Happy Friday! Start your long weekend off right with your legal news headlines from Thomson Reuters News & Insight:
Odds favor IRS in U.S. Supreme Court tax cases
A new study by two tax scholars at U.S. universities, found the government prevailed more than six times out of 10 in cases where it argued that corporations actively abused the tax code.
Trayvon Martin’s shooter gets more legal help
George Zimmerman’s new lawyer, Hal Uhrig, is a former Gainesville police officer who has worked as a legal consultant for several Florida police departments.
Obama seeks to defuse healthcare row with court
Attorney General Eric Holder told an appeals court in a letter that the administration has not sought to limit the power of judiciaries to review laws.
Newt Gingrich’s think tank files for bankruptcy
The Center for Health Transformation, founded by the Republican presidential hopeful, has debts totaling more than $1 million.
Accused LulzSec hacker pleads guilty in Sony breach
Cody Kretsinger pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in stealing personal information, causing Sony over $600,000 in damages.
Karen Peters appointed Third Department Presiding Justice
Andrew Cuomo announced the appointment of the first female presiding justice of the Albany-based Appellate Division.
Madoff wives to face trustee claims in Ponzi case
Irving Picard may pursue claims over alleged unjust enrichment and constructive trust against Deborah Madoff and Stephanie Mack, the wives of Bernie Madoff’s sons.
For more legal news, check out Thomson Reuters News & Insight.
Posted by Morgan Smith in:
Company Current | In the News |
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Baker & McKenzie announced in recently that highly regarded ERISA litigator, James Baker joined its North American Compensation & Employment Law Practice as a partner in the San Francisco/Palo Alto office. Baker’s practice focuses on ERISA litigation and the counseling of employers on ERISA, employee benefit and executive compensation issues. Among Baker’s most notable cases, he was the lead attorney in five ERISA stock drop class action cases resulting in consecutive client victories using five different legal theories. He also regularly represents clients in federal district and appellate courts across the country.
“We are very pleased that Jim has joined Baker & McKenzie,” said Rick Hammett, Chair of the Firm’s North American Compensation and Employment Law Practice Group. “Jim is widely regarded as one of the top ERISA litigators in the US, and he joins a strong ERISA litigation practice at our firm. I know our clients will value his significant experience and insight, particularly in ‘stock drop’ cases, which continue to be an issue for many companies.”
Baker has frequently been cited as one of the top employment law and ERISA litigation lawyers in the US. Of these honors, he was named as one of the nation’s top 40 best ERISA attorney’s by the National Law Journal, and listed as a leading attorney nationally for ERISA litigation in Northern California Super Lawyers (2005-2011). For more information about James Baker joining Baker & McKenzie and further details about Baker & McKenzie’s employment law practice, click here.
Posted by Laura Folland in:
Client development | Company Current | In Business | In the News | Law firm business |
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Law firms are being increasingly challenged to adapt and innovate to meet their clients’ expectations. Being able to succeed in this changing environment, firms must offer more value to their clients.
An area that can increase a firm’s value, lower their legal costs and improve their competitive advantage to clients is through legal research. A legal research tool that offers substantial benefits and resources to a firm can create numerous advantages.
Lydia Flocchini recently spoke with Tom Dwyer of Dwyer/Partners, LLP a firm based in Boston, about how the legal delivery services model is changing, the benefits of a high-quality legal research tool and how technology can provide a competitive advantage in today’s market.
You can read the full interview here.
Posted by Jeff McCoy in:
Industry trends |
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We’ve got an entertaining and informative episode for you this month kicking off with our “Chaos in the Courts” story highlighting the unique way a drug smuggler got nabbed just south of the Canadian border.
Then in our “On the Blawgs” segment we feature a blog post with advice for lawyers who are looking to purchase an iPad.
Our interview segment is once again with Robert Brownstone, technology and e-Discovery counsel for Fenwick & West LLP, this time Robert talks to us about how social media is blurring the line between our personal and professional lives and how this impacts workplace privacy.
We then wrap-up with our “In the News” segment featuring a story from Thomson Reuters News & Insight about what U.S. corporate governance challenges we might expect to see throughout the remainder of 2012.
Listen to the episode now by clicking the Play button on the built-in player below, or listen later.
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We’re also on iTunes (just enter “Legal Current” in the search box).
If you have a suggestion for a future interview or episode theme, just leave a comment on this blog post or send an email to contact@legalcurrent.com. You can also follow us on Twitter, it’s @legalcurrent.
Show notes for April 2012:
0:00-0:50 Open
0:55-2:10 “Chaos in the Courts”
2:10-4:35 “On the Blawgs”
4:35-32:35 Interview/Robert Brownstone
32:35-34:50 “In the News” with Thomson Reuters News & Insight
34:50-35:20 Closing comments
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Audio | Audio / Video |
Comments (1) |
The trends towards industry consolidation continues.
The Hildebrandt Institute’s MergerWatch Report showed 20 completed law firm mergers that involved U.S. firms in the first quarter of 2012. That represents a 43 percent increase over the first quarter of 2011, which saw only 14 completed mergers and is in stark contrast to the four completed mergers in the first quarter of 2010.
