Around the Blawgosphere: Does Lawyer Who Offered Groupon Have Regrets?; Digital Death Plans

A Groupon Pioneer Looks Back On Jan. 19, 2011, when An ethics subcommittee of the North Carolina State Bar was deciding whether a lawyer in the state could ethically offer a Groupon deal, Craig Redler talked to the ABA Journal about his 2010 Groupon offer of a will and durable…

Jan 20, 2012 2:33 PM CST

In Unusual Public Testimony, NY Probate Judge Defends His Handling of Attorney Overbilling Issue

In rare public testimony yesterday in a Manhattan courtroom, a New York probate judge facing a legal ethics case defended his own conduct concerning an attorney who is accused of stealing money from intestate estates by overbilling. Bronx Surrogate Lee Holzman is accused of failing to report to the proper…

Jan 11, 2012 6:49 PM CST

NY Official Points Finger at Lawyer for Heiress, Calls $90M in Unpaid Gift Tax ‘Tip of the Iceberg’

An accountant has stepped down from administering the $400 million estate of heiress Huguette Clark and a lawyer is expected to face questions in a Manhattan Surrogate’s Court hearing tomorrow, after the New York public administrator accused the two of failing to pay $90 million she owed in federal gift…

Dec 22, 2011 6:42 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Journalists, Watch Your Language, Prof Says; ‘Groupons’ for Lawyers?

Reporting on Sex Abuse Cases At The Crime Report, ex-prosecutor and adjunct prof Wendy Murphy writes that the language used in media coverage of the Penn State child sex abuse case has been “universally inappropriate.” Murphy runs New England Law | Boston’s Judicial Language Project, which “aims to identify language…

Dec 2, 2011 2:44 PM CST

Relatives of Heiress Huguette Clark Accuse Lawyer and Accountant of ‘Plundering’ Her Fortune

Relatives of reclusive heiress Huguette Clark allege in a court filing that the elderly woman’s lawyer and accountant mishandled and misappropriated her assets in the 15 years before her death. A motion (PDF) filed by the relatives accuses the lawyer and accountant of “plundering” Clark’s fortune and seeks a role…

Nov 29, 2011 1:24 PM CST

Mass. Lawyer Loses License for a Year for Charging $93.8K Contingent Fee, Absent a Contingency

A Massachusetts lawyer has lost his license for a year and a day, pursuant to a stipulated agreement, for charging an elderly woman a contingency fee of nearly $94,000 in a situation in which there was no contingency. John S. Tara was acting as a special administrator for the estate…

Nov 21, 2011 10:03 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: BigLaw, Small-Firm Symbiosis; Living Wills for the Living Dead?

On Rejection and BigLaw’s Rejected Cases Matt Brown, who practices criminal defense at a two-lawyer firm in Tempe, Ariz., put up a post Monday at Tempe Criminal Defense about the experience of having a client leave him “before the real battle started” for another lawyer. While he thinks his now…

Nov 18, 2011 2:49 PM CST

No Plaintiff? No Problem—Lawyer Files Suit Without Estate Administrators’ OK, May Seek New Ones

With the statute of limitations nearly expired, a Virginia lawyer who couldn’t reach the estate administrators went ahead and filed a wrongful death suit over the slaying of an unarmed motorist by a Fairfax County police officer who has since been fired. However, this did not please Gail Masters, the…

Nov 17, 2011 9:47 PM CST

Joe Paterno’s Wife Bought Their Home for $1; Was It Estate Planning or Asset Shielding?

Updated: Pennsylvania court documents indicate that former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno transferred the family home to his wife, Sue, in July for the low price of $1. Sue Paterno also agreed to pay with “love and affection” when she became trustee of the home they once owned together,…

Nov 16, 2011 2:09 PM CST

Supreme Court to Decide if Kids Conceived with Dead Dad’s Sperm Can Collect Survivor Benefits

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether children conceived by in vitro fertilization after the death of their biological father are entitled to collect Social Security survivor benefits. The court granted cert today in the case, Astrue v. Capato, report SCOTUSblog, Courthouse News Service and Bloomberg News. The…

Nov 14, 2011 6:01 PM CST

Lawyer May Face Contempt Hearing re His Visit, With Locksmith, to Home His Client Claims to Own

A Florida judge says he plans to schedule a contempt hearing after a lawyer handling civil litigation went with a locksmith to $1 million home in Lakeland that his client, Dorice “DeeDee” Moore, claims to own. Circuit Judge J. Dale Durrance indicated yesterday that attorney Randall O. Reder of Tampa…

Nov 10, 2011 6:19 PM CST

Patchwork Partnering: States Can’t Agree on the Legal Status of Same-Sex Couples

Nov 1, 2011 8:30 AM CDT

Lawyer Sued Over Shooting by Elderly Client; Complaint Alleges He Should Have Warned Authorities

A Florida lawyer has been named as a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit seeking damages over a shooting in another state by an elderly client. Attorney David Gilmore should have anticipated that his client, Thomas Kyros, 81, posed a danger to Georgia Smith and her young adult daughter, Promethea…

Oct 18, 2011 6:21 PM CDT

Law Firm and Estate of John M. O’Quinn Sue Houston Lawyer Over Alleged $1.5M Investment

Before Texas trial lawyer John M. O’Quinn died in an auto accident in 2009, his law firm invested $1.5 million with another Houston practitioner. Tammy Tran promised to use the money to establish a lucrative prepaid legal services business from which Quinn’s law firm was to receive a hefty profit,…

Oct 7, 2011 5:20 PM CDT

Lawyer and Ex-Client Charged in Perjury and Obstruction Case re Failed Hospital and Offshore Trust

An Indiana lawyer and his former client have been federally indicted in Chicago in a perjury and obstruction case related to the demise of an Illinois hospital in which both formerly had an ownership interest. Attorney Frederick M. Cuppy and Peter G. Rogan are accused of standing in the way…

Oct 4, 2011 5:13 PM CDT