TODAY'S STORIES - Monday, January 12, 2009
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What to Watch for at Attorney General Nominee's Hearing
Legal Times
Two months of preparation will reach a climax Thursday when Eric Holder Jr. enters his confirmation hearing to be attorney general. His opponents will look for opportunities to question his judgment -- and perhaps score political points. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has "guaranteed" that the Senate will confirm Holder. But Republicans, led by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., are promising a prickly hearing. Here are 11 things you're likely to see this week, and maybe one to hope for.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
The Future of Public Nuisance
The public nuisance doctrine has been increasingly used by creative lawyers in a wide variety of claims, ranging from global warming to sub-prime loans. Has a recent Rhode Island Supreme Court decision put the brakes on this trend? Click here to access a free, on-demand webinar providing defense, plaintiff and academic perspectives on this important question.
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Revenue Reports for S.F. Area Firms Show Flat Is the New Up
The Recorder
A tanking economy and crippled credit market posed a double blow for San Francisco Bay Area-based Am Law 100 firms in 2008. Firms battled rising costs and declining demand for legal services, which combined to deliver shrinking profit margins across the board. Firms with the least exposure to New York's financial sector fared better. But rising costs dragged down profits, and revenue growth slowed to single digits for most firms.
Kill the Billable Hour? A British Response
The American Lawyer
Cravath, Swaine & Moore's presiding partner, Evan Chesler, argues in the latest issue of Forbes magazine that the billable hour must go. But in the U.K., lawyers and clients have never had the same obsession with hourly billing as their American peers. Over the last 20 years hourly rates have become the dominant currency there, but the tide slowly is turning -- and some British companies and firms are much further along in shifting away from the billable hour than their American counterparts.
Visit Law.com's expanded International News section
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
Financial Sector in Distress Conference
The American Lawyer and Corporate Counsel magazines present "Financial Sector in Distress Conference", Feb 18, 2009, NYC. This timely program will highlight key issues under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) 2008, including workout strategies, bankruptcy, reorganizations and acquisitions. Register early and save! Visit www.almevents.com/EESA for details.
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Lloyds to Forfeit $350 Million in Sanctions Probe
Legal Times
Lloyds TSB Bank PLC has agreed to forfeit $350 million to the U.S. and to the New York County district attorney's office for conducting illegal transactions on behalf of customers from Iran, Sudan and other countries on the U.S. sanctions list, the Justice Department said Friday. From 1995 to 2007, Lloyds' offices in Britain and Dubai falsified outgoing U.S. wire transfers in order to evade U.S. economic sanctions imposed on foreign countries, the DOJ said.
7th Circuit Makes It Harder for Plaintiffs to Keep Securities Class Actions in State Court
The National Law Journal
Breaking with a recent 9th Circuit opinion, the 7th Circuit has made it tougher for plaintiffs to keep securities class actions in state court by claiming that the 2005 Class Action Fairness Act's preference for federal jurisdiction trumps the Securities Act of 1933. The court held that a provision in the 1933 act does not prevent removal of state class actions to federal court when other requirements of the more recent CAFA are met.
Obama Wants 'God' in His Oath
Legal Times
President-elect Barack Obama wants the words "so help me God" to be included when he takes the oath of office on Inauguration Day, according to a document filed in federal court. The affidavit -- which states that the president-elect specifically wished for Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. to include the phrase when he administers the oath -- figured heavily Friday in the Justice Department's opposition to a suit filed by a group of atheists who want to bar Roberts from using "so help me God" in the oath.
In Last-Ditch Appeal, Conrad Black Asks High Court to Reverse Fraud Conviction
The Associated Press
Conrad Black, the former CEO of Hollinger International who is serving a 6 1/2-year sentence for a $6.1 million fraud, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case in a last-ditch effort to overturn his conviction. But Jacob Frenkel, a former U.S. prosecutor, said that would be unlikely. A decision last week to uphold former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling's convictions for his role in the energy giant's collapse has also damaged Black's chance of the Supreme Court even considering this issue, Frenkel said.
