Minnesota Lawyer articles from December 2007

Minnesota Lawyer archives from December 2007

Bar welcomes a 'conscientious' and 'capable' new Minn. Supreme Court jurist.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Saying he wanted a "steady hand on the throttle" and someone he wouldn't have to guess about, Gov. Tim Pawlenty last week appointed Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Dietzen to the Supreme Court. Dietzen was...

Profiling tools help firms find ideal candidates.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Dan Heilman Once upon a time, hiring the right lawyer for your firm was based on a simple equation: education plus expertise plus experience. But law firms are increasingly finding ways to take the risk out of not only the...

Minnesota courts preparing for potential disasters.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Dan Heilman In a post-9/11, post-Katrina world, disaster contingency has become a more and more prominent issue for all kinds of businesses as they struggle with the issue of how they would bounce back in the face of a catastrophe....

Nonprofit firm aims to change judicial elections in Minnesota.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The public dialogue on the future of judicial selection has taken a new turn with the formation of Minnesotans for Impartial Courts. The group, which registered as a political committee in October, is a 501 (c)...

Plaintiffs wrestle with.(Reprint)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher Consumer rights lawyers are challenging corporate efforts to avoid class action arbitration. A 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling opened the doors to class action arbitrations. The court held that if an...

Representing sexual-abuse victims in suits against teachers.(Reprint)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Dick Dahl A recent investigation by the Associated Press found that sexual abuse of students by the nation's teachers is rampant -- yet criminal and civil sanctions to punish this behavior are spotty at best. Over a five-year...

Commentary: Firm's age policy has consequences.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll Early in 2005, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a class action lawsuit against the mega-firm then called Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood -- the first litigation of its kind against a law firm. The...

Commentary: State, federal cases enhance employers' right to fire.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick A pair of recent rulings by the state and federal courts in Minnesota has broadened the rights of the state's employers to discharge employees. Not that they needed much more legal clout. Because most...

Confidentially speaking, the ethics rules can be tricky.
December 3, 2007... Byline: William Wernz Part I of II Confidentiality usually is a trump suit, because it embodies one of the leading values of legal ethics. The duty of confidentiality is, however, so delicately balanced with other values that...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: December 3, 2007.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Will the real appointee please stand up? At last week's press conference announcing the elevation of Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Dietzen to the Supreme Court, Gov. Tim Pawlenty had a...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: December 3, 2007.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Centro Legal celebrates 25 years of service to Latinos Centro Legal -- one of the largest providers of legal assistance to low-income Latinos in Minnesota -- is celebrating 25 years of service...

Minnesota American Bar Association Briefs: December 3, 2007.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter American Bar Association calls for moratorium on executions The American Bar Association has called for a nationwide moratorium on executions based on findings from its recently released...

Across the region.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter IOWA Change of venue mulled in CIETC case Lawyers for the defendants in a high-profile fraud case involving a publicly funded job training agency argued that the trial should be moved from...

High court clamps down on invalid nighttime searches.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Mark A. Cohen In two 4-3 decisions issued the same day, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled against admitting evidence obtained by police officers executing invalid nighttime warrants. In both cases, the officers failed to meet the...

High court clamps down on invalid nighttime searches.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Mark A. Cohen In two 4-3 decisions issued the same day, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled against admitting evidence obtained by police officers executing invalid nighttime warrants. In both cases, the officers failed to meet the...

Minnesota Supreme Court clamps down on invalid nighttime searches.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Mark A. Cohen In two 4-3 decisions issued the same day, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled against admitting evidence obtained by police officers executing invalid nighttime warrants. In both cases, the officers failed to meet the...

Commentary: Do you know when to leave your law firm?
December 10, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll The members of a successful law firm need a fundamental basis for working together. Lawyers who physically share the same office environment should share an outlook that shapes the development of common goals and...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: December 10, 2007.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore Jennifer Smith has been hired by the law firm of Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP as its director of business development. Smith holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Mankato State University. *** Martin...

U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank's tips on federal practice.(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank recently shared with trial lawyers some of his preferences for practicing in his courtroom. They include: * Direct questions to the calendar clerk, not the law clerks; * Follow...

Hennepin County Bar Association to assist court in dealing with budget shortfall.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore The Hennepin County Bar Association is taking steps to help the county's trial courts sort through their budget woes. Hennepin County District Court officials announced late last month that they anticipate a budget...

Two trial lawyer organizations battle in federal court in Minneapolis.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Just because the group changed its name to the American Association of Justice doesn't mean it's giving up the name Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA). That's the import of a lawsuit the AAJ filed last...

Minnesota Supreme Court implements rules relating to ITV.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota Supreme Court has issued amendments to the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure that permit the use of interactive video teleconference in some criminal matters. The use of ITV can be...

Minnesota federal judges provide practice pointers for practitioners.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore While Minnesota's federal court judges vary a bit in how they handle administrative tasks relating to pending cases, they agree on at least one thing -- it's a good idea to treat their law clerks, calendar clerks and...

