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Parking Authority Argues for Mandatory Injunction Over Family Courthouse Site
Posted on September 03, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The Philadelphia Parking Authority told a federal bankruptcy judge in a court filing today that the judge has the equitable power to settle definitively, with a mandatory preliminary injunction, whether the once-proposed developer...
Mediator Appointed in Family Court Bankruptcy Case
Posted on September 01, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has been assigned to mediate the lawsuit between the Philadelphia Parking Authority and private developer Donald W. Pulver's Northwest...
Should You Monitor Employee Use of Social Media?
Posted on August 30, 2010Sharlyn Lauby, an HR pro turned consultant with more than 20 years of professional human resources experience, posted a wonderful article, "How to Handle an Employee's Controversial Online Comment." And notwithstanding that I am quoted at length in Sharlyn's story,...
The Pitfalls of Using Information from Income Tax Returns as an Investigative Tool in Forensic Accounting
Posted on August 26, 2010By Terry Silver In my July 23 blog, I discussed the benefits of utilizing information from income tax returns as an investigative tool in forensic accounting. The subject of this blog is to discuss some of the pitfalls in extracting...
Bankruptcy Judge Lifts Stay Over Family Court Architectural Plans
Posted on August 26, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff In a bankruptcy proceeding over the the use of architectural plans for a new Philadelphia family courthouse, Bankruptcy Judge Eric L. Frank ruled late Thursday afternoon that architect EwingCole, not private developer Northwest...
Is UK Firm's Part-Time Partner Policy Really the Answer?
Posted on August 26, 2010By Jaime Bochet Of the Legal Staff One of the websites I check regularly (and get helpful daily e-mail alerts from) is a blog on Lawjobs.com called The Careerist. If you haven't heard of it, it's a blog that "aims...
Blog Buddies: GC and Outside Counsel Co-Author ACC Blog
Posted on August 25, 2010By Jaime Bochet Of the Legal Staff According to an article posted today on Corporate Counsel magazine's website, a strange waltz is taking place on the Interwebs: a GC and his new outside counsel are blogging about their burgeoning relationship....
Social Media for Lawyers: Legal Updates on LinkedIn Expands JD Supra Reach
Posted on August 19, 2010By Gina F. Rubel A few weeks ago, the social networking site LinkedIn and legal content distributor JD Supra announced a new partnership that helps legal professionals to increase marketing exposure. The idea is that by posting and sharing their...
Where Are All the Women- and Minority-Owned Firms??
Posted on August 17, 2010By Jaime Bochet Of the Legal Staff Every year, The Legal Intelligencer publishes a magazine called "PALaw: Annual Report on the Legal Profession," which provides hard data and analysis on PA's legal landscape, including our Managing Partners Survey (an anonymous...
Hickton Takes Office as Western Pa. U.S. Attorney, Former Firm Changes Name
Posted on August 13, 2010By Zack Needles of the Legal Staff David J. Hickton, one of the five founding members of Pittsburgh-based litigation, transportation and business law firm Burns White & Hickton, was formally sworn in Aug. 12 as the U.S. Attorney for the...
This is Progress? Low Percentage of Fortune 500 Female GCs Is Up Slightly
Posted on August 12, 2010By Jaime Bochet Of the Legal Staff It is not news to anyone that finding a female attorney in the corner office of a law firm is still a very rare occurrence. A story that appeared in The Legal earlier...
Back to School Means Thinking Ahead to 2011
Posted on August 10, 2010By Jaime Bochet Of the Legal Staff It?s hard to believe that ?Back to School? days are now upon us, but the summer is indeed drawing to a close. But there seems to be good news for law students heading...
Family Court Facility Developer Objects to Lifting of Bankruptcy Stay
Posted on August 06, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Northwest 15th Street Associates, the original developer of the proposed site for the new Family Court facility, filed an objection Friday to the First Judicial District?s request to lift the automatic stay in...
Change of DGS Guard Won't Affect Family Court Project
Posted on August 03, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Despite the announcement today that state Department of General Services Secretary James P. Creedon will step down Sept. 3, a DGS spokesman said that the Philadelphia family court project will not be affected...
Will Your Trades Secrets Be Safe if You Lose a Member of Your Senior Team?
Posted on August 03, 2010By Eric B. Meyer Chris Botticella used to work for Bimbo Bakeries USA, the Pennsylvania-based maker of Thomas? English Muffins, among other products. As vice president of operations, Botticella had access to Bimbo?s code books containing the formulas and processes...
Death-Row Murderer Disbarred 9 Years After Conviction
Posted on August 02, 2010By Zack Needles Of the Legal Staff Convicted murderer Richard Baumhammers' death warrant was signed before his disbarment order was. In January, Gov. Edward G. Rendell signed a death warrant for the Pittsburgh immigration lawyer who was convicted by a...
Reporters' Notebook: Family Court
Posted on July 30, 2010By Gina Passarella and Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal staff Perception is reality for parties involved in the troubled project to build a new family court facility in Philadelphia. Opposing sides have each pointed to the same e-mail or letter...
New Judge in Northwest 15th Street Associates Bankruptcy
Posted on July 30, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff A new judge has been assigned to oversee the bankruptcy proceedings of Northwest 15th Street Associates, the original developer of the family court building site at 15th and Arch streets. The clerk of...
Joining With the Visceral Response
Posted on July 28, 2010By Melissa M. Gomez Special to the Legal I was working with the plaintiff on a motorcycle accident death case. While the defendant's liability was pretty clear, we had a problem. The decedent's blood alcohol level was beyond the legal...
Architect Joins FJD's Request to Move Family Court Project Ahead
Posted on July 27, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Architect EwingCole has joined the First Judicial District's motion to have a federal bankruptcy judge lift an automatic stay in the bankruptcy filing by private developer Donald W. Pulver's Northwest 15th Street Associates...
Is Work the Key to Being a Better 'Professional' Mom?
Posted on July 27, 2010By Jaime Bochet Of The Legal Staff Law blog The Careerist, which is affiliated with The Legal, posted an article this morning on a topic that is sure to set tongues wagging around law firm water coolers across the country....
Using Information from Income Tax Returns as an Investigative Tool in Forensic Accounting
Posted on July 23, 2010By Terry Silver The term "forensic" means "suitable for use in a court of law." By extension, the field of forensic accounting involves the utilization of accounting, auditing and investigative skills to assist in the resolution of a legal dispute....
What's the Story on Summer Programs?
Posted on July 22, 2010By Jaime Bochet Of the Legal Staff The results of The American Lawyer's Summer Hiring Survey came out earlier this week, and as everyone probably expected, the results showed a grim landscape for law students looking for work. According to...
Tips for Lawyers From Legal Marketing Experts Part 5: Ethics of Marketing and Public Relations
Posted on July 16, 2010Back in March of this year, I started a series of postings from the Legal Marketing Association?s national conference. During the conference, I had the pleasure to present, along with various colleagues, during the Just JDs: Business Development Strategies for...
You?ve heard of the FBI?s National Sex Offender Registry. How about the National Sexual Harassment Registry?!?
Posted on July 14, 2010By Eric B. Meyer EBossWatch, a group claiming to help people avoid hostile work environments and workplace bullying, launched what it calls the ?National Sexual Harassment Registry,? on July 14. The Registry, found here, is being billed as ?a database...
Law Department Cuts Over $700,000 in Outside Counsel Fees
Posted on July 14, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff With continuing weakness in property and business tax collections, the city of Philadelphia is making more cuts in order to balance its five-year budget, including cutting more than $700,000 in the Law Department's...
Forensic Accounting and the Art of Courtroom Avoidance
Posted on July 13, 2010By Terry Silver As a forensic accountant, our accounting, tax and consulting firm is often charged with valuing companies, especially as a part of adversarial divorce actions. In a matter where we represented the non-equity spouse in a matrimonial action,...
How Facebook Can Make or Break Your Case
Posted on July 12, 2010By Eric B. Meyer Facebook has over 400 million active users. Twitter users are recording an average of 55 million tweets a day. If an employee files suit against your client, what are the odds the employee uses social media?...
Do You Contract With The Government? You May Need To Tell Your Employees That They Can Form A Union
Posted on July 09, 2010By Eric B. Meyer Special to the Legal As of June 21, many federal contractors and subcontractors are required to post notices educating their employees about their right to form, join and support a union and to bargain collectively with...
Two Recent Supreme Court Decisions Provide Little Clarity for Employers
Posted on July 06, 2010[This posting is for informational purposes and should not be construed or interpreted as either legal advice on any matter or as in any way creating an attorney/client relationship] Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered two employment law decisions...
Committee of Seventy Calls for Halt to Family Court Funding
Posted on July 01, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The Committee of Seventy, Philadelphia's good government group, called today for Gov. Edward G. Rendell to stop the release of $200 million in state funds for the family court building in Philadelphia. The...
Nearly 90 Percent of Quarter Sessions Employees Agree to Transition to FJD Staff
Posted on June 30, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff As the First Judicial District continues to merge the operation of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions, the clerk for criminal cases, into its own operation, 92 employees have agreed to leave civil service...
Sheriff's Office: Cutting Sheriff's Overtime May Affect Prison Population
Posted on June 29, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff In a memo sent to court leaders and obtained by The Legal, the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office said that some of its efforts to reduce its overtime bill require it to end some of...
Labor Department Extends FMLA to Cover Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Parents
Posted on June 29, 2010[This posting is for informational purposes and should not be construed or interpreted as either legal advice on any matter or as in any way creating an attorney/client relationship] On June 22, the U.S. Department of Labor clarified the definition...
For the First Time, City of Philadelphia Commits Dollars to Fight Witness Intimidation
Posted on June 28, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams' request to receive an extra $400,000 for his office next fiscal year to address witness intimidation did not get very far? until now. For the first time the...
Supreme Court Decision Provides Insurers Latitude to Argue Offset in UM/UIM Arbitrations
Posted on June 25, 2010Could in Turn Provide "Reasonable Basis Defense" in Bad Faith Litigation In what one would think would provide additional ?reasonable basis? cover for an insurer in bad faith litigation, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last month ruled in Tannenbaum v...
Circuit Precedent? What Circuit Precedent?
Posted on June 23, 2010By Bruce P. Merenstein Numerous procedural and jurisdictional issues that federal court practitioners confront on a daily basis have yet to be addressed by the Supreme Court. Thus, these issues are governed by the law of the U.S. Circuit Court...
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Be Sure the Strategies You Employ Don?t Hurt Your Case
Posted on June 22, 2010A 1966 shooting and a 2007 death I recently had the pleasure of doing some pro bono work on a criminal trial that had quite a bit of exposure in the media. The case involved a police shooting on Nov....
Dechert Grabs Head of Fried Frank Financial Institutions Group, Two Others
Posted on June 21, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Dechert has added three heavy hitters in Washington, D.C., from Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson?s office there. The firm brought on Thomas P. Vartanian, who headed up Fried Frank?s financial institutions transaction...
McCarter & English Adds Klehr Harrison Partner for Phila. Office
Posted on June 18, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff McCarter & English added Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg partner Richard S. Roisman to its Philadelphia office earlier this month. The addition brings the firm?s Philadelphia outpost to just under 20 attorneys and follows...
City Council Mulls New Measure to Remove Clouds Over Title Deeds
Posted on June 17, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff City Councilman Bill Greenlee and Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez have introduced a proposed ordinance aimed at curbing the theft of property deeds and strengthening the requirements for the recording of deeds...
Efforts to Merge Quarter Sessions Move Ahead
Posted on June 17, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The First Judicial District and the city of Philadelphia are working on the details of bringing the clerks who work in the city's criminal clerk's office into judicial employment and off the city...
State Senate Authorizes Study of Philly Criminal System
Posted on June 15, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff In addition to a court-led review of Philadelphia's criminal justice system, the state Senate also has authorized a study of Philadelphia's criminal justice system. In a resolution adopted today, the General Assembly's central...
Pepper Names Replacement for Position Left Vacant by Dusty Kirk
Posted on June 11, 2010By Gina Passarella Pepper Hamilton said Friday that partner Matthew J. Swett has been named co-chairman of the firm?s 30-attorney real estate practice. The position was left vacant when Pittsburgh-based partner Dusty Elias Kirk took a team of six other...
Statewide E-Payment System Started for Criminal Cases
Posted on June 11, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Philadelphia's Municipal Court and Common Pleas Court are the latest to join a statewide online payment system for court collections in criminal cases. The courts started collecting on-line payments this week...
When Eight is Not Enough
Posted on June 07, 2010By Bruce P. Merenstein Losing litigants in federal court have a statutory right to appeal to the appropriate court of appeals from a final decision of a trial court. Under 28 U.S.C. § 46, such appeals are initially heard by...
Philadelphia Family Court Developer Still Wants to Build Courthouse
Posted on June 03, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff In the wake of the decision by the First Judicial District and the Philadelphia Parking Authority to terminate their agreements with the owner of the developer rights to the family court site at...
City Controller Finds Filth, Possibly Asbestos in Police Districts
Posted on June 02, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The city's police districts, including locations where preliminary hearings are held in criminal cases, are in desperate need of repair, according to a City Controller's report released Wednesday. Among the problems documented by...
Duane Morris Goes Outside Phila. for New Corporate Dept. Head
Posted on June 01, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff For the first time in the firm?s history, Duane Morris has selected a partner outside of its Philadelphia headquarters?and a relatively new partner at that ? to lead one of its major practice...
The Power of One
Posted on May 27, 2010By Melissa M. Gomez, Ph.D. One persuasive person can make all the difference. That is why, in jury selection, I not only focus on those characteristics that will make jurors biased against and unwilling to find in favor of my...
FJD's Drug Treatment Court Selected as Model for Others
Posted on May 26, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff? The state's first drug treatment court, Philadelphia Municipal Court's Treatment Court, has been selected by a national body as a model for other courts striving to treat defendants' substance abuse problems, according to...
A Survey of Significant Bad Faith Cases From 2009
Posted on May 25, 2010As we approach the start of summer 2010 in Pennsylvania, I thought it might be interesting with that tiny big of distance to take a quick sample of significant bad faith cases from around the country decided in 2009. North...
