Afternoon Briefs: BigLaw firm announces layoffs; judge’s TRO blocks Mary Trump book
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Katten converts some furloughs into layoffs
Katten Muchin Rosenman has decided to lay off some employees it had furloughed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The firm is laying off some members of the firm’s business administration staff beginning Aug. 1. No lawyers are affected. The firm is paying severance equal to one week of pay for each year at the firm, with a minimum of eight weeks. (Law.com)
Judge temporarily blocks publication of book Trump’s niece
A state court judge in New York has temporarily halted publication or distribution of a tell-all book by Mary Trump, the niece of President Donald Trump. Judge Hal Greenwald’s temporary restraining order remains in place pending a July 10 hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction. Trump’s brother, Robert, contends that Mary Trump is violating a confidentiality agreement signed as part of a settlement involving the will of her grandfather. (Bloomberg Law, Politico, the Washington Post, CNN, Greenwald’s June 30 order to show cause)
Federal judge regrets Confederate flag photo
Chief U.S. District Judge William Johnson of New Mexico said he regrets appearing in two photographs taken in the late 1970s “where others made the wrong decision to display the Confederate flag.” Johnson was a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute and no more than 20 years old when the photos were taken. Johnson said in a statement that the Confederate flag “obviously represents slavery, oppression, racial injustice and inequality.” At the time, “many white Americans, like myself, did not at that time fully understand or appreciate what the Confederate flag represented to African Americans,” he said. (The Santa Fe New Mexican)
Prosecutor won’t seek new term after delayed police probes
Hartford, Connecticut, State’s Attorney Gail Hardy has withdrawn her bid for reappointment after she was criticized for taking years to issue reports on four fatal shootings by police. Hardy ultimately found that the shootings were justified. Hardy was suspended from her job without pay for four days because of the delays. She is moving to a new job leading diversity efforts in the chief state’s attorney’s office. (The Associated Press, the Hartford Courant, Law.com)
Alleged Golden State Killer pleads guilty to 13 murders
Alleged Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. pleaded guilty Monday to 13 murders in a deal to avoid the death penalty. Police arrested DeAngelo, now 74, after uploading the killer’s DNA profile to a database that led to some of DeAngelo’s relatives. (The Washington Post, the New York Times)
