Legal Research

If you are already an online subscriber to the LAW.COM service you should be able to click on any of the links below, sign in, and access the full text of all articles listed. A subscription to LAW.COM is needed for online access to this service.

Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Gun Ban

Legal Times

In a historic 5-4 decision Thursday, the Supreme Court declared for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual right -- not a collective or militia right -- to keep and bear firearms for self-defense. The ruling ended the Court's nearly 70-year aversion to considering the meaning of the amendment's oddly constructed language, but likely marks the beginning, not the end, of litigation over Second Amendment rights.

Malpractice Suit Against Kaye Scholer Alleges Discovery Foul-Ups

New York Law Journal

Kaye Scholer has been hit with a legal malpractice suit by an ex-client that claims the firm's discovery errors forced it to enter into a $107 million antitrust settlement. Chemical and plastics giant Celanese Corp. announced last month it was paying that amount to resolve litigation by textile makers. In an amended complaint, Celanese says it only paid such a large settlement because Kaye Scholer's failure to turn over thousands of documents to plaintiffs had exposed Celanese to draconian trial sanctions.

Want to Sue Coke Zero? Think Again

Fulton County Daily Report

When Coke Zero marketers invited Web users to "take advantage of our revolutionary Sue-A-Friend Technology and sue the pants off anyone who is copying you," they weren't really soliciting suits against the Coca-Cola Co. But the diet drink's ad campaign -- featuring Coke managers who want to sue their counterparts at Coke Zero for "taste infringement" -- has taken a sharp turn from camp to the real thing in federal court in Atlanta.

Facebook: It's All About Quinn Fee Fight

The Recorder

In a Wednesday order, federal Judge James Ware enforced a settlement between Facebook and onetime rival ConnectU over claims that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stole ideas and success from ConnectU. The settlement, which will give ConnectU undisclosed amounts of stock and cash, was disputed by ConnectU, which claimed it was a fraud. In a statement issued Thursday, Facebook claimed that the dispute over the settlement wasn't about fraud; it was about ConnectU and its lawyers at Quinn Emanuel.

Airlines Pay $504 Million to Settle Price-Fixing Scam

The Associated Press

Four international airlines have agreed to pay $504 million in fines to settle charges they conspired to fleece consumers by driving up cargo shipping prices. The Justice Department called the case one of the largest antitrust settlements in U.S. history. Associate Attorney General Kevin O'Connor called the scam an "international price-fixing cartel" that cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars between 2001 and 2006. In some instances, for example, fuel surcharges rose by 1,000 percent.

Justices Strike Down 'Millionaire's Amendment' Campaign Finance Law

The Associated Press

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the "millionaire's amendment," a campaign finance law that says when House candidates spend more than $350,000 from their own pockets, opponents may qualify to accept larger individual contributions than normally allowed and can receive unlimited coordinated party expenditures. The justices, in a 5-4 ruling that reflects skepticism of campaign finance overhauls, said the law violates the First Amendment.

N.Y. High Court Revives Malpractice Suit Over Representation of Convicted Lawyer

New York Law Journal

The New York Court of Appeals on Wednesday revived a legal malpractice suit against law firm Larossa, Mitchell & Ross over its representation of personal injury lawyer Morris J. Eisen, who was found to have defrauded New York City by fabricating evidence in tort cases. The accusations and subsequent prosecution of lawyers and investigators for Morris J. Eisen PC -- once one of New York's top personal injury firms -- was a major scandal in the legal community.

Big-Firm Billing Rates Take Center Court in Probe of NBA Referee Program

The American Lawyer

Wachtell litigation partner Lawrence Pedowitz bills $875 an hour. That figure has come to light in a federal court filing, as the National Basketball Association seeks restitution of more than $1 million in legal expenses from former referee Timothy Donaghy, who is set to be sentenced in July on felony fraud charges. NBA commissioner David Stern hired Pedowitz last summer to conduct an internal investigation of the league's referee program after Donaghy was discovered to have engaged in illicit gambling.

3rd Circuit: Class Action No Cure for Uninsured Patient's Bill

The Legal Intelligencer

A federal appeals court has rejected a class action suit brought by uninsured hospital patients who claimed that the practice of charging them significantly higher rates than those for insured patients or people covered under Medicare and Medicaid is discriminatory and violates consumer protection laws. In its 21-page opinion in DiCarlo v. St. Mary's Hospital, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took the rare step of adopting the lower court's opinion as its own.

Jackson Lewis Opens Office in Memphis

The National Law Journal

Jackson Lewis has opened an office in Memphis, Tenn., making it the sixth new location for the labor and employment law firm this year. So far in 2008, Jackson Lewis has opened offices in Albuquerque, N.M.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Portsmouth, N.H.; Las Vegas and Detroit. The law firm, with about 420 attorneys, focuses exclusively on management workplace issues.

Court Rejects Suit by Woman Who Said She Had Sex With Rabbi to Find Husband

New York Law Journal

New York's highest court on Wednesday upheld the dismissal of claims brought by a woman who had sued her rabbi for abusing his position by allegedly persuading her to have sex with him to help her find a husband. The court said Adina Marmelstein failed to meet a rigorous pleading standard required to pursue damage claims against the rabbi, Mordecai Tendler, who Marmelstein claimed told her "he was as close to God as anyone could get" and having sex with him would be "her only hope."

Calif. AG Files Suit Against Countrywide

The Recorder

California Attorney General Jerry Brown sued Countrywide Financial Corp. and its top officers June 25, accusing the lending giant of pushing unwitting homebuyers into risky loans that resulted in thousands of defaults and foreclosures. Brown is seeking an injunction barring Countrywide employees from "making any untrue or misleading statements" during future sales, plus damages of $2,500 for each time a company agent had engaged in deception or other unfair business practices. The complaint also asks for unspecified damages for Countrywide borrowers.

Blogging at LegalTech: West Coast Style

Law.com

The Legal Blog Watch weighs in from the floor and conference rooms of LTWC 2008. Bloggers watch as Rob Robinson of Orange Legal Technologies conducts live webcam interviews; Chevron GC Charles James delivers a telling keynote; and Monica Bay posts answers to her conference quiz.

Visit Legal Technology

What's in a Name When It Comes to Title Inflation?

Marketing the Law Firm Newsletter

Like many organizations, title inflation has befallen law firms. Over the last decade, starting with the move of executive directors to chief operating officer titles, most functional managers have seen their titles elevated to the "C" level. Recruiter Michael DeCosta says that, while well intentioned, such titles can have a reverse effect on everyone as they cheapen the meaningfulness of the level. But used correctly, he says, they can represent a way to reward -- and, in theory, retain -- talent.

Visit the Career Center

Law.com®

10 United Nations Plaza, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102 (800) 903-9872.