District of Columbia

Mayer Brown Seeks Ex-Paralegal’s Employment File at Other Jobs to Defend Hard-Fought Age Case

Seeking to defend itself aggressively in a hard-fought age discrimination suit brought by a former $88,000-a-year paralegal in its Washington, D.C., office, Mayer Brown is seeking to discover portions of Mary Ellen Hindin’s employment file for other jobs she has held. Among the well-known firms served with subpoenas seeking Hindin’s…

Nov 11, 2010 12:10 AM CST

Gov’t Can Search E-Mail Without Notifying Account-Holder, Federal Judge Rules

When the feds search an individual’s e-mail under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, they don’t have to notify the account-holder, a federal judge has ruled. In an order (PDF) unsealed yesterday, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth of Washington, D.C., says the statute is satisfied so long as the government provides…

Nov 3, 2010 12:02 AM CDT

9 Years Later, Trial Begins in Death of Chandra Levy

Jury selection began today in the case of the slaying of Chandra Levy, who at the time of her disappearance on May 1, 2001, was a 24-year-old intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Her body was found in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., one year later. On trial…

Oct 18, 2010 7:58 PM CDT

Welcome to the ‘Parallel Universe’: Opinion Releasing Gitmo Detainee Was Extensively Rewritten

Legal observers are agog over two very different versions of a ruling in a habeas corpus case ordering the release of a Guantanamo Bay detainee who was held nearly eight years without being charged. In the initial version provided by Pro Publica, which was briefly made available online in March,…

Oct 15, 2010 12:32 PM CDT

Ewww, What’s That Smell? Steptoe Wins Burger Battle Against Neighboring Restaurant

An unpleasantly intense odor of cooking hamburgers will soon be no more in the Washington, D.C., offices of Steptoe & Johnson. After a three-day trial, a District of Columbia Superior Court judge has ordered a neighboring burger joint whose exhaust system vented right across from the law firm’s air intake…

Oct 13, 2010 1:17 AM CDT

What Merger Talks? Some Partners Got News of Brief Akin Gump-Orrick Courtship Online

As a brief courtship between two major law firms ended this week with news that leaders had decided to call off their very preliminary merger discussions, observers—and even partners at the affected firms—are scratching their heads over what happened. At both Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Orrick Herrington…

Oct 7, 2010 10:00 PM CDT

Under Pressure in Criminal Probe of Stevens Case Handling, DOJ Prosecutor Commits Suicide

A young Department of Justice prosecutor committed suicide over the weekend, after a year under criminal investigation, along with senior members of the DOJ, concerning the department’s mishandling of the Sen. Ted Stevens case. Partner Robert Luskin of Patton Boggs represented Nicholas Marsh and said he expected his client not…

Sep 27, 2010 7:32 PM CDT

Battle of the Titans: Divorce Lawyer’s Fee Suit Backfires in Bar Prez Battle

A former president of the Virginia Bar Association came out the loser when he sued a former client for additional attorney fees and the client fought back, using expert testimony from another ex-bar president. The lawyer who sued, Glenn Lewis, “is an acknowledged titan of the D.C. area divorce bar,”…

Sep 27, 2010 2:13 PM CDT

Judge Orders Copyright Defendants in Mass Suit to Reveal Identities

Copyright defendants targeted by an enterprising law firm will have to disclose their identities, a federal judge has ruled. The 40 defendants who opposed a subpoena for the information were among 4,577 John Doe defendants identified only by their Internet addresses in a copyright suit filed by the Virginia-based law…

Sep 27, 2010 12:24 PM CDT

Covington Gets Another Bias Claim Tossed; Promotion Policy Still at Issue

Covington & Burling secured another partial win Tuesday in a suit claiming the firm created a staff attorney ghetto filled with blacks and other minorities. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton dismissed a claim that the law firm had assigned a disproportionate number of African-American lawyers to staff attorney positions, the…

Sep 23, 2010 3:38 PM CDT

Wrongful Death Suit Against Ex-Partner Creates Document Dilemma for Arent Fox

Arent Fox doesn’t have any direct role in a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against former partner Joseph Price by the widow of an attorney found slain at the Washington, D.C., townhome Price shared with two other men. But the civil litigation has created a document dilemma for the…

Sep 20, 2010 10:11 PM CDT

As BigLaw Struggles to Provide Value, Lobbying Firms Are In the Money

Although BigLaw firms in Washington, D.C., weren’t as hard-hit by the economic downturn as New York counterparts focused on banking and financial matters, many are still struggling to find solid ground for future growth. Covington & Burling has done relatively well, with a slight increase in its attorney roster despite…

Sep 20, 2010 4:43 PM CDT

Former Arnold & Porter Associate Charged with 10 More Child Porn Counts

A former Arnold & Porter associate is facing additional counts of possessing child pornography after a police review of materials found in a search of his home. Joshua Gessler, 41, was accused last month of paying a 15-year-old girl for sex and photographing the encounter, the Washington Post blog Crime…

Sep 17, 2010 11:28 AM CDT

Federal Appeals Court Stays District Judge’s Ban on Stem Cell Research

In a three-paragraph order today, a federal appeals court has temporarily lifted a district judge’s preliminary ban on government funding of some research on stem cells from human embryos. By preserving the status quo for now, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., panel plans…

Sep 9, 2010 8:14 PM CDT

New Law Firm to Focus on Discovery, Document Retention Issues

A new law firm with offices in Minneapolis, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., will focus on issues related to electronic discovery, privacy and data retention. The seven lawyers at the new Redgrave firm have experience in major law firms and Fortune 100 companies, the Washington Post reports. One of the…

Sep 7, 2010 12:29 PM CDT