"Lawyers on the Fast Track" ? Nominations Open June 1
Posted on May 21, 2010Once a year, the Pennsylvania legal community comes together to celebrate the "next generation" of great attorneys ?The Legal Intelligencer's Lawyers on the Fast Track. But before they can be honored, they have to be nominated ? by YOU! From...
Hear From the Media: Podcast
Posted on May 18, 2010On April 22, 2010, I moderated a fantastic panel that addressed How and when to share your opinion with the press. The Philadelphia Bar Association has shared the program as a podcast on their website. Listen in and hear from:...
Senators: Sales Tax on Legal Services Remains Far-Fetched
Posted on May 12, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Democratic state Sens. Michael J. Stack, D-Phila., and Lawrence M. Farnese Jr., D-Phila., both said Tuesday they are opposed to Gov. Edward G. Rendell's proposal to expand the sales tax to legal services...
Common Pleas Court Held 57 Educational Programs in 2009
Posted on May 12, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Fifty-seven educational programs for the 108 judges, including senior judges, who sit on the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court were held in 2009, according a report recently released about the bench's voluntary efforts to...
The Rule of Seven
Posted on May 06, 2010In case you were wondering, there is a reason why phone numbers have seven digits. It is because studies in human learning have found that most people can only retain up to seven pieces of new information at once (and...
Are Videogames Artistic Expression?
Posted on May 05, 2010Recently, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the State of California?s appeal in Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association, a case which both the district court and the Ninth Circuit invalidated on First Amendment grounds ? a California law bars the...
Castille Asks Rendell Not to Appoint New Judges
Posted on May 04, 2010By Shannon P. Duffy U.S. Courthouse Correspondent Citing a budget crunch that has left the judiciary in a ?precarious financial position,? Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille last week urged Gov. Edward G. Rendell to immediately cease making any nominations...
Prop 8 Work Brings Olson, Boies to Philadelphia
Posted on April 30, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff The Equality Forums Global GLBT Summit is being held in Philadelphia this week and will near its culmination Saturday night with a dinner honoring two noted lawyers who surprised some by coming down...
Tips for Lawyers from Legal Marketing Experts: Part 4 Intelligent Selling / Alvidas Jasin
Posted on April 30, 2010In my last post, I shared my Twitter notes from Leveraging Marketing Tools to Increase Your Exposure presented by Ross Fishman at the 2010 Legal Marketing Association (#LMA10) Annual Conference. Ross is CEO of Fishman Marketing and an organizer of...
Donatucci Says Independence Helps Users of Register of Wills Office
Posted on April 22, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff While the functions of Philadelphia's clerk for criminal courts were recently taken over by the First Judicial District because of alleged problems in the office's bookkeeping and record-keeping, Philadelphia Register of Wills Ronald...
Lost in the Middle: Using Primacy and Recency to Emphasize Key Trial Points
Posted on April 20, 2010By Melissa M. Gomez, Ph.D. I have seen it more times than I can count -- Well-intentioned and well-organized trial attorneys put their openings, closings, witnesses and witness examinations in a clear logical order. They make the introductions first; provide...
Fox Rothschild Names New CMO
Posted on April 15, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Almost two years after Fox Rothschild Chief Marketing Officer Jim Staples left for Cozen O?Connor, the firm has named his replacement. Fox Rothschild said Tuesday Heidi K. White, a three-year veteran of the...
Committee of 70 Calls for Freezing Quarter Sessions Budget
Posted on April 15, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Ahead of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions budget hearing in the Philadelphia City Council next week, the government watchdog group Committee of Seventy has called for the city to halt funding for the...
Abraham's Thoughts on Philadelphia Courts
Posted on April 12, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff When former Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham last week discussed with The Legal how prosecutors should vet proposed criminal charges, she had a lot more to say than could be fit into a...
So Easy, Even a Philadelphia Lawyer Can E-File
Posted on April 08, 2010By Charlotte E. Thomas I recently spoke to the Honorable D. Webster Keogh again, the Administrative Judge of the trial division, Court of Common Pleas, with the help of Mike Meehan of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott. This time, we...
Tips for Lawyers from Legal Marketing Experts, Part 3: Increase Exposure / Ross Fishman
Posted on April 06, 2010In my last post, I shared my Twitter stream covering the presentation by Deborah Knupp, partner of Akina Corporation, who addressed Business-Development Tactics to Increase Your Competitive Advantage at the 2010 Legal Marketing Association(#LMA10) Annual Conference in Denver...
Hertz So Good: High Court Clarifies the Meaning of a Corporation?s ?Principal Place of Business?
Posted on April 05, 2010By Ryan J. Fleming In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court recently issued a decision clarifying the ?principal place of business? clause of the federal diversity jurisdiction statute, which provides that ?a corporation shall be deemed to be a citizen...
Supreme Court Releases Changes to Municipal Court
Posted on April 05, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The state Supreme Court has issued orders today that will make several changes in Philadelphia Municipal Court. The orders include those issued under Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille's authority and those that required...
Oprah and Me: Understanding Public Opinion in High Profile Cases
Posted on April 01, 2010My 2.5 Minutes of Fame By Melissa M. Gomez A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed by the Philadelphia Fox News station regarding the Oprah Winfrey defamation trial (before it settled, of course). The topic was about whether Oprah...
A Blog That Mentions Both Trusts and Estates Law and Hooters
Posted on March 31, 2010By Robert H. Louis A recent news report indicates that an effort will be made to sell or recapitalize the restaurant chain Hooters, as a result of a family dispute over the will of the majority owner of the business....
Organized Labor Gets Their Men
Posted on March 30, 2010By Eric B Meyer, Special to The Legal Organized labor is jumping for joy. President Obama announced recently that he would recess appoint Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Becker and Pearce will fill...
GenCounsel Adds Seven Local Attorneys to Practice
Posted on March 29, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff GenCounsel, a legal services company started in 2009 to provide outsourced general counsel services, added seven attorneys to the two-person start up. GenCounsel was co-founded by Steven J. Feder and John E. Parker,...
Tips for Lawyers from Legal Marketing Experts: Part 2 Competitive Advantage
Posted on March 23, 2010In my last post, I shared my Twitter notes from James A. Durham?s 2010 Legal Marketing Association (#LMA10) Annual Conference program, Establishing a Goal-Oriented Client-Development Business Plan. Jim is the chief marketing and business development officer with McGuireWoods LLP (and...
K&L Gates Gets its Name in Lights
Posted on March 22, 2010Photo by Nate Raymond By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff K&L Gates closed down its Pittsburgh office at the Henry W. Oliver building Thursday at 6 p.m. and re-opened Monday at 7 a.m. about a block away in the...
Are You Asking Your Witnesses The Right Questions?
Posted on March 22, 2010ne of the biggest lessons I learned about witness preparation happened when I was just starting out as a jury consultant. I was working on a pharmaceutical patent case in which expert witness testimony was critical. The trial team brought...
Tips for Lawyers from Legal Marketing Experts: Part 1 Biz Dev
Posted on March 15, 2010Last week, I had the pleasure to present on public relations and marketing ethics at the 2010 Legal Marketing Association (#LMA10) Annual Conference in Denver. (Note: #LMA10 is the Twitter hash tag we used to generate conversation, share tips and...
Stevens & Lee Adds China Corporate Practice, Panitch Schwarze Adds Dept. Head
Posted on March 12, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff This week has brought news of lateral moves in the intellectual property and corporate worlds. On Wednesday, Stevens & Lee said it picked up securities lawyer William W. Uchimoto and his China practice...
Greenspan Joins JAMS
Posted on March 10, 2010By Shannon P. Duffy U.S. Courthouse Correspondent The market for mediators and arbitrators just added another star to its sky with the announcement that former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Jane Cutler Greenspan is joining the Philadelphia office of JAMS...
Montco Litigation Boutique Merges With N.Y. Firm, Moves to Phila.
Posted on March 10, 2010By Zack Needles Of the Legal Staff Daller Greenberg & Dietrich, a nine-lawyer Conshohocken-based litigation boutique, will merge with 25-lawyer Rochester, N.Y., litigation firm Ward Norris Heller & Reidy on April 1, the firms have announced . The new 34-lawyer...
Nigro's Tax Dispute Sent to Federal Court
Posted on March 09, 2010By Shannon P. Duffy Of the Legal Staff Russell M. Nigro, the former state Supreme Court justice, is now a tax protester and is serving as the lead plaintiff in a proposed class-action suit that challenges the assessment imposed on...
Judge's Recusal Sought in Berry's Civil Fraud Case
Posted on March 08, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The plaintiff in the lawsuit in which a jury awarded $190,000 in damages against a Philadelphia judge found liable for civil fraud of a former client has sought the recusal of out-of-town Senior...
Miller Announces Retirement as Clerk of Quarter Sessions
Posted on March 08, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Vivian Miller announced her retirement as Philadelphia Clerk of Quarter Sessions on Monday. Miller, who is the clerk of the city's criminal courts, had endured a year of criticism leveled at her performance....
The Trouble with Punitive Damages
Posted on March 04, 2010I have to admit it is enticing for plaintiffs to put a punitive damage claim into cases. Punitive damages can make the case worth go sky high, theoretically. So, why not put them into every case you can? There is...
DLA Piper Makes Foray into Brazil
Posted on March 02, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff DLA Piper has taken the first step in its efforts to create a presence in Brazil. The firm said Monday it has entered into a cooperation agreement with Brazilian firm Campos Mello Advogados...
Judge Rejects Standing of Challenger to City Takeover of BRT, But Says Move Is Usurping City Council's Powers
Posted on March 01, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff In an opinion denying standing for a Board of Revision of Taxes employee seeking to block the transfer of authority away from the BRT to the executive branch of city government, a Philadelphia...
Welcome to Warsaw: K&L Gates Takes Hogan & Hartson Poland Practice
Posted on March 01, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff K&L Gates has followed up its entrance into the Tokyo and Moscow markets this year with a new office in Warsaw, Poland. The firm will officially open up shop March 15 with a...
3rd Circuit Refuses to Overturn Delaware Dredging Ruling
Posted on February 24, 2010By Zack Needles Of the Legal Staff The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to overturn Judge Sue L. Robinson's late January ruling that opened the doors for the first phase of a project that would deepen the...
Continued Planning in the Era of Estate Tax Repeal
Posted on February 23, 2010By Robert H. Louis At mid-February, 2010, we still have no indication of the future of estate tax legislation. There was a suggestion that it might be included in the jobs bill that could be considered by Congress soon. All...
A Potential Conflict of Interest Costs a Firm Millions
Posted on February 22, 2010by Joshua D. Wolson A federal judge in California recently issued a startling ruling that class counsel in an antitrust class action was not entitled to any fees, even though it pursued the case for years and successfully negotiated a...
Baer Asks Senate Panel for More in State Tax Revenues
Posted on February 18, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff With Pennsylvania facing another tight fiscal year, the Pennsylvania state court system received both sympathy and prodding for improvement in its financial situation from state senators during a state Senate Appropriations Committee hearing...
To Address or Not to Address Damages: The Dilemma for Defense Attorneys
Posted on February 18, 2010There is a recent article in ?The Jury Expert? by Jeri Kagel called ?Damages: A Defense Attorney?s Dilemma?. It got my mind brewing about this question that has historically plagued defense attorneys in injury cases. Kagel discusses some concerns defense...
Meet the Editors on Feb. 11 - Submitting to Editorial Pages
Posted on February 09, 2010As an update to my last blog, I want to remind everyone that the Philadelphia Bar Association Bar-News Media Committee will host ?How and When to Share Your Opinion with the Press - Submitting to Editorial Pages? at noon Feb....
So, What do Jurors Really Think?
Posted on February 04, 2010For the past few months, I have been perusing comments folks make about jury duty as @mmgjury on Twitter (www.twitter.com). What I have learned has been quite insightful, and has elicited more than one belly laugh. So, if you want...
Is Twitter Serious Enough to Get You Sued?
Posted on February 02, 2010Are Twitter tweets, all 140 characters or less, intended to be taken seriously? Or is the microblogging site just one big forum of hot air, where nothing can be taken seriously and nothing is capable of defamatory meaning? That seems...
Scott Brown In. Employee Free Choice Act Out. Union Spirits Down. Union Organizing Campaigns Going Up
Posted on January 27, 2010[This posting is for informational purposes and should not be construed or interpreted as either legal advice on any matter or as in any way creating an attorney/client relationship] Last week, Scott Brown pulled off something that no Republican had....
Another Possible Solution to Estate Tax Problem
Posted on January 26, 2010Very recent discussions in Washington have resulted in a proposal that resolves the estate tax issue and avoids litigation on constitutionality. Congress is expected to reenact the estate tax at some point, although the exact date is unclear. Some commentators...
Nutter Announces Moratorium on Property Tax Reassessment
Posted on January 26, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Mayor Michael A. Nutter announced further changes to the city's property tax assessment body today, imposing a moratorium on new property tax assessments. The halt is effectively immediately, Nutter said, except for assessments...
Ethics Board Files Complaint Against Clerk of Quarter Sessions
Posted on January 25, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The Philadelphia Board of Ethics is seeking $3,000 in civil penalties against Clerk of Quarter Sessions Vivian Miller for an alleged campaign finance violation. The board said in its petition filed last week...
Fleisher to Depart Bench in March, Lawyer Says
Posted on January 25, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Leslie Fleisher will retire from the bench March 15, Fleisher's counsel Samuel C. Stretton said Monday. Fleisher has been back to work after being out sick at the end...
Commerce Program Marks 10th Year With Record Number of Cases
Posted on January 22, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff As the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court's commerce program for business litigation celebrates its first decade in existence this month, the program had its highest number of cases last year, Judge D. Webster Keogh...
The Show Will Go On
Posted on January 21, 2010When Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus comes to Philadelphia this spring, the show will go on with elephants. Circus-goers will have an opportunity to see the elephants before and during the show, including up close, and for many...
Impeaching Witnesses With Prior Inconsistent Statements: Is All Credibility Eviscerated?
Posted on January 21, 2010The Question A few years back, two of my colleagues and I had a question: When an attorney impeaches a witness with a prior inconsistent statement, has the credibility of that witness been totally eviscerated? We knew that some folks...
Understanding How and When to Share Your Opinion With the Press ? Submitting to Editorial Pages
Posted on January 20, 2010On Feb. 11, the Philadelphia Bar Association, Bar-News Media Committee , will host ?How and When to Share Your Opinion with the Press ? Submitting to Editorial Pages.? Members of the media have been invited to speak from several area...
