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Morning Roundup

joshua — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:29:31 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Monday, October 25th. Here’s a quick look back at Friday’s stories.

According to a new study conducted by the University of Maine Center, a relatively high percentage of elderly residents of Maine will require legal intervention at some point in their lives….

A survey by law school admissions consulting firm Veritas Prep showed 81% of law school applicants would still apply even if a significant number of graduates were unable to find jobs in their desired field…

The University of California, Irvine School of Law will provide scholarships of at least one-third of tuition to each member of its next class of students…

John Frankenheimer of Loeb & Loeb will be stepping down as the firm’s co-chair…

Lawyers for SAP AG, a German software company, requested that a federal judge issue a gag order during a forthcoming trial for an intellectual property theft case…

Sam Baxter of McKool Smith has been named by The Best Lawyers in America the 2011 Dallas Intellectual Property “Lawyer of the Year…

Whistle-blower website Wikileaks published classified documents related to the Iraqi war last Friday…

District Judge Issues Gag Order At SAP’s Request

todd — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 00:20:10 +0000

Lawyers for SAP AG, a German software company, have requested that a federal judge issue a gag order during a forthcoming trial for an intellectual property theft case.

SAP AG is being sued by Oracle for malpractice and unfair competition. Specifically, Oracle has accused SAP of acquiring unauthorized access to their customer service website. Oracle then charges that SAP of copied its software and other confidential materials.

SAP has admitted to copyright infringement and the upcoming trial, which is set for November will determine the amount SAP will pay in damages.

The gag order was issued, and U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton has ordered lawyers from both parties to not make statements to the media.

Roger Clemens Pleads Not Guilty

joshua — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:13:31 +0000

Roger Clemens pled not guilty in federal court Monday to charges that he lied to Congress. The arraignment of the seven-time Cy Young Award winner, which included six counts, comes more than two years after he told the Congressional Oversight Committee that he had never taken performance-enhancing drugs.

According to a USA Today account, Clemens’ attorneys were presented with a “voluminous amount of evidence” that was catalogued in a 34-page index prior to the hearing. Because of the large amount of evidence against him, U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton delayed the trial date to April 5.

Clemens is facing three counts of making false statements, two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of Congress.

If convicted, he could receive a $1.5 million fine and 30 years in prison. However, under federal sentencing guidelines, he is more likely to face a sentence of 15 to 21 months.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:05:37 +0000

Good morning everybody! Today is Friday, August 27th. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

Many associates at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe received pay raises…

Sidley Austin added to its international trade and Latin America practices….

Former pitcher Roger Clemens will be arraigned Monday in on charges he lied to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs…

Clemens To Be Arraigned Monday

joshua — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:01:56 +0000

Former pitching great Roger Clemens will be arraigned Monday in federal court in Washington D.C. on charges he lied to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens was indicted last week on six counts of making false statements, perjury and obstruction of justice following a two-year investigation. The charges stemmed from Clemens’ testimony before a Congressional committee looking into the use of PED’s in Major League Baseball.

The ‘Rocket,’ a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, has denied using PED’s and is expected to enter a not-guilty plea. Reuters is reporting that Clemens’ attorney, Rusty Hardin, has already rejected a plea agreement offered from prosecutors.

Judge Reggie Walton will conduct the arraignment at 2 p.m.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:05:07 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Monday, May 17th. Here’s a quick look back at Friday’s and Saturday’s stories.

Orrick to Change Profit Reporting…

Loucks Has New Home…

Small Firms to Pay Higher Payroll Tax?…

Chicago Firm Victim of nearly $1M Embezzlement…

Australian Firm Eyes Suit Against Goldman Sachs…

Class Action Filed Against Pfizer by Brualdi…

Judge Appoints Berman Co-Lead Counsel In Class Action Against Toyota…

Harris Beach PLLC Opens Office on Long Island…

$15 Million Verdict Announced Against Botox Manufacturer…

Bernard M. Gross Files Class Action on Behalf of Transocean Shareholders…

Partner Of Honolulu PI Firm To Start Nonprofit For Children With Disabilities…

Judge Appoints Berman Co-Lead Counsel In Class Action Against Toyota

eric — Fri, 14 May 2010 21:59:35 +0000

A Federal judge has appointed Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, as co-lead counsel in the current class action pending in the Central District of California against Toyota. The class action is potentially one of the largest in US history and stems from the various product defects discovered in Toyota automobiles in the last several months.

More than 70 law firms, according to Businesswire, applied for the job.

