http://www.lawupdates.com en LawUpdates.com, LLC Copyright 2012 2012-05-31T00:48:27+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/study_reveals_that_executives_dont_value_their_pay/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/study_reveals_that_executives_dont_value_their_pay/ Incentives have become so complex and volatile that they no longer motivate the executives they are aimed at. This is according to new PwC research in conjunction with the London School of Economics and Political Science. The research found that many features of current pay packages mean that the value executives place on them is materially lower than the cost to companies of providing them. In many cases executives would be happier being paid a… 2012-05-30T23:48:27+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/orange_county_lawyer_sentenced_to_more_than_seven_years_in_federal_prison_f/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/orange_county_lawyer_sentenced_to_more_than_seven_years_in_federal_prison_f/ An Orange County attorney has been sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for participating in a fraud scheme that took in more than $25 million with bogus promises of huge returns on short-term loans to businesses. Jeanne Rowzee, 53, of Irvine, was sentenced by United States District Judge, Andrew J. Guilford. In addition to the prison term, which Rowzee was ordered to begin serving on June 15, and Judge Guilford ordered her to pay… 2012-05-30T00:48:03+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/washington_district_court_rules_that_nations_auto_dealers_are_required_to_p/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/washington_district_court_rules_that_nations_auto_dealers_are_required_to_p/ The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that automobile dealers who engage in certain three-party financing transactions must disclose certain information to consumers who take out car loans. They must disclose information such as, if they are offered less favorable terms, such as a higher interest rate, than the most favorable terms available to the majority of consumers. When a lender relies on a credit report in setting an unfavorable… 2012-05-26T01:12:15+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/executives_see_increase_in_upcoming_mergers_and_acquisitions_and_strategic_/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/executives_see_increase_in_upcoming_mergers_and_acquisitions_and_strategic_/ Executives are anticipating an increase in both merger and acquisition (M&A ) ,and strategic alliance activity over the next two years. This is according to Deloitte’s third annual Corporate Development Survey. Nearly half of the respondents (46 percent), expect an increase in mergers and acquisitions activity. Apparently executives in the manufacturing sector are the most bullish on M&A prospects. In addition, with more than half responding, they expect an increase in strategic alliance transactions driven… 2012-05-24T23:59:31+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/state_attorneys_general_respond_to_backpage.coms_refusal_to_take_down_its_a/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/state_attorneys_general_respond_to_backpage.coms_refusal_to_take_down_its_a/ State Attorneys General are investigating Backpage.com’s adult services advertisements. State Attorneys General have rejected a demand by Backpage.com that the Attorney General stop asking for the site’s adult services sections to be taken down. In a recent letter, Backpage.com’s General Counsel, Liz McDougall, indicated that the company would not agree to further conversations with Attorney Generals unless officials agreed in advance that they would not call for the elimination of adult ads on the site.… 2012-05-23T22:44:49+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/beverly_hills-based_disbarred_lawyer_sentenced_to_over_11_years_in_prison_f/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/beverly_hills-based_disbarred_lawyer_sentenced_to_over_11_years_in_prison_f/ A Beverly Hills man was sentenced yesterday morning to 135 months in federal prison for running an investment scheme that collected more than $9.5 million from victims. The victims were falsely promised huge profits through investments in various oil companies and oil ventures. Mark Roy Anderson, 57, who was disbarred from the practice of law in Nevada, received the prison sentence yesterday morning from United States District Judge Percy Anderson. Judge Percy Anderson also ordered… 2012-05-22T23:29:37+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/former_new_york-based_partner_of_baker_mckenzie_pleads_guilty_to_money_laun/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/former_new_york-based_partner_of_baker_mckenzie_pleads_guilty_to_money_laun/ Martin E. Weisberg, a former Corporate Partner in the New York office of the International Law Firm Baker & McKenzie, pleaded guilty today to one charge of money laundering, and one charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The money laundering charge is based on Weisberg’s theft of money from an escrow account established on behalf of one of his clients, for which Weisberg served as escrow agent. The securities fraud conspiracy charge is based… 2012-05-22T00:51:13+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/skechers_agrees_to_pay_45_million_to_settle_charges_that_it_deceived_consum/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/skechers_agrees_to_pay_45_million_to_settle_charges_that_it_deceived_consum/ Skechers USA, Inc. has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 45 state attorney generals, to resolve claims that it overstated weight-loss benefits in advertisements for its rocker-bottom athletic shoes. The model of skechers shoes included: Shape-ups, Tone-ups, and the Skechers Resistance Runner. Under the settlement, Skechers will allocate up to $40 million for consumers who purchased the shoes, and who file a refund claim. Skechers will pay an additional $5 million… 2012-05-18T22:57:24+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/california_supreme_court_to_decide_bar_entrance_for_undocumented_imm/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/california_supreme_court_to_decide_bar_entrance_for_undocumented_imm/ The California Supreme Court yesterday unanimously issued an order directing the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California to show cause before the Supreme Court why the court should grant the Committee’s motion to admit Sergio C. Garcia to the State Bar of California as a licensed attorney.  