Posts from ‘April, 2009’

In his opening statement Tuesday, Anthony Marshall’s lawyer fired at the allegation that his client had exploited the fragile state of his mother, socialite Brooke Astor, to steer millions of dollars from charity to himself. He said the prosecutor had “trashed” the only direct evidence of the mental state of Astor, who signed a codicil making Marshall the outright beneficiary of her residual estate, worth about $60 million: sworn statements from two respected lawyers that Astor was of sound mind when she changed her will.

For at least the second time this month, a defendant has won a patent infringement trial in federal district court in East Texas. A couple weeks ago, we reported on a directed verdict for ADT Security Services, which came even before ADT put on its defense. Now a jury in Marshall, Texas, has cleared Sun Microsystems of a wide range of claims — including patent infringement, trade secret theft and breach of contract — made by Versata Software, which was seeking more than $100 million in damages.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday waded into the contentious debate that takes place in public schools every day between parents seeking special education services for their children and school administrators who are trying to contain costs. At issue is whether parents must first try out the special ed program offered by the public school before they can move their child to a private school program and seek reimbursement for the tuition. As is often the case, Justice Anthony Kennedy appeared to hold the key vote.

Sen. Arlen Specter’s move to the Democratic Party brings his new colleagues a tad closer to controlling 60 seats in the Senate, but it’s not clear that his switch will have much effect on the fate of nominees for the federal bench and the DOJ. The Pennsylvanian has vowed not to change his independent approach — and on Tuesday, true to his word, he said for the first time that he is “opposed” to the nomination of Dawn Johnsen to be assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel.

A newlywed convicted of drowning his wife in the bathtub will try to get a new trial by alleging that jurors took the unusual step of conducting experiments to probe his testimony, legal analysts said. The defense’s request for a new trial is based partly on allegations that some jurors performed at-home experiments on how long it takes a body to air-dry after a shower or bath. Paramedics had testified that the woman’s hair was wet, but that her surroundings and her husband appeared dry.

A federal judge upheld a $100 million jury verdict Monday for Mattel in a lengthy legal battle over rights to the Bratz doll, a rival to Mattel’s Barbie. The judge also confirmed in his ruling late Monday that the Bratz doll — marketed by MGA Entertainment since 2001 — is Mattel property. He appointed a temporary federal receiver to take control of the Bratz brand and MGA’s assets. Mattel attorneys have said the company is willing and able to produce Bratz dolls once receivership issues are sorted out.

Usually it isn’t a good idea for a judge to look for supporting authority in a U.S. Supreme Court dissent. Unless, of course, you’re a Clinton appointee on the 9th Circuit, you’re taking a controversial stand against the government on the state secrets privilege — and the guy you’re citing is Justice Antonin Scalia. Ninth Circuit Judge Michael Daly Hawkins did just that when he delivered an unqualified rebuke to the Obama administration Tuesday in its bid to quash a civil suit by targets of the CIA’s rendition program.

A three-year suspension isn’t strong enough punishment for a former Sidley Austin summer associate who falsified law school grades and omitted detrimental facts on his law school application, says the head of Illinois’ legal disciplinary committee. The attorney, Loren Friedman, was kicked out of med school before applying for law school, and later landed positions at Skadden and Curtis Mallet. Skadden dismissed him when he failed the Delaware bar twice and he resigned from Curtis Mallet after his fraud surfaced.

Kilpatrick Stockton announced late Tuesday that it had laid off 24 associates and counsel spread across all of its U.S. offices. “These actions are driven by the current economic downturn,” said the firm’s co-managing partner in a statement. She said each lawyer “will receive a competitive and generous severance package.” The announcement follows word from Kilpatrick last week that first-year lawyers hired for this fall will not start until April 2010.

Boards of directors and management currently face the question of whether, and how, to provide guidance in an unprecedented economic environment. Recent, rapidly changing market conditions, stock market declines and historically low business confidence levels are causing many public companies to rethink whether they can responsibly provide earnings guidance. Attorneys Lisa A. Fontenot and Brandon W. Loew summarize the considerations and recent approaches taken by some of the largest U.S. public companies.