Legal Research

Selections from the National Law Journal Daily Headlines February 12, 2009

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: NLJ.COM, February 12, 2009.

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FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE  |  Next headache for Madoff investors: tax troubles
"A second wave of bad news is coming for victims of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's purported $50 billion Ponzi scheme: personal tax troubles. Madoff investors who never touched the alleged profits reported on account statements most likely paid taxes on the purported gains for years. Not only did the profits never exist, but now the taxes paid will add to the pile of losses because the statute of limitations limits to three years their ability to claim refunds on overpaid taxes."

WEB-ONLY  |  Public universities begin furloughing employees ? and law schools are not exempt
"Public universities have begun furloughing employees in an effort to reduce costs, and law schools aren't exempt from the unpaid leave policies. University of Maryland School of Law dean Karen Rothenberg noted that no classes are being cancelled as a result of the university's furlough, which requires faculty to take up to five days of unpaid leave, and faculty office hours won't be cut back either. "

WEB-ONLY  |  A former SEC official sees a 'pressure cooker' era for company lawyers
"New SEC chairwoman Mary Schapiro's public promises to give the agency's enforcement staff more power and inject a sense of urgency into its investigations has securities attorneys bracing for a tougher enforcement climate. Schapiro's public comments since her swearing in and other statements by high-level SEC staff have put public companies on notice that more enforcement is on the way, said Randall Fons, a securities litigation and white-collar defense group partner in the Denver office of Morrison & Foerster. "

WEB-ONLY  |  DoD won't seek high court review of decision striking down minority contracting program
"The Department of Justice and the Department of Defense will not seek U.S. Supreme Court review of a ruling last November by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that struck down the Defense Department's minority and disadvantaged program for defense contracts."

WEB-ONLY  |  CAFA is achieving goal of funneling actions into federal court, but with a catch
"Although the federal Class Action Fairness Act is achieving its goal of shifting the typical multistate class action from state court to federal court, a 'paradoxical' result is a surge in single-state class actions designed to avoid the federal law's removal provisions, according to a recent study."

WEB-ONLY  |  DOJ, SEC win $579M in penalties in Nigerian bribe case
"The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, in joint enforcement actions, have won the second-largest penalties ? totalling $579 million ? for violation of the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act against an American company involved in a 10-year scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction contracts."

OPINION

LATERAL MOVES  |  ABA, recognize reality
"Next week the ABA will consider a long overdue change to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 1.10 now provides that if an attorney joins a law firm from another firm, his personal conflicts must be imputed to every attorney at the new firm, despite any attempt to "screen" him from cases with conflicts. Recommendation 109 would amend the rule to prevent disqualification when the lateral has been effectively screened. It recognizes the realities of the legal environment, and the ABA should adopt it." 
 

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on February 13, 2009 (boomark / email).