Personal Lives

N.Y. Lawyer Stole $24M, Gets 10 Years

Updated: It isn’t every dishonest lawyer who manages to steal $24 million. But Anthony Bellettieri, a former real estate practitioner in wealthy Westchester County, N.Y., pleaded guilty earlier this year to doing so and was sentenced yesterday by a federal judge to a 10-year prison term. The onetime partner of…

Nov 14, 2007 8:05 PM CST

Brooks & Dunn to Headline PI Lawyer’s Holiday Party

Country music stars Brooks & Dunn will headline this year’s holiday party hosted by Houston lawyer Mark Lanier. The plaintiffs lawyer invites thousands of people to his annual bash at his 20-acre estate, including judges, politicians and legal journalists, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports. This year’s invitation was…

Nov 14, 2007 3:14 PM CST

Law School Dean Recommends Gift Cards

A recent issue of Consumer Reports magazine advises shoppers to be wary this holiday season of buying gift cards that may involve hidden fees or may never be used. But in fact it appears that the so-called “deadweight loss” associated with gift cards may be lower than for many other…

Nov 14, 2007 12:33 AM CST

March on Washington Nov. 14 to Support Pakistan Lawyers

Updated: In a highly unusual move, the American Bar Association is spearheading a lawyers’ march on Washington, D.C., tomorrow that is also being promoted by state and local bar associations throughout the country. It is intended to support protesting lawyers in Pakistan, who have been at the forefront of efforts…

Nov 13, 2007 9:42 PM CST

O’Connor’s Husband, Afflicted With Alzheimer’s, Has New Love

Updated: Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor visits her husband at a Phoenix Alzheimer’s facility even though he no longer remembers her and has fallen in love with another woman. O’Connor’s son, Scott, told KPNX-Channel 12 in Phoenix that his mother was relieved her husband was happy following a…

Nov 13, 2007 12:55 PM CST

US, UK Lawyers to Pakistan: Reinstate Rule of Law

Following Pakistan’s suspension of the constitution, firing of numerous appellate judges and arrest of as many as 3,000 lawyers during the past week, bar associations throughout the United States and the United Kingdom have called upon the country’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to reinstate the rule of law. In a…

Nov 9, 2007 5:40 PM CST

Ace Private Equity Attorney: Super-Smarts Aren’t a Job Requirement

Charlie Geffen readily admits he’s something of a workaholic. But, the British lawyer says, it doesn’t take an academic whiz to be one of the world’s most successful private equity practitioners. Instead, diligently learning the rules is what it takes to get through law school, and, especially in his practice…

Nov 9, 2007 4:58 PM CST

Scalia Leads in Tally of ‘Funniest Justice’

A law blog that focuses on the U.S. Supreme Court has started keeping track of how many times the individual justices make jokes from the bench. So far, Justice Antonin Scalia maintains a commanding lead as “the funniest justice,” with 17 funnies, reports Lawyers USA blogger Kimberly Atkins at D.C.…

Nov 8, 2007 8:49 PM CST

Busy Lawyer Compares His Life-Stylist to ‘Outsourced Wife’

A partner at a New York law firm doesn’t want to reveal his name, but he did tell the New York Times he is a client of lifestyle manager Allison Storr. The 39-year-old Storr helps her clients by arranging parties, tracking down the right hairstylist, finding trendy places to visit,…

Nov 8, 2007 6:29 PM CST

Threats—and Response—Irk Law Students at U of Washington

Graffiti and telephone threats have prompted the University of Washington to post a full-time guard at the William H. Gates law school building and require students and faculty to show Husky student identification to enter. But in the wake of the student shooting massacre at Virginia Tech earlier this year,…

Nov 7, 2007 12:16 AM CST

25 Percent of Pakistan’s Lawyers Arrested; Fired Top Judge Urges Defiance

Under house arrest but having somehow gained access to a cell phone, the ousted chief judge of the Pakistan supreme court urged the country’s lawyers today to continue to defy a state of emergency imposed by Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, on Saturday. “The lawyers should convey my message to…

Nov 6, 2007 4:28 PM CST

Nice Work: DOJ Lawyer’s Alleged Beach Gig

As a hearing loomed in a voting rights case against the city of Boston last summer, Susana Lorenzo-Giguere, a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice, came up from Washington, D.C., to oversee it personally. But then she allegedly spent much of the summer with her family on the beach…

Nov 5, 2007 11:51 PM CST

Pakistan Fires Top Court, Lawyers Protest There and Elsewhere

The protesters wore conservative business suits today as thousands of lawyers throughout Pakistan clashed with authorities over the suspension of the constitution and the firing of the country’s chief judge, along with numerous other supreme court and appellate judges. Many of the 17 supreme court judges, including fired Chief Judge…

Nov 5, 2007 10:07 PM CST

Pakistan Fires Chief Justice, Arrests Attorneys

Updated: Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, invoked emergency powers on Saturday, suspending the country’s constitution and firing the chief justice of its supreme court, who reportedly is under virtual house arrest. Numerous lawyers who protested the move were arrested, and some were also reportedly beaten and sprayed with tear gas…

Nov 5, 2007 9:34 AM CST

What Associates Want (It Isn’t Partnership)

What associates want varies, so it can be difficult to pinpoint all of their concerns. But, by overlooking the issues they consider important, law firms are losing out on opportunities to increase associate satisfaction and retain valued attorneys, a legal consultant says. For starters, law firm administrators need to realize…

Nov 2, 2007 9:20 PM CDT