Posts on ‘February 24th, 2009’

A Connecticut federal judge on Monday ordered a man convicted of distributing child pornography to pay about $200,000 in restitution to a woman who was photographed being sexually abused when she was a child. Judge Warren W. Eginton said his ruling was the first in a criminal case in which someone convicted of possessing illegal images — but not creating them — is required to pay restitution. The case involves Alan Hesketh, a former Pfizer vice president who was sentenced in October to 78 months in prison.

The Supreme Court’s ruling in was a constitutional earthquake, and its aftershocks are beginning to transform the constitutional landscape well beyond gun rights, in ways that have liberals cheering and even joining hands with one-time adversaries like the National Rifle Association. A progressive legal group and liberal law professors have joined gun-rights advocates on the same side of a 7th Circuit case that, no matter what its outcome, is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

The worst economic crisis in years is forcing everyone to look for ways to save money, and general counsel are no exception. Some are cutting their internal expenses — not filling an open position, for example, or reducing the travel budget. But the main place that many GCs hope to save money is in their outside counsel spending. So they’re dropping law firms, and demanding lower bills and fixed fees from the ones they keep. Top GCs explain how law firms can hold on to their business.

The debate about “net neutrality” continues to rage in legal and business publications, on the Internet and in blogs throughout the world. Recent actions and changes in position by primary parties, plus the inauguration of a president who favors net neutrality, have heated up this debate.

In separate incidents, lawyers in both India and China are complaining of rough state treatment. In the southernmost Indian state of Tamil Nadu, all courts have been closed since last Thursday’s violent clashes between police officers and a group of lawyers on the grounds of the Madras High Court. Meanwhile, in Beijing, a prominent human rights law firm is facing a six-month government-ordered shutdown, ostensibly for employing an unlicensed lawyer as an assistant.

Law firm mergers, delayed start dates and rescinded job offers are rattling even the most positive and self-possessed law students and attorney job seekers. Although it may seem counterintuitive in this environment, candidates should, as Horace said, “be bold and valiant” to succeed, according to Steve Langerud, University of Iowa College of Law’s assistant dean for career services. Like investing in a down market, the reward for taking the risk to seek that dream job may be stunning, according to Langerud.

Federal Judge Samuel B. Kent, indicted in January for alleged sexual abuse of two court staff members, pleaded guilty to obstruction and resigned his lifetime post on Monday. He is the first federal judge ever indicted for alleged sexual crimes. The Texas judge faced trial on three counts of sexual abuse of two female employees, which carried a potential life prison term, two counts of sexual contact and a single count of obstruction of justice.

Looking strong and cheerful, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the bench Monday morning, just 18 days after major surgery related to her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg took her place on the bench with a smile and, almost immediately after arguments began, started asking questions of the advocates before her. Some had predicted that Ginsburg would be too weak to resume work so quickly, but her appearance confirmed her determination to continue work without interruption.