Legal Research

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TRIAL TO BEGIN IN CASE TESTING ATTORNEY RECRUITMENT METHODS
"Lowenstein Sandler, New Jersey's second-largest law firm, is due to go on trial today in a case that eventually could refine the law on firms' methods of recruiting lateral partners and practice groups. The suit also tests the reach of a 1992 precedential case that allows lawyers to move from firm to firm to best represent their clients, free of restrictive covenants. The suit charges that Lowenstein used secret financial data about former Roseland firm Ravin Sarasohn ? including billing records, collection rates and the salaries of partners and associates ? to decide which lawyers and staff to target, and that the cherry-picking caused Ravin Sarasohn's collapse in 2000."

CLOSING ARGUMENTS TODAY IN CONIGLIO FEDERAL CORRUPTION TRIAL
"Closing arguments are scheduled for today in federal court in Newark in the trial of former state senator Joseph Coniglio, who is accused of steering millions in grants to Hackensack University Medical Center in exchange for a sinecure job. Coniglio, a Democrat who represented the 38th District in Bergen County from 2002 to 2007, is charged with extortion and mail fraud for allegedly using his influence on the Senate Budget Committee to steer more than $10 million to the hospital while on its payroll as a consultant. Coniglio's defense at trial has been that he was not part of the Senate leadership and had no control over budgetary legislation."

SUPREME COURT ADOPTS REVISED MEGAN'S LAW PROCEDURES
"The state Supreme Court has adopted a new 'Outline of Procedure for Megan's Law Cases,' superseding procedures last issued in 2001. The outline includes procedures and forms for classification of individuals as Tier 2/Moderate Risk and Tier 3/High Risk sexual offenders and inclusion of individuals on the Sex Offender Internet Registry, a Web site available to the public that contains identifying information about Tier 2 and Tier 3 registrants. The outline also sets out procedures for motions to challenge classifications or scope of community notification and provides instructions on the conduct of in-camera hearings on these matters, which the registrant has a right to attend."

BILL WOULD MANDATE SOBRIETY TESTS AFTER SERIOUS ACCIDENTS
"A bill pending in the state Assembly would require drivers involved in serious accidents to take sobriety tests or have their licenses revoked for refusal to do so. Currently, authorities can give a sobriety test only when there is evidence or clear suspicion that a driver is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The bill, A-3838, would amend N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2 to provide, "A breath or blood sample shall be obtained any time the person has been operating a motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the death or serious bodily injury ... of another person." It would also amend N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a to require municipal judges to revoke drivers' licenses of drivers who refuse to take sobriety tests after being involved in such an accident. The bill was introduced on March 9 in response to a 2007 car crash in Southampton Township in which a passenger, 17-year-old Anthony Farrace, was killed but the car's driver was not tested for drug or alcohol consumption."

WORKPLACE DEFAMATION SUITS ON THE RISE
"Defamation lawsuits are on the rise in the workplace as employees take on employers over the right to reputation, suing over being labeled as damaged goods after losing their jobs, The National Law Journal reports, citing litigation in Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. The recession has put employers under mounting pressure to treat departing employees gingerly and to explain departures without hurting their reputations. A bad reference, statements made in employee performance reviews, internal documents, termination meetings and conversations among managers and supervisors can all serve as the basis for defamation claims, and technology ? including e-mails, Twitter, Facebook and blogs ? is making it easier to disseminate hurtful information about employees."