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SEC Mishandled Madoff Probes, Says Watchdog Report

The Associated Press

The watchdog of the Securities and Exchange Commission has found the agency consistently mishandled its five investigations of Bernard Madoff's business, despite ample complaints over 16 years about the multibillion-dollar fraud. But SEC inspector general David Kotz's report found no evidence of any improper ties between agency officials and Madoff. Despite speculation that senior SEC officials may have tried to influence the probes, a summary of Kotz's 450-page report released Wednesday found no evidence of that.

Ropes & Gray Leads on Pfizer's Record $2.3 Billion Settlement

The American Lawyer

Ropes & Gray took the lead among several firms in advising Pfizer on its decision Wednesday to pay $2.3 billion in fines and penalties to settle charges it illegally marketed several drugs for off-label uses and paid kickbacks to doctors, according to lawyers on the deal. The settlement is believed to be the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history, according to the Justice Department. In all, six whistleblowers will split $102 million in proceeds from the settlement; the legal fees paid are confidential.

Mandatory Retirement Ruled Wrongly Imposed on In-House Counsel

The National Law Journal

Lawyers chafing under their firms' mandatory retirement policies might consider the type of in-house post a Connecticut federal judge recently deemed outside the scope of executive jobs that can legally include a retirement age. U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant ruled on Aug. 27 that Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act by forcing Robert Raymond, chief patent counsel and vice president for intellectual property, to retire at age 65 in 2004.

Lawyer in Stanford Case Defends $27 Million Fee Request

The Associated Press

The lawyer trying to unravel what the government calls a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme run by Texas businessman R. Allen Stanford has fired back at critics who said his request for $27 million in fees is excessive. Court-appointed receiver Ralph Janvey escalated the rhetoric in his unusual public battle over attorney fees with the Securities and Exchange Commission in court papers filed Tuesday evening.

Sonnenschein Makes More Cuts

The American Lawyer

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal released a statement on Wednesday confirming that the firm has carried out additional layoffs, but a firm spokeswoman declined to say how many positions were eliminated, despite a report that the firm laid off fewer than two dozen associates. The move follows two previous rounds of cuts within the past 18 months, with 37 lawyers cut in May 2008 and 25 more attorneys laid off later that year.

After Striking Out With Ginsburg, Attorney for Catholic Diocese Tries Scalia

The National Law Journal

If at first you don't succeed, try another Supreme Court justice. That's what Mayer Brown's Philip Lacovara did on behalf of his client, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., in seeking to delay release of thousands of pages of documents in sexual abuse cases brought against priests. After Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg denied a stay of the release, Lacovara renewed his request to Justice Antonin Scalia. The stay application has now been referred to the full Court for consideration later this month.

Schwarzenegger Plans to Appeal Calif. Prison Cap to U.S. Supreme Court

The Recorder

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked federal judges to stay their order demanding a state plan by Sept. 18 for reducing the prison population by 40,000 over two years, signaling his intent to take the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court. The three-judge panel made clear in its Aug. 4 ruling that it would not consider a stay. Attorneys say that the promised appeal would appear to be the first Supreme Court challenge of a court-ordered population cap since the enactment of the Prison Litigation Reform Act in 1996.

Former PI Firm Colleagues Battle Over Who Keeps the Clients

The National Law Journal

The lawyers who once made up Chicago's Anesi Ozmon are fighting over the crown jewels of the firm: its clients. Anesi Ozmon is battling former colleagues at the newly launched O'Connor & Nakos to retake possibly hundreds of cases that left in July along with Daniel O'Connor, Telly Nakos and nine other lawyers plus paralegals and other staff. Both firms handle personal injury and workers' compensation disputes.

Broken-Nosed Fan Assumed Injury Risk During Pregame Warm-Up, N.Y. Judge Finds

New York Law Journal

Every baseball fan -- or at least every attorney who follows baseball -- knows that under the doctrine of assumption of the risk a team is not liable for fans injured by, say, foul balls or broken bats. Now, in a suit filed by a New York fan whose nose was fractured by a bat during a Brooklyn Cyclones pregame, a New York judge has ruled that the doctrine also extends to a bat "propelled" by a player either "warming up" or "horsing around."

