Minnesota Lawyer articles from January 2007

Minnesota Lawyer archives from January 2007

A guide to the new child support law.(Interview)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Jane Pribek When advising those who pay child support -- "obligors," as they are called by statute, and who more often than not are men -- Minneapolis solo practitioner Pamela J. Waggoner has often heard the rhetorical question,...

Bar foundation seeks funds from Minnesota State Bar Assn. members.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore Many Minnesota lawyers are not participating in an easy and inexpensive way to contribute to community and law-related activities -- and many may not even know it. The Minnesota State Bar Foundation provides...

Minnesota legal community reacts swiftly to Worthington immigration raid.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Lawyers involved say the immigration raid in Worthington, Minn., last month illustrated the legal system at both its best and worst. The best was the way the legal community galvanized to assist and protect the...

Minnesota Court of Appeals rules Injunction properly issued against insurance employer.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota Court of Appeals has upheld a District Court judge's grant of injunctive relief to a group of insurance claims representatives who contend that their employer incorrectly labeled them as exempt from the...

EEOC's course for the New Year includes 'systemic initiative'.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Reni Gertner (This article originally appeared in Lawyers USA, another Dolan Media publication.) With a new chair in office and a new general counsel recently taking the helm, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is...

Minn. Supreme Court rules prosecutor misconduct does not warrant new murder trial.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Report By a 6-3 decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court has declined to order a new trial in a first-degree murder case where the prosecutor committed six separate acts of misconduct. The case is likely to...

U.S. judge rules implied consent findings can't be used in sec. 1983 action.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Report U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Rosenbaum has found that a judge's findings in an implied consent hearing may not be used to collaterally estop a police department from relitigating issues of...

Commentary: Don't let flat-fee arrangements leave you flat broke.(Column)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll (This article originally appeared in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Boston, Mass., another Dolan Media publication.) Legal-fee alternatives to the billable hour continue to be a hot topic, and we've discussed them...

Commentary: Truth is always stranger than fiction.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Judge Mark P. Painter (This article originally appeared in Lawyers USA, another Dolan Media publication.) In the allegedly rarefied -- but actually rather stagnant -- air of the appellate court, sometimes the day is...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: January 1, 2007.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Report Chad E. Bayse has joined Severson, Sheldon, Dougherty & Molenda, P.A., as an associate. He will practice in litigation and appeals in the areas of commercial, banking and real estate law. Bayse is a...

Commentary: ERISA twist: Lose the claim, but recover attorney fees.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a notoriously tough forum for claimants to prevail in employment-related cases. That truism was reflected in a ruling of the circuit court last fall in which it...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: January 1, 2007.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Report Oil spill damages mean Faegre may get ahead The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently awarded $2.5 billion in punitive damages to the plaintiffs in the case over the Exxon Valdez oil spill....

Declining soft-tissue recoveries hit a nerve.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore It's been getting tougher for Minnesotans suffering soft-tissue injuries to recover significant sums. Attorneys who represent the injured parties say settlement values for "simple" injuries -- those that don't...

Advice for terminating the problem employee.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore An employer contacts you and says it needs to fire an employee. How do you proceed? What kind of advice do you give? What traps does the employer need to avoid? Local lawyers who regularly advise employers on...

When can a lawyer's assurances invalidate a settlement?
January 8, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Minnesota Supreme Court currently is pondering a case that could have a substantial impact on how attorneys negotiate settlements. The high court last week heard oral arguments in Hoyt Properties, Inc., et...

Minnesota Lawyer names 15 as 'Attorneys of the Year'.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Minnesota Lawyer is pleased to announce the names of the 15 members of the bar who are worthy of the designation "Attorneys of the Year" for 2006. Attorneys of the Year are all lawyers who have...

Longer life spans impact estate planning.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Dick Dahl As the life expectancy for Americans lengthens and the country grows grayer, trusts and estates lawyers say they're seeing the demographic impact in the world of estate planning. Donna R. Bashaw, who practices in...

Court must consider primary caretaker in removal question.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones A parent with sole physical custody must prove that it is in the child's best interests to move the child out of the state but must do so in the context of a law that protects the child's relationship with the...

