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Brobeck Survivors Argue for Right to Clients

The Recorder

In a hearing closely watched by both sides of the Heller Ehrman bankruptcy, 10 former Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison partners and their new firms argued Monday they were in their rights to continue to work with their clients. A suit filed by the Brobeck trustee claims the former partners stole business from the defunct firm. A ruling in the case will send a message on the potential risks of hiring partners of dissolved and dissolving firms. In the past six months alone, three Am Law 100 firms have dissolved.

Foreign Trusts Allege N.Y. Lawyer 'Shamelessly Looted' Millions From Bank Accounts

The National Law Journal

The owners of five Liechtenstein-based trusts have sued a New York lawyer with 60 years experience in international estate planning, alleging he "shamelessly looted" in excess of $15 million from the clients for more than a decade. A lawyer who represents the plaintiffs alleged that Winthrop Ross Munyan "looted" money from the bank accounts that he was meant to manage, "all while living the high life."

Pa. Federal Judge Dismisses Subprime Securities Class Action

The American Lawyer

A Philadelphia federal judge last week dismissed a case against Radian -- which provides mortgage insurance and other financial products to financial institutions -- and three current and former officers. Plaintiffs lawyers had alleged the defendants misrepresented the value of Radian's investment in the Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization company. But the judge found the plaintiffs came up short in showing scienter. The ruling bolsters a trend signaled by three recent dismissals of subprime class actions.

Ted Stevens Rejected Plea Deal, Newly Released Records Show

Legal Times

Defense lawyers and clients routinely face this dilemma: Take a plea for leniency, or roll the dice with a jury. The Ted Stevens case was no different. Stevens was offered a deal before his July indictment to plead to one felony and stay out of prison but rejected it, according to a transcript of a bench conference that had been sealed until now. A law firm partner specializing in white-collar criminal defense work says if Stevens had taken a plea, none of the DOJ prosecutors' alleged abuses in the case would have come out.

Report Sees Signs Bankruptcy-Related M&A Deals on the Rise

The American Lawyer

Citing data from Thomson Reuters, the Financial Times reports bankruptcy-related M&A deals have hit their highest level globally since August 2004. With the downturn forcing more firms into sales of distressed assets, the trend will likely continue. The Financial Times points to the $350 million BearingPoint deal and the decision by auto parts manufacturer Delphi to sell its brakes business to a Chinese company for $100 million as evidence bankruptcy-related M&A is on the rise.

2nd Circuit: Arbitrators Can Upset Agreements on Payment of Expenses in the Event of Bad Faith

New York Law Journal

An arbitration agreement where both parties consent to pay the expenses of their own arbitrator and attorneys does not bar the award of such expenses as a sanction for failing to arbitrate in good faith, a split panel of the 2nd Circuit ruled last week. The 2-1 panel said a "general statement" of intent to shoulder costs in an arbitration agreement does not bar such an award. The ruling reversed a lower court judge and ordered the reinstatement of an arbitration panel's sanction.

SEC Enforcement Chief Joins Davis Polk

Legal Times

Davis Polk's D.C. office is adding another lawyer to its bench of former SEC officials: Linda Thomsen, who will start as a partner in June. Until February, she headed the SEC's enforcement division as it came under fire for failing to catch Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, as well as problems that contributed to the Wall Street meltdown. Still, she vehemently defends her former division, saying, "If you look at the totality of the enforcement efforts ... it's really a record that I know I'm proud of."

Lawyer Sues Troopers for Use of Excessive Force During Cell Phone Fracas

Fulton County Daily Report

More than two years after he was thrown to the ground and arrested after being warned to put away his cell phone as he waited to plead a client's DUI case, charges against Georgia attorney Billy L. Spruell have been dropped by the Fulton County district attorney. But the case is not over: Spruell has filed a federal suit against the two state troopers who hauled him, bleeding and in handcuffs, out of a courtroom waiting area and charged him with obstructing an officer.

