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Last week, Robert Coughlin II became the first Justice Department official charged in the influence-peddling investigation focusing on former Greenberg Traurig lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But documents filed in Coughlin's case and e-mails released through congressional investigations are explicit about Team Abramoff's line into the DOJ: Coughlin was but one of many "friendlies," as they are identified in Coughlin's statement of offense. A source says the DOJ is still investigating other former officials.
After years of preparation, two Yale Law School students were in front of the Connecticut Supreme Court on Tuesday, arguing a case that could lead to major changes in Connecticut's public education system and how it's funded. Law students Neil Weare and David Noah and a dozen classmates have spent thousands of hours interviewing plaintiffs, conducting research, drafting briefs and developing oral arguments in a lawsuit that would have cost an estimated $5 million to $7 million if handled by private lawyers.
Bingham McCutchen has extended its securities practice in Japan with the addition of a new partner in Tokyo. Takayasu Koga was formerly with the Japanese Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, where he handled examinations of securities firms, investment advisers, investment management firms and futures trading firms. Before joining the Japanese government in 2005, Koga worked with one of Japan's largest law firms.
Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison on tax charges Thursday, a victory for prosecutors who sought to make an example of the star by aggressively pursuing the maximum penalty. Snipes' lawyers offered dozens of letters from family and friends attesting to the good character of the "Blade" star and asking for leniency. But a federal judge said Snipes, who called himself "well-intentioned, but miseducated," exhibited a "history of contempt over a period of time" for U.S. tax laws.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher on Thursday designated two likely successors to longtime Chairman Jack H. Nusbaum, who said he plans to step down at the end of 2009. Thomas M. Cerabino and Steven J. Gartner, co-chairs of Willkie's corporate and finance department, were both appointed to newly created positions as vice chairmen. Nusbaum, Willkie's chairman since 1987, said the appointments were intended to make official the executive committee consensus that Cerabino and Gartner should be the firm's next leaders.
A lawyer has a duty to blow the whistle on another lawyer's wrongdoing of which he has knowledge, even if the victim is not a client, a New Jersey appeals court ruled on Wednesday. But the panel stopped short of deciding whether something less than actual knowledge can trigger a duty to report misconduct to ethics authorities. The ruling allows a claim to go forward against a lawyer who is alleged to have known that another lawyer stole money from estates for which he served as the executor/administrator.
Northern District of California Judge William Alsup rejected a preliminary settlement in a derivative lawsuit against directors and officers at Zoran Corp. on April 7, alerting lawyers that the company's shareholders deserved more than the cashless promises to behave that the opposing sides had agreed on. On the same day, he also discouraged attorneys from settling a similar case involving CNET. Observers said Alsup's stance might signal that deals in which only the lawyers get paid won't pass muster.
A divided appeals court ruled Thursday that Kenneth G. Langone, former chair of the NYSE's compensation committee, must face trial to determine if he breached his fiduciary duty to the exchange by misleading board members about deferred compensation for then-Chairman Richard A. Grasso in connection with his hotly disputed $187.5 million compensation package. The court held that Langone did not "conclusively establish" that he fully disclosed the extent of Grasso's proposed compensation to the board.
The Constitution doesn't prohibit abortion any more than it allows it, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says in a television news interview to be broadcast Sunday. Scalia told CBS News' "60 Minutes" that he may be conservative, but he is not biased on issues that come before the Court. "I mean, I confess to being a social conservative, but it does not affect my views on cases," Scalia said in excerpts released Thursday.
Whether as attorneys, IT administrators or otherwise, we're all project managers. IT veteran Mark Gerow shows how legal professionals can use Microsoft SharePoint 2007 to create a simple yet powerful tool to streamline project management at law firms. No programming required!
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