Minnesota Lawyer articles from April 2008

Minnesota Lawyer archives from April 2008

Commentary: Money or justice: Must we choose?
April 7, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll I firmly believe, and have often written, that a lawyer must make an adequate living at his practice before making a meaningful pro bono effort. Two recent articles in California's legal press set parameters on what...

Minneapolis attorney named dean of Hamline Law School.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Dan Heilman For now, the leadership of the Twin Cities' four law schools is settled, and nobody could be happier about it than Donald Lewis. Lewis, a veteran Minneapolis trial attorney, last week was named dean of Hamline...

Minnesota Supreme Court: DNA collection challenged as an unreasonable search.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Minnesota Supreme Court is grappling with a controversial issue that arises when technology meets privacy rights arguably protected by the Fourth Amendment: Does the collection of DNA samples without a warrant,...

New Minnesota appellate judges speak out about life on the court.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Michelle Lore The three newest additions to the Minnesota Court of Appeals say the experience of sitting on an appellate bench is proving to be at least somewhat different than they expected. The biggest shock for me is the...

Minneapolis lawyer issues new edition of World Press Institute.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Turkish Daily News, among other media, recently reported some exciting news from the border of two communities -- Minnesota lawyers and international reporters. The news was that the World Press Institute has...

Commentary: A stressful week for some local law schools.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Mark A. Cohen The American Bar Association's Law Student Division recently officially designated March 27 as National Mental Health Day at law schools across the country. Law schools were encouraged to take advantage of the day by...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: April 7, 2008.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter St. Thomas hosts a Watergate reunion I know that small microphones have a way of picking up my voice. If you understand that, you're over 45. That was John Dean, former counsel to President...

Commentary: Concurrent court cases curtail competition.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Noncompete clauses apparently are being used with rising regularity -- and litigated with growing frequency -- in Minnesota. Those trends were reflected in a trio of recent cases concurrently decided by the...

Commentary: How about a management audit?
April 7, 2008... Byline: Mark A. Cohen We just passed the one-year anniversary of the day (April 5, 2007) when three top deputies and one administrator at the office of then-U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose stepped down from their leadership posts in protest...

Minneapolis to host annual Equal Justice Conference.(Brief article)(Conference notes)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter More than 1,000 lawyers, judges and advocates responsible for providing civil legal assistance to the country's indigent population will take an in-depth look at the delivery of legal services to...

Minnesota governor to deliver law school commencement address.(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will deliver the Commencement Address at the University of Minnesota Law School's 120th commencement ceremony on May 17 at Northrop Memorial Auditorium. A 1986...

Committee shoots down expanding use of cameras in Minnesota courtrooms.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Minnesota's courtroom doors will not open any wider to cameras than they already are if the Supreme Court adopts the recommendations of its Advisory Committee on the General Rules of Practice. The committee has...

Closing time: Tips on wrapping up your case.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Michelle Lore Making his closing argument in a case involving the technology of sheet feeders, intellectual property litigator David Gross once felt his eyes start to well up. The tears only lasted a few seconds, but it was...

8th Circuit reverses class certification decision.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a decision by U.S. District Court John R. Tunheim to certify as a class plaintiffs who brought a products liability action against a medical device...

American Association for Justice supports legislation to stop nursing home abuses.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The American Association for Justice announced its support last week of legislation that would end the practice of requiring residents and their family members to sign mandatory arbitration clauses...

Housing Alliance Law Office effects positive change for renters of troubled properties in Minnesota.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Dan Heilman Roscoe Benson had just been through a nasty divorce, was having debt problems and his two children had recently been diagnosed with numerous allergies. The last thing the St. Paul resident needed was hassles from his...

Ineffective assistance of counsel claim sustained by Minn. Court of Appeals.(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota Court of Appeals has determined that it was ineffective assistance of counsel for a criminal defense lawyer to advise a client to delay moving to withdraw her guilty plea until after...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: April 14, 2008.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter SMRLS gets a mortgage payment to help it through lien times The Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association presented Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services with a check for $50,000 last...

Commentary: Got 'the billable-hour blues'?
April 14, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll Dan Klau is a successful New England lawyer who has found a personal outlet by recording The Billable Hour Blues, a CD of humorous songs and parodies that relate to being a lawyer. The title track has lyrics that too...

The lessons that Watergate holds for lawyers.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Watergate is a tale they would tell of hubris, abuse, presidential power and violations of legal ethics. About 22 of the Watergate defendants were lawyers. And, of course, so was Richard Nixon, who was driven...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: April 14, 2008.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Kristen K. Naros has joined the Rambow Law Firm in Bloomington. Naros will continue to concentrate her law practice in the areas of personal injury and criminal defense. She graduated cum laude from...

Merger between Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines cleared for takeoff?
April 28, 2008... Byline: Dan Heilman As Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines move forward with their plans to create the world's largest passenger air carrier by merging, there are plenty of legal and regulatory hurdles to clear. But most expert...

Minnesota attorney faces malpractice suit in Kentucky.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones A Minnesota attorney has found himself in the unusual position of having to defend himself against a legal malpractice suit in Kentucky. The attorney, James Rolshouse of Burnsville, does not have a Kentucky law...

Every day is Earth Day for Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy lawyers.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Michelle Lore While Earth Day is celebrated but once a year, there is a group of Twin Cities attorneys with a much longer lasting commitment to the environment. Meet the attorneys of the Minnesota Center for Environmental...

What's HOT & what's not: Telecom law issues.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Dan Heilman Ever since the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the goal of which was to let any communications business compete in any market against any other, telecom law has been a lively practice area. Throw in...

Commentary: The MSBA goes to Washington, stumps for Legal Services.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Editor's note: Minnesota Lawyer Associate Editor Barbara Jones accompanied a delegation from the Minnesota State Bar Association to Washington, D.C., where the group went as part of an American Bar Association...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: April 28, 2008.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Immigration lawyers sponsor 'Citizenship Day' The American Immigration Lawyers Association recently sponsored Citizenship Day 2008, a single-day workshop with sites around the country providing...

Commentary: A 'Hotel California' nightmare for investors.
April 28, 2008... Byline: James Eccleston Some investors have discovered Wall Street's version of the Hotel California: they have checked in to an investment that they cannot leave. Since mid-February, a significant number of auctions (70 percent...

Commentary: how do you sue a client? Very carefully!
April 28, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll Regular readers of this column know that I consider client intake to be the most important step in the collection process. An appropriate conversation and written agreement with your client about payment of fees in the...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: April 28, 2008.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Mark R. Whitmore has been elected chief operating officer/managing partner of Bassford Remele. Whitmore's law practice focuses on defending medical malpractice claims and providing guidance to area...

Jeff Keyes appointed as U.S. Magistrate Judge for District of Minnesota.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Jeffrey J. Keyes has been appointed to the position of U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Minnesota. He will fill the position created by the Judicial Conference of the U.S. Courts. Keyes,...

Minn. Court of Appeals allows use of stay in termination of parental rights case.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota Court of Appeals has determined that the use of a stayed termination order in a termination-of-parental rights proceeding does not inherently violate a parent's right to due process. ...

Billy Sherman v. Laurie Ann Marek: Driver rear-ended by semi-truck.
April 28, 2008... The plaintiff was slowing in traffic when he was rear-ended by the defendant's vehicle. The defendant was driving a semi-truck and could not stop in time to avoid the collision. The plaintiff sustained head trauma that initially caused...