Business has never been better for lawyers doing video-game law.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Dick Dahl - Special to Minnesota Lawyer Business has never been better for lawyers doing video-game law, in any of its varied manifestations. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, sales of video games in the United States this year...

Business has never been better for lawyers doing video-game law.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Dick Dahl Business has never been better for lawyers doing video-game law, in any of its varied manifestations. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, sales of video games in the United States this year will reach $10.4 billion,...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: December 10, 2007.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Anderson re-election campaign launches Noting that the upcoming Supreme Court elections may be particularly contentious, a steering committee for Justice Paul Anderson has begun requesting...

Access to judicial board files still under review by Minnesota Supreme Court.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones As a Supreme Court committee reviewing the rules of the judicial standards board nears the end of its work, it still has not seen any of the board's actual files. When Minnesota Lawyer went to press, the Supreme...

Dashing through the snow: 2nd annual 'Santa Run' in Minneapolis benefits legal aid.(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Approximately 400 people signed up for the 2nd annual "Santa Run" to benefit Legal Aid, around double the number who signed up the first year. A snowstorm blanketing the metro with half a foot of...

Two major energy initiatives passed by Minn. Legislalture will fuel a lot of work for lawyers.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Two major initiatives passed in the last legislative session will transform the energy industry and fuel a lot of work for lawyers. The Renewable Energy Standard and the Next Generation Energy Act -- both part...

Minnesota Supreme Court ceremony honors late civil rights leader.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Mark A. Cohen In September 1957, opponents of segregation burned a cross in front of the home of Alabama attorney Wiley Branton. A little more than 50 years later, three of the late civil rights leader's children were on hand at...

Earning CLE credits by the book.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Dan Heilman In Ann Petry's short story "The Witness," a black man in a mostly white town is the only witness of a horrible crime, but finds himself afraid of being implicated for the crime if he says anything to the authorities....

Beyond the potluck and fruitcake: holidays in law offices.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Dan Heilman Year after year, the holidays in law offices play out the same way: A box of musty decorations gets dragged out of a storeroom and hung in the reception area; someone brings in a plate of cookies that vanishes in less...

Minnesota County Attorneys Association celebrates 30 years.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Dan Heilman Minnesota has 87 counties, and that can sometimes mean 87 different legal issues that are on the minds of the state's county attorneys: a methamphetamine plague one place, a wave of vandalism someplace else. For 30...

Minnesota judges' group keeps position against changing judicial elections.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones As things stand right now, the group representing the state's District Court judges will be lobbying against any legislative proposal advocating change in how judicial elections are conducted. Even though a...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: December 17, 2007.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Public defenders scope out Darrow performance Clarence Darrow said, "You can protect your liberties in this world only by protecting the other man's freedom. You can be free only if I am free."...

Minnesota U.S. Attorney Thomas Heffelfinger honored with MCAA award.(Minnesota County Attorneys Ass'n)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Former Minnesota U.S. Attorney Thomas Heffelfinger was presented with the MCAA Public Service Award at the Minnesota County Attorneys Association recent annual meeting. The award honors an individual...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: December 17, 2007.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Jolene M. Cutshall, Kathryn S. Hahne, Michael M. Krauss and Jonathan R. Zimmerman have been named partners in the Minneapolis office of Faegre & Benson LLP, effective Jan. 1. Cutshall counsels...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: December 17, 2007.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Appellate court opinion release times changed The Minnesota Clerk of Court has changed the release time of the appellate courts' opinions. Beginning Dec. 6, the Supreme Court changed the...

Finalists announced for Hennepin County bench openings.(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Three 4th Judicial District trial court bench vacancies will occur with the resignations of Judges Heidi S. Schellhas and Francis J. Connolly, who have accepted appointments to the Court of Appeals,...

Commentary: money is the main issue for would-be solos.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll My last column addressed making the decision to leave a law firm. In this and subsequent columns I'll consider how to successfully start a practice on your own after leaving, because it's not an easy path to take. ...

Supreme Court looks at the oft-vilified rule 68 in Minnesota.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Dan Heilman Minnesota's Rule 68: Does it favor plaintiffs, defendants or neither? That was the issue being argued before the Minnesota Supreme Court last week by opposing factions from the court's Advisory Committee on the Rules of...

Mega-verdict in Hennepin County gives much to chew on.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones A headline-grabbing $130 million Hennepin County verdict like the one recently obtained by a group of local dentists in a commercial case is exceedingly rare. The dentists had accused a Massachusetts-based...

Minnesota legal firms doing well by doing good.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore For almost seven years Ryan Matson has worked at the law office of Mackall Crounse & Moore. While he doesn't represent clients, write briefs or do legal research, he's nonetheless become an integral part of the firm....

Deaf clients present unique challenges and rewards.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Dan Heilman As much as any group of people with disabilities, the deaf and hard-of-hearing have their own culture, including numerous ways of communicating that contain their own grammar and syntax. That means additional challenges...

Minneapolis attorney takes the helm of special masters group.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore Minneapolis attorney David Herr is looking forward to leading the young but growing Academy of Court-Appointed Masters. Since its inception a little more than three years ago, the Minnesota-born group has grown to...

