Administrative Law

What to Do When a Disbarred Lawyer Errs? Louisiana Finds a Solution to This Problem

Once a lawyer is disbarred, you might think there isn’t much attorney-discipline authorities can do to sanction him or her. If so, you would be wrong. The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board earlier this month adjudicated new, uncontested ethics charges against a disbarred lawyer, Robert Barrios. While it couldn’t impose the…

Nov 30, 2010 1:35 AM CST

Lawyer Got Secretary to Take His CLE Courses, Disciplinary Complaint Contends

In a situation that will likely strike a chord with a number of attorneys who have been seen reading the newspaper, reviewing draft filings or otherwise appearing inattentive at live continuing legal education courses, a longtime Illinois practitioner has drawn disciplinary fire for allegedly arranging for a secretary to take…

Nov 23, 2010 12:43 AM CST

Feds Start Raids in Massive 3-Year Insider-Trading Probe of Financial Industry

Following news over the weekend from the Wall Street Journal that an insider-trading probe of unprecedented scope is underway in the financial industry comes word today from the newspaper that the FBI has apparently gotten the ball rolling on enforcement by raiding the offices of three hedge funds in Boston…

Nov 22, 2010 10:27 PM CST

Administrative Judge’s Bias Accusation Against Colleague Highlights CFTC Problems

An administrative law judge’s resignation letter has spurred a newspaper investigation into the investor complaint process at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The Washington Post found “a weak and troubled system where small investors get tripped up on technicalities, legal standards are moving targets and agency leaders have cried foul…

Nov 22, 2010 5:12 PM CST

Ex-Judge Pleads Guilty to False Statement; Officials Accused of Personal Profit from Court Cases

Originally charged in a two-count federal indictment with destruction of records and making a false statement, a former Texas municipal court judge pleaded guilty yesterday to the latter count. Monica Lynn Corker now faces up to five years in prison when she is sentenced subsequently, on a date that has…

Nov 18, 2010 6:55 PM CST

Longtime Jackson Kelly Lawyer’s License Suspended for Filing Incomplete Medical Report

Rejecting a disciplinary panel’s recommendation that the case against a longtime West Virginia lawyer be dismissed, the state supreme court has suspended the law license of Douglas Smoot for a year, finding that the nearly 30-year practitioner violated legal ethics rules by submitting an incomplete medical report to an administrative…

Nov 18, 2010 6:11 PM CST

Censure PD Who Copied Docs He Found on Machine & Was Entitled to Discover, Panel Says

A longtime senior lawyer in an Illinois public defender’s office should be censured for photocopying documents he was entitled to discover, but had not yet received through normal channels, an ethics hearing panel has recommended. Because lawyers in the Lake County public defender’s office often handled both sides of guardian…

Nov 17, 2010 12:11 PM CST

Social Security Judges Facing More Threats of Violence

Threats are rising against administrative law judges who hear Social Security disability cases. There were at least 80 threats against the judges in the past year, an increase of 18 percent, the Associated Press reports. Many of the judges hear cases in leased office buildings, where just one security guard…

Nov 16, 2010 12:59 PM CST

ABA Battles FTC in DC Appeals Court: Does Red Flags Rule Apply to Lawyers?

Seeking to call a decisive halt to an attempt by the Federal Trade Commission to regulate the practice of law, the American Bar Association argued today in federal appeals court that a U.S. District Court judge clearly got it right when he ruled from the bench last year that the…

Nov 16, 2010 12:12 AM CST

Report: DOJ Lawyers Won’t Face Criminal Charges Over Sen. Stevens Prosecution

Citing unidentified sources, NPR says a special prosecutor appointed by a federal judge has decided not to bring any criminal charges against prosecutors involved in the collapsed U.S. Department of Justice case against former Sen. Ted Stevens. However, two DOJ lawyers are appealing a civil contempt finding by U.S. District…

Nov 15, 2010 6:23 PM CST

Top Neb. Court Disbars Depressed Lawyer Who Kept Practicing During Earlier Suspension

William Switzer argued that his depression should be a mitigating factor weighing in favor of suspension rather than disbarment. But the Omaha, Neb., attorney apparently tipped the balance in favor of the ultimate legal ethics sanction by continuing to practice during a previous 18-month suspension that began in 2008, according…

Nov 12, 2010 9:18 PM CST

Ex-Glaxo Lawyer’s Defense in Criminal Case Raises Tricky Privilege Issues for Company, Experts Say

A retired in-house lawyer’s announced intent to rely on claimed legal advice from outside counsel in defending against criminal accusations of wrongdoing concerning her work at GlaxoSmithKline raises tricky privilege issues for the company, experts say. On the one hand, if former vice president and associate general counsel Lauren Stevens…

Nov 11, 2010 5:17 PM CST

Google Faces FCC Probe of Street View Data Collection Practices

In the wake of good news for Google Inc. concerning a now-concluded Federal Trade Commission probe of the company’s data collection practices for its global Street View mapping project comes bad news: The Federal Communications Commission has revealed that another investigation is ongoing of the Internet goliath’s admitted inadvertent collection…

Nov 10, 2010 10:45 PM CST

Verizon Wireless to Pay Record $25M FCC Fine, Refund $50M in ‘Mystery’ Data Fees

Federal regulators have announced a $75 million pact with Verizon Wireless concerning some $50 million charged to about 15 million customers in “mystery” data fees of $1.99 per megabyte. In addition to refunding customers’ money, Verizon will pay $25 million to the federal government, a record for an FCC enforcement…

Oct 28, 2010 9:55 PM CDT

‘Spectacular Fall’ for Name Partner Adorno, Now Facing Suspension for Class Action Settlement Role

The Florida Bar had sought a six-month suspension, and then a state-court judge serving as a referee had recommended only a reprimand. But the Florida Supreme Court unanimously agreed that a name partner of the nation’s largest minority-owned law firm should be suspended for his role in negotiating a $7…

Oct 28, 2010 6:27 PM CDT