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Firms Breathe Sigh of Relief Over NALP Change on Recruiting

The National Law Journal

In the end, a proposal to adopt a January kickoff date for law firm summer associate offers proved too controversial. The board of the National Association for Law Placement decided Friday to back off a plan that would delay the summer associate offer process by as long as four months. Law firm recruiters and law school administrators on Friday largely welcomed the shift. Said one: "To make any kind of significant change, everybody needs to be on board or the changes won't be followed."

Justice Department Settles Kickback Case With Troutman Sanders Partner

The American Lawyer

The former head of Troutman Sanders' real estate investments and capitalization practice groups is one of five defendants to reach a $14 million civil settlement with federal prosecutors Friday stemming from an alleged $50 million kickback scheme. The settlement comes about four months after prosecutors filed civil claims against Troutman partner Leonard Grunstein and others in connection with a $98 million civil settlement between the DOJ and Omnicare, the biggest provider of pharmacy services to nursing homes in the U.S.

Universal May Have to Pay the Piper Over Takedown of Dancing Baby

The Recorder

Universal Music might have to pay for pulling video of a dancing baby off YouTube. A federal judge ruled late Thursday that Stephanie Lenz can get some limited recompense from the music label for ordering YouTube to drop a 29-second video of her son dancing to the music of Universal artist Prince. Lenz still must prove her case before collecting anything. But it appears to be the first answer to the question of how an apparently ill-brought takedown notice should be punished under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

New York University Wins Fee Bid for Preserving Assets From Hedge Fund

New York Law Journal

New York University is entitled to recover legal fees for battling to preserve the remaining assets of a hedge fund from which a prominent New York financier pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, a Supreme Court justice in Manhattan has ruled. The judge found, over the opposition of the New York AG's office, that the benefit NYU conferred on investors in the $1.3 billion Ariel Fund was "of such a great measure" that it would be "inequitable" not to compensate its attorneys.

Plaintiffs Lawyer's 'Reptile' Strategy Bites Back

Fulton County Daily Report

For $95, plaintiffs lawyers can buy a book that teaches how to appeal to jurors' basic survival instincts, those that emanate from humans' "reptilian" brains. "When the Reptile sees a survival danger, she protects her genes by impelling the juror to protect himself and the community," write co-authors Don C. Keenan, an Atlanta plaintiffs lawyer, and David Ball, a North Carolina jury consultant. But in a recent wrongful death trial, Keenan found that defense lawyers will also buy the book -- and use it against him.

DOJ Defends Document Request Targeting Deloitte

The National Law Journal

The Justice Department has turned to the D.C. Circuit in the hope of forcing Deloitte to turn over tax-related documents that government lawyers say are not protected by the work product privilege. As part of a civil tax suit, the government is seeking documents Dow Chemical gave to Deloitte during an audit. On Friday, a DOJ lawyer argued in court that privilege does not apply to the documents because they were prepared during what the lawyer called the ordinary course of business, rather than for litigation purposes.

Debevoise Sees Big Decline in Profits, Revenue

The American Lawyer

Debevoise & Plimpton on Friday revealed that gross revenue dropped 12 percent and profits per equity partner suffered an even steeper fall last year as the recession caught up with the New York-based firm. Revenue declined to $667.9 million in 2009, while profits per partner fell 16 percent to $1.87 million. The declines came amid a downturn in corporate work and the completion of some large matters in its litigation practices, namely the internal investigation of Siemens AG.

FTC to Appeal Ruling in 'Red Flags' Case

The National Law Journal

The Federal Trade Commission will appeal an October ruling that stripped the agency of its authority to enforce new anti-fraud rules against lawyers. The so-called "Red Flags" regulations are designed to prevent identity theft, and the FTC argues that the regulations must apply to all "creditors" -- including lawyers -- in order to comply with federal law. But the ABA disputes that interpretation, citing a 2005 decision by the D.C. Circuit that ended another attempt by the FTC to impose regulations on lawyers.

Revenue Falls 11 Percent, Profits Rise at Dewey

The American Lawyer

Dewey & LeBoeuf saw a dramatic drop in gross revenue in 2009 while profits per equity partner moved up 3.4 percent, the result of a 10 percent decrease in equity partner headcount, according to numbers released by the firm Friday. The firm attributes the substantial drop in revenue to a sizable decrease in headcount, as well as to the overall downturn in business activity. But intensive cost-cutting measures and 20 fewer equity partners helped to mitigate the effect on average profits earned by equity partners.

85-Year-Old Sculptor Prevails in Copyright Case Against Government

The American Lawyer

Frank Gaylord, now 85, won a government-sponsored contest to sculpt a memorial to Korean War veterans in Washington, D.C. in 1990. In 1995, John Alli took hundreds of photographs of the memorial on a snowy day and eventually produced a single, haunting photo. In 2002, the federal government paid Alli $1,500 to use his photo as the basis for a 37-cent postage stamp. Gaylord, who essentially got nothing along the way, sued for copyright infringement. On Thursday the Federal Circuit ruled in Gaylord's favor.

Deadline Extended Again for $1 Billion Settlement in Indian Trust Fund Case

The National Law Journal

For the second time, the Justice Department and lawyers representing a class of American Indians in a long-running federal suit have agreed to push back the deadline needed to secure congressional authorization for a $1.4 billion settlement. The Cobell settlement would end a 13-year-old case that demands an accounting of the government's handling of accounts set up for the collection and dispersal of billions of dollars in payments flowing from natural resources on Indian land.

Plaintiff Seeks to Dismiss Age Discrimination Suit Against Crowell & Moring

The National Law Journal

A federal judge shot down on procedural grounds Friday a former Crowell & Moring employee's effort to drop the age discrimination suit she had filed against the firm. Mona Saunders, 54, sued the firm for $300,000, alleging that she was fired because of her age. The judge wrote that "a plaintiff may dismiss an action by filing a voluntary notice of dismissal only if the opposing party has not served either an answer or a motion for summary judgment." Crowell filed its answer to the allegations in August.

The Politicization of 'Miranda'

Special to Law.com

Between two U.S. Supreme Court rulings last week and the persistent controversy over the best way to handle suspected terrorists, the matter of Miranda rights and the very nature, scope and application of Miranda have become hot-button issues for all concerned. Joel Cohen and Katherine A. Helm take a look at the current health of Miranda and examine misperceptions of, and attacks on, the fundamentals of Miranda.

Swiss Government Asks UBS to Pay Legal Costs in Tax Dispute With U.S.

The American Lawyer

Swiss news agencies reported Wednesday that the government would ask Zurich-based banking giant UBS to reimburse it for outside legal costs stemming from the bank's long-running legal dispute with U.S. authorities over allegations of tax evasion by U.S. citizens holding UBS accounts. A deal to resolve that dispute by releasing the names of 4,450 U.S. citizens with UBS accounts was tentatively struck last August.

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Step 4 for Legal Holds: Implementation

Special to Law.com

After a trigger event is identified and analyzed to find the scope of the preservation of evidence warranted under the circumstances, the organization needs to implement the hold with a written notice, say Howett Isaza partner John Isaza and Goldberg Segalla partner John J. Jablonski.

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Interview Strategies: What Questions Should You Ask?

Special to Law.com

Questions you ask as a job candidate are just as important as those asked by the interviewer, note consultants Valerie Fontaine and Roberta Kass. You can use questions not only to learn more about the employer, but also to demonstrate your knowledge and express your interest.

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