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Free Law InformationGroup to Sue FCC to Evaluate Wireless Broadband Service
2007-08-16
Federal Communications Commission is seeking to shut the door on a plan by a group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to offer free wireless broadband Internet service everywhere in the U.S., the chief executive of the group said. M2Z Networks Inc. issued a statement in which it said it would take the FCC to court in an attempt to force the agency to conduct a thorough analysis of the plan before it determined whether it would back it or not.
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Internet Called Battleground Against Islamist Extremism
2007-08-16
The Internet is the new battleground against Islamist extremism because it provides ideology that could radicalize Westerners who might then initiate home-grown attacks, New York police commissioner Raymond Kelly said. "The Internet is the new Afghanistan," Kelly said, as he released a New York Police Department report on the home-grown threat of attacks by Islamist extremists.
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Rove Leaving Bush Administration at End of August
2007-08-14
Karl Rove, President Bush's close friend and chief political strategist, announced Monday he will leave the White House at the end of August, joining a lengthening line of senior officials heading for the exits in the final 1 1/2 years of the administration. A criminal investigation put Rove under scrutiny during the investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's name. In a more recent controversy, Rove, citing executive privilege, has refused to testify before Congress about the firing of U.S. Attorneys.
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2nd Circuit Upholds Denial of Fees in Forfeiture Suit Involving Couriers
2007-08-14
Attorneys who represented claimants trying to recover money seized by customs agents in violation of the USA PATRIOT Act will not be awarded fees. The 2nd Circuit said attorneys John P. Donohue and David B. Smith are not entitled to the $157,888 in fees -- almost one-third of the money seized from three couriers who were trying to board a flight from New York to Pakistan. The attorneys represented two of the three men convicted in the smuggling and contributing claimants who sought to fend off a forfeiture.
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Law Student Scores Rare Win in 4th Circuit Gun Case
2007-08-14
A third-year law student accomplished what no other criminal appellate lawyer in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has managed: She won a reversal of a 15-year conviction for a felon in possession of a firearm based on the defense the possession was justified. Meghan Poirier handled the appeal as part of an appellate clinic at Wake Forest University School of Law in North Carolina. She argued the appeal just two days after graduation, according to the law professor who directed the clinic.
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N.Y. Federal Judge Enjoins 'No Tax' Group's Solicitations
2007-08-14
Two groups that disseminate materials purporting that people have a right not to pay federal income taxes are doing little more than "promoting an abusive tax shelter," a New York federal judge has ruled. Judge Thomas J. McAvoy permanently enjoined Robert L. Schulz and his two groups from continuing to make materials available and directed the groups to turn over to the U.S. government the names, Social Security numbers and other information about people who received the "Tax Termination Packages."
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BDO Seidman Ordered to Pay $170 Million in Compensation to Portuguese Bank
2007-08-14
A state court jury in Miami late Monday awarded $170 million in compensatory damages to Portugal's Banco Espirito Santo after its lawyer urged the panel to punish the national accounting firm of BDO Seidman for negligently overlooking fraudulent conduct in the failure of E.S. Bankest, a factoring company blamed for the largest bank fraud in Miami history. The jury also decided to award punitive damages, but must hear witness testimony before it can decide upon an amount.
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11th Circuit Sides With NASCAR in Logo Dispute With AT&T
2007-08-14
A ruling by the 11th Circuit cleared the way for NASCAR to prevent AT&T from featuring its logo on Jeff Burton's No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. The court said Monday in its order that AT&T lacks standing to challenge NASCAR's decision, and threw out a lower court's ruling that prevented NASCAR from stopping AT&T's plans. At issue is AT&T's desire to change the Cingular logo on Burton's car, which was grandfathered into a NASCAR and Sprint Nextel exclusivity agreement, to the AT&T logo.
