Holding his first hearing Thursday on Proposition 8, the controversial state ballot measure that outlawed same-sex marriage in California, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker repeatedly stressed the importance of establishing a record that will stand the test of time. Telling a packed courtroom that the challenge launched by high-profile litigators Theodore Olson and David Boies is presumably a "prelude" for things to come, Walker said: "How we do things here is more important than what we do."
The Department of Justice, under pressure to mete out blame for the credit crisis, has wrapped up a deferred prosecution agreement with Beazer Homes USA. The Atlanta-based company has been under scrutiny for reportedly issuing questionable mortgages to local homeowners. As part of the agreement, the company agreed to pay $53 million in restitution and penalties and said it "accepts and acknowledges" that it was responsible for criminal actions taken by employees at its now-defunct mortgage arm.
Lawyers who work in the White House don't talk much, but they can't avoid having their salaries reported. The Obama administration, complying with an annual congressional requirement, has released salary figures for all White House lawyers, including more than 40 in the Counsel's Office. White House Counsel Gregory Craig tops the list, at $172,200. By comparison, the former partner at Williams & Connolly made $1.7 million last year, according to a disclosure report released in April.
Lawyers incur tremendous administrative costs in servicing clients who are resistant if not hostile to the idea of these costs being billed back to them. Mattern & Associates CEO and founder Robert Mattern brings to light trends in law firm cost recovery in an increasingly digital world.
In between the rush and flow of working as general counsel of global computer company Lenovo, Mike O'Neill realized that there are some basic principles that guide his work. He calls these tenets -- some of them he's learned along the way, and some he is still learning every day. He shares those at the top of his list, including the single most important rule for a successful in-house role: We don't get paid for what we do -- we get paid for what we get done.
Blank Rome has become the latest law firm to put the squeeze on associate salaries, with much of the focus on more junior associates. Effective July 17, first-year associates face a $15,000 pay cut. Other associate classes will see a 2 percent to 10 percent pay reduction, the firm said in a statement, adding that the cuts are a market adjustment. One recruiter predicts that first-year associate salaries will ultimately fall to a "natural level" of between $110,000 and $120,000.
The judicial misconduct complaint against 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski over sexually explicit material on his family Web site has been resolved with a public admonishment but no discipline imposed on the judge. An 11-judge council from the 3rd Circuit issued a unanimous opinion that said Kozinski had cured the problem himself by removing and destroying the explicit material. The opinion also revealed new details about the incident, including the identity of the disgruntled litigant who tipped off the press.
Florida-based Ruden McClosky has laid off eight attorneys as part of a cost-reduction effort that includes 18 percent pay cuts for most of its lawyers, according to sources. The laid-off attorneys worked in the firm's litigation, corporate and land-use practice areas. The latest layoffs follow three rounds of dismissals conducted since late last year. An attorney at the firm who asked not to be named said morale has declined because of the cuts in jobs and pay and that many of the firm's lawyers are seeking other jobs.
The 2nd Circuit has rejected a challenge from out-of-state wine retailers to New York state's prohibition on direct sales and delivery of wine to New Yorkers. Deciding a closely watched case that drew three intervenors and a number of amici, the federal appeals court said New York's Alcoholic Beverage Control Law does not violate the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution because it does not favor in-state sellers at the expense of out-of-state sellers.
The court-appointed trustee responsible for liquidating Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities has announced that $231 million in Securities Investor Protection Corp. funds has been set aside to satisfy 543 claims by victims of Bernard Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme. The figure reflects "major progress" since May 14, when $61.4 million in SIPC funds had been committed to 125 Madoff claimants, SIPC said in a statement.