No Appeal From Fox Chase of Decision Refusing to Allow Division of Burholme Park
Posted on January 15, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Fox Chase Cancer Center has decided not to appeal a unanimous Commonwealth Court decision that determined that a portion of a century-old Northeast Philadelphia park cannot be divided up for the center's expansion...
Local Firm Looks to Represent Local Hospital in Bankruptcy
Posted on January 13, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Lower Bucks Hospital looked to Saul Ewing attorneys for help with its Wednesday Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. According to the docket in the case, Jeffrey C. Hampton, a partner and co-chairman of Saul...
Quarter Sessions Failing to Report $1 Bil. in Forfeited Bail, Controller Says
Posted on January 13, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The clerk for the city's criminal cases, the Clerk of Quarter Sessions, is not reporting about $1 billion in forfeited bail, as well as $353 million in other criminal remittances like court fines,...
A Brief Brouhaha
Posted on January 12, 2010By Bruce Merenstein Special to the Legal I have read hundreds of legal briefs since I started practicing law almost a dozen years ago. First as a law clerk for an appellate judge and then as an attorney practicing primarily...
2010 Brings Temporary Estate-Tax-Free Period
Posted on January 11, 2010In the week since the dawning of the (temporarily) estate-tax-free world, it has now been suggested that Congress will not try to re-enact the federal estate tax retroactive to the beginning of the year. There was considerable uncertainty expressed as...
At Trial, You Are a Reflection of Your Client
Posted on January 07, 2010The Golden Rule With all of the preparations of evidence, witnesses and trial exhibits, some trial teams still forget what I consider to be the golden rule of the jury trials. It is such a simple rule that is all...
Local Firms Win The American Lawyer Awards for Niche Litigation Practices
Posted on January 05, 2010By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Pennsylvania firms couldn?t be found even among the honorable mentions of The American Lawyer?s Litigation Department of the Year awards, but when it comes to niche practices, they made their presence felt. Reed....
A Holiday Gift for Appellate Procedure Wonks
Posted on January 05, 2010In early December, the Supreme Court issued its first four opinions in cases argued this term. In reporting on the decisions, Adam Liptak, the New York Times? Supreme Court correspondent, referred to them as ?all minor? cases. But to appellate...
Williams Begins to Assemble Leadership Team at DA's Office
Posted on January 04, 2010By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff After R. Seth Williams was sworn in today as the first African-American district attorney in Pennsylvania's 300-year history, Williams announced some of the members of his leadership team. Williams said that Joseph "Joe"...
New Special Master In Foxwoods Case
Posted on December 31, 2009By Leo Strupczewski Of the Legal Staff The state Supreme Court has named Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge John W. Herron as the new special master in the Foxwoods Casino case. According to an order from the high court, Herron...
Supreme Court Won?t Hear Workers' Comp Act Exclusivity Case
Posted on December 24, 2009By Zack Needles Of the Legal staff In a per curiam order, the Supreme Court has denied allocator in a case in which a man rendered quadriplegic in an accident while driving his work truck claimed economic damages as a...
State Supreme Court Affirms Decision Striking Pa. Mercury Reductions
Posted on December 23, 2009By Peter Hall Of the Legal Staff/Law Weekly The state Supreme Court has affirmed a Commonwealth Court decision that declared invalid a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection rule designed to reduce mercury emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants...
It?s a Holiday Miracle
Posted on December 22, 2009Congress has fallen below even the lowest expectations of tax practitioners. It?s like a (bad) dream come true. For the past eight years, I?ve been describing our estate tax system to clients: We?ll have gradually lowering rates, and the exemption...
DA's Office Won't Prosecute Berry, Who Will Return to Hear Criminal Cases
Posted on December 18, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office will not file criminal charges against Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Willis W. Berry Jr. for running his real estate business out of his judicial chambers, District Attorney Lynne...
7 Ways Lawyers Can Capitalize on Media Coverage
Posted on December 18, 2009As a public relations practitioner, I am often asked what a firm or attorney should do AFTER they have received media coverage. It is so important to understand that not everyone you want or expect to see the coverage will...
Since When Do Jurors Hate Companies Just for Being Companies?
Posted on December 17, 2009To Be or Not to Be ? a Company I see it when I am working with both plaintiffs and defendants. It is a belief often held on both sides of litigation, and, in my experience, I find it completely...
Phila. Mortgage Foreclosure Program Receives City Livability Award
Posted on December 16, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff As Philadelphia leaders accepted another award in honor of a court program that requires a mediation conference between homeowners and lenders before foreclosure cases can go to sheriff's sale, program leaders are also...
Ethics Task Force Calls for Independent Inspector General, Other Tweaks to Young System
Posted on December 10, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff After 14 months of meetings, a task force on ethics and campaign finance has recommended multiple tweaks to the city's still-young ethics regime, including making the Inspector General's Office independent from Philadelphia's mayor...
Reaching for Greater Efficiency in Criminal Justice Administration
Posted on December 10, 2009Thanks once again to Mike Meehan of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott. With his assistance, I met recently with Administrative Judge D. Webster Keogh about the new challenges in criminal justice administration resulting from the well-publicized budget woes of the...
How to Be Productive During the Holiday Season ? Part II
Posted on December 09, 2009Following last week?s article on ideas to make this holiday season more productive, here are a few strategies to try with your team in the firm and for business development also. Happy Holidays! Hold a team development activity. If you...
Drinker Biddle Grows in California, Adds Century City Office
Posted on December 08, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Drinker Biddle & Reath expanded its West Coast presence Tuesday. The firm said it added six attorneys in the Los Angeles area, along with a new Century City office. Partners George T. Caplan...
How to Lose a Client in 10 Days, Really?
Posted on December 07, 2009I recently attended the American Bar Association?s law practice management section?s law firm marketing strategies conference at which numerous lawyers, marketing partners and other legal professionals from across the country gathered to learn how to integrate key marketing principles into...
Rendell Appoints Criminal Defense Lawyer and Bar Leader to Luzerne Co. Court
Posted on December 04, 2009By Leo Strupczewski Of the Legal Staff Gov. Edward G. Rendell has nominated a Forty Fort, Pa., attorney to fill one of the vacancies on the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas. Joseph M. Cosgrove, a criminal defense attorney and...
How to Be Productive During the Holiday Season
Posted on December 04, 2009The crazy holiday season? why does it make our hearts beat faster knowing we have so much more ?to do? and so little time to achieve it all? Why is it we both love and hate this time of year?...
The Truth About Jury Research
Posted on December 03, 2009What Jury Research Can?t Do I just had an article published in the November issue of ?The Jury Expert.? It is a piece I wrote called ?Jury Research for Settlement: The Price is Right?? Not 10 hours after the publication...
Morgan Lewis, Other Firms Get Claims by Former Thelen Employees Thrown Out
Posted on December 02, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff In Monday?s article ?Buyer Beware: Firms Look Closely at Legal Liabilities of Merger Partners,? The Legal mentioned a suit Morgan Lewis & Bockius and other firms were fighting that was brought by a...
Congress Might Vote on Estate Tax, or Might Not
Posted on December 01, 2009The Democrats are divided into their usual factions, and the Republicans aren?t sure whom they represent. It?s possible that the House will vote for an extension of the current estate tax rates shortly, but as usual, no one is sure...
Superior Court Recount Results Due This Week
Posted on November 30, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff All 67 of Pennsylvania's election boards had until noon today to submit the results of the first statewide recount spurred as a matter of law in a close state Superior Court race. However,...
Trujillo Appointed to Gaming Control Board
Posted on November 25, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Pennsylvania?s growing, sometimes troubled gaming industry has often reached out for the investments, leadership and counsel of the state?s legal community. That connection continues with the appointment by Gov. Edward G...
Judge Diane Welsh Details Qualities That Distinguish Successful Women?Part III
Posted on November 25, 2009Judge Diane Welsh shared some strategies for success at 2009 Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession Annual Retreat. The following are her remarks continued from Parts I and II. ?Balance work and family obligations ? Just as...
Illegal Aliens? Eligibility for Workers? Comp Benefits Still Under Debate
Posted on November 24, 2009In my last post, I discussed the issue of whether illegal aliens are eligible for unemployment benefits as a general rule. A related yet equally significant issue pertains to whether illegal aliens are similarly eligible for workers? compensation benefits...
Muni Court Judge Agrees to Settle Ethics Dispute Over Defunct PAC
Posted on November 23, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The Philadelphia Board of Ethics, a Philadelphia judge and the treasurer of political action committee started by the late political power broker Carol Campbell have settled a case that could have turned into...
Kessler Goes Before Congress Today for Spot on U.S. Board
Posted on November 19, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Alan Kessler?s Senate confirmation hearing today may not be as closely followed or contentious as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor?s, but the board he?s trying to keep a seat on is facing...
Family Business Planning in High Gear
Posted on November 18, 2009The combination of continued low interest rates, a struggling economy and uncertainty about taxes makes planning important right now. IRS interest rates used in valuing various kinds of gifting techniques fell again in November, making the use of Grantor Retained...
Wettick Puts Gunn Case to Use
Posted on September 29, 2009A trial court has used its own reasoning on severance and stay to deny bad faith discovery in an underlying contract dispute. On Sept. 9, in Wutz v. State Farm Insurance Co., Judge R. Stanton Wettick denied a plaintiff discovery...
Are Illegal Aliens Eligible for Unemployment Benefits?
Posted on September 28, 2009The answer to this question seems pretty straightforward. Aliens who are not authorized to work in the United States are not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, or UI, in any state. Unfortunately, over the years, illegal aliens have been paid...
September 25, 2009 ? More Thoughts from the G-20 ? The Equinox
Posted on September 25, 2009While driving from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon, I was able to watch the course of the sun through the afternoon and early evening sky as I headed west. Doing so caused me to think about the end of...
September 2 5 , 2009 ? More Thoughts from the G-20 ? The Dream Assignment
Posted on September 25, 2009Buried in the innumerable articles on this week?s G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh, I noticed an offhand comment upon which only a lawyer might fixate. It was something to the effect of the following: ?The G-20 operates without a permanent...
Two Confirmed for Philadelphia Common Pleas Bench
Posted on September 25, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Attorneys Robert P. Coleman, an associate with Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney, and Donna M. Woelpper, who is sitting as a juvenile court master in Philadelphia family court, have been confirmed by the...
September 25, 2009 ? More Thoughts from the G-20 ? Random Musings
Posted on September 25, 2009Sometimes when you spend too much time alone in a deserted office overlooking the special security zone of a city hosting a summit conference or in a hotel room close to an airport, your mind begins to wander and you...
September 24, 2009 ? More Thoughts from the G-20
Posted on September 24, 2009We have all heard the phrase so often that it has become a bit of a cliché. Yet, like most such phrases, it is a cliché because the thought at its core makes sense and thus makes it something that...
September 23, 2009 ? Thoughts from the G-20
Posted on September 24, 2009It's 10:00 p.m. on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, and I am in a hotel room near the Pittsburgh Airport. Tomorrow the leaders of the G-20 member nations and various other invited countries and groups will descend on...
September 24, 2009 ? More Thoughts From the G-20 ? The Commute
Posted on September 24, 2009As lawyers, we sometimes undertake unusual assignments for clients. However, my unusual assignment for today was not on behalf of a client. Instead it was to get from a hotel near the Pittsburgh Airport to the Duane Morris office on...
The New Economic Realities of Family Court
Posted on September 23, 2009I have had a hiatus from The Legal Intelligencer blog, but I am now comfortably situated at Duane Morris and Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott is lucky to have my friend, Mike Meehan, and many of my former Wolf Block...
Greg Jordan Nominated to Fourth Term as Reed Smith Leader
Posted on September 22, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Reed Smith?s partnership elected its global managing partner and chairman, Gregory B. Jordan, to his fourth-consecutive three-year term in that role. Jordan faced a brief challenge in the race from Philadelphia partner John...
Have Class Actions Become Like the Wild Kingdom?
Posted on September 22, 2009Is there a natural order among the lawyers in a class action? If we extrapolate from the recent comments of two federal judges, there is. In April, U.S. District Judge Faith Hochberg of the District of New Jersey described plaintiffs...
Attention Employers: Independent Contractors Can Now Pursue Race Discrimination Claims, Too
Posted on September 21, 2009[This posting is for informational purposes and should not be construed or interpreted as either legal advice on any matter or as in any way creating an attorney/client relationship] Local employers should expect to see an increase in race discrimination...
After Two Months, Montco Behavioral Health Court Expands
Posted on September 21, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Montgomery County's new court program for defendants with mental illnesses or other behavioral issues has increased in size from four defendants to 14 defendants after two months in operation. After a year-and-a-half of...
With Senate Passage of Sales Tax, Court Closures Averted
Posted on September 18, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff After the state Senate passed a bill that will allow the city of Philadelphia to close a $700 million gap in its five-year fiscal plan by deferring pension payments and raising the city...
Barroway Topaz Opens New SF Office
Posted on September 17, 2009By Zack Needles Of the Legal Staff Securities class action boutique Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, formally announced Sept.10 that it has opened a new office in San Francisco. "We have a growing number of clients out there," said...
Keeping It Organized in Jury Selection Part 4: Keeping Track of Your Jurors
Posted on September 17, 2009As discussed in the first three installments of this series, once you have your process well organized to get the information you need from jurors (i.e., through knowing the court; juror questionnaires and voir dire) now you are faced with...
When 60 Percent Is Not a Majority
Posted on September 16, 2009It is axiomatic that when a majority of the justices on the U.S. Supreme Courts join a lead opinion written by one of the justices, that opinion is precedential on the issues addressed by that opinion. This is true even...
Egregious Lawyer Misuses of Social Media
Posted on September 15, 2009Social media for lawyers and ethics issues continue to undergo scrutiny, change and evolution. John Schwartz of The New York Times shares: Legal Battle: Online Attitude vs. Rules of the Bar. In his Sept. 13 article, Schwartz shares Florida attorney...
Let?s Take Grandpa on a Roller Coaster
Posted on September 14, 2009Some fun, eh, Grandpa? Grandpa? We are now within a few months of the effective date of perhaps the craziest tax scheme ever passed by Congress (although there are many competitors for that title). Beginning Jan.1, 2010, there will be...
