Minnesota Lawyer articles from April 2003

Minnesota Lawyer archives from April 2003

MN Legal Briefs April 7, 2003.(two law firms' executives)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Intellectual property law firm, Patterson, Thuente, Skaar & Christensen, has named Norman Abramson and Eric Chadwick as partners. Abramson joined the firm in 1999, focusing his practice in the areas...

Study: Staggered sentences help to reduce DWI recidivism.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Staggered sentencing reduces recidivism in offenders convicted of driving while intoxicated by nearly 50 percent, according to a recent Minnesota House of Representatives study. Staggered sentencing involves a...

Commentary: What every lawyer should know about reciprocal discipline.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility Reciprocal discipline essentially means that a lawyer who is subject to public discipline in one jurisdiction may also be disciplined for the same misconduct in any other jurisdiction...

Casinos must release some financial data, court finds.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Neither federal nor state law prohibited public disclosure of financial audit information submitted to the state by two Indian tribes pursuant to tribal/state gaming compacts, the Court of Appeals has ruled. A...

Insurer must cover teacher's accident with school's van.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A school district's insurer must provide coverage for an automobile accident where a teacher was driving the district's vehicle on a personal errand while intoxicated, the Supreme Court has decided. A Hennepin...

Commentary: Concealed weapon legislation - behind the politics.(debate over proposed Minnesota Citizens' Protection Act of 2003)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Ember Reichgott Junge There are few issues more fraught with politics at the Minnesota Legislature than legislation allowing more permits to carry concealed weapons. Observers on both sides agree that chances of passage of this...

Trial court's failure to instruct on res ipsa was erroneous.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A trial court judge erred in refusing to give a res ipsa loquitur jury instruction in a case where the plaintiff fell into a drainage gutter at the defendant's factory when a safety grate owned and maintained by the...

Commentary: Jousting judges: Courts collide in circuit.(8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear case)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick The recent appointment of U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank to preside over a controversial case concerning alleged judicial improprieties is one of a series of reflections lately of judicial disharmony...

Commentary: Did we already have a Hispanic high court justice?
April 7, 2003... Byline: Frederick Ramos Currently, there is controversy regarding Miguel Estrada's nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Democrats have refused to let Estrada's nomination come up for a final Senate vote...

Commentary: Seven critical functions for your financial advisor.(Column)
April 14, 2003... Byline: James Eccleston Investors should know that their financial advisors are expected to perform many important functions and tasks. The standards of care governing financial advisors were articulated in 1995 when the Securities and...

Minneapolis attorney receives Advocate Award.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Civil Litigation Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association presented its Advocate Award to Minneapolis attorney George Soule at the section's annual dinner on Wednesday, April 9. The...

Managing partners are upbeat about firm business prospects.(Column)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones The managing partners at several of the area's largest law firms are predicting that the worst is over in terms of layoffs, office closings and other austerity measures. Nationwide the employment picture at larger...

Black Law Students Association holds gala.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) has held its first annual "Night of Distinction: Greater Service, Greater Progress" gala. The event took place at the University of St. Thomas School of...

Law firm to sponsor benefit for Minneapolis nonprofits.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The law firm of Dorsey & Whitney is sponsoring a special screening of the new documentary, "Stevie," on April 17. All proceeds will benefit two local nonprofits -- the Council on Crime and Justice...

An interview with Gov. Pawlenty's top advisor on judicial picks.(Eric J. Magnuson)(Interview)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Minneapolis attorney Eric J. Magnuson worked with Gov. Tim Pawlenty at the law firm of Rider Bennett for more than a decade -- from 1989 until Pawlenty left the firm in 2000. The two are working together again,...

Commentary: What's a 'good reason' to resign?(Column)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick The phrase "Take this job and shove it" -- derived from a 1977 song by the recently deceased Johnny Paycheck, and the title of a forgettable 1981 movie starring Robert Hays of "Airplane" and "Airplane II" fame --...

Rule 11 sanctions against law firm overturned.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore A District Court judge erred in imposing Rule 11 sanctions against a law firm where the moving party did not give the firm 21 days to withdraw or correct the conduct triggering the motion, the Court of Appeals has...

Retired librarian wins award from law library association.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Retired Minnesota State Law Librarian Marvin Anderson has been named as a recipient of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) prestigious Marian Gould Gallagher Distinguished Service Award....

Hamline Univ. retains dispute resolution program's national ranking.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Hamline University School of Law has retained its top-five national ranking in dispute resolution in the new 2004 U.S. News & World Report annual rankings of the nation's best law schools and...

