Posts on ‘June 4th, 2009’

The theme song of the 2008 Big Law Summer Program (and all those glittering summers that preceded it) may have been “Celebration.” As in, “Celebrate good times … Come on!” But in case you hadn’t noticed that the tune in your head’s been sounding a little different, let The Snark be the first to tell you that Kool & the Gang has exited the stage, to be replaced by Green Day and a new summer anthem: “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” The Snark also details other changes to expect during Big Law Summer Camp 2009.

Last October, a Manhattan federal district court judge issued an opinion allowing the video recording of a breach-of-contract bench trial pitting E-Trade against Deutsche Bank. The decision was made over objections by Deutsche Bank’s attorneys at Skadden, who now have another reason to oppose a public airing of the trial: They lost. This week the judge ruled for E-Trade on all of its breach-of-contract claims and awarded it approximately $18 million in damages, plus costs and attorney fees.

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday disciplined two municipal judges convicted of drunken driving, issuing a reprimand to Robert Jones and a censure to Peter Tourison. The latter judge’s sanction was heavier because, in addition to the DWI charge, Tourison caused property damage and interfered with the police investigative process by applying ChapStick to his lips and putting a penny in his mouth, which could have altered the blood-alcohol test results.

A federal judge Wednesday dismissed cases brought by customers against telecom companies, ruling that plaintiffs could not overcome a law passed last year that gave retroactive immunity to companies that allegedly assisted the government with illegal domestic surveillance. The judge also halted five states’ efforts to investigate the companies. But at a later hearing, the judge gave a defunct Islamic charity the go-ahead to file a motion for summary judgment that will address whether it was subject to warrantless surveillance.

Two women who accused U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent of sexually assaulting them detailed the attacks and their fear of him Wednesday before a congressional panel considering impeaching the judge. The first sitting federal judge to face sex abuse charges, Kent wrote the panel members, asking them to consider his years of service to the country and saying that being removed from office would render him penniless and without the insurance he needs for treatment of diabetes and mental health problems.

A longtime client has sued Day Pitney and partner Robert Rose in a case involving an international insurance company, a vanilla importer and thousands of pounds of mercury-contaminated vanilla beans. International Flavors & Fragrances, a New Jersey-based producer of tastes and smells used by household products and food and beverage makers, is claiming negligence and professional malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment. The company seeks compensatory damages, interest and attorney fees.

A Detroit firm has been walloped with a $33 million legal malpractice suit over a lacrosse stick patent. Sports equipment maker Warrior Sports alleges that Dickinson Wright is liable for the actions of two patent attorneys who let the stick’s patent lapse after failing to pay a maintenance fee on time. Consequently, the suit claims, competitors entered the market with similar lacrosse sticks. The suit also claims the lapse forced Warrior to reach an unfavorable settlement in an infringement suit against a competitor.

George Canellos, a litigation partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy and a former federal prosecutor, has been named the new head of the New York office of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The appointment Tuesday by SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro represents her commitment to bring new blood to an office that has come under fire for not acting aggressively enough to detect and enforce financial fraud, including the massive Ponzi scheme run by Bernard Madoff.

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel’s corporate restructuring and bankruptcy department has just 40 attorneys, but some additional talent might be needed to handle all the restructuring work the firm has landed this past month. Hours after an official committee of unsecured GM creditors was named, Kramer Levin announced its selection as counsel to that committee. The prized assignment comes nearly a month after the firm won a beauty contest to represent unsecured creditors in Chrysler’s Chapter 11 case.

Attorneys who are paid by the state of Wisconsin to defend the poor say they deserve a raise. The State Bar of Wisconsin and the state public defender’s office are pushing for a $30 an hour increase in the rate paid to private attorneys who volunteer to defend people who can’t afford a lawyer. Public defender Nick Chiarkis says the current $40 an hour rate doesn’t cover the overhead at even a small law firm.