Legal Research

WEB-ONLY  |  Pierce O'Donnell files motion to dismiss campaign contribution indictment
"Pierce O'Donnell, the lead attorney representing Hurricane Katrina victims in litigation against the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, has filed a motion to dismiss a federal indictment against him, arguing that the statute under which he is charged does not prohibit reimbursing others who donate to a presidential campaign under their own names."

WEB-ONLY  |  High court finds reversal far from automatic if defendants fail to object to government's breach of plea deal
"Criminal defendants who fail to object when the prosecution breaches a plea agreement cannot win automatic reversal of their convictions, but must undergo a tough "plain error" review in the appeals court, according to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices, in a 7-2 decision on March 25, upheld a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that a forfeited claim that the government violated the terms of a plea bargain is subject to the plain-error standard of review in Rule 52(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure."

WEB-ONLY  |  While many firms cut, Nossaman slowly adds to infrastructure group
"Nossaman, in preparation for an influx of government-funded construction projects due in part to the recent economic stimulus plan, has brought on the eighth attorney in the past year to join its growing infrastructure practice group. Kathryn Pett, a former Ballard Spahr partner, has joined Nossaman's Los Angeles office as a partner. Pett joins three other partners, and four associates, who have joined the firm's infrastructure practice group in the past year."

WEB-ONLY  |  Chicago U.S. attorney indicts two lawyers on mortgage fraud charges
"The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago indicted at least two attorneys, including one from a woman-owned Muslim firm in suburban Chicago, as part a group of about 20 people charged with participating in various mortgage fraud schemes in the region."

WEB-ONLY  |  8th Circuit removes federal judge over his angry dismissal of contract case
"A federal appeals court has removed a Missouri federal judge from a $28 million contract case based on the judge's use of profanity and his angry dismissal of the case over testy allegations of discovery abuse. " 

OPINION

BOOK REVIEW  |  A catchy title, but ...
"If there were a trifecta award for book titles, Philip K. Howard's Life Without Lawyers would win it hands down. First, what a catchy title. But it isn't so much lawyers, but laws ? or at least some kinds of laws ? that Howard wants to wipe out. His central claim is that America has become overlegalized. What is most troubling about his prescription is that he universalizes it to virtually every institution without considering whether there might be confounding factors that would call for a different solution."