Monday, July 06, 2009 |
Tossed charges in botched case stand 
by Andy Peters, Staff Reporter
When a judge approves a police request to destroy seized property because the owners of the objects haven't made a claim for their return within 90 days, the judge doesn't want to find out later .... |
Orrick breaks lockstep to ease clients' cost concerns
by Amanda Royal, The Recorder
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe dumped lockstep associate promotion on Wednesday and began assigning associates to one of three tiers within its partner track. Now associates, instead of being .... |
Clean energy organization contests nuclear prepayment
by Greg Land, Staff Reporter
In a filing alleging “gross legal error” by the Georgia Public Service Commission, a Tennessee-based environmental group has asked a Fulton County judge to decide whether a decision allowing .... |
Study shows sharp disparities in first-year pay
by Karen Sloan, National Law Journal
The relatively recent movement to cut law firm associate salaries isn't likely to eliminate the dramatic compensation disparities between new attorneys, according to a National Association for .... |
Help is nigh on the student loan front
by Karen Sloan, National Law Journal
Moaning about massive student debt is a time-honored tradition among law school graduates.Some members of the class of 2009 will have less to complain about, however. A new federal program intended .... |
Economy slows donations for ACC charity golf event
by Katheryn Hayes Tucker, Staff Reporter
The economic downturn is creating a challenge for the Association of Corporate Counsel Georgia chapter in planning its annual charity golf, tennis and spa event.“In this economic climate, people .... |
Business Matters
'Green shoots' grow in lexicon, not economy
by Matthew Benjamin, Bloomberg News
The current recession has created at least one growth industry: use of the phrase “green shoots.” Since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke first uttered the words almost four months ago .... |
Mesa Air wins ruling blocking Delta cancellation
by Bloomberg News
Mesa Air Group Inc. won a federal appeals court ruling upholding an order that bars Delta Air Lines Inc. from canceling a contract for regional flights. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals .... |
In Recess
Blazing a new trail for a muscle car
by Karl W. Ritzler, Special to the Daily Report
The inferno red 2009 Dodge Challenger is a good ol' boy magnet.From the thumbs up outside a McDonald's to a lively discussion outside a Wal-Mart about the Challenger's Hemi engine and what she'll .... |
The Snark
Cost-cutting incognito
by The Snark, Special to the Daily Report
Big Law has been cutting the budget for months now and eliminating perks and former necessities in order to preserve the bottom line. This is completely acceptable, but of course Big Law must .... |
Viewpoint
Madoff lacks what Ebbers, Skilling, Fastow had
by Ann Woolner, Bloomberg News
Bernard Ebbers stood before a federal judge in New York in 2005 to learn whether he would be spending the rest of his life in prison. The judge already had a stack of letters from friends and .... |
Thursday, July 02, 2009 |
Nine on list for high court seat
by Other, Jonathan Ringel and Alyson M. Palmer
The next justice on the Supreme Court of Georgia will be one of the following: • Atlanta's top federal prosecutor;• a judge from one of the state's trial courts;• a partner at a big firm who .... |
Alston slashes associate pay
by Meredith Hobbs, Staff Reporter
Alston & Bird has cut associate pay by $5,000 across the board for the remainder of the year. “It is no secret the market is shifting,” said the firm's managing partner, Richard R. Hays. The .... |
New chief justice vows to work with Perdue
by Andy Peters, Staff Reporter
Pledging to cooperate with Gov. Sonny Perdue, Carol W. Hunstein was sworn in Wednesday morning as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, the second woman to serve in the position.Described .... |
High court losses stun environmentalists
by Marcia Coyle, National Law Journal
Environmentalists suffered a stunning 0-for-5 outcome in the U.S. Supreme Court this term, their “worst term ever,” according to advocates and scholars.The defeats left the environmental community, .... |
Business Matters
Ailing Calif. economy could prolong recession
by JULIET WILLIAMS, Associated Press writer
California faces a $24 billion budget shortfall, an eye-popping amount that dwarfs many states' entire annual spending plans.Beyond California's borders, why should anyone care that the home .... |
SEC OKs 'say-on-pay' for TARP firms
by Associated Press writer
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved rules requiring greater transparency for executive compensation at bailed-out firms and all public companies.In an open .... |
In Recess
Forget the treadmill
by Tammy Lloyd Clabby, Special to the Daily Report
When the stress of a general trial practice became overwhelming, Howard H. Johnston sought relief in a hammer, a saw and a bucket of nails. As a result, the Norcross sole practitioner has built .... |
Bigger isn't always better
by Eleanor Ringel Cater, Film Critic
Two things happened in 1944 to change the way the things were done in doling out the Oscars.For one, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ruled that extras could no longer participate .... |
Viewpoint
Regulation should be in hands of the courageous
by David Pauly, Bloomberg News
If the U.S. government is serious about fixing the banking system, it will hire people like Brooksley Born, and pay them heed. Born, as head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 1998, .... |
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 |
JNC releases shortlist for Georgia Supreme Court
by Jonathan Ringel, Managing Editor
Gov. Sonny Perdue's office on Wednesday released the names of the nine finalists he will interview for the seat on the state Supreme Court that was vacated by Leah Ward Sears last month.The .... |
Explosion litigation takes an odd turn
by Janet L. Conley, Associate Editor
Nearly seventeen months after a deadly explosion at a sugar refinery near Savannah, a strange phenomenon has appeared in the resulting wave of litigation: Lawyers for the plaintiffs and defendants .... |
In The Trenches: Experts: Use niche marketing in job hunt
by Meredith Hobbs, Staff Reporter
Lawyers seeking employment must have a Web presence, said speakers at a luncheon seminar for unemployed lawyers last week hosted by the State Bar of Georgia—but their ideas varied on the utility .... |
Can voting act survive another challenge?
