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Lawyer Suing Ex-Client for Defamation Can Proceed, Judge Rules

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:13:26 +0000

A lawyer’s defamation claims against an ex-client who went online to accuse him of a “horrific fraud” can move forward, a San Francisco judge has ruled. Judge James McBride said Elliott Blumberg crossed the line in essentially accusing malpractice lawyer William Gwire of a crime.

The Tweet that Roared: Lawyers and Law Firms Navigate Social Media Landmines

admin — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 07:56:48 +0000

A Kramer Levin attorney’s tweet about a TSA agent’s note commenting on a “personal item” in her luggage sparked a media storm. It also highlights how law firms grapple with where to draw the line when it comes to how their lawyers use social media.

D.C. Circuit: Prosecutors’ Comments Not Enough For New Trial

Master — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 04:42:25 +0000

The D.C. Circuit has ruled that the government’s statements in opening and closing remarks in a high-profile drug case appeared to cross the line of permissible statements to jurors, but the conduct wasn’t substantial enough to warrant a new trial.

Court Upends $1.75M Award, Finding Plaintiff Lawyer’s Remarks Prejudicial

admin — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:42:59 +0000

The New Jersey Supreme Court has ordered a new damages trial after deciding that a plaintiffs attorney crossed the line by telling jurors they would be “ignoring the law” and should be reported to the judge if they objected to a $1 million-plus award.

Bingham Partner Admits to Altering Document at Heart of McCourt Divorce

Master — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 06:43:17 +0000

More than just the future ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers is at stake in the extraordinarily nasty divorce of Frank and Jamie McCourt: The reputation of a respected partner at an Am Law 100 firm is on the line, too. The couple’s former lawyer, Bingham McCutchen partner Lawrence Silverstein, has come under heavy fire over allegations that he “fraudulently altered” the 2004 marital property agreement at the center of the dispute. Meanwhile, Frank McCourt’s lawyers call the change a “drafting error.”

Molestation Conviction Overturned Because of Error by Judge, Prosecutor

admin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 06:20:18 +0000

A Kansas man convicted of child molestation will get a new trial because of misconduct by the judge and the prosecutor. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled last week that they each crossed the line during the trial of Luther Kemble, who was sentenced in 2008 to 25 years to life for fondling an 8-year-old girl

San Francisco Gang Cases to Test DOJ’s Death Penalty Policy

Master — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:43:11 +0000

As defense lawyers for MS-13 gang members accused of capital crimes try to convince a California federal judge their clients don’t deserve to die, the Justice Department is set to consider the relative culpability of the six defendants.

Sharp-Tongued Judges Get a Scolding

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:22:02 +0000

Two New Jersey trial judges have been reprimanded for making derogatory comments touching on the alienage, ethnicity, race and honesty of physical ailments of litigants and lawyers appearing before them. Among a litany of incidents laid out in court papers, James Citta compared a criminal defendant to O.J. Simpson and ridiculed another for being an immigrant, and James Convery asked a Hispanic lawyer if she was an illegal alien.

Federal Appeals Court Goes With ‘God’

Master — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:17:25 +0000

Before every oral argument in the D.C. Circuit, a court clerk tells everyone to draw near and give their attention because the court is now sitting.

Why Did Pfizer Resort to ‘Michael Clayton’ Tactics at First Neurontin Trial?

Master — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 04:05:57 +0000

Did Pfizer cross the line on the eve of last month’s crucial test trial involving its controversial Neurontin drug? Questions linger about why the world’s largest pharmaceutical company sent a former CIA agent to a whisteblowing scientist’s home the day before he was due to testify. The scientist told The Am Law Litigation Daily he and his family felt intimidated by the investigator’s appearance and are still shaken by the event