Ethics

Greenberg Traurig Indicted in Guam

Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the firm for which he formerly worked have been indicted in Guam for allegedly making improper billings to the U.S. territory’s superior court. At issue in the case against Greenberg Traurig and other defendants is “a multitude of nonjudicial related activities the superior court paid…

Mar 12, 2008 8:41 PM CDT

Fla. Lawyer Fights Charges He Hid Bank Losses

A government lawyer argued yesterday that a former partner at Greenberg Traurig covered up crimes at a Miami bank that was eventually shut down for fraud. The Office of Comptroller of the Currency is seeking a $250,000 fine and a cease-and-desist order against Carlos Loumiet to prevent him from giving…

Mar 12, 2008 5:18 PM CDT

Double Trouble? Firm Defends 2 in Detroit Settlement Scandal

Questions are being raised about a law firm’s representation of both the Detroit mayor and a top aide in an ongoing scandal over an $8.4 million city settlement. But the firm itself says no problem is posed by its dual representations. “There is no conflict; we don’t anticipate one,” attorney…

Mar 12, 2008 3:45 PM CDT

Stripper Says Fla. Appeals Judge Shielded Her Assets

A stripper who is a longtime friend of a Florida appellate court judge says he helped her shield her assets from judgment creditors, but now owes her money. However, Judge Thomas E. Stringer Sr., 63, says he and 47-year-old Christy Yamanaka were business partners who purchased and sold a house…

Mar 11, 2008 10:00 PM CDT

Top Lawmaker to Spitzer: Resign or We’ll Impeach You

Updated: As the day progressed, it appeared that embattled New York Governor Eliot Spitzer might not resign from office as quickly as some have predicted, despite allegations that he may have paid as much as $80,000 for the services of high-class prostitution service. But if he doesn’t resign soon, at…

Mar 11, 2008 8:42 PM CDT

New Rules for Dealing With Federal Judges Who Have Issues

Updated: New rules adopted today by the Judicial Conference of the United States for the first time provide uniform national standards for dealing with federal judges whose health or behavior may interfere with their ability to perform their jobs. The rules (PDF)—which, unlike prior standards, are binding—“cover such topics as…

Mar 11, 2008 7:34 PM CDT

Spitzer Likely to Resign, Maybe Today, Newspaper Says

Updated: Eliot Spitzer, the embattled New York governor and former hard-charging state attorney general, likely will resign in the wake of claims that he hired a high-class prostitute in Washington, D.C., last month at a cost of $4,300, major newspapers are saying. Citing an unnamed “person close to” the governor,…

Mar 11, 2008 3:57 PM CDT

Fla. Lawyer Willie Gary Wins Contempt Battle in Child Support Dispute

The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that Florida trial lawyer Willie Gary isn’t responsible for $462,000 in back child support and he can’t be held in contempt for failing to pay it. At issue was whether Gary had agreed to pay $14,000 a month in support for both—or each—of two…

Mar 11, 2008 12:40 PM CDT

Denver Chief U.S. Judge Faces Ethics Probe Over Alleged Links to Prostitutes

A report at 9News.com says Colorado’s chief federal judge is facing an ethics investigation for alleged links to a Denver prostitution business. The story alleges that investigators found the name and cell phone number of Chief U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham on a list of clients of the business, known…

Mar 11, 2008 11:20 AM CDT

Founder of Big Immigration Firm Gets 2 Years, Fined $750K in Visa Case

The former founder of one of the West Coast’s biggest immigration law firms was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for filing fraudulent visa applications. In addition to the prison term, Daniel Korenberg, 58, was also sentenced to serve six months of home confinement, with electronic monitoring, after his…

Mar 10, 2008 11:22 PM CDT

Ariz. Judge Faces Hearing on Financial Disclosure Charges

A rare hearing before the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct is planned for an Arizona justice of the peace accused of failing to disclose all the real estate he owned, among other ethics charges. A commission investigative panel filed charges last month against Judge Carlos A. Mendoza. It contends that…

Mar 10, 2008 10:29 PM CDT

Law Prof’s Sarcastic Op-Ed Cites ‘Mukasey’s Paradox’

Law professor Jonathan Turley of George Washington University is taking aim at recent decisions by the attorney general by giving a name to the legal reasoning that spurred them: Mukasey’s Paradox. Turley makes his points in an op-ed published in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He says he once was troubled by…

Mar 10, 2008 2:07 PM CDT

Once-Prominent Lawyer Sues Casinos for Gambling Addiction

A former lawyer and TV commentator has sued seven casinos for failing to stop her compulsive gambling that led to $1 million in losses and the end of her law practice. Arelia Margarita Taveras once earned $500,000 a year, but she lost her New York practice and her law license…

Mar 10, 2008 11:48 AM CDT

Up to 60 Lawyers Targeted in U.K. Bar Group’s Mortgage Fraud Probe

The Solicitors Regulation Authority reportedly has launched an investigation of 40 to 60 unnamed lawyers in the United Kingdom for possible mortgage fraud. Four law firms have also been searched as part of a different mortgage fraud investigation of attorneys and non-attorneys by the government’s Serious Fraud Office, according to…

Mar 8, 2008 1:59 AM CST

N.Y. Attorney Must Repay Pension from 5 School District Jobs

A New York lawyer who was reported simultaneously as an employee of five Long Island school districts must repay the state pension he is getting as a result of this claimed employment, the state comptroller says. In an opinion released today, Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli says Lawrence Reich, who reportedly…

Mar 8, 2008 1:32 AM CST