Administrative Law

FCC’s Closed-Door Confab with Industry Reps re Net Neutrality Rules Worries Observers

Left-out consumer advocates are complaining that the Federal Communications Commission has been conducting closed-door meetings since June with industry giants about proposed net neutrality rules. Following word that the FCC had a rare Saturday sitdown last weekend with AT&T Inc., Google Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., Josh Silver worries that…

Aug 3, 2010 9:33 PM CDT

Civil Rights Suit Challenges Feds’ License Rule for Lawyers Seeking to Pursue Terror Case

A group of civil rights lawyers filed suit in Washington, D.C., today to challenge a new federal rule requiring lawyers in certain terrorism cases to obtain a license from the Treasury Department before pursuing the matter. Underlying the case is the lawyers’ desire to act of behalf of Anwar al-Awlaki,…

Aug 3, 2010 7:52 PM CDT

Newspaper: Judge’s 3-Month Suspension Is a Paid Vacation

A three-month suspension meted out by an ethics panel to a Tennessee judge isn’t exactly a draconian punishment. Since Cocke County General Sessions Judge John Bell will still draw his pay, the sanction is “essentially a three-month paid vacation,” writes the Knoxville News Sentinel in an editorial. Meanwhile, taxpayers will…

Aug 3, 2010 6:17 PM CDT

Federal Prosecutor Who Worked 5 Years Sans Law License Is Now Suspended

A former federal prosecutor who apparently had difficulty on several fronts has now lost not only his job but his law license, which has been suspended until at least 2012, WRAL reports. David Folmar’s law license lapsed in late 2003 because he didn’t comply with continuing legal education requirements. But…

Aug 2, 2010 11:49 PM CDT

As Feds Eye Unpaid Internships Warily, Written Agreement Can Show Compliance

As the feds prepare to step up enforcement against employers that violate the rules concerning unpaid internships, employers—including law firms—can help demonstrate their compliance by using a written internship agreement, says attorney Rich Meneghello. He is the managing partner of Fisher & Phillip, an employment firm in Portland, Ore. The…

Aug 2, 2010 10:03 PM CDT

Judge Lifts Restraining Order, Averting First Amendment Showdown with NLJ

A Washington, D.C., judge has lifted her own restraining order that had barred the National Law Journal from reporting that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating pomegranate juice maker POM Wonderful. The Washington Post says the about-face by Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ended “a dispute that legal observers said…

Aug 2, 2010 2:32 PM CDT

Ex-BigLaw Associate Faces Ethics Case Over Alleged Nonpayment of $78K Student Loan

A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School who was being paid over $200,000 a year as an associate at DLA Piper in 2009 is facing a legal ethics complaint that alleges he failed to pay his guaranteed student loan debt. Olufemi Nicol, 42, is accused of bad-faith avoidance…

Jul 29, 2010 9:14 PM CDT

Life Insurers Give Beneficiaries Checkbooks, But the Accounts Aren’t FDIC-Insured

When it comes time to pay out life insurance benefits, a number of companies have found a way to do their duty and yet keep the money in their own hands, too. They send the beneficiary a checkbook for what might seem to be a checking account. But in fact…

Jul 29, 2010 5:17 PM CDT

From Nano to Manna? Nanotech Food Development Slowed by ‘Regulatory Vacuum’

Imagine using tiny particles with unique properties to make food safer and taste better. It may be possible, experts said at a conference last weekend, but food companies are hesitating because of a lack of regulations governing nanotechnology, the New Haven Independent reports. John Floros, head of the Department of…

Jul 23, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Legal Aid Groups Sue Prison Officials Over Ban on ‘Jailhouse Lawyer’s Handbook’

A free handbook prepared by legal aid groups explaining to inmates how they can assert their constitutional rights in federal court is a threat to prison security, officials in Virginia decided. So they banned it. Now the publishers of the Jailhouse Lawyer’s Handbook (PDF) are fighting back. They have filed…

Jul 22, 2010 9:15 PM CDT

Procrastinating Lawyer’s Lies About Estate Work Require Disbarment, Says Top NH Court

For nearly five years after Bertha McInnes died on Sept. 12, 1998, attorney Lynn Morse worked on her $461,500 estate, filing an appearance in Rockingham County Probate Court within 10 days of her death. Again and again, Morse sought delays and promised to meet deadlines but didn’t. When the executrix,…

Jul 22, 2010 7:15 PM CDT

DOJ Plans No Criminal Charges in Political Firings of 9 US Attorneys

A special prosecutor brought in by the Department of Justice to investigate the apparent politically motivated 2006 firings of at least nine United States attorneys has concluded that no criminal charges should be filed, reports the Blog of Legal Times. “Based on a consideration of all the evidence and the…

Jul 21, 2010 9:19 PM CDT

2-Month Hiatus for ‘Socially Inept’ Judge re Conduct ‘Akin to Stalking’

A 51-year-old Pennsylvania judge who was so clueless with women that he didn’t realize his repeated calls and unannounced visits to the homes and offices of female attorneys might be unwelcome has been suspended without pay for two months. Described by his own lawyer as “socially inept and challenged with…

Jul 20, 2010 10:28 PM CDT

Who Really Won? Record $550M SEC Fine No Big Deal to Goldman Sachs, Says NY Times

Goldman Sachs agreed to pay a record-breaking $550 million fine as part of a settlement announced last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of charges that the bank misled investors when it offered mortgage-related securities that turned out to be toxic in a dismal real estate market. But…

Jul 19, 2010 8:53 PM CDT

A ‘Disappointed & Shocked’ Top Judge Is Reprimanded for Refusing Execution-Eve Appeal

The top criminal appeals court judge in Texas was reprimanded today for refusing to accept a late appeal hours before an inmate was executed and hence failing in her duty to maintain open access to the courts. The Commission on Judicial Conduct found that Presiding Judge Sharon Keller of the…

Jul 17, 2010 3:14 AM CDT