Legal Research

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW  |  A new type of crime victim is speaking up
"To the chagrin of corporate defense lawyers, the 2004 Crime Victims Rights Act is increasingly turning up in the government's environmental prosecutions, with victims fighting to be heard, especially at sentencing. The issue has triggered robust legal debate. Defense lawyers argue that the five-year-old statute gives prosecutors an unfair advantage by letting them use victims to play on the courts' emotions at sentencing. But victims' rights advocates counter that people hurt in catastrophes such as explosions or chemical spills deserve a seat at the table ? and a say in the punishment."

LAW FIRMS  |  No guilt, no anxiety; firm touts flex time
"Most law firms offer flexible or reduced-hours schedules for attorneys, especially working mothers. But observers say there is often a large gap between the concept and reality of working part-time. Five of the 11 associates at Schirrmeister Diaz-Arrastia Brem are mothers who work part-time schedules, and partner Michael Brem said offering flexible schedules has been a key to snagging talented women attorneys who may otherwise have left the practice of law."

CRIMINAL LAW  |  As it turns out, Madoff is getting plenty of company
"Bernard Madoff may have hatched the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, but he was certainly not the only one to set up sham investments to lure investors with false promises. Federal regulators and the FBI have stepped up attention on this white-collar fraud specialty, identifying at least 19 frauds since Jan. 1 that are under active investigation or have resulted in filing charges or sentencing of defendants for investment frauds considered classic Ponzi schemes."