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MAYOR COLLARED IN FBI DRAGNET CHARGED WITH ANOTHER ABUSE OF OFFICE
"Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez, one of the government officials arrested in the massive federal bribery sting that racked New Jersey last month, is now facing allegations that he abused the powers of his office in another way: by having the brother of a friend and political ally arrested. A week after the FBI arrests, Michael Taffaro of Moonachie filed a seven-count complaint in Bergen County Superior Court alleging that Suarez had police issue an arrest warrant in late 2007 alleging Taffaro made false statements on an Open Public Records Act request form. 'Plaintiff believes ? that Mayor Suarez personally ordered the warrant's issuance,' the lawsuit says. At the time of the incident, Taffaro was locked in a bitter probate dispute with his sister, Susan Taffaro, over their mother's estate, and Susan, the secretary to the borough planning board, was a neighbor and close friend of Suarez, a lawyer, who was representing her in the probate case."

IN DIVIDED VOTE, SENATE CONFIRMS SOTOMAYOR FOR HIGH COURT
"In a historic and divided 68-31 vote, the Senate on Thursday confirmed the nomination of appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, making her the first Hispanic and third woman on the nation's highest court. The Senate vote followed three days of floor statements by senators, with Democrats singing her praises and most Republicans criticizing her record and statements at last month's confirmation hearings. Sotomayor gained the support of nine Republican senators, who bucked pressure from party leadership and such groups as the National Rifle Association. Four of the nine are retiring from the Senate."

HAPPY ASSOCIATES ARE FOUND WHERE LAYOFFS ARE NOT
"When news of layoffs started to become almost a daily event late last year, Newark-based Gibbons made a point of telling associates that it was committed to avoiding staff or attorney cuts and so far management has kept its word. That wasn't lost on the firm's midlevel associates when they were filling out The American Lawyer's associate satisfaction survey in April. With the results coming out in this month's issue, it looks like the firm's commitment and communication helped move it up the chart. Gibbons ranked 18th on this year's list with a score of 4.188. That was up from 86th last year. The firm had a 57 percent response rate."

FEDERAL CIRCUIT CLAMPS DOWN ON PATENT ATTORNEY MISCONDUCT CLAIMS
"Thr Federal U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has put the patent bar on notice that vague claims of another lawyer's intent to mislead or withhold data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will no longer fly. Tuesday's precedent-setting ruling in Exergen Corp. v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. makes it harder for patent lawyers to prove that another attorney intentionally deceived the PTO when presenting a patent application. Lawyers defending patent infringement cases frequently accuse the other side of such misconduct ? referred to as inequitable misconduct ? which can disqualify a patent or some of its claims. Attorneys say misconduct accusations are so frequent and frivolous that they're significantly driving up the cost of patent litigation."

FORMER AIG OFFICIALS TO PAY $16.5 MILLION TO SETTLE SUIT
"Federal regulators announced Thursday that AIG's ex-Chief Executive Officer Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg and ex-Chief Executive Officer Howard Smith had agreed to pay $16.5 million to settle charges that they helped the insurance giant hide losses from 2000 to 2005, when an accounting scandal forced Greenberg out. Greenberg will pay $15 million; Smith will pay $1.5 million. According to a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, Greenberg had 'publicly described AIG as the leader in the insurance and financial services industry,' and investors rewarded the company for what they accepted as a history of delivering consistent double-digit growth in key measures."

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