Tuesday, January 06, 2009 |
Griffin B. Bell 1918-2009 
by Alyson M. Palmer, Staff Reporter
Former colleagues and national leaders on Monday remembered Griffin B. Bell, the former federal appeals court judge, U.S. attorney general and dean of King & Spalding and the Georgia legal community .... |
Remembering Judge Bell
by Staff Reports
In his 60-year legal career, Griffin B. Bell walked with American presidents, judicial giants, corporate kings and young lawyers looking for advice. Those whose lives he touched remembered Bell .... |
Firms prep for bankruptcy filing wave
by Lynne Marek, National Law Journal
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Sidley Austin; Kirkland & Ellis; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; and other law firms are all gearing up to represent companies in a slew of bankruptcies during .... |
11th Circuit: Defrauded borrowers are crime victims
by Pamela A. MacLean, National Law Journal
For the first time, a federal appeals court has applied a broad definition of “crime victim” to financial fraud in the case of 112 borrowers in a Florida mortgage loan scam, entitling far more .... |
What will Obama administration do with the U.S. attorneys?
by Legal Times
In a meeting last month with Barack Obama's transition staff, representatives of the nation's top prosecutors caught a glimpse of the president-elect's thinking on the politically fraught issue .... |
At Issue
Taxes not the easy way out
by Michael H. Trotter, Special to the Daily Report
When Barack Obama takes office later this month, the continuing financial crisis will be among his most challenging issues. The incoming administration would be well served to recognize the .... |
Business Matters
Disappearing brands made headlines in 2008
by Lauren Shepherd and Emily Fredrix, Associated Press writer
Shoppers won't be picking up ornate lamps from the Bombay Co. in the coming year. Or investing with Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. No flying to Hawaii on Aloha Airlines or buying ultra-cheap .... |
Construction spending falls less than predicted
by Bloomberg News
Spending on U.S. construction projects fell less than half as much as forecast in November, reflecting gains in commercial and government building that partially cushioned the slump in residential .... |
In Recess
Think less, swing slowly, play more
by John Carroll, Special to the Daily Report
I surveyed more than 50 lawyers and golf leaders in Georgia by e-mail last week, inquiring about their 2009 New Year's resolutions. Read their responses below. Happy New Year! ______________________“Golf: .... |
Viewpoint
Madoff investors may be forced to share pain
by Ann Woolner, Bloomberg News
Suspicious investors who removed their money from Bernard Madoff's care before he pulled the bottom out from under his scheme have probably been congratulating themselves for their wisdom. Even .... |
Monday, January 05, 2009 |
Former Attorney General Griffin Bell dead at 90
by Alyson M. Palmer, Staff Reporter
Griffin B. Bell, the former federal appeals court judge and U.S. attorney general who served as the dean of both King & Spalding and the Georgia legal community, died Monday at the age of 90.Les .... |
Florida primary fight continues in federal court
by Alyson M. Palmer, Staff Reporter
While the nation prepares to inaugurate a new president this month, at the federal appeals court in Atlanta a few Democrats are still arguing about the presidential primary process. On Thursday .... |
Verdicts & Settlements: Worker will get $2.75 million
by Greg Land, Staff Reporter
It took the jury almost two days of deliberation and a “dynamite” charge from the judge, but a warehouse supervisor and his wife will collect $2.75 million from a trucking company for his head .... |
Conservatives can't rescue Scouts from religion case
by The Recorder
Conservatives on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals couldn't muster enough votes to rescue the Boy Scouts from the riptide of an Establishment Clause claim. The court denied en banc review .... |
Judicial pay raise overdue, chief justice reports
by Tony Mauro, Legal Times
In his year-end report on the state of the federal judiciary released Wednesday evening, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. praised the courts as frugal, dedicated and crucial to the life and economic .... |
At Issue
A close look at the challenges ahead
by Michael H. Trotter, Special to the Daily Report
We have just completed a presidential campaign that has been long on slogans and superficial analysis of our fundamental problems and short on thoughtful exploration of the issues we must address .... |
Business Matters
Berkshire stock falls, but Buffett is unfazed
by Hugh Son, Bloomberg News
Billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. slumped 32 percent last year, the worst performance in more than three decades, as the U.S. recession forced down the value of the firm's .... |
In Recess
Toyota adds another crossover
by Ann M. Job, Associated Press writer
The 2009 Toyota Venza is the latest attempt by automakers to disguise a station wagon as a new, modern vehicle. And you know what? The Venza succeeds nicely.From its wide, comfortable front .... |
The Snark
A challenge: working with Crotchety Cogs
by The Snark, Special to the Daily Report
Big Law partners often get a bad rap for being mean, evil, whip crackers whose sole purpose is to dampen the hopes, dreams and spirits of little innocent Cogs. That is simply unfair. Not all .... |
Viewpoint
Madoff mess also falls on feeder funds, auditors
by Jane Bryant Quinn, Bloomberg News
When you invest in a fund of hedge funds, or a partnership that promises to find top managers for your money, you get an annual independent auditor's report. But what does that report actually .... |
Friday, January 02, 2009 |
Sex registry law spurs new fight
by Greg Land, Staff Reporter
A young man who served five years in prison after pleading guilty to robbery and false imprisonment charges stemming from a drug deal was fully expecting to serve another five years on probation .... |
Gun dealer OK'd to bring lawsuit back to Cobb
by Alyson M. Palmer, Staff Reporter
A federal appeals court panel has ruled that a defamation case brought by gun store owners against New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg should proceed in Cobb County Superior Court, not federal .... |
Conscience of DOJ lit the way with facts
by Marcia Coyle, National Law Journal
When considering the government's watchdogs—officially called inspectors general—U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn A. Fine does not walk on water, said someone who watches the .... |
