Solos/Small Firms

Around the Blawgosphere: Shall You Use Another Word?; Bloggers Reflect on Debt, Small-Firm Ownership

Skip the Word, or You Shall Misuse It As one study questions U.S. Supreme Court justices’ increasing reliance on dictionaries, Lawyerist contributor Andy Mergendahl blogged Black’s Law Dictionary this week, pointing out its definition of shall (omitting examples): “Shall (vb). 1. Has a duty to; more broadly, is required to…2.…

Jun 17, 2011 1:30 PM CDT

Building Collapse Temporarily Closes Law Office and County Courthouse in Freeport, Ill.

Attorney Tim Mahoney’s day Wednesday began with a bang, literally. At a few minutes after 6 a.m. he got a call from the police department in Freeport, Ill. The building next to his law office on Galena Avenue had collapsed, putting Mahoney & Hauser’s structure at risk, too, reports the…

Jun 16, 2011 5:28 PM CDT

Meet ‘Lawyer Gaga,’ a Member of the Defense Team in Casey Anthony’s Murder Trial

Although Whitney Boan is reportedly an excellent criminal defense attorney, she’s becoming a household name among those following the Casey Anthony murder trial for another reason: She looks a bit like Lady Gaga, in the celebrity’s least flamboyant moments. Known as “Lawyer Gaga,” Boan can be seen in the background…

Jun 15, 2011 11:40 PM CDT

Suspended LA Lawyer Gets 32 Months, Must Repay $41M, in Quellos Tax-Shelter Scheme

A suspended Los Angeles lawyer has been sentenced to 32 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for participating, along with the CEO and an attorney-principal of Quellos Group in a tax-shelter scheme involving wealthy investors. Sentenced Friday by a federal district court judge in western…

Jun 13, 2011 7:27 PM CDT

Criminal Defense Lawyer Whose Tip Led to OSU Football Coach’s Resignation Faces Related Ethics Case

A criminal defense attorney whose emailed tip about potential college football player misconduct led to the resignation of Ohio State’s coach is now in hot water himself, according to the Associated Press and the Columbus Dispatch. In emailing coach Jim Tressel in April about possible NCAA violations by his players,…

Jun 13, 2011 6:44 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Took Plea Delivers on Stand, Helps Convict Goffer, 2 Others in Insider-Trading Case

An attorney who admittedly participated in an insider-trading scheme by providing confidential information about clients of a well-known law firm to a former trader with the Galleon Group hedge fund has helped convict Zvi Goffer and two other individuals in a securities-fraud conspiracy case. A federal jury in Manhattan today…

Jun 13, 2011 6:00 PM CDT

Real Estate Closing Attorney Wins Reversal of ‘Honest Services’ Mortgage Fraud Conviction

A former North Carolina real estate closing attorney who had faced up to 25 years in prison after being convicted in a $15 million mortgage fraud case two years ago has won a reprieve. A federal judge on Friday reversed the guilty verdict against Victoria Sprouse, 40, holding that the…

Jun 13, 2011 5:01 PM CDT

New Downloading Lawsuit Blitz Focuses on Those Who Allegedly Used BitTorrent to Get ‘Hurt Locker’

A controversial tactic of suing, or threatening to sue, en masse, thousands of individuals who have allegedly violated the law by illegally downloading copyrighted material is now focusing on a new target. Almost 50,000 individuals claimed to have used BitTorrent’s peer-to-peer software to download one of two movies (The Expendables…

Jun 10, 2011 11:33 AM CDT

Caught in Car-Keying Sting, Tearful Lawyer Takes Plea, Gets Community Service

Initially charged with a felony for “keying” several badly parked cars in a downtown parking garage and leaving rude notes for their drivers, a Seattle lawyer tearfully pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor today in King County Superior Court. Ronald Clarke Mattson, 63, told the judge he has “taken the steps…

Jun 10, 2011 1:40 AM CDT

Blank Rome Adds 9 Lawyers in Houston via Merger with Abrams Scott Litigation Boutique

Blank Rome will be expanding the attorney roster in its Houston office nearly tenfold on June 30, when it is to merge a nine-lawyer litigation boutique there. Barry Abrams of Abrams Scott & Bickley is to serve as managing partner of the Houston office after the acquisition, Texas Lawyer reports…

Jun 9, 2011 8:31 PM CDT

Ex-Client Files RICO Class Action, Says PI Firm Made Usurious Loans to 200 Vioxx Plaintiffs

A former client has filed a federal civil racketeering class action against a Georgia personal injury firm, contending that it cheated up to 200 or more plaintiffs in Vioxx litigation by misleading them into taking out usurious loans against an expected settlement. At the time, the Eichholz Law Firm knew…

Jun 9, 2011 5:43 PM CDT

Law Firm Not Liable for Purchasing Competitor’s Name as Keyword to Drive Traffic to Own Website

Once upon a time, when bus benches and the yellow pages offered some of the only ways to promote a personal injury firm effectively, competitors tried to crowd each other out or dominate the space with the biggest ad. It wasn’t unheard-of to put a billboard up right next to…

Jun 9, 2011 3:07 AM CDT

PI Firm Sponsors Naked Bike Ride, Tells Participants ‘When You’re Naked, We’ve Got You Covered’

Apparently seeing a business opportunity as well as an opportunity to do good concerning a hugely popular annual naked bike ride in Portland, Ore., a personal injury firm with a partner who’s an avid cyclist is serving as a title sponsor of the event. Expected to attract perhaps as many…

Jun 8, 2011 8:31 PM CDT

Real Estate Attorney Gets 5 Years in $23M Mortgage Fraud Case

A New York real estate lawyer who allegedly participated in a $23 million mortgage fraud by acting as an attorney for the bank and/or straw buyers involved in the scheme has been sentenced to five years in federal prison. Cheddi Goberdhan, 57, “created and sent false documents to the banks,…

Jun 8, 2011 5:11 PM CDT

Sanctioned Law Firm Shortens Its Name, Says Goodbye to Lawyers Who Irked Judge

The law firm Thompson Wigdor & Gilly has shortened its name after the departure of a name partner and associate whose client drew the ire of a Manhattan federal judge. Name partner Scott Gilly and associate Gregory Filosa left what is now Thompson Wigdor after a federal judge criticized the…

Jun 8, 2011 4:14 PM CDT