Pennsylvania

15 lawyers to exit Miami IP boutique for Cozen O’Connor; 5 more left earlier for another firm

Most of the lawyers at a Miami-based intellectual property boutique will be exiting for Cozen O’Connor later this month. The two name partners of Feldman Gale will be in charge of a new national intellectual property litigation practice group at the Philadelphia-based Cozen firm, which lists more than 600 attorneys…

Jun 2, 2016 4:05 PM CDT

Ex-lawyer found a new career as a pastry chef while in prison

Less than a decade ago, Richard Creamer was enjoying the financial rewards of being a successful real estate and entertainment lawyer, including multiple homes and nice cars. Then it was suggested to him by a real estate investment partner that he could do better by playing a role in a…

May 31, 2016 12:45 PM CDT

Suspended Philadelphia judge pleads guilty to lying to FBI about small-claims case

A federal sting operation has led to the downfall of a second Philadelphia municipal judge, over possible favorable treatment in a small-claims case of a political supporter of former Judge Joseph Waters. Suspended Judge Joseph O’Neill, 65, pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court in Philadelphia to two counts of…

May 26, 2016 4:15 PM CDT

Judge says sexual assault case against Bill Cosby can proceed toward trial

A suburban Philadelphia judge on Tuesday gave a green light for a criminal sexual assault case against Bill Cosby to proceed toward trial. Charged with three counts of felony indecent assault, the 78-year-old entertainer could get as much as 10 years if he is convicted in the case. Cosby waived…

May 24, 2016 4:10 PM CDT

Those who knowingly send texts that distract drivers could face liability in Pennsylvania

It isn’t just drivers who text behind the wheel who run the risk of accidents and expensive lawsuits. In an apparent case of first impression in the state, a ruling last month by a Pennsylvania judge says two men accused of texting a driver at the time of a fatal…

Apr 29, 2016 1:45 PM CDT

School bus driver sues after his city transit job application is rejected over long-ago conviction

Frank Long was already working as a school bus driver in 2014 when a job offer he had gotten to drive a SEPTA bus in the Philadelphia area was rescinded. The problem was two 1997 drug-related convictions, Philly.com reported. Now the 56-year-old is suing the transit agency, contending that its…

Apr 27, 2016 5:15 PM CDT

Law firm to pay $1M to settle CFPB action over debt-collection practices

Without admitting liability, a long-established New Jersey debt collection law firm has agreed to pay a $1 million fine to settle a U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau action alleging abusive debt-collection practices. The CFPB contended that Pressler & Pressler and a client debt-collection agency pursued half a million cases, frequently…

Apr 25, 2016 5:40 PM CDT

Pepper Hamilton and Reed Smith call a halt to merger talks

Pepper Hamilton and Reed Smith have ended their discussion of a possible merger. Both firms issued written statements Friday confirming that their talks have concluded, but putting a slightly different spin on how the decision was made, according to the Legal Intellligencer (sub. req.) and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Today, Pepper…

Apr 25, 2016 1:00 PM CDT

Corporate lawyer with ‘spotless record’ faces RICO case over client’s payday loan business

Wheeler K. Neff, 67, is a corporate and banking lawyer with “a spotless record with the Delaware bar” during his 40-year legal career, his lawyer tells a local newspaper. Yet he has been indicted, along with a client with similar upper-echelon credentials. They face a federal racketeering case that claims…

Apr 8, 2016 10:30 AM CDT

SEC brief supports fired in-house lawyer’s suit against Vanguard, says he qualifies as whistleblower

The federal government has intervened to file a brief in support of a former in-house lawyer’s wrongful termination suit against Vanguard Group. The mutual fund giant contends that plaintiff David Danon doesn’t qualify for whistleblower protection, because he only sought it after learning that he would be let go by…

Mar 29, 2016 3:15 PM CDT

Convicted of UPL, former bar president with no law degree ‘provided a good service,’ her lawyer says

A former county bar association president in Pennsylvania who never earned a law degree was convicted Thursday in an unauthorized practice of law case. Kimberly Kitchen, now 46, worked as an estate planning lawyer at BMZ Law in Huntingdon County. Kitchen had made partner at the firm before her lack…

Mar 25, 2016 11:20 AM CDT

Former state supreme court judge fined $50K over objectionable emails, but keeps pension

A former Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice who resigned last week has been fined $50,000 for sending and receiving objectionable emails, mostly or entirely on a private account. But J. Michael Eakin will keep his $153,000-a-year pension, because a judicial tribunal agreed to accept an ethics-case prosecutor’s recommendation to drop the…

Mar 24, 2016 5:00 PM CDT

Judge says Chipotle social media rules violated labor law, orders rehiring of worker fired for tweet

Fired last year for criticizing Chipotle wages in a tweet, a server at one of the chain’s suburban Philadelphia restaurants must now be rehired and get back pay, an administrative law judge ruled Monday. Social media rules at Chipotle that banned such critical comments violated the National Labor Relations Act,…

Mar 16, 2016 4:30 PM CDT

Pennsylvania judge who won $291M Powerball jackpot plans to stay on the bench

For many who enjoy the fantasy of winning a major lottery jackpot, one of the first things they plan to do is quit working. Not James Stocklas. A senior district judge in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, he really did purchase a winning $291 million Powerball ticket, but he plans to stay…

Mar 7, 2016 2:00 PM CST

‘Intolerable’ DNA mixup not grounds for dropping murder retrial, judge rules

Kareem Johnson was once sentenced to death after being convicted in the 2002 slaying of a man found dead outside a North Philadelphia lounge, but he saw his capital murder conviction overturned due to a DNA mixup at trial. However, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge on Thursday declined to…

Mar 4, 2016 11:05 AM CST