3rd Circuit Strikes Down Proposed Tax on Phila.-bound Flights Landing in Tinicum
Posted on September 14, 2009By Shannon P. Duffy U.S. Courthouse Correspondet Dozens of airline executives can breathe a collective sigh of relief now that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a proposed tax on every Philadelphia-bound flight that landed on...
N.Y. Firm Regains 1 of 3 Lawyers it Lost to Dechert in June
Posted on September 14, 2009By Zack Needles Of the Legal Staff Less than four months after losing three of its partners to Dechert?s Moscow office, New York-based Chadbourne & Parke has seen one of them return. Transactional attorney Konstantin Konstantinov has rejoined the firm...
Corbett to Announce Gubernatorial Candidacy
Posted on September 14, 2009By Peter Hall Of the Legal Staff Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett is scheduled to announce his candidacy for governor at an event this evening in Pittsburgh. Corbett, who was re-elected attorney general last year, made a vaguely worded statement...
PICA Board Approves Budget Cuts Under 'Plan B' But Distances Itself From Court Closure Threat
Posted on September 11, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff n a maneuver that allowed the governmental authority that must approve the city's budgets to avoid taking a firm stance on a plan to defund the city's courts, the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority...
Skadden Arps? $1 Mil. Gift Supports Human Rights Project at Penn Law
Posted on September 10, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff New York-based Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom donated $1 million to the University of Pennsylvania Law School in honor of Penn alumnus and former firm leader Robert C. Sheehan. Sheehan, a 1969...
Three Decisions That Employers And Employees Cannot Afford to Ignore
Posted on September 09, 2009[This posting is for informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as legal advice on any matter or as in any way creating an attorney/client relationship with the author and/or Dilworth Paxson LLP.] Over the past several...
How to Host a Productive Business Lunch ? Things to Do After Your Client Lunch ? Week 3
Posted on September 08, 2009In the past two blog entries, we have discussed what to do before and during your lunch meetings to make them more productive, today let?s focus on productive strategies after your lunch. After the Lunch Send a Thank-You Note -...
City Departments Prepare as Shutdown Looms
Posted on September 08, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The city of Philadelphia is moving closer to shutting down $700 million worth of government services, including its courthouses, after waiting for months for state approval on a bill to raise sales taxes...
With Republican Endorsement, Philadelphia's Next Judges Set Before General Election
Posted on September 08, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff It's not the general election yet, but the winners of 11 Philadelphia judicial openings already have been assured. All six attorneys running on the Republican line for Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and....
Arbitrators and Court-Appointed Counsel Will Be Paid By City, Official Says
Posted on September 04, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Court-appointed counsel and arbitrators will be among the thousands of vendors getting paid their back bills from the city. There have been concerns that many court-appointed counsel couldn't pay their personal bills without...
Evaluation Commission Recommends Ford Elliot and Pellegrini for Retention
Posted on September 04, 2009By Peter Hall Of the Legal Staff The Pennsylvania Bar Association?s Judicial Evaluation Commission on Friday recommended Superior Court Pennsylvania President Judge Kate Ford Elliott and Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini for retention. Ford Elliot and Pellegrini are the only...
Keeping It Organized in Jury Selection Part 3: Voir Dire
Posted on September 03, 2009Know the Process In the third installment of this series, we tackle the task of voir dire. Of course, keeping voir dire organized first and foremost involves knowing what the voir dire process looks like in a given courtroom (see...
What the Death of Sen. Ted Kennedy Means for the Future of the Employee Free Choice Act
Posted on September 02, 2009[This posting is for informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as legal advice on any matter or as in any way creating an attorney/client relationship with the author and/or Dilworth Paxson LLP.] A little while back...
No Answer Yet if City Will Pay Arbitrators and Court-Appointed Counsel
Posted on September 02, 2009Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff City officials are still not confirming whether the Defender Association of Philadelphia, lawyers who sit on arbitration panels and attorneys representing indigent defendants will be among the vendors who will get paid now that...
State Supreme Court Suspends Former PA Child Care Owner
Posted on September 01, 2009By Peter Hall Of the Legal Staff Robert J. Powell, the lawyer and former juvenile detention center owner at the core of Luzerne County?s judicial corruption scandal, has been placed on temporary suspension by the state Supreme Court. In a...
Jury Commissioner Indicted in Luzerne Co. Corruption Probe
Posted on September 01, 2009By Leo Strupczewski Of the Legal Staff A sixth Luzerne County courthouse official has been named by federal prosecutors in their ongoing corruption probe there. Gerald J. Bonner, the county's jury commissioner, was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday...
Delco Magisterial District Judge Under Investigation
Posted on September 01, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Delaware County Magisterial District Judge David J. Murphy, an 18-year veteran of the court, is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Delaware County District Attorney?s Office, the office confirmed. Erica Parham,...
With JPMorgan Loan, City Restores Payments to Vendors
Posted on September 01, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The city of Philadelphia will start paying thousands of vendors again after securing a $275 million loan from JPMorgan Chase. Earlier this summer, the city stopped almost all vendor payments except for employees,...
How to Host a Productive Business Lunch ? Things to Do During Lunch With Your Client ? Week 2
Posted on August 31, 2009Did you enjoy the strategies last week on how to prepare for a productive lunch meeting? If you missed it, click here. This week let?s focus on what you can do during the lunch meeting with your clients so that...
Sarmina to Complete Democratic Slate for Upcoming Elections
Posted on August 31, 2009By Leo Strupczewski Of the Legal Staff When Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Teresa Sarmina withdrew from the state Supreme Court race in the interest of party unity this March, Democratic leaders said the judge had gained the party?s...
Wikipedia Battens the Hatches ? Social Media and the Law
Posted on August 28, 2009A daily routine for my colleague, Leah Rice, and for me is to visit www.mashable.com and a few other social media and public relations sites. We?re always seeking our daily dose of social media and PR updates. Rice brought to...
Fumo Denied Bail, Likely to Report to Prison Monday
Posted on August 27, 2009By Shannon P. Duffy U.S. Courthouse Correspondent It seems almost certain that former state Sen. Vincent Fumo will be reporting to a federal prison in Kentucky on Monday now that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected his...
The Dog Days of the Supreme Court?s Summer: Scalia vs. Stevens (and Dershowitz) Over the Potential Execution of an Innocent Man
Posted on August 26, 2009On Aug. 17, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an unusual decision that has generated significant discussion among court watchers. In the matter of In re Troy Anthony Davis, the court?s transfer of a state death row inmate?s habeas corpus petition...
How to Host a Productive Business Lunch: Things to Do Before Meeting Your Client ? Week 1
Posted on August 25, 2009Although I was never a huge fan of lunch meetings (seems so much time can be wasted), many attorneys still find these business meetings productive. Over the next three weeks, we will provide you with strategies to build your book...
No City Council Hearings on Slashed Budget
Posted on August 24, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Philadelphia City Council will not hold hearings on a revised budget plan that will slash city services from cops on the street to the city courthouses being open. Much of city government will...
Movie Studios See Red
Posted on August 20, 2009Several years ago, I moved into a new home and I set out for a walk. I quickly discovered, just two blocks away, a large self-service vending machine on a street corner. The machine seemed to have everything I could...
City's Criminal Justice Leaders Push for Budget Action in Harrisburg
Posted on August 19, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff In an effort to ratchet up the sense of urgency in Harrisburg on a sales tax and pension recalculation bill that would let the city close a yawning budget gap, Mayor Michael A....
U.S. Supreme Court Imposes Tougher Hurdle for ADEA Plaintiffs
Posted on August 19, 2009In an opinion issued near the end of its most recent term, the U.S. Supreme Court continued its move to the right, increasing the evidentiary burden on age discrimination plaintiffs seeking recovery from their employers. Gross v. FBL Financial Services...
City Still Must Prepare Worst-Case Budget By End of Month
Posted on August 18, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The city must still prepare a new five-year balanced budget involving severe cuts in spending by the end of August. State Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, asked the state authority that approves...
Federal Western District Court Dismisses Bad Faith Case on Statute of Limitations Grounds
Posted on August 17, 2009The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania has recently ruled that the two-year statute of limitations applicable to first-party bad faith actions under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 8371 barred claims by bad faith plaintiffs bringing a claim more...
City Budget Delay in Harrisburg Costs Law Department $1.3 Million
Posted on August 17, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Without approval from Harrisburg for a city sales tax and pension recalculation bill, Mayor Michael A. Nutter said City Hall is going forward with $20 million in spending cuts because it expects to...
Top Vote-Getters in Phila. Primary Get Judicial Nominations
Posted on August 14, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Gov. Edward G. Rendell has nominated two judicial candidates running for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas to fill vacancies on the same court. Robert P. Coleman, an associate with Segal McCambridge Singer...
'Strong Basis In Evidence' ? Supreme Court Establishes New Standard For Discard Of Administered Promotional Examinations Part 2
Posted on August 12, 2009In Ricci, the U.S. Supreme Court similarly rejected New Haven?s argument that its ?good faith? belief in disparate impact liability should be sufficient to justify its disparate treatment of the white firefighters. The court noted that this approach would ?encourage...
Federal Judge Upholds $14 Mil. Award for Wrongfully Convicted Man
Posted on August 11, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $14 million jury award to a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death.The ruling marks the latest chapter in a...
Best Firms to Work for Women List Released
Posted on August 11, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff With all eyes on cost-saving possibilities, Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers are advocating now as the time to push through work-life balance initiatives as a way to retain talent and save through...
?Strong Basis In Evidence' ? High Court Establishes New Standard For Discard Of Administered Promotional Examinations
Posted on August 10, 2009The U.S. Supreme Court?s recent decision in Ricci v. DeStefano generated significant headlines and interest as a result of its subject matter (white firefighters alleging discrimination in promotional testing) as well as its impact on the confirmation hearings of U...
Carlson Resigns as U.S. Attorney, Interim Named
Posted on August 10, 2009By Leo Strupczewski Of the Legal Staff Martin C. Carlson, the acting U.S. attorney who has overseen the federal corruption probe in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, has resigned. Carlson, whose last day was Aug. 8, was succeeded by Dennis C....
Reed Smith Settles Into New Digs
Posted on August 10, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff After an intense weekend move, George Stewart, managing partner of Reed Smith?s Pittsburgh office, was hoping for only three things come Monday morning -- workable phones, computers and plumbing. He said he got...
Bar Association Demands City Pay Lawyers Their Fees
Posted on August 07, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Sayde Ladov called upon Mayor Michael Nutter earlier this week to immediately resume payments to lawyers who sit as civil arbitrators and take court-appointed counsel cases in the First...
Vanaskie Tapped for Final 3rd Circuit Seat
Posted on August 07, 2009By Shannon P. Duffy U.S. Courthouse Correspondent The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals may soon have its full compliment of 14 active judges now that President Obama has nominated U.S. District Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie, a 15-year veteran of...
Watch What You Tweet
Posted on August 06, 2009My mother, like most every mother, used to say, ?If you can?t say anything nice, don?t say anything at all.? When she said that, she was thinking about what I said in person or over the phone, not electronically. And...
Will the Senate Wait on the Employee Free Choice Act until 2010?
Posted on August 05, 2009With Twitter and several blogs buzzing, The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the U.S. Senate may not hold a vote until 2010 on one of the most lobbied bills of all time, the controversial Employee Free Choice Act....
Merck, Schering-Plough Settle Vytorin Suits
Posted on August 05, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Pharmaceutical companies Merck and Schering-Plough said Wednesday the two companies agreed to pay $41.5 million to settle suits that the companies? marketing of cholesterol-lowering drugs Vytorin and Zetia was misleading...
Philadelphia's Budget Measures Must Wait for State Budget Passage, Senate Insiders Say
Posted on August 03, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The city's budget process remains in suspended animation. And, if the Senate holds to a timetable described by key aides to the leadership, it may be there for quite some time. Even though...
Shorter Law Firm Names ? The Debate Continues
Posted on July 31, 2009By Gina F. Rubel Just recently, the issue about shorter law firm names came up in a listserv discussion hosted by the Legal Marketing Association. The interesting thing is that this issue has been coming up for years. In fact,...
Will the Department of Justice Help You Get an iPhone?
Posted on July 31, 2009On July 6, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department?s Antitrust Division is investigating the wireless telephone industry, looking at least in part at the agreements that give certain wireless carriers exclusive rights to certain devices...
Criminals I Have Known
Posted on July 27, 2009Not the high-class kind with a mask and a gun, but the financial type. Much has been written about the psychology of people like Bernard Madoff, who apparently can invite people to invest with them in the knowledge that their...
Dickie McCamey Hosts CLE Webinar on Bad Faith
Posted on July 24, 2009On July 15, I participated in a panel webinar presentation broadcast from our Pittsburgh office covering recent developments in Pennsylvania bad faith law. Attorney Robert Marino, chairman of the firm?s insurance law practice group, and David Cole, executive director of...
Court Halts Payment of Counsel and Arbitrator Fees
Posted on July 23, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Te First Judicial District has announced that it will be delaying payment to its vendors, including attorneys who take court-appointed counsel cases and serve as arbitrators in the arbitration center. The FJD's announcement...
City Halts Payment of Counsel and Arbitrator Fees
Posted on July 23, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The First Judicial District has issued a notice to the bar that the city of Philadelphia has begun to delay payment to its vendors, including attorneys who take court-appointed counsel cases and serve...
Change is Predicted in Census Prisoner Count
Posted on July 22, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The 2010 census will be the last to count inmates at their place of incarceration instead of their home communities, an advocate for changing where the U.S. census counts the incarcerated predicted at...
Cozen O'Connor Re-elects Decker to CEO Post
Posted on July 22, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Cozen O'Connor President and CEO Thomas A. "Tad" Decker will serve a second term in the post. The firm's board unanimously re-elected him to the role, Cozen O'Connor said in a statement. The...
Keeping It Organized in Jury Selection Part 2: Juror Questionnaires
Posted on July 22, 2009As discussed in the last post, keeping yourself organized is the first priority in any jury selection process. It is critical to keep your mind clear and focused on the key information you need about potential jurors. Today, I will...
