shoe law firms has agreed to pay a breathtaking $900 million to renew its lease on 600,000 square feet of office space in midtown Manhattan for 15 years, starting in 2009. Cravath Swain & Moore will see its cost-per-square-foot double under the new lease, from…

Jun 25, 2007 11:58 PM CDT

Guard Changing at Cozen O’Connor

The guard is about to change Cozen O’Connor, a 546-lawyer Philadelphia-based law firm known as an international insurance coverage powerhouse.The two name partners, although they have signed employment contracts to remain at the helm for another decade, are ceding significant control to the next generation of lawyers and the firm…

Jun 25, 2007 11:37 PM CDT

Fair Housing Laws Create Unexpected Pitfalls, Even for Real Estate Pros

Most Manhattan real estate professionals might not think twice about telling a family with children that they are welcome in a particular building. But that can present pitfalls under various fair housing laws. And stepped-up enforcement is making some brokers think twice, thrice or even a fourth time about comments…

Jun 25, 2007 9:31 PM CDT

Paris Hilton Prosecutor on Hot Seat Now

It isn’t just Paris Hilton who’s recently learned that the media spotlight can cast an unwelcome light on personal failings. Now the prosecutor in her case is taking his turn in the unpleasant glare. Rocky Delgadillo was tough on crime when he was attacking the two-tiered justice system that allegedly…

Jun 25, 2007 9:06 PM CDT

‘Pepgate’ Pits Prosecutor Against Police

Only five months into his new job, the top prosecutor in rural Knox County, Illinois, several hundred miles southwest of Chicago, is already at odds with local authorities. Accused in a federal lawsuit of sexually harassing female employees, State’s Attorney John Pepmeyer fired several lawyers in his office who supported…

Jun 25, 2007 6:39 PM CDT

NYC Jury: Book Scheme Was a Scam

Counsel for Laura Albert said she met her contractual obligation. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t a male prostitute, her defense contended, nor that the book she wrote, “Sarah,” was actually fiction rather than non-fiction. She entered into a contract to sell Antidote International Films Inc. the movie rights to…

Jun 25, 2007 6:23 PM CDT

Disbarment Unusual for Prosecutors

Michael Nifong sought the limelight when he charged three Duke lacrosse players with rape. All that attention may be a reason an ethics body gave him an unusually harsh penalty for misconduct in the case. Discipline is “light or nonexistent” for prosecutors who fail to disclose evidence, even in death…

Jun 25, 2007 2:25 PM CDT

More Judges Suing for Libel

A newspaper appealing a libel verdict can’t get a hearing before the Illinois Supreme Court. That’s because one of the high court justices was the plaintiff, and four other justices testified on their colleague’s behalf, Adam Liptak writes in his Sidebar column for the New York Times. The Kane County…

Jun 25, 2007 1:47 PM CDT

Another Big Defense Win in Paint Case

Now is apparently the time to be a defense lawyer representing a paint manufacturer in big-bucks litigation over injuries allegedly caused by lead-based products manufactured decades ago. Hard on the heels of recent defense victories in lead paint lawsuits in Missouri and New Jersey, a jury in Milwaukee, Wisc., found…

Jun 23, 2007 1:41 AM CDT

Longtime Judge Desegregated Schools, Sat on Watergate Hearings Panel

A retired federal judge known for his role in helping to desegregate the St. Louis schools–as well as, during an earlier stint in Congress, for sitting on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate hearings–has died. William Hungate died today of complications from surgery June 6 for a brain hematoma…

Jun 23, 2007 12:21 AM CDT

NYC Jurors Decide: Was Scheme to Portray Fiction as Non-Fiction a Scam?

Was a literary hoax a fraud? That is the question a federal jury in New York City began deciding today, in a case brought by a movie production company to recover money it paid writer Laura Albert for rights to her alleged non-fiction book “Sarah.” The problem is, Sarah was…

Jun 22, 2007 11:13 PM CDT

Couple Charged for Loud Kids

A village court judge dropped charges Wednesday against a couple arrested because their children made too much noise in the backyard swimming pool. Neighbors had complained that Rachel and William Poczatek’s two girls, ages 5 and 11, screamed and yelled for long periods of time, ABC News reports. Neighbors of…

Jun 22, 2007 8:56 PM CDT

Judge Finds Fault in Drug-Price Suit

A federal judge has ruled three drug companies engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices by inflating the reported prices of certain drugs. U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris said the drug makers inflated average wholesale prices of drugs, known as AWPs, causing injury to insurers that paid higher reimbursements…

Jun 22, 2007 6:17 PM CDT

Siren Suit Ruling Sounds Research Alarm

A lawsuit against a maker of fire-truck sirens provides a look at a common practice: academics who conduct research while acting as paid litigation consultants. The practice can produce conflicts of interest, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) observes in a story about researcher William Clark of Washington University medical…

Jun 22, 2007 5:46 PM CDT

N.J. Chief Justice Confirmed

The New Jersey Senate has approved a new chief justice and attorney general. Stuart Rabner will leave his job as attorney general to head the state’s top court and Anne Milgram will replace him, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports. At age 46, Rabner will be New Jersey’s youngest-ever chief justice.…

Jun 22, 2007 5:04 PM CDT