Legal Research

Selections from National Law Journal Daily Headlines April 10, 2009

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source:NLJ.com, April 10, 2009.

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FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE  |  DOJ works to identify criminal defendants incorrectly convicted under felony provisions of ID fraud statute
"The Department of Justice, working with federal courts and U.S. attorney offices, is trying to identify an unknown number of criminal defendants incorrectly convicted and sentenced under the felony provisions of a federal identification fraud statute instead of its misdemeanor provisions."

WEB-ONLY  |  Lawyer who handled paternity suit involving Anna Nicole Smith's child loses bid to compel arbitration for attorney fees
"The lawyer who represented Larry Birkhead in his paternity suit to gain custody of Anna Nicole's Smith's child has lost a bid to compel arbitration in a lawsuit to recover legal fees from him."

WEB-ONLY  |  Midsize Chicago firm cuts 'underperformers,' may reduce salaries for all lawyers
"Chapman and Cutler, a Chicago-based law firm with about 200 attorneys, is cutting more underperforming lawyers and may reduce salaries for all lawyers amid the recession."

WEB-ONLY  |  Fox TV show plans to fire people on-air, but that doesn't mean bias, employment laws go away
"Getting sacked on national television may draw millions of television viewers ? but it's got liability written all over it. So warn lawyers about the coming Fox reality TV show "Someone's Gotta Go," which has several employment attorneys attempting to fathom why any employer would take the risk of letting their own employees decide on national TV who gets pink-slipped."

ASSOCIATE MOVERS  |  Associates provide pro bono help to untangle family kidnapping cases
"Sullivan & Worcester's International ChildFind Program provides pro bono legal assistance to parents of limited financial means whose children have been kidnapped by family members and taken overseas. The program also provides a unique training experience for S&W associates who want to get involved in the cause and obtain courtroom experience."

WEB-ONLY  |  Shareholder unrest over corporate limits on voting rights takes a turn in Delaware suit
"Growing shareholder unrest over corporate limits on voting rights to change bylaws or oust board members took a new turn with a suit by a Michigan pension fund against Axcelis Technologies Inc. for ignoring a vote to remove two board members last year. The suit is the latest wrinkle in the trend toward pressuring corporate boards to relinquish more power to shareholders frustrated by arcane voting procedures."

WEB-ONLY  |  Lawyer who challenged speech limits on judicial candidates now tackling IRS' test for nonprofits and political activity
"The lawyer who has successfully led challenges to limits on the speech of judicial candidates and campaign finance limits on nonprofit organizations, is now taking on the Internal Revenue Service and its test for determining whether a nonprofit has engaged in prohibited political activity. James Bopp Jr. of Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom in Terre Haute, Ind., recently filed two federal lawsuits on behalf of two religious groups who claim the IRS penalized them because they allegedly engaged in political activities during the 2004 presidential election."

WEB-ONLY  |  How will proposed FTC rules for endorsement ads will affect blogs and social networks?
"The Federal Trade Commission's proposed rule changes concerning advertising endorsements and testimonials would bring blogs and postings on social media sites like Facebook and MySpace under the same regulatory regime as more traditional forms of advertising. We asked Eckert Seamans partner Roberta Jacobs-Meadway how this would affect bloggers, advertising agencies and the companies that pay bloggers and social media users for endorsements."

WEB-ONLY  |  New accounting standards for financial companies means one thing to law firms: more work
"Lawyers expect to help a broad array of financial companies grapple with disclosure issues stemming from the Financial Accounting Standards Board's April 2 decision to loosen guidelines on so-called fair value or mark-to-market accounting, by giving companies more latitude in valuing distressed assets"

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on April 10, 2009 (boomark / email).