Legal Research

If you are already an online subscriber to the LAW.COM service you should be able to click on any of the links below, sign in, and access the full text of all articles listed. A subscription to LAW.COM is needed for online access to this service.

Federal Reserve Ordered to Turn Over Data on Bailout Loans

New York Law Journal

The Federal Reserve has been ordered by a federal judge to release records about emergency loans made to investment banks and other financial institutions during the height of the economic meltdown. Rejecting a Federal Reserve claim that the material was exempt from disclosure, Southern District of New York Judge Loretta Preska granted a Freedom of Information Act request from the Bloomberg organization. Her decision contrasted with one made by fellow Southern District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in July.

Former Stanford Investment Advisers Push to Get Assets Unfrozen

Fulton County Daily Report

When Stanford International Bank, the financial institution founded by larger-than-life Texan R. Allen Stanford, imploded earlier this year after the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the bank of fraud, assets belonging not just to investors but also to financial advisers once employed there were frozen. Now, with the help of lawyers in Texas and Georgia, those financial advisers are trying to get their money back. And Stanford isn't the only one taking the heat.

En Banc Federal Circuit to Address Closely Watched Patent Issue

The National Law Journal

The Federal Circuit has agreed to an en banc rehearing that could result in reversal of a written description requirement for patents that it imposed a dozen years ago. The court will tackle whether the patent code requires a specific "written description" of the invention in addition to enabling language that explains how to make and use it. The question is hotly debated across the intellectual property community, said an attorney in the case, George Washington University Law School's John Whealan.

Did Bank of America Waive Attorney-Client Privilege in Merrill Bonus Flap?

The American Lawyer

The Am Law Daily takes a closer look at this week's developments in the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch bonus case, including the issue of how close Bank of America came to waiving attorney-client privilege in asserting -- to the Securities and Exchange Commission -- that the two banks relied completely on their outside counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Shearman & Sterling in drafting clauses in their merger agreement pertaining to employee bonuses.

Prominent Fundraiser for Obama and Clinton Charged With Fraud

The Associated Press

A wealthy investment banker and prominent fundraiser for President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other top Democrats was arrested Tuesday on charges he lied to get a $74 million business loan that -- once confronted by authorities -- he hastily repaid. Prosecutors accused Hassan Nemazee of giving Citibank documents showing he owned millions of dollars in collateral that were "fraudulent and forged." On Tuesday, a New York federal court judge ordered a haggard-looking Nemazee locked up for the night.

Feds Say Lawyer Took Bribe to Encourage Client to Lie in Immigration Case

The National Law Journal

A California lawyer who allegedly agreed to accept more than $100,000 in bribes in exchange for coaching his client to lie to a grand jury investigating immigration fraud has been indicted on obstruction of justice charges. Federal prosecutors allege that Alfred N. Villalobos coerced an attorney who represents the target of an immigration fraud investigation to give him $107,000 in cash and other compensation in exchange for the promise that his client would make false statements to a prosecutor and the grand jury.

Could 3rd Circuit's Sentencing Reversal Affect Fumo Case?

The Legal Intelligencer

With less than a week to go before former Pennsylvania state Sen. Vincent Fumo is set to report to prison to begin serving a 55-month term, his ultimate fate could be significantly affected by developments in an obscure child pornography case from New Jersey that could play a key role in the Justice Department's decision about whether to appeal Fumo's sentence as too lenient. Both the prosecutors and Fumo's defense team are sure to be studying Tuesday's decision from the 3rd Circuit in United States v. Lychock.

Daimler Says 'Nein' to Susman Godfrey in Chrysler Bankruptcy

The American Lawyer

Chrysler's creditors committee has petitioned a federal bankruptcy court to hire Susman Godfrey and Dallas bankruptcy boutique Stutzman, Bromberg, Esserman & Plifka as special counsel for its lawsuit alleging that Daimler siphoned billions out of Chrysler through "fraudulent conveyances" before selling off its majority stake in the automaker. But in a court filing on Monday, Daimler's lawyers from Shearman & Sterling revealed a few quibbles with Chrysler's proposed retention agreement for the two firms.

LCD Screen Manufacturer Agrees to $26 Million Fine in Antitrust Litigation

The National Law Journal

A Japanese manufacturer of LCD screens has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $26 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices of panels Motorola used in "Razr" cell phones, marking the latest corporate defendant to settle with the Justice Department in a long-running antitrust investigation. The ongoing antitrust investigation has generated more than $600 million in criminal fines against other manufacturers of LCD panels who were accused in the conspiracy.

Comedian's Mother-in-Law Sues Over Being Brunt of Jokes

New Jersey Law Journal

A New Jersey federal judge has been asked to order comedian Sunda Croonquist to shut up already with the Jewish mother-in-law jokes. Ruth Zafrin says in a pending suit that she is being falsely and maliciously tagged as a racist in her daughter-in-law's comedy routines. Zafrin's daughter and son-in-law, Shelley and Neil Edelman, also are plaintiffs in the suit, which charges the comedian depicts them in a false light with intent to harm. On Tuesday Judge Mary Cooper denied a motion to dismiss on procedural grounds.

