Posts on ‘February 5th, 2010’

In Pension Committee of the University of Montreal Pension Plan v. Banc of America Securities — christened “Zubulake Revisited: Six Years Later” — Southern District of New York Judge Shira A. Scheindlin provides an analytical framework for litigators to assess their e-discovery performance and judges to calibrate sanctions. Attorneys Martina E. Vandenberg and Brian J. Fischer boil the opinion down to a laundry list of do’s and don’ts for litigators handling pre-trial discovery.

The former treasurer of the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles was sentenced this week to one year’s probation following her guilty plea last year to grand theft by embezzlement. Yvette Wright originally pleaded to a felony offense but the judge reduced the count to a misdemeanor. The State Bar of California suspended Wright’s law license last month.

Two more partners from Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker have joined Haynes and Boone’s New York office. Lawrence Mittman, a restructuring lawyer, and Carolyn Sullivan, a real estate attorney, joined the Dallas-based firm this week. The moves followed the departure of four other Paul Hastings partners to Haynes.

Former D.C. Judge Roy Pearson hit a snag in a federal appeals court Thursday. Pearson, who unsuccessfully sued a dry cleaner for millions of dollars over a lost pair of pants, claims that the city and a group of D.C. Superior Court judges retaliated against him when he was denied reappointment to his post as an administrative law judge. A D.C. Circuit panel dismissed Pearson’s opening brief in the dispute, saying his court papers failed to comply with federal rules of appellate procedure regarding briefs’ format.

A recent article in a Food and Drug Law Institute publication talks about the important benefits — and risks — when a corporate defendant tells the prosecutor that “my lawyer said it was OK.” Attorney John Fleder writes that the government has become more aggressive in prosecuting corporate lawyers who become part of a fraudulent scheme, citing the little-known case of a GC sentenced to prison for allegedly obstructing proceedings before the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission.

For the third time in a month, Washington, D.C.’s Tycko & Zavareei has filed a lawsuit challenging overdraft fees, this time targeting Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank. Customers allege that the bank charges unjustified overdraft fees in violation of state and federal laws and want the bank to refund hundreds of millions of dollars in allegedly unlawful charges. Two similar suits were filed in January against TD Bank and Citizens Financial Group, and the law firm says more suits are in the pipeline.