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Supreme Court to Hear 'Bilski' Case on Business Method Patents

The National Law Journal

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday set the stage for a landmark decision on the patentability of 21st century creations from software to biotech -- an issue on which Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor could make a significant difference if confirmed. Justices agreed to review the case Bilski v. Doll, a challenge to last fall's Federal Circuit ruling, which narrowed the patentability of so-called "business methods," shorthand for a broad range of processes not tied to manufacturing.

Â? Handicapping 'Bilski' at the Supreme Court

Â? Finnegan Henderson Persuades Supreme Court to Take Bilski 'Business Methods' Patent Case

General Motors' Fate in Hands of N.Y. Bankruptcy Court

New York Law Journal

General Motors, the nation's No. 1 automaker, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Manhattan on Monday. The decision, coupled with Chrysler's April bankruptcy filing, gave two New York bankruptcy judges a central role in an extraordinary government effort to salvage a once-mighty but now-humbled American industry. Harvey Miller of Weil Gotshal & Manges, which represents GM, urged approval of $15 billion in interim financing for GM, pushing for quick action because the company faces a "crisis of confidence."

3rd Circuit: Parent Can't Read Bible to Son's Public School Class

The Legal Intelligencer

In battles over prayer in school, the cutting-edge cases are coming from kindergarten classes. In one such case, the 3rd Circuit rejected the First Amendment claims of a student's mother who sued after not being allowed to read verses from the Bible -- which she said was her son's favorite book -- during an "All About Me" program. Writing for the court, Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica said parents "may reasonably expect their children will not become captive audiences to an adult's reading of religious texts."

Calif. Supreme Court Sides With BofA on Bounced Checks

The Recorder

Bank of America dodged what might have been a $2 billion bullet on Monday when the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a practice used by many banks for covering overdrafts and penalty fees is perfectly legal. The long-awaited ruling will be welcomed by the banking industry, with several agencies arguing in amici curiae briefs that an unfavorable opinion could have forced financial institutions nationwide to undertake a "massive overhaul" of their practices.

Lawyer Admits Dipping Into Escrow Funds for $9.3 Million

New York Law Journal

A securities class action plaintiffs lawyer who was on The National Law Journal's annual "Top 40 Lawyers under 40" list several years ago pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud and criminal contempt. Acknowledging that he had no excuse for taking $9.3 million from a settlement escrow account and spending it on shaky investments and law firm overhead, Steven Eugene Cauley told the judge, "I always made a good deal of money in my law practice and, knowing that I had additional monies coming in, I took a short cut."

Takeover Target Emulex Slings Mud at Broadcom in Dueling Lawsuit

The American Lawyer

If you thought that Emulex would be steamrollered by Broadcom's $764 million hostile offer -- and an accompanying Delaware Chancery Court suit -- think again. On Friday, Emulex filed a 60-page California state court complaint accusing Broadcom of being a renegade enterprise. "Broadcom has a history of not dealing in a forthright manner with others, even stooping to highly illegal and criminal behavior if necessary to attempt to better itself at the expense of others," says the lawsuit.

Federal Circuit Weighs Patent Dispute in Export Case

The National Law Journal

The Federal Circuit met en banc Friday to examine a hot-button issue in the intellectual property world: whether patents on processes are protected by a law that says a company can be held liable for infringement for exporting the components of an invention patented in the United States to be manufactured abroad. The questioning from the bench was lively, with several of the judges appearing skeptical of expanding the scope of the law in question.

Calif. Supreme Court to Put Right of Publicity to a Taste Test

The Recorder

Former male model Russell Christoff didn't think much of it when a woman standing in line with him at a store in 2002 told him he looked like the guy on her coffee jar. But two months later, he was startled when he, indeed, saw his picture -- taken 16 years earlier -- on a Taster's Choice jar in a Rite-Aid store. On Wednesday, Christoff's lawyer goes before the California Supreme Court to argue that Taster's Choice maker Nestle USA owes his client millions of dollars in damages for using his image without his consent.