by Tony Mauro, National Law Journal
Within 24 hours of the U.S. Supreme Court's June 22 ruling rescuing the Voting Rights Act from constitutional oblivion, the decision produced a potential client for J. Gerald Hebert. Hebert .... |
Business Matters
Camp Fed likely isn't in Madoff's future
by David Glovin, Thom Weidlich and Patrica Hurtado, Bloomberg News
Bernard Madoff, sentenced to a prison term six times longer than those given the chief executives of WorldCom Inc. and Enron Corp., will likely serve his time in a harsher prison than those .... |
UAL's $175 million debt is most expensive since 2000
by Bloomberg News
United Airlines' $175 million in debt issued last week is its most expensive in at least nine years, reflecting the carrier's need for cash and a dwindling supply of assets to use as collateral. .... |
Special Section
Fighting dispossession
by John F. Isbell, Special to the Daily Report
Living in one of Atlanta's subsidized housing projects was never easy for Jenny, a single mother of nine. In the year before her scheduled eviction, Jenny's car was stolen and burned, her friend .... |
Viewpoint
Plutocracy enters a gilded era
by Matthew Lynn, Bloomberg News
You might be forgiven for thinking this was a rotten moment in history for the mega-rich. Crooked hedge-fund managers such as Bernard Madoff are waltzing off with your fortune. Taxes are being .... |
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 |
Georgia justices toss part of med-mal charge
by Alyson M. Palmer, Staff Reporter
The Supreme Court of Georgia on Monday threw out part of the so-called hindsight charge, a standard part of Georgia jury instruction that's been dubbed the most dreaded by lawyers who bring .... |
U.S. Supreme Court puts Troy Davis appeal on hold
by Associated Press writer
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis got another legal break Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court recessed for summer without acting on his latest appeal, likely delaying any .... |
White firefighters win Supreme Court appeal
by Tony Mauro, National Law Journal
In a dramatic ending before it recessed for the summer, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled 5-4 that the city of New Haven, Conn., violated the civil rights of white and Hispanic firefighters .... |
Judge brings a lot of heart to bench
by Katheryn Hayes Tucker, Staff Reporter
Cobb County State Court Chief Judge M. Russell Carlisle Jr. has reason to believe his job places an unusual amount of strain on his heart.As he told the story during a recent conversation in .... |
Lawyer Discipline: Court dismisses two disciplinary actions
by Staff Reports
The Supreme Court of Georgia issued the following decision Monday disciplining a member of the State Bar of Georgia:S09Y0454. IN THE MATTER OF SAMUEL W. CRUSE.PER CURIAM.This reciprocal .... |
Business Matters
Surging U.S. savings may restrain growth
by Rich Miller and Alison Sider, Bloomberg News
Saks Fifth Avenue is cutting orders 20 percent after posting losses in the last four quarters. Kia Harris says some customers at the Washington shoe store where she works are buying one pair .... |
Judge sentences Madoff to 150-year prison term
by Bloomberg News
Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years for masterminding the largest Ponzi scheme in history, six times longer than the penalties meted out to the chief executives of WorldCom Inc. and Enron .... |
Letters to the Editor
Letter: Taylor Jones lauded for his work in crafting Georgia's legal malpractice law
by Other, Linley Jones
Taylor W. Jones retired from the practice of law this month after 47 years in practice. He leaves behind a body of law he helped establish and create as one of the primary architects of Georgia .... |
Viewpoint
If you can't beat 'em, change the game
by Rich Jaroslovsky, Bloomberg News
In this spring's “Star Trek” movie, cadet James T. Kirk defeats the Kobayashi Maru scenario, a battle simulation designed to be unwinnable, by rewriting the rules. Microsoft, a perennial also-ran .... |
Monday, June 29, 2009 |
Clayton to 'opt in' to PD system
by Greg Land, Staff Reporter
Over the objections of private attorneys who get appointed to represent indigent criminal defendants, the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council voted unanimously Friday to allow Clayton .... |
Johnson: It's time for a new judge
by Alyson M. Palmer, Staff Reporter
Ask Presiding Judge Edward H. Johnson why he plans to leave the state Court of Appeals at the end of next year, long before the state's retirement rules push him out the courthouse door, and .... |
Bar suit: Disbarred attorney kept practicing law
by Greg Land, Staff Reporter
