Lawblog - VerdictOne.com:

Perhaps seeing the handwriting on the wall, the U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal judge to dismiss a major drug case with prejudice and the judge has agreed. Friday's dismissal with prejudice of a conspiracy case against Zhenli Ye Gon is expected to send the defendant to Mexico to face trial in a case involving organized crime, drug and firearm allegations, reports the Blog of Legal Times. It also ends an ongoing inquiry by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan into whether the DOJ violated its ethical obligation to provide exculpatory evidence to the defense in a timely manner, the…more...

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It almost had to happen, sooner or later: Among a growing number of employers and agencies surfing the Internet and accessing social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to look for adverse information about applicants is at least one bar group that has just adopted a formal policy of doing so. At a recent meeting, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners voted to review applicants' social networking sites on a case-by-case basis, focusing on those who have demonstrated problem conduct in the past, reports the Florida Bar News. Asked by the group's Character and Fitness Committee whether all Florida bar…more...

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Tags: Bankruptcy Law by Russell A. DeMott, Charleston Bankruptcy Lawyer
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What is the life span of a legal blog? For many practitioners' blogs, it’s likely less than a year, according to a blogger who conducted his own unscientific survey Jones Day partner Mark Herrmann, writing for the Drug and Device Law Blog, says he became curious about the life expectancy of legal blogs when he noticed that the professors who oversaw Product Liability Prof Blog and the Civil Procedure Prof Blog had apparently given up their blogging duties. New professors are being sought to take over the work. He also recalled that two of his favorite new blogs had lasted…more...

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Law firm leaders who miss budget projections for partner income should make up the difference through cuts in their own pay, a former managing partner says. Edwin Reeser, a business lawyer who was managing partner of the Los Angeles office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, says law firm leaders need to demonstrate confidence in their budgets and business plans by holding themselves accountable for the outcomes. “It is time for the talk to take a back seat to the walk that will instill confidence in leadership partners who are tasked to look after and promote the best interests of their…more...

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Following news last week that a 450-attorney law firm known for its intellectual property work will be eliminating its corporate practice group comes additional news that Fish & Richardson will also be closing its office in Austin, Texas, by the end of the year. "This was a difficult decision to make but one that is best for the future of the firm," says Fish & Richardson in a written statement reported by the Austin Business Journal. The office, which opened in 2005, will be closed on Dec. 31, 2009, the statement explains, as the firm "continues to make strategic decisions…more...

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Hampered in its defense of a defamation suit by the death of its reporter, the St. Petersburg Times was hit with a libel judgment of more than $10 million on Friday. A four-woman, two-man Florida state-court jury awarded $5.1 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages to the newspaper's parent company after a five-day trial, the St. Petersburg Times reports. The Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court litigation concerns three articles written by reporter Paul de la Garza that were published by the newspaper in December 2003. They discussed the reassignment of the plaintiff, Dr. Harold Kennedy, from his position…more...

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Pursuant to legislation passed by the 124th Maine Legislature, the state has adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. See 2009 Me. Legis. Serv. Ch. 292.more...

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Smith v. O’Donnell, 52 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 52 (Tex. 2009): Executor sued Decedent’s former Attorneys for malpractice in advising Decedent in his capacity as the executor of his wife’s estate. The lower court ruled in favor of Attorneys basing...more...

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