Pennsylvania

First-Degree Murder Trial Begins for Defendant, 16, Charged in Slaying of Pittsburgh Law Student

Jury selection took place Monday and opening arguments began Tuesday in the trial of a 16-year-old being prosecuted as an adult in Pennsylvania in the slaying of a 28-year-old law student. James Wallmuth III was shot to death in York on July 28, 2010 in what the government contends was…

Apr 3, 2012 4:26 PM CDT

Disbarred Lawyer Took Client’s $25K for Business Loan, Didn’t Reveal Debt or Say It Was a Strip Club

A lawyer who obtained a $25,000 loan from a matrimonial client has been disbarred after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined that he failed to reveal a number of pertinent issues as required under attorney ethics rules. Among them, Glenn D. McGogney didn’t tell the client that the restaurant business for…

Mar 29, 2012 8:50 PM CDT

Aging Lawyers Often Lack the Business and Estate Planning They Urge on Clients

Lawyers routinely advise clients to develop an estate plan. Yet they themselves often call to mind the “shoemaker’s children go barefoot” proverb, Pennsylvania Bar Association law practice management coordinator Ellen Freedman tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She recalls a situation in which an older attorney who ran his own law office…

Mar 19, 2012 4:23 PM CDT

Pennsylvania Disability Advocates Seek to Thwart Governor’s Budget Plan with Lawsuit

Disability advocates have filed a lawsuit that claims Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett violated state law with a budget proposal. The suit by the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania says Corbett has proposed combining funding for several public welfare programs into block grants that would be dispensed to counties. The proposal…

Mar 16, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Lawyer Reportedly Probed in Alleged Ponzi Scheme After His Son, a Judge, Reports His Suspicions

A prominent lawyer in Pennsylvania is reportedly under investigation for running an alleged Ponzi scheme that victimized possibly dozens of people after his son, a Luzerne County judge, told authorities of his concerns. The lawyer, 77-year-old Anthony Lupas Jr., resigned his position as solicitor for the Wilkes-Barre Area School District…

Mar 13, 2012 12:29 PM CDT

Bright Colors Help Some Lawyers, Both Male and Female, Command a Courtroom, Practitioners Say

As a young lawyer, Candace Komar dressed in a traditional, conservative style. But when she made partner at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, she started experimenting with bright colors. And starting her own firm encouraged even more flamboyant fashion creativity. At one point, the matrimonial practitioner saw a red briefcase in…

Mar 12, 2012 6:37 PM CDT

Phila. PI Attorney Who Stole $2.1M From Clients, Law Firm and Family Gets 5 Years in Club Fed

Sentenced today to five years in federal prison for fleecing at least 10 victims, including his clients, then-law partner and family members of $2.1 million between 2005 and 2008, a Philadelphia personal injury lawyer was taken directly into custody. Jeffrey Abramowitz, 48, “spun a web of lies, hoaxes and bogus…

Mar 9, 2012 10:56 PM CST

Is Federal Probe of Former Penn State Football Coach Sandusky Focusing on Possible Cover-Up?

A federal investigation of a former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach appears to be taking a different tack than the state probe that has already resulted in a long list of criminal charges against Jerry Sandusky. Apparently leaving the child sex-abuse case to the state to pursue, the feds…

Mar 2, 2012 6:17 PM CST

Drug Arrest Redirects Doctor Into New Job as a Lawyer

After 20 years in practice as a physician, a Pennsylvania doctor turned to a new career as an attorney after his arrest five years ago on a prescription drug charge. Lawrence Kansky, then 50, felt he should never have been charged concerning what he describes as an unwitting technical violation…

Feb 27, 2012 6:51 PM CST

Legislator’s Ex-Staffer Says His Law Firm Was Paid $4K Monthly Retainer for 8 Hours of Legal Work

A witness in the latest political corruption trial of a former Pennsylvania state representative testified today that his law firm got a $132,000 no-bid contract, representing about $4,000 per month in retainer payments, for perhaps eight hours per month in legal work. Former Democratic state Rep. Mike Veon, 55, is…

Feb 24, 2012 12:12 AM CST

Judge Allows Incriminating Text Messages Between Spouses in Child Abuse Trial

A Pennsylvania judge has ruled that incriminating text messages between a husband and wife may be used as evidence in the woman’s child abuse trial. Judge Richard Walsh of Franklin County ruled the spousal communications privilege does not apply in criminal child abuse cases, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Walsh said…

Feb 16, 2012 2:01 PM CST

Judge Accused of Dismissing $268 in Personal Tickets Is Criminally Charged, Put on Paid Leave

A Pennsylvania district court judge who allegedly avoided paying $268.50 in parking tickets by dismissing the cases in 2010 and 2011 has been criminally charged and put on paid leave. Judge Kelly S. Ballentine, 43, hears cases in the city of Lancaster, where her BMW sedan was ticketed three times…

Feb 14, 2012 6:36 PM CST

Pa. Lawyer Gets 1-Year Suspension for Facilitating Now-Disbarred Partner’s Thefts from Clients

A Pennsylvania attorney has been suspended from practice for one year because he failed to act promptly and sufficiently to deal with red flags concerning his law partner’s conversion of client settlement funds for his own personal use. Among other signs that should have alerted Lawrence L. Rubin was his…

Feb 8, 2012 8:39 PM CST

Pennsylvania Middle School Principal Bans Uggs-Like Boots From Class

A Pennsylvania middle school principal has banned the wearing of Uggs-like boots in school. Not because they’re ugly, the Pottstown Mercury reports, but because they may be used to smuggle cellphones and other prohibited items into school. The ban took effect last Monday at the Pottstown Middle School outside Philadelphia,…

Feb 7, 2012 8:24 PM CST

A CPA, Not an Attorney, Is Named New CEO at Pepper Hamilton

Corrected: A Harvard Business School graduate who is a certified public accountant rather than a lawyer will be the new CEO of Pepper Hamilton. The 500-attorney Philadelphia-based law firm has announced that it is bringing in Scott Green to oversee its business strategy and operations, according to Forbes and the…

Feb 7, 2012 6:34 PM CST