Ships Passing in the Night
Posted on July 21, 2009When a U.S. Supreme Court opinion is not unanimous, the majority and dissenting justices often disagree over the meaning and effect of relevant precedent. Indeed, the justices sometimes engage in a debate right in their respective opinions, with the dissent...
Social Media for Lawyers: Legal OnRamp
Posted on July 21, 2009I?ve been hearing a lot about Legal OnRamp lately, so I decided to check it out. According to the homepage of the Web site, LegalOnRamp is a collaboration system for in-house counsel and invited outside lawyers and third-party service providers....
Morgan Lewis Helps Get AstraZeneca a Win in Seroquel Case
Posted on July 21, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff A federal judge in Florida granted AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals? motion to dismiss claims by the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund that the drug company fraudulently marketed its antipsychotic drug Seroquel...
Interviews Under Way for Pennsylvania's Three U.S. Atty Posts
Posted on July 20, 2009By Shannon P. Duffy U.S. Courthouse Correspondent The first round of in-person interviews was held Friday in Harrisburg for lawyers seeking to be appointed to the post of U.S. attorney in one of Pennsylvania's three federal districts. Among the candidates...
Dissenting Opinion Disfavors Interference Into Judicial Campaign Contributions
Posted on July 18, 2009In my last post, I discussed briefly the recent opinion and ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Caperton v. Massey Coal Co., setting down a rule that will at times require the recusal of a judge who may have...
Bar Association Chancellor Calls for Judge Berry's Resignation
Posted on July 16, 2009Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The Philadelphia Bar Association called upon Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Willis W. Berry today to resign from the bench in the wake of the judge's suspension for four months without pay by the state...
Talking About Axing Summer Programs Before Firms Were Axing Summer Programs
Posted on July 16, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Before news of Orrick?s delay to its 2009 on-campus recruiting came out and before Morgan Lewis decided to cancel its recruiting program and 2010 summer class altogether, Frank D?Amore had predicted that would...
Superior Court Says It?s OK to Rely on Defective Online Dockets
Posted on July 16, 2009The advent of electronic filing and online dockets over the past decade or so is no doubt a positive development for litigators and their clients. The ability to file documents with a court from the comfort of one?s own office...
Fumo Pays $1 Million to Restitution Before Sentencing
Posted on July 14, 2009As former state Sen. Vincent Fumo?s defense team began their presentation and argument, at about 2:40 p.m., they dropped a news bombshell: Fumo has already deposited $1 million in the court?s coffers as a down payment toward whatever the judge...
At Fumo Hearing, a Divide Over Loss of Public Confidence?
Posted on July 14, 2009Shannon P. Duffy U.S. Courthouse Correspondent As the sentencing of former state Sen. Vincent Fumo got back under way Tuesday afternoon, there was a spirited exchange between Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pease and U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter that...
Vincent Fumo Sentencing Liveblog
Posted on July 14, 2009Prison Won?t Add Stress to Fumo's Life, Doctor Says If former state Sen. Vincent Fumo is sent to prison, there is no proof that he will suffer from stresses that will lead to another heart attack, a prison doctor testified....
Fumo?s Daughter, Fiance, Beg for Mercy
Posted on July 14, 2009In a tearful bid for leniency, the 19-year-old daughter of former state Sen. Vincent Fumo begged Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter to see her father?s good side. Allison Fumo, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, said that while she was...
Sotomayor Gets Support of Locals at Confirmation Hearings
Posted on July 10, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff Confirmation hearings next week for U.S. Supreme Court hopeful Judge Sonia Sotomayor will include the support of a few locals. While there are no local ties to the witnesses testifying against Sotomayor on...
Supreme Court Draws Line on Judicial Campaign Contributions
Posted on July 10, 2009In a prior post, we discussed the U.S. Supreme Court?s grant of certiorari in Caperton v. Massey Coal Co. Inc. On June 8, a 5-4 decision, the court held a majority opinion that at some point, campaign money becomes too...
Keeping it Organized in Jury Selection Part 1: Knowing the Court
Posted on July 09, 2009Job No.1: As a jury consultant, most folks believe that my only priority in jury selection is to understand the inner workings of each juror and predict what decision he will make at the end of trial. While it is...
Judge Rejects Fumo's Latest Bid For New Trial
Posted on July 09, 2009Alleged Revelations to Philadelphia Magazine No Grounds For Hearing, Buckwalter Says By Shannon P. Duffy U.S. Courthouse Correspondent Less than a week away from his sentencing hearing, former state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo has lost his latest bid for a....
?People Are Funny?
Posted on July 08, 2009This was a classic TV show in which people did humiliating things for money. Sound familiar? Sometimes, you can suggest to a client a very sensible course of action in deciding on the future of a family business, but find...
City Officials Commemorate Opening of Mental Health Court
Posted on July 08, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas commemorated the opening of a mental health court for mentally ill prisoners re-entering public life with a press conference Tuesday that pulled top officials from the city's executive, legislative and judicial...
More Quibbling Over Precedent
Posted on July 06, 2009About a year ago, I wrote an entry for this blog, High Court Quibbles Over Definition of ?Proceeds,? in which I discussed the Supreme Court?s decision in United States v. Santos. In that case, Justices Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens...
Social Media for Lawyers: HubSTREET
Posted on July 02, 2009In keeping with the social media for lawyers theme, I continue to uncover new online opportunities. Today?s blog is about HubSTREET ? a newly launched networking site for attorneys, accountants and lenders/bankers ? which is still in the BETA testing...
Three Interim Judges Confirmed to Philadelphia Bench
Posted on July 02, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Two judgeships on the Philadelphia Municipal Court and one judgeship on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas have been filled with interim appointments, while two judgeships on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas...
Court Employees' Pay Is Delayed With Harrisburg Budget Impasse
Posted on July 01, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff With the leadership of the executive and legislative branches in Harrisburg still far off from striking a budget deal, 14 employees of the First Judicial District will soon start working days that they...
Thirty Percent of Homes Saved from Sheriff's Sale in Mortgage Program
Posted on July 01, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The one-year anniversary of the First Judicial District's mortgage foreclosure diversion pilot program was celebrated this week with court leaders noting that 1,400, or 30 percent, of the 4,690 homeowners who have gone...
Prevailing Parties Do Not Have to Appeal After All
Posted on June 30, 2009A little over three years ago, in March 2006, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held, in the case of Basile v. H&R Block, that a defendant who had received the ultimate relief it sought ? entry of summary judgment in its...
GCs, in Survey, Say Firms Are Bluffing When It Comes to Service, Cost
Posted on June 30, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff For all the talk about change in the legal industry, corporate counsel are finding it hard to believe that outside firms are serious about rethinking their approach to client service and billing. In...
Are Waivers Available to Lawful Permanent Residents With ?Aggravated Felony? Convictions Under the INA?
Posted on June 29, 2009An issue of significant concern for some lawful permanent residents is the impact of a criminal conviction on their immigration status. That is, could certain types of felonies subject those individuals to immediate removal proceedings, or is there still a...
U.S. Supreme Court Establishes New Standard for Judicial Recusal
Posted on June 26, 2009On June 8, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. Inc., establishing a new standard for judicial recusal. In 2002, a West Virginia jury found A.T. Massey Coal Co. liable to Hugh Caperton...
How Aware of you of Your Own Biases? Implications for Trial
Posted on June 25, 2009Understanding Your Own Bias As the title of this post asks, how aware are you of your own biases? You, as most other people, are probably not. The truth is that all of us have them. No exceptions. So, how...
City Council Gets Vote on City's Criminal Justice Stakeholder Group
Posted on June 25, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Executive and judicial branch members of the group that bring leaders in the city's criminal justice system together to coordinate policy voted unanimously to add a voting City Council representative to the Criminal...
Who Said Capital Markets Work Was Dead?
Posted on June 24, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff K&L Gates has formed a new practice group around the changing capital markets structure. The firm said today it has formed an international capital markets reform group to provide expanded services to clients...
FJD Honored Twice Last Week for Administration of Justice Efforts
Posted on June 23, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The First Judicial District was honored last week by the National Judicial College for enacting reforms that raised its performance from the second-slowest court in the country in moving civil cases to being...
Governor Signs Bill Creating Pennsylvania Mini-COBRA Law Affecting Small Employers
Posted on June 22, 2009On June 10, Gov. Edward G. Rendell signed into law a Pennsylvania ?mini-COBRA? bill that will provide for continued health insurance in a manner comparable to the federal COBRA law for employees of small employers in Pennsylvania. The new law...
Fumo Loses Bid for New Trial
Posted on June 18, 2009By Shannon P. Duffy U.S. Courthouse Correspondent Former state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo has lost his bid for acquittal or a new trial now that U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter has handed down a 129-page opinion that rejects all...
52 Court Jobs Saved By Federal Dollars
Posted on June 18, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Mayor Michael Nutter and Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe said there are no hard feelings between the judicial and executive branches over funding for the courts as they and other officials...
Awards, Designations and Rankings for Legal Public Relations
Posted on June 17, 2009As one who lives and breathes public relations, I often encourage clients to apply for individual attorney and law firm awards, designations and rankings for which they qualify. There are many awards, designations and rankings in our region and in...
Is Facebook a Productivity Killer?
Posted on June 16, 2009Following last week's article on how to use LinkedIn more productively, I thought this week we could focus on Facebook. I see it all the time; my clients complain about it, has it happened to you? On a daily basis,...
Supreme Court Cuts Off Convenience Store?s Beer Sales
Posted on June 15, 2009By Peter Hall Of the Legal Staff The state Supreme Court has ruled that a Western Pennsylvania convenience store chain does not meet the state Liquor Code's requirements to sell six packs of beer for take out. The 5-1 decision...
City Officials Can?t Bar Casino Building Permit, Justices Rule
Posted on June 15, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff The state Supreme Court held up its August 2008 decision in HSP Gaming v. City of Philadelphia as cause to deny challenges by a group of state legislators and Philadelphia City Council over...
U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies When State Legislatures Can Remove State Court Jurisdiction Over Federal Claims
Posted on June 15, 2009In its recent opinion issued in Haywood v. Drown, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that a state legislature cannot remove the jurisdiction of certain of its courts to hear particular federal claims simply because the legislature finds those claims frivolous...
Adjustment Status for K-2 VISA Holders: Deciphering the ?Aging Out? Problem
Posted on June 12, 2009The Immigration and Nationality Act, or INA, indicates that the child of a fiancée who accompanies or follows to join his parent may enter the United States with a K-2 visa. The child is defined as an unmarried person under...
Managing Communication: What Messages Are We Sending Our Witnesses?
Posted on June 11, 2009The Problem Witness Several years back, I did some witness work regarding a string of cases for an insurance company. Witnesses were deposed repeatedly. One witness, in particular, was very popular with the plaintiffs counsel. He was an actuary who...
In Lieu of a Tax Refund, a Chevy Nova
Posted on June 10, 2009OK, that's not part of the president's tax proposals, at least not yet. The Obama administration has released some of its tax proposals and, under the rubric of closing "sort of" loopholes, there is a suggestion that grantor retained annuity...
E-Filing Fees May Keep Courthouses Open
Posted on June 10, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff In a fiscal year in which the First Judicial District has seen its funding cut by $15 million, two fees attached to the court's five-month-old civil e-filing system will help limit the number...
How to use LinkedIn Productively
Posted on June 09, 2009For those of you who have been following the blogs by public relations expert and author of ?Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers? Gina Rubel, www.furiarubel.com. Here you will know that social media is a huge asset to attorneys. Following her...
Phila. Mortgage Foreclosure Program Could Become Mandatory Statewide
Posted on June 09, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff The Philadelphia court program designed to handle the city's mortgage foreclosure crisis with more humanity may become a statewide mandate if bills introduced in the state House of Representatives and state Senate are...
Lawyers in Transition ? What You Need to Know
Posted on June 08, 2009Last month, I participated in a "Lawyers in Transition," CLE program designed to help struggling attorneys get back on their feet. The program was organized by the Law Practice Management Division of the Philadelphia Bar Association and co-sponsored and hosted...
GC of Local GOP Committee Moves to Eckert Seamans
Posted on June 03, 2009By Gina Passarella Of the Legal Staff While most of Wolf Block?s lawyers have found new jobs after the firm?s dissolution, there is a small contingent that is either still looking or hasn?t announced where it will be going. That...
Ballard Spahr Moves to Different Associate Comp Model
Posted on June 02, 2009By Gina Passarella Of The Legal Staff Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll became the latest firm to cut associate salaries, according to reports first posted on legal blog ?Above the Law.? Salaries, which started at $145,000 for first-years in Philadelphia,...
A Statute of Limitations and a Strip Club
Posted on May 29, 2009[This posting is for informational purposes and should not be construed or interpreted as either legal advice on any matter or as in any way creating an attorney/client relationship] What do a strip club and a statute of limitations have...
Are You Taking Full Advantage of Your Juror Questionnaire?
Posted on May 28, 2009I have participated in several civil jury selections in Philadelphia Common Pleas court. I have done so for distinctly different kinds of cases with distinctly different kinds of case issues. In the process of going through the standard juror questionnaires,...
Superior Court Declines Opportunity to Address Problems Inherent in Simultaneous UM/UIM Bad Faith Claims
Posted on May 27, 2009Several weeks ago, the Pennsylvania Superior court declined to examine the substantive problems sometimes created when UM/UIM claims are simultaneously litigated in the same case, choosing instead to return the case to the trial court on procedural grounds relating the...
It?s Still ?Hail to the Redskins? -- At Least for Now
Posted on May 22, 2009Football fans, beware. There could be a shakeup coming in the NFC East. Thanks to a recent ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Washington Redskins can keep their trademarks in the name ?Redskins,? but...
Second Phase of Luzerne Case Review Begins
Posted on May 21, 2009By Leo Strupczewski Of the Legal Staff The Berks County senior judge appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review juvenile cases in Luzerne County has begun reviewing serious misdemeanor and low-level felony cases heard before a former judge there...
Insurance Bad Faith and Punitive Damages
Posted on May 20, 2009In a prior post, I suggested that one of the trends in insurance bad faith litigation is the narrowing of the applicability of Pennsylvania?s bad faith statute, perhaps in an effort by the appeals courts to stem the tide of...
