Pennsylvania

Suit claims departing lawyers weren’t paid promised bonuses

Seven lawyers who left the Nelson Brown law firm last year have filed a lawsuit claiming they were never paid bonuses promised before their departure. The lawyers left the insurance boutique that was then known as Nelson Levine de Luca & Hamilton in February 2014, the Legal Intelligencer (reg. req,)…

Feb 11, 2015 8:46 AM CST

Lawyer pleads guilty in law firm embezzlement

A Pittsburgh lawyer has pleaded guilty to bank fraud in connection with several interrelated schemes, including the embezzlement of funds from his law firm. Erik Sobkiewicz, 51, pleaded guilty on Monday, report the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pennsylvania Record, the Westmoreland Times and a press release. Prosecutors said Sobkiewicz used resources…

Feb 10, 2015 11:29 AM CST

DA uses own parking ticket to probe city practices, calls end run around courts unconstitutional

Unhappy with the way the local municipal judge handled parking tickets, the city of Easton, Pennsylvania, simply started sending its tickets to collection agencies, instead. There’s a problem with that approach, however, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli ltells the Express-Times: It’s unconstitutional because of a lack of notice. “In…

Feb 9, 2015 3:20 PM CST

Judge who sanctioned lawyer $1M says she ‘sabotaged’ the case by eliciting banned testimony

The Philadelphia judge who sanctioned a lawyer nearly $1 million said in an opinion on Wednesday that she intentionally elicited banned testimony from an expert witness and “sabotaged” the case. Judge Paul Panepinto said lawyer Nancy Raynor, who represented a med-mal defendant, failed to properly instruct an expert witness about…

Feb 6, 2015 8:45 AM CST

Once-prominent Philadelphia lawyer disbarred on 10 disciplinary charges

Philadelphia lawyer Willie Lee Nattiel Jr., who had protested the lack of criminal charges against police in two widely publicized local incidents, has been disbarred. Nattiel, 55, was ordered disbarred on 10 disciplinary charges, many of which involved mishandling client funds and neglecting client matters, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The…

Feb 4, 2015 12:35 PM CST

DA claims police search of her office was retaliation

A Pennsylvania District Attorney is seeking return of property seized in a raid of her office in a petition that alleges the search was retaliation for her work. Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller claims retaliation by county commissioners and others, in part for a murder investigation that exposed…

Jan 30, 2015 10:09 AM CST

Public defender is arrested, accused of lying to court staff about his client

A Pennsylvania assistant public defender was arrested Monday night and charged with providing false information to a judge’s staff member about whether his client had appeared for trial in a child sex-assault case. The client, 44-year-old Jeffrey Derosky, was a no-show for the Jan. 12 trial. He was found dead…

Jan 27, 2015 3:45 PM CST

Many courts close early Monday, plan to stay shuttered Tuesday as predicted monster snowstorm looms

As snow began falling Monday in what is forecast as a potential record-breaking blizzard in the Northeast, court officials joined those in charge of schools and other government offices in declaring an anticipatory shutdown. Amidst airport and school closings and warnings against unnecessary travel, a number of Boston and New…

Jan 26, 2015 4:50 PM CST

Pennsylvania supremes block any charges against state attorney general

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has blocked any charges against Attorney General Kathleen Kane as it considers her challenge to the appointment of a special prosecutor who led an investigation of her. The court on Thursday issued a stay of any prosecution stemming from grand jurors’ recommendations in the case, which…

Jan 23, 2015 11:39 AM CST

Grand jury recommends perjury charge against Pennsylvania AG; she vows not to resign

Grand jurors have recommended criminal charges against Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane in connection with an investigation into a grand jury leak, according to unsealed documents released on Wednesday. The recommended charges are perjury, false swearing, official oppression and obstruction, report the Legal Intelligencer, the Morning Call and the Philadelphia…

Jan 22, 2015 7:12 AM CST

Pennsylvania county mails capital defense lawyer’s checks to another person with same name

A Pennsylvania county intending to pay a lawyer for capital defense work sent two checks for more than $40,000 to the wrong person. Luzerne County sent the checks to Pittston mason Bernard Brown rather than Carbondale lawyer Bernard Brown. The Citizens’ Voice, the Wilkes Barre Times-Leader and the Associated Press…

Jan 21, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Judge says top Penn State lawyer didn’t represent ex-officials, clearing way for obstruction trial

In a Wednesday ruling that clears the way for an obstruction case against three former Pennsylvania State University officials to proceed to trial, a Dauphin County judge held that Penn State’s then-general counsel did not represent the trio as individuals during their grand jury testimony about Jerry Sandusky. Judge Todd…

Jan 15, 2015 1:00 PM CST

Ex-judge is latest to get time in federal ticket-fixing case targeting Philadelphia traffic court

Michael Lowry was acquitted last year on most charges in a federal criminal case targeting Philadelphia traffic court judges accused of fixing tickets. However, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Stengel gave little credence to arguments by the former jurist’s lawyers Wednesday that being convicted only of perjury, for lying to the…

Jan 14, 2015 5:55 PM CST

Lawyer’s personal assets, bank accounts at risk as opponents seek to collect $1M sanction

Lawyers for a cancer patient’s family are seeking to collect a $1 million sanction imposed on a Pennsylvania lawyer for allegedly allowing an improper reference in a medical malpractice case. The lawyers filed a writ of execution in an effort to obtain assets from the sanctioned lawyer, Nancy Raynor of…

Jan 14, 2015 7:38 AM CST

Special prosecutor subpoenas reporters who said grand jury recommended charges against state AG

A special prosecutor investigating Pennsylvania’s attorney general has subpoenaed two reporters for the Philadelphia Inquirer to appear before a grand jury in Norristown. The subpoenas seek to find out the names of the unidentified sources relied on by Craig McCoy and Angela Couloumbis in reporting that a grand jury had…

Jan 13, 2015 1:10 PM CST