Minnesota Lawyer articles from May 2006

Minnesota Lawyer archives from May 2006

Twin Cities law firms finding that top-space office rentals are scarce.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Metro-area attorneys who are considering moving their offices had better get busy. While Twin Cities law firms have benefited from a good office-space rental market in recent years, the winds of change are in the...

Trading Spaces.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones

MN Court of Appeals finds suits against exercise clubs face high hurdles.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Exculpatory releases make it extremely difficult for the users of fitness centers to prevail for the injuries that they receive during a workout, as a recent Court of Appeals case illustrates. In Anderson v....

Statements in 2002 MN judicial race at the heart of ethics controversy.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Minnesota Supreme Court this Wednesday will hear oral arguments in a highly unusual case in which the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility (OLPR) is seeking to force a former judicial candidate to...

When can you bring an interlocutory appeal of an order?
May 8, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The court has denied your motion for summary judgment in which you claim your client is entitled to immunity from suit. You are confident that the court is in error and you would succeed on appeal, but the rules don't...

City of Minneapolis sued over sign hanger ordinance.(Brief article)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Institute for Justice Minnesota Chapter (IJ) last week filed suit against the city of Minneapolis, alleging it is arbitrarily applying its ordinance on licensing sign hangers. The case -...

MN Supreme Court rules time period for new trial motion is not jurisdictional.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota Supreme Court has determined that the 60-day period for hearing a motion for a new trial or for amended findings is a procedural tool and does not divest the District Court of...

Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. introduces new professional liability coverage.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., a provider of insurance and financial services products, is offering legal professionals new professional liability coverage designed specifically for...

MN Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit rules to reinstates broker's arbitration claim.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated a broker's claim brought before the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) for sex discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliatory...

MN Bar Buzz: May 8, 2006.(Justice Paul Anderson cited twice by Suprem Court; "Big E ... little e: Ethics and the Trial Lawyer." ; General William F. Klumpp Jr.'s dog )
May 8, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Anderson is double cited U.S. Supreme Court watchers across the nation noted that May 1 saw the release of fledgling Justice Samuel Alito's first opinion in Holmes v. South Carolina. However,...

MN lawyers are heading back to the classroom.("We the Jury" program)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell Anderson declared last week to be "Jury Appreciation Week." The judicial branch used the occasion to express appreciation for those Minnesotans who answer the call to jury...

Meet the Minnesota's chief lawyer disciplinarian, Martin Cole.(Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility )
May 8, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore After more than 21 years with the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility (OLPR), Martin Cole was recently appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court to the office's top spot. In addition to serving as director of...

MN Lawyers in the News: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Troy E. Arnlund, Divya Raman and Douglas G. Ujdur have joined the Minneapolis office of Briggs and Morgan, P.A. Arnlund is a member of the firm's Business Law Section. He received his A.B. with honors...

Commentary: Wal-Mart has woes, but wins two discrimination cases.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Wal-Mart has its share of legal problems these days. The litany includes ongoing disputes with labor unions, repeated clashes with zoning authorities, legislation in Maryland requiring it to provide improved...

Hiring from competitors poses risks.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Most employers in competitive industries will protect themselves against the loss of valuable employees by asking them to sign covenants not to compete. The employees, in turn, may want to market their knowledge...

Hiring from competitors poses risks.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones

Continuing legal education program offers crash course in defending auto cases in Minnesota.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore St. Paul personal injury attorney Jeannie Provo-Petersen advises defense lawyers not to take the collection of evidence for granted in personal injury cases. Provo-Petersen was one of the speakers during a daylong...

Hennepin County Bar Assn. sponsors CLE seminar on "Ethical Marketing Skills for Lawyers".(continuing legal education )
May 15, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore For a lot of lawyers, marketing is one aspect of their law practice that they dread. But it doesn't have to be that way, at least according to attorney coach Roy S. Ginsburg of Minnetonka. In a recent Hennepin...

Controversial property tax rebate proposal dies in MN Senate.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones A controversial bill offering tax relief to property owners was derailed last week in the Senate. The proposed legislation - which passed the House 86-47 on May 2 - provided a 9 percent rebate on property taxes,...

MN Bar Buzz: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter We're not the ones who called it the 'Liars Club' The Minnesota Million-Dollar Roundtable, also dubbed the "Liars Club" by member and Minneapolis attorney James Schwebel, had its annual meeting...

