Minnesota Lawyer articles from November 2006

Minnesota Lawyer archives from November 2006

Target Corporation lawyers give advice on negotiating.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Are you getting the best possible deals for your clients in settlement negotiations? Does your negotiation approach need revising or updating? These are just a couple of questions explored at a recent continuing...

Lawyers help Minnesota employers grapple with religious-practice issues.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Minnesota's burgeoning immigrant population has had a variety of effects on its society and the workplace, and one of those is the introduction of diverse religious practices and apparel. Current civil rights...

TV campaign ad raises Minnesota bar's ire.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen St. Paul City Council Member Jay Benanav's controversial cable television ad against Ramsey County Judge Elena Ostby has stirred up a strong negative reaction in the legal community. Some believe that the ad --...

Blackwell honored by Minneapolis-based Council on Crime and Justice.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Akeem Soboyede The Minneapolis-based Council on Crime and Justice recently presented its 2006 Equal Justice Award to Minneapolis attorney Jerry W. Blackwell, co-founder of the Blackwell Igbanugo law firm. Blackwell's firm is...

For the five-attorney Biglow family, practicing together is perfect.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Jane Pribek Editor's note: This is the final installment in a three-part series on Minnesota lawyers who practice law with family members. In a modest office in the Midland Bank Building in downtown Minneapolis, five members of...

Commentary: Notes from the field: One attorney's service in Kuwait.
November 6, 2006... Byline: John P. Kingrey My Valentine card this year was a set of orders to report to Fort Bliss, Texas, in 12 days to begin a 179-day deployment at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Although I was expecting the orders and had prepared contingency...

New tool for law-firm recruiting: podcasts.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Dick Dahl A new tool has emerged among law firms seeking to attract top young legal talent: podcasts. Until now, law firms have typically used podcasts as a marketing device -- a way of attracting and retaining clients by...

Pro bono work helps young lawyers to gain valuable experience.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Reni Gertner Noreen Kelly-Najah was 31-years old when she tried her first case as lead counsel -- an opportunity that she would not have gotten for years to come if it hadn't been for her firm's policy of giving young lawyers...

Commentary: Perspectives retrospective: Top 10 in first decade.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick This is the time of year for various celebrations, ranging from scary ones like Halloween to grateful ones like Thanksgiving to sacramental ones like the religious holidays. This fall marks another...

Minnesota Lawyers in the News: November 6, 2006.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Report Jeffrey M. Bruzek has joined Trepanier & MacGillis P.A. as an associate attorney. He will practice in the areas of commercial litigation, bankruptcy and employment law. Bruzek received his law degree...

Commentary: Once again, most judicial races largely ignored in media.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Mark Cohen, Publisher The primary barrier for people who want to make meaningful choices in the state's judicial elections is not a dearth of available of information (as some have maintained), but rather the general disinterest...

Openings on Minnesota State Board of Law Examiners announced.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter State Board of Law Examiners announces openings A lawyer member position and a public member are open on the nine-member Minnesota State Board of Law Examiners. The all-volunteer board is...

Avoiding trouble by charging 'reasonable' fees.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Recently, a regular reader of this column called me. He has an estate planning practice and offers flat fees that are nonrefundable. In one instance, a client requested an estate plan; he completed the documents and...

Ramsey County Adult Substance Abuse Court celebrates four years.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Ramsey County Adult Substance Abuse Court (ASAC) celebrated its fourth anniversary last week with a graduation ceremony at the Ramsey County Courthouse. Judge Joanne Smith presided over the...

Age discrimination claim against St. Cloud University dismissed.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld the dismissal of age discrimination and retaliation claims filed against St. Cloud State University. The plaintiff, Richard Lewis, has been...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: November 6, 2006.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Benanav campaign pulls out its Trump card St. Paul City Council member Jay Benanav has a rather unlikely ally in his bid to unseat Judge Elena Ostby -- none other than Donald Trump. ...

Minnesota public defenders out of transcript money.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones With eight months remaining in the fiscal year, the Office of the State Public Defender has run out of funds to pay court reporters for the transcripts that are an essential component of the more than 1,000 appeals...

Minnesota high court asked to recognize tort for not reporting child abuse.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Does a civil cause of action exist against a hospital that failed to diagnose, treat and report the abuse that a 9-year-old girl was experiencing from her biological father? The Minnesota Supreme Court has been...

