Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal Research Blogs -> New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Legal Research

: New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library

LAW.COM Newswire Highlights October 14, 2008

By David Badertscher, PLL

ADVERTISEMENTS

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. 5th Circuit Ruling Shoots Down IP Rocket Docket The Recorder Companies being sued for patent infringement just got a get-out-of-the-Eastern-District-of-Texas-rocket-docket-for-free card, thanks to an en banc ruling from the 5th Circuit. Although the case has nothing to do with patent law, the circuit's decision will have big implications for the flood of infringement suits regularly filed in what has come to be known as the country's most plaintiff-friendly venue. Can McCain or Obama Turn the Supreme Court? Legal Times To get a fix on what doctrinal change may occur at the Supreme Court in the aftermath of the elections, Legal Times asked legal scholars to discuss what they see as happening in their area of expertise if Justice John Paul Stevens leaves the Court in the near term and is replaced by a successor picked by the new president, whether Barack Obama or John McCain. Stevens was singled out because, at 88, he is considered to be the most likely to depart in the next president's first term. Simpson Thacher Wins Lead Role on Treasury's $700 Billion Bailout Plan The American Lawyer The U.S. Treasury Department has chosen Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as its lead legal adviser on the $700 billion bailout plan, Interim Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Neel Kashkari said in a speech Monday. Six law firms were asked to consider taking the job. As of Monday, the department was refusing to name the other firms it had approached, but sources say two of the firms that did not take up the offer are Davis, Polk & Wardell and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Fee Dispute in D.C. Gun Case Heats Up Legal Times Dick Heller successfully challenged Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban and now has a gun permit, but his lawyers are still trying to get their fees for the June win. They want nearly $3.6 million in fees and costs, including a fee enhancement, but the District of Columbia filed an opposition brief calling the enhancement unwarranted, and proposing a figure of about $808,000. An attorney for Heller filed a reply last week that blasted the D.C. government for attempting to diminish the work of the Heller team. Bomb Scare Forces San Francisco Law Firms to Evacuate The Recorder A bomb threat in downtown San Francisco caused the evacuation of at least two law firms Monday. Employees from Lieff Cabraser and Gordon & Rees evacuated their offices in a 30-floor high-rise after a man entered wearing a tube-shaped device with wires attached to his hand. The man, who was quickly arrested, claimed he had been passed over for an appearance on the TV game show "The Price is Right" and asked Lieff Cabraser to "please help" him, according to a partner. Lawyers Ponder Liability Over Client Trust Accounts at Failed Banks The National Law Journal Following the failure of IndyMac and the potential of other bank collapses, lawyers have been flooding bar associations with questions about whether they would be responsible for client trust accounts if a bank fails. According to research and interviews with several bar associations, lawyers should not worry about sanctions or disciplinary actions if a bank failure leads to the loss of client funds, provided the lawyer chooses an FDIC-insured, stable bank. However, civil liability is another matter. Federal Circuit: Defunct Company Owes $46 Million Default Judgment Legal Times It took a Federal Circuit panel just two days after oral argument to decide to affirm a $46 million judgment against an online gaming company that did not respond to a federal lawsuit. During oral argument, a lawyer for Bodog Entertainment told a skeptical court that the accused patent infringer, a defunct company based in Costa Rica, was not operating at the time of the alleged service of the summons and complaint in November 2006. With interest, the amount Bodog owes is more than $50 million. Record Settlement in Dram-Shop Case May Be Unsealed New Jersey Law Journal A New Jersey appeals court appears in sync with arguments that secrecy should be lifted on the money a vending company paid a girl paralyzed in a crash with a drunken football fan. A jury found Aramark Corp. liable in 2005 for $105 million in compensatory and punitive damages for serving too many beers to the driver who struck Antonia Verni's vehicle after a game. The state high court reversed the verdict, and when the case settled before a retrial, a judge sealed the amount and all future proceedings. Pa. High Court to Eye Law Firm Partnership Questions The Legal Intelligencer The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments over whether two former partners of a now-defunct law firm could avoid personal liability for defaulting on a commercial lease -- while other partners were held personally liable -- because the two had signed the lease on behalf of the firm. The dispute started in 2000 when Titus & McConomy decided to wind down operations and leave its lease five years before it was set to expire. Deaths, Conviction Botch Search for Securities Class Representatives New Jersey Law Journal Lawyers who sued FleetBoston Financial for securities fraud in 2002 have been given six months to find new class representatives, after the first two died. The suit, over losses tied to a financial crisis in Argentina, has seen the deaths of the first class representative and his son, who succeeded him in the role. On Oct. 3, a federal judge refused to appoint another family member, a convicted felon, to fill the slot. The class faces decertification unless the lawyers can prove a representative exists. GOP, Democratic GCs Prep Teams for Election Day Fulton County Daily Report For lawyers organizing teams of attorneys to monitor the elections, it's all a matter of expectations. Thinking that Sen. John McCain has Georgia locked up, GOP organizers are sending volunteers to such toss-up states as Colorado and Ohio. At the same time, Democrats say they are optimistic about Sen. Barack Obama's chances in Georgia, where they are deploying as many as 350 lawyers. Either way, volunteer lawyers will have their hands full keeping tabs on problems that might be grounds for legal challenges. Connecticut's Same-Sex Marriage Ruling Draws on California's The Recorder Gay couples in Connecticut might not realize it, but they owe a debt of gratitude to the California Supreme Court. In a ruling Friday that legalized same-sex marriage, the Connecticut Supreme Court relied heavily on the California court's own five-month-old gay marriage ruling to reach many of its conclusions. In an opinion making the state the third in the nation to OK same-sex marriage, Justice Richard Palmer called California's decision one of the "most persuasive sister state" precedents in the nation. India Lures Corporate Outsourcing Law Technology News With e-discovery taking an increasing bite out of the bottom line -- 2007 commercial expenditures on EDD topped $2.7 billion -- corporate America is looking toward India. The review part of the process is a key area where outsourcing can be an attractive, cost-saving option. Visit Legal Technology Legal Chiefs Give Big to Nonpresidential Campaigns Corporate Counsel While the presidential race attracts the most attention, it doesn't draw the biggest campaign contributions. The Democrats are well ahead in the contest for nonpresidential contributions from Fortune 100 legal chiefs, according to a Corporate Counsel review of Federal Election Commission data. At the same time, the GOP has received some of the biggest individual contributions from general counsel. Visit In-House Counsel Hard Times Hit Biglaw Land Fulton County Daily Report Credit crunches and gas shortages don't hit just Wall Street and Main Street -- they steamroll into law firms, causing associates to worry they won't have enough work to earn their keep if the crisis continues. Because big firms always show a good face to the outside world, how can one tell if times are tight there? Signs of a slowdown are easy to spot at law firms if you know what to look for, says humor columnist The Snark, who lists the top five ways to know your firm is affected by the economic crisis. Visit the Career Center Law.com 120 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10271-1101 (877) 256-CIRC Customer Service Phone: (877) 256-CIRC

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on October 14, 2008 (boomark / email).