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Voter ID law heads to Supreme Court (AP)
AP - The dispute over Indiana’s voter identification law that is headed to the Supreme Court next week is as much a partisan political drama as a legal tussle.
Ind. voter ID law heads to Supreme Court (AP)
AP - The dispute over Indiana’s voter ID law that is headed to the Supreme Court in January is as much a partisan political drama as a legal tussle.
9th Circuit Switches Gears on UPS Drivers in Closely Watched Class Action
A widely watched class action involving hearing-impaired drivers at United Parcel Service now features an appellate judge canning her very own precedent. In an en banc ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed an earlier panel and vacated class certification and an injunction against UPS. The latest opinion in laid out a new affirmative defense standard for employers hit with Americans with Disabilities Act claims.
Court Rejects Billionaire’s Bid to Obtain Milberg Weiss Work Product
A Manhattan appeals court has rejected a billionaire investor’s bid to obtain the work product of three plaintiffs firms, led by Milberg Weiss, which he claims settled a class action against software maker CA Inc. for too little. The Appellate Division, 1st Department ruled that major CA shareholder Sam Wyly, as an absent class member in the CA suit, did not have the same right to lawyers’ files as a client in a traditional “bipolar” attorney-client relationship.
Splenda Gets Partial Win in Ruling by 3rd Circuit
The maker of Splenda, the nation’s best-selling sugar substitute, won a partial victory Monday when the 3rd Circuit revived its bid for an injunction against the manufacturer of a generic version of its product over the alleged use of “virtually identical” packaging. But the opinion was also a significant victory for the defendant as the unanimous three-judge panel found that the packaging on some of its store-brand sucralose products isn’t similar enough to Splenda’s trade dress to warrant any injunction.
Midwest Merger Puts Combined Firm Among U.S.’ 100 Largest
Two of the Midwest’s nationally recognized law firms — St. Louis-based Husch & Eppenberger and Kansas City, Mo.-based Blackwell Sanders — confirmed on Thursday that their partners voted to merge the firms in late January, by which time a name for the combined firm will be chosen. The new firm will have 630 attorneys and anticipated revenues topping $275 million for 2008, and will concentrate on commercial litigation and business services.
High court asked to review Congress raid (AP)
AP - WASHINGTON The Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to toss out a lower court ruling that says the FBI was wrong to raid Democratic Rep. William Jefferson’s office, a decision the Bush administration argues will hinder corruption investigations of Congress.
N.Y. High Court: No LLP Shield in Disputes Among Law Firm Partners
The New York Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that partners in a law firm operating as a limited liability partnership aren’t shielded from personal liability in disputes with each other. But in a dissent in which Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye concurred, Judge Robert S. Smith said the majority’s decision gave preferential treatment to former partners over both current partners and other third-party creditors, noting that the decision might produce especially unfair results for partners with small equity stakes.
Court to release audio in death case (AP)
AP - The Supreme Court said Thursday it will quickly release audio tapes after the Jan. 7 argument over the death penalty.
Corporate Attorneys Split on Whether Partner’s Refco Indictment Is a Warning for Others
Has the indictment of Mayer Brown partner Joseph P. Collins sent “a chill down the spine” of transactional lawyers everywhere, as Collins’ defense lawyer said it should? Reactions are mixed. While one corporate partner speculated that Collins “may just be a bad apple,” another said the case would be watched closely in the darkening economic climate, adding, “When the economy takes a hit, there is a tendency to look for scapegoats to be taken out and shot.”