Trials & Litigation

Ex Jenkens Partner Named in Fraud Case

A New York partner of Baker & McKenzie has been indicted in a federal securities fraud case involving alleged corporate kickbacks, along with executives and two individual investors. Attorney Martin Weisberg and the five other defendants “face a variety of charges, including conspiracy, securities fraud and money laundering,” reports the…

Oct 19, 2007 9:34 PM CDT

Fish & Richardson Sues Ex-Partner Over Patent Inventions

Fish & Richardson has fired one of its partners and filed a lawsuit against him after he invented a new method for online page turning and sold it to a patent troll. The troll then sued Google, a firm client, for infringement. The suit filed in Chicago claims ex-partner Scott…

Oct 19, 2007 1:21 PM CDT

Ave Maria Profs File Whistle-Blower Suit

Three suspended professors at Ave Maria School of Law have filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the Catholic institution, its president and dean, and the chairman of its board of governors, among other defendants. It alleges wrongful discharge, breach of contract and tortious interference with advantageous business relationships. Stephen Safranek, Edward…

Oct 19, 2007 3:35 AM CDT

Pedestrian Appeals Disorderly Conduct Case

It isn’t just Sen. Larry Craig who’s changed his mind about pleading guilty to a disorderly conduct charge. The case of Brooklyn man who spent a night in jail after apparently being charged with disorderly conduct simply because he was standing on a public sidewalk in Manhattan may soon help…

Oct 18, 2007 11:31 PM CDT

How Not to Choose a Lead Plaintiff

After more than a year of legal wrangling, attorneys representing the plaintiffs in a would-be securities class action couldn’t come up with a lead plaintiff candidate who was acceptable to the trial judge. Hence, the judge refused to certify the class, and the plaintiff lawyers went to the 7th U.S.…

Oct 18, 2007 9:22 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Fame-Claim: Model Client

A 23-year-old model who filed suit yesterday against her 54-year-old billionaire ex-boyfriend, over “bizarre and unnatural sex acts” allegedly performed at his 51,000-square-foot New York City mansion when she was 16, is in capable legal hands. “Literally!” exclaims New York magazine in a gossipy rundown on Maximilia Cordero’s legal representation…

Oct 18, 2007 6:47 PM CDT

HIV+ Woman Didn’t Tell, Gets 10 Years

Although it isn’t proven that any sex partner has contracted AIDs from a Missouri woman who has tested positive for the HIV virus that causes the potentially fatal disease, a judge has sentenced her to 10 years in prison for not telling her boyfriend of the risk. Angela Harris, 27,…

Oct 18, 2007 6:27 PM CDT

NC Won’t Defend Nifong in Civil Suit Over Duke Rape Case

The state of North Carolina has refused a request by disgraced former prosecutor Mike Nifong that it pay his legal fees or provide a defense in a civil case over the pursuit of baseless rape charges against three former Duke University lacrosse team members. In a letter sent to Nifong…

Oct 18, 2007 5:49 PM CDT

Supreme Court Halts Va. Execution

Only a few hours before Christopher Scott Emmett was scheduled to die tonight in Virginia by lethal injection, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously halted the planned execution. The move appears to signal a growing concern that problems with the constitutionality of lethal injections may need to be addressed before further…

Oct 18, 2007 12:43 AM CDT

Frozen Embryo Gets Day in Court

A frozen embryo has not only retained a lawyer to file a federal court case over planned stem cell research but has strong objections to a previously enacted California ballot measure. Martin Palmer, a Maryland attorney who says he represents the “preborn” plaintiff, Mary Scott Doe, argued against a 2004…

Oct 17, 2007 9:03 PM CDT

Panel: Convictions Disqualify Temp Judge

Unless it is over 10 years old, a criminal record disqualifies a lawyer from serving as a judge, even on a temporary basis, in Seattle. This decision by the King County District Court’s executive committee—as well as a new policy of conducting criminal background checks on all applicants for temporary…

Oct 17, 2007 7:33 PM CDT

Controversial BigLaw Clients: ‘Vulture Funds’

Big law firms in London and the U.S. that represent so-called vulture funds are becoming a target for criticism. A number of funds have purchased distressed sovereign debt issued by Third World countries at a fraction of its face value, then retained a major law firm and sued for the…

Oct 17, 2007 6:15 PM CDT

Firm Can Arbitrate After Partner Litigation

A New York law firm can still enforce an arbitration clause in its partnership agreement, even after it litigates other issues on an emergency basis, a state appellate court has decided. Overruling a lower court ruling that said contract partner Linda Stark could have her day in court concerning breach…

Oct 17, 2007 4:46 PM CDT

A Lucky 17% of Big Companies Didn’t Get Sued

Fewer large U.S. companies got sued this past year, although a substantial majority still were named in suits, a new survey of corporate counsel concludes. Seventeen percent of in-house counsel said their companies did not get sued in the 12-month period ending at the end of June, compared to 11…

Oct 17, 2007 2:20 PM CDT

Under Fire in Congress, DOJ Mulls Jena Case

At a Congressional hearing today, U.S. Department of Justice officials said they are considering a prosecution over the handling of the case of the so-called Jena Six—black youths who apparently were treated much more harshly than whites concerning similar alleged schoolyard crimes in a small town in Louisiana. However, they…

Oct 17, 2007 12:13 AM CDT