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Trustee, SEC File New Suits Against Investment Firms, Individuals Tied to Madoff

New York Law Journal

Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee in charge of liquidating the investment firm of Bernard Madoff, on Monday filed suit against broker-dealer Cohmad Securities to recover what he alleged were decades worth of "ill gotten gains" received as a result of the firm's "symbiotic relationship" with Madoff. Meanwhile, the SEC filed suits against Cohmad and three of its executives, as well as Stanley Chais, a California-based investment adviser who advised three funds that invested their assets with Madoff.

Michigan Class Action Settlement on Autism Treatment Hailed as Landmark Case

The National Law Journal

In what plaintiffs lawyers are calling a landmark case, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has agreed to reimburse at least 100 families for costs involving treatments for their autistic children. The $1 million class action settlement comes as more and more states pass laws requiring insurance companies to pay for autism treatments and screenings. The settlement has autism advocates hopeful that insurers will stop claiming that behavioral therapy for autistic children is experimental, and start paying for it.

High Court's Narrow Ruling on Voting Rights Act Evokes Surprise

The National Law Journal

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday that avoided a major showdown over the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act both surprised and pleased civil rights advocates, who were nearly certain after oral arguments that the Court was poised to strike down the law outright, eliminating what they view as a crucial weapon in the struggle for political equality. But some warned that the ruling expressed serious doubt about the law's constitutionality and could form the basis of a future challenge.

Federal Judge Questions DOJ Prosecution in Drug Case

The National Law Journal

A federal judge in Washington on Monday questioned why Justice Department prosecutors failed to turn over favorable information to defense lawyers in a high-profile international drug trafficking conspiracy case. "I'm not pleased at all with anything I've heard from the United States government," Judge Emmet Sullivan said in a status hearing. Sullivan's remarks mirror the criticism he lodged against DOJ Public Integrity Section prosecutors in the Ted Stevens case.

In 5th Circuit Ruling, Justice O'Connor Revives Flowserve Securities Class Action

The American Lawyer

It's not every day a former Supreme Court justice weighs in on class certification in a securities fraud case. But thanks to a per curiam 5th Circuit opinion by retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the plaintiffs in a proposed class action against Flowserve Corp. will get a second chance to prosecute their case, which raises questions of loss causation and class certification. O'Connor also vented about the state of securities fraud litigation, in words that plaintiffs lawyers across the country are likely to repeat.

Supreme Court Sides With Student's Family in Special Ed Funding Case

The American Lawyer

Experts are already debating the impact of Monday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case pitting the family of a special needs high school student against the school district that had been ordered to pay the student's private school tuition. Educators and public school officials everywhere were watching the case, and they had claimed that millions -- maybe hundreds of millions -- of dollars in public money was at stake. On Monday the Court sided, 6-3, with the student's family.

'Slayer Statute' May Scuttle Defense Fees Paid From Estate of Murdered Husband

Fulton County Daily Report

On Monday the Georgia Supreme Court addressed a case brought by the executor for a man murdered by his wife, who asked the court to overturn lower court rulings and order the return of defense fees paid to the woman's lawyers from the estate, saying that to do otherwise would allow a murderer to profit from her crime. Attorney Louis Levenson told the high court that Georgia's "slayer statute" should have barred Debra Post from using her position as Jerry Post's executrix to "loot" the estate in order to pay her attorneys.

Here's a Switch: A Patent Infringement Defendant Transfers Into East Texas

The American Lawyer

It's been a while since IP cognoscenti considered Marshall, Texas a slam dunk for plaintiffs. Still, when we heard Juniper Networks got permission to transfer an infringement case from federal court in Virginia to the Eastern District of Texas, we had to wonder: Are Juniper's lawyers crazy? Crazy like a fox maybe. Juniper's lawyers at Kaye Scholer and Irell & Manella seem to be playing an elaborate game of hopscotch with their client's opponent, GraphOn Corp. If they have their way, Juniper won't be in Texas for long.

