Posts on ‘January 22nd, 2009’

The city of Detroit’s top lawyer has resigned amid a controversy in which she referred to one of the city’s courts as “a ghetto court.” Attorney Kathleen Leavey, former head of the Detroit Law Department, said that her comment was taken “way, way” out of context and that her remarks were part of a conversation about the way in which the court is managed. The 23-year city employee adamantly denied allegations from a city judge that her words were racist and insulting to the predominantly black court.

Justice Department lawyers over the weekend won a small victory convincing the D.C. Circuit to temporarily stay a federal judge’s order directing then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey, or his deputy, to provide the court with a declaration explaining how the DOJ received and responded to an FBI agent’s whistleblower complaint alleging prosecution misconduct in the Ted Stevens trial. However, two judges said the stay “should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits” of the appeal.

The Child Online Protection Act, a federal law intended to restrict children’s access to Internet pornography, died quietly Wednesday at the Supreme Court, more than 10 years after Congress overwhelmingly approved it. The law did not make it as far as a high court hearing. The justices rejected the government’s final attempt to revive the law, turning away the appeal without comment. The American Civil Liberties Union led the challenge to the law on behalf of writers, artists and health educators.

K&L Gates increased its gross revenue by 27 percent to $959.5 million in 2008, up from $755 million, while profits per equity partner grew by almost 7 percent to $855,000, compared with $800,000 in 2007. Although the Pittsburgh-based firm missed out on breaking the $1 billion mark, the latest numbers are further confirmation of K&L Gates’ long-term trend of year-on-year growth. In 2006, its revenues were just under $500 million, placing the firm at No. 50 in The Am Law 100.

A federal judge has ruled that when a lawyer is fired midtrial and his former client threatens to sue for malpractice and later joins in a sanctions motion against the lawyer, the lawyer’s legal malpractice insurer cannot refuse to defend the lawyer in the sanctions proceedings. Attorney Benjamin A. Post claims his insurer refused in bad faith to fund the defense of a sanctions motion that was discontinued when it became clear that the trial judge was poised to clear Post of any wrongdoing.

Quinn Emanuel lawyers for Marvell Semiconductor have been booted from a high-profile trade secrets case brought by Jasmine Networks because a star lateral hire had advised Jasmine in the same case while at Wilson Sonsini. The judge rescheduled the trial to allow Marvell’s new Latham & Watkins lawyers more time. It’s the latest twist in a dispute that began when a former Marvell GC failed to disconnect a call to Jasmine and kept talking with colleagues on speakerphone about allegedly stealing trade secrets from Jasmine.