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Bank of America Ordered to Give Bonus Data to N.Y. Attorney General

New York Law Journal

A Manhattan judge ruled Wednesday that Bank of America must turn over to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo a list of employees who received bonuses paid out by Merrill Lynch on the eve of the financially strained brokerage house's merger with the bank. Cuomo called the decision a "victory for taxpayers" that would "lift the shroud of secrecy surrounding the $3.6 billion in premature bonuses Merrill Lynch rushed out in early December." The bank had claimed the bonus information amounted to a trade secret.

Mayer Brown and Former Partner Escape Refco Shareholder Class Action

The American Lawyer

Offering a broad interpretation of the protection afforded law firms by the Supreme Court's ruling in Stoneridge, a New York federal judge on Tuesday dismissed claims against Mayer Brown and partner Joseph Collins, who represented Refco before and during its 2005 IPO. Judge Gerard Lynch concluded that even if Mayer Brown and Collins engaged in fraudulent activity on Refco's behalf, they were not liable to shareholders unless they made misstatements directly to them.

Madoff's Accountant Charged With Securities Fraud, Other Crimes

New York Law Journal

A small-town accountant Wednesday became the first person to join Bernard L. Madoff in facing criminal charges in connection with Madoff's vast Ponzi scheme. Federal prosecutors accused David G. Friehling of securities fraud and other offenses for failing to conduct audits and for deceiving investors as he provided audit services to Madoff's investment services business. He is not charged with knowledge of Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Friehling and his firm were retained by Madoff from 1991 to 2008.

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Hedge Fund Manager Conned Investors With Phony Law Firm Connections, Say Prosecutors

The Recorder

Silicon Valley hedge fund manager Albert Hu was charged Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney and the SEC with duping investors out of millions of dollars. Part of Hu's scheme, authorities claim, was to impress investors by telling them that his funds were represented by prominent law firms. But authorities say it was all a ruse -- the law firms had nothing to do with the scheme cooked up by Hu, who allegedly promised big returns and then wouldn't return the money when investors got suspicious.

Stanford Exec Sues Insurer, Can't Afford a Defense

The American Lawyer

It seems that Laura Pendergest-Holt, the one Stanford Financial defendant in the SEC's civil fraud case who has a lawyer, can't afford to pay for one. Pendergest-Holt filed a suit Tuesday against Lloyd's of London, claiming that Stanford's insurance policy requires Lloyd's to foot the bill for her legal defense. The suit, filed by Pendergest-Holt's team at Salt Lake City-based Parsons Behle & Latimer and local counsel from Sawicki & Lauten in Dallas, asks for $10 million in actual damages and $40 million in punitives.

Straying Wife's Fault Not 'Egregious' Enough for Penalty, N.Y. Court Finds

New York Law Journal

An attorney embroiled in a divorce proceeding cannot penalize his wife for allegedly duping him into thinking that his youngest son, the product of an affair, was his biological child, a New York state appeals court has ruled. In a pointed dissent, Justice Eugene Nardelli took a "dimmer" view of Lillian S.'s behavior, saying that she played "fast and loose" with her son's health by concealing his true parentage from health care providers and creating "potentially life-threatening gaps" in his medical history.

Defendants in Asbestos Suit Lose Bid for Autopsy of Plaintiff

New Jersey Law Journal

In a case of first impression, a New Jersey appeals court on Wednesday denied a defense request for an autopsy of an asbestos-exposure plaintiff who died two days before trial. The panel, in St. John v. Affinia Group, affirmed a trial judge's finding that defendants Chrysler and Honeywell failed to show that examination of the dead man's lung tissue would produce significant evidence. The ruling means that Harold St. John, whose burial had been halted while in progress, can now be laid to rest.

Morris, Manning & Martin Rescinds Offers, Nixes Summer Program

Fulton County Daily Report

Morris Manning has rescinded offers for six of its incoming first-year associates and canceled this year's summer associate program due to the recession. Nationally, several firms have pushed back start dates for their 2009 first-year class and some have rescinded job offers, but Morris Manning is the first in Atlanta to do so. "We believe that our first goal should be to retain jobs for the associates who are already working for us before bringing in more associates," said managing partner Robert Saudek.

