Gen’l Counsel Did His Job, Didn’t Fail to Supervise Rogue Broker, Judge Rules

A general counsel for an investment bank had some supervisory responsibilities concerning a rogue broker who admittedly participated in a market manipulation scheme at Ferris Baker Watts Inc. But Theodore Urban performed those responsibilities in a “cautious, objective, thorough, and reasonable manner,” a Securities and Exchange Commission administrative law judge…

Sep 8, 2010 9:19 PM CDT

John Lennon’s Killer Loses Another Parole Bid

Almost 30 years after he traveled to New York to gun down John Lennon, his convicted killer, Mark David Chapman, won’t be getting out of prison anytime soon. He was denied parole for the sixth time today, reports the Associated Press. “Release remains inappropriate at this time and incompatible with…

Sep 8, 2010 12:03 AM CDT

Business vs. Obama? Maybe Not

Sep 1, 2010 5:30 AM CDT

Maintenance Worker Wins $160K Award for Sprained Ankle, Due to Retaliation

A train maintenance worker who stepped off of a 12-inch platform while carrying garbage bags and sprained her ankle won a $160,000 award last week against her employer. Although Nicole Anderson fully recovered from the sprain, she was initially fired and then reinstated and disciplined after reporting the on-the-job injury,…

Sep 1, 2010 1:09 AM CDT

‘Sex Object’ Client Complains: My Lawyer Showed Me Nude Photos of His Wife, Now a Judge

Corrected: When Alexander Chapman retained a family lawyer in 2002, he was seeking a divorce. But he got a lot more than he bargained for from his then-counsel at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman in Winnipeg, Canada, the computer specialist contends in ethics complaints against husband-and-wife attorneys Jack King and Lori Douglas,…

Sep 1, 2010 12:37 AM CDT

Hard-Fought Depo Didn’t Cross Ethical Line, Grievance Panel Finds

After many years in practice, Andrew O’Keefe had a clean disciplinary record. But a hard-fought deposition put the Hartford, Conn., defense attorney in the hot seat after a Manchester woman contended that he tried to “harass, intimidate and embarrass” her with questions at the session. A local grievance panel determined…

Aug 30, 2010 9:10 PM CDT

Lawyer: I Had Sex with Client at Her Home and in My Office, But Not in Courthouse Law Library

Facing potential discipline for admittedly having sex with a client at her home and at his office, an Iowa lawyer says an implication that he might have done so as well in the Black Hawk County courthouse law library is baseless. Clovis Bowles, 56, admits the affair several years ago…

Aug 26, 2010 9:42 PM CDT

Coal Miner Who Videotaped Seal Leaks Wins Discipline Reversal & Legal Fees

A Kentucky coal miner who videotaped leaking seals at work and showed the footage at a federal mine safety hearing has won a reversal of the subsequent disciplinary action taken by his employer and attorney fees. Federal mine-safety law protected Charles Scott Howard from retaliation, an administrative law judge ruled…

Aug 25, 2010 8:55 PM CDT

Lawyer Admits He Can’t Defend $2.4M Client Embezzlement Case, Loses License

After admitting that he can’t defend himself against charges that he embezzled $2.4 million from a corporate client and blew most of the money at casino slot machines and agreeing to be disbarred by consent, a Milwaukee attorney had his law license revoked today by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Thomas…

Aug 25, 2010 5:10 PM CDT

Ex-Bar Prez to Probe for Case Problems from Chief Judge’s Affair with Asst. Public Defender

The chief judge in Fayette County, Ga., abruptly resigned earlier this year when it came out that he was having an affair with an assistant public defender working in his courtroom. But that wasn’t the end of it. The assistant PD resigned, too, and now the Georgia Public Defender Standards…

Aug 20, 2010 8:09 PM CDT

Benedictine Monks Seek Ban on ‘Casket Cartel,’ Claim Constitutional Right to Sell Coffins

A group of Benedictine monks is seeking a federal court order recognizing their claimed constitutional right to sell simple wooden coffins—at what they say is a considerably lower cost than funeral home competitors who have allegedly banded together in a “casket cartel.” Attempted enforcement of a state criminal law in…

Aug 16, 2010 8:38 PM CDT

Despite Support From Fellow Prosecutors, Asst. DA Loses License for 4 Years

The California Supreme Court has upheld a four-year law license suspension for a former assistant Santa Clara District Attorney found to have committed “inexcusable” violations of ethical rules requiring prosecutors to apprise defense lawyers of exculpatory evidence. Ben Field could still take his case to federal court on constitutional grounds,…

Aug 16, 2010 6:04 PM CDT

Health Care Employers Latest Target of Wage-and-Hour Enforcement

An uptick of government and private enforcement efforts in recent months concerning alleged wage-and-hour violations is now focusing on the health care industry. The Department of Labor has increased its wage-and-hour investigation staff by one-third, hiring another 250 workers, and the Obama administration is probing pay practices throughout the health…

Aug 12, 2010 12:13 AM CDT

DA Fights Potential Reprimand re Claimed Concealment of Plea Deal with Witness

A Wisconsin prosecutor is vowing to fight a disciplinary case in which she faces a potential public reprimand after being accused of concealing a plea deal with a witness in a robbery trial. The ethics case against Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider resulted from a campaign by a former…

Aug 10, 2010 5:31 PM CDT

Chamber of Commerce Finds Common Ground with DOJ on Key Litigation

Charles Dickens opened his famous novel A Tale of Two Cities with “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” If Dickens were covering an ABA Annual Meeting program Friday that looked at where the civil division of the U.S. Justice Department stands in the eyes…

Aug 7, 2010 12:40 AM CDT