Georgia

A Chief Judge Resigns After Admitting Inappropriate Touching

The chief judge of the superior court in Georgia’s Cobb County has resigned after admitting to a local newspaper that he “flicked” the bottoms of two women from the district attorney’s office who sat on his lap for photos. Judge Kenneth Nix announced Tuesday that he will retire Oct. 4,…

Aug 12, 2010 12:34 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Forging Judge’s Signature on Orders in 4 Adoption Cases

A Georgia family practitioner was arrested at her Stockbridge law office yesterday after allegedly forging a judge’s signature on court orders terminating parental rights in four different adoption cases. Lynn McNeese Swank, 60, is accused of falsely informing her client, the Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, that she…

Aug 11, 2010 6:28 PM CDT

Ethics Commission Lawyers Blasted for Doing Private Work on State Time

Two Georgia State Ethics Commission lawyers have been criticized in a new report for working on their private law practice on state time and for using state computers to do research for their private clients. The report, issued by the Georgia inspector general’s office, found that commission lawyers Thomas Plank…

Jul 16, 2010 5:21 PM CDT

US Labor Dept. Files ERISA Suit Against Eichholz Law Firm and Ex-CEO

The U.S. Department of Labor sued a Georgia personal injury firm and its former chief executive officer this week, contending that they improperly transferred, lent or used retirement plan assets in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. In addition to seeking reimbursement of the missing money, the Savannah…

Jul 16, 2010 4:52 PM CDT

Recent Law Grad Files New $1M Suit Against Lawyer in Prove-Me-Wrong Dare

A South Texas College of Law graduate has filed a new breach of contract suit against a lawyer who promised to pay $1 million to anyone who could prove the prosecution’s theory of a case against his client. Former law student Dustin Kolodziej filed suit late last month in federal…

Jul 12, 2010 12:04 PM CDT

Ex-Lawyer Gets 5 Years for Swindling Clients Out of $4.3M

A now-disbarred Georgia lawyer was sentenced today to five years and three months in federal prison for swindling clients out of $4.3 million. M. Dewey Bain, 59, must also pay restitution for the money he took from clients, promising to hold their money in trust and invest it safely but…

Jul 7, 2010 7:47 PM CDT

Fired Staffer Sues State Ethics Comm’n, Claims Retaliation Over Lawyer Moonlighting Complaint

Corrected: Two Georgia attorneys reportedly were operating a private law practice at the same time that they held full-time positions as staff lawyers at the State Ethics Commission. And after another employee blew the whistle on the alleged moonlighting on state time and using state resources, she was the one…

Jul 2, 2010 9:32 PM CDT

Put on Leave, Magistrate Judge Is Reportedly Arrested After Courthouse Standoff

Corrected: A magistrate judge in Catoosa County, Ga., was reportedly arrested and briefly jailed today after a courthouse standoff with sheriff’s deputies. Judge Anthony Peters apparently barricaded himself in his office after being put on paid administrative leave for unspecified reasons and asked to leave the courthouse by Chief Magistrate…

Jun 16, 2010 8:50 PM CDT

Some Atlanta Law Firms See Business Uptick, and Associates Benefit

Some associates in Atlanta are benefiting as their law firms detect hints of a turnaround and increased business. Some examples, reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Labor and employment law firm Fisher & Phillips gave its associates a $10,000 pay raise, citing business from companies seeking advice on labor issues and…

Jun 14, 2010 2:11 PM CDT

Court Nixes Ex-Greenberg Associate’s 2nd Try for Suspension re $493K Firm Scheme

For the second time in three months, the Georgia Supreme Court has nixed a former Greenberg Traurig associate’s effort to agree to a voluntary suspension of his law license concerning the $493,000 he obtained from the firm—and repaid—for work he performed under false identities. In March, the court rejected Michael…

Jun 7, 2010 10:36 PM CDT

Cert Petition Challenges ‘Breakdown’ of PD System, Says Defendant Tossed to Lions

A Georgia death-row inmate whose appointed capital defense lawyers were tossed off the case due to funding problems cites a “systemic breakdown of the public defender system” in a petition for certiorari. The petition filed on behalf of Jamie Weis, accused of killing an elderly neighbor, asks the U.S. Supreme…

May 25, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Kilpatrick Stockton’s 4-Year Mentoring Program Sees ‘Wildly Phenomenal’ Results

Kilpatrick Stockton is being credited with a big win, but it has nothing to do with the courtroom. One hundred of the firm’s lawyers and staffers have been mentoring a group of students at Atlanta’s Washington High School for the last four years, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. In 2006, the…

May 17, 2010 12:19 PM CDT

Law Firm Partner Accused of Putting Camera Under Employee’s Desk

A partner at an Atlanta law firm has been charged with putting a surveillance camera under the desk of a woman who worked there. James Frederick Tenney, 57, was charged with three counts of unlawful surveillance for allegedly recording the woman on three occasions, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11alive.com…

May 17, 2010 11:42 AM CDT

Onetime Lawyer for Usher Is Now Collecting Food Stamps

Two years ago, Cliff Lovette was doing legal work for Usher. Now the 54-year-old Atlanta entertainment attorney is practicing law out of his basement and collecting food stamps. At the top of his game, he worked for LeFace Records in Atlanta as senior vice president for business and legal affairs,…

May 7, 2010 11:28 PM CDT

Judge Weighs Why Restaurant Asked Lawyer, Ex-NBA Star to Give Up Seats; Defense Cites ‘Gentility’

Motivation is becoming a central issue in a discrimination lawsuit filed against an Atlanta restaurant by a lawyer and a former NBA star, both African-Americans, who were asked to give up their bar seats to two white women. Former NBA all-star Joe Barry Carroll and Atlanta lawyer Joseph Shaw see…

Apr 15, 2010 12:55 PM CDT