August
31 - September 1,
2010
GENERAL
Litigators Losing Love of
Arbitration Argue for Trials
Gina
Passarella, The Legal Intelligencer
09-01-10 --
Large-scale commercial contracts often include arbitration
clauses in the hopes of avoiding large-scale commercial
litigation. But litigators are starting to find the quicker,
cheaper, more private aspects of arbitration have turned into
lengthy, expensive and often public quasi-trials. . . . This has
a growing number of attorneys advising clients to either take
their chances in court or tailor very specific arbitration
clauses with the hopes of limiting the expense of arbitration.
It's a slow-moving process, however, as litigators are rarely
consulted when corporate attorneys are drafting contracts.
E-Mail Isn't as
Ethereal as You Might Think
Craig Ball, Law Technology News
09-01-10 --
E-mail is simple. But because there's so much of it in so many
different locations, and because enterprise e-mail resides in
complex database environments integrating layer-on-layer of
useful metadata, it's easy to lose sight of e-mail's inherent
simplicity. . . . An e-mail is as simple as a postcard. Like the
back left side of a postcard, an e-mail has an area called the
message body reserved for the user's text message. Like a
postcard's back right side, another area called the message
header is dedicated to information needed to get the card where
it's supposed to go and transit data akin to a postmark. . . .
We can liken the picture or drawing on the front of our postcard
to an e-mail's attachment. Unlike a postcard, an e-mail's
attachment must be converted to letters and numbers for
transmission, enabling an e-mail to carry any type of electronic
data -- audio, documents, software, video -- not just pretty
pictures.
Federal Circuit
Rules for Lawyer Who Sued Over Expired Bow Tie
Patent
By
Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal
09-01-10 --
A lawyer who sued Brooks Brothers for selling Adjustolox bow
ties with expired patent markings has standing to pursue his qui
tam suit, a federal appeals court has ruled. . . . In a
decision
(PDF) issued Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit ruled patent lawyer Raymond Stauffer did not have to
show he was injured by the false patent mark, according to
stories in
Reuters,
the
Wall Street Journal
and
Law360.
The opinion said that federal law recognizes an injury to the
United States when companies make false patent claims, and since
the government has standing to enforce its own law, Stauffer
also has standing as the government’s assignee.
Law Firms Trying
a Different Path to China
After establishing solid
presences, Morrison & Foerster and Pillsbury are calling
experienced partners back to the United States
Amy
Miller, The Recorder
08-30-10 --
Morrison & Foerster is no stranger to China.
Since 1983, it's opened offices
in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. Now, the firm is taking its
approach to China business one step further: It's moved
corporate partner Charles Comey back to Palo Alto after a
16-year stint in Asia, with the goal of strengthening ties
between the firm's China practice and its U.S. clients. . . .
"We already have the critical mass here [in China]," said
Venantius Tan, managing partner of MoFo's Hong Kong office. "[Comey]
will focus more on connecting the dots for us. It's important to
have that person stateside to do that for us." . . . MoFo isn't
alone. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman brought Thomas Shoesmith,
head of the firm's China practice, back to its Silicon Valley
office from Shanghai in June. . . . There's no doubt that firms
are still making a big push into China. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich
& Rosati, for example, last week announced plans to open an
office in Hong Kong, while earlier this month Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher relocated partner Joseph Barbeau to open its Hong Kong
office. . . . But MoFo and Pillsbury are trying a new approach.
After already establishing a solid presence in China, bringing
an experienced partner such as Comey back to Silicon Valley "was
just a natural thing for us to do," Tan said.
|
Current's Celebrate Life's Special Moments Sale Center
 
A
Victims-of-Law Associate |
CALIFORNIA
Lawyers Take Swings at Each
Other in Dodgers Divorce Trial
Amanda Bronstad The National Law Journal
08-31-10 --
The contentious divorce trial of Frank and Jamie McCourt opened
in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Monday with lawyers for
each side
accusing the other of
engaging in bad faith.
Control of the Los Angeles Dodgers could rest on the outcome. .
. . "Frank and his lawyers have deceived Jamie, her lawyers and
this court," said Dennis Wasser of Wasser, Cooperman & Carter in
Los Angeles, representing Jamie McCourt. He quoted Sir Walter
Scott's poem "Marmion": "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when
first we practice to deceive." . . . Stephen Susman, a partner
at Houston's Susman Godfrey who represents Frank McCourt,
countered that former family law attorney Jamie McCourt was
attempting to become "the first successful spouse to invalidate
an agreement that she proposed" and the "first divorce lawyer to
claim she did not understand her own postnuptial agreement."
The go-to guy in
California's high court headquarters
Frederick Ohlrich is clerk of the
California Supreme Court — its keeper of records, its historian
and its biggest fan. If you're a lawyer preparing to address the
justices, he has some tips for you.
By
Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times
08-31-10 --
Frederick K. Ohlrich, the warm-up act for the California Supreme
Court, has some advice for nervous lawyers appearing before the
seven robed justices. . . . Don't call a justice by name. You'll
probably get it wrong. Don't ask the chief justice how much time
you have left. And when your name is called after the justices
enter the chambers, answer "Ready," whether you are or not. . .
. Ohlrich, 67, known around court headquarters here as "Fritz,"
is clerk of the California Supreme Court — its keeper of
records, its historian and its biggest fan. . . . The avuncular
administrator of the state's top court calls the cases for
monthly oral argument — a hearing that signals a decision is
coming soon — and preps the lawyers waiting to make their final
pitch to the justices. . . . "I try to put them at ease,"
Ohlrich said. "I like to have them be relaxed and make the best
argument they can."
FLORIDA
Lawyer in Scientology case is
stuck between state and federal judges
By
Craig Pittman and Curtis Krueger, Tampabay.com staff writers
09-01-10 --
One of the Church of Scientology's most vocal critics, Tampa
lawyer Ken Dandar, is in a pickle. . . . Six years ago, he
settled a wrongful death case against the church on behalf of
the family of Lisa McPherson, who died in 1995 after 17 days in
the care of church members in Clearwater. . . . Part of the
settlement agreement, approved by a judge in state court,
required Dandar to never again represent anyone suing
Scientology. . . . But last year, Dandar took on another
wrongful death case against the church's Flag Service
Organization — in federal court. . . . The church's attorneys
objected that Dandar violated his agreement. Senior Circuit
Judge Robert Beach agreed and in June 2009 ordered Dandar to
withdraw from the new case. . . . Dandar resisted for some time,
even asking the Florida Supreme Court to review the case.
Finally, though, four months ago Dandar filed a motion to
withdraw from the federal lawsuit. . . . But on April 12, U.S.
District Judge Steven Merryday told him he cannot get out of it.
The reason: No other attorney wants to take on Scientology. Two
days later, records show, Beach found Dandar in willful contempt
of court.
Avvo.com
Publishes False Information, Suit Charges
Florida lawyer says website
coerces attorneys into participating
By
Jon Hood, ConsumerAffairs.Com
09-01-10 --
Avvo.com, a website that provides consumer ratings of attorneys
nationwide, has been slapped with a lawsuit spearheaded by a
Florida attorney. Larry Joe Davis, Jr. says he was defamed by
the site and punished when he tried to fight back. . . . Davis,
of St. Petersburg, says Avvo "purports to list over 90 percent
of lawyers in the United States, and...all members of the
Florida Bar." According to the suit, those listings are made
"without [the lawyers'] knowledge, input or approval, based on
allegedly available public information, primarily, information
made available by the Florida Bar."
Tampa judge
reprimands defense attorney in Walker rape case
By
Alexandra Zayas, Times Staff Writer
09-01-10 --
A judge gave a defense attorney a tongue-lashing Wednesday for
filing a motion "at the 11th hour" in the Walker Middle School
rape case. . . . But attorney Bryant Camareno said the motion
needed to be filed. . . . He wants Hillsborough Circuit Judge
Chet A. Tharpe either to hold separate trials for the two
remaining defendants facing sexual battery charges or to have
two juries deliberate in the same trial. . . . Camareno also
asked for limits on use of the defendants' written confessions.
Non-Investor Law
Firm Clients to Recoup Bulk of Funds Stolen by
Rothstein
38 clients to recover most of
their RRA losses
John
Pacenti, Daily Business Review
08-31-10 --
While most of the victims of lawyer-turned-convicted felon Scott
Rothstein
will recover pennies on the
dollar in his criminal case,
about three dozen clients will be made whole, a federal judge
ruled Monday. . . . U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn decided
last week that 25 non-investor clients of Rothstein's defunct
Fort Lauderdale law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, would
receive all or most of the money stolen from the firm's trust
accounts. On Monday, he added 13 more clients to the list. . . .
The other 320 claimants will have to split an estimated $50
million to $60 million collected by the government through that
sale of seized Rothstein assets such as sports cars, boats and
furniture.
|
For freelance professionals and
companies looking to hire
skilled freelance experts.
A
Victims-of-Law Advertiser |
Supreme Court
Disciplines 21 Attorneys
CONTACT: Karen Y. Kirksey; kkirksey@flabar.org, / The Florida
Bar / TELEPHONE: 850/561-5766
08-31-10 --
The Florida Bar, the state's guardian for the integrity of the
legal profession, announces that the Florida Supreme Court in
recent court orders disciplined 21 attorneys, disbarring seven
and suspending 11. Some attorneys received more than one form of
discipline. Three attorneys were publicly reprimanded and one
was placed on probation. Two were ordered to pay restitution. .
