Minnesota Lawyer articles from February 2008

Minnesota Lawyer archives from February 2008

Court-appointed neutrals don't get immunity from suit, rules Minn. Court of Appeals.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones In a decision that may affect how courts resolve a number of disputes, particularly in family law, the Court of Appeals has decided that a court-appointed independent neutral is not entitled to quasi-judicial...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: February 4, 2008.(Mansfield, Tanick & Cohen to give Education Award for Richard D. Lewis )
February 4, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter 'Resilient' client gets firm's Education Award The Minneapolis law firm Mansfield, Tanick & Cohen recently presented its Education Award to one of its clients -- Professor Richard D. Lewis of St....

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: February 4, 2008.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Five attorneys who have joined Carlson, Caspers, Vandenburgh & Lindquist are establishing a pharmaceutical practice for the firm. Two new partners, Mark D. Schuman and Jeffer Ali, will head up...

Minnesota Senate broaches the subject of judicial elections.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The door to a constitutional amendment revamping judicial elections recently opened a crack at the Capitol. On Feb. 4, three Senate committees -- the Judiciary, Judiciary Budget and State and Local Government...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: February 11, 2008.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Family law pilot program launched in outstate areas An Early Case Management and Early Neutral Evaluation pilot program has been launched in the 3rd and 5th Judicial Districts with the goal of...

Plan to overhaul Minnesota's judicial oversight system now near completion.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones An advisory committee that has been working on an overhaul of the rules governing the board that oversees judicial conduct appears to be nearing completion of its task. On Jan. 31, the Advisory Committee on the...

Commentary: Lawyer advertising: A look at the year to come.
February 11, 2008... Byline: W. C. Saturley and J. Callanan Let's start with a quiz. Which lasted longer: a) the War of the Roses, b) the War on Drugs, c) the 50 Years War, or d) the battle over regulating lawyer advertising? You may think it's a trick...

Commentary: Lincoln's birthday? A penny for your thoughts.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Mark A. Cohen Abraham Lincoln turns 199 tomorrow. While he lives on in legend as one of our greatest presidents, truth be told he suffered a few indignities in recent years. His birthday, Feb. 12, used to be a holiday. But then...

Minnestoa Bar Buzz: February 11, 2008.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Not your everyday committee hearing The atmosphere at last week's joint senate committee hearing on judicial elections was light-hearted but also heavy with celebrity. Sen. Mee Moua, DFL-St....

Commentary: Securities regulators reveal widespread compliance deficiencies.(Report)
February 11, 2008... Byline: James J. Eccleston The North American Securities Administrators Association has released a report that details significant compliance deficiencies among investment advisers nationwide and in Canada. It also outlines a set of...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: February 11, 2008.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Five attorneys have been elected partners of Meagher & Geer P.L.L.P. Livia Babcock practices in the areas of commercial litigation, employment practices and professional Liability. Nicole Brand...

Pro bono CLE rule in Minnesota sparks debate.(continuing legal education)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Michelle Lore A recent rule change allowing local lawyers to get continuing legal education credits for their pro bono work was supposed to be good news for Legal Services providers. But some pro bono groups are upset that their...

Churches are exempt from state conceal-and-carry law, rules Minn. Court of Appeals.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Minnesota Court of Appeals shot down the state's conceal-and-carry law last week, as least as it applies to churches. The court upheld an injunction issued by a Hennepin County District Court judge...

Minnesota bill aims to 'restore' discovery SOL in sex-abuse cases.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Dan Heilman A bill lawmakers are considering this session seeks to give some sex-abuse victims more time to sue than currently allowed. The initiative seeks to undo a 12-year-old Minnesota Supreme Court case that proponents...

Commentary: Strictly speaking, state dog-bite law not so strict.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Minnesota is one of about 33 states that recognize strict liability for dog bites, either by statute, common law or both. Under Minn. Stat. sec. 347.22, the person who owns or harbors a dog is strictly liable,...

Stipulation deemed unfair by Minnesota court.(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Where the parties signed a stipulation to dissolve their marriage; the stipulation had been drafted by husband's counsel; and the District Court found that although wife was not under duress when she...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: February 18, 2008.
February 18, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Speaker series explores domestic violence in the military Experts say that addressing domestic violence within a military context requires special tools because the problem of abuse is...

