Michigan

Ex-Partner Sues Attorney Geoffrey Fieger, Contends ‘Intolerable Behavior’ Forced Him From Law Firm

A former partner has sued Geoffrey Fieger, contending that “intolerable” and “dysfunctional” working conditions created by the well-known Michigan attorney forced him to leave the firm and cost him professionally and financially. Filed last week in Oakland County Circuit Court, the suit by Vernon “Ven” Johnson seeks a jurisdictional amount…

Jun 6, 2012 4:47 PM CDT

Judge and 2 Court-Appointed Lawyers Sued Over Alleged Conspiracy to Loot Rosa Parks Estate

In the latest salvo in an onoing dispute over the estate of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, an attorney for a foundation that was to benefit from her will has sued a Michigan probate judge and two court-appointed attorneys, contending that they conspired to loot her estate. The unusual filing…

May 17, 2012 4:06 PM CDT

Husband-and-Wife Attorneys Get Reciprocal Sentences in Tax Case

As part of a plea deal, a former Michigan attorney is serving a 15-month federal prison term in a tax evasion case, now that his attorney wife has completed her own eight-month stint in the slammer on a misdemeanor conviction for failing to file a tax return. Charles Rominger Jr.…

May 11, 2012 4:31 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Got $50K Monthly Alimony for Client Faces Potential Disciplinary Action re Relationship

A Michigan matrimonial lawyer is facing potential disciplinary action after admitting that a relationship with a client in a high-profile divorce case over a decade ago violated an attorney ethics rule. Even though Henry Baskin got a very good result for Linda Olson in her divorce from a general contractor…

Apr 30, 2012 8:12 PM CDT

66-Year-Old Michigan Law Grad Used 1960s Acceptance Letter

When John Graves re-applied to law school at the University of Michigan, he relied on a Vietnam-era letter promising accepted students entry into any future class. The school made good on the promise. Graves graduated cum laude in December at the age of 66, AnnArbor.com reports. Graves didn’t enroll when…

Apr 26, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

‘No Shame In My Game,’ Says Judge of Chest Photo Angry Husband Claimed to Find on Bailiff Cellphone

Updated: Asked about an apparent photo of his naked chest on a court bailiff’s cellphone, a Detroit judge not only admitted that the photo was of himself but said he saw nothing wrong with what he’d done, reports Fox News. “Hot dog, yep that’s me,” responded Judge Wade McCree of…

Apr 24, 2012 4:18 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Breaking Into Ex-Employee’s Personal Email Is Barred From Using Computer at Work

A Michigan lawyer is facing a five-count criminal case on charges he broke into a former female employee’s personal email account over a period of about six months last year. Steven F. Spender, 63, is charged in the Genesee District Court case with three counts of unauthorized computer access and…

Apr 19, 2012 9:47 PM CDT

Law Grad Sues Photo Studio for Featuring Him in Before-and-After Photos

A Cooley Law School grad claims in a lawsuit that a Michigan photography studio used his photo without permission to advertise its ability to retouch blemishes. Aminur Khan says in the suit that he suffered from complexion problems for most of his adolescence and adult life, and the ad using…

Apr 18, 2012 6:16 PM CDT

No-Drinking Rule Nixed for Administrative Law Judge, Absent Evidence of Drinking Problem

An administrative law judge was appropriately reprimanded for violating his probation when he tested positive for alcohol after a misdemeanor case in which he was convicted of operating a motor vehicle while impaired and ordered to abstain from drinking as a condition of probation. However, there was no basis for…

Apr 18, 2012 5:52 PM CDT

A ‘Nigerian Nightmare’: Foreign Lawyer Handled Hundreds of Cases Before Disbarment for UPL

A Nigerian law grad with a foreign law license handled hundreds of cases in the Detroit area before he was disbarred last month for unauthorized practice of law. Gbenga Anjorin had a special license in Michigan to advise clients on Nigerian law, the Detroit Free Press reports. He received a…

Apr 10, 2012 11:35 AM CDT

Detroit City Attorney Loses Law License for 90 Days for Lying re Then-Mayor’s Text-Message Scandal

Saying that Detroit City Attorney Valerie Colbert-Osamuede had no prior record of ethics violations, was unlikely to err again and gained no personal benefit from her misconduct, a state lawyer discipline board has suspended her law license for 90 days, reports the Detroit Free Press. The Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission…

Apr 6, 2012 6:51 PM CDT

Hearing Officer Upholds Firing of Assistant AG Who ‘Made a Media Spectacle of Himself’

A Michigan grievance officer has upheld the firing of a state assistant attorney general accused of harassing a gay student leader on his blog. Andrew Shirvell was fired in November 2010 after he railed against University of Michigan student assembly president Chris Armstrong, calling him a “radical homosexual activist.” In…

Mar 29, 2012 3:46 PM CDT

Retired Chief Judge Will Oversee Effort to Find Any Evidence of Perjury in Lawyer’s Client Files

A retired chief of the Wayne County Circuit Court was appointed a special master on Wednesday and put in charge of an effort to review client files of Detroit attorney David Dunn to determine whether they contain evidence relevant to a perjury conspiracy case he is facing, Judge William Giovan,…

Mar 28, 2012 6:57 PM CDT

Federal Judge Acquits Militia Members of Most Serious Charges

A federal judge in Detroit has granted motions for acquittal in a case against seven members of the Hutaree militia who were accused of conspiring against the United States. U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts acquitted five defendants of all charges, and acquitted two others of the most serious charges, report…

Mar 28, 2012 3:11 PM CDT

Issue for Judge in Lawyer Perjury Case: How to Search Lawyer Files Yet Not Violate Client Privilege?

As an investigation proceeds in an unusual perjury conspiracy case brought against a Michigan lawyer as he was about to try a client’s capital murder case, the presiding judge overseeing the attorney’s prosecution is faced with a difficult problem. How should investigators proceed, in reviewing criminal defense lawyer David Dunn’s…

Mar 26, 2012 8:02 PM CDT