Zoloft Experts to Debate Effect of Drug on Assault

New York Law Journal

A man claiming the antidepressant Zoloft caused him to beat up his ex-girlfriend may tap an expert witness to back up his defense, a New York state judge has ruled. But the judge also held that an expert witness for Pfizer, the maker of Zoloft, may take the stand in rebuttal. At a pretrial hearing in January, the defense expert testified that some users of antidepressants like Zoloft may suffer "significant side effects which may include impulsivity, agitation, excessive aggression, grandiosity and hypomania."

LaRouche PAC Enjoined From Politicking Outside Calif. Grocery Stores

The National Law Journal

A Los Angeles judge has granted a preliminary injunction against a political action committee associated with political activist and economist Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. that has been soliciting donations in front of grocery stores in Southern California. LaRouche has compared President Obama's proposed health care reforms to those of Adolf Hitler. In most cases, the LaRouche PAC representatives posted signs depicting Obama with a Hitler-style mustache or handed out literature decrying the "Obama Nazi Healthplan."

Crowded Calif. Jail Leads to $1.85M Settlement

The Recorder

A federal judge in California has approved a $1.85 million settlement with a former inmate who had been assaulted in a county jail. After two years of litigation, the county decided to settle the civil rights suit after one of its own experts provided deposition testimony that would not have reflected well on staffing ratios and housing arrangements at the jail. A panel of three federal judges recently issued an order telling the state to come up with a plan to cut about 40,000 inmates from its prison population.

Ruling in Favor of Law Firm in Pregnancy Discrimination Case Analyzes Rare Points of Law

Fulton County Daily Report

More than a year after the EEOC accused the law firm of Frederick J. Hanna & Associates of discriminating against a pregnant employee, a federal judge has granted summary judgment in the firm's favor. At issue in the court's report and recommendation were points of law not usually present in a pregnancy discrimination case, including an analysis of a non-traditional formulation of how a plaintiff may establish a prima facie case of discrimination and a discussion of the "cat's paw" theory of imputed discriminatory intent.

Federal Judge Questions DOJ Motivation to Dismiss Cross-Border Drug Case

The National Law Journal

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., is questioning the government's motivation behind its move to dismiss the drug trafficking conspiracy charge against an international pharmaceutical businessman wanted for prosecution in Mexico. At a status hearing Tuesday in the government's case against Zhenli Ye Gon, Judge Emmet Sullivan of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia directed DOJ prosecutors to address in a brief how the government may benefit from dismissal of the case without prejudice.

Visit International News

Court Orders Canada's Largest Law Firm to Produce Confidential Data

The American Lawyer

Canada's largest law firm is facing a Sept. 7 deadline to produce reams of confidential financial data on the compensation of partners, associates and staff. The court order stems from a sexual discrimination suit filed by a former partner against 650-lawyer McCarthy Tétrault in April 2008. Canadian publication Lawyers Weekly reports that the order is believed to be the first time that a major Canadian firm has been ordered to provide so much private firm information.

Visit International News

Look Into the Future of Litigation Tech

Texas Lawyer

After a decade of electronic discovery, lawyers have recognized a gap between what a string of binary code can do and what a lawyer's dual-hemisphered brain can do to prepare for trial. What kind of meaningful relationship is ahead in the marriage of litigators and computers?

Visit Legal Technology

'Founding Partners' Decision Shows Limits of SEC's Power Over Relief Defendants

Special to Law.com

Jenner and Block's Michael K. Lowman and Andrew F. Merrick examine SEC v. Founding Partners Capital Mgmt., a recent federal court ruling that significantly curtails the power of the Securities and Exchange Commission to pursue ill-gotten gains from relief defendants in an SEC enforcement action. The ruling is significant for practicing securities lawyers because it confirms that there are important boundaries that circumscribe the SEC's authority to pursue claims against relief defendants.

Visit In-House Counsel

Laid-Off Lawyers Struggle in Establishing Their Own Firm

The American Lawyer

This winter, Scott Jaffe, Paul Roberts and Ross Schiller had an idea that could only have come out of the recession: a law firm staffed by laid-off lawyers. The trio planned to open a boutique firm in Manhattan that specialized in finance, commercial law and bankruptcies. They bought computers, distributed marketing materials and signed up a few clients. But by July, Jaffe, Roberts & Schiller was dead. Schiller was out, and Jaffe and Roberts were cutting a deal to combine with another start-up firm.

Visit the Career Center

Small Firm's Good Deed of Hiring Former Client Goes Punished

The National Law Journal

Note to legal staffers: Do not steal money from judges. Note to law firms: Do not hire legal staffers you have defended in court for stealing money from judges. A small Virginia law firm, Jessee & Read, learned that second lesson the hard way after a legal secretary stole more than $42,000 from the firm while on probation for stealing from a judge months earlier. The secretary was sentenced to three years in prison on Aug. 18 after pleading guilty in June to mail fraud and felony money laundering.

Visit Small Firm Business

Law.com®

120 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10271-1101 (877) 256-CIRC

Customer Service Phone: (877) 256-CIRC