Hagens Berman is a Seattle Based firm that represents plaintiffs in securities, investment fraud, product liability, tort, antitrust, consumer fraud, employment, environmental, and ERISA cases. It has managed multi-state and nationwide class actions and has offices Phoenix, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:09:06 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Tuesday, May 11th. Here’s a brief look at yesterday’s stories.

Bowie & Jensen Opens Manhattan Office…

Facebook Hires Tim Muris To Help Clean Up Its Act…

Oprah Seeks To Compel Testimony Of Former Patent Prosecutor…

Elena Kagan Nominated By Obama For Supreme Court…

Oprah Seeks To Compel Testimony Of Former Patent Prosecutor

joshua — Mon, 10 May 2010 17:19:32 +0000

According to the Boston Herald, Winfrey’s Harpo Productions filed a motion last week, asking that a Federal Court judge compel former Fish & Richardson attorney, Scott Harris, to produce documents and testify on certain matters relating to a suit against Harpo currently pending in Federal Court in the state of Illinois.

Harpo is being sued by Illinois Computer Research, LLC a company that purchased the rights to patented software from Harris that allows readers to preview excerpts of books electronically. ILS was also involved in a similar suit against Google. Harpo, on behalf of Oprah’s Book Club, claims that the patent is unenforceable and that it prevents the free dissemination of information to would be readers.

In 2008, Harris was involved in a suit with Fish that settled in which Fish alleged Harris used Fish’s customer list to solicit the sale of his own patents. Harpo states in its motion that Harris had knowledge that companies, such as Barnes & Nobles, were already applying similar technology to post book excerpts before Harris’ patent application and that the Fish firm can provide evidence in support of that theory.

Fish would rather put the unseemly incident behind them and has fought to keep whatever evidence it has in its possession out of the lawsuit.

IPad Tech Under Attack By Nokia

joshua — Sat, 08 May 2010 20:30:02 +0000

Surprise. Surprise. According to the Wall Street Journal, Nokia is again suing Apple. This time over Apple’s recently released iPad. Some might remember that Nokia filed another patent infringement suit against Apple in October of last year over misuse of Nokia technology in Apple’s ubiquitous iPhone.
This Friday, Nokia filed another patent infringement suit relating to technologies used by both the iPhone and iPad in Federal court in the Western District of Wisconsin, where traditionally, at least in recent times, this particular court district has developed a reputation of speeding these types of cases toward resolution.
According to Nokia’s attorneys both the iPhone and iPad infringe five of the company’s patents, which relate to such functions as speech and data transmission, and global positioning functions.

In spite of the current venue, do not expect these two tech titans to reach any sort of a compromise soon. The disputes between Nokia and Apple run deep in complicated, technical waters and guarantee a protracted and bitter dispute.

Former Ropes & Gray Employee Charged in $53 Million Insider-Trading Case

joshua — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:35:00 +0000

Arthur Cutillo, a former employee of the New York law firm Ropes & Gray, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Manhattan yesterday, along with six others charged in a $53 million insider-trading case.

Cutillo is accused of illegally sharing information regarding mergers with an insider-trading network linked to the Galleon Group LLC hedge fund.

Evidence against the seven includes wiretap recordings made by the government, instant messages, trading records and statements some of them made after their arrest, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Fish said in court Tuesday.

According to federal prosecutors, Cutillo allegedly provided inside information regarding pending acquisitions of Basking Ridge-based Avaya Inc., 3Com Corp. and Axcan Pharma Inc. If convicted, Cutillo could face up to 25 years in prison and upwards of $5.25 million in fines.

Ropes & Gray is a leading global law firm with offices in Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Tokyo, and Washington, DC.

Federal Court Rules in Favor of Blind Law School Grad

sara — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:46:58 +0000

On Friday U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco ordered the National Conference of Law Examiners to accommodate Stephanie Enyart, a legally blind law school graduate attempting to take the California Bar exam. Enyart filed a suit against the NCBE after they refused to allow her to use special software during the two multiple choice sections of the exam, which is controlled by the organization in several states. Instead the NCBE offered alternative accommodations which Enyart did not believe were adequate.

The NCBE argued that federal disability law doesn’t require testing organization to provide disabled examinees with their preferred accommodations. The NCBE also argued that putting test questions on a computer disk would expose them to “hackers and thieves” The examiners wanted Enyart to accept the usual accommodations consisting of a pencil and paper test with questions displayed on an enlarged screen, a human reader and twice the normal testing period.

