PI Lawyer Is Charged with Evading Taxes

Already in hot water for allegedly stealing $2.2 million from client settlements, a New York personal injury lawyer now faces a tax evasion case, too. Marc Bernstein, 55, is accused by the Manhattan district attorney’s office of failing to file returns between 2003 and 2007 and understating his income in…

Jan 29, 2010 2:43 AM CST

EEOC Sues Kelley Drye, Says Pay Policy for Older Lawyers Discriminates & Seeks Sweeping Relief

In an action that is sure to make other well-known law firms sit up and take notice, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Kelley Drye & Warren over the firm’s alleged policy of de-equitizing partners at age 70 and thereafter “undercompensating” them for their work. The age discrimination…

Jan 28, 2010 9:55 PM CST

Lawyers Travel to Haiti to Help After Quake; ABA Launches Disaster Relief Portal

As lawyers, bar organizations and law firms gear up to support the relief effort in Haiti, some are donating not only money but their personal efforts, on the ground, to help out. And it isn’t easy. An obviously drained Dale Thuillez spent three days last week flying medical supplies and…

Jan 28, 2010 3:36 AM CST

That’s Not His Name in Our Name, Law Firm Says of Ex-Partner’s Suit

In an attempt to force a Detroit law firm to change its name, a former shareholder filed suit against Charfoos & Christensen last week. Now that he has moved to Charfoos Giovan & Birach, potential clients could be confused by the name duplication, he contends. But the suit by Lawrence…

Jan 26, 2010 6:18 PM CST

Consultant Expects 2009 Law Firm Profits to Be a ‘Mixed Bag’

Last year was difficult for associates and legal staffers who lost their jobs, but their law firms aren’t faring as badly. Profits at most law firms will change slightly—either up or down—according to a law firm consultant interviewed by the Am Law Daily. “I think 2009 will be a mixed…

Jan 26, 2010 2:49 PM CST

Ex-Partner Suit: Two Firms Using My Name Is One Too Many

Updated: It isn’t unusual for a law firm to leave a former partner’s name on its shingle after he has made a final exit from law practice into the grave. But Lawrence Charfoos is still alive and well, not to mention practicing at a competing new firm, Charfoos Giovan &…

Jan 25, 2010 7:02 PM CST

Ex-Attorney Charged in Alleged Loan Modification Scheme Victimizing Over 400

A California lawyer who lost his license to practice in October and was sued by the state attorney general is now facing criminal charges over a claimed $1.25 million mortgage loan modification scheme targeting struggling homeowners. Christopher Lee Diener, 42, with the help of two business partners, allegedly defrauded more…

Jan 25, 2010 4:48 PM CST

As House Panel Says ‘Impeach,’ Lawyer for Fed’l Judge Minimizes Corruption Claims

After a recommendation yesterday by a task force of the U.S. House of Representatives that a federal judge be impeached for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” his lawyer is outlining a defense, reports the Blog of Legal Times.

Its post provides a link to the four recommended articles of impeachment (PDF) against G. Thomas Porteous Jr. of the Eastern District of Louisiana. They include allegations of a “corrupt financial relationship” with a law firm, a “corrupt scheme” involving two of the firm’s attorneys

Jan 22, 2010 10:49 PM CST

No Parole for Still-Angry Ex-Wife Convicted of Killing Prominent Attorney

Saying that Elisabeth Anne “Betty” Broderick was angry, unrepentant, lacked insight into her crime and posed a risk to society, a two-member board yesterday denied the 62-year-old parole in the shootings of her ex-husband, a prominent California attorney, and his new young wife, who worked as his legal assistant. Sentenced…

Jan 22, 2010 9:56 PM CST

Young Lawyer’s Soaring Career Is Interrupted by Federal Indictment

After he graduated from a North Carolina law school in 1998, Charles Ruffin Poole’s legal career clearly was on an upward trajectory for which the sky seemed to be the limit. Hired to work in the state attorney general’s office, he quickly gained a much higher political profile when former…

Jan 22, 2010 7:45 PM CST

Longtime Colleagues Split PI Firm Known for Robert Vaughn Ads

Two longtime colleagues in a well-known North Carolina personal injury firm are parting ways, splitting up their Lewis & Daggett partnership. The firm is known for television advertising that features actor Robert Vaughn. Michael Lewis, a 40-year practitioner, is forming Lewis & Associates with 36 of the Winston-Salem firm’s attorneys…

Jan 22, 2010 5:53 PM CST

Managing Partners More Confident, Expect Increased Legal Work

Managing partners are becoming more confident about the economic outlook for their law firms. A “confidence index” developed by Citi Private Bank Law Watch shows that managing partners haven’t been this confident since 2007, according to the Legal Intelligencer and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. The index stands at…

Jan 22, 2010 4:57 PM CST

Attorney with Big Ad Budget Can Open Law Office LLC in 49th State, Court Says

In a ruling that is sure to disappoint competing firms that sought to block a national attorney known for his blockbuster advertising budget from establishing a local foothold, the Rhode Island Supreme Court today ruled that James Sokolove can form a law firm limited liability corporation there. It will be…

Jan 22, 2010 12:54 AM CST

Ex-Wife Who Killed Prominent Lawyer Seeks Parole 18 Years After High-Profile Conviction

Updated: Depending on which version you believe, Elisabeth Anne “Betty” Broderick was either a woman driven to murder by the relentless litigation tactics of her well-connected ex-husband, a successful California trial attorney, or a self-centered drama queen unable to come to grips with her anger over a divorce that left…

Jan 22, 2010 12:25 AM CST

Drinker Biddle Wins $1.78M Bill Battle; Firm Clocked 5,225 Hours in 3 Months

Drinker Biddle & Reath has won a $1.78 million award from a Pennsylvania state-court jury in a hard-fought legal bill battle that bared ordinarily confidential fee details in a bet-the-company patent litigation case. It all began in 2006, when AgriZap Inc. retained the Philadelphia-based firm to handle a patent dispute…

Jan 21, 2010 11:14 PM CST