Corporate Law

AIG Execs Entitled to Lawyers’ Documents, Appeals Court Rules

A New York appeals court has ruled attorney-client privilege does not protect documents requested by two former executives for American International Group Inc. The opinion said former CEO Maurice Greenberg and former CFO Howard Smith are entitled to the documents to fight civil accusations of accounting irregularities by the New…

Feb 20, 2008 12:14 PM CST

Law Firms Rev Up for Expected Bank Litigation Barrage

A traditional taboo against suing banks among big-league United Kingdom law firms is rapidly losing its power as legal eagles there and abroad rev their engines in anticipation of a barrage of bank-related litigation. The biggest London legal advisers to banks still won’t accept such litigation matters, either because they…

Feb 19, 2008 5:03 PM CST

One Former Bill Lerach Law Firm Scarcely Misses a Step

In a recent discussion of leading plaintiffs firms filing class actions related to the subprime mortgage crisis, what Wall Street Journal Law Blog described as “San Diego-based plaintiffs powerhouse Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins” received prominent mention. Not mentioned at all in the post was the firm’s former name…

Feb 15, 2008 11:16 PM CST

Lawyer Who ‘Worked’ 1,286 Days in a Year: ‘Common Practice’

Updated: A lawyer who was reported as simultaneously working as a full-time employee for five different Long Island school districts in order to qualify for a government pension and other benefits says such arrangements were common practice. Lawrence W. Reich actually was in private practice and representing the five districts…

Feb 15, 2008 10:40 PM CST

Bell Boyd Raids 2 San Diego Firms, Opens New Office

A well-known Chicago-based firm is establishing a West Coast presence, raiding two San Diego law offices to open a six-attorney outpost there. (It will also be staffed from the outset with seven Ph.D-credentialed specialists, and two of the lawyers apparently have Ph.Ds, too.) The partners at the helm of Bell,…

Feb 13, 2008 11:15 PM CST

Big Bankruptcy Case Discovers Forged Attorney Opinion Letters

When opinion letters apparently written by a prominent New Jersey lawyer were sent to Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services in 2004 along with alleged fake financial statements, the bank reportedly took the documents at face value. Relying on them, it issued a multimillion-dollar loan to a now-bankrupt company. But now…

Feb 13, 2008 9:25 PM CST

Company to Pay $5.2M Settlement in Cell Phone Crash Case

International Paper Co. has agreed to pay $5.2 million to a driver who lost her arm in a crash caused by an employee who had been talking on a cell phone. The injured driver, Debra Ford, had alleged she was rear-ended when the employee was talking on a company-supplied cell…

Feb 13, 2008 2:48 PM CST

Crusading N.J. Prosecutor Accused of Bullying Tactics, Cronyism

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has an impressive record of battling political corruption, but opponents say he has resorted to the same kind of bullying and cronyism for which he has criticized others. Even those who point to Christie’s successes say they are marred by his blurring of the line between…

Feb 13, 2008 12:49 PM CST

Onetime Law Firm Gofer Now a Corporate Counsel

When Ryan Swift got a job as a gofer, making sure the coffee machine was filled and fetching sandwiches for lawyers at Holland & Knight in Atlanta, his mother told him he just needed to get his foot in the door. It turns out she was right. “I told them…

Feb 11, 2008 10:35 PM CST

Lerach Gets 2 Years in Claimed Milberg Weiss Kickbacks Case

A once-mighty partner at the nation’s biggest and best-known plaintiffs securities firm was given a two-year federal prison sentence today for his role in an alleged law firm scheme to pay $11.3 million in kickbacks to lead plaintiffs in securities class actions. In addition to the prison term, William Lerach,…

Feb 11, 2008 9:44 PM CST

Former Ethics Counsel Disbarred Over Investigation of Judge

Two Massachusetts lawyers, including the former ethics counsel for two state governors, were disbarred today because of their aggressive investigation of a judge who ruled against their clients in 1995 in a high-profile family battle over control of a supermarket chain. The efforts of Gary C. Crossen and Kevin P.…

Feb 6, 2008 7:40 PM CST

Judge Allows Racketeering Suit Against Protesting Union

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a racketeering lawsuit filed against a union that criticized conditions at a North Carolina slaughterhouse. U.S. District Judge Robert Payne of Richmond, Va., refused last week to dismiss the suit, filed by Smithfield Foods against the United Food and Commercial Workers International, Adam…

Feb 5, 2008 2:29 PM CST

BP Pleads Guilty in Texas Refinery Explosion That Killed 15

A federal judge in Houston is one step closer to approving a criminal plea deal by petroleum giant BP concerning a 2005 explosion at a Texas refinery that killed 15 and injured more than 170. BP entered a guilty plea today, but U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal hasn’t yet decided…

Feb 5, 2008 12:03 AM CST

Candy Competition Sours Company on Now-Former Counsel

Nestle reportedly has axed its lead antitrust counsel in Europe after focusing during a review of its legal staffing there on the fact that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer also represented the competing Mars company. Perhaps best-known on supermarket shelves for its M&M’S candies, Mars is a competitor of Nestle. The two…

Feb 4, 2008 7:10 PM CST

Debevoise Probe of Siemens Hits Roadblocks

Debevoise & Plimpton’s internal corporate probe of misconduct at Siemens AG has been hindered by uncooperative employees and prosecutors. The investigation into allegations of bribes for business was proceeding so slowly last summer that some board members questioned whether the law firm should have been hired, according to the Wall…

Jan 23, 2008 8:11 PM CST