Enyart said that she needed her software specifically to have a fair opportunity to pass the exam. Breyer agreed and said the organization could provide its own computer to deal with security concerns. Enyart is a 32 year old graduate of UCLA School of Law and a law clerk at Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley. She will take the exam beginning February 23. The NCBE could ask the federal appeals court to block Breyer’s order.

Lathrop & Gage Settles With FDIC for $7.4 Million

joshua — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:17:46 +0000

Lathrop & Gage has agreed to pay the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. $7.4-million to settle a legal malpractice suit that was originally brought against the firm by Washington Mutual. The suit was scheduled to begin this week in federal court in St. Louis.

The FDIC took control of the lawsuit when Washington Mutual failed in September 2008. Lathrop & Gage was sued by the financial institution for its handling of an earlier suit filed by Conseco Finance Servicing Corp. against North American Mortgage Co. which had just been bought by Washington Mutual, in which Conseco claimed misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition.

WaMu lost the case and had to pay Conseco $10.7 million, the Kansas City Business Journal reported this morning. In turn, WaMu sued Lathrop & Gage for legal malpractice.

Lathrop & Gage has about 300 lawyers and is based in Kansas City.

The Return of Orly Taitz

joshua — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:23:13 +0000

She’s baaaaack! Everyone’s favorite birther, lawyer and dentist Orly Taitz, has filed pro se in a federal court in Washington DC. In the suit, Dr. Orly Taitz v. Barack Hussein Obama, Taitz reiterates her claim that President Obama is not a US citizen and demands production of his birth certificate. She alleges that AG Holder has ignored her accusations, playing a “game of hide and seek,” she says, that’s “infantile at best and treasonous at worst.”

If this suit fails to bring satisfaction, as seems likely, Taitz has another plan. On her blog (link omitted due to malware on the site) Taitz has said she is considering a run for office. Her plan is to run for either Attorney General or Secretary of State in California so that she can use the office to launch another lawsuit against Obama.

Here’s what she has to say about it:

Severalof my supporters have recommended that I run for an office of the Secretary of State of Ca or Attorney General. As a secretary of State or attorney general I will have standing to try in court issues that were tabu to all of us as individuals. Here is a situation:
1. we don’t need 50 secretaries of state or 50 Attorney Generals suing Obama. If only one sues and gets discovery, we are done
2. in CA the democrat running for this office is an incumbent Deborah Bowen, who was worthless, didn’t check Obama’s records, and whom I sued on behalf of ambassador Keyes in Keyes et al v Bowen et al andon behalf of vice presidential candidate Gail Lightfoot in Lightfoot v Bowen. I reached the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts decided to hear the case in the conference of all 9 justices on January 23, 2009. On January 21st, right after the inauguration somebody erased the case from the docket. they re-entered it on the 22nd and during the conference on the 23rd decided not to proceed with oral argument. Later, when I talked to Justice Scalia, he didn’t remember anything about the case.
3. Republican running for office is Damon Dunn, who admitted to never even vote until last year. He was a football player and later he was in real estate. The only reason he was endorsed so far, is because he is an African American, and Republicans want to have an African American to show diversity. He admits to having no knowledge or experience with law, elections or election law
4. In terms of the office of the Attorney General, incumbent Jerry Brown is not running. From both parties we have state legislators, who termed out and are looking for a new seat to warm. Considering billions of dollars of debt in CA, all of the state legislators are lousy.
5. I will need to raise 3-4 thousand dollars to start with, probably I will need about 100,000 from start to finish
6. I will need to set a separate account, I will need a campaign manager, volunteers.
I need your input. you can e-mail me at dr_taitz@yahoo.com. put running for office in the heading

Curiouser and curiouser…

Allan Ackerman to Leave Blagojevich Defense Team

sara — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:39:24 +0000

Chicago defense attorney Allan Ackerman filed papers in federal court asking permission to withdraw from former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s defense team on Thursday.

Ackerman said he is “No longer able to stridently participate in the defense of the accused.” In an interview with WLS-TV in Chicago Ackerman said that he had differences with others on the legal team, mainly concerning the “means and methods” of preparing for a “complex, multi-count trial”. Ackerman joined the legal team last November.

Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to trying to sell then President Elect Barack Obama’s U.S. senate seat in late 2008 among other offenses. Blagojevich is set to go to trial on June 3, 2010.

Judge Dismisses Case Against Blackwater Employees

joshua — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:57:49 +0000

Five security guards from Blackwater Security who were on trial for allegedly participating in a massacre in Baghdad in 2007 are free men today. The judge in the case, Ricardo Urbina, cited government missteps in building the case as he dismissed the charges. The government can still appeal the dismissal, and today’s ruling does not determine whether the shootings were proper under the law.

