Barnes Asks For Court-Appointed Lawyer To Help Defend Brooks

by R. Robin McDonald

Former Governor Roy Barnes told a federal magistrate judge on Wednesday that he is defending state Representative Tyrone Brooks for free but that he and the longtime legislator and civil rights activist will need the help of a court-appointed lawyer.

Law Schools Hope To Fill Seats By Offering Master's Degrees

by Karen Sloan, The National Law Journal

Betsy Hames isn't a lawyer, but the law permeates nearly every aspect of her job overseeing employee relations in Emory University's human resources department.

Survey: Firm Leaders Admit Downturn's Permanent Impact

The Am Law Daily

Most law firm leaders admit that recession-driven changes to both their pricing practices and their clients' expectations that work be done efficiently are likely here to stay, according to a new survey from legal consultancy Altman Weil.

Leverage Social Media For Visibility

by Robin M. Hensley

Most solo practitioners I know have their hands full, not only with the practice of law but also with the running of their day-to-day operations.

Lawyers Sanctioned Over Porn Lawsuits File Appeal

by Amanda Bronstad

Lawyers under sanction for fraudulently filing dozens of copyright infringement lawsuits against people accused of downloading pornographic films have filed an appeal, as the attorneys who represented them before the sanctioning judge have disappeared from the case.

Georgia Court of Appeals, Criminal Case

Funk v. State

The State's two nolle prosequis of the defendant's two previous indictments did not preclude the subsequent prosecution for the same offenses under O.C.G.A. § 17-7-53.

CRIMINAL PRACTICE:Nolle Prosequi, Demurrers, Indictment

Georgia Court of Appeals, Civil Case

St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Hughes

The Georgia Uninsured Motorist Statute applied to the insurance policy that was issued and delivered in Indiana, since Georgia was the principal location of risk, the insurance company was licensed in Georgia, and the vehicle the plaintiff was driving was garaged and principally used in Georgia.

INSURANCE LAW:Uninsured Motorist Benefits, Coverage; CIVIL PRACTICE:Foreign Law

Georgia Court of Appeals, Criminal Case

Dean v. State

In the defendant's trial for child molestation, the trial court properly allowed evidence of the defendant's alleged molestation of 12-year-old twins at an overnight birthday party in 1984 when he was 14 years old, since his conduct in sexually abusing minors in the middle of night while the household was asleep was sufficiently similar to constitute similar transaction evidence, each twin's testimony corroborated the other's and the defendant was old enough to have been held criminally responsible at the time of the incident.

CRIMINAL PRACTICE:Child Molestation; EVIDENCE:Similar Transaction, Impeachment, Prior Bad Acts

Georgia Court of Appeals, Criminal Case

Owens v. State

The trial court properly denied the defendant's motion for an out-of-time appeal since he did not allege that his failure to file a timely appeal was due to any ineffective assistance of counsel.

APPEALS:Out-of-Time Appeal; CRIMINAL PRACTICE:Effective Assistance of Counsel

Georgia Court of Appeals, Civil Case

Chae v. Saehan Bank

The trial court properly granted summary judgment against all the defendants, even though the summary judgment motion referred to the "Defendant" in the singular, since the motion was served on all the defendants, the issues developed in determining liability were the same for all the defendants, the individual defendants were not surprised by the motion and they were allowed to submit lengthy individual defenses to the motion.

CREDITORS AND DEBTORS RIGHTS:Suit on Note, Deficiency, Foreclosure; CONTRACTS:Fraud, Duress; CIVIL PRACTICE:Standing, Summary Judgment

Georgia Court of Appeals, Criminal Case

Merilien v. State

The trial court properly dismissed the defendant's out-of-time motion to withdraw his guilty plea to a firearms offense, since the trial court lacked jurisdiction to rule on the motion as the defendant filed it more than 10 years after the expiration of the term of court in which his judgment of conviction was entered.

APPEALS:Out-of-Time Appeal, Jurisdiction; CRIMINAL PRACTICE:Firearms Offense, Effective Assistance of Counsel

Three Key Strategies for Reducing Class Action Costs

by Catherine Dunn, Corporate Counsel

In-house counsel tackled an increased number of class-action lawsuits last year, but managed to tamp down legal spending by an average of $100,000 per matter, according to the 2013 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey.

Understanding the Dark Side of Shareholder Activism

by John C. Coffee Jr., The National Law Journal

Shareholder activists are flexing their muscles with a new exuberance this proxy season, running more insurgent slates in proxy contests, stalking larger targets and enjoying a higher rate of success.

Failure to Mirandize Does Not Violate Constitution

by Malvina Halberstam, The National Law Journal

Much of the discussion in the media on whether the surviving Boston bombing suspect should have been given Miranda warnings when he was arrested appears to be based on a misconception: that law enforcement officers are required to give suspects the warnings set forth in Miranda v. Arizona and that failure to do so is a violation of the law, at least if the public-safety exception doesn't apply. That is not correct.

Changing Insurers: Beware of Risks

by J. Randolph Evans and Shari L. Klevens

Attorneys have many options when it comes to purchasing legal malpractice insurance.

Predictions on predictive coding

by Robert L. Byman, The National Law Journal

Actually, it's not all that hard to see that predictive coding is the future - some call it a game changer as courts begin to accept, even require it.