According to a monthly jobs report released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation lost 190,000 jobs in October as the unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent, its highest point since 1983. The legal sector wasn’t spared. When data is seasonally adjusted, the legal field shed another 5,800 jobs in October. When not seasonally adjusted, the legal industry actually gained 1,500 jobs, but that’s likely a result of summer associates being weaned from law firm payrolls.
Posts on ‘November 8th, 2009’
9th Circuit Vindicates Judge for His Ruling in Bizarre Murder-for-Hire Case
Conservatives on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rode to the rescue of one of their own on Thursday, finding that Judge Richard Tallman didn’t botch a bizarre murder-for-hire case in Idaho. The en banc decision from Judge Carlos Bea reverses an earlier opinion that blasted Tallman for refusing to grant defendant David Hinkson a new trial. The author of that panel opinion, Judge William Fletcher, now writes in dissent.
DOJ Pushes ‘Comprehensive Approach’ to Discovery Reform
At an ABA panel discussion Thursday, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman underlined his and others’ support for strengthening a federal rule that spells out the government’s obligation to turn over favorable evidence to defense lawyers. To address the judiciary’s concern, the Justice Department is implementing a mandatory annual training program for prosecutors and creating a position overseeing discovery reform, but it has said it’s not willing to accept an overhaul to the criminal rules.
Automating BlackBerry Support Across IT
Faced with the prospect of recurring smartphone service issues, Cadwalader’s IT department searched for technology to manage, monitor and support its global BlackBerry environment. After a competitive review, the firm selected BoxTone’s modular software platform.
D.C. Court of Appeals Resurrects Cell Phone Radiation Cases
The D.C. Court of Appeals last week revived a series of lawsuits by individuals who say they were harmed by cell phone radiation, adding yet another wrinkle to a debate within U.S. courts over whether national regulations trump state laws when it comes to issues surrounding cell phone safety. The decision gave both sides of the case fodder to declare victory — but some lawyers said the ruling could lead to the filing of even more suits against cell phone companies in Washington’s trial court.
Testing the Scope of BofA’s Privilege Waiver
A group of plaintiffs lawyers is testing whether Bank of America’s waiver of attorney-client privilege in the Merrill Lynch flap might apply to shareholder suits against BofA related to its merger with Merrill. The bank intended the waiver to apply only to the SEC case and to investigations by New York’s attorney general and a congressional committee. But the waiver may not have been crafted correctly, leaving an opening for plaintiffs firms to go after privileged documents in their own cases against BofA.
Expanding Insider Trading Probe Nets Lawyers
Two lawyers were among several people arrested Thursday in a rapidly expanding hedge fund insider trading scandal. Arthur J. Cutillo allegedly gave information about mergers and acquisitions he gleaned as an associate at Ropes & Gray to Jason Goldfarb, an associate with the personal injury firm Brecher Fishman Pasternack Walsh Tilker & Ziegler. Prosecutors said that Goldfarb then passed the tips to the head of a ring who based trades on the information.