Pepper Hamilton Makes Offers to Half Its Summers

The Legal Intelligencer

After months of economic woes, offer rates for 2Ls in some of Pennsylvania's largest firms are somewhat anemic this year when compared to 2008. Pepper Hamilton has confirmed that of the 14 summer associates in its program nationwide this year, seven received offers, compared with 30 out of 38 receiving offers last year. According to executive partner Robert Heideck, the firm has not yet decided whether it will push 2009 summer associates' start dates from 2010 to 2011, as some other firms have done.

Former Ontario Attorney General Charged in Cyclist's Death

The American Lawyer

The Montreal Gazette reports that former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant has been charged with criminal negligence and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle in connection with the death of a cyclist in Toronto on Monday night. Bryant, who worked at Sullivan & Cromwell early in his career, is now the CEO of Invest Toronto, a quasi-governmental agency. Details emerging about the accident suggest the cyclist had been drinking and was involved in an earlier incident with police.

2nd Circuit Upholds Use of Wiretap While Faulting Its Justification

New York Law Journal

While acknowledging that the government could have provided a more detailed justification for a wiretap, a federal appeals court has reversed a judge's suppression of cell phone tapes obtained in a terrorism investigation that turned into a drug bust. The 2nd Circuit observed that the government's affidavit in its case against Alexander Concepcion was "skimpy," but nonetheless ruled that the affidavit had set forth facts "minimally adequate" to support a judge's finding that investigators needed the wiretap.

Criminal Past Does Not Bar Man From Adopting, Judge Decides

New York Law Journal

A history of crime and drug addiction spanning two decades should not bar a man from being eligible to adopt, a New York surrogate judge has decided. Since leaving prison for the last time in 2000, the prospective father has "demonstrably devoted himself to rebuilding his life," the surrogate ruled, allowing the man and his wife to take the first step toward becoming adoptive parents. The court turned to well-settled case law for the proposition that courts "have not required perfection in adoptive parents."

Commentary: Federal Shift on Nuclear Waste Leaves Utilities With No Clear Direction

Special to Law.com

On the eve of what many in the commercial power industry are calling a "nuclear renaissance," commercial nuclear power plants still face uncertainty from the U.S. Department of Energy as to what individual nuclear utilities are to do with their spent, or used, nuclear fuel, write Christopher F. Tierney and Patrick M. Jensen. Having already missed its own mandated deadline to begin acceptance of spent fuel, the government recently caused more confusion when it announced that it will pursue alternatives to geologic storage.

Law Firm Jobs in South Korea No Longer a Sure Thing

The American Lawyer

South Korea's Chosun Ilbo reports that a growing proportion of the nation's newly qualified lawyers are failing to find work. Korea's Judicial Research and Training Institute told the newspaper 34 of the 978 lawyers in its 2009 class remain unemployed -- compared to just three unemployed at the same time last year. The problem may seem miniscule compared to the level of joblessness among U.S. lawyers, but it is causing concern in a nation where lawyers have long enjoyed exalted status.

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Law Librarians: 'No More Sacred Cows'

The American Lawyer

"Doing more with less" has long been a goal, even a mandate, for law librarians, but now it's "do much more with far less." Money is part of the story according to The American Lawyer's 14th annual survey of law firm library directors. And "Nothing is a sacred cow anymore."

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Tap Your Creativity if You're Considering a Second Career Beyond Law

The National Law Journal

In the current transformation of the legal industry, lawyers, law students and most legal professionals are re-evaluating their roles, writes consultant Ari Kaplan. The economy is prompting them to consider alternatives and to determine where they will truly find satisfaction. The experiences of some who've made that journey, like Nathan Sawaya, a lawyer-turned-Lego sculptor, and Sean Carter, a former lawyer who is now a self-described Humorist-at-Law, offer a number of lessons to help guide those who remain.

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