Parental alienation: The latest weapon in nasty divorces.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Amy Johnson Conner Welcome to the swamp. That's what a judge once told a client of Anchorage divorce attorney Steve Pradell when accusations of parental alienation were leveled against the client in a custody hearing. Parental...

MN Bar Buzz: January 8, 2007.(3M)(Mary Pawlenty)(Family law attorneys )
January 8, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Verdict in China will help 3M breathe easier 3M's first China-based in-house counsel, James Trussell recently secured 3M's first civil court victory in China, according to reports by IP Law & Business....

Legal Aid program to stop paying executives' expenses.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff After months of pressure from Congress, the government's legal aid program for the poor has decided to stop covering expenses for its executives. This past summer, it became apparent that several...

New federal tax bill to improve health savings accounts.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff A new tax bill signed by the President last month includes provisions that are intended to improve the value of health savings accounts. The changes are part of the large-scale Tax and Trade Relief Act of...

Recent verdict against Mayo Clinic was not the first.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Letter to the Editor To the editor: Your article in the November 27 issue of Minnesota Lawyer regarding the $450,000 medical malpractice award against the Mayo Clinic includes the headline Award believed to be the first against...

Is benchmarking the master or merely the servant?
January 8, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll The idea of benchmarking -- setting up statistical guidelines to identify best management practices -- has long been used in industry, and it can apply as well to law and other professional service firms. For the...

Minor crash, major verdict awarded in Hennepin County District Court.(Case overview)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore Getting the difficult facts out on the table early on was a key component of a plaintiffs' lawyer strategy in a recent soft-tissue case that resulted in a six-figure verdict. A seven-member Hennepin County...

MN Legal Briefs: January 15, 2007.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Dorsey named a "Best Place to Work" for GLBT employees Dorsey & Whitney policies and practices in support of workplace equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) employees make it one of...

Court of Appeals rules third parties can sue law firm for malpractice.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Court of Appeals has revived a legal-malpractice claim in a case involving plaintiffs who did not have a direct attorney-client relationship with the defendant. A District Court judge had granted summary...

Good start, exit key to avoiding client lawsuits and complaints.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore Signing up a new client and ending a relationship with an old one are two of the times attorneys are most likely to make mistakes that may ultimately lead to a malpractice suit or an ethics charge. Both engagement...

Judges seek 5 percent pay raise.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The topic of judicial pay has been much in the news lately because of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts' decision to dedicate his year-end report on the federal judiciary to the subject. Roberts...

Do subscription-based legal hotlines have a future?(The Venture Law Line)(Wessels & Pautsch )
January 15, 2007... Byline: Dick Dahl Suzanne Dingwall Williams had grown weary of feeling like an emergency-room doctor. The Toronto lawyer said employees at the small firms and start-ups she represents were inundating her with acute legal problems that...

MN Bar Buzz: January 15, 2007.(Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff SF seeking professional singles for social gathering (and more?) Still searching for that special someone? So is Twin Cities attorney Rosalyn S. Park. But rather than trolling personals on Craigslist or...

Are you unique enough to deserve a raise?
January 15, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll It's that time of year again when lawyers reassess (and often raise) their billing rates. This annual exercise is hardly beloved by clients, especially after the 2006 news stories that the average profit per partner at...

Commentary: Federal and state courts address arbitration issues.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Because arbitration is preferred in the law, those who challenge the process usually end up dissatisfied. In deciding whether to require parties to arbitrate, or in upholding the outcome of an arbitral...

MN Lawyers in the News: January 15, 2007.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Eight attorneys have been elected shareholders of Leonard, Street and Deinard. Theresa E. Corona, who focuses her practice in compensation and employee benefits, received her law degree, with distinction, from...

Worthington bar's input absent from Swift raid story.(Letter to the editor)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Letter to the Editor To the editor: I read your article about the Swift raid in Minnesota Lawyer (Legal community reacts swiftly to Worthington ICE raid, Jan. 1, 2007) with interest, but was disappointed to see that you didn't...

Two-day leadership seminar scheduled in Minneapolis.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff A seminar coming up next month can assist lawyers interested personal and professional change. "Leadership, Ethics & Innovation; Strategies for Change in the Legal Profession," sponsored by national...

Commentary: All that controversy over a book bought on the cheap.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Mark A. Cohen I have not written on the whole controversy about Keith Ellison's decision to use the Quran rather than the Bible as part of the ceremonies surrounding his swearing in because I think it has gotten way too much ink as...