OUTRAGEOUS RIAA - the nature of the RIAA threat to US 5th and 8th amendment due process rights
Peanut Butter Salmonella danger escalates
Created on 06/28/2006 12:31 AM by leflaw
Updated on 02/19/2009 08:33 AM by leflaw
Announcements
Use of Dietary Supplements Pose Health, Financial Risks
Posted by: leflaw on 06/12/2009 09:50 AM
(Read: 100)
The sale of some dietary supplements is often a financial scam, rather than a healthy choice. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out that some weight loss supplements such as, hoodia, acai, and colon cleanser capsules might not work, could be dangerous, and are hitting consumers hard in the wallet with expensive monthly charges.
WRITE TO WHITEHOUSE.GOV about RIAA COPYRIGHT CONFLICTS OF INTEREST!
Posted by: leflaw on 02/19/2009 08:26 AM
(Read: 457)
The Dept. of Justice is threatening to weigh in on one of the numerous cases relating to the Constitutionality of statutory damages in copyright law. In case anyone hasn’t heard this, the Obama Administration has larded the DOJ with numerous copyright litigators and lobbyists. Leflaw represents the defendant in this case.
Posted by: leflaw on 02/11/2009 07:52 AM
(Read: 506)
Peanut Company Closes Second Plant . Peanut Co. President and Victims' Families Invited to Testify Wednesday Before Congress.
As people with personal connections to the salmonella outbreak prepared to testify Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill, a flurry of activity continued in one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history.
New developments unfolded this week in a chain of events that has resulted in the removal of 1,845 peanut products from store shelves, following more than 600 illnesses and an estimated eight deaths linked to bad peanuts.
The FBI raided the Peanut Corporation of America's Blakely, Ga., facility Monday as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the peanut recall. The company's subsidiary in Plainview, Texas, today announced it, too, would temporarily close its doors after lab tests detected the possible presence of salmonella.
Posted by: leflaw on 02/08/2009 07:59 AM
(Read: 524)
Federal food regulators describe a massive salmonella outbreak traced to a Georgia peanut butter plant in 2007 as “a wake-up call.” But that realization did not lead officials to scrutinize at least one other peanut processor: the Peanut Corporation of America in Blakely.
They didn’t even know the plant made peanut butter. Uncertain? See our guide to which peanut products are safe and which should be thrown out. A16
> Recalled products remain on some shelves, but merchants say that’s not necessarily their fault. A17
> Georgia agriculture was already facing a difficult year. Then along came the peanut crisis. D1
Senators rebuke federal regulators in peanut-borne salmonella outbreak
Posted by: leflaw on 02/06/2009 06:58 AM
(Read: 512)
latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-na-peanut-fda6-2009feb06,0,6599717.story
From the Los Angeles Times
Senators rebuke federal regulators in peanut-borne salmonella outbreak
Agriculture committee members fault a lack of coordination and authority, saying a Georgia peanut facility was not adequately overseen. Some people call for an agency to regulate only food.
By Ben Meyerson
February 6, 2009
Reporting from Washington — Members of a Senate panel rebuked federal health and food safety regulators Thursday for slow intervention in the nation's peanut-borne salmonella outbreak, demanding that officials find ways to cooperate when responsibility is split among different agencies.
"All of this happened because of a failure -- the failure of our government to prevent unsafe food from entering the food chain," Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) told officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at an agriculture committee hearing.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), lamenting the lack of food safety enforcement authority, said he wanted to see steeper penalties than fines.
"I'd like to see some people go to jail," Leahy said. "You give them a fine, well, it's just the cost of doing business. But if somebody thinks they're going to go to jail . . . that's an entirely different thing."
Federal officials are investigating a Georgia plant operated by Peanut Corp. of America in connection with an outbreak of salmonella poisoning that has sickened nearly 600 people in more than 40 states. Eight may have died because of it.
Senators focused on the absence of strict regulation of the plant in Blakely, Ga., which had not undergone an FDA inspection since 2001. The FDA contracted its operations to Georgia in 2006. State inspectors repeatedly found sanitation problems at the plant from 2006 to 2008, including grease and food buildup and gaps in doors that could allow rodents to enter, according to news reports.