Disbarred lawyer James S. Quay, the target of an injunction filed by the State Bar of Georgia earlier this month, said he's long since ceased advertising himself as an attorney, and that the .... |
Study: Sotomayor has respect for precedent
by Tony Mauro, National Law Journal
The non-partisan Congressional Research Service has produced a report on the opinions of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, drawing conclusions that lend support to her advocates' assertions .... |
Business Matters
Oil's answer to carbon law may be imports
by Joe Carroll and Edward Klump, Bloomberg News
America's biggest oil companies will probably cope with U.S. carbon legislation by closing fuel plants, cutting capital spending and increasing imports.Under the Waxman-Markey climate bill, .... |
FDIC may bundle loans from Ga. bank for sale
by Bloomberg News
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. may take loans from Atlanta's failed Silverton Bank and combine them with assets from other seized lenders in a test sale of a U.S. program to remove toxic .... |
Special Section
Retaining diversity talent in a troubled economy and beyond
by Vera Sullivan, Special to the Daily Report
Last year, roughly 711,000 professional jobs—including legal—were lost, The New York Times recently reported. So, what's the mood among diversity attorneys in corporations and law firms in .... |
Stuck in the middle
by The American Lawyer, Emily Barker
In the 1970s, during the rise of what was then known as the women's movement, one popular T-shirt proclaimed: “I haven't come a long way, and I'm not a baby.” It was a clever riposte to a high-profile .... |
Viewpoint
George Soros goes long on global recovery
by William Pesek, Bloomberg News
People don't tend to make lots of money betting against George Soros. The hedge-fund manager has made billions speculating on markets. And so it came as a relief to many when on June 20, Soros .... |
Friday, June 26, 2009 |
Verdicts & Settlements: Wreck victim awarded $1.5M
by Greg Land, Staff Reporter
A pre-trial agreement means that a $1.9 million verdict for a woman injured when a teen driver hit the motorcycle on which she was a passenger will be pared back to $1.5 million, said plaintiff's .... |
Lawyer gets mistaken for Swindall's co-defendant
by Greg Land, Staff Reporter
Attorney J. Bruce Richardson has been getting a lot of calls since news broke that a Bruce Richardson was among those indicted along with developer and former U.S. Rep. Pat Swindall on Wednesday. .... |
DLA Piper to limit associate ranks
by National Law Journal
DLA Piper expects to keep scaling back the size of its associate classes and make more use of staff attorneys as it revamps its associate program, the firm's leaders said. The delayed class .... |
Crawford twin's death is legal community's loss
by Other, Susan A. Campbell and Jeff Schoenberg
Ruby Crawford, the last of “the 24-hour Crawford twins” passed away on June 6th at the age of 90. Chances are good that you knew Ruby and Ruth Crawford. If you didn't know the Crawfords, the .... |
Student strip search ruled unconstitutional
by Tony Mauro, National Law Journal
In one of his final decisions, if not his final one, as a justice, Supreme Court Justice David Souter ruled for a divided court Thursday morning that the intrusive strip search of an Arizona .... |
Gwinnett's business court is booming
by Andy Peters, Staff Reporter
Slammed with a calendar filled with criminal and family law matters, Gwinnett County Superior Court judges knew that lawyers representing clients in commercial-litigation matters were getting .... |
Business Matters
Bond plan signals munis are losing appeal
by Michael McDonald, Bloomberg News
President Barack Obama may be the worst thing that ever happened to the tax-exempt bond market and, so far, states and municipalities are loving it. Build America bonds, taxable securities that .... |
Bernanke defends his record on Bank of America talks
by Associated Press writer
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank acted with the “highest integrity” in talks on Bank of America Corp.'s takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co., defending his record against .... |
In Recess
A job well done
by Eleanor Ringel Cater, Film Critic
Not too many pundits in the movie-buzz circles had heard about “Departures” until last February, when it became the dark-horse winner of the Oscar for best foreign-language film. The betting .... |
Viewpoint
Duped investors could be in for another ride
by Susan Antilla, Bloomberg News
Financial crises have a way of jolting investors into seeing that perhaps their brokers weren't such trustworthy advisers after all. Requests for arbitration hearings are up 85 percent so far .... |
