Legal Book » attorney

A.G. Sues Banks Over Their Use of MERS Electronic ‘End-Around’

Master — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:22:39 +0000

In his latest broadside against the banking industry, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is alleging that the nation’s largest banks use the Mortgage Electronic Registration System to evade public filings, shortchange localities of $2 billion in fees and compromise homeowners’ interests. A complaint filed on Friday describes MERS, a Virginia-based digital mortgage tracking service, as “a shell company” established as a stealth mortgagee for banks, particularly JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

No quick trial for ex-Nixon Peabody partner in alleged Ponzi scheme

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:40:40 +0000

David Tamman, a former Nixon Peabody securities partner who was fired while under investigation for allegedly falsifying documents as part of a Ponzi scheme, will have to go to trial in October, despite his attorney’s pleas to expedite the proceedings so that Tamman, now a solo in L.A., can get back to work.

Judge Orders Plaintiffs Lawyers in Bear Stearns Securities Case to ID Confidential Witnesses

Master — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:49:50 +0000

A group of confidential witnesses cited in a securities class action complaint against Bear Stearns isn’t going to be confidential for much longer.

AG Holder ‘Bound and Determined’ for Justice in Residential Mortgage Securities Market

Master — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:36:08 +0000

The financial fraud group that is investigating the market for residential mortgage-backed securities has already issued civil subpoenas to 11 financial institutions, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said today in formally announcing the team of lawyers and federal agents.

Fast and Furious sticks as Holder’s biggest 2011 flap

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:03:07 +0000

For all the controversy that has plagued the U.S. Department of Justice under Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. — from terror-trial venues to voting and immigrant rights issues — nothing has had more sticking power than the botched gun-trafficking probe known as Operation Fast and Furious.

N.J. Court Spares Attorney Who Misused Certification Seal but Warns Others

Master — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:12:34 +0000

A New Jersey lawyer whose website wrongfully displayed the seal of the Board of Attorney Certification has escaped discipline.

Court Finds Private Actions Not Precluded Under Martin Act

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:44:25 +0000

A decade after then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer dusted off the long-dormant Martin Act and deployed it to become the “sheriff of Wall Street,” the Court of Appeals has essentially deputized private citizens in holding for the first time that common-law tort claims are not pre-empted by the law.

Court Finds Private Actions Not Precluded Under Martin Act

Master — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:44:24 +0000

Sandusky’s Accusers Set to Testify Anonymously

admin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:06:57 +0000

For Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach who has publicly maintained his innocence amid allegations that he sexually abused at least 10 minors, this week’s preliminary hearing reflects his attorney’s first chance to gather information from the alleged victims under oath.

Handing Up the Client in Self-Defense

Master — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 05:07:30 +0000

When a client’s thwarting of discovery comes back to haunt his attorney, the lawyer may be tempted to save himself by pointing a finger at the client. However, that course of action would likely fail as a legal defense and could also constitute an ethics violation, writes Stroock & Stroock & Lavan’s Joel Cohen.

Recruiter Sues Law Firm to Recover Placement Fee

admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:03:33 +0000

Legal recruiting firm MS Legal Search has sued Serpe, Jones, Andrews, Callender & Bell of Houston to collect an unpaid placement fee after the firm allegedly hired a job candidate MS Legal referred to the firm. MS Legal seeks 20 percent or 25 percent of the attorney’s beginning annual compensation.

Baker & McKenzie Moves Into Turkish Market With Istanbul Firm Alliance

admin — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 02:58:48 +0000

Baker & McKenzie is following the lead of some of its major rivals by moving into the Turkish market, establishing an exclusive relationship with Istanbul-based Esin Attorney Partnership.

Lawyer’s Decamping from Defense to Plaintiffs’ Firm Gets Latter Disqalified

admin — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 02:58:44 +0000

Side-switching by a defense lawyer has led to disqualification of the plaintiffs firm, even though she was there only about a month. The entire firm’s disqualification is warranted because the attorney “had ‘primary responsibility’ even though she was not the ’supervising attorney’ on the file,” the judge said.