Federal Circuit Tosses Inmate's Copyright Infringement Suit
Legal Times
Robert James Walton was imprisoned for bank robbery when he was assigned to work for a government-owned corporation that produced and distributed calendars. Walton, who had a background in desktop publishing, copyrighted a design and sued the government for infringement in 2005. The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed a decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims tossing the suit, saying Walton's lawsuit is banned because he was working "in service to" the United States.
Bouncer's Conviction Leaves Strip Club Exposed
The Legal Intelligencer
An insurer has no duty to indemnify the owner of a strip club for a bouncer's assault on a patron because the policy's assault-and-battery exclusion was triggered by the bouncer's conviction on a criminal assault charge, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The decision was authored by 3rd Circuit Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica and joined by Judge Marjorie O. Rendell and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, sitting on the 3rd Circuit by invitation.
N.C. Firm Lays Off 13 Lawyers, 15 Staffers
The National Law Journal
The latest law firm to announce layoffs is Charlotte, N.C.-based Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, a 225-attorney firm, which axed 13 junior-level attorneys and 15 staffers on Thursday. William P. Farthing Jr., managing partner of the firm, said the "reductions" were in various offices and all 28 affected employees will receive severance packages and outplacement counseling. The layoffs were taken to "align the firm's staffing levels and structure with market demand during the economic recession," he said.
Mandatory Restrictions Ruled Invalid in Porn Case
New York Law Journal
Mandatory curfew, electronic monitoring and other pretrial conditions for defendants indicted on child pornography offenses are unconstitutional, a federal magistrate judge has ruled. Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge James Francis said portions of amendments to the Bail Reform Act of 1984 promulgated by the 2006 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act violate the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment because they impose automatic restrictions on fundamental rights.
Voting Rights Law Under High Court Review
The Associated Press
Days before the first black president takes office, the Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider overturning a key feature of the main federal law that ensures access to the polls by minorities. The justices said they will review a lower court ruling upholding a provision of the Voting Rights Act that requires all or parts of 16 states with a history of racial discrimination, most in the South, to get approval before implementing any changes in the way elections are held.
High Court Steps Into Case Involving Iraq Immunity
The Associated Press
The Supreme Court said Friday it will decide whether the Iraqi government has immunity in American courts for the acts of Saddam Hussein's regime. Federal law strips immunity from countries that support terrorism, but the Iraqi government, backed by the Bush administration, says the U.S.-led invasion that deposed Saddam and a 2003 federal law restored Iraq's immunity. Americans suing Iraq include CBS News correspondent Bob Simon, who was held for more than a month during the Gulf War in 1991.
Does Verdical Improve Trial Presentation?
Special to Law.com
Verdict Systems' Verdical attempts to increase the functionality of trial presentation software beyond the presentation of evidence -- and transcript and database support -- by including more robust data management features. Consultant Peter Phaneuf gauges Verdical's success.
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Hot-Button Issues in Outside Counsel Guidelines
New York Law Journal
Consultant Rees W. Morrison reviews five hot-button issues in outside counsel guidelines: charges related to travel time, conflicts of interest, changes in billing rates, disbursements and staff restrictions. These topics crop up all the time because for law departments they affect the budget; for law firms they concern quality of life, liability, profitability and management. Morrison says law departments and law firms will be better off if there are some standards that are generally understood and shared.
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U.S. Legal Job Market Contracts in 2008
The American Lawyer
The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics released its highly anticipated job report on Friday, and the legal services industry didn't escape unscathed. The legal services industry in the United States shed some 7,000 jobs between December 2007 and December 2008 -- that includes not just lawyers on payroll, but paralegals, public relations specialists, secretaries and other positions. But while the legal market contracted in 2008, December did provide somewhat of a silver lining.
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Layoff Alternative: Reducing Associate Hours
The National Law Journal
Would nervous associates work reduced hours at reduced pay if it meant their law firms would forgo layoffs? Officials with the Project for Attorney Retention and several legal consultants are recommending that law firms implement reduced-hours programs as a way to manage the flagging economy. It remains to be seen if the idea will catch on with firms, but the most resistance comes from the associates themselves, due to a perception that working less than a full schedule is a career killer.
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