Personal Lives

Former Chief Bankruptcy Judge is Dead

A well-known bankruptcy lawyer who formerly served as chief judge of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York and handled the ground-breaking bankruptcy of Robert Maxwell, owner of the New York Post, has died. Tina Brozman, a partner at Bingham McCutchen, died yesterday of complications from ovarian…

Jun 27, 2007 11:40 PM CDT

London Lawyers, Like Americans, Struggle for Work-Life Balance

London used to be considered by many a kinder, gentler place for lawyers to work than comparable American cities. But seemingly successful attorneys there are leaving the profession, too, and efforts are underway to find out why and improve work-life balance. Some of the reasons may include endless workdays, lunch…

Jun 27, 2007 12:24 AM CDT

Strangers Offer $1 M Bond to GA Teen

Eleven entrepreneurs have offered to pay a $1 million cash bond to free a Georgia teen who has been serving a 10-year sentence in a controversial child sex case. Due to a sentencing quirk, Genarlow Wilson received this term after being convicted of the felony of aggravated child molestation for…

Jun 26, 2007 6:05 PM CDT

Wales Lawyer Pens Life-Based Thrillers

The law may not be Peter Luther’s profession much longer, if his first novel continues to sell well. In addition to Dark Continent, described as a supernatural thriller about a magazine geared to readers interested in a bizarre crossword, Luther, 45, also has two more novels in progress, reports the…

Jun 26, 2007 5:25 PM CDT

Paris Hilton Prosecutor on Hot Seat Now

It isn’t just Paris Hilton who’s recently learned that the media spotlight can cast an unwelcome light on personal failings. Now the prosecutor in her case is taking his turn in the unpleasant glare. Rocky Delgadillo was tough on crime when he was attacking the two-tiered justice system that allegedly…

Jun 25, 2007 9:06 PM CDT

Crime to Pay for Paris Hilton? Hotel Heiress Offered $1 M for Interview

At least for the moment, it looks like crime may not pay for Paris Hilton. Reportedly offered between $750,000 and $1 million for her first post-incarceration interview after she is released from jail next week, the hotel heiress known for her party girl lifestyle has apparently managed to botch the…

Jun 22, 2007 9:53 PM CDT

Efforts to Protect Immigrants from Crime Elicit Praise—and Criticism

In separation investigations more than 1,000 miles apart, officials say they have found that illegal immigrants are targeted as crime victims at least in part because they are reluctant to contact police. Authorities say they have been sensitive to these concerns, focusing enforcement efforts on immigrants who have committed crimes…

Jun 22, 2007 2:19 AM CDT

Tomorrow a ‘Lemonade Day’ at Skadden?

If the weather outside is frightful, or even close to it, in New York City tomorrow, one major law firm will be implementing a new program to try to make the situation inside delightful: Lemonade Day. Assuming the temperature at noon is 82 degrees or higher, lemonade and iced tea…

Jun 22, 2007 12:15 AM CDT

Crabby at Work? Blame Long Hours

People who feel guilty about working long hours have more stress, more conflicts with co-workers, more burnout, and more physical problems such as headaches and backaches. Those are the findings of Florida State University management professor Wayne Hochwarter, the Miami Herald reports. He surveyed 700 employees in a wide range…

Jun 21, 2007 12:49 PM CDT

Man Drove for 67 Years Without License

It had to happen, sooner or later. And, after 67 years of accident-free driving, it finally did. Authorities in Amsterdam recently discovered, when they stopped him at a random checkpoint, that an 84-year-old Dutch man had been driving without a license ever since he was 17 years old, Reuters reports.…

Jun 21, 2007 1:29 AM CDT

Foreclosures Explode in South Florida; Poor, Minorities Hit Hardest

Although South Florida is still a bit below the national average for the total percentage of mortgages in foreclosure, that may not be true much longer. The number of foreclosure lawsuits filed to force non-mortgage-paying owners from their properties has doubled and tripled in some counties, compared to last year.…

Jun 15, 2007 11:20 PM CDT

Va. Tech Gets Gunman’s Mental File

Frustrated by federal privacy law that protects student mental health records from disclosure even after the subject’s death, a Virginia Tech advisory panel reviewing the on-campus massacre of more than 30 people won permission from the family of the student gunman to get his records. Seung-Hui Cho, who shot himself…

Jun 14, 2007 9:11 PM CDT

Toxic Tap Water for Years at Marine Base

At least twenty-five years after toxins were found to have seeped into the water supply at a North Carolina marine base, the situation is still being studied. A report released Tuesday, as emotional testimony began at a hearing by the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee by individuals who say they…

Jun 13, 2007 11:05 PM CDT

‘Mockingbird’ Legacy: Remembrance of Racist Times Past

Although it is a novel, rather than non-fiction, Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” has, perhaps more than any other book, impressed into the minds of many a consciousness of the racist justice system that characterized the segregated American south for much of the last century. An instant best-seller after…

Jun 13, 2007 9:53 PM CDT

PD Who Helped Partner Tie Sham Knot Seeks Legal Immigration Alternative

A St. Louis public defender who chose to break the law rather than lose the man he loves admits he made a serious mistake. But the lack of legally recognized marriage alternatives for same-sex couples is what tempted him to transgress, Eric Affholter says. Now facing criminal fraud charges for…

Jun 13, 2007 12:48 AM CDT