Orrick freezes associate salaries
by The American Lawyer
Citing a “challenging business environment,” Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe announced it would freeze salaries for its nearly 670 associates.In a memo distributed Monday, the firm announced .... |
Holiday season leaves little to be jolly about
by Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg News
'Tis the season to be jolly, but I'm rarely jolly under the best of circumstances. Just ask my family. This year, I don't see there's a lot to be jolly about. At first, I thought President-elect .... |
Business Matters
Journal of a plague year: Faith in markets lost
by James Sterngold, Bloomberg News
It has been a year of record misery: the largest bankruptcy, bank failure and Ponzi scheme in U.S. history; $720 billion in writedowns and losses by financial institutions; $30.1 trillion in .... |
U.S. jobless claims fell last week, skewed by the holiday
by Bloomberg News
The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits tumbled last week, skewed by the shortened Christmas workweek, while total jobless rolls reached a 26-year high, signaling .... |
In Recess
Finding the gems in a bad year
by Eleanor Ringel Cater, Film Critic
Was 2008 the worst year for movies in recent memory? Or did it just seem that way?The movies-as-events mentality was worse than ever. For every “Iron Man,” there was a “Speed Racer.” But then, .... |
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 |
Layoff lawyers have lots of work
by Meredith Hobbs, Staff Reporter
When Fisher & Phillips announced last week it would present several Web seminars on navigating the legal risks of layoffs, the firm was inundated with responses. Andria L. Ryan, a partner at .... |
In The Trenches: Ford & Harrison gains new partner
by Meredith Hobbs, Staff Reporter
Paul R. Beshears has left Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough for Ford & Harrison, where he is a partner. Beshears is experienced in traditional labor law as well as employment litigation.Beshears .... |
Bowl games trigger IP end runs
by Peter Page, National Law Journal
Football fans attending any of the upcoming college bowl games may see more quick moves in the parking lot than on the field as security guards hired by irate owners of sports trademarks chase .... |
TBS seeks rejection of $281 million award
by Bloomberg News
A Time Warner Inc. unit asked a Fulton County Superior Court judge to throw out a $281 million jury award to a Texas businessman who was set to buy professional sports teams and lost the deal .... |
Business Matters
2008 may make you feel like the biggest loser
by Ellen Simon, Associated Press writer
If you have a job, it probably feels shaky. If you have a 401(k), you can't bear to open the statements. If you bought a house in the last five years, you feel like a sucker (unless you were .... |
Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities fall 18 percent
by Bloomberg News
Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities declined at the fastest rate on record, depressed by mounting foreclosures and slumping sales. The S&P/Case-Shiller index declined 18 percent in the 12 months .... |
GC South
All her life experience led up to 'dream job'
by Katheryn Hayes Tucker, Staff Reporter
Her education, work experience and life uniquely prepared Leslie R. Jones for the job she took in October as senior vice president and general counsel of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, a .... |
GCs offer tips to keep in-house counsel smiling
by Sheri Qualters, National Law Journal
Business pitches on the golf course, surprise $35,000 bills for legal memos and lawyers who discuss cases with the company's executives without keeping in-house counsel in the loop are just .... |
In Recess
An adult trip through the wardrobe
by Andrew Dunn, Bloomberg News
In 1950, Oxford don C.S. Lewis captured the world's imagination with his story of four children stumbling through the back of a closet into a world of talking animals, singing mermen and a charismatic, .... |
Viewpoint
Lawyer uses spy tactics to pull off financial scam
by Ann Woolner, Bloomberg News
When Manhattan lawyer Marc Dreier needed to apply a patina of reality to allegedly bogus promissory notes he was pitching to hedge funds, he used Mission Impossible-type tricks. As the U.S. .... |
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 |
Choice of Fulton PD invalid, says rival, because meeting secret
by Greg Land, Staff Reporter
A local attorney is challenging last month's reappointment of longtime Fulton County Public Defender Vernon Pitts, saying the job was never advertised as required by law and that the meeting .... |
Verdicts and Settlements: Nursing home to pay $1.25 million
by Andy Peters, Staff Reporter
A DeKalb County jury has awarded $1.25 million to the family of an amputee who died while in the care of a Tucker nursing home.Attorneys for the estate of Melvin Raybon argued that he died as .... |
How a man dead 24 years won pardon
by The American Lawyer, Zach Lowe
Frank Jimenez, now the general counsel of the U.S. Navy and former general counsel to ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, had no idea his best friend's father, Charles Winters, had been convicted of supplying .... |
LexisNexis: Despite layoffs, Martindale ratings will continue
by National Law Journal
LexisNexis Group's Martindale-Hubbell has no plans to abandon its lawyer ratings, the company insisted in response to blog postings about its layoff of attorney rating specialists.However, the .... |
Business Matters
'Figurehead' hurts Citigroup shares
by Lisa Kassenaar, Bloomberg News
It was Friday, Nov. 21, and Citigroup Inc.'s shares had plunged 51 percent in four days. Vikram Pandit, chief executive officer of the American banking icon, with 350,000 employees and billions .... |
Sonic has $1 menu items
by Associated Press writer
Sonic Corp.'s drive-in restaurant chain launched a new value menu on Monday that offers 11 food and drink items for $1 each plus tax.The “Everyday Value Menu” includes new items and small sizes .... |
Ford must hold talks on workers' suit over stock
by Associated Press writer
A judge has ordered Ford Motor Co. to start discussing settlement of a lawsuit filed on behalf of employees who had company stock as a retirement investment.In a key ruling last week, U.S. District .... |
Viewpoint
Finding a silver lining in a dark economy
by David Pauly, Bloomberg News
It's true that these are the worst economic times since the Great Depression. It's also true that what we're experiencing is nothing compared with what folks went through in the 1930s. I'm sure .... |