. . As an official agency of the Florida Supreme Court, The
Florida Bar and its Department of Lawyer Regulation are charged
with administering a statewide disciplinary system to enforce
Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the 88,000-plus
lawyers admitted to practice law in Florida. Since Aug. 1, 2007,
case files have been posted to attorneys' individual Florida Bar
profiles and may be reviewed at and/or downloaded from The
Florida Bar's website,
www.floridabar.org.
. . . Court orders are not final until time expires to file a
rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. The filing of such a
motion does not alter the effective date of the discipline.
Disbarred lawyers may not re-apply for admission for five years.
They are required to go through an extensive process that
rejects many who apply. It includes a rigorous background check
and retaking the bar exam. Historically, fewer than five percent
of disbarred lawyers seek readmission.
The following lawyers are
disciplined:
Gabrielle Alexis,
4613 N. University Drive #558, Coral Springs, suspended until
further order, following an Aug. 4 court order. (Admitted to
practice: 1996) According to a petition for emergency
suspension, Alexis has caused and continues to cause great
public harm. Alexis is the subject of several Bar disciplinary
investigations regarding the misappropriation of client funds,
including more than $665,000 meant to pay off a mortgage.
(Case No. SC10-1528)
Cheryl L. Anderson,
P.O. Box 428, Palatka, suspended for one year, effective 30 days
from a July 21 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1983)
Anderson was held in contempt of court. In October 2009,
Anderson was publicly reprimanded and placed on probation for
three years. She failed to comply with the terms of the
probation. (Case No. SC10-972)
Esteban Anderson Jr.,
12555 Biscayne Blvd. #911, North Miami, disbarred effective
immediately, following a July 21 court order. (Admitted to
practice: 2003) Upon reviewing Anderson's trust account records,
the Bar found evidence that he misappropriated client funds.
(Case No. SC10-689)
Peter Steven Baranowicz,
1797 San Silvestro Drive, Venice, suspended for 90 days,
effective 30 days from a July 8 court order. Further, the
probation period imposed in 2008 is extended for three years.
(Admitted to practice: 1986) In August 2008, Baranowicz was
publicly reprimanded and placed on probation for three years. He
failed to comply with the terms of the probation. (Case No.
SC09-1449)
Robert Patrick Beatty,
P.O. Box 2333, Stuart, disbarred for 10 years, effective
retroactive to July 2, following a July 29 court order.
(Admitted to practice: 1969) Between March 2002 and April 2009,
Beatty used without authority, at least $107,000 in client funds
from his trust account for his own business and/or personal
purposes. (Case No. SC19-1490)
Sanford David Bosem,
6005 S. Eastern Ave. #15, Las Vegas, Nev., suspended for 91
days, effective 30 days from an Aug. 5 court order. (Admitted to
practice: 1990) Bosem failed to comply with the terms of a 2008
court order which required him to meet the terms of a two-year
contract with Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc. (Case No.
SC10-1188)
Steven Hill Lee Bowman,
611 U.s. Highway 41 S., Inverness, disbarred for 10 years,
effective immediately, following a July 21 court order.
(Admitted to practice: 1984) After the death of a client in
2004, Bowman, the trustee, failed to notify the sole
beneficiary, a nationally recognized charity, of its assets.
Bowman allowed the main asset of the trust, the client's house,
to fall into disrepair and the real estate taxes from 2006 to
2008 became delinquent, resulting in a tax deed sale. Bowman
used, without the authority of the charity, at least $53,000 to
pay unpaid business taxes. He also took excessive fees. (Case
NO. SC10-722)
Patrick Cicalese,
129 Center St., Jupiter, suspended effective 30 days from a July
12 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1992) In June, Cicalese
was adjudicated guilty in federal district court in New York, of
three illegal gambling-related felonies. He was sentenced to
three years probation on each count, fined $10,000 and assessed
$300.00. Cicalese was also ordered to forfeit his interest in at
least $4 million obtained as a result of the gambling offenses.
(Case No. SC10-1331)
Charles Weaver Cope, IV,
1188 Mandalay Point, Clearwater Beach, suspended for 91 days,
effective immediately following a July 8 court order. (Admitted
to practice: 1975) In June 2008, Cope was suspended for 90 days
and placed on probation for three years. He was also ordered to
enter into a contract with Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc. Cope
was held in contempt of court for failing to comply with the
terms of his probation. (Case No. SC09-1127)
David Noble Doss,
5209 Gulfport Blvd. S., Gulfport, disbarred effective
retroactive to Nov. 3, 2009, following a July 14 court order.
(Admitted to practice: 1986) Doss pleaded guilty in circuit
court to grand theft, a first-degree felony. (Case No.
SC09-2010)
Thomas W. Dvorak,
633 S. Andrews Ave., Suite 402, Fort Lauderdale, suspended for
one year, effective 30 days from a June 24 court order.
(Admitted to practice: 2002) Dvorak will also pay restitution of
more than $127,500 to clients. Dvorak was the subject of more
than 45 Bar complaints -- most having to do with mortgage loan
modifications. After being retained, Dvorak failed to
competently represent his clients. He also failed to supervise
those who worked for him. (Case No. SC10-1166)
David Moss Edelstein,
1111 Brickell Ave., Suite 250, Miami, to be publicly reprimanded
following a July 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1995)
Edelstein pleaded guilty to disseminating information on his law
practice website that was misleading. (Case No. SC10-433)
David Andrew Ehrlich,
2 Wallbrook Court, Cohoes, N.Y., suspended until further order,
following an Aug. 3 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2003)
According to a petition for emergency suspension, Ehrlich
appeared to be causing great public harm by engaging in a
repeated pattern of fraud, neglect and abandonment of his
clients. (Case No. SC10-1497)
L. Daniel Ferrer,
1 Financial Plaza, Suite 2612, Fort Lauderdale, disbarred
effective immediately, following a July 14 court order.
(Admitted to practice: 1988) Ferrer was found guilty in court
with one count of misprision of a felony — for having knowledge
of stock fraud and failing to report it. He also lied to the
Security and Exchange Commission about stock trading activities.
Ferrer was sentenced to 21 months of imprisonment followed by
one year of supervised release. (Case No. SC09-1833)
Albert Elsworth Ford,
II, 740 Florida Central Parkway, Suite 2008, Longwood, suspended
until further order, following an Aug. 3 court order. (Admitted
to practice: 1995) According to a petition for emergency
suspension, Ford appeared to be causing great public harm by
engaging in threatening behavior toward a former client. He was
charged with grand theft, burglary of a dwelling or structure
while armed, and criminal mischief. (Case No. SC10-1498)
Nirav Mahendra Jamindar,
2650 Airport Road S., Suite H, Naples, to be publicly
reprimanded following a July 14 court order. (Admitted to
practice: 2008) While working as an assistant public defender,
Jamindar and a client developed a mutual interest in pursuing a
personal relationship. Jamindar tried to conceal the
relationship from jail staff by sending personal correspondence
to the client under an assumed name. When initially confronted
about his misconduct, Jamindar intentionally misled his
supervisor. He later admitted the truth. (Case No. SC10-203)
Richard Francis Joyner,
2770 Indian River Blvd., Suite 300, Vero Beach, disbarred
effective immediately, following a July 21 court order.
(Admitted to practice: 2003) Further, Joyner shall pay
restitution of $50,000 to an insurance company. An audit of
Joyner's trust accounts revealed non-compliance with Bar rules.
Additionally, Joyner attributed missing funds to a check he
inadvertently wrote, but later said an employee embezzled the
money. (Case No. SC10-27)
Douglas Liddell Kirkland,
203 N.E. 8th Ave., Ocala, disbarred effective retroactive to May
20, following a July 21 court order. (Admitted to practice:
1993) An audit revealed that funds from Kirkland's trust account
were used to pay expenses that should have been paid from his
operating account. The audit also found that at least five
prohibited loans totaling $4,600 were made from Kirkland's trust
account. (Case No. SC10-894)
Carlos Michael Muniz,
1800 S.W. 27th Ave., Suite 201, Miami, to be publicly
reprimanded following a July 14 court order. (Admitted to
practice: 1999) Muniz represented himself pro se and his law
firm in a civil lawsuit. On more that one occasion, in the
absence of the opposing counsel, Muniz implored the judge to
rule against the opposing counsel, despite being warned that his
comments were improper. (Case No. SC10-387)
Alfredo Padron Jr.,
8105 N.W. 155th St., Miami Lakes, suspended indefinitely,
following a July 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1994)
According to a petition for emergency suspension, Padron
appeared to be causing great public harm by the misappropriation
and/or diversion of funds entrusted to him. (Case No.
