Want to Poach Associates? Good Luck
The National Law Journal
Amid an improved economy and an apparent upturn in lateral hiring, some law firms are running interference, trying to shield their associates from recruiters' wiles. Some firms have resorted to limiting their Web sites' contact information for associates. Others have deleted biographical and practice area details -- and some are said to be scaling back directory information. But the managing partner of one firm calls the electronic game of hide-and-seek "not a particularly useful exercise."
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Senate Democrats Grill Bush Judicial Nominee
Legal Times
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony Tuesday from D.C. Circuit nominee Thomas Griffith, the third of a dozen controversial appeals court contenders. The nomination should have been relatively uncomplicated. Instead, Griffith came under criticism for decrying the use of quotas under Title IX and his failure to join the Bar in Utah, where he became a general counsel. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., called Griffith's decision not to take that state's bar exam a "serious dereliction of duty."
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Heller Takes IP Partners From Paul Hastings
The Recorder
Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe announced Tuesday that it has landed three high-profile IP partners from Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. John Benassi, Jessica Wolff and Kurt Kjelland join Heller's San Diego office as shareholders. The moves come on the heels of Heller's loss of nine partners from its merger with the Venture Law Group.
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Ex-Kelley Drye Partner Quits Bar Over Pilfered Petty Cash
New York Law Journal
Rather than face disbarment, a former Kelley Drye & Warren partner has resigned from the New York State Bar for stealing at least $110,000 from the firm. Jay R. Kolmar, a real estate partner at the firm until last October, stole the six-figure sum in $250 increments over a 10-year period. He admitted his misconduct in an affidavit of resignation submitted to a disciplinary committee. In a decision released Tuesday, an appeals court granted the committee's request for an order accepting his Bar resignation.
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Hidden Deal Dooms Death Sentence
The Recorder
The 9th Circuit granted a reprieve Monday to a condemned California man because prosecutors didn't tell the trial court they had a deal with the main witness. The problem, according to Monday's decision, is that prosecutor Terrence Van Oss had made a secret deal with the witness's attorney to drop felony charges -- but without telling the witness, so that the witness could truthfully testify he wasn't getting special treatment from the DA's office.
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Jury Returns $65 Million Verdict Against Baker Botts, Other Defendants
Texas Lawyer
Finding Baker Botts breached its fiduciary duty in connection with estate-planning work done for a wealthy Texas widow, a jury returned a $65 million verdict against the Houston-based firm and other defendants. Kathleen C. Cailloux alleged the defendants conspired to convince her to disclaim her rights to her husband's estate and transfer more than $60 million to the Cailloux Foundation -- ostensibly to save more than $30 million in taxes -- without informing her of other estate-planning options.
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National Geographic Wins Copyright Suit Over Articles, Photos on CD-Rom
New York Law Journal
The 2nd Circuit has confirmed a lower court ruling dismissing copyright claims against National Geographic by interpreting the copyrights at issue within the context of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2001 Tasini ruling. The opinion combined multiple cases in which freelance writers and photographers accused National Geographic of copyright infringement over its sale of a set of CD-roms containing the entire collection of magazines dating back to 1888.
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Calif. Bar Aims Fat Fee Hike at Inactive Lawyers
The Recorder
California Bar dues could be going up, with the heftiest increase being borne by lawyers who don't practice law. The organization is seeking to increase dues by $5 per year for the state's active members and a whopping $85 for inactive attorneys. Bar leaders retreated from an earlier proposal that would have forced bad lawyers to pay a substantial portion of the costs of their own disciplinary proceedings. The idea had come under heavy attack from both inside and outside the Bar.
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N.Y. Ruling Is Viewed as Step Toward No-Fault Divorce
New York Law Journal
A lack of social, not just sexual, intercourse can be grounds for divorce, a New York judge has ruled. The husband in the case allegedly has refused over the last 12 years to dine with his wife, talk to her or attend family functions with her, breaking the parties' marital contract and constructively abandoning her, the judge said. If applied by other courts, attorneys say the newly recognized cause of action could move the state's matrimonial bar another step closer to no-fault divorce.
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Bush Administration Asking for New Hearings for Mexicans on Death Row
The Associated Press
The Bush administration is asking Texas to conduct new hearings for 51 Mexicans on death row who say they were denied legal help from their consulates in violation of international law. The Supreme Court filing is an attempt by the administration to quell international criticism and comes a month before justices were to hear arguments in the case of Texas death row inmate Jose Medellin, who is challenging his conviction and sentence as a due process violation.
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Duane Morris Builds Up Presence on West Coast
The Legal Intelligencer
Duane Morris has acquired three litigation partners from Buchanan Ingersoll's San Diego office, the firm announced Monday. Christopher Celentino, managing partner of Duane Morris' San Diego office, said the firm expects to have 26 lawyers in the office by the end of the month and is in serious talks with two sets of IP practice groups. One group, presumably more Buchanan Ingersoll lawyers, handles mainly patent prosecution work while the other group would include IP litigators.
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Japan's Fair Trade Commission Rules Against Intel in Antitrust Probe
The Associated Press
Japan's anti-monopoly watchdog issued a warning to U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp. on Tuesday, demanding that the company stop curbing competition in the microprocessor chip market by pressuring Japanese clients to buy its chips. Japan's Fair Trade Commission didn't impose any fines on Intel, but said the U.S. company could face prosecution if it doesn't change its ways. Intel was given 10 days to respond.
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Supreme Court to Weigh in on Due Process and Domestic Violence
The National Law Journal
In a rare and tragic family law challenge this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether a civil rights remedy is available to domestic violence victims whose pleas to enforce protection orders go unheeded by police departments. The case has at its core a claim of deprivation of a constitutionally protected property interest without due process. "Really what's at stake here is one's vision of the Constitution in general and of the due process clause specifically," says one scholar.
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