Posts on ‘September 29th, 2009’

Though the rejected Securities and Exchange Commission settlement with Bank of America for alleged disclosure deficiencies in BofA’s merger with Merrill Lynch has been getting all the attention, the pending securities class action against the company could end up being more important — at least in terms of BofA’s liability. On Monday, the lead plaintiffs in the case — an ad hoc group of public pension funds from Texas, Ohio, the Netherlands and Sweden — filed their consolidated class action complaint against BofA.

If there is a firm model built for the dawning post-recession era, it’s probably a litigation boutique with low overhead and a flexible billing structure. That model has attracted two new converts: Steven Molo of Shearman & Sterling and Jeff Lamken of Baker Botts have announced that they’re leaving their firms to start up MoloLamken, which will have offices in New York and Washington, D.C.

Exploring the parameters of a statute that protects the right of inmates to freely exercise their religion, a federal appeals court has ruled that a prisoner who founded a religion that requires martial arts sparring but forbids eating meat or appearing nude in front of non-members was properly barred from leading a prison congregation. But a unanimous 2nd Circuit panel concluded that denying the inmate his religious dietary regime might not be the “least restrictive means” to address security concerns.

There are online ratings for books and restaurants. Why not have similar systems for mediators and arbitrators? The International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution’s arbitrator rating system is slated to launch in January; if it succeeds, it could put the concept on the map.

Dorothy Brown, the circuit court clerk for Cook County, Ill., has found a new way to raise revenue for her cash-strapped operations: selling advertising to law firms on her office’s Web site. Lawyers who have bought the ads say they see it as a way to reach potential clients. But a Chicago lawyer who is suing Brown’s office over the issue on behalf of a Cook County litigant contends that Brown is essentially giving a public endorsement of the lawyers’ services by allowing their ads on the Web site.

Citigroup has filed a suit in Manhattan federal district court against Morgan Stanley, claiming that Morgan Stanley reneged on a deal to pay Citi $245 million in the event that an issuer of collateralized debt obligations failed to make payments on a line of credit Citi provided. According to the complaint, the liquidation of the CDO didn’t cover the $245 million Citi is owed, and Morgan Stanley has refused to make up the difference.

Some members of Congress and others have accused federal regulators of pressuring Bank of America into going through with its merger with Merrill Lynch. But court documents, transcripts, e-mails and other documents pertaining to the various investigations of the merger suggest it was the bank, not regulators, doing the bullying, relying on a highly vulnerable marketplace to win on its terms.