SC10-813)
Christopher Rumsey Qualmann,
P.O. Box 940669, Maitland, suspended for three years effective
immediately, following a July 8 court order. (Admitted to
practice: 1984) Qualmann engaged in the practice of law while
suspended. He was held in contempt of court for non-compliance
with Bar rules. (Case Nos. SC09-1215, SC09-1725 and SC10-247)
GEORGIA
Disbarred attorney Eichholz
loses sentencing appeal
By
Jan Skutch, Savannah Morning News
09-01-10 --
Disbarred Savannah attorney Benjamin Eichholz has lost his bid
to reduce his 21-month federal prison sentence for obstructing a
federal investigation into mishandling of pension and retirement
funds in his law firm. . . . The 11th U.S. Circuit court of
Appeals Tuesday ruled U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr.
properly increased the sentence based on an abuse-of-trust
enhancement. . . . “We affirm Eichholz’s 21-month sentence, the
three-judge court ruled.
ILLINOIS
Retired Marion judge jailed
for allegedly smuggling drugs
Carmi Times
09-01-10 --
Retired southern Illinois Circuit Judge Robert Drew has been
arrested for allegedly smuggling about two ounces of heroin into
the federal prison here, The Southern Illinoisan reported
Wednesday. . . . Robert Drew, 68, a Marion attorney, was
arrested Saturday after police, acting on a tip, searched him as
he entered the facility, the newspaper said. . . . Police found
52.1 grams of heroin taped to his body, along with $12,000 on
his person, according to The Tribune-Star newspaper in Terre
Haute.
KENTUCKY
Spoofers Use Kentucky Law
Firm’s Phone Number in Credit Card Scam
By
Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal
08-31-10 --
Louisville, Ky., lawyer
Scott Zoppoth
started getting some strange phone calls last week. People from
the area of Olympia, Wash., and the state of Maine were calling
with a question: What’s the problem with my credit or debit
card? . . . The callers told Zoppoth, the managing partner and
owner of The Zoppoth Law Firm, that they were receiving
automated calls telling them of a problem and asking for credit
or debit card information. When they looked at their caller ID,
the phone number from Zoppoth’s firm showed up.
NEW
JERSEY
Appeals Court Vacates $99,000
Fee to Counsel for Plaintiff Who Won $650
By
David Gialanella | New Jersey Law Journal | New York Lawyer
09-01-10 --
A state appeals court on Tuesday overturned a $99,000 legal fee
on a plaintiff's $650 recovery in a consumer fraud case, finding
the trial court's measurement scales askew. . . . The appellate
panel said the judge below in Walker v. Giuffre,
A-2942-08, improperly used his own personal experience to gauge
the hourly rate the plaintiff's lawyer was to receive for work
on the case, a putative class action suit accusing Route 22
Nissan Inc. and other car dealerships of fraudulently inflating
fees contained in sales contracts. . . . The judge also failed
to provide a sufficient analysis for his decision to enhance the
plaintiff's counsel's lodestar by 45 percent - he only stated
his impression that the case "can hardly be classified as
'typical.'"
Chatham law firm
sues ex-office manager, husband who allegedly stole
more than $1M
Jim
Lockwood/The Star-Ledger
09-01-10 --
A Chatham Borough law firm is suing its former office manager
and her husband claiming they embezzled $1.1 million from the
company over several years, including almost $40,000 spent on a
vintage car. . . . The law firm of Maloof, Lebowitz, Connahan &
Oleske filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Superior Court in Morristown
against former office manager Beth Friedland and Alex Cruz, both
of Roxbury. . . . Friedland was in charge of the firm’s general
business account and deposited money and paid bills, the lawsuit
states. She and Cruz allegedly had been stealing money through a
scheme of improperly issuing, forging and endorsing dozens of
checks, falsifying bank and business records, deleting records
and receiving funds without authorization, the lawsuit states.
Meet the Lawyer
Trying to Bring Down "Jersey Shore"
By
Eriq Gardner, ABC News
08-31-10 --
Fans of MTV's "Jersey Shore" love the outsized personalities and
the occasional fisticuffs. But it's hard to throw a punch
without making some enemies, and chief among them might be New
Jersey-based attorney Eugene Lavergne. . . . He isn't the only
lawyer going after MTV and parent Viacom for airing the show.
But in the past year, Lavergne has filed three separate "Jersey"
lawsuits. From his first case on behalf of client Stephen Izzo,
Jr., the alleged victim of a punch from one of the cast members,
to his latest case on behalf of a woman identified as J.P., an
alleged victim of the show's security staff, Lavergne has been
pushing New Jersey judges to accept the notion that "Jersey" has
all the characteristics of a racketeering enterprise. Which
Lavergne says makes Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone the
equivalent of a mob boss.
NEW
MEXICO
Retired NM attorney pleads to
child porn charges
Associated Press, NewsWest9.com
09-01-10 --
A 70-year-old retired Santa Fe attorney has pleaded guilty to
federal receipt of child pornography charges. . . . Robert
Warren was indicted last year and pleaded guilty Monday before
U.S. District Judge Bruce Black.
NEW
YORK
Lawyer Wins Bid to Depose
'Law & Order' Producers in Libel Suit
Noeleen G. Walder, New York Law Journal
09-01-10 --
Attorney Ravi Batra can question "Law & Order" producer Dick
Wolf in connection with a $15 million libel action the lawyer
filed in 2004 against 35 defendants, including Wolf and NBC
Universal, a New York judge has ruled. . . . The suit centers
around a "Law & Order" episode entitled "Floater," in which a
bald Indian-American matrimonial attorney called "Ravi Patel" is
depicted bribing a Supreme Court justice in Brooklyn. Batra, who
was born in India, claimed the episode was based on a widely
publicized corruption scandal involving Justice Gerald Garson
and matrimonial lawyer Paul Siminovsky.
Aging Divorce
Lawyer Sues Former Partners for $26 Million
Nate
Raymond, New York Law Journal
08-31-10 --
Prominent divorce lawyer Norman M. Sheresky lodged a $26 million
suit against his former partners at Sheresky Aronson Mayefsky &
Sloan on Friday after being pushed out earlier this month (See
Complaint). . . .
Sheresky -- whose clients have included former supermodel
Christie Brinkley's most recent ex-husband and actor James
Gandolfini's ex-wife -- alleged that his ex-partners in the firm
he founded 15 years ago, motivated by "disloyalty and greed,"
reneged on agreements to pay his life insurance premiums and the
mortgage on his apartment. . . . The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan
Supreme Court, followed
the breakup earlier this
month of Sheresky
Aronson, considered one of the top matrimonial firms in
Manhattan. The firm has formally dissolved, and all of the
partners except for Sheresky have reconstituted it under the
name Aronson Mayefsky & Sloan.
Funds Sue Pryor
Cashman Over Embezzlement Scandal
Nate
Raymond, New York Law Journal
08-31-10 --
Trustees to a union's benefit funds have sued
Pryor Cashman
for failing to provide legal advice that would have prevented
the funds' third-party administrator from embezzling $42
million. The trustees for the three Construction Workers Local
147 funds filed the suit last week in Manhattan Supreme Court
against the firm and partner Christopher J. Sues. The
malpractice suit followed the December arrest of Melissa G.
King, who was charged federally with misappropriating millions
from the funds as the principal behind administrator King Care
LLC. . . . Pryor Cashman had advised the trustees and benefit
funds for more than a decade. The trustees claim Pryor Cashman
should have realized administrative expenses for the funds
compared to contributions were "unusually high" and encouraged
the trustees to ask why, the complaint said. Pryor Cashman also
failed to recommend hiring an independent auditor or ensure the
funds' accountants and auditors maintained proper and adequate
books and records, the complaint said.
OHIO
Attorneys, Appraisers, Loan
Officers Accused of Mortgage Fraud
Youngstown Business Journal
08-31-10 --
A $7.5 million fraud scheme involving mortgage loans for 48
properties throughout Mahoning and Trumbull counties today
resulted in a 49-count indictment naming seven men – including
two local title attorneys, two appraisers and a loan officer. .
. . The indictment charges one count of conspiracy to commit
wire fraud involving the entire mortgage fraud scheme and 48
counts of wire fraud, one cont for each property, said Steven M.
Dettelbach, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. . .
. The two title attorneys charged in the scheme are William
Helbley and Michael Wagner, both of whom have offices in
Boardman; Helbley resides in Poland, Wagner in Canfield. The
loan officer is identified by the U.S. attorney's office as
Robert Lunsford of Hubbard. And the appraisers are identified as
Timothy Corey of Youngstown and Damon Petrich of Boardman.
PENNSYLVANIA
Attorney pleads guilty to
theft in investment scam
By
Matt Miller, patriot-news.com
09-01-10 --
Embattled East Shore lawyer William Trick ett Smith and his son,
who is a defendant in a Peruvian slaying case, could end up
serving prison terms on different continents. . . . The elder
Smith, 73, a Lower Paxton Twp. resident and former Dauphin
County GOP chairman, likely paved his way to prison Tuesday by
pleading guilty to multiple theft charges before county Judge
Bernard L. Coates Jr. . . . The counts, filed last year by the
state attorney general's office, involve an investment scam
Smith and Jerome A. Kindrachuk, 65, of Allentown, are accused of
mounting to steal thousands of dollars from elderly clients.
Greensburg
divorce attorney denies negligence
By
Bob Stiles, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
09-01-10 --
A Greensburg attorney says in court papers that he asked a
Jeannette woman several times if she wanted him to freeze her
husband's assets in a divorce case, and she declined. . . .
