John Doe Prisoner Is Identified, and He’s Not a Missing DA

A John Doe prisoner in Utah is not a missing Pennsylvania district attorney declared dead on Monday. Tipsters had alerted Utah police that the John Doe prisoner resembled missing Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar, who disappeared six years ago. But the mystery prisoner has since been identified as a…

Jul 27, 2011 1:44 PM CDT

After Missing DA Is Declared Dead, Some Note His Resemblance to a John Doe Prisoner

Detectives are investigating whether a missing Pennsylvania district attorney declared dead on Monday is alive and in jail in Provo, Utah. A judge declared Ray Gricar dead on Monday, six years after his disappearance, the Patriot-News reported. The Centre County DA was 59 when he vanished in April 2005, leaving…

Jul 26, 2011 4:21 PM CDT

Couple Sues Duane Morris, Claims Estate Plan Partner Pointed Them Toward Investing with Madoff

A couple who say they came to Duane Morris for estate planning advice and wound up investing in a feeder fund for Bernard Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme has sued the Philadelphia-based law firm for malpractice. Developer Daniel Keating III and his wife assert claims for breach of contract, professional liability…

Jul 25, 2011 11:31 PM CDT

2nd Mom Sues Pa. County Claiming Newborn Taken Due to What She Ate: Poppy Seeds in Salad, This Time

A second mom has sued a Pennsylvania county and a local hospital, saying that her newborn was taken from her after she tested positive for opiates due to having eaten poppy seeds in ordinary food. This time, says plaintiff Eileen Ann Bower, it was poppy seeds in salad dressing she…

Jul 18, 2011 6:48 PM CDT

Pennsylvania Judge Dismissed Her Own Parking Tickets, Court Records Show

Although district judges should disqualify themselves in proceedings in which they are a party, according to the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board’s rules, one judge took it upon herself to dismiss her own parking and traffic violations this year, according to court records. District Judge Kelly Ballentine dismissed a no-parking ticket…

Jul 15, 2011 8:06 PM CDT

Former Hospital GC Set to Enter Guilty Plea in Alleged $1.7M Embezzlement

A former hospital general counsel accused of embezzling $1.7 million from his one-time employer has reportedly agreed to plead guilty in the criminal case against him. Roosevelt Hairston Jr. is scheduled to enter a guilty plea on Wednesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Hairston’s lawyer, Bruce Klein of Philadelphia, told the…

Jul 12, 2011 4:11 PM CDT

Lawyer Gets 10 to 25 Years in Hunting Accident Manslaughter

Updated: A 49-year-old Pennsylvania lawyer was sentenced today to a 10- to 25-year prison term after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter and illegal gun possession in a hunting accident last year. David Manilla’s lawyer said he was very sorry about the accident that killed Barry Groh, 52, on Nov. 29,…

Jul 8, 2011 2:39 PM CDT

Alert Issued to Courthouse Staff Solves Case of Judge’s Robe Taken During Men’s Room Break

A municipal judge in Philadephia returned from a men’s room break this week to discover that his robe had gone missing. Judge Joseph C. Waters Jr., a former police captain, said he left the door to the robing room at the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert streets unlocked,…

Jul 8, 2011 12:00 PM CDT

7 Drinker Biddle Lawyers Form New Environmental Firm, Brooman Buzzell & Garber

Headed by the former managing partner of the now-closed Berwyn, Pa., office of Drinker Biddle & Reath, seven attorneys from the law firm have formed a new environmental boutique. It will be known as Brooman Buzzell & Garber, reports the Legal Intelligencer in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer…

Jul 7, 2011 7:31 PM CDT

DOJ’s Fair Housing Suit Says Mortgage Insurer Discriminates Against Home Buyers on Maternity Leave

The Department of Justice has filed a federal fair housing suit in Pittsburgh against the nation’s largest mortgage insurer, contending that it has discriminated against homeowners who are on paid maternity leave. Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. violated the federal Fair Housing Act by discriminating, based on sex and familial status,…

Jul 6, 2011 6:09 PM CDT

Debt Be Not Proud: Unpunctual Payors Bristle at Collectors’ Tacky Tactics

Jul 1, 2011 5:20 AM CDT

Facebook Friend Request to Exec of Represented Corp. May Violate Ex Parte Rule, Opinion Says

A lawyer who sends a Facebook friend request to executives of a corporation he or she knows is represented by counsel in a litigation matter is violating a legal ethics rule against ex parte communications with parties, the San Diego County Bar Ethics Committee held in an advisory ethics opinion…

Jun 24, 2011 12:34 AM CDT

Judge Says Sorry for Trying to Enter Female Jurist’s Hotel Room Dressed in Sheet, Pays $438 Fine

Charged with public drunkenness and disorderly conduct after police say he tried to enter a female jurist’s hotel room wearing a bedsheet three times one night in April at a judicial conference, a Pennsylvania magistrate has apologized for his behavior, pleaded guilty to harassment and paid a $438 fine. In…

Jun 22, 2011 7:40 PM CDT

Law Prof Settles Suit Alleging Duquesne Discriminated in Dean Appointment

Duquesne University law professor Vanessa Browne-Barbour has settled her suit claiming discrimination in the school’s appointment of a dean. Details of the settlement were not disclosed, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Browne-Barber, who is black, had alleged both race and sex discrimination. Browne-Barber had claimed the…

Jun 22, 2011 1:29 PM CDT

Cozen Raids IP Litigation Boutique in NYC, Takes Away 19 of 27 Lawyers, Including 5 Senior Partners

In a raid that is expected to significantly enhance its intellectual property litigation team, Philadelphia-based Cozen O’Connor has lured away most of the lawyers from Cohen Pontani Lieberman & Pavane. The New York City IP litigation boutique is losing 19 of its 27 lawyers to Cozen, including five senior partners,…

Jun 21, 2011 11:48 PM CDT