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: New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library

LAW.COM Newswire Highlights November 13, 2008

By David Badertscher, PLL

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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. TODAY'S STORIES - Thursday, November 13, 2008 DOJ Accuses UBS Exec of Helping Conceal Billions From IRS Daily Business Review In an expanding probe of investment giant UBS, the Justice Department on Wednesday announced the indictment of the Swiss bank's chairman of global wealth management, accusing him of playing a key role in a tax evasion scheme to shelter secret U.S. account holders from income tax bills and drive up bank revenue. Raoul Weil, who oversaw the Swiss bank's cross-border private banking business serving 20,000 U.S. clients, helped conceal a combined $20 billion in assets from the IRS, the indictment charged. Visit In-House Counsel Supreme Court Justices Hear Arguments in Religious Monument Case Legal Times The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to give its blessing to a Utah town that rejected a small religious sect's request to install a monument on public park land, even though the town accepted a Ten Commandments display in the same park 32 years earlier. During oral argument in the case, most justices seemed to oppose the idea that by accepting one, Pleasant Grove City had to accept the other because of the First Amendment's bar against content-based speech discrimination by the government. Three LCD Makers Plead Guilty in Antitrust Probe The Recorder Three corporate guilty pleas in a long-running Justice Department antitrust investigation sent white-collar lawyers scrambling Wednesday to figure out what it might portend for other companies, and for individual executives. Federal prosecutors announced big fines for price fixing in the LCD computer and television screen industry. South Korea's LG Display got hit hardest, agreeing to pay $400 million in what the governmentdescribed as the second-biggest antitrust fine ever. Skadden Sues Thelen to Shift Liability The American Lawyer As law firms look to take advantage of Thelen's pending demise through hiring, Skadden is looking to offload potential liability in a six-year dispute. The day after Thelen announced it would likely dissolve, Skadden sued the collapsing firm. A defendant to a suit that evolved out of the bankruptcy of the Loewen Group funeral group company, Skadden says if the court rules against it, Thelen -- Loewen's legal counsel -- should be held to blame and forced to pay all damages. Ousted Name Partner Retains Venable for Possible Claims Against Cohen Milstein Legal Times More details continue to surface about Michael Hausfeld's abrupt departure last week from Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll. Hausfeld tells Legal Times that the firm's partners "amended the partnership agreement in the middle of the night to enable them to expel me, effective immediately" -- a claim the firm takes issue with. Hausfeld has retained lawyers at Venable to represent him "in considering what legal claims we might have for [Cohen Milstein's] conduct, or misconduct." Breakfast at Howrey's Sealed Moves of Thelen Construction Lawyers The Recorder After a breakfast meeting Monday at Howrey's San Francisco office, the bulk of Thelen's construction group chose to join the 750-lawyer litigation firm. Howrey announced Wednesday that more than 40 lawyers from the dissolving Thelen would be joining Howrey by Dec. 1. The group -- which Howrey characterized as "most of the construction practice" from Thelen -- includes firm Chairman Stephen O'Neal, construction practice head John Heisse II and partner David Buoncristiani, who handles matters for Bechtel. High Court Sides With Navy in Sonar Case Legal Times As expected, the Supreme Court on Wednesday, in the first decision handed down this term, supported the Navy's efforts to free itself from some of the judicially imposed restrictions on its sonar training exercises off the California coast. Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council had been billed as a test of presidential power to override environmental rules in the interest of national security, but the divided Court ruled more narrowly. Three More Former Heller Lawyers Join Foley The National Law Journal Three former Heller Ehrman attorneys with life sciences and intellectual property specialties have joined Foley & Lardner's San Diego office, bringing to 13 the number of former Heller lawyers to jump to Foley in the last month. Richard Kaufman, David Charapp and Leslie Overman join as partner, special counsel, and registered patent attorney, respectively. Obama Team Expected to Broker Deal on Subpoenas Over U.S. Attorney Firings The Associated Press A long legal dispute between the White House and Congress over testimony by President Bush's aides probably will be resolved under the incoming Obama administration, former government lawyers from both political parties agreed Wednesday. At issue is whether the Democratic-led Congress can force top Bush aide Joshua Bolten and former aide Harriet Miers to testify in front of lawmakers or hand over documents about the 2006 firings of nine U.S. Attorneys, which Democrats believe were politically motivated. Report Criticizes Office That Allocates Resources to U.S. Attorneys The National Law Journal The federal office that oversees resource allocation to the 94 U.S. Attorney offices nationally has no objective process to determine staffing levels, uses unreliable data and is unable to reallocate jobs between districts, according to an audit report released Tuesday by the Office of Inspector General. Citing inconsistent, inaccurate records kept by the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, the OIG report said its findings raise "significant concerns" about the data used by EOUSA. Wrongful Termination Suit Against American Apparel Heats Up The Associated Press American Apparel on Wednesday defended itself against an ex-employee's wrongful termination lawsuit -- the latest legal trouble for the company. Roberto Hernandez sued the clothing retailer and its chief executive, Dov Charney, in Los Angeles County Superior Court last week, claiming he was fired a week after he refused to pad the company's balance sheet to make the company more attractive to potential investors. American Apparel is also facing several sexual harassment lawsuits. Prosecution: Courtroom Shooter Is Still a Danger Fulton County Daily Report Lead prosecutor Kellie Hill's message to jurors was sharp on Wednesday: Brian G. Nichols must be put to death not only because he was convicted of heinous crimes but also because he poses a danger to society at large if he is left alive. "He is somebody who doesn't believe the rules apply to him," she said. But defense lawyer Henderson Hill urged jurors to take a look at the entirety of his client's life, asking them to "consider the facts that might make life a more appropriate option." Are Social Networking Sites Discoverable? Product Liability Law & Strategy Standards of privacy have not yet been defined or adequately tested in the largely uncharted legal territory of social networking sites. Ronald J. Levine and Susan L. Swatski-Lebson of Herrick investigate whether such content is open to discovery, and admissible as evidence. Visit Legal Technology GCs Prepare for Rate Battles The Recorder Battle lines in the hourly rate war are being drawn now. With the down economy, in-house lawyers are trying to prevent any type of raise, impressing upon law firms that legal budgets, along with everything else, are being cut as revenue, profits and stock prices plummet at many companies. Law firms say publicly that they haven't made up their minds, but several consultants and at least one management source say they expect rates to go up in 2009, although not as much as in years past. Visit In-House Counsel Law.com 120 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10271-1101 (877) 256-CIRC Customer Service Phone: (877) 256-CIRC

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on November 13, 2008 (boomark / email).