Corporate Law

Bose McKinney Agrees to Pay Hefty Legal Bill in ‘Chameleon’ Sanctions Case

A well-known Indiana-based law firm has agreed to pay part of a litigation opponent’s estimated seven-figure legal tab after a June 5 order by a federal judge sanctioning Bose McKinney & Evans and its former client in an environmental contamination case for failing to disclose material in discovery. Under the…

Jun 15, 2009 10:23 PM CDT

Pro Se Lawyer Wins Order to Depose Ex-President Bush in Property Dispute

Representing himself in a property dispute over the George W. Bush presidential library at Southern Methodist University, a Texas lawyer has won a highly unusual court order requiring a former president of the United States to appear for deposition. Lawyers for ex-president George W. Bush say they expect the order…

Jun 3, 2009 11:55 PM CDT

Noncompete Agreement Enforced Concerning Hewlett-Packard Exec

Siding with a company attempting to enforce a noncompetition agreement concerning a former executive, a California Superior Court judge has refused to interfere with a Massachusetts court ruling that restricts his duties at his new job at Hewlett-Packard Co. David Donatelli, who previously headed the storage business of his former…

Jun 3, 2009 1:00 AM CDT

Dismal Economy? Not for Companies Funding Corporate Litigation

The dismal economy reportedly has offered a boost to a fledgling industry that helps fund corporate litigation. “It’s always a good time to invest in litigation,” chief executive Richard Fields of Juridica Capital Management tells the New York Times—but a weak economy, he says, is an additional plus factor. “When…

Jun 2, 2009 11:45 PM CDT

Craigslist Sues South Carolina AG in Showdown Over Erotic Services Ads

Threatened with potential criminal prosecution over its role in allegedly promoting prostitution through Internet ads posted by third parties on its website, Craiglist Inc. has responded with a pre-emptive strike. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in South Carolina today, the national classified advertising website seeks a declaratory judgment…

May 20, 2009 10:44 PM CDT

Director Survey Ranks Skadden No. 1 Corporate Firm

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom tops a list of America’s best corporate law firms that is based on a survey of corporate directors. Corporate Board Member and FTI Consulting surveyed almost 300 directors for the top 20 list. Skadden got the top spot for the ninth straight year, the…

May 20, 2009 6:36 PM CDT

Did 5 Detroit Lawyers Craft $8.4M Pact to Conceal Ex-Mayor’s Perjury?

Five lawyers who helped craft a controversial $8.4 million settlement by the city of Detroit that papered over then-mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s perjury in police whistle-blower litigation are now facing ethics charges. They include not only top in-house attorneys and outside counsel for the city but plaintiffs lawyer Mike Stefani, who…

May 20, 2009 5:40 PM CDT

‘Reply All’ Was a Mistake, Peeved Partner Tells Quinn Emanuel Associate

Observers are openly wondering how long an unidentified first-year associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges will hold his job, after reading a jaw-dropping e-mail thread. It began with a partner’s standard-issue firmwide proclamation of victory on Friday in a federal court case involving the trademark rights of the…

May 19, 2009 8:53 PM CDT

Calif. Worker Lawsuit Accuses Costco of False Imprisonment

A class action lawsuit filed today against Costco Wholesale Corp. contends the national retailer has a routine store-closing policy that not only allegedly violates California labor laws but amounts to false imprisonment. Filed in San Diego County Superior Court, the suit seeks injunctive relief and $50 million in damages from…

May 16, 2009 1:10 AM CDT

Oops. Hospital GC Not Licensed in Home State Is Suspended from $260K Job

Although Marc Goldstone is working as the North Broward Hospital District’s general counsel, he reportedly isn’t licensed to practice law in Florida. As that fact sank into the consciousness of the district’s board this week, it called an emergency meeting yesterday and suspended Goldstone from his $260,000-a-year job. He has…

May 15, 2009 5:57 PM CDT

Ex-Mayer Brown Partner Knew Zip re Client’s $2.4B Fraud, His Lawyer Says

A lawyer for a former Mayer Brown partner started outlining his client’s defense yesterday in a federal trial that began in New York this week over what prosecutors describe as attorney Joseph Collins’ help to high-level executives at Refco Inc. in concealing a $2.4 billion corporate fraud. The three executives…

May 14, 2009 5:22 PM CDT

Oops. Donald Trump, Tenant, Signed His Own Landlord Lease

A New York lawyer suing to evict Donald Trump’s company from several Manhattan co-op apartment units it is renting is chortling over the real estate mogul’s lease. Seems that Trump, when leasing out his own property, has tenants sign a rental agreement that is highly pro-landlord, reports the Am Law…

May 14, 2009 12:12 AM CDT

EEOC Files Age Discrimination Suit Over Firing of Strip Club Waitress, 56

The federal agency in charge of enforcing anti-discrimination laws has taken up the cause of a Texas strip club waitress allegedly illegally fired due to her age. Although 56-year-old Mary Bassi made a six-figure income, was popular with customers and sold a lot of liquor for Cover Girls, she was…

May 13, 2009 4:34 PM CDT

Jury Acquits W.R. Grace and Former Execs in Landmark Criminal Asbestos Case

In the latest blow to federal prosecutors trying a high-profile criminal case, a jury in Missoula, Mont., has acquitted chemical products company W.R. Grace & Co. and three former executives on all charges in a landmark criminal environmental case. All had been accused of knowingly contaminating a small Missouri mining…

May 8, 2009 9:31 PM CDT

Woman Sues Wal-Mart Over Alleged Encounter With ‘Norman,’ a Nutria

A lawsuit filed by a Louisiana woman over foot injuries she allegedly suffered while shopping at her local Wal-Mart store has made international headlines because of the claimed cause of the action: Norman the Nutria. Rebecca White says in her lawsuit that she was pushing a full shopping cart when…

May 8, 2009 7:12 PM CDT