Verdicts & Settlements

2nd Circuit OKs Extortion Case Based On Lost Value of GC’s Legal Advice, Due to Blackmail Threat

In what the defendant’s lawyer called a novel and mistaken application of criminal law to an investment adviser who tried to blackmail the former general counsel for the New York comptroller, a federal appeals court has ruled that the potential lost value in compromised legal advice is sufficient “property” to…

Jul 3, 2012 3:55 PM CDT

EEOC Stats Show Increase in Charges Filed Against Legal Sector Employers

Large law firms are in the news lately as they defend job bias suits filed by former employees. But new statistics show BigLaw isn’t the only part of the legal sector seeing increased claims. Charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against legal sector employers increased 8 percent between…

Jul 3, 2012 12:20 PM CDT

Glaxo Agrees to Misdemeanor Plea, Will Pay $3B in Record Health Care Fraud Settlement with Feds

A British drug manufacturer has agreed to pay $1 billion in criminal fines and $2 billion in civil fines and revamp its compliance procedures to settle wide-ranging allegations by U.S. officials of wrongdoing in the company’s marketing and promotion of its products over a period of nearly a decade. The…

Jul 2, 2012 6:10 PM CDT

Buchanan Ingersoll Settles Adelphia-Related Claims for $60M

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney has agreed to pay $60 million to settle claims related to the bankruptcy of its former client, Adelphia Communications Corp. The law firm and its insurers will pay $20 million to the Adelphia Recovery Trust and $40 million to be distributed in a binding mediation to…

Jul 2, 2012 2:43 PM CDT

Picking a Winner: How to Identify Great Contingency Cases

Podcast Transcript: This ABA Journal podcast is brought to you by WestlawNext, the most advanced technology combined with market-leading content and West’s history of trusted editorial excellence. Helping legal professionals save time is what they’ve been doing for over 125 years. Learn more at WestlawNext.com. Stephanie Francis Ward: If you…

Jul 2, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Don’t Be Seduced: Falling in Love with Your Case Means You Won’t See Its Shortcomings

Editor’s Note: Jim McElhaney’s 25-year run as Litigation columnist for the ABA Journal will come to a close this fall. During those years, McElhaney’s straightforward advice on trial practice became one of the most popular features in the magazine. To recognize McElhaney’s contributions, the Journal is reprinting some of his…

Jul 1, 2012 7:50 AM CDT

Law Firm Settles Feds’ Civil Rights Suit re Client’s Service Dog; Will Pay $25K, Post Welcome Sign

Without admitting wrongdoing, an upstate New York law firm has settled a civil rights lawsuit brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York over claimed discrimination against a disabled client. Larkin Axelrod Ingrassia & Tetenbaum will pay $20,000 to the personal injury client, Lauren Klejmont, who…

Jun 28, 2012 11:10 PM CDT

Judge Slaps Lawyer with $3K Fine for Questioning Witnesses, Taking Photo in Defiance of Court Orders

Saying that he had clearly ordered both sides not to bring up prior acts by witnesses while questioning them in front of the jury in a drunken-driving trial, a California judge Tuesday slapped defense attorney Darryl Genis with a $2,000 fine for asking questions of two police officers that suggested…

Jun 28, 2012 4:07 PM CDT

Do Same-Day Convictions of Ex-Penn State Asst. Coach and Catholic Church Official Signify a New Era?

In the wake of convictions Friday in two separate high-profile child sex-abuse cases in a single state involving powerful and revered institutions, observers are suggesting that a new era of holding accountable both perpetrators and those who shield them has dawned—or should be dawning. Found guilty on 45 of 48…

Jun 26, 2012 9:24 PM CDT

Federal Judge Finds Longtime DC Defense Lawyer Charles Daum Guilty in Client’s Faked-Evidence Scheme

An unusual prosecution of a longtime defense lawyer over an alleged scheme to present faked evidence at a client’s drug trial has resulted in a government win. After a monthlong bench trial, attorney Charles Daum was found guilty of obstruction and, along with two private investigators, guilty of conspiracy to…

Jun 26, 2012 3:48 PM CDT

Convicted and Jailed, Ex-Penn State Asst. Coach Jerry Sandusky Is Expected to Appeal

Despite being found guilty by a Pennsylvania jury Friday night on 45 of the 48 counts he was facing in a child sex-abuse case, Jerry Sandusky isn’t admitting any wrongdoing. The retired former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach plans to appeal, his defense counsel says. Attorney Joe Amendola also…

Jun 25, 2012 4:36 PM CDT

Monsignor Is 1st Senior Roman Catholic Official in US Convicted re Handling of Child Sex-Abuse Cases

Monsignor William Lynn on Friday became the first senior Roman Catholic official in the U.S. to be criminally convicted concerning oversight of claimed child sex-abuse by priests. He was found guilty of child endangerment after a jury deliberated for nearly two weeks, but acquitted of conspiracy and a second charge…

Jun 22, 2012 8:35 PM CDT

Top Texas Court Vacates Libel Appeal and Appellate Opinion Due to $8K Bribe Paid to Trial Judge

The Texas Supreme Court has vacated a lower appellate court’s opinion concerning an interlocutory appeal and voided the appeal itself, explaining that there is no jurisdiction to hear the matter because the trial judge accepted an $8,000 bribe to rule against a summary judgment motion. Hence, in a Friday opinion…

Jun 22, 2012 7:52 PM CDT

5th Circuit OKs $30K Sanction for Law Firm’s Accidental Distribution of Opposing Side’s Secret Info

A federal appeals court has upheld a sanction of nearly $30,000 against a plaintiff’s firm in a products liability case for accidentally distributing material it was required to keep secret under a protective order. The $29,667.71 covers fees and costs to the defendant, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., as it…

Jun 21, 2012 9:52 PM CDT

Lawyer Convicted of Hiding Bankruptcy Asset for Girlfriend Despite Defense Claim He’s Not a ‘Moron’

A Wisconsin lawyer and a former client who is now his girlfriend were found guilty in federal court there on Wednesday of crimes related to her bankruptcy. Walter Stern III, did not represent Norma Leonard-Allen in the bankruptcy case and claimed he was unaware of it at the time even…

Jun 21, 2012 3:31 PM CDT