States Push Back Against Supreme Court?s Leegin Decision
Posted on May 19, 2009The Supreme Court?s decision two years ago in Leegin Creative Leather Prods. v. PSKS reversed nearly 100 years of precedent and held that resale price maintenance agreements ? in which manufacturers require resellers to maintain a certain minimum price at...
Brady: Ward Leaders Backing Citywide Slate
Posted on May 18, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Tuesday's primary election in Philadelphia will put to the test Democratic City Committee Chairman Bob Brady's effort to make the committee's endorsement of judicial candidates mean something and cut down on the number...
Williams Drops Support of Merit Selection
Posted on May 18, 2009Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff State Sen. Anthony Williams said he was no longer going to support selecting judges through an appointed process, also known as "merit selection." Williams was speaking during a press conference convened today to criticize...
Inquirer Editorial Board Slammed for Not Endorsing Black Women
Posted on May 18, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff Two Philadelphia state senators and the city Democratic City Committee chairman held a press conference today in front of the Philadelphia Inquirer building in support of the black female judicial candidates who did...
Developing a Bad Faith Library in the Digital Age
Posted on May 18, 2009I have not physically touched a West Reporter in a number of years. And yet I feel more on top of the Pennsylvania Bad Faith caselaw then I ever have, because of the technology now widely available. In this post,...
20 Twitterers Lawyers Should Follow on Twitter
Posted on May 18, 2009In my blog post To friend or Not to Friend ? Social Media for Lawyers, Part 4: Twitter for Lawyers, I explained what Twitter is, when and why you should Tweet, and what the experts are saying about Twitter for...
Progressive Bloc Asks Phila. Bar to Give Reasons for Ratings
Posted on May 15, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff While the city's progressive ward leaders say they'd like to have published reasons for the city bar association's ratings of judicial candidates, the Philadelphia Bar Association's leader said keeping the reasons for the...
Castille: FJD May Have to Sue Over Funding
Posted on May 15, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, the liaison justice to the First Judicial District who is in charge of appointing administrative judges of the court's divisions, said in an interview Thursday...
Mayor Nutter Backs McElhatton for DA
Posted on May 15, 2009By Amaris Elliott-Engel Of the Legal Staff While it is late in the game, Mayor Michael A. Nutter is coming out in support of district attorney candidate Dan McElhatton. According to a release from McElhatton's campaign, Nutter has recorded a...
We Have Moved!
Posted on December 01, 2008Welcome to The Legal Intelligencer Blog. Our blog has moved to the address below. All previous posts from this blog are available at our new location. http://thelegalintelligencer.typepad.com
Delaware County Jump Starts Open Records Law
Posted on September 10, 2008Delaware County was so excited about Pennsylvania?s recently adopted Open Records Law that it decided to speed up the process. The County Council adopted a resolution Tuesday to provide for early implementation of the law, effective immediately. The state law doesn?t go into effect until Jan...
City Files for Reargument in SugarHouse Case
Posted on September 05, 2008The City of Philadelphia asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court today to re-hear arguments in a recently decided case that ruled the city has power to convey state owned riparian lands beneath the Delaware River. The petition claims the court ruled in favor of HSP Gaming on an issue that wasn?t included in oral arguments and in [...
Premature Notices of Appeal
Posted on September 05, 2008Categories: Appellate Law; Bruce P. Merenstein A recent decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals adds to the confusion involving an already muddled area of the law: premature notices of appeal. It is a fundamental principle of federal appellate practice that, with certain narrow exceptions, appeals only lie from final judgments...
Estate Planning for Deferred Compensation
Posted on September 04, 2008Many executives receive, as part of their compensation packages, arrangements that provide compensation at a later date, often dependent on achieving corporate goals, such as income or sales levels. Payments may be made after a few years or at retirement or termination of employment...
Departed BI Shareholder, Recruiter Respond to Article
Posted on September 03, 2008In an article written last month by The Legal?s sister publication, the Legal Times, several former Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney shareholders were critical of the firm?s expansion strategy and claimed Pennsylvania-based management gave satellite offices little support...
More on Buchanan Ingersoll?s Financials in Early 2008
Posted on September 02, 2008The article in today?s Legal on Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney?s focus on national expansion and the firm?s reaction to criticisms by former shareholders focused a lot on the firm?s growth strategy over the past few years, particularly since the Klett Rooney merger...
Battle Over Fox Chase Expansion Continues
Posted on September 02, 2008Amy B. Ginensky argued in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas’ Orphans’ Court Thursday that the Fox Chase neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia is doubly blessed to have both Fox Chase Cancer Center and Burholme Park within its environs, and a proposed plan to lease part of the 70-acre park to Fox Chase for an expansion of [...
Fox Rothschild Acquires Majority of Synnestvedt & Lechner
Posted on August 25, 2008Fox Rothschild said today that it would acquire eight attorneys from intellectual property boutique Synnestvedt & Lechner. The boutique?s managing partner, Joseph F. Posillico, will join the firm as a partner along with Gary Hecht and Richard Woodbridge...
There?s Wrong and Then There?s Really, Really Wrong
Posted on August 25, 2008Whenever a trial court ruling is reversed on appeal, the appellate court is effectively telling the trial court, ?You got it wrong.? In some cases, however, a district court has to do more than issue a ruling on the merits of a case; it must opine on the likely success of an appeal from its [...
SugarHouse Wins Supreme Court Appeal Over Riparian Lands
Posted on August 22, 2008Just a day after Foxwoods Casino said it would consider moving its site from the Delaware River to another location in the city, SugarHouse Casino won a significant victory in its battled to build along the river. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled today that the city of Philadelphia had the right to give SugarHouse Casino a [...
Fox Rothschild CMO is Leaving for Cozen O?Connor
Posted on August 21, 2008The revolving doors of the Philadelphia marketing community continue, and this time one local firm is borrowing from another. Fox Rothschild Chief Marketing Officer Jim Staples, who has been with the firm for a little more than three years, is moving a block down Market Street to Cozen O?Connor where he will be the firm?s new [...
Gov. Can?t Reject the Loaf Without Taking Away the Dough
Posted on August 20, 2008A unanimous six-member Supreme Court ruled today that Gov. Edward G. Rendell may not veto language in an appropriations bill and leave the funding untouched. The court reversed part of a Commonwealth Court case ruling that Rendell didn?t violate Article IV, Section 16 of the Pennsylvania Constitution when he rejected language defining an appropriation but didn?t [...
Dechert Gets License to Open Beijing Office
Posted on August 14, 2008According to a press release issued late Thursday, Dechert will be opening an office in Beijing. Dechert had opened an office in Hong Kong in January 2008. The decision to establish on-the-ground resources in Beijing results from our assessment of our clients’ current and potential business interests in mainland China and neighboring countries,” said Dechert Chairman [...
A Technological Tool You Can?t Afford to Ignore
Posted on August 14, 2008Webinars are worth considering for the same reason blogs have revolutionized the news media and, to a lesser extent, YouTube?s added dimension to corporate advertising: depth of resources, location, client base — they are all irrelevant. Further, webinars give everyone a front-row seat...
Commerce Court Changes Official
Posted on August 13, 2008It’s official: Judge Howland W. Abramson and Judge Arnold L. New will be swapping places within the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas’ trial division. According to a notice to the bar first released Wednesday, New will be joining the three-member Commerce Case Management Program, and Abramson will be taking over as the judicial team leader [...
Working Mother Magazine Names Second Annual ?50 Best Law Firms for Women?
Posted on August 12, 2008The second-annual list of the best law firms for women, published by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers, highlights fewer Pennsylvania-based firms this year. The unranked list of the 50 best firms in the nation named Fox Rothschild and Morgan Lewis & Bockius as some of the best law firms for women based on several criteria...
More on Sen. Clinton?s Visit to Wolf Block
Posted on August 06, 2008Sen. Hillary Clinton spent about an hour and a half at Wolf Block?s Philadelphia office Monday in what firm partner and Clinton fundraiser Alan Kessler said was a bit of an unusual appearance. While the senator still has debt to pay, she wasn?t there fundraising, he said...
Hillary Clinton at Wolf Block?
Posted on August 04, 2008Sen. Hillary Clinton made an appearance at Wolf Block’s Philadelphia offices today … rumor has it for some fundraising. She had left the offices before 3 p.m. A call to the firm’s politico and heavy fundraiser Alan Kessler, who served on Clinton’s finance committee before she suspended her campaign, wasn’t immediately returned...
Strict Penalties Imposed by ICE Upon Employers Harboring Illegal Aliens
Posted on August 01, 2008Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Worksite Enforcement Investigations focus on those employers involved in criminal activity or worker exploitation. This type of employer violation frequently involves document fraud, human rights abuses, alien smuggling and/or harboring illegal aliens and has a direct link to the employment of unauthorized workers...
What?s the Deal with Marketing and Business Development Anyway?
Posted on July 31, 2008Depending on your firm, there may be ?marketing? people who check in with you from time to time, asking you to update your profile or encouraging you to write a client alert about trends in your area of the law. They may even take the logistical nightmare of event planning out of your hands...
Changed My Mind ? Moving Back to the United States from Abroad
Posted on July 29, 2008I recently encountered an issue where a child who was raised in the United States moved with the parents to another country for 11 months. For one of the 11 months, the mother and the child returned to the United States for a visit. Now, the mother is in the United States with the child [...
This Doesn?t Sound Good
Posted on July 28, 2008Suppose you were a corporate executive and your employer offered you a golden coffin. Would you be happy or sad? There are a variety of ways of compensating corporate executives, ranging from incentive bonuses and stock options to various forms of nonqualified deferred compensation and “perks...
Mendte?s Digital Footprint
Posted on July 25, 2008Regardless of your personal feelings for Larry Mendte, we have to admit that he has a significant profile in the Philadelphia and tri-state media. Larry is someone that I?ve admired for his work both on camera and in the local community. He has given of his time to local nonprofits ? and as an emcee [...
?The Dean is Furious! He?s Waxing Wroth!?
Posted on July 24, 2008This was the only quote I could think of to introduce a discussion of planning with Roth IRA and retirement plan benefits. In response to this statement, Groucho Marx said: “Is Roth here too? Tell Roth to wax the Dean for a while.” Delaware Sen...
Moves in Investment Management Practices Continue with Lateral to Pepper Hamilton
Posted on July 23, 2008Pepper Hamilton grew its investment management practice group with the addition of a Morgan Lewis & Bockius partner. John M. Ford joined the firm?s Philadelphia office where he will focus on investment company and investment adviser regulatory matters, the formation and registration of investment companies and advisers and issues relating to regulatory compliance and securities law...
Legal Aid Classic Raises $20K
Posted on July 23, 2008A Montgomery Bar Association fundraiser for the regional legal aid organization raised $20,000, including the bar association’s matching donation of $10,000 raised in the July 8 Legal Aid Classic. Last year’s Legal Aid Classic raised $17,000, according to Jim Mathias, the bar association’s director of marketing, communications and public affairs...
Cantor Nominated for Second Judgeship Run
Posted on July 10, 2008Andrew B. “Andy” Cantor’s nomination to an open judgeship on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas is the second time Cantor has been nominated for a county judgeship. Former Gov. Robert Casey Sr. nominated Cantor in December 1991...
Legal Services Get Modest Increase in State Budget
Posted on July 09, 2008State funding for legal services organizations hurting from a drop in grants from interest on lawyer trust accounts increased only $526,000 in the state budget process last week, said Samuel Milkes, executive director of Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, the statewide coordinating organization for 10 regional legal services programs and six specialized legal resource programs...
Sign Here, My Dear
Posted on July 08, 2008This was the title of a series of lectures to help spouses, mostly wives, understand financial matters. It addressed a very real problem that families face when the “financial spouse” passes on. What bills do I have to pay? Will I have enough income to cover my expenses now that my spouse is gone? Will I [...
Allegheny County Children?s Court Launches Videoconferencing Pilot Program
Posted on July 07, 2008In an effort to reduce trauma to children testifying - as well as court costs - Allegheny County Family Court has created a videoconferencing pilot program for its Children’s Court. Family Court Administrative Judge Kim Berkeley Clark and Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato announced Monday the launch of the program...
Gillison Speaks of Progress for Prison System
Posted on July 01, 2008During a presentation to the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section last week, Philadelphia Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett Gillison said the city’s prison system wouldn’t dominate Mayor Michael Nutter’s criminal justice policy-making...
The Wisdom of Dagwood Bumstead
Posted on June 30, 2008Dagwood Bumstead, featured in the long-running comic strip Blondie, has worked for more than 70 years for J. C. Dithers, the model for many a law firm senior partner. But that was not the way he started out comic strip life. His saga tells an interesting story about family business succession...
Manufacturing Mootness
Posted on June 27, 2008Federal courts of appeals deny petitions for rehearing every day and, unless a judge on the court dissents, there is seldom an opinion accompanying the denial. A case from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals offers an exception to the rule and a lesson for lawyers who might be thinking about pushing the envelope [...
U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Habeus Corpus Rights for Gitmo Detainees
Posted on June 25, 2008A major topic of debate among Constitutional rights and immigration advocates was whether so-called ?terror? suspects had a right to challenge their detention in the civilian courts. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has spoken. In a 5-4 decision, the justices handed the Bush administration yet another defeat in their quest to hold terror suspects indefinitely [...
First Civil Suit Filed Against Alleged Phila. ID Thieves
Posted on June 20, 2008In what appears to be the first civil suit against a pair of identity thieves dubbed in the media as ?Bonnie and Clyde,? the salon and a hairstylist that helped bring the scam to light are suing for fraud, breach of contract and terrorist threats via text message...
My Country or Yours? Part Two: Litigating Hague Convention Claims
Posted on June 18, 2008The Hague Convention is an international treaty that many countries have ratified, including the United States. The treaty prohibits parents from wrongfully removing and/or retaining a child from his or her home country. In order to seek relief under the convention, both the child’s home country and the country where the child was taken must [...
Friends of the Barnes Foundation Won?t Appeal Ruling
Posted on June 17, 2008A group of art students, alumni and neighbors of the Barnes Foundation have joined Montgomery County in deciding not to appeal a court decision denying them standing to oppose the move of the Barnes Foundation’s $6 billion art collection to Philadelphia...
First Women in the Profession Summit Kicks Off This Week
Posted on June 17, 2008The first-ever Women in the Profession Summit in Philadelphia will be held this week under the aegis of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Women in the Profession Committee. The event will offer both substantive and ethics continuing legal education credits and the chance for women in the legal profession to erase the feeling that they’re isolated, said [...
