Michigan

$7.4 M Legal Bill Stuns Officials in Mich. Girls Sports Season Case

Officials at the Michigan High School Athletic Association are still reeling, weeks after a federal judge awarded $7.4 million in legal fees to the prevailing plaintiff in a 10-year-old case contending that Michigan’s sports seasons discriminated against girls. Now, saying that an award of prejudgment interest, in particular, came as…

Apr 22, 2008 7:53 PM CDT

Littler Absorbs Boutique, Opens in Detroit

Labor and employment powerhouse Littler Mendelson is continuing its Midwest expansion by opening an office in Detroit. More than 700 lawyers strong, Littler is making the move by absorbing the boutique firm DeWitt, Balke & Vincent, according to a release. “This addition to Littler will significantly enhance our ability to…

Apr 22, 2008 2:40 PM CDT

‘Dim-Witted Desperado’ Pleads in Craiglist Hit Man Case

A married Michigan woman who advertised on Craigslist for a hit man to murder her boyfriend’s wife has pleaded guilty to three federal charges in the murder-for-hire scheme. Three Californians who took note of Anne Marie Linscott’s “freelance” employment ad on Craiglist in November 2007 contacted authorities, Reuters reported, and…

Apr 21, 2008 3:42 PM CDT

Fieger’s Dream Team Debuts This Week

The big-name plaintiffs lawyer Jeffry Fieger has called in a couple of other recognizable legal eagles to help defend himself against allegations that he and a partner illegally contributed $127,000 to Democrat John Edwards’ failed 2004 presidential campaign. Representing Fieger will be celebrated Wyoming criminal lawyer Gerry Spence, whose website…

Apr 21, 2008 2:23 PM CDT

Musical Hot Seats in Detroit, as Lawyers Testify About $8.4M Settlement

As a hearing before the Detroit City Council that has put a number of lawyers in the hot seat continued for a third day today, observers got an unusually detailed behind-the-scenes account of how attorneys on both sides of a controversial $8.4 million settlement reached the agreement. Plaintiffs attorney Mike…

Apr 10, 2008 10:33 PM CDT

Mich. Supreme Court Sides With Embattled Judge

The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled against the state’s Judicial Tenure Commission, holding that Steven Servaas, a judge the commission had sought to remove from the state’s 63rd District bench following a controversial investigation, should continue hearing cases for now. “The state Judicial Tenure Commission in February sought an interim…

Apr 9, 2008 8:06 PM CDT

Sex, Lies and Text Messages: Side Deal a Secret in $8.4M Pact, Detroit Lawyer Says

During a hearing that began today over a controversial $8.4 million settlement by the city of Detroit of police whistle-blower cases, a lawyer representing the mayor told the city council he had no ethical obligation to inform the governing body about a secret side deal about text messages between the…

Apr 8, 2008 10:44 PM CDT

10 Detroit Lawyers Probed Over $8.4M Claimed Sex Scandal Cover-up

A controversial $8.4 million settlement by the city of Detroit that critics contend was made largely for the purpose of covering up a sex scandal involving Detroit’s mayor has put at least 10 lawyers on the hot seat. They are now being investigated by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission for…

Mar 26, 2008 6:12 PM CDT

Contempt Case: Did Top Detroit City Lawyer Help Destroy Docs?

The corporation counsel and the deputy human resources director for the city of Detroit appeared before a Wayne County Circuit court judge today in contempt proceedings. The hearing, which was continued until Friday, is about the city’s alleged failure to produce and destruction of documents sought in a probe of…

Mar 24, 2008 10:01 PM CDT

Detroit Mayor Charged in Litigation-Related Sex Scandal

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, 37, and his former chief of staff were charged today in an obstruction of justice case related to their testimony in a police whistle-blower case last year. The criminal case could also turn up the heat concerning complaints that lawyers representing the city have sided with…

Mar 24, 2008 6:45 PM CDT

Lawyers Blamed, Credited in Singers’ Foreclosure Cases

Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin is blaming a lawyer’s mistake for the near loss of her home, but pop singer Michael Jackson has his lawyers to thank for the rescue of his beloved Neverland Ranch. Franklin’s $700,000 Detroit mansion fell into foreclosure after she neglected to pay $445 in taxes…

Mar 14, 2008 12:23 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

Lawyers in ‘Ethical Minefield’ in $8.4M Detroit Settlement Scandal

An exploding scandal in Detroit over an $8.4 million settlement apparently intended to cover up misconduct by city officials now involves claimed false testimony, concealment of information from the city council and possible destruction of evidence. All create an “ethical minefield” for the lawyers involved, according to legal experts interviewed…

Mar 6, 2008 4:35 PM CST

$8.4M Pact, Seeming Cover-Up Put Nearly 12 Detroit Lawyers on Hot Seat

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is reportedly only one of nearly a dozen area lawyers whose conduct concerning a police whistle-blower case is mushrooming into a major scandal. A state court jury awarded $6.5 million last September to two police officers who said they were forced out of their jobs because…

Mar 3, 2008 8:21 PM CST

Ruling on Lawyer’s Nazi Comparison Ads Expected This Week

Embattled Michigan trial lawyer Geoffrey Fieger will learn this week whether a Detroit federal judge views his television ads as prejudicial pretrial publicity. The ad getting the most scrutiny compares the Bush administration to Nazis, the National Law Journal reports. It says: “They came for the Communists … the unionists…

Mar 3, 2008 2:03 PM CST