Massachusetts

Lawyer and golf buddy are indicted for alleged insider trading; BigLaw partner settles SEC suit

A Massachusetts lawyer and his golf buddy have been indicted on charges of conspiracy and securities fraud for alleged insider trading. Lawyer Douglas Parigian, 56, of Lowell and champion golfer Eric McPhail of Waltham were charged in an indictment unsealed this week, report the Boston Globe, the Patriot Ledger and…

Jul 16, 2014 6:20 PM CDT

Judge erred by jailing man over $508.27 debt, observers contend

A 73-year-old Massachusetts man who says he and his wife have struggled financially in recent years was jailed earlier this month because he couldn’t pay a $508.27 debt. Finding that Iheanyi Okoroafor could have afforded to do so, because he receives a state pension of $2,000 per month, a Belchertown…

Jul 2, 2014 5:15 PM CDT

Massachusetts SWAT teams claim immunity from open records laws

Some Massachusetts police departments belong to regional law enforcement councils that claim to be private corporations not subject to the state’s open records law, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Such claims have helped stymie the ACLU’s efforts to study police militarization in the state, the Washington Post’s The…

Jun 30, 2014 10:14 PM CDT

After mass layoffs, foreclosure law firm faces eviction

A foreclosure law firm is facing eviction from its offices in Woburn, Massachusetts, after laying off the majority of its lawyers, paralegals and other staffers. The firm, Connolly, Geaney, Ablitt & Willard, was housed in a Woburn office building owned by an affiliated entity. The building was foreclosed on and…

Jun 17, 2014 5:18 PM CDT

State agrees teen should be returned to family in controversial medical-diagnosis case

Two years ago, Justina Pelletier was a competitive figure skater, although she had experienced bouts of illness for years. Doctors at Tufts Medical Center in Boston had diagnosed the Connecticut teenager as having mitochondrial disease, a group of rare genetic disorders. But when she was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital…

Jun 12, 2014 7:41 PM CDT

14 lawyers exit Bingham for other BigLaw firms

After what a law firm spokeswoman refers to as a “challenging 2013,” a group of 14 lawyers, including nine partners, are leaving Bingham McCutchen for other BigLaw firms. Among those departing are Richard Fries, the chief of Bingham’s real estate practice, who is en route to Sidley Austin, and partner…

May 30, 2014 7:10 PM CDT

Former football star Aaron Hernandez killed 2 strangers over a spilled drink, prosecutor says

Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez pleaded not guilty Wednesday to what a Massachusetts prosecutor described as drive-by ambush slayings of two strangers in 2012 over a spilled drink at a nearby Boston nightclub. A third man was wounded in the shootings. Discussing the case at a Suffolk Superior…

May 28, 2014 8:15 PM CDT

Investigators seek tattoo artist info in murder cases against former football star Aaron Hernandez

Investigators in the Boston area area hoping to talk to tattoo artists about a double-murder case against former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez concerning two 2012 slayings. Specifically, city police and Suffolk County prosecutors want to talk to anyone who can provide information about tattoos he got on his…

May 21, 2014 11:10 PM CDT

Former Patriots star Aaron Hernandez indicted in new double-murder case

Already facing a Massachusetts first-degree murder case in the 2013 slaying of a semi-pro football player and friend, former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez has now been indicted for first-degree murder in two additional slayings. He is accused of playing a role in the 2012 fatal drive-by shootings of…

May 15, 2014 4:20 PM CDT

Pay hikes could lead to more judicial retirements in Massachusetts

Judges in Massachusetts are getting a $30,000 pay hike, raising annual pay for trial-level judges to $160,000 on July 1. But that doesn’t mean the judges will stick around, the Boston Globe reports. Judicial pensions are set at 75 percent of a judge’s highest pay, and judges need work only…

May 12, 2014 6:02 PM CDT

Courthouse custodians make more money than new prosecutors in this state

Public defenders and prosecutors in Massachusetts are so poorly paid that they are among the working poor, according to a study by the state bar association. Assistant district attorneys in the state earn $37,500 a year and public defenders earn $40,000, according to the study (PDF) by the bar association’s…

May 12, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Accused Boston bomber’s lawyers seek to suppress statements, overturn federal death penalty

Corrected: Lawyers for accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are seeking to suppress statements he made to the FBI while in the hospital. According to a court filing, Tsarnaev was interrogated despite 10 requests for a lawyer and despite entreaties to be left alone, report the Chicago Tribune and the…

May 9, 2014 12:23 PM CDT

Is warrant needed for cellphone search? Supreme Court ruling will have ‘huge’ impact, law prof says

The nation’s top court has long allowed individuals to be searched incident to arrest. But should that rule apply to cellphones, given the extraordinary amount of information they contain? That is the question to be argued Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court, in a much-watched set of cases, reports the…

Apr 28, 2014 1:55 PM CDT

Judge orders AIG to pay $7M to injured lawyer over insurer’s bad-faith conduct in accident case

Blasting a major insurance company for what he called unfair settlement practices in an egregious case, a Massachusetts judge Tuesday ordered American International Group Inc. to pay at least $7 million to a lawyer hit by a bus making a left turn as a he crossed a street in Boston.…

Apr 11, 2014 6:10 PM CDT

Edwards Wildman lays off 10 lawyers, 42 staff

Edwards Wildman Palmer has laid off 10 attorneys and 42 staff members. The layoffs were made in 10 of the 525-attorney firm’s 16 offices, according to Above the Law and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.). “Advances in technology have resulted in a need for fewer support staff…

Apr 7, 2014 10:35 PM CDT