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Supreme Court Likely to Leave Accounting Oversight Board as Is

The National Law Journal

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared inclined to leave well enough alone Monday and not tinker with the structure of an accounting oversight board created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Congress created the Public Accounting Oversight Board in the aftermath of the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals, giving the board broad and independent power to regulate accounting firms, which had been self-regulated before. The suit challenges the board's constitutionality as too insulated from presidential power.

Lawyers for Former McKesson Chairman Seek New Trial, Say Juror 'Muddied' Instructions

The Recorder

The jury that convicted former McKesson HBOC Chairman Charles McCall for securities fraud is coming under scrutiny itself. Last week a federal judge distributed to the parties juror questionnaires that had been filled out post-verdict. The judge flagged responses from one juror, in which she indicated that the foreperson, a lawyer, "helped" by clarifying what "reckless disregard" means, according to papers filed by McCall's attorney. McCall's lawyers are asking for a new trial.

Feds Get First Dibs on Rothstein's Seized Property as Fraud Estimate Rises to $1.6 Billion

Daily Business Review

The federal government has first claim to all of disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein's seized property if he is convicted of running a Ponzi scheme -- an operation prosecutors now estimate attracted $1.6 billion from investors. The federal district court judge presiding over Rothstein's criminal case signed an order Monday at the government's request to preserve all of Rothstein's assets for forfeiture. The ruling shifts the jurisdiction for marshalling assets from bankruptcy court to criminal court.

Craigslist, eBay Face Off in Closely Watched Trial

The Legal Intelligencer

A Delaware judge began hearing testimony Monday in a corporate governance battle between two online titans. EBay claims when it bought a minority ownership stake in Craigslist, it was promised a board seat and expected to work together toward a merger. Instead, eBay claims, Craigslist tried to dilute eBay's stake. But Craigslist's lawyers set out Monday to show eBay had engaged in deceptive acts by hiding a plan to launch a competing classified site and misusing confidential information gleaned from dealings with Craigslist.

Mistrial in Case of Blogger Accused of Threatening Judges

New York Law Journal

A New York federal judge has declared a mistrial in the prosecution of Harold "Hal" Turner, the New Jersey blogger accused of threatening to kill three federal appellate judges in Chicago. With the jury deadlocked 9-3 in favor of acquittal after two days of deliberations, visiting U.S. District Court Judge Donald Walter ordered a new trial for March 1. Speaking with reporters after the jury was dismissed, one of the jurors blamed the deadlock on the prosecution.

Blagojevich's Lawyers May Move Office in Wake of Laptop Theft

The National Law Journal

The defense team for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is considering moving its main offices after computer equipment and a safe disappeared in a Friday break-in, a lawyer on the team said. The lawyers have offered a $3,000 reward for the return of the equipment, no questions asked. Eight laptops, other miscellaneous computer equipment and a small, empty floor safe were reported missing and the offices had been ransacked, police said.

Judge in Mark Cuban Case Orders Discovery Against SEC

The American Lawyer

The Securities and Exchange Commission's insider-trading case against Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has already been a disaster for the agency. But it just might get worse. On Friday, in a potentially precedent-setting move, Dallas federal district court Judge Sidney Fitzwater granted a motion by Cuban's lawyers at Dewey & LeBoeuf to seek discovery from the SEC in connection with their request for attorney fees.

Dell Pays $40 Million to Settle Securities Fraud Class Action -- After Case Was Dismissed

The American Lawyer

Winning a motion to dismiss doesn't always mean you've won the case. A month after asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm the dismissal of a 2007 securities class action, Dell agreed to settle the case for $40 million. The timing of the settlement raises questions about how Dell thought the 5th Circuit would rule -- and based on what the shareholders' lawyers said about oral arguments, Dell had good reason to worry the case would be revived.

AIG's Top Lawyer Tells Pay Czar 'Hands Off My Paycheck'

Corporate Counsel

In another dust-up in American International Group's battle with the government over executive pay, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that GC Anastasia Kelly and four other high-ranking executives had written notices that they would resign by the end of the year if the government significantly cut their compensation. An AIG spokesperson, however, said the executives never threatened to resign. Rather, they had written the notices in an effort to protect their executive severance packages.

New York AG's Wall Street Cop Leaving Cuomo's Office for Friedman Kaplan

The American Lawyer

One of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's key senior aides -- executive deputy attorney general for economic justice Eric Corngold -- is leaving for private practice at Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman. During Corngold's tenure in Cuomo's office, his portfolio has included some of the AG's highest-profile matters, including investigations of the bonus flap at Bank of America; the sale of auction-rate securities; and the antitrust allegations against the computer chipmaker Intel.

Lawyer Named in N.Y. Pension Probe Files Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit

New York Law Journal

A New York lawyer has filed a federal civil rights suit accusing the state comptroller of illegally depriving him of his public retirement benefits and damaging his reputation by portraying him as a pension cheat. Albert A. D'Agostino, one of the attorneys involved in pension fund investigations by the comptroller and state AG, argues that he should get compensation based on a state court judge's earlier determination that his due process rights were violated when his pension was rescinded without a pre-deprivation hearing.

Former Detroit Mayor Denies Threat to Prosecutor

The Associated Press

Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick denied in court Monday that he made threats to a prosecutor during a recorded jailhouse phone call to his wife while he was serving time following a text-messaging sex scandal that led to his resignation. "When we get the loot, we're going to take her all the way out," Kilpatrick told his wife. Kilpatrick admitted that he was referring to the head of the prosecutor's office but said he was referring to the prosecutor's role in his restitution process.

Bingham Boosts London Office With Hire of Former Sidley Finance Partner

Legal Week

Bingham McCutchen has made its second partner hire in London this year with the recruitment of Sarah Smith for its U.K. finance practice. Smith, the former co-head of Sidley Austin's international finance group, will join Bingham at the beginning of 2010 after leaving Sidley in February. She has experience in securitization and structured finance and will focus on general finance and restructuring matters, working alongside office head James Roome and London finance head Barry Russell.

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DLA Piper Launches Third Round of Middle East Layoffs

Legal Week

DLA Piper has made a new round of job cuts in the Middle East, announcing Monday that it is to lay off another 9 percent of staff in the region in response to continued deterioration in the market. The latest round of cuts equates to seven lawyers and 10 support staff losing their jobs. The firm did not provide a breakdown of the job losses but said the majority of the layoffs were in Dubai and affected the construction, real estate, project finance and development projects teams.

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Five Things I Would Change About My Job

Texas Lawyer

"As I rub the toner buildup off the copy machine glass, a genie will arise from the document feeder before my eyes," says The Assistant-at-Law. "He'll sneeze out a puff of black toner dust, thank me for freeing him from his allergenic prison and offer to grant five work-related wishes."

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