Retirement Havens: Florida, Arizona?Pennsylvania
Posted on June 16, 2008Part of planning for the future is deciding where to spend the golden years, as marketing types like to call them. For those people who have an option where to live in retirement, there are the usual suspects: Florida, Arizona, North Carolina and there is the state that is one of the most popular among [...
Clarification Needed of Amendments to Rule 1925
Posted on June 13, 2008Last year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court adopted major amendments to Rule 1925 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure, the rule requiring an appellant to list alleged errors by the trial court after a notice of appeal is filed. While the purpose of the rule is to identify alleged errors so that the trial court [...
Pepper Shakes Up Litigation Dept. Leadership
Posted on June 12, 2008Pepper Hamilton has made several changes to the leadership of one of its most well-known practices, the litigation and dispute resolution department. Frances P. Devine III, current chairman of the firm?s commercial litigation practice, and Laurence Z...
Recluse in Text-Obscenity Case Goes for Plea Over Facing Trial
Posted on June 11, 2008Karen Fletcher, described by her attorneys as an agoraphobic who is afraid to leave her house, has decided to give up her fight in a text-obscenity case against her rather than go through the ordeal of a trial. An indictment was handed up against the Donora, Pa...
High Court Quibbles Over Definition of ?Proceeds?
Posted on June 11, 2008Most decisions issued by the United States Supreme Court include a majority opinion, supported by at least five of the court?s justices (assuming full participation by the court?s nine justices). Yet, occasionally, the court is fractured, with no five justices agreeing on a single rationale for disposing of the case...
Supreme Court Accepts Lawyer?s Resignation From Pa. Bar
Posted on June 09, 2008A criminal defense lawyer sentenced 25 to 50 years in prison for sex crimes with minors, including an estimated five incidents in the Criminal Justice Center, has voluntarily resigned from the Pennsylvania state bar. Larry Charles’ Feb. 28 resignation from the bar was accepted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Thursday...
Send Lawyers, Internal Revenue Codes and Money
Posted on June 09, 2008Actually, the Warren Zevon song refers to “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” but the Internal Revenue Code can also be a dangerous weapon. Now that the campaign for president has reached the general election stage, it’s time to realize that whoever wins the election; there are massive changes in our federal tax system looming ahead...
Castille to Speak at Closed Chamber Event
Posted on June 05, 2008Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille is speaking today at the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce in what’s billed as his first address as chief justice to the business community. The event was marketed to the legal community to encourage attendance of the event, but the event is billed as off-the-record and is closed [...
Branches of City Government Ready Mortgage Foreclosure Protection Plan
Posted on June 04, 2008Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has proposed $2 million in public funding to help Philadelphians impacted by the foreclosure crisis’ perfect storm of ballooning adjustable rate mortgages, predatory lending and slowing economy. The City Council passed a resolution in March for a moratorium on sheriff’s sales of foreclosed homes, spurring Sheriff John Green’s delay of sheriff’s sales [...
Family Court Keeps Current Home Pending Budget Approval
Posted on June 03, 2008The First Judicial District’s Family Court plans to keep its domestic relations branch at 34 S. 11th St. until a new court building is approved by Harrisburg has been finalized. The court signed a five-year lease a few weeks ago with the building’s owner, Trinity Capital Associates, according to Jeff Jubelirer of the Ceisler Jubelirer public [...
Social Security: Did We Solve That Problem Yet?
Posted on June 02, 2008I know it was discussed extensively over the past few years, but is it no longer front-page news because the problem has been fixed? Apparently not. It?s more likely that the nation is suffering from attention deficit disorder and can only think about high gas prices right now...
Dembe Discusses Pilot Jury Selection Program
Posted on May 29, 2008Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe, supervising judge of the criminal branch, had a load of news for the criminal justice section of the Philadelphia Bar Association during its meeting Tuesday. In addition to Dembe?s critique of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions? Office and reporting that the First Judicial District is thinking about taking over [...
?You Kids Can Work It Out?
Posted on May 27, 2008This is what a father wrote in a will that was brought to me. It illustrates another fundamental point about estate and retirement planning. The father had decided to make his estate planning easy. ?I?ll just buy CDs in my name and in the names of each of my children...
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Initiatives Against Human Trafficking, Smuggling
Posted on May 23, 2008Human trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of coercion, force or fraud. Human trafficking is usually for the purposes of subjecting an individual to involuntary servitude, debt bondage or slavery...
Girard-diCarlo to Get Ambassador Appointment
Posted on May 22, 2008The White House announced on its personnel page that the president intends to nominate Blank Rome Chairman David. F. Girard-diCarlo as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Austria. Girard-diCarlo has been a major donor and fundraiser for President George W...
Saul Ewing Names New Co-Chairs of Bankruptcy Dept.
Posted on May 21, 2008With the departure of bankruptcy chairman Norman Pernick over Saul Ewing?s policy change to accept financial institutions as clients, the firm had some leadership spots to fill. It announced today that Jeffrey C. Hampton, previously vice-chairman of the group, and Wilmington-based partner Mark Minuti will serve as co-chairman of Saul Ewing?s bankruptcy and restructuring department...
?Lawyers Are Good?
Posted on May 21, 2008I adapted this motto from that of Faber College (”Knowledge Is Good”), to illustrate a point about trust and estate planning. Lawyers are specially trained in the law and in legal writing for an important reason, which is so they can write documents that make sense and accomplish what they are supposed to do...
Clause Bars Candidates from Campaign Commitments
Posted on May 20, 2008A change made to the Pennsylvania Code of Judicial Conduct earlier this year clarified the clause prohibiting judicial candidates from making statements that ?commit or appear to commit? candidates regarding cases. Similarly, the rule governing the political activity of non-judicial members of the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline also was changed earlier this year in [...
Filmmaking, Novel Writing and Pretrial Publicity Redemption
Posted on May 13, 2008In California, the question is whether a prosecutor?s consulting with the makers of a major motion picture ?Alpha Dog? based on a criminal defendant?s story creates a conflict sufficient to require recusal. In this case, Jesse James Hollywood (I can hardly believe that this is his real name) is facing the death penalty for the kidnapping [...
Is It Me?
Posted on May 13, 2008Or does it seem that just about everyone in America is planning to retire in the next few years? If you watch television or read magazines of almost any kind, you will see constant stories about impending retirement: Are people ready for retirement; What can they do now to get ready; etc...
PBA Backs Rate Increase for Defense Attorneys
Posted on May 08, 2008A group of Philadelphia criminal defense attorneys for the indigent suing the city to increase their rates have gained the support of the Philadelphia Bar Association in their effort. During the Board of Governors meeting held in April, the board endorsed increasing court appointed counsel fees because the fees remain ?oppressively low,? according to the resolution...
?Well, She Got Her Daddy?s Car??
Posted on May 05, 2008“And she cruised through the hamburger stand, now.” The philosophers Brian Wilson and Mike Love remind us of the perils of giving children too much too soon, in “Fun, Fun, Fun (’Til Her Daddy Takes the T-Bird Away).” This is a theme common in literature going back centuries, at least to King Lear, and it’s [...
Pratt Calls for Senate Action to Fill Court Vacancies
Posted on May 01, 2008Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Mike Pratt has joined Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille?s request for the Pennsylvania Senate to act on Gov. Edward G. Rendell?s nominees to fill four appellate court vacancies. Earlier this month, Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph B...
The Giant Rat of Sumatra
Posted on April 28, 2008This title will be familiar to readers of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It’s a story mentioned in one of the Holmes stories as one for which the world was not yet ready. Apparently, the world was never ready for the story, because the author died without having written about a giant rat, from Sumatra [...
Blank Rome to Lose Half of Florida Office
Posted on April 24, 2008Half of Blank Rome?s eight-attorney Boca Raton, Fla., office will be leaving for Greenberg Traurig, according to a story by The Legal?s sister publication, Law.com. Blank Rome spokesman Topper Ray confirmed that partner Bruce C. Rosetto would be leaving the office along with three associates...
False Claims of Citizenship Can Render Aliens Inadmissible
Posted on April 23, 2008There are many aliens in the United States today, both legally and illegally, who are faced with the dilemma of supporting either themselves or their families financially, both here in the United States and back home in their country of origin. The conflict that these aliens face is determining exactly how they are planning to [...
Planning to Live
Posted on April 21, 2008Every so often, a partner in my firm will approach me in a sheepish manner to say he or she hasn’t done any estate planning recently or, in extreme cases, doesn’t have a will at all. Sometimes clients admit the same. I suppose this has to do with a belief that planning for the inevitable [...
Gun Concerns in Philly? Nation
Posted on April 16, 2008Clinton?s Take: She said the U.S. Supreme Court might have trouble finding constitutional Washington, D.C.?s complete ban on all guns. She said there can be a balance between gun control and gun rights. What works in New York City probably wouldn?t work in Montana, she said...
Hillary Gives Shout Out to Rendell? Hillary
Posted on April 16, 2008In case you didn?t catch where Sen. Clinton stands on a certain issue, you can check out her Web site. She has mentioned it twice so far? HillaryClinton.com.. She also gave credit to Gov. Edward G. Rendell for keeping foreclosure rates low in Pennsylvania...
Iraq First Real Issue Discussed in Debate
Posted on April 16, 2008Almost an hour into the debate, questions turned to real issues in the campaign instead of missteps in the campaigning. Iraq was the topic and both senators defended their positions to pull troops out of Iraq ? within 60 days for Clinton and 16 months for Obama...
Clinton Asks for Gift From Bush/Cheney Camp
Posted on April 16, 2008Sen. Clinton continually brought the debate back to who could really beat Sen. McCain, pointing to ways the Republicans could criticize Obama in the general election. “I wish the Republicans would just apologize for the Bush/Cheney years and not run” a candidate, she said, adding that clearly won’t happen...
Fireworks Fizzle as Debate Begins - Candidates Defend Recent Gaffes
Posted on April 16, 2008The fight for a win in Pennsylvania?s Democratic primary has been blazing a trail across the state for weeks, but the fire seemed to burn out when the two candidates took the stage at the National Constitution Center. The debate between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama took a subdued, respectful tone as the two [...
Civil Gideon Movement Looks to Expand Right to Publicly Provided Legal Counsel
Posted on April 15, 2008The Supreme Court’s 1963 decision in Gideon v. Wainwright guaranteeing low-income citizens the right to publicly funded defense lawyers in criminal cases had a momentous day in Philadelphia last week On the same day, a group of private attorneys who take court-appointed cases representing indigent criminal defendants filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia [...
Essential Planning for Retirement Distributions
Posted on April 14, 2008For many people, their largest financial asset will be the balance in their retirement plan. The growth in 401(k) plans and the increases in the limits on deductible contributions to retirement plans have resulted in growth of such plans to overall levels of trillions of dollars...
Chance Plays by No Rules
Posted on April 11, 2008As the winter sky slowly changes to a springtime blue ? a deep vibrant color that hints at immortality ? memories return. I inhale the cool morning air as I walk among trees budding with promise, and I sink into a reverie of my youth, a reflection that is painfully informed by the fact that [...
JuicyCampus May Sour Communication Decency Act of 1996
Posted on April 11, 2008In the fall of 2007, college student Matt Ivester founded JuicyCampus.com, an Internet blog that allows fellow college students to anonymously post information about each other. Since its founding, the blog has created much controversy for containing hate speech, potentially defamatory and libelous statements and spreading allegedly malicious gossip about students...
Pa. Supreme Court May Import Negligence Concepts Into Products Liability Law
Posted on April 10, 2008A defense attorney representing an industrial supplier in a pending asbestos appeal before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court believes that the Supreme Court is likely to change the state?s law to import negligence concepts into products liability law. The Supreme Court granted allocatur in an asbestos case on Feb...
Litigating Hague Convention Claims
Posted on April 09, 2008The Hague Convention is an international treaty that many countries have ratified, including the United States. The treaty prohibits parents from wrongfully removing and/or retaining a child from his or her home country. In order to seek relief under the convention, both the child?s home country and the country where the child was taken must [...
Federal Estate Tax ? No, Seriously
Posted on April 08, 2008In 2001, Congress passed, and the President signed, a strange law regarding the federal estate tax. The plan was to gradually reduce the tax rate and gradually increase the exemption from tax. In 2010, the tax was to disappear entirely but only for people who died in that year...
Read the Fine Print of Open Source Software Regulations
Posted on April 04, 2008My inaugural ?techlaw? post focuses on some of the recent activities of the Free Software Foundation that should be of interest for any organization selling products that incorporate software. The FSF is a non-profit entity that advocates use of so-called ?open source? software subject to the ?GPL? license...
Best Practices for Contract Administration and Other Terms and Conditions Pointers
Posted on April 03, 2008Did you hear the one about the sales person who faxed a quote to a customer? The company?s terms and conditions, which were on the reverse side of the page, didn?t quite make it. Ultimately, the customer had a warranty claim and, since the company never actually sent its terms and conditions to the customer, [...
HSP Gaming Gets Its Wish ? Court Moves Up Arguments to April Session
Posted on April 03, 2008HSP Gaming will now get to argue for the right to build its casino on state-owned riparian lands in the same city where those lands lie beneath the Delaware River. The arguments, originally scheduled for the state Supreme Court?s May session in Harrisburg, were moved up to the court?s April 15 session in Philadelphia at HSP [...
ICE Worksite Enforcement of U.S. Immigration Laws
Posted on April 02, 2008Under the old Immigration and Naturalization Service, there was little deterrent, if any, for U.S. employers to stop hiring illegal aliens for the purposes of employment with their companies. The only punishment levied by the INS against employers who hired illegal aliens under this country?s prior Immigration Laws was administrative sanctions or fines...
Megatrends in Trusts and Estates
Posted on March 31, 2008Megatrends is a name given to important changes in the economy or in the behavior of many people. People write books and articles about megatrends, hoping to identify them before others do and to benefit in some way (usually by selling more books). There are several megatrends that have a definite impact on trusts and [...
PBA Closer to Directly Electing Leadership
Posted on March 28, 2008The Philadelphia Bar Association moved one step closer to directly electing all of its leadership after the Board of Governors accepted a bylaw amendment during its meeting Thursday that will eliminate the nominating committee in favor of a completely member-and voter-directed process...