The FDA, by invoking federal anti-terrorism laws, later obtained internal company test records that Georgia inspectors could not -- including lab tests that found salmonella on 12 occasions in the last two years.
"We simply have an outdated system. Whatever worked 50 to 100 years ago certainly isn't working the way it used to," said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).
The answer, Harkin said, is more cooperation among the agencies responsible for regulating food safety and more authority for regulators.
"We saw the impact of deregulation on our financial sector, and now we are seeing the impact of weak oversight on food safety inspections," Harkin said after the hearing. "Food safety in America has too often become a hit-or-miss gamble, and that is truly frightening."
Harkin proposed a uniform database allowing physicians across the country to enter information. He also suggested the possibility of a new federal agency dedicated solely to food.
Marion Nestle, a nutrition, food studies and public health professor at New York University, said in an interview that forming a single agency was essential. "Food safety agencies have proven over and over again that they cannot work together," Nestle said. "How much worse does it have to get?"
FDA Reaches Settlement with California Hearing Device Maker
Posted by: leflaw on 07/24/2008 12:47 PM
(Read: 1403)
If you have had a negative experience with a cochlear implant, visit noticenetwork.com
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reached a settlement with California hearing device manufacturer Advanced Bionics LLC and its president and CEO Jeffrey Greiner over alleged violations of federal law.
Are Real Estate Title Companies ripping off consumers with false filing fees?
Posted by: leflaw on 06/03/2008 02:58 AM
(Read: 1843)
Apparently, some title companies are. Here is a case that we just came across where a New Jersey Title company was pocketing filing fees, and not filing anything. This is a violation of many states consumers laws. CLICK HERE FOR PDF file of complaint
A Los Angeles judge has blasted one of the nation's leading plaintiffs
firms in asbestos litigation for trying to get the upper hand in a case
through what he called a "type of judicially sanctioned extortion." The
judge concluded that Waters & Kraus had re-filed in California a case
that was first filed in Texas as a way to force a settlement. Calling
such tactics a "waste of the court's time," the judge said Waters &
Kraus has played the same "grisly game of asbestos litigation" in at
least nine cases.
Employees in Massachusetts who injure themselves at work may not be entitled to disability retirement benefits if their employer accommodates them with a lighter job.
A recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling held that employers can change an injured worker's duties to keep him on the job and prevent him from going into retirement and collecting disability.
A new study projects growth of roughly 5% in corporate legal spending over the next six months, but corporate lawyers say that fixed legal budgets preclude most increases and that any higher legal spending that is tied to the economic crisis is temporary and unsustainable.
U.S. News & World Report said that it is "investigating" Brooklyn Law School's responses to the magazine's annual law school ranking survey, specifically with respect to part-time students. The magazine said some rival law schools noted that Brooklyn Law wasn't listed in the part-time ranking and questioned whether the school also excluded part-time students in its responses for the overall ranking in an effort to boost its ranking.
Lewis and Roca has opened its first California office in Silicon Valley's Mountain View with the addition of three intellectual property attorneys from White & Case: Frank Hiscox and Dana Brody-Brown, who now are partners at Lewis and Roca, and Alexa Horne, who has joined of counsel.
A Los Angeles judge, ruling on a case of first impression, has found that the federal CAN-SPAM Act preempts a California law designed to curb false and misleading commercial emails.
The May 4 ruling, which throws out a case claiming $45 million in damages, is the first to address the pre-emption issue in California's state courts and could stymie future suits filed under the statute.
The U.S. Department of Justice is cracking down on employers that discriminate against returning injured soldiers, who are having a hard time getting their old jobs back, either being demoted, or denied work altogether. DOJ is suing employers nationwide — almost on a weekly basis — for failing to promptly re-employ returning service men and women, in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
Plantiffs' law firms Baron & Budd of Dallas and Miami-based Alters, Boldt, Brown, Rash & Culmo are teaming up to work on the groundswell of class actions being filed against homebuilders using Chinese-made drywall.