Dewey & LeBoeuf Sued for $3 Billion in Insurance Company Failure

The American Lawyer

Dewey & LeBoeuf has been named in a $3 billion malpractice suit related to the failure and sale of St. Louis-based General American Life Insurance. The insurance provider's liquidators allege that Dewey & LeBoeuf's predecessor, LeBoeuf Lamb, put other clients' interests ahead of General American's, costing General American hundreds of millions of dollars in at least one deal alone. In a statement released by Dewey & LeBoeuf, the firm said it "categorically rejects the unfounded allegations in the complaint."

Court Refuses to Halt Media's Use of 'Perp Walk' Photo

New York Law Journal

A politician charged with tax evasion cannot prevent media outlets from running photos of him in handcuffs, New York federal judge Arthur D. Spatt ruled Friday. Spatt said he was "troubled by [the] repeated use" of a photo showing legislator Roger Corbin with his hands cuffed behind his back, when there were "numerous photographs" of him available from his 14 years as a lawmaker. But the judge said he lacked the authority to "censor the press in this matter and cannot instruct the press as to what images are newsworthy."

Lawyers in Atlanta Case Spar Over Whether Idle Net Chatter Could Lead to Terrorism

Fulton County Daily Report

An Atlanta case being argued this week is emblematic of the U.S. government's efforts since the 9/11 attacks to capture would-be terrorists and dismantle secret terrorist cells before they can carry out their violent plots. Without a definitive act of violence to drive a criminal prosecution, prosecutors in the case are left with a murkier proposition: to show when idle conversations and wishful thinking morph into an actual conspiracy that, if not impeded, could cause the injuries or deaths of hundreds of victims.

In Rare Habeas Grant, 3rd Circuit Finds Evidence of Murder Insufficient

New Jersey Law Journal

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday granted a writ of habeas corpus to a New Jersey man who has been in prison for more than two decades on a conviction of murder by association. The ruling is notable because under the 1996 federal Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, a habeas petition can be granted only if the underlying adjudication was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law as determined by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Death Sentence Affirmed for Polly Klaas' Killer

The Recorder

Richard Allen Davis, who made national news in 1993 for kidnapping and murdering 12-year-old Polly Klaas, got no sympathy from the California Supreme Court on Monday. By a unanimous vote, the court upheld the death sentence Davis received in 1996. The court shot down all of the reviled inmate's arguments, including that Davis didn't get a fair trial because he was tried in the San Francisco Bay Area's hostile media market. One legacy of Davis' crimes was the enactment of California's Three Strikes law.

How to Avoid 'This Document Is Corrupt'

Texas Lawyer

There is a right and a wrong way for attorneys to approach content creation and revision to avoid document corruption. For lawyers who are more comfortable typing than dictating, the Assistant-at-Law offers these gentle suggestions to avoid seeing the message "This document is corrupt."

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New Approaches, New Firms on Corporate Clients' Shopping Lists

Fulton County Daily Report

In this volatile economy, merely dropping rates is not the best way for large law firms to get more business from their biggest corporate clients, according to consultant Michael B. Rynowecer and a midyear survey on outside legal spending by Fortune 1000 companies. That means firms that want their business need to handle their matters more efficiently within predictable, fixed budgets, he said. They also need to understand a client's business well enough to help corporate counsel assess and mitigate risk.

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Are Public Interest Lawyers Getting Crowded Out by Deferred Associates?

The National Law Journal

Sending incoming associates into temporary public-interest jobs with a healthy stipend is intended to be a fiscally smart and compassionate way for law firms to handle an overabundance of young attorneys. But some recent law school graduates intent on public-interest careers worry that firms are hurting their job prospects by flooding the public-interest job market, even while they understand the situation. Recent graduate Allison Standard notes, "You can't blame the organizations for taking the free labor."

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