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Large Firms Balk at Plans to Revamp Law School Recruiting Process

New York Law Journal

A proposal to revamp the law school campus recruiting process is being met with resistance among some of the largest legal employers in New York. Recruiting officials at a number of law firms have raised concerns about recommendations made last month that would restrict them from making offers to second-year law students until January. Critics say it may add to the costs of the recruiting season and make it difficult to manage the hiring process, adding that it may even result in fewer students being hired.

Federal Judge Blasts Attorneys for 'Bad Faith'

Fulton County Daily Report

In a damning order, a federal judge has found that attorneys Cary Ichter and Guy H. Weiss, the law firm of Adorno & Yoss and their former client "blatantly misrepresented" the law, acted with "dishonesty" and in "bad faith," and, in Ichter's case, "violated the integrity of the judicial system." As a result, a federal magistrate has recommended that the attorneys and their client, the plaintiff in a highly contested trade dress action, pay nearly $312,000 in attorney fees, costs and expenses to the defendants.

N.Y. Judge Quietly Steers Only Active Civilian Prosecution of Ex-Guantanamo Detainee

New York Law Journal

As the debate over where and how to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his alleged fellow 9/11 conspirators rages on, one judge is quietly handling the only active civilian prosecution of a former Guantanamo detainee. New York federal Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has been presiding over pretrial proceedings in the upcoming September trial of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani for his role in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa: a case that poses some of the same issues as the more controversial 9/11 prosecutions.

Toyota Hit With Federal and State Claims by Stockholders, Vehicle Owners

The National Law Journal

Plaintiffs attorneys' assault on Toyota continues to move forward. Lawsuits were filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday on behalf of shareholders and a nationwide class of buyers of several Toyota hybrid models. Another lawsuit, brought in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday on behalf of California buyers of a Prius and a Lexus model, seeks damages for alleged breach of implied and express warranty, product liability, negligence and violations of business and consumer protection laws.

Magazine's Planned Law Firm Rankings Raise ABA's Hackles

The National Law Journal

U.S. News & World Report's decision to rank law firms along the lines of its much-maligned law school rankings has prompted the American Bar Association to investigate the magazine's methods. The ABA House of Delegates approved a resolution Monday to "examine efforts to publish a national, state, territorial and local ranking of law firms and law schools." U.S. News was not specifically named, but officials of the New York State Bar, which sponsored the resolution, acknowledged the magazine was the catalyst.

In Rare Move, Federal Circuit Overturns Lower Court's Sanctions

The National Law Journal

The Federal Circuit has overturned sanctions imposed by a Southern District of New York judge against New Jersey intellectual property law firm Kaplan Gilman & Pergament and software company ResQNet.com Inc. The panel ruled that the district court's pretrial order to impose sanctions on the firm and the company once the trial was completed was an abuse of the court's discretion. It's rare for the Federal Circuit to overturn a sanctions order given the appellate standard of review, said one patent lawyer.

Cases of 3 Debarred Pharmaceutical Executives Combined

Corporate Counsel

The closely watched case of Howard Udell, the first general counsel of a major company known to be debarred from doing business with federal agencies, has been moved to U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and combined with the cases of two of Udell's fellow executives -- chief executive Michael Friedman and chief medical officer Paul D. Goldenheim -- caught up in the same scandal. The cases stem from a May 2007 settlement over the misbranding of the powerful painkiller OxyContin.

DOJ Continues Fight for Deloitte Records

The National Law Journal

The Justice Department wants to convince a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., that the accounting firm Deloitte should be forced to give up tax documents stemming from auditing services provided to Dow Chemical Co. A district court judge ruled against Justice in June 2009, saying that the requested documents are confidential and some are protected as attorney work product. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is scheduled to hear oral argument Feb. 26.

Judge Grants Lawyer's Motion for Nonsuit in Case Against Homeless Center

Texas Lawyer

Houston lawyer Harry C. Arthur's courthouse battle with Christ Church Cathedral and The Beacon, a homeless center in downtown Houston, is over. On Tuesday, Houston Judge Reece Rondon signed an order granting Arthur's motion for a nonsuit without prejudice in the suit filed by Arthur and a building he owns, The Marine Building. The plaintiffs filed the suit in November 2009 seeking a court order to shut down The Beacon on the grounds that it is a "private nuisance."

In Rationale for Acquitting Attorney, Judge Says Proof of Role in Witness Intimidation Fell Short

New York Law Journal

Two months after tossing out defense attorney Arienne Irving's convictions for her alleged role in a plot to intimidate witnesses on behalf of a drug kingpin, a federal judge has explained his decision. The judge found that, although Irving may have been "present at various times while ... criminal conduct was under way," no rational juror could have concluded that the government conclusively proved she "had the knowledge and intent necessary to establish her participation" in the scheme between her boss and his client.

Pending Malpractice Suit Against Firm Doesn't Excuse Paying Fees, N.J. Court Rules

New Jersey Law Journal

A family court order requiring a divorce litigant to pay a law firm $50,000 in fees, even though he had a malpractice case pending against the firm, has been upheld on appeal. A New Jersey court ruled there was no error in ordering and enforcing the fee award, because the client neither asked the family court for a stay nor sought to consolidate the malpractice and matrimonial cases. The court also noted the lower court "expressly carved out the malpractice issue from its decision, and made no findings on those allegations."

Online Defamation and Anonymous Defendants

New York Law Journal

Attorneys Richard Raysman and Peter Brown review some of the emerging standards courts employ before allowing a plaintiff to discover the identity of anonymous defendants in online defamation cases, as well as discuss other practical concerns to address before seeking legal redress.

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Tips for Becoming an Effective Law Firm Leader

Texas Lawyer

Lawyers who represent clients and their firms well may be rewarded with a leadership position. Herein lies the problem. Most lawyers, like most human beings, are not natural leaders. Consultant James Dolan discusses how all leaders, natural or not, can become more effective.

Visit the Career Center

Wealth Management Group Leaving Wilson for Regional Firm

The Recorder

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati wealth management partner Peter LaBoskey is leaving the firm after nearly three decades, and taking his group of five attorneys to midsize regional shop Hopkins & Carley on March 1. That firm is opening an office in Palo Alto, Calif., to accommodate the new group. Managing partner William Klein said his firm had been looking to grow its 15-lawyer family wealth and tax planning department for several years, and added that the new group won't need to lower its rates.

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