Justice Ginsburg Laments Being High Court's Only Woman

The Associated Press

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Friday that it's lonely being the only woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. Ginsburg told law students at a symposium that she misses her former colleague Sandra Day O'Connor, who retired in 2006. "It's lonely for me, not that I don't love all my colleagues. I do," Ginsburg said. When members of the public visit the Court to watch the proceedings, Ginsburg said she can't help but wonder what they think. "There I am all alone, and it doesn't look right," said Ginsburg.

3rd Circuit to Mull When States Can Limit License Slogan Choice

The Legal Intelligencer

Combine the hot-button abortion issue with a perplexing First Amendment question -- whether auto license plates are a public forum -- and it's no wonder federal courts are all over the map on whether states have the right to refuse specialty plates that carry the slogan "Choose Life." Today a 3rd Circuit panel is slated to take up the issue in a suit alleging that New Jersey officials engaged in "viewpoint discrimination" when they said a specialty plate bearing the slogan "Choose Life" would be "too controversial."

Phil Spector Convicted of Second-Degree Murder

The Associated Press

Rock music producer Phil Spector was convicted Monday of second-degree murder in the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson at his mansion six years ago, a verdict that will send him to prison for at least 18 years to life barring a successful appeal. Defense attorney Doron Weinberg said he believed the case was swayed by erroneous rulings by the judge -- particularly one that allowed five women from Spector's past to testify. He said that ruling would be the basis for appeal and a request for a new trial.

Bar Group Creates Model Code for New York's Administrative Law Judges

New York Law Journal

The New York State Bar Association has created its first-ever model code for administrative law judges, hearing officers, referees and others who interpret and apply laws and regulations for New York state agencies. The five canons in the code are designed to serve as ethical signposts for some 2,000 administrative law judges employed directly by state agencies or working for them on a contract basis in the same way that the Rules of Professional Conduct define ethical professional behavior by attorneys.

GE Unit Ordered to Pay $11.3 Million Over False-Advertising Claims Against Competitor

New Jersey Law Journal

A New Jersey federal judge has ordered that a General Electric subsidiary pay $11.3 million for making false-advertising claims about a competitor's X-ray contrast agent. The judge held that Amersham Health violated the Lanham Act with false and misleading claims that its contrast agent was superior to one made by Bracco Diagnostics, and found that Bracco was entitled to reimbursement of about $8 million for past "corrective" ads and an additional $3 million that it planned to spend on future ads.

Legal Holds: Watch the Door

Law Technology News

When corporate legal departments aren't coping with their own layoffs in this tough economy, they're often focusing on issues related to workforce reductions. But these actions may lead to the destruction of evidence pertinent to an existing legal hold, warns Goldberg Segalla partner John Jablonski.

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Many GCs Still Fighting Backdating Charges

The National Law Journal

After two years during which eight general counsel ran afoul of federal regulators for alleged improper stock options backdating, four are still fighting charges, three have settled or pleaded guilty and just one was acquitted. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcers view this as a successful effort against corporate improprieties, while the defense side says it shows the difficulty of linking corporate lawyers to accounting-related misconduct.

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5th Circuit's Triple Feature Is a Fright Fest for Employees

Texas Lawyer

The 5th Circuit often sets the pace for its sister circuits as they all start to confront a surge in employment claims. Attorney Michael P. Maslanka says the court's message to employees is: Maybe the discrimination you underwent is bad, but it's not that bad. Maslanka analyzes three cases that illustrate the 5th Circuit's approach, which he predicts will return to the one-free-dog-bite rule adapted to employment law: one free threat, one free racial comment, one free physical encounter.

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Could Collective Action by Students From Top Law Schools Change Firms?

The National Law Journal

A group of students from some of the best law schools in the country sees power in numbers. About 50 students from premier schools met recently at Stanford Law School for Building a Better Legal Profession's National Conference of Student Leaders. BBLP's goal is to create collective action to prod large law firms to make changes in billable hour requirements, diversity and pro bono work. Their hope is that students and associates from the best schools won't accept jobs at firms that do not change their ways.

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