Massachusetts medical malpractice lawsuit filings continued their downward trajectory last year, with cases falling below the 500 mark for the first time this decade, according to Massachusetts state court data.
A surprising thing is happening among companies spurred by the financial crisis to take a sharp pencil to operating budgets and scrutinize spending. As business contracts and companies trim outside legal costs, seek fee reductions and alternative billing arrangements, and pare rosters of outside firms altogether, epic layoffs within large law firms have been the obvious result.
For some contract lawyers, work is synonymous with being a galley slave, performing grunt jobs in stuffy basements or offices far removed from meaningful contact with other legal professionals.
From firm leaders to potential laterals, everyone involved with the movement of lateral partners wants to know how the market is, whether things are different now than in other downturns and whether firms are really making commitments in these uncertain times. The answer is both simple and complicated.
Enterprising lawyers who form new businesses that are irresistibly attractive to both clients and talent alike likely will drive a fundamental change in the way the business of law is conducted. Economic distress and frustrated clientele are merely catalysts of that change.
A recent article in The New York Times suggested that enrollment in college humanities courses is declining and that the humanities, to retain their following, must "justify their worth." The study of literature gives a lawyer, particularly a trial lawyer, many of the skills he or she needs to assess evidence and persuade a trier of fact.
Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage-finance company, recently stopped guaranteeing mortgages in condo buildings where fewer than 70% of the units have been sold, up from 51%. Lenders, which want to repackage loans to secondary buyers, have taken note of the new guidelines, and many banks are now refusing to make loans that Fannie Mae won't guarantee. This has resulted in essentially all new condominium projects being doomed.
The National Research Council of the National Academies of Science released in February a long-awaited report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward. The findings could play a major rule in shaping the future treatment of expert evidence.
Michael Elkin has been named managing partner of Winston & Strawn's New York office and elected to the firm's executive committee. Plus more law firm movers in this week's column.
The sudden, if unsurprising, announcement that Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter will retire instantly ratcheted up the scrutiny and political pressure on President Barack Obama and on the growing list of potential replacements — some of whom are already drawing fire.
In her first interview since taking office March 20 as the government's top lawyer before the Supreme Court, U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan spoke with The National Law Journal's Tony Mauro about her new job.
Although the flu strain isn't an official pandemic yet, state and local officials are already flexing legal muscles. But escalation to the pandemic stage, say health law experts, could draw officials into truly novel legal situations, such as who can order isolation or quarantine to contain the disease.
Whether partners or shareholders in professional firms are employees or employers for purposes of the anti-discrimination laws remains an open issue. During the present financial crisis, when law firm "right-sizing" has led to numerous partner departures, the issue has taken on increasing practical importance.
With increasing frequency, a single operational or financial issue can balloon into multifront litigation. In such circumstances, regulatory, civil and, in some cases, criminal, proceedings may commence and unfold in parallel. There can be no single blueprint for navigating such "parallel proceedings," but there are some issues that are common to nearly all of them.
Changes to the global landscape during the next two decades are expected to drive a new generation of disputes. Climate change and unprecedented pressure on world resources — including carbon-based energy sources, minerals, food and water — will be among the key structural drivers. At the same time, the global financial crisis and the rise of state capitalism seem set to provide the catalyst for further financial and economic conflicts. This new generation of disputes will call for a sophisticated range of dispute resolution mechanisms and may challenge existing structures.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. led a Court this term that often served up half-loaves for liberals and conservatives, businesses and consumers alike. The justices faced momentous shifts in Court doctrine on issues ranging from the Voting Rights Act to the exclusionary rule, campaign finance to the constitutionality of workplace affirmative action, and then stepped back from the precipice.