Scott E. Avolio further denies in his recent response to Tracy
L. Stull's lawsuit in Westmoreland County Court that he
committed malpractice or was negligent in how he handled her
divorce action. . . . Stull, of 420 Lafferty St., alleges that
Avolio failed to freeze about $242,855 that her husband had in a
Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System Account. . . .
That cost her $121,427 -- or half the money in the account --
when her husband removed the funds during the summer of 2008 and
spent the money "frivolously," according to Stull's suit. Les
Stull died in August 2009 at age 45.
Lower Merion
School District ordered to pay plaintiff's lawyer
$260,000
By
John P. Martin, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
08-31-10 --
A federal judge Monday ordered the Lower Merion School District
to pay about $260,000 now - and potentially much more later - to
the lawyer who brought the lawsuit over the district's webcam
monitoring. . . . In a 14-page opinion, Senior U.S. District
Judge Jan E. DuBois said Mark S. Haltzman deserved to be paid
for work that led to a preliminary injunction against the
district in May. And he said Haltzman could submit the rest of
his bills when the case ended. . . . The injunction banned Lower
Merion school employees from activating webcams on students'
district-issued laptops without their consent and required new
policies governing the use of technology.
TEXAS
Former Texas Supreme Court
Chief Justice Is a Defendant in Wrongful-Death Suit
Miriam Rozen, Texas Lawyer
09-01-10 --
Former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips, now a
partner in the Austin office of
Baker Botts,
is a defendant in a wrongful-death suit in Bastrop County,
Texas. . . . In
a petition filed Tuesday
(pdf) in the 335th District Court, the parents of a teenage girl
killed in a March 2009 accident are suing defendants Phillips;
his wife Marilyn; their son Daniel; Glenda and Scott Halbert, as
trustees of the Halbert Revocable Trust d/b/a Country Corner;
and Point Horizon Properties LLC and Kiego LLC (collectively
referred to in the petition as Beverage Barn). In the petition,
the plaintiffs -- Cheryl and Bobby King, individually and as
representatives of their daughter's estate -- allege that the
Phillips' house "was well known in the Bastrop community as the
location of frequent underage drinking parties."
Former Houston
attorney on trial in 2007 drowning
By
Renée C. Lee, Houston Chronicle
08-31-10 --
Three years after a Houston woman mysteriously drowned in her
bathtub, her boyfriend, a criminal defense attorney with a
history of drug use, now stands trial on charges that he gave
her heroin before she died. . . . On Tuesday, Harris County
prosecutors opened their case against Shawn Roland Roberts. . .
. Roberts, they said, injected 32-year-old Tara Sganga with the
drug on March 19, 2007. . . . That same day, Roberts found
Sganga unconscious and submerged in brownish red water in the
bathtub of their far west Houston apartment sometime after noon,
prosecutors said. . . . He called 911, and paramedics took her
to a hospital, where she died.
Charges filed
against attorney accused of theft
abc13.com, KTRK
08-31-10 --
We have an update to a story we first brought you last week. A
felony charge has been filed against a local attorney, accused
of taking money that was supposed to be given to a crime victim.
. . . Raymond Bess represented Christina Troung, who had been
ordered to pay back more than $40,000 she had stolen from her
former boss.
Judge to
attorney:
Pay $100K to former client
By
Nancy Flake, North Channel Sentinel
08-31-10 --
A Conroe attorney has been ordered to pay $100,000 in damages to
a former client for breach of fiduciary duty. . . . Visiting
Judge P.K. Reiter, sitting in the 284th state District Court,
signed a final judgment Monday ordering Joseph LaBella and
LaBella, Dennis and Associates PLLC to pay $100,000, along with
more than $5,000 in trial and appellate court costs, to Salomon
Juan Hernandez. . . . A jury originally ordered LaBella to pay
Hernandez $500,000 in actual damages stemming from a February
2008 case, but LaBella, his firm and Hernandez had come to a
settlement agreement, including a $100,000 payment from LaBella,
before the jury could decide on punitive damages, court
documents state. . . . Reiter ruled the settlement agreement was
unenforceable and reduced the damages to $1,000. The 14th Court
of Appeals reversed and remanded Reiter’s ruling in February.
|
HELP KEEP
VICTIMS-OF-LAW ON THE WEB
SHOP OUR ADVERTISERS
OR
CONTRIBUTE NOW
|
August
28 - August 30,
2010
GENERAL
Plaintiffs
Lawyers in 9/11 Cases Lose Bid to Recoup $6.1
Million in Interest
Mark Hamblett,
New York Law Journal
08-30-10 --
Plaintiffs lawyers in the 9/11 respiratory cases
cannot pass on to clients some $6.1 million in
interest costs associated with financing the
massive litigation, Southern District Judge
Alvin K. Hellerstein ruled Friday. . . . Even
though lead lawyer Paul Napoli marshaled
opinions by bar associations, court cases and
experts to show that borrowing to finance
litigation and passing the cost to clients is
both legal and ethical, Hellerstein said he
would not allow it. /
Read Napoli's
filing.
/ "Mr. Napoli, I can tell you now, I'm not going
to allow this charge," the judge said. "I'm not
saying it was unethical. I'm not saying you
didn't try to stay attuned to the rules of
professional responsibility. What you're getting
is too much." . . . The judge's decision came as
all sides in the litigation are pressing to
convince some 10,000 plaintiffs who suffered
respiratory and other illnesses in the response
to and cleanup after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror
attacks to accept a settlement that could run as
high as $712.5 million.
Plaintiffs
Lawyers Say Oil Spill Fund Unlikely to Deter
Litigation
Some claimants
might not be eligible for compensation
Amanda Bronstad,
The National Law Journal
08-30-10 --
The $20 billion compensation fund for victims of
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has begun taking
applications, but plaintiffs lawyers doubt it
would significantly forestall litigation. In
fact, they said, it could lead to a new wave of
lawsuits. . . . Many of their clients,
especially large businesses such as hotel
owners, condominium developers and tourism
operators, are unlikely to seek final
settlements anytime soon -- if at all, they
said. For one thing, the claims process might
not give them enough time to calculate their
losses. For another, it's unclear whether the
fund would compensate governmental entities or
businesses that are geographically remote from
the spill. . . . Plaintiffs attorneys expect
many claimants to sue, joining about 300 cases
already in the multidistrict litigation before
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans.
|
Stop
Throwing Darts at the Phone Book Hoping to Find a
Lawyer!
A
Victims-of-Law Associate |
CALIFORNIA
“Tax
Lady" Roni Deutch Sued For Fraud
The Associated
Press, The South Florida Times
08-30-10 --
California's attorney general sued "tax lady''
Roni Deutch for more than $34 million on Monday,
alleging that her law firm regularly violates
state law by making false promises that it will
help people resolve disputes with the Internal
Revenue Service. . . . Attorney General Jerry
Brown contends that Deutch overstates her TV
claims of winning tax battles with the IRS. She
advertises a success rate of up to 99 percent,
yet successfully reduces the amount of money her
clients owe in taxes in just 10 percent of
cases, the lawsuit says.
CONNECTICUT
Classrooms
Are Filled With Armchair Lawyers
By Karen Lee
Torre, Connecticut Law Tribune
08-30-10 --
I was once being trained to teach law, not
practice it. But I could not help but be drawn
to the courtroom, an ineluctable consequence of
my personality (or, some would say, being born
an Aries). . . . Too many go from being a law
student to law professor. Forget the in-between.
Some might, before becoming “professor,” log a
clerkship, a short stint in a government agency,
or a year or two as a staffer to some
politician. What good are they? . . . With some
exceptions, they are, by and large, a lazy
bunch, content to do little or no heavy lifting,
but ready to critique those who do, clad in
their pajamas (first class isn’t until 2 p.m.).
. . . I wanted to be one who actually stood
between a citizen and the power of the state,
not one who just talked of others’
accomplishments from behind a lectern. I wanted
as my audience a jury sitting in the room that
counts, not the classroom where you count for
nothing.
Tough Tactics
Are Just Part Of The Process
Grievance
committee sides with attorney in deposition
conduct case
By Douglas S.
Malan, Connecticut Law Tribune
08-30-10 --
If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the
deposition. . . . Lawyers on both sides agree
that to maintain the integrity of litigation,
they need to be free to engage in tough, pointed
cross-examinations of witnesses. . . . And they
shouldn’t have to hold back in their questioning
because they’re worried about a grievance
complaint from the other party. . . . “We should
not have a system that allows the opposing party
to grieve attorneys just because they’re engaged
in an aggressive exam,” said attorney Richard A.
Roberts of Nuzzo & Roberts in Cheshire. . . .
Roberts, the vice president of the Connecticut
Defense Lawyers Association, has been keeping an
eye on a grievance proceeding that revolved
around a 2008 deposition. . . . Hartford defense
attorney Andrew J. O’Keefe was grieved by a
Manchester woman named Kathleen Sinnamon who
said O’Keefe aimed to “harass, intimidate and
embarrass” her with questions asked in the midst
of a lawsuit Sinnamon filed against O’Keefe’s
client, Twin City Fire Insurance Co.
