Minnesota Lawyer articles from December 2006

Minnesota Lawyer archives from December 2006

The holidays can be a stressful time for lawyers.(for legal practice)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore With frequent deadlines, discovery disputes and clients who are often in crises, the practice of law can be demanding. Add the hustle and bustle of the holiday season to the mix and it's no wonder that many lawyers...

Parent coordinators help divorced couples who won't stop fighting.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher Michael Davidson, a family lawyer in Lexington, Ky., is used to dealing with high-conflict couples. But when clients continue feuding over daily child-rearing issues even after a custody order has been issued,...

Commentary: Some early retirement investment pitches promise too much.
December 4, 2006... Byline: James J. Eccleston A securities regulator, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) has issued an "Investor Alert" to employees contemplating early retirement in reliance upon early retirement investment pitches. These...

MN Bar Buzz: December 4, 2006.(Faegre and Benson introduced scholarships)(Dorsey and Whitney L.L.P. lost 6 lawyers)(Gallo and Associates filed a acse against Kraft Foods Inc.)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Holy guacamole! Firm advocates for avocados Speaking of Californ-i-a, Bar Buzz got an interesting press release from the Los Angeles law firm of Gallo & Associates. Lawyers at the firm have apparently...

MN Supreme Court publicly reprimands former prosecutor.(Minnesota)(Julius A. Nolen)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Minnesota Supreme Court last week publicly reprimanded a former assistant Hennepin County attorney who had been caught with cocaine, marijuana and other drugs in his home in 2004. Julius A. Nolen and...

Dismissal of suit against drug companies affirmed by 8th U.S. Circuit.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal of a claim against Pfizer, Merck & Co. and other large drug companies that the companies unlawfully conspired to suppress importation of...

IRS formalizes appeals arbitration process.(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The IRS has formalized its appeals arbitration process, in which the agency and a taxpayer agree to have a third party make a binding decision about a factual issue related to the taxpayer's case. The...

Commentary: How to get a seat at the in-house counsel's table.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Smaller law firms often think that in-house corporate counsel will work only with the mega-firms. Corporate counsel do want to work with a minimal number of contacts, but I believe that small, local firms still have...

Commentary: When good lawyers offer opinions that you don't like.(University of Minnesota Law School)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen A small brouhaha erupted last week when the University of Minnesota Law School hired Professor Robert Delahunty to fill in for a one-semester course in Constitutional Law. A distinguished member of the University...

Commentary: 'Fantasy' case recalls Minnesota's 'right of publicity' doctrine.(Major League Baseball)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick As professional and college football seasons heat up and professional basketball and hockey start their seasons, sports fans are experiencing a wealth of enjoyment. And someone is getting wealthy off sports...

MN Lawyers in the News: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Will Stute has joined Faegre & Benson's Minneapolis office as a partner in the Business Litigation Group. His practice will focus on litigation matters, particularly matters involving commercial fraud,...

Ramsey County Bar Foundation presents $24K check to Legal Aid.(Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Ramsey County Bar Foundation (RCBF) recently presented a check for $24,024.02 to Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS). The check was presented at the Campaign for Legal Aid Luncheon held on...

Regional Legal Summaries: December 4, 2006.(Holly Michael)(Mary A. Sciortino)(trooper Mark Zach)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff IOWA Woman's statements allowed in man's murder trial Statements made by a Fort Dodge woman who was attacked in her home, which was then set on fire, can be used against the man charged in the case,...

MN Supreme Court Calendar: December 4, 2006.(Calendar)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The following summaries of upcoming Supreme Court arguments for December were prepared by the Supreme Court Commissioner's Office. Monday, Dec. 4, 2006, 9:00 a.m., Courtroom 300, Minnesota Judicial Center...

At what price experts?
December 4, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lo Lawyers representing a defendant charged with a crime sometimes face a difficult dilemma. While a top-flight expert may give a client a badly needed edge, such individuals often come with a hefty price tag. Making the...

MN Court of Appeals upholds conviction for domestic abuse.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen In a domestic abuse case, the admission of evidence of a defendant's four prior domestic assault convictions as "relationship evidence" without a cautionary instruction to the jury was not automatically grounds for...