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Three Strikes, and Qualcomm's General Counsel Is Out
2007-08-14
Qualcomm tapped former U.S. Attorney Carol Lam to replace Louis Lupin as general counsel Monday. Lupin's departure -- based on personal reasons, according to a company spokesperson -- comes on the heels of several legal defeats, including last week's scorching order accusing the chipmaker and its lawyers of litigation misconduct. The company said Lam, who came to Qualcomm last February as one of the federal prosecutors dismissed by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last year, will take over as interim GC.
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Court Reverses Suppression of Child Porn Spotted by Circuit City Workers
2007-08-14
A Pennsylvania Superior Court panel has ruled that a common pleas judge shouldn't have granted the suppression motion sought by an alleged child porn enthusiast whose video collection was spotted by Circuit City workers installing a DVD drive on his computer. Reversing Judge Jeffrey K. Sprecher, the panel concluded that Kenneth Sodomsky had no reasonable expectation the purported child porn files on his personal computer would remain private when he took it in for an upgrade in October 2004.
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Is Power LogOn as Secure as Its Pitch?
2007-08-14
Access Smart has introduced a user authentication system which promises the advantage of smart-card security to solo practitioners and small law firms. John K. Waters unlocks the Power LogOn Password Administrator kit to see how well it delivers on its product pitch.
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Commentary: Nonlawyer Ownership of Law Firms Might Not Cause the Sky to Fall
2007-08-14
When Australian law firm Slater & Gordon held a public stock offering, many thought it'd be the end of the law profession as we know it. Now there's legislation in the U.K. that will permit firms there to issue stock. Georgetown professor Milton Regan Jr., however, says law practice is a profession and a business, not a profession or a business, and like it or not, potential competitive pressures mean that we're going to have to confront the question of nonlawyer ownership sooner rather than later.
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Beantown's Real Estate Boom Has Firms Jumping
2007-08-14
Law firms are cashing in on Boston's robust commercial and development market and adding real estate attorneys to collect the spoils. The building frenzy, coupled with brisk sales of high-rise buildings, is boosting revenue at the city's legal real estate strongholds. Elliot Surkin, the managing partner of DLA Piper's Boston office, says low office vacancy rates are driving the building surge. "We don't go home anymore, nobody has a family; we're very, very busy," Surkin quipped.
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Justice Kennedy to ABA: 'The Work of Freedom Has Just Begun'
2007-08-14
In an emotional address to the American Bar Association, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy on Monday implored the nation's lawyers to constantly re-examine their conduct to be sure they exemplify principles of justice and fairness and advocate for the rule of law around the world. Kennedy, who is nearing his 20th anniversary on the Court, received the association's Medal of Honor for a career of advancing the rule of law and advocating for improvements in the profession and administration of justice.
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New ABA President Emphasizes Shift Toward Public Service
2007-08-14
On Monday, the American Bar Association was set to "pass the gavel" from Karen Mathis to Preston Gates & Ellis Chairman William Neukom, who was sporting a button that read, "Not your father's ABA." Neukom says he wouldn't be taking the ABA's helm if he hadn't seen the association and the profession become more oriented toward public service and pro bono work. "I wouldn't have been interested in the job," Neukom says, if the ABA hadn't become "a clearinghouse, an engine" for change.
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SEC Is Preparing Option to Charge Former GC of KLA
2007-08-14
By the end of its fiscal year, the SEC's San Francisco office plans to have civil charges against another Silicon Valley lawyer under its belt. Several people briefed on the SEC's probe of Lisa Berry -- the former GC of KLA-Tencor Corp. and Juniper Networks -- said the commission is preparing to charge her in connection with schemes to backdate stock options at both companies. She would be the first executive in any of the 150-plus options investigations to be sued for behavior at more than one company.
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Latest Suit Against BAR/BRI Publisher Seeks an Open Market for Bar Exam Reviews
2007-08-12
The lawyer who filed an antitrust suit against the makers of the BAR/BRI bar review course that settled for $49 million earlier this year has filed another suit, which seeks an injunction that would open the market to competitors. The new suit alleges that BAR/BRI maintained its monopoly over the years by striking deals with or threatening other bar review courses. Eliot Disner filed the new suit on Wednesday on behalf of two incoming California law students who plan to take the California bar exam by 2010.
