Legal Research

Selections from National Law Journal Daily Headlines March 27, 2009

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: NLJ.com, March 27, 2009.

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WEB-ONLY  |  Dem. senators introduce bill to increase Legal Services funding and lift restrictions on LSC attorneys
"A key group of Democratic senators has introduced a bill to increase funding for the Legal Services Corp. and to lift many of the restrictions on LSC-funded attorneys, such as the prohibition on the filing of class actions and the collection of attorney fees. The senators said the bill was necessary because the federal commitment to legal services is not as effective as it needs to be."

WEB-ONLY  |  More than 25% of attorneys surveyed predict firms will add personnel in the next 12 months
"More than one quarter of lawyers said their organizations would add personnel in the next 12 months, with bankruptcy and litigation anticipated to be the practice areas with the most growth potential, according to a recent survey."

WEB-ONLY  |  4th Circuit rules in key case where role of e-mail determines personal jurisdiction
"The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a rare opinion about the role of e-mail in determining personal jurisdiction by ruling that a Virginia company lacked jurisdiction to bring a contract suit against an Indian company because the companies communicated primarily via e-mail and telephone. The case also underscores the need for global companies to consider whether to include forum selection clauses in their contracts."

WEB-ONLY  |  Tobacco companies score first win since Fla. high court decertified class action in '06
"R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and other tobacco companies racked up their first victory out of the first three smoker's health lawsuit verdicts handed down since the Florida Supreme Court decertified a tobacco class action in 2006."

WEB-ONLY  |  Univ. of Miami names new law dean
"The University of Miami named Patricia D. White as its new School of Law dean, picking a former law school dean of Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law who is now a law professor at that school and also a visiting law professor at Georgetown University Law Center."

WEB-ONLY  |  Former Homeland Security secretary Chertoff joins Covington & Burling
"Michael Chertoff, most recently secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has joined Washington's Covington & Burling as senior of counsel. Chertoff previously served as a judge on the 3d U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, as head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division and as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. He will practice in Covington's white-collar defense and investigations group, and will be resident in the firm's Washington office."

OPINION

FIRST AMENDMENT  |  Jurisprudence of labels
"The Supreme Court's current approach to free speech has been marked by confusion and uncertainty. The court has attempted to fit disparate cases of protected speech into artificial categories that often bear little connection to the nature and circumstances of the speech. The result is a jurisprudence of labels whereby constitutional adjudication has become mechanical and efficient, but costly in terms of protecting speech. In particular, the new category of government speech defies coherent analysis." 
 

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on March 27, 2009 (boomark / email).