Third-party visitation rights after breakup at issue in MN Supreme Court.(Marilyn Johnson and Nancy SooHoo)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Parental rights are at the heart of a third-party visitation case recently heard by the Minnesota Supreme Court. Marilyn Johnson adopted two children from China, one in 1997 and one in 2001. At the time of the...

Across the Region.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter IOWA Plaintiffs in Microsoft case won't call Gates The attorney representing plaintiffs in one of the few state-level class-action antitrust lawsuits left against Microsoft Corp. announced...

Litigation mounts over birth control patch.(Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc.)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher More than 1,000 women have filed product liability lawsuits alleging that a contraceptive patch caused serious illnesses and at least one death. In the latest round of filings, plaintiffs' attorneys filed...

Swanson to focus on ending predatory lending.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Clamping down on abuses in the home lending market is the first order of business for Minnesota's incoming attorney general. DFLer Lori Swanson, who takes over in January for departing Attorney General Mike...

SCSU professor appeals dismissal of libel action.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter A St. Cloud State University professor has appealed, for the second time, a court's dismissal of a libel lawsuit brought against the school's student newspaper. Richard Lewis, a history professor...

Electrocution case in MN settles for $2.3 million.(case of death of construction worker)(John T. Buchman)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore It took four mediations and a looming trial date, but Coon Rapids attorney John T. Buchman was recently able to procure a seven-figure settlement for a construction worker electrocuted by a power line while installing...

Boom in foreclosure has lenders' attorneys scrambling.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones With the mortgage foreclosure rate off the charts, some local lawyers who represent lenders are finding that their burgeoning caseloads are becoming too much of a good thing. Even adding more lawyers, legal...

A 'colossal' dilemma for P.I. attorneys.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Personal injury attorneys are increasingly having to resort to litigation as the result of liability insurers' reliance on a software program that spits out settlement values for bodily injury claims and leaves little...

The once and future Hennepin County Attorney.(Michael Freeman)(Biography)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones It's a lot harder to argue a case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court than it is to run a campaign for Hennepin County Attorney, said Michael Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney-elect, shortly after his victory. ...

Freeze! That law may be unconstitutional.(credit freeze laws to prevent identity theft)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson As identity theft continues to grow, states are beginning to take action to protect their consumers. A recent trend is the passage of credit freeze laws, enabling consumers to prevent credit reporting...

California lawyer chooses the (bike) path less taken.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher Gary Brustin's legal career took an unusual turn 16 years ago, when he decided to steer his solo practice toward a unique niche -- bicycle litigation. Since then, Brustin has become one of the few personal...

MN Bar Buzz: December 11, 2006.(Minnesota Women Lawyers, Fillmore Family Resources Inc., International Self-Reliance Agency for Women)(Columbus Day)(Hennepin County Bar Association)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Battered women groups benefit from MWL bounty It was a happier holiday season for two organizations that benefit battered women after Minnesota Women Lawyers donated approximately $10,000 to the...

DOJ to revise policy on attorney-client privilege.(Department of Justice)(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Justice Department is apparently planning to make it more difficult for prosecutors to force companies to waive the attorney-client privilege in plea negotiations in order to avoid being indicted. ...

MN Lawyers in the News: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Stephanie Bitterman, JoLynn Markison and Laurence Reszetar have become associates for Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand, LLP. Bitterman practices in the Litigation Group. She received her bachelor's degree, summa...

Selling a practice must be done right.(legal practice)(Column)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll I have written before in this column that selling a law practice to another qualified lawyer is a positive for everyone concerned. Not only do the buying and selling attorneys benefit, but the clients also benefit when...

In holiday season, keep those cards and letters coming.(Editorial)
December 11, 2006... Byline: David Yas Have you noticed that your junk mail is beginning to arrive with a little more mirth than usual? Yes, it's that time of year. Here come the holiday cards. Right down Santa Claus Lane. (You won't actually find Santa on...

U.S. District Court OKs auto glass repair company's practice.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff U.S. District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz has determined that an auto glass repair company's practice of not requiring customers to pay the difference between what it charges and what the insurer actually...

'Sexual orientation' bullying policy approved by Waterloo Board of Education.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff With a narrow margin, Waterloo's Board of Education approved a new bullying policy that adds sexual orientation to policies that govern student harassment. Board members heard nearly an hour of debate on...

