Ordered to pay $67K in legal fees, lawyer calls 9th Circuit’s sanction ‘a badge of honor’

Ordered by a federal appeals court to pay $67,495 in legal fees to the companies involved in an airline merger he contested on antitrust grounds, a longtime San Francisco lawyer says he will have to pay the money of his own pocket. But Joseph Alioto said the sanction by the…

Mar 26, 2013 3:28 PM CDT

Blogging gig: Comedy required, law degree optional; What data should law school rankings consider?

An item cross-posted at Lawyerist and the humor blog Bitter Lawyer announced this week that Bitter Lawyer is looking for a new editor. Lawyerist Media acquired the blog in 2011. “Since Bitter Lawyer is a humor website, you must either (1) be funny or (2) know funny when you see…

Mar 22, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Ex-prosecutor guilty of law firm racketeering shouldn’t have tried his own case, juror says

A former state and federal prosecutor convicted this week of operating his law firm as a racketeering enterprise and participating in drug-dealing, prostitution and even a conspiracy to murder witnesses, might have done better to let a defense lawyer handle his trial, a juror says. As he himself questioned witnesses…

Mar 20, 2013 7:40 PM CDT

Jury convicts ex-prosecutor accused of operating law firm as racketeering enterprise

Once a prominent New Jersey criminal defense attorney, Paul Bergrin was convicted Monday by a federal jury in Newark of all 23 counts he faced in a case in which he was accused of operating his law firm as a racketeering enterprise and conspiring to murder witnesses, among other crimes.…

Mar 18, 2013 7:24 PM CDT

Ex-associate files sexual harassment suit against Faruqi & Faruqi firm and prominent partner

Updated: A former associate has filed a federal lawsuit against a prominent plaintiffs class action lawyer and his New York-based law firm, contending that the partner sexually harassed her and the firm did nothing to stop his inappropriate behavior when she complained. Plaintiff Alexandra Marchuk says in the suit that…

Mar 14, 2013 5:30 PM CDT

‘Teaching hospital for law school graduates’ is launching at Arizona State

A tour of the Mayo Clinic a few years ago gave the dean of Arizona State University’s law school an idea that is about to come to fruition. What Dean Douglas J. Sylvester calls “a teaching hospital for law school graduates” will begin operating this summer. While other law schools…

Mar 8, 2013 3:21 PM CST

Attorney on trial in claimed law firm racketeering case can’t get some witnesses to testify

Seven weeks into the federal trial of a New Jersey criminal defense attorney accused of operating his law firm as a racketeering enterprise that trafficked in drugs and prostitution and conspired to murder adverse witnesses, the prosecution has rested. Paul Bergrin, 57, who is acting as his own lead counsel,…

Mar 7, 2013 6:15 PM CST

Law firm drops name partner from marquee after judge denies injunction

A worker’s compensation law firm has changed its name from Martin Banks to Martin after a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge denied a request for a preliminary injunction by now-former name partner Halmon L. “Sonny” Banks III that would have prevented the move. Banks remains one of the firm’s six…

Mar 6, 2013 7:05 PM CST

Law firm responds to suit by ousted name partner, says he owed $373K

Sued by a name partner who contends he has been constructively expelled, a well-known Philadelphia worker’s compensation law firm argues in a responding salvo that Halmon L. “Sonny” Banks III owes his partners over $373,000. In a brief filed Monday in response to Banks’ Philadelphia Common Pleas Court suit, which…

Mar 5, 2013 7:01 PM CST

Law firm billing contract lawyers at $1K hourly must reveal what they were paid, federal judge says

Ruling from the bench, a federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday gave a green light to a request for discovery by a class action activist concerning the wages paid by a law firm to the contract attorneys it billed out at $1,000 an hour. Citigroup Inc. agreed last year to…

Mar 1, 2013 7:05 PM CST

‘Inside the Law School Scam’ blogger signs off; Should appellate briefs have corporate sponsors?

‘I’ve said what I have to say, at least in this format.’ University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos says he has filed his last post at Inside the Law School Scam. Campos started his blog (anoymously, but revealed his identity within a couple of weeks) in August of 2011,…

Mar 1, 2013 2:29 PM CST

Parent-owned practices benefit from hiring offspring

Mar 1, 2013 8:10 AM CST

Fellow lawyer who took plea tells jury Paul Bergrin tried to ‘get to’ witnesses against clients

Updated: Convicted for his own role in a claimed New Jersey racketeering enterprise allegedly operated from a Newark law firm, Thomas Moran told a federal jury on Monday that the fellow attorney he once considered his mentor routinely threatened potential witnesses against criminal defense clients, the Record reports. Paul Bergrin…

Feb 26, 2013 9:13 PM CST

Partner pay cuts, practice diversification helped law firm bounce back from the recession

Several years before the recession hit, business was booming at Fafinski Mark & Johnson. But founding partner Robert Fafinski Jr. knew the good times weren’t going to last forever and starting thinking ahead. Expanding the firm’s bankruptcy, labor and employment and estate planning practices—as well as partner pay cuts—helped position…

Feb 25, 2013 10:41 PM CST

Defendant attorney takes stand in latest corruption trial linked to convicted judge

An Austin lawyer being tried in a criminal corruption case linked to a South Texas judge who has already been convicted of racketeering has taken the stand in his own defense in federal court in Corpus Christi. Marc G. Rosenthal, who is charged with conspiring to bribe then-404th District Judge…

Feb 22, 2013 6:59 PM CST