FLORIDA
Child Support
Modification Clinic – group assistance by pro
bono attorneys
by Kathy Para,
Jacksonville Daily Record, JPA Pro Bono
Committee Chair
08-30-10 --
With many people experiencing job loss due to
the economy, some parents have fallen behind in
child support payments. They are at risk of
having their driver’s license suspended or of
being held in contempt of court for nonpayment,
thereby exacerbating their problems. . . .
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid has been inundated
with child support modification requests and
simply cannot handle the caseload. . . . Two
Jacksonville area attorneys, Marla Buchanan, a
Rogers Towers attorney and chair of the Family
Law Section of The JBA, and Jamie Ibrahim, a
family law staff attorney with JALA, have teamed
up to combat this ever-increasing issue by
creating a new group assistance opportunity, the
Child Support Modification Clinic at JALA.
INDIANA
Former Barnes
& Thornburg Partner Found Dead After Husband's
Shooting Spree Near Firm's Offices
Brian Baxter, The
American Lawyer
08-30-10 --
Mary Jane
Frisby,
a former IP partner in
Barnes &
Thornburg's
Indianapolis office, was found dead in her home
on Thursday, hours after her husband committed
suicide across the street from her old firm,
according to
The Indianapolis Star.
. . . Frisby's body was found late Thursday
after a lone gunman, who turned out to be her
estranged husband, went on a shooting spree in
the downtown Indianapolis neighborhood where the
firm is located. The gunman, while on the
rooftop of a parking garage located across the
street from Barnes & Thornburg's office, fired
shots into several buildings before he killed
himself with a shot to the head and fell eight
stories to the street below.
|
NowLegal maintains the web's most comprehensive,
user-friendly
system available to connect with lawyers.
A
Victims-of-Law Associate |
LOUISIANA
Five Years
After Katrina, New Orleans Legal Community Is
Finding Its Way
Leigh Jones, The
National Law Journal
08-30-10 --
Gary Elkins has become well acquainted with
Washington red tape. Taking on a lobbying role,
pro bono, for still-struggling New Orleans, he
has watched while financial incentives
threatened to sunset just as development started
to reawaken after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf
Coast five years ago. . . . Since then, he's
made trips to the nation's capital, at times
meeting with the general counsel for former U.S.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to help loosen
restrictions on finance tax credits. And, along
with and bankers, accountants and architects
from New Orleans, he persuaded members of
Congress to extend the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act
when key provisions of the rebuilding
legislation were set to expire two years ago.
"Projects were starting to come on line as the
window was closing," Elkins said.
MASSACHUSETTS
McDermott
Files Counterclaim in Suit by Medical Device
Maker
Sheri Qualters
The National Law Journal
08-30-10 --
McDermott Will & Emery is countersuing medical
device maker Nomir Medical Technologies Inc. in
Boston federal court for breach of contract and
nearly $491,000 in damages following the
company's
$143 million
claim
against the firm for missing patent deadlines. .
. . Nomir filed suit against McDermott Will in
Suffolk County Superior Court in Massachusetts
on July 1, claiming that McDermott Will missed
four crucial patent deadlines when it
represented the company. McDermott Will removed
the case to the District of Massachusetts on
July 27. On Aug. 26, the law firm and three
individual defendants filed a joint answer and
counterclaim alleging that the medical laser
company owes it $490,857.65 in unpaid legal
bills. The firm claims that Nomir is liable for
breach of contract because the two parties
entered into "one or more valid, enforceable
contracts."
MICHIGAN
Macomb County
attorney disbarred
Margaret Agius,
Detroit Legal News Examiner
08-29-10 --
Attorney Discipline Board Tri-County Hearing
Panel #103 disbarred Chesterfield Township
attorney Kevin M. Shepherd effective August 26,
2010, the Attorney Discipline Board reported
Friday. . . . The panel found, by default, that
Shepherd practiced law while suspended, failed
to provide his clients with notice and details
of his suspension, failed to file a notice of
disqualification from the practice of law with
every tribunal in which he was actively
practicing at the time of suspension, and
knowingly disobeyed an obligation under the
rules of a tribunal. The panel revoked
Shepherd’s license to practice law in Michigan
and ordered him to pay costs of $1,746.
Detroit
attorney suspended again
Margaret Agius,
Detroit Legal News Examiner
08-29-10 --
Attorney Discipline Board Tri-County Hearing
Panel #57 suspended Detroit attorney Wendell N.
Davis, Jr. for a period of 180 days effective
May 25, 2010, the Attorney Discipline Board
reported Friday. . . . Davis entered a plea of
no contest to the allegations that he committed
professional misconduct by neglecting the
criminal appeal of a client and failed to refund
unearned fees consisting of a snowmobile and a
motorcycle. The parties stipulated that Davis be
suspended from the practice of law in Michigan
for 180 days retroactive to May 25, 2010,
subject to a condition relevant to the alleged
misconduct and payment of $1,076.32 in costs.
Oakland
County attorney suspended
Margaret Agius,
Detroit Legal News Examiner
08-29-10 --
Attorney Discipline Board Tri-County Hearing
Panel #73 suspended Clarkston attorney Michael
C. Packard for a period of 60 days effective
August 25, 2010, the Attorney Discipline Board
reported Friday. . . . Based on Packard’s
conviction in the 52-2 District Court for
domestic violence and attempted interference
with electronic communications, the parties
entered into a stipulation for consent order of
discipline. Based on that stipulation, the panel
entered an order placing Packard on probation
for two years effective June 11, 2008, subject
to conditions and payment of costs of $760.76.
NEVADA
'Lawyers for
Burners' Challenge Arrests at Annual Burning Man
Festival
Martin Griffith,
The Associated Press, Law.com
08-30-10 --
David Levin represents entrepreneurs, investors
and developers in his legal practice. As an
aside, he's a Burning Man barrister -- offering
free legal advice to those who run afoul of the
law at the annual counterculture festival on the
Nevada desert. . . . The Palo Alto, Calif.,
attorney maintains law enforcement has become so
heavy-handed at the eclectic art and music
gathering that he was compelled to form a legal
defense team known as Lawyers for Burners to
help participants who were cited or arrested. .
. . He and other Burning Man fans accuse
overzealous officers of destroying the quality
of an otherwise peaceful celebration of radical
self-expression to be held today through Sept.
6. Some 50,000 people are expected to gawk at
offbeat artwork, wear bizarre costumes or
nothing at all and torch the event's 40-foot
signature effigy on the Black Rock Desert, about
110 miles north of Reno.
NEW JERSEY
Corruption
in N.J.?
Fuhgeddaboudit, U.S. Attorney says
By Bob Ingle,
Vineland Daily Journal
08-30-10 --
Over the years, I've heard a lot of incredibly
uninformed remarks from public officials, but
U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman tops them all when he
said New Jersey doesn't have a culture of
corruption. . . . His published remarks also
included, "I don't know how you can make that
kind of comparison" and "I don't happen to
believe that to be true." . . . Fishman says
such talk is "demoralizing" to New Jersey
residents. . . . To which Inthelobby.net, one of
the best informed and most read political blogs,
responded: "That's nice, Mr. Fishman. But this
isn't Iowa or Kansas -- we live in New Jersey.
And we know exactly what we've got here ... Like
there is a reason why undercover FBI agents were
able to walk through a League of Municipalities
convention and catch so many fish." . . . For
full disclosure, Sandy McClure and I wrote a
book called "The Soprano State." The original
manuscript was about one-third longer than the
hardback, and the paperback is updated from the
hardback. There is a website,
www.thesopranostate.com,
that updates readers regularly on what has
happened since the book went to press.
NEW YORK
104-year-old
heiress gave lawyer 'millions' in gifts
By Dan Mangan,
New York Post
08-30-10 --
A 104-year-old heiress lavished "millions" of
dollars in gifts on the family of her lawyer,
who is now under investigation for his handling
of her finances as she lives out her days in a
Manhattan hospital, an ex-employee told The
Post. . . . Huguette Clark once bought at
auction a dol lhouse worth well more than
$10,000 for lawyer Wallace Bock's grand
daughter, and gave him a check for about $1.5
mil lion to build a "bomb shel ter" for a
settlement in Israel where his daughter and her
family live, two people said yesterday. . . .
Bock's co-workers were so amused by his reliance
on the copper heiress that they once gave the
estate lawyer a purported signed copy of her
last will and testament -- which named him as a
big beneficiary -- at the firm's holiday party,
said Bock's former paralegal, Cynthia Garcia.
Union Fund
Sues Firm for Not Preventing Embezzlement
By Nate Raymond |
New York Law Journal | New York Lawyer
08-30-10 --
Trustees to a union's benefit funds have sued
Pryor Cashman for failing to provide legal
advice that would have prevented the funds'
third-party administrator from embezzling $42
million. The trustees for the three Construction
Workers Local 147 funds filed the suit last week
in Manhattan Supreme Court against the firm and
partner Christopher J. Sues. The malpractice
suit followed the December arrest of Melissa G.
King, who was charged federally with
misappropriating millions from the funds as the
principal behind administrator King Care LLC.