Federal appeals court rules Nebraska's ban on corporate farming unconstitutional.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff A federal appeals court last week ruled that Nebraska's ban on corporate farming is unconstitutional. The decision follows a similar ruling late last year by U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith-Camp, who...

Nebraska Supreme Court rejects state pension fund lawsuit.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The state Supreme Court has refused to revive a lawsuit that charged the Nebraska Investment Council with losing millions of dollars from the state's pension fund. The 2003 lawsuit alleged that the...

Attorney discipline in North Dakota highest in decades.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff North Dakota's Supreme Court suspended seven attorneys' law licenses this year for violating professional conduct codes. It was the most suspensions for lawyers in at least 30 years. The Supreme Court...

Wisconsin Supreme Court allows fight over Pabst property to go forward.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The state Supreme Court has allowed a lawsuit to move forward in a dispute over a failed plan to purchase and redevelop the historic Pabst Brewery in downtown Milwaukee. The court, ruling in a case...

Wisconsin appeals court allows use of bank records in theft case.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff A divided state appeals court has reversed a judge's ruling that blocked prosecutors from using some bank records in a case of employee theft from a northern Wisconsin grocery store. The 3rd District...

3rd District Court of Appeals rules city can't prosecute suspected drunken driver.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The city of Eau Claire has lost a fight to prosecute a man police say was driving while drunk more than a year ago. What did he drive? A piece of construction equipment on a city street under construction and...

Federal decision takes gag off debtors' attorneys.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones A portion of the 2005 bankruptcy law that has been getting under the skin of debtors' attorneys recently was declared unconstitutional by U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Rosenbaum. There actually isn't...

Minnesota Court of Appeals rules maintenance denial didn't require bad faith finding.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen A bad faith finding was not required for a judge to deny spousal maintenance to a woman with a part-time job who has the ability to earn more, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled. The woman had a bachelor's...

Women attorneys of color still face workplace bias.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Jane Pribek In 1872, Charlotte Ray became the first female African-American lawyer in the United States to be admitted to the bar. Ray eventually had to quit the practice of law because she could not attract sufficient clients to...

Intellectual property lawyers turn to ADR rather than courtroom.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Dick Dahl Recent legal developments are convincing more intellectual-property litigants to turn to alternative dispute resolution instead of the courtroom. This interest in ADR marks a shift for IP lawyers, long notoriously...

Minnesota's biggest firms work hard tackling diversity.(Interview)
December 18, 2006... Byline: Jane Pribek Diversity is a top priority at two of the state's largest law firms, say a pair lawyers who have made promoting inclusiveness one of their life's missions. They spoke to Minnesota Lawyer about their reactions to a...

Fired court officer loses sex harassment case.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter A Woodbury County jury has ruled against a former court officer who claimed she was fired for accusing a judge of sexual harassment. Bridget Hayes, the former 3rd Judicial District chief juvenile...

Holiday gift giving is complicated in the workplace.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Dolan Media Newswires WorldWIT, the world's largest online community for professional women with 50,000 members, asked them: Do you plan to give a gift to your employees this holiday? Only one-third said yes. Just 5 percent...

Across the Region.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Rosenbaum reloaded Judge James Rosenbaum, chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Minnesota, is apparently enjoying movie-star status among bankruptcy aficionados of his recent ruling in...

Truth stranger than fiction in Grisham's latest.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Matt Harper-Nixon John Grisham has made a career writing books that often rely on legal situations bordering on the outrageous. In The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, Grisham's first foray into the true-crime...

Centro Legal, Inc. investigating possible civil rights violations in Minnesota.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Centro Legal, Inc. (CLI) a non-profit legal service agency serving the Latino community in Minnesota, is currently investigating possible constitutional and civil rights violations of workers by the...

Commentary: Dozen decisions demonstrate diverse doctrines.(Column)
December 18, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick As 2006 draws to a close, lawyers in Minnesota can look back upon a year of diverse litigation. The past 12 months have been replete with a varied collection of cases decided by the federal and state courts...

MN Legal Briefs: December 18, 2006.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Briggs and Morgan, P.A., has added eight associates to its Minneapolis office. Catherine A. Biestek is a member of the Business Litigation Section. She received her B.A. magna cum laude in political...