Garcia has graduated from law school in California and has passed the California bar examination, but is currently an undocumented immigrant. After reviewing his… 2012-05-18T03:59:28+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/british_lawyer_arrested_for_participating_in_11-year_tax_fraud_scheme_invol/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/british_lawyer_arrested_for_participating_in_11-year_tax_fraud_scheme_invol/ On Friday, federal agents arrested Michael Little, a British attorney who is also licensed to practice law in New York. He was arrested on charges that he participated in an 11-year tax fraud scheme, in which he advised and helped an American family to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). They were able to do this by hiding at least $10 million in overseas Swiss bank accounts and other means, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in… 2012-05-17T00:37:58+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/new_york-based_securities_lawyer_is_one_of_four_defendants_sentenced_to_pri/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/new_york-based_securities_lawyer_is_one_of_four_defendants_sentenced_to_pri/ Two stock promoters, a securities lawyer, and a stock trader, associated with a Costa Rican brokerage firm, were sentenced late last week in the Southern District of Florida for their participation in a stock manipulation scheme. The scheme defrauded investors in a company called CO2 Technologies, according to federal prosecutors. U.S. Miami District Judge, Richard W. Goldberg , sentenced Michael Krome, 50, a securities attorney from New York, to 34 months in prison. Stock promoters,… 2012-05-16T00:19:03+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/myspace_settles_federal_regulators_charges_about_sharing_personal_informati/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/myspace_settles_federal_regulators_charges_about_sharing_personal_informati/ Social networking service, Myspace has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges that it misrepresented its protection of users’ personal information. The settlement, part of the FTC’s ongoing efforts, regulates that companies live up to the privacy promises they make to consumers. In addition, The FTC has barred Myspace from future privacy misrepresentations, requires Myspace to implement a comprehensive privacy program, and calls for regular, independent privacy assessments for the next 20 years. The… 2012-05-10T21:44:44+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/majority_of_banks_will_miss_fatca_compliance_deadline_according_to_banking_/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/majority_of_banks_will_miss_fatca_compliance_deadline_according_to_banking_/ Finance and tax executives in the U.S. and global banking industry are discovering that preparing to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is very challenging. Many predict that the majority of banks that need to comply with the law’s requirements will not be ready to meet its deadlines, some of which begin on Jan. 1, 2013, according to a survey conducted by KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm. According… 2012-05-9T23:05:32+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/texas_county_district_attorney_and_private_counsel_indicted_for_charges_of_/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/texas_county_district_attorney_and_private_counsel_indicted_for_charges_of_/ District Attorney of Cameron County, Texas Armando Villalobos and private attorney Eduardo “Eddie” Lucio, have been arrested and indicted in connection with a bribery and extortion scheme. This is according to Western District of Texas United States Attorney Robert Pitman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez, San Antonio Division. The 12-count indictment, returned yesterday morning by a federal grand jury in Brownsville, Texas. The charges against the defendants are one count of violating… 2012-05-8T20:42:02+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/disbarred_new_york_attorney_admits_he_stole_nearly_140000_from_victims_that/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/disbarred_new_york_attorney_admits_he_stole_nearly_140000_from_victims_that/ Disbarred New York attorney Howard L. Blau, has pleaded guilty in the Manhattan Federal Court, to charges that he stole nearly $140,000 from his clients. According to the New York County District Attorney’s Office, headed by Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., Blau abused the confidence of long term clients, many of whom he had befriended through his pro bono representation of musicians and entertainers. The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of Grand Larceny in… 2012-05-8T00:02:32+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/nationwide_take_down_strikes_down_107_individuals_for_role_in_false_billing/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/nationwide_take_down_strikes_down_107_individuals_for_role_in_false_billing/ Attorney General, Eric Holder, and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, announced today that there was a nationwide takedown by Medicare Fraud Strike Force Operations. In seven different cities charges against 107 individuals, including doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals,  have been filed for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving approximately $452 million in false billing. This coordinated takedown involved the highest amount of false Medicare billings in a single… 2012-05-2T21:41:56+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/us_commerce_department_releases_new_report_showing_intellectual_property-in/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/us_commerce_department_releases_new_report_showing_intellectual_property-in/ The U.S. Commerce Department today released a comprehensive report, entitled “Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy: Industries in Focus,” which finds that intellectual property (IP)-intensive industries support at least 40 million jobs and contribute