Afternoon Briefs: NRA files for bankruptcy; Boies Schiller partner is detained
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NRA files for bankruptcy, plans Texas move
The National Rifle Association announced Friday that it is filing for bankruptcy, leaving New York and moving to Texas to reincorporate there as a nonprofit. New York Attorney General Letitia James has said she sees the move as an attempt to evade accountability after her office sought to dissolve the charitable group for alleged misspending. James has planned to oppose any effort to avoid her office’s oversight. The NRA said it is moving to be “free from the toxic political environment of New York.” (The New York Times, CNN, press releases here and here)
Boies Schiller partner is detained
Boies Schiller Flexner partner Joshua Schiller was detained Thursday on an allegation of domestic violence at the California home where he lives with his wife. Schiller’s lawyer told Law.com that there was no instance of domestic violence, and he expects charges to be dropped. Schiller and his wife, Melissa Siebel Schiller, released a joint statement calling the incident “a private matter between us” and saying they “will move beyond this together.” Schiller is the son of Boies Schiller co-founder Jonathan Schiller. The law firm told Above the Law that it is conducting its own review to better understand what happened, and Joshua Schiller has asked for a leave of absence to focus on his family. (Law.com, Law360, Above the Law, Bloomberg Law)
Ex-Wells Fargo general counsel will pay $3.5M penalty
Retired Wells Fargo general counsel James Strother will pay a $3.5 million civil penalty in a settlement with the Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Strother was accused of failing to address unrealistic sales goals that led Wells Fargo employees to create millions of new accounts without customer authorization. (Law.com, Law360, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency press release)
Missing court reporter is hospitalized, mother says
An appeal of a $38 million Wisconsin verdict against the Hyundai Motor Co. is on hold after court reporter Brande Browne disappeared before providing a transcript of the trial. Browne’s mother reported that her daughter was hospitalized in Racine, Wisconsin, after getting a notice to appear and explain the delay. The court reporter’s steno machine and laptops have been turned over for examination. (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via How Appealing)
Updated Jan. 14, 2022, at 1:29 p.m. to report that Joshua Schiller was detained, rather than arrested, on a domestic violence allegation, which was later dropped.
