ABA Journal Daily News

Did cities violate right to counsel by providing ‘a warm body with a law degree’?

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:25:33 -0500

At closing arguments Tuesday in a trial over the public defenders provided by two Washington state muncipalities to low-income individuals charged with crimes, counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge to find that "a warm body with a law degree doesn't cut it." But the defense…

Lawyer who backed gay marriage in California sees possibility of disappointing victory

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:13:12 -0500

Litigator David Boies acknowledged on Tuesday that a Supreme Court win in his challenge to California’s ban on gay marriage could fall short of the victory he is seeking. Boies has joined with Ted Olson to challenge California’s Proposition 8 referendum banning gay marriage. On Tuesday, Boies said he doesn’t…

Adopted cat provides rapid resolution to ‘Ratzilla’ problem at historic courthouse

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:35:28 -0500

At first, those in charge of the maintenance at the historic Henderson County, N.C., courthouse tried poison to resolve an out-of-control rodent population. But when a dead "Ratzilla" began decomposing in the walls of a county commissioner's office, they decided there had to be a better solution to the problem.…

Gang chief in Brooklyn DA’s office is fired after slur accusations surface

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:32:32 -0500

The lawyer who headed the gang bureau in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office is out of a job, reportedly because of her insulting language. Deanna Rodriguez was suspended for 90 days without pay during an investigation and then fired on Friday, report the New York…

Have you ever been dressed down for your work attire choices? Was the criticism fair?

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:45:54 -0500

Summer is here, and so are the annual complaints about lawyers dressing too casually for work or for court. A judge in Tennessee announced that he plans to offer specific suggestions to female attorneys about attire in an upcoming bar newsletter. And men have not been…

Brooklyn DA ordered to testify in wrongful conviction suit claiming he overlooks misconduct

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:00:21 -0500

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes will have to testify in a wrongful conviction suit claiming his office overlooked and even rewarded misconduct by prosecutors. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Levy ruled last week that Hynes must testify in the suit filed by Jabbar Collins, report the New…

Why a retrial for Amanda Knox? Italy’s top court explains its March order

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:30:22 -0500

Italy’s top court explained on Tuesday why it ordered a retrial for Amanda Knox, the U.S. student whose 2009 conviction for murdering her roommate was tossed by a midlevel appeals court. The top Italian court found fault with the appellate ruling that acquitted Knox and her former boyfriend, saying it…

Lawyer faces bar and criminal cases over claimed thefts from firm, is also charged with burglary

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:00:49 -0500

A Texas lawyer is facing a triple whammy, simultaneously defending legal ethics and criminal cases over claimed thefts from his former firm, as well as an apparently unrelated burglary charge. The state bar filed a disciplinary petition against Alto Watson III at the end of May, alleging that he had…

Stealing $630K from DC firm results in 18-month sentence for former finance chief

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:47:44 -0500

A former business and finance director for a small law firm in the nation's capital was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to repay $730,000 he embezzled. Of that amount, $630,000 came from Trister Ross Schadler & Gold and another $100,000 was taken from an affilated…

Lawyer’s snarky response to cease-and-desist letter suggests the sender is joking or ‘a big meanie’

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:09:03 -0500

Surely the lawyer for a New Jersey township is not “a big meanie.” That’s the assertion in a pro bono lawyer’s response to a cease-and-desist letter seeking to shut down a website using the domain name westorange.info. The website, operated by a West Orange resident, has information about…

These BigLaw firms had the highest spreads in partner compensation

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:10:52 -0500

For the first time this year, the American Lawyer has asked the nation’s 200 largest law firms to supply figures on the spread in compensation between their top-paid and lowest-paid partners. The publication received responses from 111 law firms, the American Lawyer reports. For law firms in…

Which law firms were honored for placing women in leadership roles?