Twenty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rewrote the textbook on employment discrimination law through an aggressive series of rulings limiting the rights of employees with job bias claims. Congress retaliated with the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Could the just-ended high court term trigger a Civil Rights Act of 2009?
Lawyers in Los Angeles involved in representing immigrants seeking permanent residency in the United States are increasingly frustrated with multiple governmental agencies that often don't coordinate with one another. The problem, they said, is particularly acute in Los Angeles, which has more immigration judges than any other region and a noticeably crowded docket. But, as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reasoned in a recent decision, a busy calendar alone isn't necessarily enough reason to deny a continuance.
Most of the story lines are already set for Sotomayor's hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and just about all of them end with her winning confirmation as the next justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. That doesn't mean, though, that she'll have an easy time.
State attorneys general won a major turf war in the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29 as the justices held that states may enforce their anti-discrimination and consumer protection laws against national banks. The high court, in a 5-4 ruling, struck down a regulation issued by the chief federal regulator of national banks that pre-empted the states' power to enforce those laws.
The economic doldrums may be slowing patent filing work for intellectual property specialists, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's increasingly stingy patent allowance rate is boosting back-end work for lawyers at the agency's appeals board.
After eight months of electoral dispute, former comedian Al Franken may be sworn in as Minnesota's second senator and take his seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee as early as this week. We spoke with Perkins Coie partner Marc Elias, who argued for Franken in front of the state supreme court, about the recount.
At issue in the legal fight between the Chabad-Lubavitch sect and the Russian Federation is an irreplaceable library of rare books, manuscripts and thousands of pages of handwritten rabbinical teachings that were once held by the Chabad-Lubavitch head rabbis but were left behind when the rabbis fled for safety during the world wars.
The Illinois Supreme Court announced this week that it has adopted new and revised rules of professional conduct for lawyers licensed to practice in the state, adding guidelines on Web advertising, the sale of a firm, and even sex with clients.
In a what's believed to be a first of its kind swearing-in ceremony for a lawyer, a Michigan soldier in Iraq became an attorney on Thursday via a live video conference, taking his oath before a judge who was more than 6,300 miles away.
A Massachusetts federal judge ruled that former state court judge Ernest B. Murphy can't collect $6.8 million from the Boston Herald's insurance company. Murphy demanded the payment from the insurance company after winning a libel lawsuit against the Herald and collecting $3.4 million.
Software companies that help computer users halt Internet ads and viruses have a broad immunity from lawsuits brought by companies whose Web pages are blocked, the 9th Circuit ruled last week in Zango v. Kaspersky Lab. But the federal appellate court sounded a cautionary note about the breadth of immunity the software companies enjoy.
The Michigan Supreme Court has laid the hammer down on gadget-happy jurors in banning all electronic communications by jurors during trial, including tweets on Twitter, text messages and Google searches. The ruling, which takes effect Sept. 1, will require Michigan judges for the first time to instruct jurors not to use any handheld device, such as iPhones or Blackberrys, while in the jury box or during deliberations.
The unstable economy created a tricky situation for law school admissions offices this year. The University of Miami School of Law underestimated the percentage of accepted students who enroll — and is offering incentives for students to sit out a year. Those who opt to delay until the fall of 2010 will receive a $5,000 scholarship when they complete 120 hours of public service and will have a better chance at receiving a $75,000 scholarship, among other incentives.
Former clients of a Cleveland-based law firm have convinced an Ohio appeals court to revive their claim that the 45-attorney shop duped them into a low-ball settlement in a legal malpractice case. Reversing a lower court, the three-judge panel threw out summary judgment in favor of Javitch, Block & Rathbone, a collections and bankruptcy firm with four offices in Ohio and Indiana.
As wrangling over a state budget continues, lawsuits against the State of Illinois have piled up in the past week as social service organizations push back against state funding cuts affecting children and the disabled.
Sue or settle? Today, budgets are what drives the answer to the question. A provisional strategy that some general counsel are following right now is placing some lawsuits on hold.