Commentary: Ethics investigation a good thing for confidence in judiciary.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen Given the remarks of Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, it was virtually inevitable that the Board on Judicial Standards would open an investigation on the seven sitting Minnesota Supreme Court justices. For...

Commentary: Recent representational removal rulings require remand.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Since it went into effect in mid-February 2005, the federal Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) has been regarded as a barrier by some plaintiffs and a beacon for many defendants in class action litigation. The...

MN Legal Briefs: May 15, 2006.(Cyrus Morton joined Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi)(Peter Bado joined Dorsey & Whitney, LLP)(J. David Prince joined Larson King)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Cyrus Morton has joined the Minneapolis office of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. as Of Counsel. Morton's practice focuses in the areas of business litigation and intellectual property...

Warren E. Burger Federal Building renovations pain for many MN bar members.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones While many were celebrating Easter Sunday with friends and family, a group of Minnesota lawyers last month found themselves on a plane to St. Louis preparing to argue cases the following day before the 8th U.S....

Meet me in St. Louis<P>.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones

Whatever became of Univ. of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis's first class?
May 22, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Two years ago, 109 students walked out the doors of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, ready to take on the world with their newly obtained law degrees. These students comprised the first graduating class...

Whatever became of St. Thomas Law's first class?
May 22, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore

MN Bar Buzz: May 22, 2006.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Pardon us, Justice Page, but your humility is showing On May 12, the Minnesota Supreme Court swore in most of the candidates who passed the February bar exam. Justice Alan Page presided over...

Energy law becoming a powerful niche area.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones As a jury weighs the evidence against one-time Enron utility magnates Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, war continues in the Persian Gulf, and gas prices float in the $3 per gallon range, the subject of energy is never...

Minneapolis-based Robins Kaplan CFO takes the helm of legal administrators' group.(Richard J. Nigon)
May 22, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Richard J. Nigon, chief financial officer of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi, earlier this month became the first Minnesotan to head the 10,000-member Association of Legal Administrators (ALA). Nigon - who took the...

Commentary: Trailer residents 'trash' mobile-home park owners.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Residents of mobile homes, often referred to as trailers, are frequently scorned as low-life. The term "trailer trash," infamously used by political advisor James Carville to describe one of President Clinton's...

MN Legal Briefs: May 22, 2006.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The law firm of Kelly, Hannaford & Battles, P.A., has moved its offices to 900 Baker Building, 706 Second Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55402. Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses remain unchanged....

Courting new judges in Hennepin County.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The Hennepin County District Court bench has been faced with an unusually large amount of turnover this year. There have already been nine vacancies on the 62-seat Hennepin County bench at different points during...

Will the Republican Party in Minnesota endorse judges this year?
May 29, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Minnesota Republican Party last week had just begun the process of considering whether to endorse any candidates for the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals at its state convention, which starts this...

MN Supreme Court Chief Justice Anderson speaks on judicial independence.(Russell A. Anderson)(Brief article)
May 29, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell A. Anderson last week predicted that an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution "probably" will be required to meet the recommendations of a statewide task force...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: May 29, 2006.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff A whirlwind tour The efforts of Minnesota bar associations to aid Hurricane Katrina victims continue with the assistance of Duane D. Stanley, communications director for the Hennepin County Bar...

Got insurance? Under proposal, your clients would find out.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota Supreme Court recently held a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the Rules on Registration of Attorneys that would require lawyers to annually report whether they carry malpractice insurance. ...

Got insurance? Under proposal, your clients would find out.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore

Minnesota Supreme Court also considers adopting 'resident inactive status'.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore In conjunction with a request that attorneys be required to report whether they carry malpractice insurance, the Minnesota Supreme Court is considering several other proposed amendments to the Minnesota Rules on...

MN Court of Appeals denies Roland Amundson's appeal.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen The Minnesota Court of Appeals last week rejected an appeal from a denial of postconviction relief from Roland Amundson, who pleaded guilty to five counts of theft by swindle in 2002. Amundson - who served on the...

Roland Amundson's appeal is denied.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen

MN Lawyers in the News: May 29, 2006.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Melvin L. Burstein has joined the firm of Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren Ltd. as of counsel. Burstein has more than 40 years of legal experience, principally in commercial matters. He received his law degree...

Commentary: Fee fights: Court of Appeals splits on sanctions suits.
May 29, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Fights over attorney fees often become cases within cases. This subsidiary litigation can arise when prevailing litigants seek awards of attorney fees or sanctions for improper action by the losing lawyer. ...