Judicial selection commission members announced in MN.(Minnesota)(Commission on Judicial Selection)(Tim Pawlenty)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Minnesota Supreme Court and Gov. Tim Pawlenty have announced their selections to the Commission on Judicial Selection, which solicits judicial candidates, evaluates applicants, and recommends three to five...

Commentary: Secret shopping law firms: The generational surprise.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Wendy Nemitz I own a marketing company that teaches professional service providers how to market and sell their services. In order to baseline our training programs on a real understanding of how our "students" handle a prospect...

Commentary: Judicial pay crucial to courts' future.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Karen J. Mathis On New Year's Day, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued the annual report on the state of the judiciary. Justice Roberts considered one issue so urgent that he made it the sole topic of his...

Does 'until death do us part' apply to e-mail?
January 15, 2007... Byline: Sylvia Hsieh Ever wonder what happens to your e-mail after you die? So do many estate planning lawyers. Until now, the question was purely academic, kicked around by attorneys in Internet forums. But two recent cases have...

"When to make a federal case out of it".(employment discrimination cases)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore Your client has a valid employment discrimination claim that could be brought under state or federal civil rights laws. Where should you bring the case? Will your client fare better in state or federal court? What...

U.S. District Court sanctions insurer for spoliation of evidence.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones For cleaning up a fire scene a little too quickly, a home insurer will not be able to use the testimony of its fire investigation in its case against the maker of the appliance that allegedly caused the fire. ...

Minnesota Judiciary: Funding hike for state courts crucial.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The state's judicial branch has asked lawmakers for an added $66 million for the next budget biennium -- a 12-percent increase over its current level of funding. About $39 million of the proposed $66 million...

Achieving success with petitions for review is a supreme effort.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore One of the trickiest -- and perhaps most important -- documents a lawyer can draft is a petition for further review to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Granting the petition is purely discretionary on the part of the...

Nation's largest verdicts are substantially smaller this year.(Reprint)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Bill Ibelle Maybe it's just a 24-month coincidence, but for the second year in a row, the nation's largest verdicts to individual plaintiffs have fallen dramatically. Lawyers USA -- Minnesota Lawyer's national sister...

Minneapolis lawyer spends five weeks doing pro bono in New Orleans.(Elizabeth Royal)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore Not many lawyers would take five weeks off from a busy law practice to fly to a hurricane-ravaged area, live in a tiny, sparsely furnished room and provide free legal assistance to the storm victims. But Minneapolis...

Hennepin County Bar Association recognizes attorneys' pro bono service.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Each year, the Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) recognizes three attorneys who have made a significant contribution through pro bono service. This year's Pro Bono Publico awards will be presented at the...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: January 22, 2007.(law terms)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Perhaps the phrase 'Chinese Wall' isn't so great after all The Berlin Wall came tumbling down more than a decade and a half ago -- is it time for the legal ethics phrase "Chinese Wall" to meet a similar...

Minn. Supreme Court upholds warrantless search of residence.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Minnesota Supreme Court has determined that evidence obtained during a warrantless entry into a residence was properly admitted at the defendant's trial for murder. The decision stemmed from the...

Weighing the true costs of a cleanup.(cases of environment issues)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Alan Hahn and Jeffrey Alan Bolin If you had to choose for your client to spend $9 million or $1.35 million to clean up an environmental issue, which would you choose? The question seems silly and the answer blatantly easy. ...

Commentary: Use of credit cards redux.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll I have written in the past about using credit cards for payment of earned legal fees. Massachusetts bar counsel subsequently critiqued my approach by referring to payments for legal fees not yet earned. In a...

Vacancies announced on 1st Judicial District bench.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Commission on Judicial Selection has announced two 1st Judicial District trial court bench vacancies. The first vacancy occurred with the disability retirement of Judge Michael A. Young on Dec. 31,...

Another verdict with Mayo.(Letter to the editor)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Letter to the Editor The $450,000 medical malpractice verdict against the Mayo Clinic, as reported in your Nov. 27 issue of Minnesota Lawyer, was far from the first against the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. Not only did John Goetz of...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: January 22, 2007.(Merchant and Gould promoted Thomas Johnson and Andrew Ehard )(The Esquire Group appointed Lacee Anderson)(Henson and Efron appointed Mark L. Wilson)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Boyd Law Firm has merged its practice into Thomsen & Nybeck, P.A. As a result of the merger, Brad Boyd has been hired as an attorney at the firm. Boyd will practice in the areas of real estate, real estate...