Statements made by the guards in the aftermath of the incident were made under the promise of immunity from prosecution and the government had to build its case without use of the admissions in those statements. This was crucial evidence because forensic experts were not able to determine independently who had fired shots.

Read previous coverage about the Blackwater case here and here.

Congressman Wants Military Trial for Alledged Bomber

aostler — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:51:31 +0000

The leading Republican on the House Committee on Homeland Security says that the Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, accused of attacking an Detroit bound airliner should be tried by a military tribunal rather than a civilian court.

Rep. Peter King of New York said that it will be more difficult for authorities to get useful information from the suspect if he is given the legal rights afforded to defendants in civilian courts, such as the right to an attorney.

The suspect has been charged in federal court with trying to detonate the device last Friday.

Separation of Church and Cars?

joshua — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:41:30 +0000

This one comes to us from South Carolina where the state legislature approved a new license plate design available for purchase containing the words “I believe” and the image of a cross.

Yesterday, a federal judge in SC shot down the license plates, saying “The ‘I Believe’ Act’s primary effect is to promote a specific religion, Christianity”. But judge Cameron Currie didn’t stop there. She went on to say “Such a law amounts to state endorsement not only of religion in general, but of a specific sect in particular”. Her objection was not limited to the promotion of a specific religion, but of religion in general, which makes me wonder whether she would have permitted a plan to include license plates that featured a spread of religious symbols. Would a law that let residents of the Palmetto State choose a plate that reflected their individual beliefs meet the same fate?

Speculation aside, Judge Currie thought this law was egregious enough to warrant additional action, ordering the state to pay the legal costs of the people that brought the lawsuit.

Gerard Lynch Confirmed for 2nd Circuit Seat

joshua — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:23:22 +0000

Gerard Lynch was confirmed by the Senate today for a seat on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, making him the first appellatejudge appointed by President Obama to win confirmation. Lynch had a relatively easy confirmation, winning Senate approval by a 94-3 vote, but several other nominees are currently being held up by the kind of partisan maneuvering we’ve unfortunately come to expect with judicial nominees.

There are currently 20 vacancies on the appellate level and 72 vacancies for federal district court judges.

Federal Courts Seek to Hire 13 Bankruptcy Judges

Erik Even — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:35:52 +0000

The Judicial Conference, the policymaking arm of the US Federal Courts, is urging Congress to fill 13 new permanent bankruptcy judgeships in 10 judicial districts; convert 22 existing temporary judgeships to permanent in 15 judicial districts; and extend two existing temporary bankruptcy judgeships for five years.

The Judicial Conference Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System told Congress that “…our judicial resources are strained, and the cost to society of an overburdened bankruptcy system, especially in this economic climate, is enormous.”

There are currently 324 bankruptcy judgeships nationwide.

There were 38% more bankruptcy filings in fiscal 2007 than in 2006, and filings increased by another 31% between 2007 and 2008.

Subprime Court Filings Reach Record Level

Erik Even — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:27:05 +0000

The number of subprime-related court filings has reached an unprecedented level and is expected to continue skyrocketing as economic conditions worsen, according to a report by Chicago’s Navigant Consulting.

The number of subprime mortgage and related cases filed in federal court during the first nine months of 2008 already exceeds by more than 50% the total for all of 2007. A total of 448 cases were filed so far this year, compared to 294 last year.

Filing volume in the September 2008 quarter was the third highest on record with 131 new matters, while the total number of cases filed reached 742 for the 21-month period ending on September 30th.

Subprime-related cases have outstripped the savings-and-loan cases of the early 1990s, the previous high-water mark in terms of litigation fallout from a major financial crisis.

“The bottom line is that new cases continue to be filed much more rapidly than existing cases are being disposed,” said Navigant’s Jeff Nielsen.

Via National Law Journal.

Ex-Law Student Sentenced in Child Porn Case

Erik Even — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:25:39 +0000

A former law student Robert A. McDonald was sentenced today to a year in a halfway house for possessing child pornography.

McDonald, 25, dodged a stiffer sentence in federal court after he made a teary plea for leniency, and told a judge he deeply regretted looking at pictures of young children being sexually abused on the Internet.

McDonald was in his second year at Western New England Law School when FBI agents raided his apartment and found illegal pornography on his computer. In July, he admitted to one count of possession under a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Under advisory federal sentencing guidelines, McDonald faced a minimum of 24 months in prison. US District Court Judge Michael A. Ponsor told the defendant that judges are under increasing pressure to hand down onerous penalties to anyone involved in the distribution of child pornography – particularly over the Internet, where it proliferates.