Prosecutors of corporate scandals give their insights at program in Minneapolis.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen Attorneys involved in prosecuting three of the highest-profile corporate scandals so far this decade recently shared their insights at a program at University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. More than 300...

Tips offered for effective criminal-law practice.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Individuals accused of crimes are bound to be nervous about what to expect from the system. That's why criminal law practitioners advise explaining the judicial process to them right away -- how it works and what is...

'Sweet Land' was a sweet project for Edina attorney.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore For a lot of people, Friday the 13th is an ominous day that symbolizes bad luck. But for Edina business attorney Terrance W. Moore, Friday, Oct. 13, proved to be just the opposite. On that day "Sweet Land" -- a movie...

The Academy of Court-Appointed Masters elects new president.(Sol Schreiber )(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Academy of Court-Appointed Masters (ACAM) announced the election of its third president, Sol Schreiber at its 2006 Conference held Nov. 2-3 in San Francisco. Schreiber, a nationally renowned special...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: November 13, 2006.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Bar Buzz was trolling the Internet when we happened on Swanblog - a site maintained by Minneapolis attorney Peter Swanson. Swanson made the entry that caught our eye -- entitled "Keith, Sindbad and Colin" --...

Opening on MN Alternative Dispute Resolution Review Board.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Supreme Court seeks one member to fill the for-profit alternative dispute resolution (ADR) organization representative position vacancy on the thirteen-member ADR Review Board. Applicants should have at...

Maslon application rejected by Twin Cities diversity group.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Barbara Jones The Twin Cities diversity group that Maslon, Edelman, Borman and Brand wanted to join has made it official: It won't have the Minneapolis law firm as a member. Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (TCDIP) -- a consortium...

U.S. District Court judge rules police can be sued for taping calls to lawyers.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen A defendant whose private conversations with his attorney were recorded on audiotape and videotape may sue the city of Pelican Rapids and three of its police officers for violating his civil rights, a U.S. District...

Incumbents win seven out of eight contested races in Minnesota.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Barbara Jones Incumbents won seven out of the eight contested judicial races last week. The one challenger victory came in the 9th Judicial District (northern Minnesota) where Judge Terrance C. Holter, who has served on the bench...

It's a 'brand' new world of law firm ad campaigns.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore You're a business executive walking through the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport mulling a potential lawsuit against a competitor. But who, you wonder, has the expertise and creativity to take on such a...

Ramsey County jury affirms 30-year-murder sentence for gang member.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff A Ramsey County jury has affirmed a 30-year murder sentence for a St. Paul gang member who beat a 15-year-old to death three years ago. Robert Cindrich got the chance to have his sentence reduced after the...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: November 13, 2006.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. has added six new associates to its Minneapolis office. R. Cameron Winton will practice in the area of business trial and litigation. He received his J.D. from...

Headline.
November 14, 2006... Byline: author body

Columbia firm to develop new Northrop buildings in VA.
November 17, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff Corporate Office Properties Trust, of Columbia, a suburban office real estate investment trust, said it will develop a 102,842-square-foot, one-story office building to be leased by Northrop Grumman Corp. The $32...

MN Bar Buzz: November 20, 2006.(Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers 30th anniversary)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter LCL celebrates '30 years of saving lives' Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (LCL) recently celebrated its 30th anniversary of assisting lawyers and judges with mental illness or chemical dependency...

MN bar buzz: November 20, 2006.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter St. Thomas to Justice Thomas: Keep the faith The University of St. Thomas School of Law recently hosted a symposium on the phenomenon of having a five-Catholic majority on the U.S. Supreme Court....

U.S. Supreme Court rules $62M consumer fraud verdict will stand.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter New Jersey-based BASF Corp. was to pay a $62 million judgment last week, finally resolving a class-action lawsuit that accused the chemical company of defrauding farmers through its marketing of...

Survey evaluates impact of bankruptcy law requirements.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter A new survey has evaluated the impact of the credit counseling and debtor education requirements of the bankruptcy reform law after one year. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a...

Effective communication more difficult than it appears.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Ellen Ostrow Deborah, an equity partner in a mid-sized east coast firm, was having a problem with secretaries. She hired a secretary whose resume indicated a great deal of relevant experience and skill, but to her surprise,...

Proper governance is necessity within law firms.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Governance -- properly exercising responsibility for one's actions in leading an organization -- remains a hot business topic. A lawyer's responsibility for his or her own firm is magnified by the requirements of the...

