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Firm Managing Partners Report Record Low Confidence in Economy

Legal Times

Managing partners reported record low confidence in the economy's overall health and business conditions for the legal profession in a survey released Wednesday by Citi Private Bank. According to 2008 fourth-quarter findings, partners' confidence in the economy plunged to a record low of 38 on an index that ranges from zero to 200, when just last year confidence was at 69. Despite dismal projections in general, managing partners were more optimistic about their own firms' financial prospects.

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Judge Rejects Feds' Appeal to Jail Madoff

New York Law Journal

Deciding an appeal brought by prosecutors after Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis on Monday refused to revoke bail, federal Judge Lawrence McKenna ruled Wednesday that Bernard Madoff will remain out of jail until he is either convicted or pleads guilty in an alleged $50 billion fraud. The only additional requirement imposed by McKenna was to expand the personal property inventory ordered by Ellis to include personal property at the Madoffs' homes on Long Island, in Florida and in France.

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Federal Judge Orders Mukasey to Respond to Inquiry in Stevens Case

Legal Times

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan on Wednesday ordered AG Michael Mukasey to prepare by noon Friday a declaration addressing questions on how the government handled a whistleblower complaint filed in the Ted Stevens case. "This is the most important thing on his desk right now," Sullivan said. "I want the declaration of the attorney general before he leaves office." The whistleblower complaint, filed by an FBI special agent, alleges the prosecution team intentionally withheld evidence from Stevens' lawyers.

Importers' Attack on $25 Billion Tobacco Settlement Is Dismissed

New York Law Journal

A federal judge on Monday rejected an antitrust attack on the $25 billion settlement reached in 1998 between the nation's major cigarette manufacturers and 46 states as it has been implemented in New York. Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Freedom Holdings Inc. v. Cuomo also dissolved a preliminary injunction he had issued barring enforcement of a 2003 New York law aimed at leveling the playing field between manufacturers who participated in the settlement and those that did not.

Inside the High Court: A Heist Movie, a Fable and a Rich Dessert

Law.com

In several colorful moments during Supreme Court arguments Wednesday, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. confessed to a sweet tooth, Justice Antonin Scalia cited an Aesop's fable, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave arguing counsel a lesson in 1950s cinema.

Some Dreier Money Freed Up for Payment of Legal Bills

The American Lawyer

Contesting an SEC order to freeze Marc Dreier's assets, attorney Gerald Shargel told the Am Law Daily on Wednesday that he has reached an agreement in principle with SEC attorneys to release $50,000 that the former law firm managing partner can use to pay his legal bills. Shargel says he still plans to contest a judge's decision to hold Dreier without bail. The subject of financier Bernard Madoff's house arrest may still play a role in bail arguments to be made on Dreier's behalf.

Obama and Biden Come Calling on the Supreme Court

Legal Times

President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden visited the Supreme Court Wednesday for a highly private courtesy call that included chatting with eight of the justices. The visit had personal meaning for both Obama and Biden. When Obama graduated from Harvard Law School, he explicitly rejected a path that almost certainly would have led to a Court clerkship. As for Biden, as a longtime Senate Judiciary Committee member, he has voted on the confirmation of all nine of the justices now sitting.

Lehman Aims to Exit Bankruptcy Within 24 Months

The Associated Press

Bryan Marsal, who replaced longtime Lehman Chief Executive Richard Fuld at the end of 2008, told a bankruptcy judge Wednesday that liquidators could finish their work of winding down Lehman within two years, instead of the 10 years others have predicted. Once the nation's fourth-biggest investment bank, Lehman filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history on Sept. 15. Separately, the judge extended Lehman's exclusive control over the case, pushing back a deadline to file a reorganization plan to July 13.

Psychotic Defendant, Though Competent to Stand Trial, Can't Be His Own Lawyer

New Jersey Law Journal

Mentally ill criminal defendants who are found to be competent to stand trial don't automatically have the right to act as their own counsel, a New Jersey appeals court held Wednesday. The ruling, made possible by a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that gives state courts discretion to decide such issues, upheld a trial judge who assigned a lawyer to represent an accused thief who proclaimed he was the acolyte of an ancient civilization's princess.

Fraud Claims Against Mirant Dropped

Fulton County Daily Report

Mirant Corp. has won a six-year legal battle to clear the company of allegations that it defrauded shareholders and violated federal securities laws. A federal judge dismissed the consolidated litigation with prejudice, ruling that shareholder plaintiffs repeatedly failed to show how Mirant had broken federal laws. Citing 11th Circuit precedent, the judge reiterated that circumstances of fraud must be "pled in detail. This means the who what when where and how, the first paragraph of any newspaper story."

Husband of Barred Judge Gets Prison for Hitting Her With Frying Pan

The Associated Press

The husband of a former Nevada judge who was stripped of her position for abusing her authority was sentenced Wednesday to three to 10 years in prison for hitting his wife in the head with a frying pan. The husband testified that he hit Elizabeth Halverson because she threatened to stab him -- a charge denied by the former judge, who must use a scooter to get around. The sentencing marked the latest twist in a saga that has seen Halverson barred from the bench for improprieties including falling asleep in court.

Newcomers Confront Changing Reality in Asia

The American Lawyer

Goodwin Procter, Ropes & Gray and Ashurst are among a handful of U.S. and U.K. firms to launch Asia offices in recent months. In most instances, the firms made their decisions amid rosy projections of continuing economic growth in the region. But the global financial crisis has made its way to Asia and newcomers must confront a different reality than the one they anticipated.

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Video Marketing Tips for Lawyers

Special to Law.com

What you should never include in your video: yourself! If you have a Web site that says you are a lawyer, people presume that you know what you're talking about, says trial lawyer and video marketing guru Gerry Oginski. If you give potential clients a reason to doubt you, they will.

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Top NLRB Precedents in Jeopardy Under an Obama Labor Board

New York Law Journal

President-elect Barack Obama, who just selected Hilda Solis, a strong union supporter, as his Secretary of Labor, will have the opportunity to dramatically reshape the National Labor Relations Board by appointing pro-union board members. Attorney Paul Galligan discusses the top 10 pro-employer board decisions under President George W. Bush that are now in jeopardy, understanding that it may take some time before the issues in question are presented to the Obama board as appeals.

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Firms, GCs to Develop a 'Best Practices' List for Diversity, Work-Life Balance

The National Law Journal

Lack of diversity and work-life balance are often treated as separate problems in the legal profession, but a new initiative headed by the Project for Attorney Retention is seeking solutions that address both. The Diversity and Flexibility Connection will bring together managing partners from firms with a dozen general counsel from major U.S. companies to develop a list of best practices to promote diversity and work-life among attorneys, and a metrics system to weigh how effective those practices are.

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Navigating the New Year's Resolutions of Big Law Co-Workers

Fulton County Daily Report

If you pay attention, the New Year's resolutions of your Big Law co-workers should reveal themselves. The Snark informs us that because Big Firm lawyers are just not that creative, there are four basic ones to watch for. And once you know what they are, you may be able to help those around you achieve their goals -- while protecting yourself. For example, do not burst into the office of a partner who is trying to break a caffeine addiction while holding your own fresh cup of brew. You could lose an arm.

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