“There is no question that Congress wants us to clobber child pornographers,” Ponsor said. “Sentences have been ratcheted up and up and up, and messages to judges have gotten louder and louder and louder.”

According to court filings, McDonald was a standout student who made the Law Review, was engaged to be married and aspired to hold public office when agents raided his house.

Blagojevich’s Troubles Deepen [Update]

Erik Even — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:54:28 +0000

Today in Rod Blagojevich news:

The Washington Post reports that the mysterious “senate candidate” that Blagojevich is recorded on tape saying offered $500,000 in campaign funds to the governor in exchange for Barack Obama’s senate seat, may be none other than Illinois representative Jesse Jackson Jr.

In a press conference late today, Jackson said, “I reject and denounce pay-to-play politics and have no involvement whatsoever in any wrongdoing. … I did not initiate or authorize anyone at any time to promise anything to Governor Blagojevich on my behalf. I never sent a message or an emissary.”

The National Law Journal says that over the course of the five-year probe that led to Blagojevich’s arrest this past Sunday, the governor was defended by a high-powered criminal defense attorney from Chicago’s Winston & Strawn.

But when Blagojevich showed up in court this week, he was represented by an old friend from a little-known Chicago criminal defense firm. Attorney Sheldon Sorosky of Kaplan & Sorosky represented Blagojevich during the federal court bond hearing.

Sorosky was probably a stand-in to give the governor more time to choose counsel with more resources, other attorneys said. Better-known Chicago defense attorneys Michael Monico and Terry Gillespie were both mentioned as possibilities. The governor’s chief of staff, John Harris, was also charged in the complaint. He has hired Terry Ekl, a prominent suburban litigator with Lisle, Ill.-based Ekl Williams.

UPDATE:

Douglas E. Schoen at Forbes.com suggests what some have already been saying — that Blagojevich didn’t do anything that doesn’t go on all the time, political “horse trading.”

Yes, the wiretaps reveal clear and unambiguous evidence that Blagojevich hoped to get something in exchange for the appointment. But this kind of horse trading, in my experience, goes on all the time. It usually isn’t articulated as bluntly as it apparently was here, though–and there usually aren’t as many wiretaps marshaled as evidence.

Dennis McCauley at GamePolitics points out the “delicious irony.” Blagejovich was a vocal critic of the video game series Grand Theft Auto, which features criminal acts and profanity. He tried to pass a state law banning sales of “violent” video games to minors.

…in a yummy twist of fate, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly, who ruled in 2005 that Blagojevich’s video game law was unconstitutional, was one of two federal judges who authorized recent FBI wiretaps that led to Blagojevich’s downfall.

Now that Blagejovich has been exposed as a key proponent of criminal acts and profanity, we can ask him who’s more responsible for scholl shootings — video game creators or corrupt politicians.

Keep watching this space for further developments.

Dreier Indicted in Federal Court (UPDATE)

admin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:08:06 +0000

Federal prosecutors have charged Marc Dreier, founder of Manhattan’s Dreier LLP, with theft in connection with his alleged attempt to secure a loan by impersonating another lawyer in Toronto.

Dreier has retained celebrity lawyer Gerald Shargel, and is scheduled to appear at US District Court for the Southern District of New York today.

Dreier allegedly impersonated a lawyer for the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund during a meeting with an executive for Fortress Investment Group, using the other lawyer’s business card, which Dreier had received from the lawyer earlier that day.

Dreier was allegedly seeking money for a sham transaction.

He spent three nights in an Ontario jail before making bond and flying back to New York with Shargel. Federal authorities were waiting at the airport and arrested Dreier.

Shargel has represented several high-profile clients, including mob boss John Gotti, lawyers who allegedly bribed and threatened witnesses, and an elderly Texas oil man who scammed the UN’s oil-for-food program with Iraq.

UPDATE

From WSJ LawBlog:

The Criminal Charge: … Dreier was arrested late Sunday night, presumably upon his arrival back in New York, on charges stemming from a $100 million fraud against various hedge funds.

The SEC Suit: The SEC also filed suit against Dreier on Monday, alleging that he has been marketing and selling fake promissory notes to investors.

The Wachovia Suit: Wachovia Bank sued Dreier LLP and Marc Dreier (in addition to a handful of others) today, alleging that a credit revolver and term loan extended to the firm are in default, as of November 1, upon which the bank is owed some $12.7 million.