Lawyer Faces Discipline for False Claim on Website

admin — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 06:37:29 +0000

The New Jersey Supreme Court is considering whether to sanction an attorney who asked his cousin to revamp his firm’s website, only to learn later that the relative used the seal of the New Jersey Board of Attorney Certification. The problem was that neither Ty Hyderally nor any attorney in his firm was certified at the time.

Allegheny Attorney Suspended for Delivering Drugs to Inmate Client

Master — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:57:26 +0000

A Pennsylvania attorney has been suspended from the bar for three years, after being convicted of delivering marijuana to a client in a county jail.

The Lawyer as Confidant

admin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 07:43:48 +0000

Although some lawyers may claim otherwise, the professional restrictions on violating confidences extend far beyond the attorney-client privilege, writes Stroock & Stroock & Lavan’s Joel Cohen, who examines the pitfalls of treating a lawyer like a confidant.

Attorney Sanctioned for Wasting Time During Depositions

admin — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:07:18 +0000

A plaintiffs attorney in a failed lawsuit has been sanctioned $6,400 for conducting wasteful depositions. The judge noted in his ruling that the attorney had been warned of possible sanctions in the face of his “demand for more and more, wider and wider, and hope-springs-eternal discovery.”

MGA turns to hero of its Bratz litigation to take on O’Melveny

admin — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:11:20 +0000

MGA Entertainment has replaced its lawyer in a $10.2 million billing dispute against O’Melveny & Myers with Jennifer Keller, the attorney who successfully represented the Bratz doll manufacturer in its high-profile trial against Mattel.

Veteran Criminal Defense Lawyer Pleads Guilty in Tax Fraud Case

admin — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:24:37 +0000

A lawyer who stashed more than a million bucks at home faces a possible prison term of 10 years for financial structuring and five years for tax evasion. A prosecutor said the attorney likely “thought he could avoid detection by hoarding the money in his basement instead of spending it on a lavish lifestyle.”

Self-Styled Legal-Aid Group Exploited Prisoners and Their Kin, State Says

Master — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:48:50 +0000

New Jersey officials have sued a non-profit that allegedly charges prisoners and their families for legal services it is not authorized to provide and pockets the money without doing any work. The Project Freedom Fund allegedly advertised: “[W]e make your attorney do his job and fly right whether he likes it or not…”

NACDL Files SCOTUS Amicus Brief in Ian Norris Case

admin — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:31:28 +0000

Letting an outside counsel testify against and help convict a corporate executive who believed that his conversation was privileged “eviscerates” the attorney-client privilege, a defense lawyers group has told the U.S.

9th Circuit tosses Bluetooth settlement, citing attorney fees

Master — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 05:12:49 +0000

The 9th Circuit has tossed out a settlement of hearing loss claims involving Motorola’s Bluetooth headsets, ruling that the trial judge failed to adequately test whether the attorney fees were excessive. The settlement provided for $100,000 in cy pres awards and $800,000 to the plaintiffs lawyers.

Bank of New York to NY AG: Stay Out of Our $8.5 Billion Deal

admin — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 08:29:48 +0000

Bank of New York Mellon filed a motion Tuesday opposing New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s request to intervene in the Article 77 proceedings governing approval of its proposed $8.5 billion settlement on behalf of investors in Countrywide mortgage-backed securities.

Woman Let Out of Jail for Heart Transplant Reoffends

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 06:06:43 +0000

A woman who was let out of jail to seek a heart transplant has been re-incarcerated on a new misdemeanor theft charge.

A.G. Supports Effort to Overturn Federal Defense of Marriage Act

admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 06:31:51 +0000

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is taking steps to shield the state’s new same-sex marriage law from potential federal intrusion, seeking to submit an amicus curiae brief in support of a suit targeting the federal Defense of Marriage Act.