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Litigation Department of the Year

Am Law 200 firms were recently invited by The American Lawyer magazine to compete for the title of Litigation Department of the Year. Join The American Lawyer's Editor-in-Chief Aric Press for a webinar overview of this year's finalists and winners. Register now.

Geithner, New York Fed GC Asked to Testify on AIG E-Mails

Corporate Counsel

A U.S. House panel is calling a hearing the week of Jan. 18 to ask Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Thomas Baxter, general counsel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, about the financial disclosure advice provided to American International Group in December 2008. Geithner served as president of the New York Fed from 2003 through 2008, when the Fed advised AIG to omit mention of billions in special swaps debt from the company's public filings.

High Court Returns to a Busy Schedule

The National Law Journal

It wasn't exactly a lost fall for the U.S. Supreme Court, but, as the justices don their robes for the first oral arguments of 2010, starting today, there is a sense that the term is just now beginning to take shape. Blockbuster opinions, riveting oral arguments -- and a possible retirement -- loom in the next six months. One highly anticipated event, which may come as soon as Tuesday, is issuance of the long-awaited ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

All Eyes on Federal Judge as Trial Starts Over Calif. Ban on Same-Sex Marriage

The Recorder

As an epic civil rights trial kicks off today in San Francisco, the ultimate constitutionality of same-sex marriage is perhaps the least important decision Chief Judge Vaughn Walker will make. What will matter more are his actions along the way: the factual findings, evidentiary umpiring and tone of the proceedings. Proposition 8 backers are clearly worried about the record he'll create and the findings of fact that will flow from it. Those will be formidable instruments if the case reaches the U.S. Supreme Court.

Legal Sector Lost 2,100 Jobs in December

The American Lawyer

The legal services sector lost 2,100 jobs in December, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The job losses have been dwindling on a month-by-month basis. According to BLS statistics, the sector lost 5,800 jobs in October and 2,900 jobs in November.

2nd Circuit Reverses Sanctions Against Cravath Attorneys in Alien Tort Case

New York Law Journal

A panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could not agree Friday on whether or not magistrate judges can sanction attorneys without the consent of the parties. Although Judges Dennis Jacobs, Pierre N. Leval and Jose A. Cabranes agreed to reverse sanctions leveled against three Cravath, Swaine & Moore lawyers in an alien tort statute case, two judges split on whether magistrate judges had the authority to levy any sanctions, while the third said the circuit should not address the issue.

Homeless Man Seeks $2.4 Million From Lawyer Over Nuisance Suit

Texas Lawyer

Houston lawyer Harry C. Arthur touched a nerve in one homeless man when Arthur filed a suit seeking to shut down a church-sponsored operation that provides meals and services for homeless people, on the grounds that the center is a "private nuisance." Louis Charles Hamilton II filed a pro se suit seeking a minimum of $2.4 million in damages, alleging that Arthur "unflinchingly, courageously" and with an "audaciously bold potty mouth" accused people who are fed at the center of being "derelicts," among other things.

N.J. Court Allows Business-to-Business Sex Harassment Suit

New Jersey Law Journal

A business owner who claims a customer stopped buying from her after she refused to have sex with him can sue his company for sexual harassment under New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination, a state appeals court held Wednesday. The decision, in J.T.'s Tire Service v. United Rentals North America, Inc., may be the first published opinion to address whether a sexual harassment claim can be brought under a section of the LAD that prohibits discriminatory refusal to do business.

Alleged Christmas Day Bomber Pleads Not Guilty Before Packed Courtroom

The National Law Journal

Three lawyers from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit handled the Friday arraignment of Nigerian terrorism suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on charges that he tried to blow up an airplane carrying 290 people on Christmas, using explosives hidden in his underwear. His lawyer, federal public defender Miriam Siefer, entered not-guilty pleas to all six counts on Abdulmutallab's behalf. Also attending the arraignment: a DLA Piper lawyer who was aboard the Dec. 25 flight, seated just six rows behind the alleged bomber.

Bookkeeper Gets 10-Year Sentence for Stealing Law Firm Funds

The Recorder

A former bookkeeper at San Francisco medical malpractice and personal injury firm Bostwick, Peterson & Mitchell was sentenced just before Christmas for helping himself to $9 million of the firm's funds over about nine years. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Kay Tsenin sentenced the former bookkeeper, Richard Thomas, to 10 years in state prison. He'll also have to pay $8.7 million in restitution.

Former KB Home CEO's Lawyers Hunt for Misconduct in Backdating Case

The National Law Journal

Grabbing ahold of recent findings of prosecutorial misconduct in stock options backdating cases, lawyers for the former head of KB Home have asked for a hearing into whether misconduct has tainted a similar backdating case against their client. Bruce Karatz, who was chief executive of KB Home from 1986 to 2006, faces 20 counts of defrauding the Los Angeles homebuilder and its shareholders by awarding himself and others millions of dollars in undisclosed backdated stock options.

Judge Tosses Child Sexual Assault Case, Citing Prosecutor's 'Shocking' Conduct

The Recorder

A California judge cited "shocking" prosecutorial conduct in dismissing a child sexual assault case last week, saying that a deputy district attorney hadn't been truthful after learning there was a videotaped medical examination of the alleged victim that hadn't been turned over. The prosecutor's conduct, the judge said, "strikes at the foundation of our legal system and is so grossly shocking and outrageous that it offends the universal sense of justice to allow prosecution in this matter to proceed."

Guilty Plea Could End Career of Controversial Ga. Lawyer

Fulton County Daily Report

A Georgia lawyer's guilty plea to a federal obstruction of justice charge may bring an end to his long-controversial practice, which he promoted with advertisements featuring actor Robert Vaughn urging potential clients, "Tell them you mean business." Benjamin S. "Benny" Eichholz last month bargained down a 77-count indictment that accused him of embezzlement, money laundering, mail fraud and lying about the management of his employees' pension plan to a single count of obstructing justice.

Government Plans to Appeal Rejection of Broadcom Backdating Charges

The National Law Journal

Federal prosecutors whose stock options backdating case against two former Broadcom executives imploded last month amid multiple findings of prosecutorial misconduct have taken steps to appeal a trial judge's dismissal of the charges. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles filed notices of appeal Thursday with the 9th Circuit regarding U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney's dismissal of backdating charges against Broadcom co-founder Henry Nicholas and rejection of co-founder Henry Samueli's plea deal.

EEOC: 2009 Discrimination Complaints Neared Record High

The National Law Journal

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced last week that workplace discrimination complaints remain at historic high levels, with the agency seeing 93,277 such complaints in fiscal year 2009 -- the second-highest level in its history. The year 2008 saw the most workplace discrimination complaints, but EEOC officials do not see in the decrease any sign of relief. Instead, the agency points to the bigger picture, noting that the late 1990s, for example, didn't average 80,000 such complaints annually.

iBlaze 3.0 Grows Old Gracefully

Special to Law.com

Good software ages gracefully, an apt portrayal of iBlaze, the litigation support software from CT Summation. Nonetheless, according to consultant Brett Burney, the new iBlaze 3.0 brings much-needed feature upgrades to address the tempestuous world of e-discovery and electronic evidence.

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Interview Strategies: the Basics

Special to Law.com

In this slow period in the legal job market, interviews are few and far between. Therefore, candidates must make the most of each precious opportunity. In a series of articles, consultants Valerie Fontaine and Roberta Kass will provide tips and techniques for handling different types of interviews as well as some of the sticky situations that can arise. In this first article, the authors examine some of the basics, such as preparation, proper etiquette and dress and when to bring up money questions.

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