Commentary: Getting the most out of financial software.
February 18, 2008... Byline: Ed Poll Today's financial information systems and software can, and do, produce extremely detailed assessments of law firm financial performance and, in fact, may provide far more data than the typical attorney can assimilate...

Is plaintiff entitled to jury trial for claim brought under Minnesota Human Rights Act?
February 18, 2008... Byline: Michelle Lore Is a plaintiff entitled to a jury trial for a claim brought under the Minnesota Human Rights Act? That question has been causing waves throughout the state's employment law bar lately. Despite statutory language...

Child-neglect case plan is presumptively reasonable, rules Minnesota Supreme Court.
February 18, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Court of Appeals should not have reversed a trial court judge's decision to terminate a mother's parental rights to her two young children, the Minnesota Supreme Court has held. A court-approved case plan...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: February 18, 2008.
February 18, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Court of Appeals says judges can expunge BCA records The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that District Court judges may expunge judicially created records that are maintained by executive...

What's Hot & what's not: Animal Law.
February 18, 2008... Byline: Dan Heilman Minnesota Lawyer is happy to introduce What's Hot/What's Not -- a new regular feature. Each month, we'll ask an expert to discuss issues on the rise and issues on the decline in a particular legal niche area or other...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: February 18, 2008.
February 18, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Lobbyist and attorney Robert Bob J. Tennessen has opened Tennessen Law, PLC. A former Minnesota state legislator, Tennessen represents clients before the state legislature, state agencies, cities and...

Majority of Minnesota Attorney General's Office staff polled: Letter writers not speaking for them.
February 20, 2008... Byline: Dan Heilman A majority of staffers at the Minnesota Attorney General's Office who participated in an informally conducted survey today said that the three assistant AGs who penned and circulated a letter critical of Lori Swanson do...

Diversity in Minnesota law schools.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Some nationwide research shows that minority enrollment in law schools, particularly blacks and Mexican-Americans, has declined more than 8 percent over the past 15 years. But the outlook in Minnesota is not so...

Minnesota CLE: Successful diversity efforts require change from the top down.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Having a successfully diverse law firm or department requires a sufficient supply of employment candidates and an effective set of policies and practices that will support those employees. That was the...

Minnesota CLE compliance checks are being conducted at law firms statewide.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Dan Heilman The case of Gemma Graham is one of the more bizarre incidents to take place in the Minnesota legal community in some time. But, despite its flukish nature, it still has lawyers and law firm administrators buzzing. ...

In-house counsel license applications on the rise in Minnesota.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Michelle Lore The number of licensed attorneys serving as in-house counsel in Minnesota continues to rise, thanks in part to amendments to the Rules for Admission to the Bar that made it easier for in-house lawyers from other...

Lawyer fee boost of $8 sought for Minnesota's Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Supreme Court is considering a request from the Minnesota State Bar Association to increase annual lawyer registration fees by $8 to provide funds for Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, Minnesota's lawyer...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: February 25, 2008.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Briggs and Morgan steps up for cystic fibrosis Briggs and Morgan again this year sponsored the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Climb for a Cure, an annual fundraising event hosted by the Minnesota...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: February 25, 2008.(Case overview)
February 25, 2008... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Dietzen's elevation to the high court becomes official Christopher Dietzen was sworn in as the state's newest Supreme Court justice at a ceremony at the Landmark Center in St. Paul last...

Zoo escape attacks unleash lawsuits.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Justin Rebello On Christmas Day 2007, 17-year-old Carlos Sousa was strolling through the San Francisco Zoo with friends when a 350-pound Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped from her big-cat enclosure and fatally mauled the...

Municipalities nationally on defense over religious land-use claims.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher Municipalities throughout the country are defending themselves against claims alleging violations of the federal religious land-use act. Since the enactment eight years ago of the Religious Land Use and...

Commentary: Social arbitrage beneficence has its own rewards.(Reprint)
February 25, 2008... Byline: Mark Powers Think of marketing as a game. A game in which the open flow of information -- the constant exchange of ideas and exchange of small gestures with those in your social network -- add up to business success. To play...

