Verdicts & Settlements

Retired Dewey Partners Say Judge’s Fast-Track Clawback OK ‘Adds Insult to Injury,’ May Appeal

Accused in a Tuesday opinion by a federal bankruptcy judge of seeking an independent examiner merely as a litigation tactic, a committee of retired partners of Dewey & LeBoeuf say the claim they acted improperly by doing so in the law firm’s massive Chapter 11 case “adds insult to injury.”…

Oct 10, 2012 6:35 PM CDT

Outside Lawyer Files Motion for New Murder Trial for Drew Peterson; Lead Counsel Calls It ‘Insanity’

Updated: In the latest bizarre twist in a high-profile murder conviction against a former suburban Chicago police officer for the death of his third wife, a lawyer not previously involved in the case has filed a motion seeking a new trial for Drew Peterson. Attorney John Paul Carroll said in…

Oct 10, 2012 3:59 PM CDT

Judge OKs $71.5M Settlement with Ex-Partners of Dewey

Only a little more than four months after Dewey & LeBoeuf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court in Manhattan at the end of May, some 400 former partners of the once-storied law firm have agreed to give up part of their 2011 and 2012 pay in exchange for…

Oct 9, 2012 10:46 PM CDT

As Lawsuits Swirl, Judge Tells Lawyer to Take Down RipoffReport Comment re Ex-Client Law Student

Apparently angry about what he perceived as unfairly critical online comments on RipoffReport by an anonymous former client, a New York lawyer allegedly responded publicly to the posts last year, making reference to the ex-client’s criminal case history and calling him “emotionally disturbed.” The former client, a Brooklyn law student,…

Oct 5, 2012 3:30 PM CDT

Publishers Group Settles Copyright Suit Against Google; Authors’ Case Is Pending

Google has settled litigation with publishers over its digital copies of copyrighted books. The settlement with the Association of American Publishers does not resolve Google’s ongoing litigation with the Authors Guild over Google’s ambitious project to digitalize every book, report the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (sub.…

Oct 5, 2012 12:56 PM CDT

Florida Trial Lawyer Willie Gary and His Law Firm Must Pay $12.5M to Litigation Funding Company

A Florida trial lawyer known both for the big verdicts he has won and his lavish lifestyle has been hit with a $12.5 million verdict in a case brought by a litigation funding company. Willie Gary, his law firm, Gary, Williams, Lewis & Watson, and another partner are the defendants…

Oct 4, 2012 3:48 PM CDT

Family Court Judge Who Hit Teen Daughter with Belt in Viral YouTube Video Might Go Back on Bench

A Texas family court judge who made international headlines last year and was suspended, with pay, after his now-adult daughter posted on YouTube a video she secretly took of her father whipping her with a belt in 2004, when she was a teenager, could be headed back to the bench.…

Oct 3, 2012 9:33 PM CDT

Adoptive Mom, a Lawyer, Is ‘More Responsible’ Parent, Gets Custody of Girl, 6, Instead of Bio-Mom Ex

After a bitter court battle, a New York lawyer who adopted her former domestic partner’s biological daughter has been awarded custody of the girl, who is now 6. The case is believed to be the state’s first such ruling involving a same-sex couple. A custody trial was held in March,…

Oct 2, 2012 6:39 PM CDT

Lawyer Disciplined for Using Personal Laptop at Work to Earn Extra Bucks from JustAnswer.com

A Kentucky lawyer has been reprimanded for using his personal laptop computer during downtime at work to earn extra income by answering legal questions on JustAnswer.com. Matthew Scott Finley also got into hot water by occasionally using his state computer at his job in the public protection cabinet of Kentucky’s…

Oct 1, 2012 5:47 PM CDT

Top N.H. Court Says ‘Innocent Insured’ Includes Duped Law Firm Partner, Nixes Policy Recission

In the latest twist in an attorney misappropriation matter that has created trouble for a longtime law partner to the alleged wrongdoer, the New Hampshire Supreme Court says an insurance company that provided professional liability coverage to the duo’s law firm can’t rescind its policy based on incorrect information supplied…

Oct 1, 2012 4:00 PM CDT

University to Pay Out $1M to Cover Pepper-Spray Settlement

To resolve claims brought by University of California Davis students who were pepper-sprayed by campus police during a demonstration last November, the university system has agreed to pay out nearly $1 million. A video of the pepper-spraying of otherwise peaceful protesters sparked outrage in California and throughout the country. Each…

Sep 27, 2012 10:16 AM CDT

Disbarred Ex-Judge Who Survived 1994 Deposition Shooting Now Faces Money-Laundering Case

After surviving a 1994 shooting during a civil case deposition in which his client and another lawyer were shot to death by the pro se opposing party, a South Florida attorney subsequently told a local newspaper that every day is a blessing. Maurice J. Hall, 63, is now facing a…

Sep 26, 2012 3:25 PM CDT

Memories Conflict at Hearing for Army Doctor Convicted in Long-Ago ‘Fatal Vision’ Murder Case

Still fighting his 1979 conviction for murdering his pregnant wife and two young daughters in their Fort Bragg, N.C., home 42 years ago, a former U.S. Army physician who became a household name is once again in the headlines as witnesses testify about evidence and legal counsel in the notorious…

Sep 24, 2012 8:52 PM CDT

Paralegal Blows Whistle on Ex-Boss, Says Cash Went in Book on Shelf; Lawyer Suspended for One Month

A paralegal who once worked for Iowa attorney Sara Anna Kersenbrock blew the whistle on her former boss, filing a 2010 disciplinary complaint that resulted in a one-month license suspension. In a Friday opinion (PDF), the state supreme court imposed the sanction, rejecting a public reprimand proposed by the court’s…

Sep 24, 2012 6:00 PM CDT

Driver Cleared in Accident That Killed Alan Dershowitz’s Sister-In-Law

A postal truck driver has been acquitted on charges of leaving the scene of an accident that killed the sister-in-law of Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz. Ian Clement, 63, was found not guilty by a jury Thursday after less than a day of deliberations, the New York Daily News reports.…

Sep 21, 2012 5:12 PM CDT