Pennsylvania

Chief Justice Roberts Depicts a Hard-Boiled Detective in ‘Three-Dollar Steak’ ‘Hood

It reads like a chapter from a hard-boiled detective novel: Narcotics officer Sean Devlin is working undercover in a neighborhood “tough as a three-dollar steak. Devlin knew. Five years on the beat, nine months with the Strike Force. He’d made fifteen, twenty drug busts in the neighborhood.” But it’s not.…

Oct 14, 2008 8:57 PM CDT

Did Signing Lease for Pa. Law Firm Make 2 Partners Personally Liable?

Although other partners of a dissolved Pittsburgh law firm were held personally liable for the balance due on the remainder of the five-year office lease, two former Titus & McConomy partners say they aren’t. That’s because they signed the lease on behalf of the law firm, not as individual partners,…

Oct 14, 2008 4:38 PM CDT

Jury to Decide Why Sandy Morgan Died, in Jail and Mentally Ill

If jail authorities had checked her vital signs, they should have known that something was seriously wrong with Sandy Morgan in addition to her obvious mental illness, experts say. But despite checking her every 15 minutes, as part of a suicide watch, they didn’t realize the Pennsylvania woman needed emergency…

Oct 7, 2008 10:19 PM CDT

Longtime Federal Judge Says Money Motivated Move to Pepper Hamilton

A longtime federal judge in Pennsylvania says he is returning to practice because of the significant difference between judicial and law firm pay. James Giles has left his job as a senior U.S. district judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to return to practice at Pepper Hamilton, where he…

Oct 7, 2008 4:34 PM CDT

Judge Rules Trustee Lacks Authority to Sue Countrywide for Abuses

A federal bankruptcy judge in Miami has tossed a suit by the U.S. Trustee against Countrywide, ruling the agency has no authority to sanction companies for alleged bad faith conduct. Judge A. Jay Cristol said the trustee had “noble intentions” but the authority to seek punishment rests with federal prosecutors,…

Oct 6, 2008 1:55 PM CDT

Philadelphia Courts Adopt ‘Massively Effective’ Foreclosure Rescue Program

A program to curb foreclosures by the city and courts of Philadelphia has staved off the sale of nearly 80 percent of the properties referred to it in the first three months of operation. The plan requires courts to review all scheduled residential foreclosures with borrowers and lenders before the…

Sep 29, 2008 12:43 PM CDT

Pennsylvania Law Firm Claims Websites Free-Ride on Its Name

A Pennsylvania law firm has sued a Canadian domain name registry, claiming that it helped create websites that free-ride on the Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn name. The Kingston personal injury firm, which is also known by its HKQ acronym, alleges in the federal suit that Domain Discreet registered website names…

Sep 26, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

Prominent Lawyer Indicted, Accused of Faking Brother’s Will

Federal prosecutors have indicted a prominent Pennsylvania lawyer, accusing him of faking the will of his deceased brother who had previously disinherited him. The brothers were once law partners until an acrimonious split in 1986. During that time Peter Karoly and his wife signed wills leaving their estate to siblings,…

Sep 26, 2008 12:00 PM CDT

Pa. High Court: Reporter Can Shield Grand Jury Sources

Citing Pennsylvania’s Shield Law, the state supreme court ruled 4-1 that a Scranton Times-Tribune reporter doesn’t have to reveal the identity of a confidential source used in a story about a grand jury investigation of prison brutality. The underlying case involves a 2004 story in which then Times-Tribune reporter Jennifer…

Sep 26, 2008 11:34 AM CDT

Accused Monkey Thief Tracked Down through MySpace Page

Life as a fugitive from justice ended for an accused monkey thief after he posted his phone number and a partial new address to his MySpace page. Steven Labore had been charged in Pennsylvania with stealing two monkeys with a friend from the Wild World of Animals, the Washington Post…

Sep 24, 2008 1:18 PM CDT

Quitting Dechert Put Bill Lamb on Path to Fame and Fortune

As a young associate at the law firm now known as Dechert, William Lamb soon found himself feeling restless. Only a year or so out of law school, he marched into the chairman’s office and said he was going to quit. Little did he know then that the risky career…

Sep 22, 2008 3:34 PM CDT

Crime Victim’s Suit Dismissed; Clock Ticked While Teen Was Captive

A runaway at age 14, a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit who is now 26 says she was held captive for a decade by a security guard at her middle school. But, by the time she was 16, she should have known she was sitting on a civil rights lawsuit,…

Sep 15, 2008 6:57 PM CDT

3-Year JD Not Tough Enough? Get an MBA, Too, Penn Suggests

For those who might find a standard three-year law school program not challenging enough, the University of Pennsylvania offers another alternative. In the same three years, law students can earn not only a juris doctor degree but an MBA at Penn’s prestigious business school, reports the Philadelphia Business Journal. The…

Sep 12, 2008 4:40 PM CDT

More Fed’l Judges Seek Law Clerks With Practice Experience

Traditionally, federal judges have hired law clerks straight out of law school or sometimes, in the case of appeals court judges, after they have completed a clerkship in a lower court. But now many are seeking law clerks with actual experience practicing law, often looking to big firms for prospects,…

Sep 11, 2008 5:49 PM CDT

Pole Dancing Instructor Challenges Studio Ban with ACLU’s Help

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has filed a First Amendment lawsuit on behalf of a suburban Pittsburgh pole dancing instructor who was denied an occupancy permit for her new studio. Adams Township, Pa., classifies Stephanie Babines’ proposed dance studio as an adult business that cannot be located within…

Sep 4, 2008 4:35 PM CDT