Plaintiff Gets $46 Million Result, Goes for Insurers

The Recorder

A California Superior Court judge recently awarded more than $46 million to a woman almost entirely paralyzed in a 2006 car accident and her husband. The judgment, entered Friday, came after at least one insurance company tried and failed to intervene in the case when it discovered that the defendant was not going to put up a fight. Now, Mary Alexander, the San Francisco personal-injury lawyer representing the plaintiff, faces a fight to get the insurance companies to pay.

9th Circuit Rules Law School Cannot Be Required to Recognize Religious Student Group That Discriminates

The National Law Journal

The University of California Hastings College of the Law cannot be required to recognize and fund a religious student group that discriminates in selecting members and officers, the 9th Circuit ruled Tuesday, finding that the rule prohibiting discrimination based on members' religion or sexual orientation is "viewpoint neutral and reasonable." Hastings' attorney said the issue has arisen in test cases at universities across the country. The 9th Circuit decision may be in direct conflict with the 7th Circuit.

Drinker Biddle Eyeing Wolf Block's Del. Lawyers

The Legal Intelligencer

All but one of the 11 attorneys in Wolf Block's Wilmington, Del., office are in talks to move to the Delaware office of Drinker Biddle & Reath, say sources. The 10 attorneys, said to be led by office managing partner Shawn Tucker, have a mix of practice areas including litigation, corporate investigations, white-collar defense and real estate. If the deal does go through, it would be a significant move in a small market and would also give Drinker Biddle more depth in an office it has been looking to expand.

Dreier Seeks Dismissal of Securities Fraud Charge

New York Law Journal

A securities fraud charge against disgraced attorney Marc S. Dreier should be dismissed, according to court papers filed this week by Dreier's attorney, who argues that phony real estate development and pension plan notes that Dreier allegedly sold were nonsecurities because they were only made available to a limited number of "highly sophisticated investors." On Tuesday, a superseding indictment added a money-laundering count to the multitude of charges Dreier faces.

Four Former SGs Address Patent Litigation, Morning Coats

Legal Times

At a powerhouse gathering of four former solicitors general on Wednesday at the National Press Club, the group discussed, among other things, the need for the United States to interject its voice more than it does in patent litigation in the Federal Circuit. The lawyers also talked about one of the differences between arguing for the government and representing private clients before the Supreme Court, saying they've tucked away their morning coats -- the traditional garb of the Solicitor General.

Explaining China's Anti-Monopoly Law

The National Law Journal

China has moved quickly to put a merger-control regime in place since its Anti-Monopoly Law went into effect on Aug. 1, 2008. Chinese authorities issued both formal filing guidelines and draft filing rules that set forth the basic procedures of the Chinese merger-filing regime and provide practitioners and businesses with guidance on how proposed transactions will be analyzed under the regime. Hogan & Hartson partners Jun Wei and Janet McDavid explain the new law and its effects so far.

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Creating Tables on Best Authority

Law Technology News

Creating a table of authorities for pleadings is often a last-minute, cumbersome task that takes hours to complete. Steptoe and Johnson's senior legal editor, Karen Tucker, explains why the firm chose Levit & James' Best Authority to order their authorities and meet the firm's needs.

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May Courts Assist Private International Arbitration?

Special to Law.com

With more disputes required by contract to be resolved through international arbitrations, parties must pursue creative avenues to obtain written discovery and witnesses' testimony. One such avenue is through 28 U.S.C. §1782. Currently, the courts are split over whether an international private arbitration constitutes a "tribunal" entitled to judicial assistance under §1782. Attorneys Sofia E. Biller and Howard S. Suskin examine the implications of that split on the availability of relief under §1782.

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No In-House Haven From Layoffs

The Recorder

While mass layoffs at big law firms have grabbed headlines in recent months, in-house attorneys also have had their jobs taken away. Relatively few lawyers are being let go as part of mass corporate layoffs, in part because legal departments aren't that big to start with and because the bigger cost often isn't a company's own lawyers, but the ones it hires from law firms. Out-of-work in-house lawyers are better off on the hopelessly unemployed scale than their law firm counterparts, recruiters say.

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Econ 101: Spend Money and Think Positive

Fulton County Daily Report

Like the economy in general, things are not pretty in Big Law land, notes The Snark. Recently more than 700 legal jobs were eliminated in a single day, and there have been many more layoffs since then. What can we do to stop the pain? The Snark considers a couple of nifty solutions -- spend money and think positive! The Snark also suggests some affirming mantras we can silently chant, and provides other helpful tips, such as using more exclamation points and smiley faces in e-mails.

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