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.

Prosecutors Win Order Restraining Madoff Assets

New York Law Journal

A New York federal judge Monday gave prosecutors the upper hand in their bid to maintain control of Bernard L. Madoff's assets. Despite another judge's decision allowing certain victims of the massive Ponzi scheme to file a petition forcing the jailed Madoff into involuntary bankruptcy, Southern District Judge Denny Chin on Monday placed a restraining order on the personal assets of Madoff and his wife, Ruth.

Legal Professionals Role-Play the Future of Big Law

The American Lawyer

To test the viability of the large law firm model, an Indiana University law professor and the lead risk manager for the Australian lawyers insurance operation organized a role-playing game, a sort of Dungeons and Dragons for lawyers. FutureFirm is a case study of a hypothetical Am Law 200 firm in trouble. Law firm partners, clients, law students and consultants spent a weekend devising strategies to help the firm survive another decade. What emerged from the exercise was a model of what big firms might look like.

High Court to Rule on Bias Avoidance in Major Job Discrimination Case

The National Law Journal

The elements of a perfect storm for employers coalesce in the Supreme Court this week in a major job bias case asking what employers legally may do when a decision to avoid discrimination against one group of employees may mean discrimination against another group. The case, perhaps the most important job discrimination case to come before the Court in years, involves a public employer, but could have significant ramifications for private employers and their efforts to maintain diversity in their workplaces.

Buchanan Ingersoll Puts Off Start Dates, Cuts Summer Program

The Legal Intelligencer

Buchanan Ingersoll is delaying start dates for its first-year associates and curtailing the length of its summer program in the midst of the economic slowdown. A firm spokeswoman confirmed that start dates for first-year associates would be pushed back from September 2009 to February 2010. Those associates will be given a monthly stipend to cover living expenses. The firm will also scale back its 2009 summer associate program by three weeks, reducing it to seven weeks.

Companies Predict Bailout-Related Increase in Whistleblower Lawsuits

The National Law Journal

The Obama administration is asking too much of corporate America in terms of transparency, setting it up for more whistleblower lawsuits and more regulation, according to a poll of more than 1,500 executives. More than half the respondents claimed that it's impossible to meet the transparency demands required in exchange for federal bailout funds. Released on Monday, the poll was conducted during a March webcast sponsored by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services.

Supreme Court Will Release Same-Day Audio of Voting Rights Case

Legal Times

For the first time in more than a year, the Supreme Court next week will release the audio of an oral argument on a same-day basis. The Court granted the media request seeking same-day access to the audio of arguments in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder, a potentially landmark dispute over the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act. The Court is notoriously stingy with the same-day access, allowing it only when an undefined combination of factors is present.

Law Firm Managers Face Possible Sanctions From Arizona State Bar

The Associated Press

The managers of Phoenix firm Phillips & Associates may be facing sanctions from the Arizona State Bar, which has recommended that the firm managers be temporarily suspended from practicing law. Complaints against the firm range from a potentially misleading ad to the firm's reluctance to refund money to dissatisfied clients. A hearing officer ruled that firm founder Jeffrey Phillips and an associate were responsible for the lapses because they have oversight over the firm's legal and nonlegal employees.

Conn. Lawyer Sentenced to 5 Years for Running Child Porn Web Site

The Connecticut Law Tribune

A Connecticut lawyer has been sentenced to 5 1/2 years in federal prison for operating a child pornography Web site. Prosecutors say solo practitioner Eric Gaynor ran the site for two years and that he offered to sell or rent videos of young boys who were naked, partially clothed or engaged in sexual activity. Gaynor still has his license to practice law, but faces sanctions from state disciplinary officials, according to his lawyer.

High Court Turns Down Challenge to Jury's Use of Bible

The Associated Press

The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a challenge from a Texas death row inmate who claimed his constitutional rights were violated by jurors who consulted a Bible. In the appeal, Khristian Oliver's defense said jurors reviewed a biblical passage stating that a murderer who used an iron object to kill "shall surely be put to death." The 5th Circuit ruled that the jurors wrongly used the Bible but said there wasn't enough evidence to show they were prejudiced when they decided to send Oliver to death row.

Advocate Starr Watches as Justices Breyer and Scalia Spar

Legal Times

Supreme Court advocates often talk about feeling like spectators at a tennis match when they argue, watching as justices score points against each other while the lawyer stands idly by. A dramatic example came on Monday as former Solicitor General Kenneth Starr argued in a case involving English language learners in Arizona schools. Justice Antonin Scalia suggested at one point that Justice Stephen Breyer, not Starr, could answer one of Scalia's questions -- and Breyer was ready with a quick retort.

Senate Confirms 3 Justice Department Nominees

Legal Times

Though it waited almost a month to vote on them, the Senate moved swiftly and with near unanimity Monday in confirming three of President Barack Obama's nominees for top positions at the DOJ. Senators voted to confirm Covington & Burling partner Lanny Breuer for assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division; Hogan & Hartson partner Christine Varney for assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division; and Morrison Foerster partner Tony West for assistant attorney general for the Civil Division.

3rd Circuit Hands Major Victories to Criminal Defense Bar

The Legal Intelligencer

Defense lawyers were thrilled by a pair of decisions handed down by the 3rd Circuit last week that, like a one-two punch to the government, held that appellate courts must take a hands-off approach even when a sentence is very lenient, and that a below-guidelines sentence is sometimes not lenient enough. The cases show that the federal appeals courts are increasingly reluctant to overturn sentences that prosecutors deem to be overly lenient, but are still open to a defendant's claims that a sentence is too harsh.

Reports of High-Risk Sex Justify Temporary Closure of N.Y. Club, Says Judge

New York Law Journal

Citing the testimony of three undercover inspectors who witnessed more than "150 incidents of prohibited sexual activity," a New York judge has granted a motion for a preliminary injunction temporarily closing Casbar, a Brooklyn sex club. Despite the club's billing as "New York's newest and cleanest swing club," the judge held that proof of the club's repeated violations of the state's Sanitary Code was sufficient to grant relief without considering the standard three-prong test for preliminary injunctions.

Herbert Smith to Freeze Pay and Cut up to 84 Jobs

Legal Week

Herbert Smith has announced a redundancy consultation Monday, with up to 84 positions facing the ax. The cuts, all of which will come in the firm's London office, are expected to include up to 30 fee earners. Corporate is expected to lose up to 24 fee earners and professional support lawyers as well as nine paralegals, with up to 42 secretarial and support staff roles placed under threat firmwide.

Visit International News

Feds Seize Assets of Companies Suspected of Hiring Illegal Aliens

Corporate Counsel

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement service, known as ICE, the investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has been aggressively cracking down on U.S. corporations suspected of hiring illegal aliens -- and seizing their assets. The number of work site arrests has exploded tenfold since 2003. But if company executives think they can suss out ICE's next move, they're wrong. In fact, execs caught with illegal workers have no idea what ICE will do to them or ask of their company, says one expert.

Visit In-House Counsel

Law.com®

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

Customer Service Phone: (877) 256-CIRC