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No Warrant? No Problem, Rules 9th Circuit on Arrest Following Armed Standoff

The Recorder

If ever a case could be counted on to create the classic 9th Circuit contretemps, surely the one involving a man in an armed standoff with the police, who turns around and sues the police, qualifies. An en banc court ruled 6-5 that police didn't need a warrant to arrest the plaintiff in his home after he had holed up for 12 hours and threatened to shoot police with his collection of Great War-era bolt action rifles. In dissent, Judge Stephen Reinhardt protested the majority's "lack of respect" for the Fourth Amendment..

Headhunters Getting Laid Off, Too

The American Lawyer

The headhunting industry is seeing its most violent retrenchment in recent history, with shops huge and small laying people off or watching as recruiters hard up for commissions leave the business. Those that remain are retooling their practice to focus on partners and firm mergers, leaving thousands of laid-off associates with fewer recruiters to turn to for help.

Will Wave of New Anti-Ponzi Laws Work?

The National Law Journal

In response to the recent spate of Ponzi schemes around the U.S., state lawmakers and Congress are attempting to tackle such fraud through legislation. But some lawyers are skeptical about whether new laws are the answer, saying what's needed is more oversight and more victims who are willing to come forward to name the con artists. Says a DLA Piper partner, "You can have all the FBI agents in the world, and unless they're involved as investors, they're not going to know about [a fraud] unless someone drops a dime."

University Club's Deal for Judges Draws Fire

Legal Times

The University Club in Washington, D.C., has responded creatively and controversially to a law aimed at barring federal judges from accepting honorary club memberships valued at more than $50 a year. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., as well as Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, reported being members as of last year, before the law was passed, and numerous judges on lower courts have also been members.

9th Circuit Considers Christian Student Group's Challenge to Law School's No-Bias Policy

The Recorder

A Christian student group faced a tough battle before a 9th Circuit panel Tuesday in its First Amendment crusade against Hastings College of the Law. The school refused to recognize the group because it wouldn't allow gays and non-Christians to be members -- violating the school's nondiscrimination policy. But the panel's tough questions may not matter, as the judges indicated they might hold off on a decision, pending finality in another case that Chief Judge Alex Kozinski called "completely on point."

Former Biopure VP Pleads Guilty to Faking Cancer to Avoid Securities Suit

The Associated Press

A former Biopure Corp. executive has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for pretending he had terminal cancer to dodge a lawsuit by federal securities regulators. Howard Richman admitted in federal court Wednesday he had instructed his lawyers to tell a judge that he was gravely ill with colon cancer. Richman also admitted to posing as his doctor in a phone call with his lawyer so that she would tell the judge that his cancer had spread and that he was undergoing chemotherapy.

Yeshiva Teacher Appearing Pro Se in Sex Abuse Case Found Guilty on All Counts

New York Law Journal

The yeshiva teacher charged in New York federal court with sexually abusing his daughter for seven years, and who represented himself at trial, was found guilty Wednesday on all five counts. After the verdict, Israel Weingarten asked unsuccessfully for "adjournment" because he was "unprepared." The trial was a difficult one, with Weingarten refusing the judge's repeated encouragements to accept representation. On Wednesday, the victim said that being cross-examined by her father was like "being molested again."

Leahy Vows to Name Names if Obama's Nominees Are Delayed

Legal Times

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is warning his colleagues that he will shine a light on any who try to hold up a nominee of President Barack Obama. Leahy, speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday, criticized the use of anonymous "holds" and other tactics that allow a senator to delay a nomination without revealing that he or she is the one doing so. Leahy's stance could speed up the process for some Justice Department nominees who have faced procedural delays.

Blood Oath Runs Dry in Calif. Appeals Court

The Associated Press

A blood oath isn't good enough for a California appeals court. The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana agreed with a lower court when it ruled a contract written in blood between two Korean businessmen is unenforceable. Jinsoo Kim and his friend Stephen Son were drinking at a sushi restaurant when Son asked the waiter for a safety pin, pricked his finger and wrote the contract on some paper -- in blood and in Korean characters -- pledging to repay Kim about $170,000 for money lost investing in Son's companies.

New Business for Courts: Pet Custody

New Jersey Law Journal

When couples break up, judges can decide who gets custody of pets based on their unique sentimental value, a New Jersey appeals court ruled this week, setting a precedent in the state. The opinion reverses a trial court's finding that pets differ from personal property like heirlooms, family treasures and works of art and therefore that the equitable remedy of specific performance is not available. The panel declined to adopt a best-interests-of-the-pet standard as urged by amici in the case.

Woman Admits $50K Theft From Law Firm

The Associated Press

A woman charged with stealing nearly $50,000 from the Rapid City, S.D., law firm where she worked has acknowledged taking the money to pay personal debts. Tanya Tennyson was indicted on 20 counts of bank fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud. She pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and a fine.

Freshfields Names New Asia Managing Partner

Legal Week

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has appointed a new Asia managing partner with London corporate partner Simon Marchant set to take up the position. The firm has been without a managing partner in the region since Perry Noble stepped down from the role in 2006. Marchant is a senior figure in Freshfields' London corporate department, and in recent years has been head of both the firm's energy and natural resources sector group and its telecoms, media and technology group.

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Evidence in an Age of Self-Surveillance

New York Law Journal

George Orwell's state-run surveillance society did not predict a time when people would voluntarily publish private chronicles for public consumption. Online social networks are part of an age of unprecedented self-surveillance, pushing criminal evidence into uncharted waters.

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Pharma Tackles the Social Network

Special to Law.com

While many industries have streamlined their marketing and sales efforts with various online platforms, pharmaceutical companies are still trying to tackle social networking. Whether it is the fear of increased adverse event reports or FDA regulation of patient and physician interaction, pharmaceutical companies are still weighing the positives and negatives of Web 2.0. Attorneys Frank Vellucci and Eddie Huang discuss Web 2.0 and the issues pharma faces if it chooses to embrace the platform.

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Layoffs? What Layoffs?

Fulton County Daily Report

The Snark notices that Big Law is getting much smaller these days, literally. Which is not surprising, given the state of the economy. But what The Snark does find surprising is that many of these incredibly shrinking firms refuse to fess up to the reality that the tough economy is hurting them. Big Law firms, don't blame the poor Cogs who were once the objects of your affection by secretly firing them one at a time, once a week, for eight months, admonishes the Snark. That is just silly.

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