Legal Research

Selections from National Law Journal Daily Headlines January 14, 2009

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: NLJ.com, January 14, 2009.

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FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE  |  Spurred by tanking economy, workplace class actions likely to stay hot in 2009
"Class action workplace litigation was hot in 2008 ? fueled in part by the floundering economy ? and it's not showing any signs of slowing down in 2009. That's the conclusion of a report issued by Chicago-based Seyfarth Shaw, which focuses on complex employment defense work. The firm analyzed 2008 class action and collective action workplace filings, rulings and settlements in state and federal courts."

FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE  |  Blago's prosecutor is no stranger to intrigue ? quite literally
"The man who will serve as the prosecutor against embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in the Illinois Senate's impeachment trial is no stranger to political intrigue. David Ellis, who is counsel to Illinois House of Representatives Speaker Michael Madigan and was appointed to the prosecutor post this week, has authored five legal thrillers, including Life Sentence, a 2003 novel about the chief aide to a candidate for governor who shares a secret with his boss about a teenage girl who was killed at a party in a drunken encounter."

WEB-ONLY  |  Want to fight the IRS on the 10 most-litigated tax issues? Good luck.
"You can fight the Internal Revenue Service in federal court, but you're unlikely to win, at least on the most-litigated tax issues. The national taxpayer advocate, as required by the Internal Revenue Code, has released an annual report of the 10 tax issues most often litigated in the federal courts. "

WEB-ONLY  |  Former associate sues Nixon Peabody, alleges sexual discrimination
"A public finance attorney has launched a sexual discrimination lawsuit against Nixon Peabody, alleging that he was subjected to taunting and ridicule while working at the firm's Los Angeles office."

WEB-ONLY  |  A Comverse-like backdating case is tossed
"Three months after allowing a stock options backdating case to proceed against Comverse Technology Inc., a New York appellate court has tossed out a similar case against Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. Both rulings address whether a shareholder in a derivative action alleging that a company's stock options were backdated should be allowed to sue because a demand on the company's board, whose directors might not be independent from the backdating transactions, would have been futile."

WEB-ONLY  |  Firms, GCs to develop a 'best practices' list for diversity, work-life balance
"Lack of diversity and work/life balance are often treated as two separate problems in the legal profession, but a new initiative is seeking to find solutions that address both by bringing together law firm managing partners and a dozen general counsel from major U.S. companies. The group will develop a list of best practices to promote both diversity and work/life among attorneys."

WEB-ONLY  |  Ohio's high court embraces "reality," allows judicial candidates to reveal political party affiliations
"The Ohio Supreme Court has adopted new court rules that become effective on March 1 allowing judicial candidates to tell voters about their political party affiliations during a general election"

WEB-ONLY  |  Georgetown Law partners up to offer master of laws degree in global health law
"Georgetown University Law Center is partnering with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, to offer a master of laws degree in global health law and international institutions. "

WEB-ONLY  |  Canadian law firms see crackdown on client identification, verification
"Provinces across Canada are now requiring law firms to follow new guidelines regarding client identification and verification as part of a global initiative to combat fraud, money laundering and terrorist funding. Called the 'Know Your Client' rules, the requirements in some cases include verifying a client's identity by checking original documents."

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on January 14, 2009 (boomark / email).