9th Circuit Reverses Ruling for Simon & Schuster in $90 Million Spam Text-Message Case

The American Lawyer

A 9th Circuit ruling reversing a district court's grant of summary judgment in a suit against Simon & Schuster could bring new life to litigation against companies that send spam via cell phone text messages. The plaintiff sued the publisher for sending an unsolicited text message advertising a Stephen King book to her son's cell phone. The suit, brought on behalf of a potential class of 60,000 people, sought between $500 and $1,500 for each message, meaning the publisher faced damages of up to $90 million.

Barnes & Thornburg to Merge With Minn. Firm

The National Law Journal

Barnes & Thornburg, an Indianapolis-based firm that's been growing rapidly this year, will combine with the Parsinen law firm of Minneapolis on July 1 to open a new office in that city. Through the merger, Barnes & Thornburg will add 22 lawyers who specialize in business litigation, employment, real estate, corporate, energy and trusts and estates law. The firm expects the Minneapolis market to be a good fit for its intellectual property practice in particular.

Nominee for Alito's 3rd Circuit Seat Appears to Be a Centrist at Heart

New Jersey Law Journal

Don't look for a 180-degree swing between Samuel Alito Jr. and Joseph Greenaway Jr., President Barack Obama's nominee to fill Alito's 3rd Circuit seat. Greenaway is a centrist who was a prosecutor and corporate lawyer before becoming a federal district court judge in New Jersey. The published 3rd Circuit decisions on appeals taken from Greenaway rulings since 1996 depict a trial judge who seems to have no ideological sharp elbows when it comes to issues such as sentencing, employee rights and deference to government.

California Same-Sex Couples Who Wed Out-of-State Remain in Limbo

The Recorder

Family lawyers representing California same-sex couples who wed out of state before the passage of Proposition 8 are hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst. Those marriages remain in legal limbo because last month's California Supreme Court ruling that upheld Prop 8 while letting stand approximately 18,000 same-sex unions didn't determine the fate of weddings held by California gays and lesbians in other states or countries. That issue wasn't before the court, so the justices chose not to tackle it.

Pinsent Masons to Outsource Litigation Work to South Africa

Legal Week

Top 20 U.K. firm Pinsent Masons has signed an outsourcing deal to send litigation work to South Africa. Pinsent has launched a litigation support service in cooperation with global legal processing outsourcing provider Exigent, with the work to be undertaken by qualified lawyers in Exigent's outsourcing center in Cape Town. The firm has outsourced document processing to Exigent for several years, but Exigent will now also provide data review for Pinsent's 360-lawyer litigation practice.

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Tasty Apps to Add to Your iPhone

Corporate Counsel

Apps -- those easy-to-download, seamlessly installed, usually cheap add-ons available at Apple's App Store -- are a powerful way to customize an iPhone (or iPod Touch) to do just the things you want it to. Here are some of Alan Cohen's favorite apps: some useful, some just plain fun.

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SEC Claims New Territory With Insider Trading Case

The National Law Journal

A case brought by the SEC last month accusing a Deutsche Bank Securities bond salesman and a former Millennium Partners hedge fund manager of insider trading in credit default swaps -- the derivatives blamed for much of the economic meltdown -- has kept a low profile but could prove to be significant. The case marks the first time the SEC has gone after trading in credit default swaps, and it comes as debate rages over how to regulate them and other increasingly creative and complex financial products.

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What's Old Is New Again: Howrey Introduces Apprenticeships

The National Law Journal

Starting this fall, Howrey will begin selling recruits on a new, two-year "apprentice" program. In their first year, associates will take classes on legal writing and research and will work on pro bono projects. In the second year, they'll be embedded at client sites for several months at a reduced billing rate and continue with classes on litigation skills. While associates will be paid less in their first two years, managing partner Robert Ruyak said the new approach is not a way to save the firm money.

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