Snowmobile trail group is immune from injury claims.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A snowmobile trail association is immune from tort claims by users of the trail under the municipal tort liability act and the recreational-use immunity statute, the Court of Appeals has ruled. A Washington County...

MN Legal Briefs April 21, 2003.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Tina Proctor has joined William Mitchell College of Law as assistant dean and director of admissions. Proctor received her M.A. in Education from the University of St. Thomas in 1999 and graduated...

Court of Appeals says police made illegal stop.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter A police officer can't stop a car's driver based solely on the purchase of two commonly sold items with legal uses that also can be used to make illegal drugs, the state Court of Appeals ruled last...

Commentary: What constitutes a 'satisfactory living' for a lawyer.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Neil Hamilton Only one sentence in the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct provides guidance on the critical question of the relationship between income and professional life. The Preamble's eighth paragraph states that,...

Courts challenge private bar to pitch in during fiscal crisis.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones When it comes to solving the crisis in the courts caused by budget deficits, lawyers have to reinvent their own wheels, Minnesota Supreme Court Justice James H. Gilbert recently told members of the Civil Litigation...

Court looks at underinsured motorist policy in context of multi-car families.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota Supreme Court is once again grappling with an underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage issue. The question before the high court this time is whether a named insured in the policy insuring the vehicle in...

Media not entitled to access to Minnesota Twins documents.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore The media is not entitled to access to financial documents produced during discovery in a lawsuit between the Minnesota Twins, Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, the Court...

Which MN Human Rights Act damages can be multiplied?
April 21, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones The Court of Appeals is currently considering the proper measure of damages to be awarded in a state court sex-discrimination case involving both state and federal claims. The plaintiff, Patricia Ray, was awarded...

Incarcerated judge's opinion is vacated by high court.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen In a highly unusual move, the Supreme Court last week vacated a Court of Appeals decision written by former Judge Roland Amundson, who is currently serving time for embezzling more than $300,000 from a disabled woman's...

Couple is barred from suing home contractor.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A couple who purchased a nine-year-old house for $5.18 million in 2000 could not, after discovering water damage, bring a suit in 2001 against the construction company that built the house, the Court of Appeals has...

MN Legal Briefs April 28, 2003.(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Ryan A. Johannsen has joined the firm of Terhaar, Archibald, Pfefferle & Griebel, LLP as an associate. Johannsen is a 2002 graduate of William Mitchell College of Law. *** Rider Bennett has...

Child support overhaul legislation moving forward.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Ember Reichgott Junge Major family law legislation is moving through both houses of the Minnesota Legislature, including significant changes to child support laws. While the omnibus family law proposals in the House of...

Supreme Court justices applaud court innovations.(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen A. Blatz and Justice Alan Page recognized judges, prosecutors, public defenders and law enforcement officials in Montevideo recently for continuing to...

State Justice Institute awards grant to Hennepin County Court manager.(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Hennepin County District Court has announced Susan Ledray, Pro Se Services Manager for the court, attended the Equal Justice Conference April 17-19, 2003. The conference was convened by the American...

Eviction of subsidized housing tenants OK'd.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore An apartment complex that is federally subsidized under 26 U.S.C. sec. 42 did not need to show "material noncompliance" with a lease in order to terminate a tenancy, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled. The...

The Golden years: A new era for Minnesota State Law Library.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore It's an exciting time for Barbara Golden. Late last year, the Minnesota Supreme Court appointed the St. Paul attorney to the position of state law librarian, replacing Marvin Anderson, who retired from the post after...

Arbitration bars appeals court from hearing case.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones The Court of Appeals last week ruled that a doctor who was fired from the University of Minnesota and went through its complete grievance procedure -- including an arbitration proceeding -- could not obtain direct...

Commentary: Immunity is an increasingly important issue.(Column)
April 28, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick Injured parties asserting tort claims against governmental bodies face a number of major hurdles. These include limitation of damages as well as defenses not available to private sector defendants. One of those...

MSBA's practicelaw.org: A Web of support for attorneys.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Lawyers may not realize they have a library of forms and other practice guides at their fingertips, but in fact, thanks to the Minnesota State Bar Association's (MSBA) "practicelaw.org," they do. Practicelaw.org...

Marked police car found not to be a 'motor vehicle'.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A pedestrian injured by a city of Rochester marked police patrol car cannot recover basic economic loss benefits from the city under the Minnesota No-Fault Act, the Supreme Court has held. The Court of Appeals had...