NORTH CAROLINA
Local D.A.
one of dozens statewide demanding SBI lab audit
By Brigida Mack,
WBTV
08-30-10 --
A full scale audit. That's what District
Attorneys from across North Carolina are
demanding, including the D.A. for Union County,
N.C. . . . "We work on behalf of justice and
justice requires this and the attorney general
should give it to us," said John Snyder,
District Attorney for the rapidly growing
county. . . . Snyder is a member of the North
Carolina Conference of DAs that sent a press
release to Attorney General Roy Cooper demanding
the audit of the SBI's crime lab. . . . "It's
not doing spot-checking which the attorney
general wants to do,: said Snyder. "It's not
doing random, surprise checks. It needs to be a
full complete and total audit. Because the
public deserves that." . . . The SBI has been
under the microscope since a review revealed
stunning revelations that blood evidence in many
cases had been omitted or falsely reported.
OHIO
Ohio Supreme
Court Suspends Lawyer for Destroying Documents
and Lying About It
Karen Sloan, The
National Law Journal
08-30-10 --
The Supreme Court of Ohio on Wednesday suspended
the law license of a Columbus attorney for one
year after finding that he destroyed
confidential law firm documents then lied about
it when he moved to a rival firm. . . . The
suspension of David J. Robinson is half the
length recommended by the state's Board of
Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline. Still,
the court found that Robinson "engaged in a
pattern of misconduct involving multiple
instances of lying and misrepresentation under
oath, as well as the destruction of documents
with potential evidentiary value in a pending
civil proceeding."
August
26 - August 27,
2010
GENERAL
Corporate Clients Eager to do Pro Bono with
Outside Counsel
By Rachel M.
Zahorsky
, ABA Journal
08-27-10 --
Corporate law departments’ interest in pro bono
has surged as they grow eager to establish their
own legal volunteer legacies, and they’re
looking to their outside counsel to become
active partners in the effort.
“It’s definitely
a national trend,” Ellyn Haikin Josef, a staff
attorney who coordinates Vinson & Elkins’ pro
bono efforts, told the ABA Journal. “In-house
lawyers are catching up in the world of pro bono
and looking to law firms as the experts.” . . .
And it’s not surprising that partners and
associates—eager to boost client relations as
competition among law firms intensifies—are more
than happy to help. In fact, Josef said, the
firm’s pro bono client-firm partnership
opportunities have increased as work picks up. .
. . “Lawyers want to show clients their
strengths and how they operate,” Josef said.
“It’s a great way to get the firm’s name out
there.”
Attorneys general call for Craigslist to get rid
of adult services ads
By the CNN Wire
Staff
08-26-10 --
Attorneys general in 17 states have banded
together to call on Craigslist, the online
classified ad website, to discontinue its adult
services section. . . . "The increasingly sharp
public criticism of Craigslist's Adult Services
section reflects a growing recognition that ads
for prostitution -- including ads trafficking
children -- are rampant on it," the attorneys
general said in a Tuesday letter to Craigslist
CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark. .
. . The letter continued: "We recognize that
Craigslist may lose the considerable revenue
generated by the Adult Services ads. No amount
of money, however, can justify the scourge of
illegal prostitution, and the suffering of the
women and children who will continue to be
victimized, in the market and trafficking
provided by Craigslist."
|
Wines.com, the leading supplier of private label and
personalized wines online!
A
Victims-of-Law Associate |
CALIFORNIA
Attorney Pays $1 Million to Settle Allegation of
Foreclosure Relief Fraud
Amanda Bronstad,
The National Law Journal
08-27-10 --
California Attorney General Jerry Brown has
obtained a $1.1 million judgment against a Los
Angeles attorney accused of bilking 2,000
homeowners seeking foreclosure relief out of
thousands of dollars. . . . Mitchell W. Roth of
M.W. Roth PLC in Sherman Oaks, Calif., operated
United First Inc., a Nevada company that claimed
to provide help to struggling homeowners,
according to the attorney general's office. Roth
provided legal services and paired with the
company's president, Paul Noe, who previously
was convicted of wire fraud. . . . Brown
filed suit
last year,
alleging that Roth, Noe and United First
violated California's unfair competition, credit
counseling and foreclosure consultant laws. On
Aug. 12, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Zaven V. Sinanian approved a stipulated judgment
between the parties.
Former MoFo Partner Charged With
Misappropriating Funds for Son's Autism Services
Kate Moser, The
Recorder
08-27-10 --
Former
Morrison &
Foerster
partner Jonathan Dickstein and his wife, Barclay
Lynn, have been arrested and charged with 31
felony counts over an alleged scheme that netted
nearly $400,000, according to the San Francisco
district attorney's office. . . . Prosecutors
say Dickstein and Lynn collected the money as
reimbursement from the San Francisco Unified
School District, Anthem Blue Cross and MoFo's
own self-insurance plan for special education
services for their son, provided by a company
called Puzzle Pieces. Nobody knew that Puzzle
Pieces was actually Dickstein and Lynn, they
allege. . . . The DA says that Dickstein and
Lynn sometimes double-charged or more for the
services.
Lawyer leaves courtroom for the pulpit
By Daniel
Wolowicz, theacorn.com
08-26-10 --
Bruce Zachary is the first to admit that his
spiritual journey to become lead pastor at
Calvary Nexus in Camarillo took some unexpected
turns. . . . Born and raised in an Orthodox
Jewish family, the Los Angeles native was
working as an attorney when he agreed to attend
a Christian church with his real estate agent.
It was a visit that ultimately led him to change
his religious beliefs. . . . “One of the
clearest differences was to see people actively
worshipping God,” Zachary said of his first
impression of the church. “They were looking for
a reverent relationship with God as opposed to a
religion.” . . . The then 31-year-old attorney
was living in Orange County when he told his
parents of his decision to change his religion.
. . . “They were grieved,” said Zachary, 51.
“They tore their garments. Every picture of me
in their home, they turned upside down.” . . .
Pained by his parents’ reaction but undaunted,
Zachary was soon leading an in-home Bible study
group that quickly grew to 50 members. . . . “As
I prayed, I felt a sense that I was supposed to
teach,” he said. “As I started teaching, people
started coming.” . . . To better understand the
Bible, Zachary attended Calvary Chapel School of
Ministry in Orange County. . . . “I had a
voracious appetite for the word of God,” he
said. . . . In 1996, Zachary—at that time still
practicing as an attorney and teaching at the
Calvary Chapel Bible college—was approached to
open a Calvary Chapel Church in Camarillo.
Judge slashes Calif. election case attorney fees
By Michael R.
Blood Associated Press Writer, San Jose Mercury
News
08-26-10 --
A Madera County judge slashed more than $1.6
million from legal fees sought by attorneys who
filed a lawsuit against a school district over
the way it conducted elections, officials said
Thursday. . . . The Madera Unified School
District did not contest the 2008 lawsuit, but
lawyers billed the district for $1.2 million, a
fee later increased to $1.8 million, according
to district officials. The district called the
attorneys' bill a money grab and feared it would
force administrators to cut money for books and
lunches to pay it. . . . In an order issued
Monday, Superior Court Judge James Oakley
reduced the amount to $162,500 for the Lawyers'
Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco
Bay Area, law professor Joaquin Avila and the
firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, which sought
the fees.
COLORADO
Pa., N.J. Insurers Win $10.9 Million in Colorado
Jury Trial
Gina Passarella,
The Legal Intelligencer
08-27-10 --
After nearly eight years and an initial decision
that their clients were owed only $500,
Cozen
O'Connor
attorneys in Denver were successful in getting
two area insurance company clients a $10.9
million jury award against an alarm monitoring
company. . . . The insurers, Pennsylvania-based
Commonwealth Insurance Co. and New Jersey-based
United States Fire Insurance Co., joined forces
with the company they insured, food distributor
Core-Mark Midcontinent Inc., to sue alarm
company Sonitrol Corp. for willful and wanton
breach of contract after burglars broke into a
Core-Mark warehouse and burned it down. . . .
The two insurance companies, represented by
Thomas M. Dunford of Cozen O'Connor in Denver,
were suing for the claims they already paid to
Core-Mark in the amount of $10.96 million.
Core-Mark, represented by Brian Letofsky of
Watkins &
Letofsky
in Newport Beach, Calif., was suing for the
amount of damages not covered by insurance, or
$7.34 million.
|
We all know about the tragedy of abducted children, and
Amber Alert GPS is the life-saving gps technology to combat
this pernicious evil.
A Victims-of-Law Associate |
CONNECTICUT
New Haven Lawyer Charged With Casino Cheating
By Christine
Dempsey, courant.com
08-26-10 --
A New Haven defense attorney was charged with
cheating at the MGM Grand Casino late Wednesday,
state police said. . . . Walter Bansley IV, 34,
also was charged with sixth-degree larceny,
interfering with an officer and criminal
mischief, according to a press release from the
state police casino unit. . . . Shortly after
11:30 p.m., state police said, Bansley took a
bet off the craps table — which is against the
rules. The dealer alerted MGM security, but when
security workers approached, Bansley ignored
them, the release states. . . . Security
notified the state police, and when troopers
arrived and asked for Bansley's identification,
he refused to provide it, police said. He also
refused to leave the gaming floor, they said.
Lawyer says client, Conn. prosecutor facing
probe
By John
Christoffersen, Meriden Record-Journal
08-26-10 --
An attorney confirmed Thursday that federal
authorities are investigating ties between his
client and Waterbury State's Attorney John
Connelly and blasted their tactics. . . . Norm
Pattis, who represents defense attorney Martin
Minella, told The Associated Press that
investigators are looking at trips the two men
took together to Las Vegas, but he said Connelly
reimbursed Minella for the travel. . . . Pattis
said the two men are longtime friends and he's
seen no evidence of wrongdoing.
DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA
Filings in Civil Suit Against Ex-BigLaw Partner,
Lover in Lawyer's Murder Unsealed
By Mike Scarcella
| The Blog of Legal Times | New York Lawyer
08-26-10 --
Lawyers in the Robert Wone civil case have
withdrawn their effort to obtain e-mail and
telephone records from the three men who were
acquitted this year on charges tied to the fatal
stabbing of Wone. A D.C. Superior Court judge
has ordered the court papers in the dispute
unsealed. . . . The attorneys representing
Wone’s estate filed court papers earlier this
month in D.C. Superior Court seeking a subpoena
to force Verizon to turn over e-mail and phone
records for Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky and
Dylan Ward. . . . The Wone family attorneys
allege Price, Zaborsky and Ward conspired to
protect themselves from criminal and civil
liability and likely had "relevant and
incriminating” communication in the weeks before
and after Wone was fatally stabbed on Aug. 2,
2006. Wone, general counsel for Radio Free Asia,
was killed in the Dupont Circle home of Price
and Zaborsky.
Assistant D.C. Attorney General Faces
Disciplinary Punishment
Jeff Jeffrey, The
National Law Journal
08-26-10 --
A hearing committee of the Board on Professional
Responsibility has recommended that an assistant
D.C. attorney general receive a 30-day stayed
suspension for ethical violations allegedly
committed while in private practice. . . . In a
July 20 report, the hearing committee approved a
negotiated discipline for Rachele Reid that
would also require her to serve a one-year
unsupervised probation and to complete a
mandatory CLE course. Based on the hearing
committee's report, the board will make an
official recommendation to the D.C. Court of
Appeals, which makes final decisions on all
disciplinary matters. . . . If the appeals court
ultimately approves the negotiated discipline,
Reid would not face suspension if she doesn't
have any disciplinary issues arise during the
one-year probation period.
Steptoe Wins Injunction in Battle Over Wafting
Burger Fumes
By Debra Cassens
Weiss, ABA Journal
08-26-10 --
There may be no free lunch for a hamburger
restaurant near Steptoe & Johnson in Washington,
D.C. . . . A superior court judge has granted
Steptoe’s request and ordered Rogue States, a
Burger Company to develop a plan to stop its
fumes from wafting into the law firm’s air
handlers. Judge John Mott of Washington, D.C.,
granted the preliminary injunction request on
Wednesday and gave the restaurant 30 days to
comply, according to
The BLT: The
Blog of Legal Times.
He also set an Oct. 4 trial date.
|
Office Max helps
its customers do their best work.
A
Victims-of-Law Advertiser |
FLORIDA
Fla. Supreme Court Disbars Attorney for Drug
Trafficking
Leigh Jones, The
National Law Journal
08-27-10 --
Former Florida attorney Noah Daniel Liberman has
been on the right path since he was busted more
than six years ago for drug trafficking. But
despite his rehabilitation from his addiction,
the Florida Supreme Court has rejected a
recommendation to suspend his license and
instead has disbarred him. . . . In an Aug. 26
ruling, the court noted that Liberman had
remained drug-free since his arrest in 2004 for
trafficking Ecstasy. It also considered 11
mitigating factors in a referee's report,
including Liberman's remorse, his full
disclosure of his arrest and the lack of any
prior discipline. . . . Even so, the court held
in a per curiam decision that it could not
justify a sanction less severe than disbarment.
The Florida Bar Association, which brought the
action against him, had urged a three-year
suspension.
Citing Attorney's Inflammatory Language, Court
Erases Most of Jury Verdict
Adolfo Pesquera,
Daily Business Review
08-27-10 --
A Florida state appeals court erased most of a
jury award due to an attorney's inflammatory and
prejudicial language while representing a man
injured when granite fell on his head in an
elevator. . . . It was the second time this
month that the 3rd District Court of Appeal
issued reversals and chided attorneys for
inflammatory arguments. . . . The three-judge
panel agreed with defense arguments that
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Peter Adrien abused his
discretion by denying a motion for new trial
based on opening and closing remarks by Tampa
lawyer Michael V. Laurato of Austin & Laurato.
The panel also ruled Adrien, who lost his
re-election bid Tuesday, failed to eject an
unjustified claim for future medical expenses.
As Rothstein Claimants' Losses Balloon, Recovery
Estimates Dwindle
Julie Kay, Daily
Business Review
08-26-10 --
Losses claimed by victims of Ponzi schemer Scott
Rothstein have ballooned from $188 million to
$318 million, while attorneys say recoveries are
probably only about $30 million or so. . . . All
told, about $1.2 billion flowed through the
former law firm chairman's Ponzi scheme. Based
on the claims for criminal restitution, fraud
victims can hope for a recovery of only 9 cents
on the dollar. Two other recovery options
remain: a pool of money in Rothstein's defunct
law firm's bankruptcy case and civil suits
pending against third parties, including banks
holding Rothstein accounts.
INDIANA
Lawyer Found Dead in Home After Suicidal Gunman
Shoots at Downtown Indy Firm
By Molly
McDonough, ABA Journal
08-26-10 --
The body of Mary Jane Frisby, 44, a former
partner at the Indianapolis-based Barnes &
Thornburg, was found in her home, the apparent
victim of homicide. . . . Police discovered her
body after her estranged husband, David Frisby,
shot himself at a parking garage near the firm,
which she'd recently left, reports
Channel 6
in Indianapolis. . . . The news outlet reports
that the couple was getting a divorce. Police
went to Mary Jane Frisby's home after finding a
tape recording apparently left by David Frisby
in his car,
WTHR Channel
13
reports.
IOWA
Waterloo lawyer: Courthouse sex
allegation is 'baseless'
By Clark Kauffman
• Desmoines Register
08-27-10 --
A Waterloo lawyer says allegations that he had
sex with a client in an Iowa courthouse are
"completely baseless." . . . The Iowa Supreme
Court's Attorney Disciplinary Board alleges that
Clovis M. Bowles, 56, had sexual relations with
a 33-year-old female client on several occasions
in 2007 and 2008. . . . Bowles was allegedly
aware that the client had a history of emotional
problems and had hired him shortly after
attempting suicide and checking herself into a
psychiatric facility. The Grievance Commission
of the Iowa Supreme Court is recommending that
the court suspend Bowles' law license for three
years.
KENTUCKY
Kentucky Bar Association v. James B. Gray
No.
2010-SC-000381-KB, Supreme Court of Kentucky
Leagle.com
The Board of
Governors for the Kentucky Bar Association (KBA)
has recommended that Respondent, James Basil
Gray, be suspended from the practice of law for
five years (with two years to serve followed by
probation for the remaining three years)
conditioned upon his compliance with a KYLAP
monitoring program. Gray's KBA Member No. is
88427, and his last known bar roster address is
1244 Constitution Drive, Independence, Kentucky
41051. We agree with the Board's rulings and
adopt its recommendations.
Kentucky Bar Association v. Bryant
No.
2010-SC-000258-KB, Supreme Court of Kentucky
Leagle.com
08-26-10 --
The Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar
Association has recommended to this Court that
Marc Ashley Bryant, who was admitted to the
practice of law in 2004 and whose bar roster
address is 521 Highland Avenue, Suite B, P. O.
Box 277, Carrollton, KY 41008, be suspended from
the practice of law for sixty days. We adopt the
Board's recommendation. . . . Bryant represented
Ronald Kornewald in three separate actions — a
worker's compensation claim, a Social Security
disability appeal, and a personal injury action.
Only the worker's compensation claim was
satisfactorily resolved. Kornewald alleged, and
the Board ultimately found, that Bryant (1)
failed to contact Kornewald or keep him advised
of deadlines or court events; (2) failed to
return paperwork to Kornewald; (3) failed to
file paperwork timely in the Social Security
disability appeal, which led to that appeal's
dismissal; and (4) failed to respond to
discovery in the personal injury case, which
caused the circuit court to dismissed that case
with prejudice.
Kentucky Bar Association v. Whitlock
No.
2010-SC-000238-KB / Supreme Court of Kentucky
Leagle.com
08-26-10 --
A trial commissioner has recommended that
Jennifer Sue Whitlock, who was admitted to
practice law in Kentucky on April 16, 1998,
whose Bar Roster Address is P.O. Box 171, 1401
Winchester Avenue, Suite 526, Ashland, Kentucky
41105, and whose KBA Member Number is 87562, be
suspended for one year for professional
misconduct related to her representation of
Rebecca Anderson. . . . Ms. Anderson hired
Whitlock in 2007 to represent her in a lawsuit
in Elliott County. Ms. Anderson had previously
filed suit in small claims court, and Whitlock
agreed to withdraw the case from small claims
and file it in either district or circuit court.
Ms. Anderson signed an agreement with Whitlock
on November 1, 2007 and paid her a $200
retainer.
MARYLAND
Solo Practitioner, Insurer Lock Horns Over
Malpractice Coverage
Jeff Jeffrey, The
National Law Journal
08-27-10 --
A solo practitioner in Silver Spring, Md., is
embroiled in a legal battle with his malpractice
insurance company over whether he was improperly
denied coverage for a dispute with a former
client. . . . Jonathan Shurberg says in his Aug.