Merger activity so far in 2012 appears to build off of the increased merger activity in 2011 when the Hildebrandt Institute tracked 45 completed mergers, a substantial jump from 2010, which saw only 27 mergers. It appears that law firm merger activity has been encouraged by signs of economic recovery.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Industry trends |
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One of the most interesting (and coolest!) products we’re showing at ABA TECHSHOW is our new eReader app – Thomson Reuters ProView.
Since launching last year, we’ve added a Web browser version in addition to the original iPad app. ProView now has links to WestlawNext to check citations, and new tools to help organize your ProView library.
ProView is the first eReader built from the ground up for professionals with features such as full-text search, content updating, and transferable notes and annotations.
A lot of people at TECHSHOW, while enjoying a chance for a hands-on demo, are also asking when ProView will add other platforms, such as Android tablets, as well as additional content – both legal and non-legal.
All I can say is: stay tuned! ProView is growing quickly on all fronts, including content, platforms and markets, and some exciting announcements are coming soon.
Posted by Gretchen DeSutter in:
Products |
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We’re having a lot of discussions with litigators here at ABA TECHSHOW about how automated tools can help streamline their workflow and improve productivity.
The Westlaw Litigator team is showing their array of solutions, including Westlaw Case Notebook, Westlaw Drafting Assistant, Westlaw CaseLogistix, West Case Timeline and more, which provide a comprehensive suite of litigation tools.
Some exciting announcements are on the way in coming weeks as these tools evolve into an even more tightly integrated solution, pulling together evidence, research, EDD, transcripts, drafting tools and more.
We’ll be sure to keep you posted.
Posted by Gretchen DeSutter in:
Products |
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Innovation is often viewed as the key to global economic prosperity. In all corners of the earth, executives, policy makers, government officials, politicians, teachers and entrepreneurs are talking about their hope for “innovation.” The topic is of equal interest to Thomson Reuters, and after tracking corporate and industry-specific innovation activity for several years we recently released two free reports that showcase twelve technology areas and profile their innovation activity as measured through patent analysis.
Two key findings from the report include:
To read the detailed executive summaries and full reports created by using Thomson Reuters Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI) databases and SAEFI on SERION trademark research system, go to 2011 State of Innovation: Twelve Key Technology Areas and their States of Innovation and 2011 Trademark Report: Trademark Activity, Evolution and Important Changes
Posted by Gretchen DeSutter in:
Company Current | In the News |
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Happy Friday! Get your legal news headlines from Thomson Reuters News & Insight:
Abortion rights groups sue to block Okla. personhood vote
Reproductive rights groups filed a lawsuit to block a proposed ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution to redefine a fertilized egg as a “person” under the law.
Tim Tebow apparel sales halted in Nike-Reebok feud
Nike has won a court order blocking their rival from selling New York Jets apparel bearing the name of the popular quarterback in a battle over licensing rights.
Strauss-Kahn’s U.S. legal team argue for civil suit dismissal
The ex-IMF chief’s lawyers said their client’s immunity flowed from a 1947 United Nations convention regardless of whether he acted in an official capacity when the alleged harm occurred.
Hawker Beechcraft readies bankruptcy filing – sources
The aircraft manufacturer said it reached a deal with lenders that will provide a $120 million loan and defer the company’s obligations to make certain interest payments.
California campaign treasurer charged in $7 mln fraud
Kinde Durkee, who controlled the funds of roughly 400 political candidates and groups, is alleged to have used client funds to pay personal expenses.
2nd Circuit presses Dow Co in tax credit case
A decision in favor of Union Carbide — a Dow subsidiary — would widen the scope of the research and development credit, part of the corporate tax code that costs taxpayers roughly $7 bln a year.
Bank of America gets $1 billion Baupost lawsuit dismissed
New York State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick granted the bank’s motion to dismiss the case by investors who sued under the name Walnut Place.
For more legal news, check out Thomson Reuters News & Insight.
Posted by Morgan Smith in:
Company Current | In the News |
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The U.S. Constitution is one of the most powerful and impactful documents in existence. It literally touches every American’s life, and has since its creation in 1787. Recently, I had the opportunity to view the document first-hand as part of a new exhibit, “We the People: The First Official Printing of the U.S. Constitution,” sponsored [...]
Earlier this week, we released our 2011 Annual Report in an interactive format available online at thomsonreuters.com. Along with information on the company’s financial performance as well as business unit overviews, this year’s annual report contains a variety of dynamic content including interviews with our new business leaders as well as stories of how we [...]
We’ve got a great episode for you this month, kicking off with our “Chaos in the Courts” segment that, believe it or not, is yet another story about the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas. Since our March podcast, another person has fallen victim to the establishment’s trademark bypass burger.
Then in our “On the Blawgs” [...]
Vehicle is an “effect” as that term is used in Fourth Amendment, which provides that “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” United States v. Jones, 132 S. Ct. 945 (U.S. 2012)
An acknowledgment in court that one is not the owner of certian property being demanded, and that it in fact belongs to the demandant.
Our recap of the Gladwell, Sanders & Craig keynote at LegalTech, with photos http://bit.ly/9x8EDx #ltny 2010-02-04
