Minnesota Lawyer articles from January 2006

Minnesota Lawyer archives from January 2006

From the beat to the bench: Interview with Judge Kevin G. Ross.
January 2, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Minneapolis attorney Kevin G. Ross got an early Christmas present this year. On Dec. 15, Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Ross' appointment to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Ross replaces Judge Robert Schumacher, who...

New law makes sale of drug-contaminated sites cleaner.
January 2, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones A new law protecting buyers and imposing obligations on sellers of methamphetamine-contaminated property went into effect yesterday. With the rising meth problem in the state, more and more properties have come...

Structured payments can help to protect clients from themselves<P>.
January 2, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore A minor settles a personal injury action for a lump-sum payment that is placed in a special account until he turns 18. Upon reaching the age of majority, he moves in with friends and uses the funds to buy a car and...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: January 2, 2006.
January 2, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter No shock - Power Line commended by law blog review Blawg Review, an index to legal blogs located at blawgreview.com, has handed out a plethora of year-end best blog mentions, including two to...

Commentary: Avoiding complaints in immigration matters.
January 2, 2006... Byline: Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility The Director's Office has seen an increase in the number of complaints against immigration attorneys. Part of this increase can be attributed to the growth in the practice of immigration...

Minnesota Lawyer names 15 as Attorneys of the Year for '05.
January 2, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Every year the editors of Minnesota Lawyer recognize 15 lawyers as the "Attorneys of the Year." We make this choice after closely examining nominations submitted by judges, lawyers and other members...

Commentary: Harassment and unemployment: What's an employee to do?
January 2, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick After more than 20 years of litigation and legislation, the obligations of employers and employees in dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace are fairly clear cut. While there are, to be sure, a number of...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: January 2, 2006.
January 2, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Fredrikson & Byron has hired eight associates in its Minneapolis office: Gulzar Babaeva, corporate and technology & e-commerce groups; Katie Bennett, health law group; Lynn Jokela corporate,...

Sale of structured-settlement payments in Minnesota.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore In 1999, the state of Minnesota enacted Minn. Stat. sec. 549.30, et seq., which establishes strict conditions for the sale of structured settlement payments. According to the statute, structured settlement payments...

Dealing with the difficult opposing counsel.
January 9, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Imagine that during your very first conversation with opposing counsel on a case he is yelling and screaming at you into the phone that he and his client are going to "kick your a**" and that your client was negligent...

Online CLE offerings have grown exponentially in the last five years.(continuing legal education)
January 9, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The number of online courses for continuing legal education (CLE) credit has grown exponentially since CLE rules were amended to allow such offerings in 2000. Mandatory CLE came into existence in Minnesota a...

Fledgling Twin Cities diversity group is poised to spring into action in 2006.
January 9, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones With a new name and a newly hired executive director, a local group devoted to promoting the interests of diversity in the Twin Cities legal community is ready to spring into the new year. Twin Cities Diversity...

Eminent domain initiative launched in Minnesota.
January 9, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The reaction from one of the U.S. Supreme Court's most controversial decisions last term - Kelo v. City of New London - has already spilled into the new year. Last week, a coalition of civil rights groups,...

MN Bar Buzz: January 9, 2006.(minnesota)
January 9, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Supremely funny: Who are the court jesters in Minnesota? It was recently reported that Justice Antonin Scalia is the funniest justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. The report was based on research...

Commentary: Appeals address ineffective assistance claims in criminal cases.
January 9, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Assertions of ineffective assistance of counsel are often the last bastion of convicted criminal defendants. Their contentions are nearly always rejected in light of the high standard for setting aside a...

MN Legal Briefs: January 9, 2005.(minnesota)(Messerli and Kramer elected the officers)(Gray Plant Mooty announced its attorneys)(Faegre and Benson announced its partners)
January 9, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Four Minneapolis attorneys were recently named Fellows of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers (AAAL). Diane B. Bratvold is a partner in the Litigation Department of Rider Bennett practicing in...

Temporary order reunites Minnesota mother with her child after 10 years.(Blanch Ndangha)
January 16, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones St. Paul attorney Gerald O. Williams recently had the unique experience of using his family-law skills to help woman who was in the United States under a grant of political asylum reunite with her daughter whom she...

'Blakely' still major source of issues in Minnesota criminal cases.(Blakely v. Washington)
January 16, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones In June 2004, sentencing law and procedure were turned on their head by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Blakely v. Washington. In Blakely, the high court found that the Sixth Amendment required that a jury...

Bar throws retirement party for chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.(Kathleen Blatz)(Minnesota State Bar Association)
January 16, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen Last week Kathleen Blatz officially ended her eight-year reign as chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. She and her fellow justices stayed busy in the final days of her tenure, churning out opinions to clear...

Hennepin County Bar Association likely to retain commitment-defense contract.
January 16, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Despite a challenge by two attorneys, it now appears all but certain that the Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) will continue to administer a county contract to provide counsel to mentally ill...

MN Supreme Court rules city of Minneapolis can be sued over harm from police chases.
January 16, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter In two separate opinions written by departing Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz, the Minnesota Supreme Court last week found that the city of Minneapolis can be sued over harm that occurs to bystanders...

