Scott Rothstein Says Other Law Firms Aided $1.2B Fraud by Turning Blind Eye to His Lies

Convicted swindler Scott Rothstein has emerged from the federal witness protection program and is being deposed by 30 attorneys in federal court in Miami, in a high-security closed-door bankruptcy proceeding that began yesterday and is expected to take about two weeks. The 49-year-old disbarred Florida lawyer is naming names, says…

Dec 13, 2011 1:32 PM CST

Lawyer Faces Possible Sanction for Signing Client Memo Calling Judges ‘Bigoted Catholic Beasts’

Updated: A Minnesota lawyer is facing a possible sanction after she signed a legal memorandum written by her client calling a bankruptcy judge a “Catholic Knight Witch Hunter.” The document signed by lawyer Rebekah Nett said the courts were “composed of a bunch of ignoramus, bigoted Catholic beasts that carry…

Dec 8, 2011 12:32 PM CST

Judge Refuses Lenny Dykstra’s Bid for Restraining Order Against Man Who Ran Twitter Account

A judge has refused a request by former baseball star Lenny Dykstra to grant a restraining order against the man he allowed to run his Twitter account. Dykstra claims Daniel Herman of Pennsylvania falsely claimed to be his business manager, threatened him, posted racist messages on Twitter, and told federal…

Dec 7, 2011 12:34 PM CST

Amended Ruling Reprimands Bankruptcy Judge for Membership in Country Club

In a decision issued last month, a judicial conduct panel criticized a soon-to-be-retired chief bankruptcy judge for failing to resign from a Tennessee country club, but refused to sanction the judge for the ethics violation. This month, the Federal Judicial Conference’s Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability changed its collective…

Dec 5, 2011 3:14 PM CST

Grocers, Thrift Stores and Bankruptcy Firms Are Doing Well, Despite Struggling Economy

A number of attorneys in South Jersey are tightening their belts. But law firms with thriving bankruptcy practices are booming, according to the Press of Atlantic City. Partner Douglas S. Stanger of Flaster Greenberg tells the newspaper.that his firm’s bankruptcy group has nearly doubled over the past four years. Flaster…

Nov 30, 2011 4:34 PM CST

American Airlines Files for Bankruptcy; Weil Gotshal Is Lead Counsel

American Airlines is the last major airline to seek bankruptcy protection with the filing of Chapter 11 papers today in Manhattan. The filing by the AMR Corp. and its U.S. subsidiaries, including American Airlines and American Eagle, follows failed attempts to win labor concessions, report Bloomberg News and the New…

Nov 29, 2011 12:40 PM CST

Panel Says Judge’s Membership in Country Club Is Ethics Violation, But Withholds Sanction

A bankruptcy judge violated the ethics code when he failed to resign from a Nashville, Tenn., country club that had no blacks or women as voting members, according to the Federal Judicial Conference’s Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability. But the panel opted against disciplining Judge George Paine II because…

Nov 22, 2011 11:30 AM CST

Ex-Employees File WARN Claims Against MF Global, Hope for Priority in Bankruptcy Court

Fired on Friday along with more than 1,000 other workers at MF Global, at least four former employees today filed three separate claims in federal bankruptcy court lawsuit seeking two months of severance pay and benefits from the bankrupt brokerage. They want class action status and some $25 million in…

Nov 15, 2011 1:18 AM CST

Largest Ever Municipal Bankruptcy Is Filed as Ala. County Seeks Protection from Creditors

Alabama’s Jefferson County has filed for bankruptcy after a tentative deal with creditors crumbled. The bankruptcy filing by the county that includes Birmingham is the largest ever municipal bankruptcy, report Reuters and the Birmingham News. A press release announcing the filing says county commissioners decided to declare bankruptcy because creditors…

Nov 10, 2011 1:00 PM CST

Unfinished Business Doctrine Plagues Law Firms Acquiring Partners from Collapsed Firms

Howrey bankruptcy trustee Allan Diamond is eying the law firms that acquired Howrey lawyers before its collapse as a potential source of revenue for creditors. Diamond, who was appointed trustee last month, tells the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) that he is just starting to investigate what kind of lawsuits…

Nov 7, 2011 12:59 PM CST

Bankruptcy Trustee Sues Foley & Lardner, Says Legal Work Aided Client’s Massive Ponzi Scheme

Contending that legal work performed by Foley & Lardner helped a former client perpetrate a claimed Ponzi scheme that stripped some investors of their life savings as insiders looted assets, a trustee in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case for that client, DBSI Inc., has sued the law firm. Filed in…

Nov 4, 2011 2:53 PM CDT

Two Banks Win Ruling Blocking Madoff Trustee from Pursuing $20B in Claims

A federal judge has barred Madoff trustee Irving Picard from pursuing about $20 billion in claims against two banks, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS. U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon of Manhattan said Picard could bring suits for harm caused to the bankrupt estate, but not for harm caused to…

Nov 2, 2011 2:42 PM CDT

Ruden McClosky Files for Bankruptcy; Greenspoon Marder Seeks Assets, Plans to Hire About 50 Lawyers

The South Florida law firm Ruden McClosky has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after lawyer defections, staff layoffs, office closings and an across-the-board pay cut. Law firm leaders had maintained a positive attitude as problems mounted last year. Managing partner Michael Krul had said last November that the firm…

Nov 2, 2011 11:25 AM CDT

Heller Suit Claims Error by Greenberg Traurig Led to ‘Chaotic’ Wind Down

The bankruptcy estate of Heller Ehrman claims in a multimillion-dollar malpractice suit that an oversight by Greenberg Traurig led to a more “chaotic” wind down. The suit claims Greenberg failed to discover that Bank of America, Heller’s biggest lender, had terminated its security interest in Heller before the law firm…

Nov 1, 2011 11:37 AM CDT

The Next Chapter: Municipalities Are Using Chapter 9 to Fend Off Creditors

Nov 1, 2011 10:00 AM CDT