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Former Stanford Exec Facing Criminal Charges Sues Proskauer for Malpractice

The American Lawyer

Former Stanford Financial CIO Laura Pendergest-Holt may not have money to pay her lawyers, but she's getting a lot of legal help. Lawyer Anthony Buzbee filed a suit for Pendergest-Holt on Friday, accusing Proskauer Rose and partner Thomas Sjoblom of legal malpractice, professional negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. The suit alleges a conflict of interest and claims that before and during her Feb. 17 meeting with SEC investigators, Pendergest-Holt believed that Sjoblom was acting as her attorney.

Plaintiffs Bar Pushes Capitol Hill Agenda

Legal Times

Trial lawyers are preparing for a fight in Congress, testing whether they can translate their newfound political capital into legislative victories. They have a wish list that includes expanded opportunities for state litigation, a ban on mandatory arbitration for consumer contracts, and a new way to exempt early litigation costs from taxes. The proposals have been overshadowed by the economy, but the start of hearings as soon as today signals that lawmakers are starting to shift their attention.

The American Lawyer's Corporate Scorecard 2009

The American Lawyer

Call it what you like -- historic, unprecedented, apocalyptic -- 2008 was a year that few Am Law 100 lawyers will forget. It was a lousy year all along, and then it got a whole lot worse. The American Lawyer's Corporate Scorecard shows just how bad it was, and which firms got hit the hardest, in nine major practice areas.

New Attorney Ethics Standards to Take Effect in New York

New York Law Journal

A new code of conduct for New York attorneys that goes into effect Wednesday should largely be familiar to lawyers who have practiced under the old standards, according to the chairman of the State Bar committee that began developing the new code nearly six years ago. But a member of the State Bar committee said new rules requiring lawyers to reveal client falsehoods "clashes with the common-law concept of the lawyer-client confidentiality," and predicted those rules' validity would be litigated in the courts.

Law Firm Managing Partners Pessimistic, Says Citi Survey

Legal Times

With layoffs making headlines, when will law firms be able to thrive again? Managing partners say not soon. Citi Private Bank Law Watch released findings Monday for the first quarter of 2009, showing that managing partners' confidence in their firms' financial health is continuing a downward slide, as client demand keeps shrinking and expenses keep growing. Of about 120 managing partners surveyed from mostly Am Law 100 and Am Law 200 firms, 64 percent believe legal business will drop even more over the next six months.

Full House for Supreme Court Arguments on Asbestos

Legal Times

The arguments before the Supreme Court Monday in consolidated cases related to a long-running asbestos litigation packed the Court's lawyers' section with insurance and bankruptcy law practitioners, among others. Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, now of counsel at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, was in the audience as well. The arguments were lively, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who may have had her first chemotherapy treatment for pancreatic cancer on Friday, was the most aggressive questioner.

Texas Judge Asks for Dismissal of Charges in Inmate's Execution

Texas Lawyer

In asking the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to dismiss its charges against her, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller lays some of the blame for an inmate's execution in 2007 on his lawyers. In her answer to the commission's Notice of Formal Proceedings, Keller alleges she never was told that Michael Richard's lawyers were having computer problems that delayed them in filing for a stay of execution on Sept. 25, 2007, the day that the state executed Richard.

Attorneys Drop Fees in Shareholder Case Alleging Backdating

The National Law Journal

The plaintiffs lawyers in a shareholder derivative lawsuit involving allegations of stock-options backdating against Cirrus Logic have agreed, in a revised deal filed this month, to drop all attorney fees, which the judge in the case had described as "almost entirely unmerited." The revised deal, which was approved last week, comes as judges in derivative actions involving the backdating of stock options have questioned the amount of attorney fees in cases involving noncash settlements.

Jury Selection Begins in Criminal Case Against Socialite's Son, Lawyer

New York Law Journal

The arduous process of selecting a jury began Monday in the criminal case accusing Anthony D. Marshall and lawyer Francis X. Morrissey of prevailing upon Marshall's mother, socialite Brooke Astor, to change her will to shift millions of dollars that had been directed to charities to her son. The 18-count indictment also accuses Marshall of stealing millions more from his mother during her lifetime while managing her affairs under a power of attorney.

