Legal Research

Selections From National Law Journal Daily Headlines March 20, 2009

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: NLJ.com, March 20, 2009.

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WEB-ONLY  |  Litigation over defunct Thelen draws objections from two plaintiffs
"Two former Thelen employees who have sued their former employer in San Francisco Superior Court for unpaid wages and vacation time are objecting to a stipulation in a separate case in federal court that allows an amended complaint to be filed on behalf of a class of the defunct firm's former California employees."

WEB-ONLY  |  Court finds no malpractice in case where client was hit with $20M punitives
"A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a major Washington law firm did not commit malpractice when it represented a client found liable for $20 million in punitive damages ? and just $520 in actual damages. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals determined that Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner's decision not to initially appeal the punitive damages award was a reasonable, tactical litigation strategy involving an unsettled point of law."

WEB-ONLY  |  Dozen firms, GCs will huddle in Chicago to discuss diversity and work/life balance
"Later this month, leaders from a dozen law firms will sit down in Chicago with a dozen general counsel from major U.S. companies to discuss two issues that have long plagued law firms: lack of diversity and lack of work/life balance. The meeting will be the first of the Diversity and Flexibility Connection, an initiative spearheaded by the Project for Attorney Retention."

WEB-ONLY  |  Legal groups call for end to 'ideological exclusion' of scholars, others denied visas
"The American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Society of American Law Teachers, the Constitution Project, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and more than 70 other legal, civil rights and human rights organizations are urging the Obama administration to end the practice of 'ideological exclusion,' under which foreign scholars, artists, and activists have been denied visas on the basis of their ideas, political views and associations."

WEB-ONLY  |  Federal Circuit to review key case on overseas patent application
"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently decided to hold an enbac rehearing on a case that affects when U.S. patent laws apply to companies' overseas sales and production. The court will determine whether a patent law liability provision allowing damages when a patented product is assembled and sold overseas also applies to method patents as well as to product patents."

WEB-ONLY  |  6th Circuit turns to Ohio Supreme Court for guidance on controversial Web obscenity shield
"The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has turned to the Ohio Supreme Court for guidance on interpreting a 2002 Ohio law that attempts to shield minors from obscene material, a law opponents have dubbed an Internet censorship regime. The appellate court on March 19 asked Ohio's high court to formally respond to two questions about whether the law exempts private e-mail, chat rooms and public Web sites from liability, as the state attorney general has argued."

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on March 20, 2009 (boomark / email).