Client Interviewers Increasing in Popularity
Posted on March 28, 2008While Ballard Spahr was the latest Pennsylvania firm to add a client interviewer, it isn’t the only one to have such a position. Duane Morris, well known for having one of the largest marketing departments in the country relative to its lawyer headcount, has had a dedicated client relationships manager for more than four years...
Schnader Harrison Brings Back Former Partner
Posted on March 28, 2008Jeffrey O. Greenfield rejoined Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis as a partner in the firm’s business services department. He was most recently with the firm in 2001. Schnader Harrison said he plans to use is experience as an attorney for more than 18 years along with his business background to work with the firm’s corporate clients [...
Court Decision Perpetuates Fodder in Mumia Case
Posted on March 27, 2008The Legal Intelligencer reported online today that Mumia Abu-Jamal?s death sentence has been overturned but his conviction upheld. Shannon Duffy reported that the ?3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court?s ruling that affirmed Abu-Jamal?s conviction but overturned his death sentence due to potentially confusing jury instructions...
Rendell Sounds Off on Merit Selection, Pa. Primary, etc.
Posted on March 26, 2008Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell told a sold-out crowd of young lawyers mingling in the lounge setting of G that the fresh push for the appointment of appellate judges is needed because the state?s elected system of judges is a terrible system for diversity...
Nutter?s Plan for Prison System Overhaul Moves Forward
Posted on March 25, 2008Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter today signed an executive order to develop a plan of action to tackle overcrowding in the city?s prisons that have resulted in the double bunking and triple bunking of prisoners, a number of lawsuits and a system that is 35 percent over capacity...
Anapol Schwartz Adds Associate, Subtracts Office
Posted on March 24, 2008Philadelphia personal injury firm Anapol Schwartz Weiss Cohan Feldman & Smalley acquired new associate Adam J. Pantano from Philadelphia litigation firm Deasey Mahoney & Valentini on Feb. 21. Pantano has experience in premises liability, product liability, toxic tort and medical malpractice litigation but, as a certified mobile crane operator, is somewhat specially qualified in the [...
Shareholder Leaves Anapol Schwartz for Small Firm in Media
Posted on March 21, 2008Kevin R. Marciano has joined 6-lawyer personal injury firm Cherry Fieger & Cherry in Media, Pa., as a partner, effectively changing the firm name to Cherry Fieger & Marciano. Marciano said it was his long-running working relationship with firm head David R...
Saul Ewing Names Foster to Executive Committee
Posted on March 19, 2008Constance B. Foster, a longtime Saul Ewing partner and former Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner, has been named to Saul Ewing?s executive committee. The seven-member committee serves as the firm?s managing body. This is Foster?s second time on the firm?s executive committee...
Cappy Recovering From Heart Surgery
Posted on March 18, 2008Peter Hall is reporting on Pennsylvania Law Weekly?s Web site that former Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy underwent triple coronary artery bypass surgery Thursday. According to Hall, Cappy had the surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center...
Alva Wants to Represent Small Firms as Bar Leader
Posted on March 11, 2008When Daniel-Paul “Danny” Alva’s wife received a clean bill of health from her lymphoma cancer last year, Alva began gearing up for a bid to become the Philadelphia Bar Association’s chancellor in 2011, chancellor-elect in 2010 and vice-chancellor in 2009...
Legal Strategy versus Media Management: When a Governor Faces Federal Charges
Posted on March 11, 2008It’s all over the media: reports of an FBI wiretap that has identified the Democratic governor of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer as the alleged recent client of a prostitution ring, the Emperors Club VIP. It seems like Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton all over again - but, this time, it is worse...
State Senator Weighs In on Merit Selection Proposal
Posted on March 10, 2008While Gov. Edward G. Rendell pitched an appointment process for the state?s appellate courts a year ago, State Sen. Jane M. Earll, R-Erie, said that she is sponsoring the judicial merit selection proposal of her own volition and because of her long-standing interest in merit selection...
Alycia Lane: Does She Have a Remedy for Her Termination?
Posted on March 10, 2008On Jan. 7, 2008, local television station CBS 3 fired its popular anchorwoman Alycia Lane approximately three weeks after Lane was arrested and charged with allegedly assaulting a New York policewoman. The arrest was the coup de grace in a year when Lane was prominently featured in The New York Post?s gossip column ?Page 6? with [...
Smaller Firm Atmosphere Makes Big Difference
Posted on March 07, 2008In speaking to a number of firm leaders last week about the benefits of working at a smaller firm as opposed to a megafirm, I found many of them agreed that perhaps the biggest benefit to small and midsized firm life is the closeness of the office atmosphere...
Reed Smith Creates 225-Lawyer Financial Industry Group
Posted on March 07, 2008Reed Smith has brought all of its financial industry attorneys under one umbrella through the creation of a 225-lawyer financial industry group. The new practice group will include attorneys from all of the firm’s offices whose practices focus on the financial services industry, including attorneys who specialize in finance, litigation, regulation, bankruptcy and restructuring, investment management, [...
Lawyer Reprimanded for Fashion Choice
Posted on March 05, 2008Recently, in a Milwaukee County courthouse, state prosecutor Warren Zier was reprimanded by Judge William Sosnay for wearing an ascot to court. His rebuke has garnered media attention from the Wall Street Journal to the Chicago Sun-Times. The ascot is a wide cravat of patterned silk cloth which, in England, was traditionally gray and only worn [...
Thorp Reed Expands In Phila. Through Merger With Kittredge Donley
Posted on March 03, 2008Pittsburgh-based Thorp Reed & Armstrong has gained a larger presence in Philadelphia through a merger with Kittredge Donley Elson Fullem & Embick. Kittredge Donley has 11 attorneys with the five name partners, two of counsel and four associates, all of whom will be joining Thorp Reed effective March 1...
Wolf Block Downsizes ? Its Name
Posted on February 28, 2008Wolf Block Schorr & Solis-Cohen, and its Roseland, N.J., branch Wolf Block Brach Eichler, will soon operate under a shorter name. The firm said it would be known just as Wolf Block effective Feb. 29. “The unification of our firm under one name brings us in line with the way our clients and others in the marketplace [...
Q: What do Aliens, Pit Pulls, Scantily Clad Adults and Children Bouncing Balls have in Common?
Posted on February 14, 2008Q: What do Aliens, Pit Pulls, Scantily Clad Adults and Children Bouncing Balls have in Common? A. They?re all impermissible advertising images for lawyers ? at least somewhere in the U.S. Last week, an article about restrictions on legal advertisements hit the front page of The Wall Street Journal...
Garcia Running for Chancellor
Posted on February 14, 2008Rudy Garcia, a shareholder at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, is throwing his hat in the ring for this year?s election for chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 2011, chancellor-elect in 2010 and vice-chancellor in 2009. Garcia has been active in the bar association for several years, including serving three terms on the Board of Governors...
When the Media Gets that Unintended E-mail
Posted on February 08, 2008Yesterday, Mike Armstrong of the Philadelphia Inquirer, reported on his blog, ?PhillyInc.,? that an e-mail message was accidentally sent by a Philadelphia attorney in a large law firm to a New York Times reporter. The e-mail contained ?confidential information about settlement negotiations? between a pharmaceutical company and the U...
Nutter Won?t Oppose Family Court Site ? If State Pays
Posted on February 08, 2008Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter won?t oppose the proposed placement of a unified Family Court building at 15th and Arch streets in Center City if the state pays for the lion?s share of a building that is projected to cost at least $200 million, Nutter press secretary Doug Oliver said in an interview last week...
Transition Work Is Fun?
Posted on February 08, 2008One thing was clear during a group interview last month with six associates at Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin who worked on the Mayor Michael Nutter?s law department transition team. They had fun ? and learned a lot ? by spending many, many volunteer hours during the holiday season working on a transition team that Hangley [...
Sad News: The Passing of Judge Cipriani
Posted on February 07, 2008We?ve all heard it said that ?not all news is good news.? This couldn?t be truer when it comes to the passing of Judge Nicholas Cipriani. As a third generation Italian-American attorney who was born and raised in South Philadelphia, my life is touched with memories of Judge Cipriani from as far back as I can [...
Sigman Considering DA Run
Posted on February 05, 2008During an intensive round of phone calls that I made two weeks ago about possible candidates vying to succeed Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham, I wasn?t able to get a hold of Scott Sigman, who joined the Bochetto & Lentz firm in 2005 after working as an assistant district attorney...
McCain on Lawyer Jokes?.
Posted on February 05, 2008On February 4th, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reported about a lawyer joke being delivered by Arizona Senator, John McCain on the campaign trail. Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/02/04/john-mccain-not-a-lawyer-but-loves-a-good-lawyer-joke/ Essentially, John McCain, a non-lawyer up against a pool of JDs has been delivering the following joke along the campaign trail: He asks, ?What is the difference between a catfish [...
Midsized Firms Bulk Up Staff in 2007
Posted on January 29, 2008In researching for a piece last week on how Pennsylvania midsized firms fared in 2007 and their projections for 2008, the majority of firm leaders I spoke to reported modest to significant increases in revenue and clientele last year. Of course, more business often necessitates more staffing and many midsized firms across the state got a [...
News From Orrick is? There?s No News
Posted on January 24, 2008Word on the street was that Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe was looking into opening an office in the City of Brotherly Love. While most international firms based out-of-town have opted for New York, D.C., or even Delaware rather than Philadelphia, Orrick?s interest made some sense given its recent hire of longtime Morgan Lewis & Bockius partner [...
Court Gives Out Pro Bono Publico Awards
Posted on January 24, 2008Attorney Mary Moran lived up to the award she received for her pro bono work. During the First Judicial District?s second annual Pro Bono Publico Awards ceremony last Thursday, Moran volunteered for the several judges gathered at the ceremony to assign her more pro bono cases...
Gormley to Replace Cappy?
Posted on January 17, 2008Peter Hall is reporting in our sister publication, Pennsylvania Law Weekly, that Duquesne University law professor Kenneth E. Gormley has emerged as a possible front-runner to win the appointment to replace retired former Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy...
Philly Court Stats Show Sharp Drop in Class Actions
Posted on January 14, 2008The Philadelphia court system has seen a sharp drop in the number of class actions filed between 2005 and 2007, reports Charles Mapp Sr., the deputy civil administrator in the civil division of the First Judicial District today. In 2005, 56 class actions were filed in the FJD...
Ballard Spahr Creates Subprime Lending Team
Posted on January 08, 2008Just a few days after the American Dialect Society named ?subprime? as its word of the year, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll created a practice around litigation and business issues that might stem from this summer?s subprime lending crisis. The group will offer legal services and guidance to clients regarding the litigation, government action and business [...
Cozen O?Connor Names New CFO
Posted on January 08, 2008Cozen O’Connor named John A. Curran as its new chief financial officer. Curran replaces former CFO David W. Ellman who moved into the firm’s chief operating officer position in August 2007. Curran will be responsible for conducting strategic financial analysis for the firm, overseeing its annual budget process and decision support analyses...
Buchanan Ingersoll Plans for Growth in Phila. With New Space
Posted on January 04, 2008Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney has signed a 12-year lease for three floors in Two Liberty Place that will give the firm room for an additional 30 to 50 attorneys. BI is currently situated at 1835 Market. Philadelphia managing partner Howard Scher said the firm?s strategic plan calls for the office to be at about 150 attorneys...
Firms Responding to Markets Through Formation of New Practice Areas
Posted on December 13, 2007Stevens & Lee and Flaster Greenberg have each formulated a new practice group, drawing from the experience of existing attorneys. While one looks to offer compliance advice across several client groups, the other is industry focused. Flaster Greenberg said today that it would create an automotive practice group focused on the needs of car and truck [...
Administrative Error Omits Some of Saylor?s Dissent in Gaming Case
Posted on December 11, 2007When the Pennsylvania Supreme Court paved the way last week for SugarHouse Casino to start building in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia, Justice Thomas G. Saylor was the lone dissent. He questioned the court?s jurisdiction in the case and today he offered further insight into how he would have ruled...
Dilworth Paxson L&E Chair Found Beaten in Southwest Philly
Posted on December 07, 2007Gino J. Benedetti, the chairman of Dilworth Paxson?s labor and employment group, was found beaten in Southwest Philadelphia Thursday night, according to police. Sgt. Charles Layton of the Southwest Detectives Special Investigation Unit said Benedetti was found at 63rd Street and Passyunk Avenue shortly before 8 p...
The Lateral Lineup
Posted on December 03, 2007The Philadelphia market has seen several lateral moves in the past month with the most recent between two local intellectual property boutiques. Daniel N. Calder joined Volpe & Koenig as a shareholder from Ratner Prestia. He was the first lateral shareholder the firm has ever hired since its inception 20 years ago...
Ballard Spahr Diversity Director Moves On
Posted on December 03, 2007Stacy Hawkins, who has served as Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll’s first-ever director of diversity for a little more than year, has left the firm to start her own diversity consulting business. Her last day was Friday, and she will now focus on serving national clients in a full-service diversity consulting practice from Philadelphia...
Bar Committee Creates Blog for Women
Posted on November 28, 2007The Philadelphia Bar Association?s Women in the Profession committee has launched a blog at http://womenintheprofession.wordpress.com/. Maria Feeley, co-chairwoman of the committee, said that all women attorneys, including attorneys from other local bar associations like the Barristers? Association of Philadelphia and the Asian American Bar Association of the Delaware Valley, are invited to participate in the blog...
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Did I harass someone?
Oh, yes. This can be taken in as so many things, especially since you had testif...
How to evict a roommate?
First, in most jurisdictions "self-help" is not a remedy available to any party ...
I have worked for this employer for only three weeks. The employer makes up his own rules as to what he chooses to report for the purpose of property taxes. He tells me to "let them come after us". He defines Entertain
He arrogantly insists, "let them come after us." Well, if you are invo...
This has happened 3 or 4 times a month now- they have turned the electric off 2 days consecutively, the water off about 9 or 10 times now, and our heat has broken 5 times (once it would not shut off, and we were forced t
i say stick with the apartment. eventually, everything possible will be replaced...
How do you recover money from a stop payment placed on a personal check given to you?
you can always take them to small claims court and sure them for 3 times the amo...
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