19 complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court
for the District of Maryland, that the Minnesota
Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co. denied him
malpractice coverage when he was sued by his
former client, Rosa de Jesus Peralta, in May
2009. . . . Shurberg, who is representing
himself, says in his complaint that he is
seeking to obtain a court order requiring the
company to defend against the Peralta claim and
to indemnify him if necessary. Sherberg's
complaint also seeks attorney fees. . . . The
insurance company fired back with a countersuit
claiming that Shurberg was denied coverage
because he withheld information about the
Peralta case when he filed paperwork to extend
his insurance policy.
NEW JERSEY
Master in Prudential Fraud Case Lowers His Fees
as Plaintiffs Seek His Ouster
Judge defends
appointment of special master and the hours
billed
Charles Toutant,
New Jersey Law Journal
08-26-10 --
The special master appointed to handle discovery
in a mammoth fraud and bribery suit against
Prudential Life Insurance Co. has agreed to
reduce his fees, even as the plaintiffs lawyers
are trying to
dispense with him altogether.
. . . William Hunt said in an Aug. 19 letter to
the parties that he would cut his hourly rate
from $450 to $350. The concession came after
plaintiffs lawyer Angela Roper sounded alarms
over the $77,265 bill Hunt submitted for his
first three weeks on the job. The rate
reduction, retroactive to Hunt's appointment,
will shave about $17,000 off the total. . . .
But Roper says she will nonetheless proceed with
her motion, filed July 30, for an emergent
interlocutory appeal of Hunt's appointment in
the case, In re Prudential Life Insurance Co.
of America Litigation, AM-00820-09.
Paul Weiss and Lowenstein Ordered to Pay $1.96
Million for Filing Frivolous Suit Against Ron
Perelman's In-Laws
Andrew Longstreth,
The American Lawyer
08-26-10 --
Bergen County, N.J., Superior Court Judge Ellen
Koblitz doesn't seem too worried about sparing
the reputations of
Paul, Weiss,
Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
and
Lowenstein
Sandler.
In June, you'll recall, she
found that
the two firms had filed a frivolous suit
on behalf of billionaire Ronald Perelman in a
family dispute over hundreds of millions of
dollars. On Friday she issued a
final opinion
(pdf), rejecting the firms' arguments for mercy
and ordering them to pay $1.96 million in legal
fees to the defendants, Perelman's former
father-in-law and brother-in-law. . . . "Paul
Weiss and Lowenstein Sandler argue that since
they are both such important, well-regarded law
firms, the mere finding that they engaged in
frivolous litigation is deterrence enough,"
Koblitz wrote. "They argue that this court's
finding of frivolous litigation has been widely
publicized and besmirches their reputation,
which will cost them untold, unspecified
damages. A monetary sanction, however, is
clearly appropriate here."
NEW YORK
Already Under Fire, Lawyers for 9/11 Workers Are
Ordered to Justify Some Fees
By Mireya
Navarro New York Times
08-27-10 --
The lawyers representing most of the ground zero
workers who sued the city over health issues
will be appearing in court in a new role:
defending themselves. . . . The federal judge
overseeing the cases has summoned the law
partnership of two firms, Worby Groner Edelman
and Napoli Bern Ripka, to a hearing on Friday to
justify $6.1 million in legal expenses that they
are charging their clients. . . . Next week, the
lawyers are due back in federal court to respond
to accusations of overcharging made by the other
leading law firm representing workers. That
firm, Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo,
alleges that its co-counsel is trying to inflate
its fees by inappropriately charging clients
more than $400,000 for publicists, lobbyists and
legal and medical experts as case-related costs.
Report: N.Y. Governor Misled Inquiry Over
Yankees Tickets
Joel Stashenko,
New York Law Journal
08-27-10 --
An independent counsel on Thursday referred to a
local prosecutor evidence that New York Gov.
David A. Paterson may have lied to a government
agency investigating his reception of tickets to
an October 2009 World Series game at Yankee
Stadium. . . . Judith S. Kaye, the state's
former chief judge, concluded that the
governor's testimony before the state Commission
on Public Integrity about his intention to pay
for the tickets was "at a minimum ... inaccurate
and misleading."
See the
Report of Investigation Into Events Arising From
Governor
David A. Paterson's Acquisition of 2009 World
Series Tickets.
Northwestern's Van Zandt to Lead The New School
in New York
Karen Sloan, The
National Law Journal
08-27-10 --
David Van Zandt, the longtime dean of
Northwestern
University School of Law,
has been named the next president of The New
School in New York. . . . Van Zandt has held the
top position at Northwestern's law school since
1995, earning a reputation as one of the most
progressive and outspoken deans in legal
education. He has advocated tailoring legal
education to the job market and has been
critical of the ever-rising cost of a legal
education amid shrinking job prospects. . . . He
spearheaded the creation of the law school's
three-year joint J.D./M.B.A. program and also
started its
two-year accelerated J.D. program
-- the first of its kind at a top-tier school.
Criminal Defense Attorneys Blast Bar Groups Over
Settlement Talks With New York City
Daniel Wise, New
York Law Journal
08-26-10 --
Several groups of 18-B attorneys have attacked
the five bar associations suing New York City
over proposed changes to its assigned counsel
program for "abandoning" them in settlement
talks and taking a position that "will
substantially if not completely demolish the
role of the private bar." . . . Three groups,
made up predominately of lawyers who accept
assignments under Article 18-B of the County Law
to represent the poor in criminal cases, have
written to Manhattan Acting Supreme Court
Justice Anil Singh urging him not to approve a
settlement in New York County Lawyers'
Association (NYCLA) v. Bloomberg, 107216/10.
Claiming Excessive Fees, Patent Holder Sues Law
Firms for $10 Million
Nate Raymond, New
York Law Journal
08-26-10 --
A retired university professor who has pursued
dozens of electronics companies for patent
infringement on Monday filed a notice to sue her
former attorneys for $10 million, accusing them
of misusing escrow funds and charging her
excessive fees. . . . Gertrude Neumark
Rothschild filed
a summons
in Manhattan Supreme Court against Troutman
Sanders; an intellectual property boutique
chaired by Albert L. Jacobs Jr. before he became
a partner at Troutman; and Jacobs.
Read the
Troutman
Sanders
and
Albert Jacobs
LLP
complaints.
OHIO
Lawyer Suspended for Destroying Law Firm Docs in
Court Restroom and After Hearing
By Debra Cassens
Weiss, ABA Journal
08-27-10 --
An Ohio lawyer has been suspended for a year, in
part because he destroyed law firm documents in
a courthouse bathroom during a recess and after
a civil case claiming a violation of his
employment agreement. . . . The Ohio Supreme
Court said the documents had potential
evidentiary value and Columbus lawyer David
Robinson had engaged in a pattern of misconduct
involving lying and misrepresentation under
oath, according to an
opinion
(PDF) issued on Wednesday. The
National Law
Journal
(sub. req.) has the story. . . . Robinson had
removed seven boxes of documents from his law
firm, Schottenstein Zox & Dunn, after he
initiated job talks with two other firms, the
opinion says. He sent one of the firms detailed
information about his clients and client-billing
reports after obtaining a confidentiality
agreement governing the information.
OREGON
Umatilla district attorney steps aside
Associated Press
• Statesman Journal
08-27-10 --
Umatilla County District Attorney Dean Gushwa
has stepped aside while he is under
investigation for a possible sex crime. . . .
The East Oregonian reports Gushwa said Thursday
he asked the state Department of Justice to
appoint someone to take his place during the
investigation “for the good of the county.”
TEXAS
Attorney Says Immigration Boss Defamed Him
By Cameron
Langford, Courthouse News Service
08-27-10 --
An experienced attorney claims the Houston
District director of the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services defamed him by falsely
accusing him of "tampering with a government
document," which is a felony in Texas. Kurt
Clarke says he obtained the documents for a
client from the Texas attorney general and
submitted them to the USCIS "just as they were
received from the A.G." He demands $3 million in
punitive damages. . . . Clarke sued USCIS
Houston District Director Sandra Heathman and
the agency's national director Alejandro
Mayorkas in Federal Court.
UTAH
Two Utah County women killed in Nepal plane
crash
By Donald W.
Meyers and Bob Mims, The Salt Lake Tribune
08-26-10 --
Heather Finch and Leuzi Cardoso were co-workers
and good friends who loved the outdoors and
dreamed of someday hiking in Nepal. . . . On
Tuesday, they were close to realizing that dream
when their small passenger plane crashed in
heavy rain outside Nepal’s capital of Katmandu,
killing all 14 people aboard. . . . Finch, 40,
of Orem, was the head paralegal at the Provo law
firm of Howard, Lewis & Petersen, where Cardoso,
49, of Provo, was the office manager. John
Valentine, the Republican state senator from
Orem and a partner in the law firm, said Tuesday
that the news hit the staff hard. The women were
long-term employees: Finch worked for the firm
for 15 years and Cardoso had been there 29
years. . . . “This had been their life-long
dream, of making a trek to the base camp of
Mount Everest,” he said. “This is a horrible
tragedy for us all.”