more than $5 trillion dollars , or 34.8 percent , to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). While IP is used in virtually every segment of the U.S. economy, the report identifies the 75 industries that use patent, copyright, or trademark protections… 2012-05-1T23:56:49+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/complaint_against_24_hour_fitness_involves_legality_of_requiring_employees_/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/complaint_against_24_hour_fitness_involves_legality_of_requiring_employees_/ The National Labor Relations Board today issued a complaint alleging that 24 Hour Fitness USA, Inc. violated federal labor law by insisting that all employment-related disputes be resolved by individual arbitration. The California-based corporation, which operates fitness centers across the country,  requires employees to sign a written agreement, as a condition of employment, to forego any rights to collective or class action lawsuits or arbitrations. Such a requirement violates protections guaranteed by the National Labor… 2012-04-30T23:50:40+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/strong_deal_fundamentals_remain_but_companies_are_cautious_on_ma/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/strong_deal_fundamentals_remain_but_companies_are_cautious_on_ma/ A more favorable deal-making environment is not yet convincing corporations to engage in mergers & acquisitions (M&A), according to Ernst & Young’s latest Global Capital Confidence Barometer, based on a survey last month of more than 1,500 senior executives in 57 countries around the world. Only 31% of those surveyed globally said they expected to pursue an acquisition in the next 12 months, compared with 41% in October 2011 and the lowest figure since the… 2012-04-27T23:55:37+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/disbarred_new_york_attorney_pleads_guilty_in_federal_court_in_case_involvin/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/disbarred_new_york_attorney_pleads_guilty_in_federal_court_in_case_involvin/ Jeffrey Squitieri, a disbarred New York attorney, pleaded pled guilty on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, to one count of conspiring to commit healthcare fraud. He pleaded guilty before United States Magistrate Judge James L. Cott. FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk said: “The defendant engaged in a flagrant scheme to commit fraud, giving detailed instructions to another to abet him in this scheme. His conduct was… 2012-04-26T22:36:36+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/attorney_wall_street_trader_and_middleman_settle_charges_in_32_million_insi/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/attorney_wall_street_trader_and_middleman_settle_charges_in_32_million_insi/ The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a settlement in a $32 million insider trading case filed by the agency last year against a corporate attorney and a Wall Street trader. The SEC alleged that the insider trading occurred in advance of at least 11 merger and acquisition announcements involving clients of the law firm where the attorney — Matthew H. Kluger — worked. He and the trader — Garrett D. Bauer — were linked… 2012-04-25T22:40:50+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/nlrb_judge_finds_jimmy_johns_franchisee_in_minnesota_illegally_fired_employ/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/nlrb_judge_finds_jimmy_johns_franchisee_in_minnesota_illegally_fired_employ/ Administrative Law Judge Arthur Amchan of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found that a franchisee of the Jimmy Johns sandwich chain unlawfully discharged six employees after they staged a public campaign complaining of the company’s employee sick leave policy. In his April 20 decision, Judge Amchan also found that Miklin Enterprises, Inc., a franchisee that operates 10 sandwich shops in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, unlawfully issued written warnings to three employees who took… 2012-04-24T21:06:46+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/disbarred_los_angeles-based_attorney_accused_of_grand_theft_and_practicing_/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/disbarred_los_angeles-based_attorney_accused_of_grand_theft_and_practicing_/ A disbarred Los Angeles-based attorney has been accused of practicing law while ineligible and unlawfully receiving client fees from multiple victims is expected to be arraigned this afternoon, according to the the District Attorney’s Office. Gerard Lionel Garcia-Barron, 46 (dob 11/29/65), of La Mirada is charged in case No. BA396435 with 17 felony counts including grand theft of personal property, obtaining money, labor or property by false pretenses and unauthorized practice of law. The alleged… 2012-04-23T20:12:16+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/jury_convicts_missouri_attorney_clergyman_of_52_million_ponzi_scheme/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/jury_convicts_missouri_attorney_clergyman_of_52_million_ponzi_scheme/ A Webster Groves, Missouri attorney and clergyman has been convicted in federal court today of leading a fraud conspiracy that stole more than $52 million from its victims, according to David M. Ketchmark, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Martin T. Sigillito, 63, of Webster Groves, was found guilty of all 20 counts charged in an April 28, 2011, federal indictment. Sigillito was immediately taken into federal custody. “This massive Ponzi… 2012-04-18T14:43:48+00:00 http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/aba_commission_on_ethics_20_20_will_not_propose_changes_to_aba_policy_prohi/ http://www.lawupdates.com/industry_news/entry/aba_commission_on_ethics_20_20_will_not_propose_changes_to_aba_policy_prohi/ At its April 12-13 meeting in Washington, D.C., the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 decided not to propose changes to ABA policy prohibiting nonlawyer ownership of law firms. Co-Chairs Jamie S. Gorelick and Michael Traynor said, “Since its creation in 2009, the commission has undertaken a careful study of alternative law practice structures. Based on the commission’s extensive outreach, research, consultation, and the response of the profession, there does not appear to be a sufficient… 2012-04-17T12:56:57+00:00