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Greenberg Traurig in Hot Water Over Representation of Heller

The Recorder

Greenberg Traurig is facing a malpractice investigation by the Heller Ehrman estate, according to court filings and an attorney representing Heller's creditors committee. At issue: Greenberg's apparent failure to discover that Heller's biggest creditor, Bank of America, had terminated its security interest in the firm. Lawyers familiar with the matter say Heller would have had better leverage with its creditors if it had known BofA wasn't a secured creditor and may have even been able to avoid bankruptcy.

In MySpace Cases, Appellate Judges Wrestle With Possible Split

The Legal Intelligencer

Federal courts in Pennsylvania have had markedly different reactions to two strikingly similar First Amendment cases involving students who were disciplined for ridiculing their principals by creating fake profile pages on MySpace. The ACLU, siding with the students, has won one of two cases. And now, remarks from two oral arguments reveal a sharp split among appellate judges about how to view the ever-evolving issue of student free speech cases within the context of the Internet and social networking sites.

Critics Pounce on Sotomayor's Reversal Rate

The National Law Journal

Reversal -- a common if sometimes painful part of life for appellate judges -- was in the spotlight last week as Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor found herself under intense scrutiny for the handful of times that the Supreme Court reversed her decisions. Only five of Sotomayor's 232 opinions for the 2nd Circuit have been reviewed by the Court, and three were overturned. Supporters and scholars say the reversal rates don't show much at all about the quality of her decisions or how the Court regards her work.

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WilmerHale Tells Some Lawyers to Start Looking for Work Elsewhere

The National Law Journal

In an unusual move, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr is telling some of its more experienced lawyers it's time to start looking for jobs elsewhere. A co-managing partner says some associates and counsel have been told they won't have jobs at the firm after this autumn. The announcement is part of a new career program at the firm, under which associates and counsel are either promoted or told to "pursue other careers" if they are unlikely to be recommended for advancement.

Gibson Dunn, Paul Weiss Pick Up Key GM Assignments

The American Lawyer

Gibson Dunn and Paul Weiss are representing the indentured trustee and a bondholder group that will have leading roles in General Motors' Chapter 11 proceedings. Wilmington Trust Corp. will serve as indentured trustee for nearly $23 billion in GM bonds. The bondholder group is the automaker's largest group of unsecured creditors, with $22.8 billion in debt. Whatever roles the bondholders will play in GM's Chapter 11 case, their lawyers will likely play prominent roles in its debt restructuring.

7th Circuit Ruling Agrees With Sotomayor on Second Amendment

The National Law Journal

The 7th Circuit on Tuesday ruled that the Second Amendment right to bear arms cannot be held to restrict state gun control laws until the Supreme Court rules that the right applies to the states. As a result, the ruling in National Rifle Association v. Chicago will likely give Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor some much-needed political cover against criticism of a similar Second Amendment ruling she joined in on the 2nd Circuit earlier this year.

Lawyers for 'America's Most Wanted' Fugitive Can't Reverse Bail Forfeiture to Get Paid

New Jersey Law Journal

Two lawyers for a convicted child sex abuser who jumped bail were turned away in a novel attempt to have the bail forfeiture reversed so they could be paid. Though both argued that allowing them to recoup their fees from the bail funds served the purpose of providing criminal defense counsel at private expense, a New Jersey appeals court said setting aside the forfeiture would undercut bail's intent. Their client, whose case was featured on "America's Most Wanted," absconded between the jury charge and deliberations.

Court Dumps Grounds for $86 Million Verdict Against Starbucks

The Recorder

A California appeal court brewed up a controversy Tuesday by ruling that Starbucks' tip-pooling policies don't violate state law because gratuities are gathered collectively and shared equally. The decision negates $86 million in restitution that a San Diego, Calif., judge awarded last year to a class of baristas who had sued the coffee giant. Plaintiffs lawyer David Lowe immediately vowed to either file for a rehearing -- to clear up alleged factual errors in the ruling -- or seek review by the California Supreme Court.

