Pennsylvania

Law Firms Using Behavioral Interviews to Learn About Resiliency, Client Focus

An interviewing technique once used by law firms to increase acceptance rates on job offers is now helping them be more picky about their new hires. The technique is called behavioral interviewing, and it seeks information on how job seekers handled previous situations, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Behavioral questions include,…

Aug 30, 2010 10:29 AM CDT

Partner Accused of Embezzling $1M, Faking Paperwork and Forging Signatures

Updated: A former partner of a Philadelphia law firm has been accused of embezzling $1 million from clients and the firm, allegedly faking documents and forging signatures to transfer money that should have been held in trust to himself and an unidentified favored female client. A federal indictment charging Jeffrey…

Aug 20, 2010 5:04 PM CDT

Home of Phila. Traffic Court Judge Is Raided by Feds

A traffic court judge was among three prominent Philadelphia individuals raided by the feds at home or at work yesterday. Judge Robert Mulgrew, whose home was searched in connection with the joint FBI and Internal Revenue Service probe, could not be reached for comment. But unidentified sources told the Philadelphia…

Aug 19, 2010 5:22 PM CDT

No Criminal Charges in Case Over School District’s Alleged Webcam Spying on Students

Saying that they could not prove requisite intent, federal authorities today announced they do not intend to pursue criminal charges against those responsible for admittedly taking photos of some students within their homes and elsewhere on webcams embedded in laptop computers issues by a Pennsylvania school district. However, civil litigation…

Aug 17, 2010 11:26 PM CDT

Woman Gets 21 Years House Arrest for Theft on Condition She Repay Ex-Employer

A Philadelphia office manager who admitted to stealing almost a half-million dollars from her boss was sentenced to a 21-year house arrest, unless she repays the man first. Lanette Sansoni, who worked for title company owner Kenneth Slomine, has repaid $180,000 of her debt so far, after selling her home.…

Aug 13, 2010 5:40 PM CDT

Leech Tishman Firm Taps Seyfarth Partner to Open Chicago Office, Its 1st Outside Pittsburgh

A 40-attorney Pittsburgh firm has opened a second office, tapping a former Seyfarth Shaw partner to head its new Chicago outpost. Pete Fuscaldo, who serves as managing partner of Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl, says the firm wanted a Chicago office to service existing clients with Midwest operations, the Pittsburgh…

Aug 11, 2010 7:13 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Googled His Name Found Offensive Post Too Late, Judge Says

An aviation lawyer who Googled his name at a seminar on client relations in early 2009 didn’t like what he found. Lawyer Alan Wolk discovered an April 2007 blog entry at Overlawyered.com questioning a case settlement for one of his clients. He filed suit about a month later, but that…

Aug 6, 2010 1:55 PM CDT

Prison Guard Charged in Lawyer’s Shooting-Range Death

Two Pennsylvania corrections officers have been criminally charged in connection with the death last month of a midstate lawyer at a shooting range. Raymond Franklin Peake, 64, has been charged with homicide, robbery, aggravated assault and conspiracy concerning the July 21 shooting death of attorney Todd Getgen, 42, of Enola…

Aug 2, 2010 8:31 PM CDT

Teen Charged in Pittsburgh Law Student’s Robbery and Murder

A teen has been charged in the murder of University of Pittsburgh law student James Wallmuth III, shot and killed while talking on his cell phone Wednesday night on a park bench outside a bar in York, Pa. Charging documents say the youth, 15-year-old Jordan Michael Wallick, bragged about being…

Aug 2, 2010 3:19 PM CDT

Pittsburgh Law Student Shot and Killed While Talking on Phone Outside Bar

A University of Pittsburgh law student was shot and killed Wednesday night while talking on his cell phone on a park bench outside a bar in York, Pa. The victim, 28-year-old James Wallmuth, had worked as a summer associate with York lawyer John Hamme and would have been a 2L…

Jul 29, 2010 4:15 PM CDT

Lawyer in School Webcam Spy Case Wants $418K in Legal Fees Now as Case Continues

A lawyer representing a teenage high school student and his family in a would-be class action over alleged illegal spying via school-district-issued laptop computer webcams says he can ill afford to continue with the high-profile civil rights case without being paid. But because a federal judge has ordered the Lower…

Jul 27, 2010 4:57 PM CDT

2-Month Hiatus for ‘Socially Inept’ Judge re Conduct ‘Akin to Stalking’

A 51-year-old Pennsylvania judge who was so clueless with women that he didn’t realize his repeated calls and unannounced visits to the homes and offices of female attorneys might be unwelcome has been suspended without pay for two months. Described by his own lawyer as “socially inept and challenged with…

Jul 20, 2010 10:28 PM CDT

Law Firm Partner May Not Sue for Sex Discrimination, 3rd Circuit Rules

A federal appeals court has affirmed the dismissal of a sex discrimination suit filed by a partner in a Pennsylvania law firm, holding that she does not qualify as an employee who is covered by discrimination laws. The court ruled against Alyson Kirleis, a shareholder and director with Pittsburgh law…

Jul 20, 2010 12:22 PM CDT

Civil Case Turns Criminal as Lawyer Allegedly Punches Lawyer Who Called Him Stupid, Bald

A 46-year-old Philadelphia area lawyer was briefly jailed and manacled last week after allegedly punching an opposing counsel who reportedly called him stupid, bald and an unprintable word. Authorities said the Thursday incident, which was captured on a surveillance camera at the Lackawanna County Courthouse, showed 46-year-old Michael Rauch throwing…

Jul 19, 2010 7:41 PM CDT

Pit Bull Beats Rap; Choppers Don’t Match Bite Marks on Pop Singer

Add another case to the annals of criminal charges pursued in a potential death-penalty matter over a bad eyewitness identification. Apparently persuaded by a veterinarian’s testimony that the bit marks on pop singer Vanessa Carlton’s leg didn’t match a local pit bull’s choppers, a Pennsylvania district court judge held that…

Jul 12, 2010 7:56 PM CDT