Solos/Small Firms

Panel Seeks Disbarment of Harvard Law Grad and Ex-BigLaw Partner Who Lied on Child’s School Aid App

Things went from bad to worse for a Harvard Law School graduate who lost his job at a BigLaw firm in 1991 and subsequently lied about family income on a Chicago private school application so that his daughter would get financial aid there. Somehow, Illinois attorney discipline authorities got wind…

Aug 24, 2011 12:11 AM CDT

Another Attorney Charged in RICO Case, Accused of Paying Texas Judge for Rulings

An Austin attorney has been federally indicted concerning his alleged role in a Texas court corruption scheme in which a former state district judge and two other lawyers have already taken pleas. Marc Garrett Rosenthal, 49, is accused in a 13-count indictment unsealed yesterday of paying ex-Judge Abel Corral Limas…

Aug 23, 2011 5:51 PM CDT

Lawyer Paid $32K for M&A Tips Gets 3 Years for Conduit Role in High-Profile Insider-Trading Scheme

A New York personal injury lawyer was sentenced today to a three-year federal prison term for serving as a conduit for at least two attorney tipsters then working at Ropes & Gray in a high-profile insider-trading scheme. Jason Goldfarb was paid $32,500 for his work in the illegal stock-trading scheme,…

Aug 19, 2011 6:23 PM CDT

Associate Who ‘Closed’ Files of Law Firm Clients He Wanted for His Future Solo Practice is Disbarred

In a 4-3 decision, a divided Maryland appeals court today ordered the disbarment of a young personal injury attorney who admittedly altered client records in the computer system of the law firm for which he then worked as an associate, in order to facilitate his plan to take the clients…

Aug 19, 2011 4:43 PM CDT

Law Grad Loses Suit Seeking Overtime Pay for Work as Clerk at Law Firm

California employers aren’t legally required to pay licensed professionals time-and-a-half for working overtime. But that rule doesn’t apply to an unlicensed clerk doing similar work for a law firm, a law school graduate successfully contended in a Marin County lawsuit. Yesterday, however, an appeals court overruled that decision, reports the…

Aug 19, 2011 12:47 AM CDT

Longtime Lawyer’s Letter re Judge’s ‘Half-Baked Findings’ Results in Historic En Banc Hearing

Longtime lawyer Kevin Gleason apparently saw red when a South Florida bankruptcy judge published an opinion earlier this year that called an argument Gleason made on behalf of a client “frivolous, absurd, and is not warranted by existing law.” In response, Gleason, 54, fired off a letter to U.S. Bankruptcy…

Aug 18, 2011 11:07 PM CDT

Law Firm Seized; 3 Firms, 4 Lawyers, 14 Others Sued re Claimed Client Fraud in Bank Litigation

A California law firm has been raided and shut down and four attorneys are among 18 individual defendants sued in civil litigation over a fraud allegedly perpetrated on thousands of struggling homeowners nationwide under the guise of legal representation. The defendants are accused of working, in a combination of law…

Aug 18, 2011 10:31 PM CDT

Mass. Lawyer Gets Screen Credit for Bringing Barbarian to Hollywood, Attends Premiere

It isn’t every attorney who gets to attend a Hollywood movie premiere as a result of his legal work. But Frederick Fierst, 63, of Fierst Pucci & Kane in Northampton, Mass., also got credit as an executive producer for helping to bring a new Conan the Barbarian to the silver…

Aug 17, 2011 9:20 PM CDT

After Supreme Court Win Forcing Customers to Arbitrate, AT&T Now Sues to Stop the Arbitration

Victorious a few months ago before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that held customers were required by their phone contracts to arbitrate claims rather than sue, AT&T is now trying to put the genie back in the bottle. The telecommunications giant has filed suit in eight federal courts…

Aug 17, 2011 7:03 PM CDT

2nd Cir. Upholds 10 of 12 Convictions for NY Criminal Defense Lawyer in Attempted Obstruction Case

A New York criminal defense lawyer is facing a 14-year federal prison sentence, after a federal appeals court on Friday affirmed (PDF) 10 of his 12 convictions in an attempted obstruction of justice case concerning a former client. Robert Simels also was convicted of conspiracy and bribery in 2009 after…

Aug 16, 2011 12:30 AM CDT

Prominent Calif. Attorney Struck and Killed While Jogging; Police Seek Hit-and-Run Driver

A prominent San Francisco lawyer and avid runner was struck and killed yesterday by a pickup truck as he was jogging. Authorities are seeking the hit-and-run driver who struck Don Andrew Casper around 7 p.m. as he was running on River Road near Odd Fellows Park, reports the Press Democrat.…

Aug 15, 2011 9:32 PM CDT

Left for Dead After Law Office Attack, Former Judge is Still Unable to Talk to Investigators

A former judge who was savagely attacked and left for dead in his New Mexico law office 10 days ago is still hospitalized and unable to speak to investigators. Tom Fitch, 68, was struck several times in the head with an unknown object. Maj. Daniel Lovato of the state police,…

Aug 15, 2011 4:35 PM CDT

Sedgwick Opens New DC Office with 14-Attorney Team From Wallace Partners

After opening a Seattle office last month, Sedgwick has now announced a new office in the nation’s capital. It will be staffed by a 14-attorney team from Wallace Partners, led by the firm’s managing partner, Rick Wallace, says a press release. Wallace specializes in the defense of products liability cases…

Aug 12, 2011 12:34 AM CDT

Defendant Lawyer’s Win in Sex-Harass Case Is Reversed; ‘Me Too’ Evidence Wrongly Barred

A California lawyer successfully defended a former worker’s employment discrimination suit by arguing that he used vulgar language in his office on an equal-opportunity basis, regardless of race and gender. But a state appeals court this week reversed the trial victory for attorney Thomas J. Anton and his law firm,…

Aug 11, 2011 10:56 PM CDT

South Texas Attorney Takes Plea in Corrupt-Judge Case

A Texas attorney has taken a plea in a judicial corruption case. Jose Martin “Joe” Valle, 54, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Brownsville to aiding and abetting extortion by former State District Judge Abel Limas, according to the Brownsville Herald and the San Antonio Express-News. The case concerned…

Aug 11, 2011 8:03 PM CDT