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US murky on judges’ role in reviewing Guantanamo Bay cases (AP)
AP - The Bush administration assured the Supreme Court last December that Guantanamo Bay prisoners who felt they were unfairly being detained could have their cases thoroughly reviewed by a federal appeals court. Now, it’s not so clear.
Allergic Mother Loses Attempt to Prohibit Kids’ Contact With Cat
A woman who claimed that she is allergic to her estranged husband’s cat cannot prevent their two children from visiting their father’s home, a New York judge has ruled. The judge analyzed the issue in terms of harmful activities in the presence of children restricted by courts, such as smoking, but found that the cat’s presence offered no legal or factual basis for similar restrictions.
Tension Mounts Over U.S. Bench Vacancies
Republican senators are anxious about 28 judicial nominees awaiting confirmation, the 46 total vacancies and the dwindling time left in President Bush’s term to get more of his candidates on the federal bench. Of the 28 nominees waiting approval by the Senate, 10 are appellate court nominees and 18 are trial court selections. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in particular, is in the political crosshairs — the president who fills those vacancies could shift the philosophical balance of the court.
Port Authority Ruled Liable for 1993 World Trade Center Bombing
An appellate court Tuesday upheld a jury’s finding that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was more than two-thirds responsible for the 1993 terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center that killed six and injured more than 1,000 people. The Port Authority’s failure to implement adequate security measures in the face of repeated warnings that the structure’s underground parking garage was vulnerable to an “event of potentially catastrophic magnitude” amounted to negligence, the court held.
Shearman & Sterling Hikes London Associates’ Pay by 7 Percent
Shearman & Sterling has announced an increase of 7 percent in London associate salaries, putting the firm’s rates well ahead of those at top London firms. A newly qualified solicitor based at the firm’s London office will get paid 80,000 pounds ($157,976). Shearman is the first major firm to announce salary increases this year, with a raft of U.K. and U.S. rivals set to announce theirs in coming weeks. However, few firms are expected to make major increases as advisers feel the impact of the credit crunch.
Chief Judge Writes N.Y. Governor to Deny Work ‘Slowdown’ by State’s Judges
Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye wrote New York Gov. David A. Paterson on Tuesday to assure him reports of judicial “slowdown” were “without basis.” On Monday, Paterson had cautioned judges against engaging in tactics that would slow litigation to press their case for a raise. In her letter, Kaye wrote, “while some judges have individually chosen to recuse themselves from matters in which legislators or their firms appeared before them, there has not been — nor will there be — an adverse impact on litigants.”
Thelen Loses Peter Brown to Baker & Hostetler
Peter Brown — the “Brown” in Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner — will be leaving the firm’s New York office for Baker & Hostetler. His move is the latest in a string of departures, particularly from the firm’s office in New York, home to the legacy Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner firm. The Brown firm merged with San Francisco’s Thelen Reid & Priest in December 2006. Thelen co-chairman Julian Millstein called the recent departures “to some extent … a normal shakeout of the merger.”
The Deductions Dilemma
So your company loans an employee a laptop. The employee resigns, but he doesn’t return the laptop. The company can certainly deduct the cost of the laptop from the employee’s final paycheck, right? Wrong. While in many cases deductions like this one might appear reasonable, says attorney Jennifer Blum Feldman, the law in this area is anything but. In fact, determining whether a deduction is legally permissible requires some careful analysis under both state and federal law.
Senior Associates Need Inspiration to Stay
Senior associates are an endangered species, declares humor columnist The Snark, who found that the common denominator among them is inspiration. Because, after all, something makes them buck the trend of hanging up the billable time clock in exchange for that in-house gig. And something persuades them to resist the urge to jump off the grid and start training dogs instead of drafting proxy statements. Read on to find out what The Snark thinks makes senior associates stick around the large law firm.
Sutherland Trims Associate Ranks
The legal tabloid AbovetheLaw.com sparked a firestorm of rumors when it reported Friday that Sutherland Asbill & Brennan was laying off 30 to 40 associates firmwide. Sutherland’s managing partner, Mark D. Wasserman, acknowledged that the 480-lawyer firm has cut its associate ranks. But he said the firm has asked fewer than 15 associates to leave. He said the firm’s summer associate class is “absolutely not” affected by the cuts, nor are next fall’s incoming associates.