From Opposing Sides and in a Recession, Two Attorneys Form Their Own Firm

May 1, 2012 7:10 AM CDT

Partner’s Exit of IP Boutique for Own Firm Leads to $58K Sanction and Ethics Case re Documents

A then-partner’s exit from an intellectual property boutique in Chicago proved to be expensive, when an Illinois judge sanctioned him nearly $60,000 for destroying documents he had taken from Ladas & Perry. And, in addition to being ordered to pay $58,819.74 to Ladas & Perry, Woochoon William Park is also…

Apr 27, 2012 7:17 PM CDT

Briefly Jailed for Barratry, Prominent Texas Lawyer Accused of Using Runner to Seek Attorney’s Case

A Texas state representative who also serves as managing partner of a Houston law firm was briefly jailed this week after being charged with barratry. State Rep. Ron Reynolds, 38, who represents District 27, himself voted for the tough new law last year that makes barratry a criminal offense. The…

Apr 26, 2012 10:24 PM CDT

Federal Judge Roars re ‘the Lowest Moment in Attorney Representation the Court Has Ever Witnessed’

Known for his merciless sanctions, as a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal puts it, a federal judge in Nevada didn’t hold back about a lawyer he deemed lacking in a bankruptcy hearing last year. Attorney Jeremy Mondejar’s representation of clients at the Oct. 12, 2011 hearing was “the lowest…

Apr 26, 2012 7:06 PM CDT

After 6 Months in Club Fed, High-Profile Criminal Defense Lawyer Mickey Sherman Is Back at Work

Mickey Sherman still owes what prosecutors termed a “staggering” amount of unpaid income tax, penalties and interest, estimated by prosecutors at $1.3 million in 2010. But the high-profile Connecticut criminal defense attorney now has some hope of making a dent in his tax debt, having been released from federal prison…

Apr 23, 2012 10:56 PM CDT

Federal Jury Convicts Attorney and His Mom of Lying in Law Office Tax Case Launched By His Ex-Wife

After a five-week trial and two days of deliberation, a federal jury in Columbus has found an Ohio attorney and his mother guilty of lying to a grand jury in a law office tax case launched by his now ex-wife during a bitter divorce. Aristotle R. Matsa, 55, also was…

Apr 20, 2012 6:11 PM CDT

2 Okla. Lawyers Temporarily Suspended After Taking Alford Pleas in Police Misdemeanor Case

Two Oklahoma City lawyers have been temporarily suspended from practice after taking Alford pleas earlier this month in a misdemeanor case involving alleged obstruction of a police officer. Robert Samuel Kerr IV, 33, and Josh T. Welch, 43, each paid a $500 fine and received two years of probation. Under…

Apr 20, 2012 5:35 PM CDT

Given a Chance to Become a Partner of a 400-Attorney Law Firm, Lisa Ridgedale Opts to Go Solo

Invited to become a partner at a 400-attorney law firm, Lisa Ridgedale made a gutsy career move. She hung out her own shingle as a securities and commercial litigation sole practitioner. Despite two children, a mortgage and a self-employed partner, the 40-year-old tells the Vancouver Sun, she resisted an initial…

Apr 19, 2012 4:07 PM CDT

9th Circuit Says Privilege Waived re Superman Comic Docs Stolen From Lawyer and Sent to Warner Bros.

Attorney Marc Toberoff cooperated with prosecutors after he said privileged documents concerning his efforts to help survivors of the creators of Superman gain rights to the famous comic character were stolen by another lawyer then working for him. But because of that he has lost his legal battle to prevent…

Apr 17, 2012 11:31 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Bloggers Tell Solos to Mine the ‘Scrap Heap’ and Get Inspired by ‘Chopped’

Scraps as Strategy Washington, D.C., solo Carolyn Elefant writes at My Shingle that she often gets asked what one thing can guarantee you success. She naturally doesn’t believe that there is such a magic bullet, but if pressed for an answer says: Mine the scrap heap. Find the clients and…

Apr 13, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Ex-Partner Is Federally Indicted re Claimed Laundering, Via Law Firm, of Client’s $8K Campaign Gifts

Updated: A former Herzog Crebs partner who served on the St. Louis-based law firm’s management committee has been federally indicted in St. Louis along with a former governor of Missouri on accusations of helping a corporate client of the law firm launder a total of $8,000 in election campaign contributions…

Apr 12, 2012 5:53 PM CDT

Immigration Attorney Shot Husband, Law Office Worker and Herself, Fatally Wounding 2, Police Say

A Georgia immigration attorney shot her husband and a 51-year-old woman who apparently worked in her Gwinnett County law office at around 7 p.m. Tuesday evening, authorities say, before driving over the body of her husband as she sped away in a Lexus sedan. Sylvia Jean Junn, 44, then returned…

Apr 12, 2012 1:47 PM CDT

Software Engineer Convicted of Murdering Attorney Who Pursued Wrongful Death Suit Against Him

Jason Cai had beaten the rap twice before when tried for murder. A jury acquitted him of murder and deadlocked on a manslaughter charge in 2006, when he was tried in the death of his second wife, Ying Deng, resulting in a decision by California prosecutors to dismiss the case.…

Apr 12, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Well-Known Law Firm Leads List of Top ‘Low-Car’ Portland, Ore., Companies

A combination of transit benefits, a lack of free automobile parking and participation by workers helped a well-known Portland, Ore., law firm lead the list of the city’s top 25 “low-car” companies, in a three-way tie for the most points scored (210 out of a possible 250). Stoel Rives appears…

Apr 11, 2012 9:29 PM CDT

Balch & Bingham Acquires 7-Lawyer Ala. Firm Specializing in Public Finance

Earlier this year, Balch & Bingham saw a 10-lawyer team of health care lawyers exit for Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. But that gap is now being filled by the firm’s acquisition of Presley Burton & Collier, a 7-lawyer Birmingham firm specializing in public finance, reports the Am Law Daily. “The…

Apr 11, 2012 3:23 PM CDT