Any unfortunate comment by an attorney can be caught in the blizzard of new media devices and can spell disaster for a case. Here is a primer of what attorneys should watch for and how to overcome instincts that could make an attorney into a victim.
Remembering a few rules can greatly help in getting the greatest benefit from experts or, conversely, effectively cross-examining an opposing expert. There are three general areas of expert evidence: pure opinion expert evidence, scientific expert evidence and nonscientific expert evidence.
Angie Zapata's killer claims that he simply "snapped" when he learned the woman he had begun to date was transgender. This legal strategy, often referred to as "gay panic" or, in the case of Angie Zapata, "trans panic," is still depressingly common in American courtrooms.
Despite some negative case law, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is an effective tool for employers to protect corporate data from departing employees.
Katheryne L. Zelenock joins Dickinson Wright's real estate practice group in the Bloomfield, Michigan, office. Plus more law firm movers in this week's column.
Our inaugural Midsize Hot List includes 20 law firms — selected from a flood of nominations — that demonstrate exemplary innovation in practice management, fee arrangements, attorney recruitment and retention, and business development, especially in the face of current economic challenges. These firms have shown particular agility in adapting their practices to the recent changes in the legal services market. They range in size from 50 to 300 attorneys and are located across the country.
As the legal profession continues to weather this down economy, clients are scrutinizing legal fees more closely than ever. Law firms critically need their fees paid in order to stay profitable and should avoid these common billing problems.
We can file a federal trademark for your business, band or company name or logo for as little as $250, plus filing fees. We also handle copyright registrations at competitive rates. For more information see COPYRIGHT
CPI Foods, Inc of Dallas, TX is recalling approximately 15,000 (net wt. 20g) packets of non fat dry milk because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
NOW Foods has issued a voluntary recall for NOW Foods products containing whey protein concentrate due to potential Salmonella contamination. This is an extension of the voluntary recall being conducted by the company’s supplier Plainview Milk Products Cooperative.
City Baking LLC, of Long island City, NY is recalling 781 individually wrapped City Baking brand Apple Crumb Cakes, because they contain Walnuts, which were inadvertently omitted from the label.
La Mexicana, Inc., of Seattle, Washington, is recalling Solena Tortilla Chips with a June 03, 2009 code date, because they may contain undeclared milk and milk products
Unilever United States, Inc. is voluntarily recalling Knorr® Kosher Soup Mix – Chicken Vegetable Flavor with Pasta imported from Israel because it contains undeclared egg...
June 15, 2009 - Norcross, GA - Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Hi-Tech”), 6015-B Unity Dr., Norcross, GA 30071, announced today that it is conducting a nationwide voluntary recall of the company's product sold under the name Stamina-Rx.
Torres Hillsdale Country Cheese of Reading, Michigan announces the recall of all lots of various types of soft Mexican-style cheeses due to potential Listeria contamination.
R. E. Kimball and Company, Inc. of Amesbury, MA is voluntarily recalling all approximately 1200 units of Clam Chowder and Corn Chowder, all lot numbers in 15 oz cans, because they contain undeclared Milk and Wheat...
June 11, 2009 - Peach Glen, PA - Knouse Foods, Inc. announced today that effective immediately, they have decided to voluntarily recall apple sauce (23.5 and 25 oz glass jars only) with the following Best By Dates for these specific UPC Codes.
FoodScience Corporation of Essex Junction, Vermont 05452 is voluntarily recalling a total of approximately 1,250 bottles of its Children’s Multi Vitamins...
Bao Ding Seafood of New York, NY 10002 is recalling Boiled Horse Mackerel, because it has the potential to be contaminated with clostriduim botulinum, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death.
Sconza Candy Company Voluntarily Initiates Nationwide Recall of Trail Mix, Organic Chocolate Peanuts and Organic Toffee Cashews and Peanuts Because of Possible Health Risk –SECOND RELEASE.