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Federal Judge Accused of Religious Bias
2007-08-12
A Florida attorney is trying to get U.S. District Judge William Zloch removed from two employment discrimination cases, claiming the judge is biased -- a notion strongly disputed by others. In a 110-page motion for recusal, Loring Spolter cites Zloch's hiring of several law clerks from Ave Maria Law School, a donation to the Roman Catholic school and his attendance at several junkets for judges sponsored by conservative organizations. Spolter filed 20 exhibits supporting his motion.
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Cruise Owners Ride 'Hog' Case Back to Trial Court
2007-08-12
Kilpatrick Stockton partners will cruise back to court on behalf of Harley-Davidson after a federal appeals court panel nixed a ruling allowing the operators of Hogs on the High Seas to book biker-themed cruise voyages. The ruling follows a summary judgment order dismissing the case at the district court level, sending it back for trial before the same judge. Last August a Wisconsin judge ruled that the organizer of cruises for motorcycle enthusiasts had not violated Harley's trademarked "H.O.G." acronym.
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Authenticating E-Mail Discovery as Evidence
2007-08-12
At some point, e-discovery needs to be converted into e-evidence for summary judgment or trial. Attorneys Beatrice O'Donnell and Thomas A. Lincoln suggest practical methods to employ the rules of evidence to confront the special admissibility problems posed by e-mail.
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Name Games Loom Large in Mergers
2007-08-12
Naming merged law firms is becoming less about egos and more about branding. Law firm leaders are becoming savvy marketers, trading in lengthy lists of deceased partners for succinct names that roll off the tongue and are easy to remember. "Prudent law firm leaders focus on the long-term resonance of a brand," says K&L Gates Chairman Peter Kalis, whose firm reserves its full name, Kirkpatrick and Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, for the fine print. "A brand sticks with you -- it's like a tattoo."
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Latest Associate Pay Hikes Leave Corporate Clients Cold
2007-08-12
While some law firms blame market demands for the latest associate salary increases, others cite pressure from clients, who expect firms to recruit graduates from the top of their class. But in trying to lure, and retain, fresh talent, firms have created resentment among corporate clients who want to stop their dollars from flying out the window. "At some point, we'll say we don't want any associates on our matters," said Steve Hantler, DaimlerChrysler's assistant GC for government and regulatory matters.
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4th Circuit Lifts Sanction Against Lawyers Who Peeked at Juror Notes
2007-08-12
The 4th Circuit has lifted a $14,655 sanction against the lead trial attorney for Ford Motor Co. in a personal injury case that was imposed as punishment for peeking at jury room notes at the close of the trial. The appeals court found no bad faith or abuse of the litigation process and no violation of the rules because the case had concluded and jurors were gone. The panel noted that the problem could have been avoided if the court clerk had retrieved the evidence and distributed it to the lawyers.
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Vinson & Elkins Acquires Bankruptcy Boutique Founded by Former Wachtell Partners
2007-08-12
Vinson & Elkins has acquired a New York bankruptcy boutique founded by former partners of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The five lawyers of Cronin & Vris will join Vinson & Elkins' New York office, where Dennis F. Cronin will become a partner and co-head of the firm's insolvency practice. Cronin & Vris served as Vinson & Elkins' counsel in the bankruptcy of Enron Corp., for whom Vinson & Elkins was primary outside counsel. The firm settled claims by Enron's bankruptcy estate last year for $30 million.
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Judges on ABA Panel Describe Living in Fear, Years After Unpopular Rulings
2007-08-12
More than two years after enraging right-wing groups by ordering Terri Schiavo's feeding tube removed, George Greer still peers nervously over his shoulder at times. In fact, the Florida judge told a rapt audience Friday, he even used an alias when he registered at his San Francisco hotel for the annual ABA meeting. Greer was one of four current or former judges who described how their lives were affected by their rulings in high-profile cases involving hot-button issues.
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