MN Bar Buzz: January 16, 2006.(David Stowman receives award from Minnesota State Bar Association)(elections for Alito Supreme Court judge)(Minnesota State Bar Association donates)
January 16, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Stowman invades Minnesota Lawyer's turf Congratulations to David Stowman, past president of the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), for receiving the MSBA's 2005 Author's Award. Stowman...

Commentary: A bar bash for Blatz and juvenile justice matters.(Kathleen Blatz)(Column)
January 16, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen First of all let me offer kudos one more time to our departing chief justice, Kathleen Blatz. I had the privilege of stopping by the impressive retirement party that the Minnesota Bar Association recently put on for...

Commentary: Martin Luther King Day recalls Minnesota litigation legacy<P>.
January 16, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Today is the 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a time in which we pause to recall the achievements, inspirations and unfulfilled dreams of the slain civil rights leader. Dr. King's life, death and...

MN Legal Briefs: January 16, 2006.(Hammargren & Meyer appoints Brenda M. Sauro)(Hansen, Dordell, Bradt, Odlaug & Bradt appoints Brenda M. Sauro as counsel)(Leonard, Street and Deinard appoints Douglas R. Boettge in business and commercial litigation department)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Hammargren & Meyer has announced that Brenda M. Sauro will join the firm's residential construction practice effective Jan. 1, 2006. *** Hansen, Dordell, Bradt, Odlaug & Bradt has announced...

MN Supreme Court creates task force to look into state's legal certification program.
January 23, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota Supreme Court has created a task force to review the state's legal certification system, which turned 20 last year. The 10-person task force appointed by the high court to assess the program will...

Minnesota Supreme Court ponders legal-malpractice case.
January 23, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Minnesota Supreme Court is now considering a case that could have major implications on the malpractice liability of attorneys and on their ability to insure against future claims. Antone v. Mirviss...

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 8th District Suit dismisses foster placement suit.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a sec. 1983 case where narcotics officers removed a 7-year-old child from his mother's care for about 24 hours after the mother was suspected...

MN Bar Buzz: January 23, 2006.
January 23, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Chiefly speaking, justice moves at state high court Minnesota's new Supreme Court chief justice and associate justice were on the job even before their public swearing-in, which is scheduled for today at...

MN State Bar Assn. provides furniture, funds, efforts to hurricane relief<P>.
January 23, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Lawyers in affected areas of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi have not lost their sense of humor in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They freely quip about their own post-traumatic stress as they go about the...

MN Lawyers in the News: January 23, 2006.
January 23, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Felhaber, Larson, Fenlon and Vogt has announced that Rich Savelkoul was appointed to the board of directors for The Crisis Connection, a nonprofit organization that provides 24 hour crisis counseling services...

Commentary: Securities regulator issues its review for 2005.
January 23, 2006... Byline: James J. Eccleston The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) assisted investors a great deal in 2005, as reflected in the NASD's 2005 review, available on its Web site at www.nasd.com. Let's examine some of the more...

Commentary: Reversals of fortune: Disregarding stare decisis.
January 23, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick The recent confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito by the Senate Judiciary Committee, similar to the proceedings last fall for Chief Justice John Roberts, dealt extensively with the concept of...

Argument focuses on timing of damages and professional-liability coverage.
January 23, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones During the oral arguments for Antone v. Mirviss, Justice Paul Anderson began the court's questioning by asking Minneapolis attorney William L. Davidson, counsel for the defendant attorney, whether he understood the...

With 'White' now the law, MN judicial races are in for a change.(Republican Party v. White 536 U.S. 765 (2002))
January 30, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has put the final nail in the coffin of Minnesota campaign rules designed to keep judicial races nonpartisan, a statewide dialogue has begun about how judicial elections should be...

Justice Russell A. Anderson sworn in last weekto the MN Supreme Court.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Last week, Justice Russell A. Anderson officially took the reins of the Minnesota Supreme Court at a public swearing-in ceremony at the Landmark Center in St. Paul. Anderson, who has served on the high...

MN State Bar Asson. task force to update, expand gender-equity report.
January 30, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) has embarked on a project that will enlighten the legal community on the status of diversity in the profession. Shortly after taking over the top spot last summer, MSBA...

Hennepin County Bar Assn.begins classes for nonprofit board training program.
January 30, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) is continuing its effort to address the need for attorneys and other professionals to assist local not-for-profit organizations. The HCBA's Leaders Impacting the...

MN Bar Buzz: January 30, 2006.(Robert P. Webber's Chinese New Year greetings)
January 30, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Starting the New Year off right Gong Xi Fa Cai! That's what Minneapolis lawyer Robert P. Webber has been saying to his clients, colleagues and friends in celebration of the new year -...

Commentary: Groundhog Day recalls shadow of repeated rulings.
January 30, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Groundhog Day, which falls on Thursday, Feb. 2, reputedly heralds a short winter or a long one, depending upon whether the rodent emerging from hibernation sees its shadow and returns to its habitat. In the...

With the ink on 'White' still wet, MN group targets a justice.
January 30, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones With ironic timing, the Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) announced on Sunday, Jan. 22, its plan to work to target Justice Paul Anderson when he is up for re-election in 2008. "We'll be working to...