Commentary: Sanction highlights failure to supervise abusive sales practices.
January 22, 2007... Byline: James J. Eccleston Securities regulators regularly censure, suspend and even bar securities professionals for sales practices violations. Sometimes the disciplinary matters are so egregious that they deserve further attention. ...

Spectrum teams with Tyler.
January 24, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Spectrum K12 School Solutions Inc., of Towson, a provider of special education software to school districts, said it has formed an alliance with Tyler Technologies Inc., of Dallas, a software company whose...

Minn. Court of Appeals: A bench pressed.(work load increased)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones There are currently 550 fully briefed cases sitting at the Court of Appeals waiting for an oral argument date. The time from briefing a case to the oral argument has stretched to six months or more. The rate at...

Help for pro se litigants In Minnesota may be on way.(using workstations)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore If the judiciary gets its way this budget cycle, each of the state's 87 courthouses will be equipped with a workstation where unrepresented litigants can go online or make a call to get aid. The Minnesota court...

Minneapolis-based Esquire Group vows sale won't affect local commitment.(by Special Counsel International Inc.)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Despite the recent acquisition of The Esquire Group by an out-of-state legal headhunting firm, the Attractive Nuisance Tour will rock on. The tour -- a rock concert/fundraiser for local legal charities -- is...

Law firm offers in-home care benefit for sick kids.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Michelle Lore You are in the middle of a complicated trial, your spouse is out of town on business and you've just found out that your 3-year-old child is sick and unable to attend her regular daycare center. What do you do? ...

Maryland firm to Super Lawyers: Thanks, but no thanks.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Caryn Tamber Citing ethical concerns, one of Maryland's largest law firms has declined to participate in this year's list of Maryland Super Lawyers. The decision by Venable LLP -- a 520-plus attorney firm -- stemmed from New...

Client satisfaction surveys: How to conduct them.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Jeffrey A. Miller To maximize the value of your client satisfaction survey, you should be strategic in its implementation. Everything you do should be designed to enhance your ability to gather qualitative feedback. Candid,...

Questions to ask in assuring success for 2007.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll How do you measure success? This is the question asked by one marketing consultant at the beginning of the new year. It is a great question and the answer depends on your definition of success. No matter what your...

Two vacancies announced Hennepin County bench.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Commission on Judicial Selection has announced that applications are being accepted for two trial court bench vacancies in the 4th Judicial District in Hennepin County. The first vacancy will...

Commentary: The road less traveled can get pretty icy.(career choices)(Column)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Mark A. Cohen My 16-year-old niece contacted me last month about a school project that she was working on. Her teacher had asked the students in her class to write a paper on a career field that interested them. My niece -- being...

Commentary: Dual decisions dissect debtors' discharges.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Bankruptcy proceedings are aimed at restructuring and, in some cases, extinguishing a debtor's financial obligations. An object of a Chapter 7 proceeding is to discharge debts. But not all debts are...

Minn. gov. would limit courts to 6 percent budget increase.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Gov. Tim Pawlenty has proposed to increase the judicial branch's budget by $34.2 million, or 6.1 percent, an amount less than half of the branch's requested hike. The court has requested more than $66...

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds dismissal of claims against Minneapolis police.(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of claims against the city of Minneapolis brought by the widow of a bipolar man who was shot to death by police six years ago. On Nov. 1,...

Minn. Bar Buzz: January 29, 2007.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Blackbird takes flight from Minnesota Despite the advocacy of former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice James Gilbert, an A-12 #128 Blackbird spy plane was being dismantled last week from its...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: January 29, 2007.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Garth G. Gavenda has become an associate attorney with Anastasi & Associates. Gavenda will work in the areas of corporate and commercial transactions and represent construction-related businesses. He earned...

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals grants deportation reprieve to woman fearing mutilation.(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff A Ramsey woman who fears her relatives would mutilate her genitalia if she is forced to return to her native Kenya has won a reprieve from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Olivia Chebet Kipkemboi,...