‘Jackass’ Court Fracas Spurs 1-Year Suspension Recommendation for Ex-DA

A Louisiana disciplinary board is recommending a suspension of a year and a day for a former district attorney accused of getting into a courtroom fracas with another lawyer. The former Terrebonne Parish District Attorney Doug Greenburg is accused of calling opposing lawyer Anthony Lewis a “jackass,” prompting an in-kind…

Dec 18, 2008 7:32 PM CST

Prominent La. Lawyer Jailed After Courthouse Altercation

Madro Bandaries says fellow Louisiana attorney J. Robert Ates started the battle by grabbing his shirt and pushing him to the courthouse floor. But colleagues of Ates claim Bandaries sparked the dispute by grabbing the 40-year practitioner’s tie, as the two were about to participate in a hearing about a…

Dec 16, 2008 12:10 AM CST

To Ernie Svenson, Blogging is ‘Largely a Selfish Activity’

Dec 2, 2008 5:30 AM CST

Lawyer Ad Rules May Bar Blogging, La. Law Firm Says in Suit and Blog

A law firm contends new Louisiana lawyer advertising rules slated to take effect in April will restrict its right to comment on Twitter, Facebook, online bulletin boards and blogs. The Wolfe Law Group filed a federal suit today challenging the rules, claiming they would subject each of the firm’s online…

Nov 24, 2008 7:37 PM CST

Board Says La. Law Partners Treated Staff as Attorneys, Seeks Disbarment

Two longtime Louisiana lawyers have been recommended for disbarment after a disciplinary board found in what a local newspaper described as an “often blistering opinion” that they allowed staff of their Baton Rouge-based law firm to act as attorneys. E. Eric Guirard and law partner Thomas R. Pittenger allowed non-attorneys…

Nov 13, 2008 4:50 PM CST

Lawyer Files ‘Intentionally Contemptuous’ Motion after Suspension

A New Orleans lawyer suspended for five years from practicing in federal district court has responded with an “intentionally contemptuous” motion. Lawyer Ashton O’Dwyer informed the Eastern District of Louisiana in the motion that “it may as well disbar him, forever, because he has no intention of ever complying” with…

Nov 12, 2008 5:33 PM CST

Bond Revoked for La. Lawyer Accused in $30M Law Firm Theft and Hacking Cases

A Louisiana attorney previously accused of stealing some $30 million from his law firm’s trust account has had his bond revoked after a more recent claim that he hacked into its computer system last month. Former Adams and Reese partner James “Jamie” Perdigao, 46, had been free on $2 million…

Oct 28, 2008 10:00 PM CDT

Graffiti Vigilante Cited After Painting Over Mural

A New Orleans man who has earned the nickname “Gray Ghost” because of his zealous battle against graffiti was cited by police this week for criminal damage to property. Fred Radtke and fellow anti-graffiti activists had reportedly just applied a layer of gray paint over a fresh mural Thursday when…

Oct 24, 2008 9:07 PM CDT

Hacking Charge Added to Alleged $30M Law Firm Theft Case Against La. Lawyer

A case concerning a New Orleans attorney that reads like a John Grisham legal thriller just got a bit more complex. Already under indictment on numerous counts related to the $30 million he allegedly stole from his former law firm (nearly $20 million allegedly was wired to a Swiss bank…

Oct 16, 2008 8:28 PM CDT

Held in Solitary Over 35 Years, Albert Woodfox Wins Habeas Petition

One of the nation’s longest-serving prisoners has just won another round in his ongoing appellate battle. Albert Woodfox, 61, who contends he was framed for the 1972 murder of a Louisiana prison guard, won a favorable final ruling yesterday on his habeas corpus petition from a federal district judge. He…

Sep 26, 2008 9:32 PM CDT

Tulane Law Dean Apologizes to La. Justices for Errors in Study of Donor Influence

The dean of Tulane law school is apologizing to the Louisiana Supreme Court for errors in a professor’s study that had found campaign contributions appear to influence the justices’ votes. Dean Lawrence Ponoroff said “miscalculation in the underlying data” had called into question the reliability of some or all of…

Sep 18, 2008 2:41 PM CDT

US House Gears Up for Possible Impeachment of Federal Judge

Getting into gear to consider possible impeachment proceedings against a federal judge, the House Judiciary Committee formed a task force today to consider the case against U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous. “The move begins a congressional inquiry into allegations against Porteous that include bankruptcy fraud and perjury,” explains the New…

Sep 17, 2008 9:44 PM CDT

Judiciary Committee Leaders Call for Investigation of Judge

Leaders of the House Judiciary Committee are calling for an investigation into the conduct of U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous, accused of perjury and taking money from lawyers who appeared before him. The committee could form a task force as early as tomorrow to investigate the accusations leveled by the…

Sep 16, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

Student Hurricane Network Provides Legal Help for Katrina Victims

Students at the University of Illinois law school are collecting donations in large orange buckets at football games to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. The students are among the volunteers collecting money for a national group called the Student Hurricane Network Gulf Coast Relief Fund, the Daily Illini reports. The…

Sep 15, 2008 3:18 PM CDT

Ex-Con Clerk for Stephen Bright Pleads Guilty to Stealing His Boss’s Identity

Lawyer Stephen Bright, president of the Southern Center for Human Rights, had told officials he wanted to help an ex-con get his life on track when he hired Shareef Cousin as a law clerk. But Cousin, a former death-row inmate, didn’t return the favor. Atlanta prosecutors say Cousin obtained credit…

Sep 5, 2008 1:00 PM CDT