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:05:55 -0500

Forty-two law firms have received a “gold standard certification” for placing women in leadership roles. Women in Law Empowerment Forum created the list to emphasize leadership roles by women equity partners, rather than law firm policies or practices, according to the group’s website. The 42 firms met at…

Barbershop doubles as a law office

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:39:55 -0500

Connecticut lawyer Don Howard notes that the city of Hartford is “oversaturated with lawyers and barbershops.” That’s why he has opened a barbershop on Main Street in New Britain and placed his office in the back of the place, the New Britain Herald reports. A criminal…

Federal judge OKs suit over ‘shocking’ claim 911 operator told harassed man to return to crime scene

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:15:21 -0500

Disagreeing with a recommendation by a magistrate that a civil rights case should be dismissed, a federal judge in Denver gave a green light on Monday to a family's lawsuit over the death of a Sudanese refugee. Soon-to-be victim Jimma Reat, 25, and others called 911 in April 2012 reporting…

Google asks intelligence court to relax gag orders on secret data requests

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:29:26 -0500

Citing its First Amendment rights, Google has asked the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to relax long-standing gag orders restricting what can be said about the information the court requests. In a Tuesday motion (PDF) that seeks a declaratory judgment, the Internet search-engine Goliath says it wants to…

Feds raid 7-Eleven stores at 54 sites, allege $180M ‘plantation system’ immigrant fraud

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:36:42 -0500

In one of the biggest criminal cases ever brought by the Department of Justice over the employment of immigrants, federal agents have seized the franchise rights of 14 7-Eleven stores and announced charges against nine individuals responsible for their operation. The feds also seized five homes and are executing search…

Partner pay holdback of 20 percent at Becker & Poliakoff is not popular

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:20:17 -0500

A new policy at Becker & Poliakoff of holding back 20 percent of partners' pay is not popular, managing shareholder Gary Rosen admits. However, he said such measures are a standard business procedure at law firms today in order to maintain a cash reserve and insisted that the holdback is…

Lawyers sanctioned for billing mentally ill vet for tasks such as shopping and moving

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:42:49 -0500

Two Iowa lawyers have each been suspended for 18 months for billing up to $125 an hour for “conservator services” that included nonlegal tasks such as attending birthday parties. The lawyers are Donald Laing and Scott Railsback of Keota, Iowa, according to the Associated Press and the…

Winning, so far, in trial court, Hearst wants 2nd Circuit to clarify intern issue after new ruling

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:40:18 -0500

In an unusual effort to obtain federal appellate court clarification, Hearst Corp., which has been successfully defending a case over the use of unpaid interns in its publishing ventures, is supporting the plaintiffs in their request for an interlocutory appeal of a recent trial court ruling, Reuters reports.…

Did Superman have a legal duty to save lives?

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:30:58 -0500

Man of Steel spoilers follow: As most readers probably remember from law school, there's generally no duty to rescue unless a special relationship applies or the Good Samaritan has voluntarily assumed the duty. But that legal rule can create discomfort, as the Superman movie Man of Steel illustrates, attorney and…

Family of slain law grad Lauren Giddings files wrongful death suit

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:30:53 -0500

The family of a Georgia law graduate allegedly slain by a neighbor and law school classmate two years ago has filed a wrongful death suit seeking answers about the case. Although jailed suspect Stephen McDaniel doesn't have any money and isn't likely to, the family wants answers about what happened…

Labor Department lawyer accused in stun-gun assault is found dead in his jail cell

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:00:33 -0500

Updated: A Labor Department lawyer accused of assaulting a co-worker was found dead today in his jail cell in Washington, D.C. The lawyer, 58-year-old Paul Mannina, was found dead a day after a detective summarized the allegations during a preliminary hearing, the Washington Post reports. Mannina sobbed…

Pig-and-gun tattoo naming cop posted on Facebook; defendant inks it over and gets probation

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:30:35 -0500

A Minnesota man who is a reputed gang member got probation Monday after inking over a tattoo that was thought to pose a threat to a Minneapolis police officer working in a gang-investigation unit. Antonio Fransion Jenkins Jr. had faced a felony terroristic threat charge in the Hennepin County case…

Law faculty perk at NYU includes loans for pricey vacation homes

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:28:00 -0500

New York University has loaned money to some of its star professors—including law faculty—to buy expensive vacation homes in places such as East Hampton, Fire Island and Litchfield County, Conn. University spokesman John Beckman confirmed such loans in an interview with the New York Times, but…

Judges’ mandatory-retirement challenge fails in Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:49:06 -0500

Pennsylvania judges challenging the state’s mandatory retirement age have failed to persuade the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that the state constitutional provision is invalid. The court rejected the judges’ challenge on Monday, saying they should pursue a constitutional amendment if they dislike the provision requiring retirement at age 70, according to…