States

Miami Lawyer Withdraws from Cruise Cases, But Denies Paying for Info

A Miami plaintiffs lawyer has withdrawn from 77 injury cases against a cruise line following allegations that two investigators for his law firm paid for inside information. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines claims investigators for the Wingate Law Firm paid a cruise employee for confidential information that included the amount of…

Jan 25, 2008 3:09 PM CST

Paul Hastings to Pay Top Dollar of $160K to New Atlanta Associates

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in Atlanta is beating its rivals to the punch with the announcement it will pay first-year associates $160,000 starting Feb. 1. The amount is $15,000 more than the pay that most first years receive at the large Atlanta firms, according to the Fulton County Daily…

Jan 25, 2008 2:52 PM CST

Soon to Turn 102, Mugging Victim Gives Videotaped Testimony

Prosecutors in Queens held a special hearing yesterday to videotape the testimony of a 101-year-old mugging victim in case she is not able to testify at trial. Rose Morat used a walker to enter the court but was able to recall the day of the mugging in vivid detail, the…

Jan 25, 2008 2:14 PM CST

Companies May Fire Medical Pot Users, Says Calif. High Court

The California Supreme Court has ruled that companies are not liable for firing users of medical marijuana. The court said in a 5-2 decision (PDF) that the Compassionate Use Act passed by voters in 1996 bars the state from criminalizing medical marijuana use but imposes no requirements on employers, the…

Jan 25, 2008 12:44 PM CST

Breyer: Court Must Balance Security and Civil Liberties

Justice Stephen G. Breyer told law students yesterday that the U.S. Supreme Court is the “border guard” protecting the line between security and civil liberties. Speaking at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, Breyer said justices have to strike a balance in cases such as the ones testing the…

Jan 25, 2008 12:04 PM CST

Blackwater Sues Wiley Rein for $30M

Blackwater Security has filed a $30 million malpractice suit against Wiley Rein that claims the law firm botched pleadings to remove a wrongful death suit from state to federal court. The malpractice suit claims federal courts would have been a better forum for Blackwater to defend the suit by four…

Jan 25, 2008 11:38 AM CST

Md. Judge Criminally Charged in Environmental Case

A Maryland judge who has served on the bench for nearly 25 years has been criminally charged in an environmental case resulting from work done at his waterfront vacation home. The charges against District Judge Askew Gatewood Jr., which carry a potential prison term of up to seven years, if…

Jan 24, 2008 8:22 PM CST

7 More Powell Lawyers Defect in DC

Seven more lawyers have jumped ship from the Washington, D.C., office of Powell Goldstein. The group of seven commercial real estate practitioners and a paralegal have moved to Seyfarth Shaw’s office there, in the latest of a series of defections from Powell’s office in Washington in recent weeks, writes the…

Jan 24, 2008 7:43 PM CST

Internet a Meeting Ground for Would-Be Militants and Accused Terrorists

Two men accused of shooting videos of the Capitol and other nearby sites in hopes they would impress terrorists were able to make contact through the Internet, according to details that emerged in pretrial hearings last week. The men, Georgia Tech engineering student Syed Haris Ahmed and his friend Ehsanul…

Jan 24, 2008 7:07 PM CST

DNA Frees Man Convicted Partly Because of Gory Art

Updated: A man who was convicted of murder in 1999 partly on the basis of gory sketches and stories found in his home was released Tuesday after DNA evidence pointed to another suspect. Tim Masters told CNN he is relieved to be free, but he remains angry at investigator Jim…

Jan 24, 2008 5:25 PM CST

Prison Is Next Destination for Disbarred Lawyer Now Working at Kmart

The downfall of disbarred Charleston, W.Va.., lawyer Leonard Coleman, sentenced yesterday to almost three years in prison for embezzlement, is like a Greek tragedy, according to his defense lawyer. Coleman once made $240,000 a year as a partner at Goodwin & Goodwin. Now he stocks shelves at night at Kmart,…

Jan 24, 2008 4:43 PM CST

Campaign Spending of Three Texas Justices Scrutinized

Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht has acknowledged that he used campaign cash to pay for trips to his hometown. He is the third member of the state supreme court this week to be scrutinized for campaign spending on travel, the Houston Chronicle reports. The Texas Ethics Commission issued an…

Jan 24, 2008 3:59 PM CST

Lawyers Argue Over Right to Autopsy Organs

Lawyers for the parents of a man who died in a van accident argued yesterday they have a constitutional right to the return of his organs removed in an autopsy. Ohio Supreme Court justices were skeptical of arguments on both sides of the issue, the Associated Press reports. The suit…

Jan 24, 2008 3:00 PM CST

Drew Peterson Lawyer Angry Over Ditched ‘Win a Date With Drew’ Contest

Drew Peterson and his lawyer called in to a Chicago radio show yesterday and agreed to a “Win a Date With Drew” contest, but the station has called it off. Now the lawyer, Joel Brodsky, is criticizing the decision. Drew Peterson, named as a suspect in his wife’s disappearance, had…

Jan 24, 2008 2:13 PM CST

Court Chastises, But Does Not Disqualify, Storch Amini for Alleged Conflict

A New York appeals court has refused to disqualify a law firm that sued Oppenheimer & Co. for alleged sexual harassment by its general counsel, even though the law firm was “walking a fine ethical line” in the case. The court said the law firm of Storch, Amini & Munves…

Jan 24, 2008 11:51 AM CST