Arizona

Snell & Wilmer Cuts 30 to 40 Staffers

No lawyers were laid off. But Phoenix-based Snell & Wilmer has let go 30 to 40 staff members. “You hate like mad to do it,” the firm’s chairman, John Bouma, tells the Phoenix Business Journal. He said most of the layoffs were in Snell & Wilmer’s headquarters in Phoenix. The…

May 9, 2009 12:21 AM CDT

Supreme Court Narrows Belton and Limits Car Searches

The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with a criminal defendant who challenged a police search of his car that turned up cocaine and a gun. Police searched Rodney Gant’s car after he was arrested on a warrant for driving on a suspended license, handcuffed and placed in a squad car.…

Apr 21, 2009 2:49 PM CDT

Temp. Suspensions Sought for Leaders of Ariz. Consumer Law Firm

Over the last three years, Phillips & Associates has represented more than 30,000 clients. So it isn’t amazing there there have been multiple client complaints during the same period, according to the lawyers in charge of the Arizona consumer law firm. But state bar regulators see the situation differently. In…

Apr 20, 2009 5:15 PM CDT

Law Firm Fined $25K for Trumpeting Reported $17M Settlement

An Arizona appeals court has upheld a $25,000 sanction against a construction law firm that trumpeted to potential clients, without mentioning the exact amount, a confidential settlement of a homeowner stucco suit reported to be around $17 million. Kasdan Simonds Riley & Vaughan had argued that home builder Del Webb,…

Apr 16, 2009 4:54 PM CDT

Minority-Owned Midwest Firm Expands to LA and Phoenix

Expanding on earlier growth, a 20-year-old minority-owned commercial law firm based in Milwaukee is adding 10 lawyers and opening new offices in Los Angeles and Phoenix. Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan is essentially acquiring a nine-lawyer minority firm in Los Angeles, Atkins & Evans, to open its office there, according to…

Apr 6, 2009 10:14 PM CDT

Reward Offered for 24 Alleged Mexican Drug Lords: Up to $7M Each

As escalating violence related to cross-border drug trafficking causes increasing concern in both Mexico and the United States, the government there is offering a record-breaking bounty of $2 million each for 24 alleged drug lords. With an additional $5 million offered by the U.S. concerning some of the drug-trafficking suspects,…

Mar 24, 2009 4:04 PM CDT

The Bluto Blutarsky Option: Arizona State to Offer Seven-Year JD

Students who would like to earn their law degree at a more leisurely pace may want to consider Arizona State’s Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law. The school has announced a new flexible schedule program that gives students seven years to earn a law degree. The program allows students to…

Mar 5, 2009 1:06 PM CST

Over His Mom’s Objection, Boy, 9, Pleads Guilty to Negligent Homicide

An Arizona boy accused of shooting his father and his father’s roommate to death when he was only 8 pleaded guilty today to one count of negligent homicide concerning the roommate. The other charge concerning his father was dropped, reports the Associated Press. No sentence has yet been imposed, but…

Feb 20, 2009 2:20 AM CST

Plea Likely in 9-Year-Old’s Murder Case; No Prison Time

A plea deal is near for a boy, now 9, who is accused of shooting his father and another man to death at the family’s home, according to his attorney. Details aren’t specified, but “We aren’t going to sign him up for prison. We would never do that,” attorney Benjamin…

Feb 13, 2009 2:07 AM CST

Judicial Diversity is Lacking, But Here’s What to Do to Improve, Report Says

Women and minorities are still underrepresented on the state trial and appellate court bench, regardless whether the judges are elected or appointed to their positions. But there are things that can be done to include their chances of winning seats proportionate to their representation in the general population, according to…

Feb 2, 2009 9:13 PM CST

Legal Fight Over Ariz. Woman’s Will Precedes Her Death

A lawsuit filed by an Arizona man who was cut out of his mother’s will seeks to unearth new legal ground even before his mother is dead and buried. The suit by Robert Jaeger seeks $1 million in punitive and compensatory damages from four of his brothers and sisters, the…

Jan 22, 2009 7:38 PM CST

Ariz. Attorney, an Ex-Prosecutor, Charged with Manslaughter in Stabbing

An Arizona bankruptcy lawyer who formerly worked as a prosecutor in South Dakota reportedly has been charged with manslaughter in a stabbing case. Details are sketchy, but KPHO, a local CBS News affiliate, reports that a manslaughter indictment against Daniel Gukeisen, 37, who operates a bankruptcy firm in Tempe, was…

Jan 15, 2009 6:59 PM CST

Detroit’s Clark Hill Opens Arizona Office By Acquiring Norling Kolsrud

A rapidly expanding Detroit-based law firm has just added another office to its roster. Clark Hill has opened in Scottsdale, Ariz., on the outskirts of Phoenix, by acquiring 10-attorney Norling Kolsrud Sifferman & Davis, according to Crain’s Detroit Business and a Clark Hill press release. The not-quite-200-lawyer firm opened new…

Jan 7, 2009 7:49 PM CST

Prosecutors Agree to Exclude Murder Confession by 8-Year-Old, With a Caveat

Prosecutors say they likely will agree to exclude a confession by an 8-year-old Arizona boy questioned about the murder of his father without the presence of a lawyer or family member. Prosecutors in St. Johns, Ariz., say they have no objections to a motion to exclude the taped confession unless…

Jan 7, 2009 1:53 PM CST

License Plate Law Puts Ariz. Attorneys in Driver’s Seat for Marketing Efforts

An Arizona law requiring license plates to be installed so that the state’s name is not obscured apparently has provided a lucrative marketing opportunity for a few enterprising criminal defense attorneys. After 100 state residents showed up earlier for help getting their license plates put on correctly, Michael Urbano and…

Jan 6, 2009 9:57 PM CST