Ethics

Richard Scruggs Wins Venue Change in Contempt Case

A renowned Mississippi personal injury lawyer defending a criminal contempt case after allegedly defying the instructions of an Alabama federal judge to turn over insurance company documents has scored an apparent victory in a wide-ranging ongoing court battle related to insurance coverage for Hurricane Katrina. Federal district court judges in…

Nov 15, 2007 8:20 PM CST

Federal Judge Hit for ‘Unseemly Haste’ in Dismissing Case

A federal appeals court said Tuesday that U.S. District Judge Manuel Real acted with “unseemly haste” when he dismissed a case brought by a no-show lawyer with a good excuse. The lawyer, Stanley Raskin, received e-mail notice of a hearing even though there was no evidence he had agreed to…

Nov 15, 2007 11:28 AM CST

N.Y. Lawyer Stole $24M, Gets 10 Years

Updated: It isn’t every dishonest lawyer who manages to steal $24 million. But Anthony Bellettieri, a former real estate practitioner in wealthy Westchester County, N.Y., pleaded guilty earlier this year to doing so and was sentenced yesterday by a federal judge to a 10-year prison term. The onetime partner of…

Nov 14, 2007 8:05 PM CST

Judge to Decide Whether Pillsbury Should Give Up $4M-Plus Fee

A bankruptcy case involving alleged conflicts of interest by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has reinforced the need for disclosure. A San Jose, Calif., bankruptcy judge will consider whether the law firm should give up its $4 million-plus fees in the bankruptcy case of client SonicBlue following an investigation by the…

Nov 14, 2007 11:38 AM CST

House Approves Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act

The Attorney-Client Protection Act was adopted in the U.S. House of Representatives by a voice vote today, but it may not be addressed by the Senate until the spring. Supported by an unusually broad-based coalition of organizations that includes the American Bar Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the…

Nov 14, 2007 1:33 AM CST

Scruggs to Challenge Special Prosecutors in Hearing Next Week

Mississippi plaintiffs lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs will be arraigned next week on a criminal contempt charge for failing to return documents related to State Farm’s handling of Hurricane Katrina claims. Scruggs got the documents from two sisters who worked for a State Farm contractor. Rather than returning them, he gave…

Nov 13, 2007 6:56 PM CST

Lawyer Calls Bookkeeper Brother ‘Diabolical’ for Alleged Embezzlement

A partner at a Garden City, N.Y., law firm says there was no reason to suspect his brother was embezzling. Bookkeeper Anthony Galasso has been accused of taking $4.3 million from an escrow account at Galasso Langione & Botter over a two-and-a-half year period, the New York Law Journal reports.…

Nov 13, 2007 1:43 PM CST

Lawyer Accused of Stealing from Clients

A disbarred Hewlett, N.Y., lawyer has pleaded not guilty to grand larceny charges. Joseph Levine is accused of depositing a $300,000 settlement check for one of his clients into his own personal account, the New York Law Journal reports. He is also charged with failing to refund a client’s $10,000…

Nov 13, 2007 1:04 PM CST

N.Y. Court Dismisses Kaye Scholer Malpractice Suit

A New York appellate court has ordered the dismissal of a malpractice suit filed against Kaye Scholer and one of its lawyers by former accounting employees of Computer Associates. The three plaintiffs lost their jobs in an accounting scandal that resulted in the securities fraud conviction of company CEO Sanjay…

Nov 13, 2007 12:28 PM CST

Lawyers: Gitmo Deck Stacked Against Defense

As the arraignment process got underway today in the first trial by a Guantanamo Bay military tribunal of a terrorism suspect, defense counsel complained that the deck was stacked against the suspect. For one thing, defense lawyers said, they only heard the previous evening from prosecutors of a possible witness…

Nov 10, 2007 1:41 AM CST

Ralph Nader Takes on Big Pa. Law Firm

Ordered last year to pay $81,000 in court costs after a major Pittsburgh-based law firm successfully sued on behalf of a client to remove him from the 2004 presidential ballot, consumer activist Ralph Nader is fighting back. In a recent court filing, he contends that Reed Smith failed to disclose…

Nov 9, 2007 9:43 PM CST

Not Only Paul McCartney But Legal Counsel Divorcing Heather Mills

Only a few weeks ago, it looked like Paul McCartney’s divorce was going to end with an eye-popping agreed $102 million settlement with his soon-to-be ex-wife, Heather Mills. But now it is almost certain to go to trial, as the almost-settled case erodes into acrimony, reports the London Times. The…

Nov 9, 2007 4:29 PM CST

Judge’s Daughter Flunks Bar Exam—Until High-Court Grade Change

A trial judge’s daughter is among 20 law grads who flunked and then passed the state bar exam, due to a grading change by the South Carolina Supreme Court. The court said the section of the exam on wills, trusts and estates will be dropped from test scoring, but gave…

Nov 9, 2007 4:25 PM CST

Lawyer Who Harassed Another Not a ‘Vexatious Litigant’

A California appeals court has ruled that a lawyer who harassed another for 32 years is not a vexatious litigant. An injunction against Walter Wagner is sufficient to address the problem of his behavior, California’s 6th District Court of Appeal ruled yesterday. But the facts don’t support a finding that…

Nov 9, 2007 2:57 PM CST

Battling Misconduct Claims in Katrina Case

As if the ongoing insurance coverage battle involving Mississippi’s attorney general, a well-known plaintiffs lawyer and a national insurance company weren’t already contentious enough, explosive new allegations have just been made public. Attorney General Jim Hood allegedly threatened to indict the CEO of State Farm Insurance Cos., as well as…

Nov 8, 2007 11:07 PM CST