Family lawyers advise on keeping a divorce from ruining the holidays.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Justin Rebello With the holiday season upon us, family lawyers may find an unexpected complication in their clients' post-divorce lives. Attorneys say that in many cases, both the husband and wife are in such a rush to finalize...

State of Minn. orders all bridge data to be saved 'until further notice'.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson Bracing for lawsuits related to the 35W bridge collapse, state officials have ordered anyone involved with bridges in Minnesota to preserve all documents related to all bridges in the state. Barbara Forsland, the...

Commentary: the day before Christmas.(Poem)
December 24, 2007... Byline: Mark A. Cohen 'Twas the day before Christmas and through the courthouse Not a creature was stirring, except for a mouse The exterminator won't arrive 'til the New Year So rodents run amok without any fear The...

Minnesota Court News: December 24, 2007.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Finalists announced for Ramsey County bench The finalists for a 2nd Judicial District trial court bench vacancy in Ramsey County were announced last week. The vacancy will occur with the retirement of...

Commentary: Office space will reflect your firm.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll Our previous look at a sound financial footing for the new firm creates the foundation for determining the nature of its infrastructure -- bricks and mortar, computers and software. Each element is essential, but...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: December 24, 2007.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Robert D. Van Brocklin has been selected as the new managing partner of Stoel Rives LLP. Van Brocklin will oversee the management of the firm's 11 offices, including one in Minneapolis. He received his law...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: December 24, 2007.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff 'Holidays at the firm' This holiday season Bar Buzz commemorated the first card to arrive (Greene Espel's) and a particularly entertaining cyber-card we received from Maslon, Edelman, Borman and Brand....

Commentary: The ethics of outsourcing legal work: A national perspective.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Thomas Spahn Unless they are involved in international trade issues, lawyers have traditionally been merely curious bystanders in the debate about outsourcing to India and other foreign countries. But not surprisingly, lawyers'...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: December 24, 2007.
December 24, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter U of M law school names new dean Professor David Wippman has been named dean of the University of Minnesota Law School, subject to approval by the university's Board of Regents. If approved,...

The Minn. State Bar Association has an agenda.
December 31, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Minnesota State Bar Association doesn't wait until the ball drops in Times Square on New Year's Eve to get started on its work at the Legislature. When the session opens on Feb. 12, the MSBA, represented at the...

Minnesota Supreme Court denies request to open judicial complaint files.
December 31, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Minnesota Supreme Court has denied a request by a committee reviewing the rules of the judicial standards board to examine some of the board's complaint files. The Advisory Committee on the Rules of the...

No room for legal shortcuts.
December 31, 2007... Byline: Dan Heilman In the words of the old proverb, the lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. And in the words of the old oil filter commercial, you can pay me now... or you can pay me later. Both of those sayings...

Minnesota Supreme Court rules homeowner had duty to protect child invitee.
December 31, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore A homeowner who provided room, board and a stable home environment to a child had a duty to protect the child from foreseeable sexual abuse by another adult who resided in the home, the Minnesota Supreme Court has...

Minnesota lawyers needed to assist victims of mortgage fraud and foreclosure.
December 31, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore A longtime acquaintance has just walked into your office, panicked because his adjustable rate mortgage has increased to the point where he can't afford it, the investor he found to help save his home is charging an...

Teachers teaching teachers.
December 31, 2007... Byline: Dan Heilman On Wednesday, while the rest of us are returning to work after shaking out New Year's cobwebs the day before, faculty and deans from more than 100 law schools nationwide will descend on the Hilton in New York for the...

Commentary: Business development strategies.
December 31, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll You have money, offices and a computer. Now how can you manage the inevitable (and often steep) time curve that it takes to build up the business for your new firm? The best business development strategies are...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: December 31, 2007.
December 31, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff High court allows withdrawal of 'Alford' plea The Minnesota Supreme Court has allowed a criminal defendant to withdraw his Alford plea on the grounds that a sufficient basis for the plea was not...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: December 31, 2007.
December 31, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Thomas D. Feinberg, who most recently served as senior counsel at Leonard, Street and Deinard, will retire from the practice of law effective Dec. 31, 2007. During his career, Feinberg focused his practice in...

Commentary: New Year's Eve revels in Minnesota litigation.
December 31, 2007... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick With the New Year's Day falling early in the week, the usual frivolity of New Year's Eve may be somewhat subdued. But even though 2008 begins on a Tuesday, the preceding New Year's Eve is likely to be...

Commentary: Protection of senior and retired investors becomes a priority.
December 31, 2007... Byline: James J. Eccleston Senior investors, as well as baby boomers who are retired or who are approaching retirement, should take some comfort from a recent notice to financial services firms, Regulatory Notice 07-43. The Financial...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: December 31, 2007.(Sound recording review)
December 31, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Law library showcases Grittner Minnesota Clerk of Appellate Courts Fred Grittner sang at the Minnesota Judicial Center's "Library Showcase" on Dec. 20 to celebrate the release of his third CD, "Sugar...