2nd Circuit Court

Slashing $26M in legal fees from Citigroup case, judge cites $550/hr charge for $15/hr contract work

A federal judge has slashed by 27 percent the attorney fees awarded to the winning lawyers in a $590 million settlement of a Citigroup Inc. securities class action because of “waste and inefficiency” and billable hourly rates that were “significantly inflated.” Even after the cut, lead plaintiffs counsel Kirby McInerney…

Aug 1, 2013 6:05 PM CDT

Robbers stole techniques from Ben Affleck movie, feds say; film clips to be shown to jurors at trial

They didn’t dress as nuns. But a trio of alleged New York robbers are accused of taking other techniques from a Ben Affleck movie—including the use of masks to disguise their identities and committing a robbery while wearing police uniforms. Now federal prosecutors are expected to show clips from the…

Jul 31, 2013 7:25 PM CDT

‘Certifiable saint’ but for indirect role in $2.4B fraud, ex-BigLaw partner gets 1 year in club fed

A former partner of Mayer Brown was sentenced Monday to a year and a day in federal prison for his role in a $2.4 billion fraud on investors in Refco Inc. Joseph P. Collins, 62, was allowed to remain free pending his appeal in the Manhattan federal court case, reports…

Jul 16, 2013 3:45 PM CDT

Ex-Miss USA contestant must pay $5M to Donald Trump; judge blames her ‘poor choice of counsel’

A former beauty contestant must pay $5 million to Donald Trump for defaming his Miss USA pageant, a federal judge in Manhattan has ruled. Upholding an arbitration award, which determined that the well-known millionaire’s company had suffered a seven-figure loss from a potential sponsor after she resigned as Miss Pennsylvania…

Jul 8, 2013 7:25 PM CDT

Prominent law grad takes plea in $13M securities fraud, civil case against him and lawyer ongoing

A prominent graduate of an Oregon law school who once headed the state’s Republican party and was a candidate for governor has taken a plea in a criminal securities fraud case. Craig Berkman, 71, sobbed in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday as he apologized and pleaded guilty to one…

Jun 28, 2013 12:25 PM CDT

Evidence supports blogger’s conviction for deserve-to-die rant against judges, appeals court says

A New York-based appeals court has upheld the conviction of an Internet radio host for a blog rant in which he said three federal appeals judges deserved to die. Harold Turner was sentenced to 33 months in prison after his 2010 conviction for threatening to assault or kill the judges…

Jun 21, 2013 6:21 PM CDT

Madoff trustee can’t sue big banks to recover billions for Ponzi victims, 2nd Circuit rules

The trustee seeking to recover money for the victims of Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff can’t pursue big banks for allegedly aiding the fraud, a federal appeals court has ruled. Trustee Irving Picard had sought to recover “mega-billions” from the banks, the Am Law Litigation Daily reports, arguing that they had…

Jun 21, 2013 12:36 PM CDT

Law school sues insurer, seeks coverage of civil racketeering case

Liberty University School of Law has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to force its insurance carrier to defend the institution in an earlier civil racketeering case over a child-custody battle between married same-sex parents, reports Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s VLW Blog. The underlying suit, which is proceeding in federal court in…

Jun 19, 2013 9:30 PM CDT

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

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…

Jun 18, 2013 8:36 PM CDT

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

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. In a…

Jun 18, 2013 6:40 PM CDT

Lawyer takes plea in ex-police officer’s $4.7M real estate investment swindle

A New York City lawyer has admitted he participated in a conspiracy with a retired city police sergeant to entice investors to put $4.7 million into a plan to develop a condominium project in the Dominican Republic–a project that doesn’t exist. Authorities said attorney Edward Adams and James Monahan almost…

Jun 13, 2013 3:30 PM CDT

Federal judge rules unpaid interns were misclassified employees, certifies class action

In a ruling that is likely to catch the attention of employers nationwide, a federal judge in New York has ruled that unpaid interns were misclassified employees and has certified a class action against Fox Entertainment Group in which internships throughout the company’s corporate offices will be reviewed. Granting, in…

Jun 12, 2013 4:30 PM CDT

ACLU sues Obama administration over NSA phone-records ‘dragnet’

In the first step in a process that could eventually lead to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the legality of a sweeping telephone records review revealed last week by a former National Security Agency contractor, the American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday sued the Obama administration over its “dragnet”…

Jun 11, 2013 9:25 PM CDT

Former BigLaw partner: I faced ‘incredible obstacles’ that male lawyers didn’t have to deal with

A former BigLaw partner who recently settled a lawsuit over the alleged “boys club” at the last major firm for which she worked says it wasn’t just Greenberg Traurig where women lawyers face challenges that their male counterparts don’t. “At every stage,” Francine Griesing told attendees at a Manhattan conference…

Jun 11, 2013 4:00 PM CDT

Attorney gets 30 months in mortgage case that brought down 2 lawyers and a paralegal

A Connecticut real estate lawyer and others with whom he schemed reportedly intended to sell upscale homes at a profit when they submitted fraudulent mortgage applications to get standard financing to pay off “hard money” purchase loans that carried high interest. But the real estate scheme in the state’s burgeoning…

Jun 3, 2013 11:05 PM CDT