Commentary: No elves were harmed in the making of this column.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen The holidays can be a slow time for news. Good will and peace for men (and women, of course) is all well and good, but we still have to fill up a newspaper after all. You call a law firm for a comment on an...

Federal court announces revisions to procedures.(Brief article)
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Effective today, Dec. 18, 2006, the District of Minnesota will require that counsel file two paper courtesy copies of motions and related filings, i.e. affidavits and exhibits. When an attorney files motions,...

Financial Early Neutral Evaluation Project accepting applications.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Financial Early Neutral Evaluation ("FENE") pilot project is accepting applications from attorneys and other professionals interested in becoming trained evaluators. Applications must be received...

When it's necessary to terminate a lawyer.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Plenty of news stories attest that associates are not satisfied with their lot in life, particularly at large law firms. The current business model of these firms is eats 'em up and spit 'em out. This culling...

Former employee sues Eden Prairie based-C.H. Robinson Worldwide for sex bias.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff A former employee of Eden Prairie based-C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. has filed sexual harassment and other individual claims of sex discrimination against the company in U.S. District Court for the Eastern...

Minnesota Court of Appeals rules after-acquired evidence doesn't bar claims against employer.
December 25, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Evidence of a job applicant's criminal history, which was revealed after he was rejected for a position, did not bar his discriminatory hiring claim against the employer, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled....

Minnesota Supreme Court finds implied consent law constitutional.
December 25, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota Supreme Court has unanimously determined that the state's implied consent law does not violate federal or state due process guarantees. Two DWI defendants had argued that because the state's implied...

Minnesota's legal certification program is facing economic issues.(Legal Certification Review Task Force)
December 25, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The Legal Certification Review Task Force has recommended that the Minnesota Supreme Court convene a committee to discuss and resolve the funding issues facing the legal certification process in Minnesota. The...

Ending Hmong marriages presents legal, cultural issues.
December 25, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Roseville attorney Tom Lee had a prospective client in his office and didn't know what advice to give him. The Hmong gentleman had been in a "cultural marriage," which had not been solemnized in the state, for 25...

New Congress may affect clients' estate planning.
December 25, 2006... Byline: Reni Gertner As the Democrats take control of Congress -- making the chance of estate tax repeal in the near future much less likely -- estate planners should be gearing up to review their clients' estate and financial plans. ...

New guidelines alter DOJ policy on privilege waivers.
December 25, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Justice Department has issued new guidelines that make it more difficult for prosecutors to penalize defendants who refuse to waive the attorney-client privilege in plea negotiations in order to avoid...

Dept. of Labor seeks comment on Family Leave Act.
December 25, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Department of Labor is seeking feedback on the Family and Medical Leave Act. The public survey on the Act will be the first in over a decade. The Department says it would like "fresh thinking on the...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: December 25, 2006.(Todd Barnette)
December 25, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff What about the Who-pudding and Roast Beast? Judge Todd Barnette is taking over from Judge Robert Lynn the important job of planning the Hennepin County courts' Christmas party and perpetuating Lynn's...

ABA releases resource for law firm associates.
December 25, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The American Bar Association Law Practice Management Section has announced the release of a resource for associates who want to become the next partner in their firm -- the third edition of "Making Partner: A...

Commentary: Why is marketing bad for lawyers?(Code of Professional Conduct)
December 25, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Some of us can still remember when lawyer advertising was prohibited by the Code of Professional Conduct. It took a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Arizona v. Bates nearly 30 years ago to reassure lawyers that...

Minnesota Court News December 25, 2006.
December 25, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Neutral Evaluation project accepting applications The Financial Early Neutral Evaluation ("FENE") pilot project is accepting applications from attorneys and other professionals interested in becoming...

Commentary: Invest carefully in private equity funds.
December 25, 2006... Byline: James J. Eccleston A recent newspaper article discussed how private equity investments are "taking Wall Street by storm" and how it is easier now for individual investors to "get a piece of the action," once reserved only for...

Commentary: A holiday letter from the Minnesota Lawyer family.
December 25, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Well, it's that time of year again, time to bring you up to date on our busy lives over the last year. Where does the time go? But things haven't been so bad. Seems like all the news this year had to do...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: December 25, 2006.
December 25, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Jason W. Pfeiffer has become a partner with the Minneapolis office of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. His practice focuses in the areas of insurance and catastrophic loss litigation. He received his...