Sloppy Drafting of Retainer Means Client's Estate Not Liable for Expert Fees

New Jersey Law Journal

A recent New Jersey case demonstrates how not to write a retainer agreement. An expert retained by attorney George Farmer for a medical malpractice case sued Farmer due to a fee dispute, resulting in a $73,477 judgment for the expert. A state appeals court affirmed the dismissal of Farmer's later suit against the client's estate for out-of-pocket expenses, including the expert's fees, citing retainer agreement flaws such as the nonspecific statement that the client "may be required to pay for expenses."

Gun Lobby Files New Suit in D.C. Over Federal Restrictions

Legal Times

Gun rights advocates have filed a new lawsuit in Washington, D.C., federal court, this time seeking to make it possible for American expats to buy guns when they're back home in the United States. The suit challenges a government requirement that forces gun buyers without a federal firearms license to fill out their state of residence on a special transaction form. Alan Gura, who successfully argued the landmark Supreme Court gun case District of Columbia v. Heller, is representing the plaintiffs.

Guantanamo Lawyers Challenge Government's New Detainee Guidelines

Legal Times

Lawyers representing several Guantanamo detainees are challenging the Obama administration's new definition for enemy combatants, arguing that the president's re-tooled formula is still too broad and violates traditional laws of war. The lawyers point out that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force in Afghanistan, passed in 2001, says nothing explicit about detention powers, and that the Supreme Court, in cases such as Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, has chosen to apply a narrow reading of the resolution.

Jury Awards $2.3 Million for Botched Circumcision

Fulton County Daily Report

A Georgia jury on Friday awarded a 4-year-old boy and his mother $2.3 million in damages from an injury the boy suffered during a circumcision when he was an infant. The jury laid the blame on the obstetrician who performed the circumcision and the pediatrician who treated the child later. A plaintiffs lawyer in the case said lawyers for the defendants struck men from the jury, which wound up including 11 women.

Firms See Boom in China Employment Practices

The Recorder

Think of a place where employees are fired without an ounce of risk to the company. That's the China K. Lesli Ligorner landed in when she launched Paul Hastings' employment practice there in May 2006. Only three years later, things are much different. A trio of new Chinese laws launched in 2008 have delivered a lot more work around employment issues for law firms practicing in China, and Ligorner's group has never been busier.

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The 'Hot News' Tort and the New Media

New York Law Journal

The "hot news" tort arises out of the misappropriation and use for commercial gain of facts gathered by a competitor. But when the courts apply it, especially in new media contexts such as the Internet, they must be particularly careful of any possible unintended consequences.

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Whole Foods-Wild Oats Deal Leaves Controversial Legacy

Legal Times

Nobody expected the proposed $565 million acquisition of natural foods grocer Wild Oats by its rival Whole Foods Market to spark a food fight of epic proportions. But on March 6 -- after two years, $28 million in legal fees and expenses, and dozens of lawyers -- Whole Foods cut a deal to end the battle. The most important result of the battle may be a controversial D.C. Circuit opinion that some fear will make it too easy for the FTC to block future mergers.

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Veteran Employment Attorney Defends AIG Bonuses

The National Law Journal

Carolyn Plump, who chairs the labor and employment practice at Mitts Milavec, said the lawyer in her can't sit by and watch AIG get trashed for actions it may have legally been required to take. She discusses the AIG bonus scandal, Congress' response and, in her opinion, the legal profession's duty to preserve the sanctity of the contract. True, the bonuses are offensive and maddening to the taxpayer bailing out a corporate giant, but there may have been legally binding contracts at issue, Plump says.

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Plaintiffs Firms Still Hiring for Securities Class Actions

The Recorder

While so many law firms are making the news due to layoffs, a number of plaintiffs firms with securities class action practices are actually hiring associates. And not surprisingly, a good number of resumes they're seeing come from big defense firms. "What I keep hearing from associates at large defense firms is that they would rather play offense than defense," said Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann partner Blair Nicholas, whose 60-lawyer firm has added eight associates and four counsel since mid-2008.

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