Posts on ‘February 17th, 2009’

A former Mississippi state auditor and a disbarred lawyer were each sentenced to two years in federal prison Friday for their roles in a judicial bribery scheme that toppled famed tobacco litigator Richard “Dickie” Scruggs. Former Mississippi auditor Steve Patterson and disbarred attorney Timothy Balducci were involved in a conspiracy to bribe a judge in a dispute between Scruggs and other lawyers over $26.5 million in legal fees from Hurricane Katrina litigation, authorities said.

The State Bar of California has shut down three offices of attorney Mitchell W. Roth, who was recently declared a “vexatious litigant” by a federal judge in Los Angeles, according to the Bar. Roth, who had expanded his law practice to include foreclosure cases, has been hospitalized due to severe depression since Jan. 23, according to the Bar.

Eyebrows went up when Silvaco Data Systems sued the customers of a software maker, Circuit Semantics, that it had beaten in a trade secrets case. Last week, one of those customers, Cypress Semiconductor Corp., notched a win in the long-running fight. A judge granted summary judgment to Cypress, ruling that Silvaco didn’t have the evidence to show that Cypress acquired or knew about the stolen trade secrets when it bought software from Circuit Semantics.

Spector Roseman Kodroff & Willis has filed a class action in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against investment management fund Austin Capital Management Ltd. for millions in losses due to alleged improper investments by the fund into securities controlled by accused Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff. The law firm says the suit, filed on behalf of a pension fund, is the first suit involving Madoff to be filed against an investment manager for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

In a status hearing on Feb. 13, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan held four Justice Department lawyers in contempt for failing to turn over 33 documents related to post-trial motions in the case of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who was convicted of corruption charges in October.

Tracing the legal principles behind a New York statute on lawyer deceit to a law adopted by the English Parliament in 1275, the New York Court of Appeals has determined that an attorney can be subject to treble damages in New York for an unsuccessful attempt to deceive a court. Responding to certified questions from the 2nd Circuit, the Court of Appeals ruled that the “unique statute of ancient origin” was not a codification of common law fraud, and applied to attempted deceptions as well as successful ones.

A federal judge has ruled against Washington, D.C., solo practitioner Mark Zaid in his pursuit of $466,000 from the government on a claim that Congress unlawfully interfered with a private contract he had with two clients and restricted his compensation. Zaid alleged that a private relief bill that Congress passed restricted the attorney fees he was entitled to collect. The bill awarded $2 million to Zaid’s clients and capped his fee at 10 percent.

As the country faces an economic downturn, law firms and corporations are forced to take actions such as downsizing and mass layoffs as cost-cutting solutions. As a result, employers and employees are struggling with a multitude of challenges, and a proactive solution is needed immediately. The key is strategic planning, says lawyer and business development professional Melanie A. Klinghoffer. She outlines a three-part plan designed to focus on an organization’s most valuable asset: people.