Lawyer Reprimanded for Alleged 'Cut You Up' Remark to Adversary's Client

New Jersey Law Journal

The New Jersey Supreme Court has disciplined a lawyer who allegedly told an opposing party, "I'm going to cut you up into bits and pieces, put you into a box and send you to India and your parents won't recognize you." The court said the solo violated rules requiring courtesy to participants in the legal process and prohibiting conduct detrimental to the administration of justice. The incident occurred while the lawyer was representing a client in a domestic violence, custody and support case against the man's wife.

Lawyers Seek $1.8 Million in Heller Fees

The Recorder

With only $8 million in its coffers and hundreds of hungry creditors, the Heller Ehrman estate may have to come up with $1.8 million to pay all the lawyers and other professionals working on its six-month-old bankruptcy. Lawyers last week filed their first fee requests, which total more than $1 million for those representing the bankrupt estate. And it's clear the estate will be racking up more legal fees in the months to come: More than 1,000 creditors have filed claims adding up to over $376 million.

Longer Time-Outs for N.J. Judges Charged With DWI, Domestic Violence

New Jersey Law Journal

Judges charged with or convicted of drunken driving or domestic violence will be subject to a longer period of disqualification from handling such cases, the New Jersey Supreme Court says. A directive released Monday says that a municipal or Superior Court judge who is convicted of either offense will be barred from hearing cases of those respective types for a full year from the date the sentence is imposed, or until all conditions imposed as a result of sentence are fulfilled, whichever is longer.

N.Y. Appeals Court Backs Judicial Pay Raise

New York Law Journal

The New York Legislature's decade-long failure to give the state's 1,300 judges a raise violated the separation of powers doctrine by subordinating the judges to the "whims and caprices" of politicians who continually linked their pay to unrelated issues, a Manhattan-based appeals court ruled unanimously Tuesday. The court gave the Legislature 90 days to adjust judicial compensation to reflect an approximately 30 percent increase in the cost of living since 1998, when the last judicial raise was enacted.

Texas Judge Dismisses FCPA-Based Derivative Suit Against Baker Hughes

The American Lawyer

You would think that the recent explosion of DOJ investigations of corporate bribery would be good news for plaintiffs lawyers. But in an early test of how Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges will play in a derivative suit, they've bombed. Last week, a federal district court judge adopted a magistrate's recommendation to dismiss a derivative suit against current and former officers and directors of Baker Hughes, which settled allegations of FCPA violations in 2007 for what was then a record $44 million.

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Get Active in Preserving, Retrieving ESI

New York Law Journal

According to attorney Mark. A. Berman, given the publicity engendered by companies sanctioned for failing to preserve or produce relevant electronically stored information, litigators should know clients' document preservation obligations and their protocols in maintaining ESI.

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Terrorism Ruling May Help Corporate Defendants Win Early Dismissals

Special to Law.com

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on a terrorism suspect's constitutional claims may help commercial defendants obtain pre-discovery dismissals of claims against them. The Court's decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal should make it easier for defendants to win motions to dismiss commercial cases, especially in cases involving seemingly weak or speculative claims or where allegations of the defendant's knowledge or intent play a critical role, say attorneys Robert A. Schwinger and Eric Twiste.

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Female Lawyers Stuck in the Middle

The American Lawyer

The mean proportion of women at large firms remains close to one-third, and while the ranks of female partners have grown steadily, women still account, on average, for fewer than one in five big-firm partners, with the greatest numbers of female lawyers remaining concentrated at the associate level. Those are among the findings of The American Lawyer's first Women in Law Firms study. The results show clear progress in gender diversity -- though not as much as one might hope for.

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What Went Wrong at Defunct IP Boutique Morgan & Finnegan?

IP Law & Business

After bleeding partners for several years, Morgan & Finnegan dissolved in February and filed for bankruptcy in March. Its collapse supports the thinking among some that IP boutiques are an endangered species in a market that tends to favor scale and one-stop shopping. Specialty shops can survive, through a proper combination of growth in size, retaining their talent and bringing in a critical mass of patent litigation. Former partners of Morgan & Finnegan say the boutique largely failed on all three fronts.

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