Archives
US halts execution of convicted murderer in Texas (AFP)
AFP - The US Supreme Court stepped in late Thursday to halt the execution of a Texas man convicted of killing his parents nine years ago.
Filing a Malpractice Suit Against a Firm? Better Be Quick About It
A Thursday ruling from the California Supreme Court gives former law firm clients less time to hit a firm with a malpractice suit. The clock for filing a malpractice suit starts ticking when a client ends its relationship with a law firm — even if the client still retains one of the firm’s former attorneys, the court ruled. The ruling gets former partners of the now-defunct Arter & Hadden off the hook for any damages in a $3.5 million malpractice suit filed in 2003 by Texas-based Beal Bank.
Magic Circle Firms Have the Magic Touch
New market forces are playing into the hands of top U.K. firms, especially the Magic Circle, which now dominates high-end corporate work in most of Europe’s major jurisdictions. In the last financial year, the Magic Circle quintet saw growth in profits per equity partner of above 20 percent, dispelling any stateside views that Brits are soft on underperforming lawyers, blindly wedded to locksteps, and on holiday too often. Magic Circle firms are gaining ground and, in some cases, surpassing U.S. rivals.
High Court to hear voter ID arguments (AP)
AP - A voter seeking to cast a ballot is first told to produce a photo ID. Is that intimidation or a prudent safeguard against election fraud?
$70M Suit Against Cadwalader Reflects Risks of Practice in Mortgage-Backed Securities
As the global slowdown in the market for mortgage-backed securities threatens a core practice area of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, the New York law firm is also wrestling with a $70 million legal malpractice suit brought by a major issuer of such securities. Cadwalader is one of the nation’s top law firms when it comes to securitizations, and its large practice in the area has helped catapult the firm to the top of the profitability charts over the past few years.
Court to consider lethal injection case (AP)
AP - The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to take a hard look at the method of lethal injection most states use to put inmates to death in a case that could further slow the pace of executions.
Capital punishment in each state (AP)
AP - A state-by-state look at the status of capital punishment.
Summary of Supreme Court actions Tuesday (AP)
AP - These are among the new cases the Supreme Court accepted Tuesday:
US Supreme Court to examine legality of lethal injections (AFP)
AFP - The US Supreme Court announced Tuesday it would consider the constitutionality of lethal injections, which is used in almost all executions in the United States.
Court to consider lethal injection case (AP)
AP - The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider the constitutionality of lethal injections in a case that could affect the way inmates are executed around the country.