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

A ‘Valorem Dozen’: The Ingredients for One New Normal Firm

Several recent posts by Paul Lippe have highlighted the problems currently being encountered by Dewey & LeBeouf. Already this year, more than 45 partners have abandoned the firm, and American Lawyer recently restated, rather dramatically, Dewey’s revenue and profits per equity partner for 2010 and 2011. Comparisons to Howrey abound:…

Apr 11, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Police Raid Law Office, Arrest Ala. Attorney Accused of Trading Legal Services for Prescription Drug

Police raided the Brewton office of an Alabama criminal defense attorney on Thursday and arrested her on charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and attempt to commit a controlled substance crime. Sara “Sally” Oswald Stoddard, 65, is accused of trading legal services for Lortab, reports WKRG. Police Chief…

Apr 6, 2012 2:46 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: SCOTUSblog’s Tom Goldstein a Guest on ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’

‘Can he make it?’ Nova Southeastern University School of Law professor James B. Levy is rooting for a young lawyer who started blogging as “hangshingles” at I Just Want to Practice Law … a few weeks ago. “He’s got $130K in educational debt and $3,500 in savings,” Levy wrote at…

Apr 6, 2012 1:35 PM CDT

Difficult Job Market Not a Problem for 4 Law Grads Who Set Up Their Own Firm

At a time when many law students and recent graduates are having a hard time finding jobs in the legal field, four Willamette University alumni knew what they were doing months before they graduated in 2010. In a venture that some law professors warned them to reconsider, Richard McBreen, Eric…

Apr 5, 2012 9:25 PM CDT

Federal Judge Socks Minn. Lawyer with $50K Sanction, Plus Opponent Attorney’s Fees

A Minneapolis lawyer has been socked by a federal judge with a $50,000 sanction, for what the jurist describes as an illegitimate business model based on repeated frivolous filings, delay and forum-shopping. William Butler’s conduct required a substantial sanction, wrote U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Schiltz, because “he has not…

Apr 5, 2012 8:57 PM CDT

Litigation Funding Loan of $1.2M to Law Firm at 40 Percent Interest Not Usurious, Court Rules

Nixing a New York law firm’s apparent effort to reduce what it contractually owed a litigation funding company, a state-court judge has ruled that the 40 percent interest rate charged by Quick Cash on total advances of $1.2 million didn’t violate usury law. Although New York criminal law restricts interest…

Apr 5, 2012 6:27 PM CDT

Hinshaw Adds Rockford, Ill., Law Partners and Consulting Firm They Built, Plans National Rollout

A Chicago-based national law firm has acquired both a small law firm in Rockford, Ill., and the cross-disciplinary legal and business consulting firm they built. Hinshaw & Culbertson will combine the Buckley Cos. into its newly formed consulting subsidiary, which it plans to market throughout the country, the Rockford Register…

Apr 3, 2012 8:52 PM CDT

Still Practicing at 100, ‘Miss Alice’ Talks of Harper Lee and Working in Their Dad’s Law Firm

Nelle Harper Lee, the famous and reclusive author of To Kill a Mockingbird, has rarely, if ever, given interviews since a few years after the book was published in 1960. But her older sister, “Miss Alice,” is still sharp as a tack at age 100, working as the oldest practicing…

Apr 3, 2012 8:23 PM CDT

Associate Gets 2-Year Suspension for Billing Clients for Work That Wasn’t Performed

A former associate at the Albany, N.Y., law firm of Maynard O’Connor Smith & Catalinotto has had his law license suspended for two years because he billed clients for work he didn’t perform. Health and family issues were a factor in Mark Nizer’s misconduct, according to last week’s opinion (PDF)…

Apr 2, 2012 3:12 PM CDT

Launched: ABA Offers Solos More Web-Based Resources

Apr 1, 2012 7:50 AM CDT

Attorney Witness in Obstruction Case Testifies He Pretended Friend’s Law Firm Was His Own

Although he had worked for his friend, Aristotle R. Matsa, in the past, George Pappas now admits he didn’t even have a key to the Matsa law office until 2004. But, to protect Matsa from losing the law in a divorce from his second wife, Pappas told the feds he…

Mar 29, 2012 8:00 PM CDT

Federal Judge: Motley Rice, 2 Other Law Firms Must Pay $395K in Legal Fees re ‘Frivolous’ Suit

A federal judge in Indianapolis has ordered Motley Rice and two other law firms to pay nearly $395,000 in legal fees for bringing what the judge called a frivolous whistle-blower suit “based on a completely false story.” ITT Educational Services said it spent millions defending the False Claims Act suit,…

Mar 28, 2012 6:12 PM CDT