Stepping up your sales tactics.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Reni Gertner Sales may not be every lawyer's strongest suit, but with the new LegalBizDev Success Kit, perhaps it could be. The kit -- intended to help lawyers get new business -- is being used by law firms big and small that...

Commentary: Preparing for the 'second season' of a legal career.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll According to a recent study by legal management consultant Altman Weil, the closer to retirement a lawyer gets, the more likely he is to oppose mandatory retirement ages. Interviews with a number of aging lawyers...

Commentary: Mall matters: California-style free speech differs from here.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Californians are a race of people; they are not merely inhabitants of a state. -- O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) 1909 In the midst of this brutally cold winter, some Minnesotans will be venturing to...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: February 25, 2008.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Michelle Lore Brad Orschel has joined Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand, LLP. He joins the firm's litigation team, focusing his practice primarily on commercial litigation. Orschel is a 2005 graduate of the Georgetown University Law...

Minnesota Lawyer's 2007 Attorney of the Year: Victor Vieth.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Michael Krieger Victor Vieth recently visited his alma mater, Hamline University School of Law, to kick off its spring semester by introducing a new course -- child abuse and the law. It's a familiar topic for Vieth. For more...

Minnesota Lawyer's 2007 Attorney of the Year: Joseph W. Anthony.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Mark A. Cohen When Minneapolis business litigator Joseph W. Anthony agreed to represent a group of 115 local dentists in a contract case, he knew the stakes were high. The dentists were involved in a dispute with a...

Minnesota Lawyer's 2007 Attorney of the Year: Timothy E. Branson.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Jane Pribek Timothy E. Branson may not be your typical big-firm lawyer. In addition to trial work for his business clients, Branson has been a fierce pro bono advocate for a variety of individuals and organizations, including...

Minnesota Lawyer's 2007 Attorney of the Year: John Keller.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Shortly after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Worthington, John Keller was there to provide legal assistance for families and detainees. "Nobody was...

Minnesota Lawyer's 2007 Attorney of the Year: David R. Kelly.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Jane Pribek David R. Kelly won't be turning to alternative dispute resolution as a means of winding down his legal career before retirement. "I worked as a volunteer mediator once and I absolutely hated it," he recalls with a...

Minnesota Lawyer's 2007 Attorney of the Year: Kathleen Flynn Peterson.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Jane Pribek A summons for jury duty changed Kathleen Flynn Peterson's life. She was chosen to help determine a defendant's fate in a murder trial. The experience fascinated her, and led the early-20s nursing student to...

Minnesota Lawyer's 2007 Attorney of the Year: Lewis A. Remele Jr.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Michelle Lore million in contingency fees from a judge, over and above the verdict, may be unheard of. But that's exactly what Minneapolis attorney Lewis A. Remele Jr. accomplished for an ex-CEO who sued his former employer for...

Minnesota Lawyer's 2007 Attorney of the Year: Timothy J. Scallen.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Jane Pribek Timothy J. Scallen says he sometimes feels like a quarterback when he's coordinating a team of lawyers on multimillion-dollar deals. His preference would be Brady Quinn, thanks to a fervent, but not rabid, passion...

Minnesota Lawyer's 2007 Attorney of the Year: Jonathan E. Singer.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Michael Krieger You've heard of the ImClone case, right? No, not the insider trading case. Martha Stewart may have gotten all the headlines, but Jonathan E. Singer got ImClone to cough up $65 million in a patent infringement...

Minnesota Lawyer's 2007 Attorney of the Year: Timothy R. Thornton.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Jane Pribek Timothy R. Thornton says he went to law school because "I got fired from my job reading gas meters." The gas company's loss was the legal profession's gain. Thornton, a shareholder with Briggs and Morgan in...

Minnesota Lawyer's 2007 Attorney of the Year: Daniel R. Tyson.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Dan Heilman The issue of real estate-related fraud has made its way into the headlines in recent years. But fighting such crimes as equity stripping has been a passion of Daniel R. Tyson for much longer. "I always had a love of...

Commentary: What if the judicial-election debate had its day in court?
February 29, 2008... Byline: Mark A. Cohen Northfield attorney David L. Ludescher submitted the following letter to the editor on the judicial-election debate, which will appear in Monday's Minnesota Lawyer. I thought it was an interesting take that I have not...