Corrections.
November 20, 2006... In an article in the Oct. 16 edition -- Gov. Tim Pawlenty discusses issues of interest to the bar -- the appointing governor for 1st Judicial District Court Judge Mary Pawlenty was incorrectly identified. Pawlenty was appointed by Gov. Arne...

Commentary: Presidential politics, foreign affairs and a local gripe.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen A few weeks ago, I received an invitation from Dorsey & Whitney inviting me to participate in a roundtable with former Vice President Walter Mondale, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright and several other...

MN Lawyers in the News: November 20, 2006.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Intellectual property law firm Merchant & Gould has added five new associates to its Minneapolis office. Lori P. Sarageno received her J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law and her Ph.D. in...

Commentary: Circuit court confirms couple concurrent coverage cases.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Insurance coverage issues generally are decided under state law. But federal courts have occasion to pass upon them, usually in cases involving diversity of citizenship. The principle of Erie Railroad Co. v....

Big verdicts elusive in Minnesota.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore While they grab headlines when they come, multimillion dollar verdicts in personal injury and medical malpractice cases are rare in Minnesota, trial lawyers say. The scarcity of such results explains the attention...

For some attorneys, pro bono work has appeal - literally.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore The state Supreme Court recently addressed an unemployment-compensation appeal for the first time in four years, reversing a denial of benefits. Had the discharged employee's case not been picked up by an attorney pro...

Overburdened? How about sending your legal support work to India?
November 20, 2006... Byline: Molly F. Dillbeck, Special to Minnesota lawyer You've been there. Your computer inexplicably stopped working, and now you have to call the 1-800 number to figure out just what is the matter. When your call is answered, you find...

Jail4Judges? Not 4 us, says S.D.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones An unprecedented alliance of lawyers, labor and business leaders was behind the decisive defeat of the controversial "Jail4Judges" ballot initiative in neighboring South Dakota. The initiative -- known as...

Does the ADA apply to retailers' websites?
November 20, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson Does the Americans with Disabilities Act apply to a retail website if the site limits the ability of those with disabilities to enjoy the store's services? In a decision against Minneapolis-based Target...

No simple Rx for pharmacy benefit litigation.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher Early last month, in a class-action settlement in U.S. District Court in Boston, a major publisher of prescription drug prices agreed to restructure its pricing system -- a move industry experts say could slash...

Missouri judicial race highlights concerns of court watchers in Minnesota.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck Although the political activity was relatively staid in Minnesota during the recent judicial election cycle, some in the legal community are worried about the possibility of future elections becoming partisan affairs...

Olmsted County jury awards $450,000 to amputee.
November 27, 2006... Byline: michelle.lore@minnlawyer.com In some cases, the mere location of a trial can mean the difference between winning and losing. Trying a case where the defendant is a large employer or otherwise a significant presence in a community...

Olmsted County jury in Minnesota awards $450K to amputee.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore In some cases, the mere location of a trial can mean the difference between winning and losing. Trying a case where the defendant is a large employer or otherwise a significant presence in a community can be a...

Olmsted County jury awards $450,000 to amputee.
November 27, 2006... Byline: michelle.lore@minnlawyer.com In some cases, the mere location of a trial can mean the difference between winning and losing. Trying a case where the defendant is a large employer or otherwise a significant presence in a community...

Minnesota court rules defendant's confrontation clause rights were not violated.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore A woman's statements to police following a domestic assault were made as part of an ongoing emergency and therefore were not testimonial and could be introduced at the defendant's trial, the Minnesota Court of Appeals...

Minnesota lawyer is accused of having credibility problems.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Dean Johnson, D-Willmar, has a credibility problem. That's the reaction of some lawyers to the accusations by the outgoing senate majority leader that Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell Anderson lied when he...

U.S. Trustee rolls out random debtor audits.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Reni Gertner The U.S. Trustee's Office has rolled out a new program subjecting Chapter 7 and 13 debtors to random audits of bankruptcy petitions, schedules and related materials -- and debtors' attorneys are preparing to help their...

Online matching services trying to connect lawyers and clients.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Dick Dahl Online matching services have produced dates and mates for millions of men and woman across the country -- can they also produce good clients and good cases for lawyers? A growing number of companies believe there is...

Certain mental illnesses more prevalent among lawyers than the general population.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones While it is practically common knowledge that there is a high incidence of substance abuse among lawyers, other studies show that certain mental illnesses, including generalized anxiety disorder,...

Americans with Disabilities Act excludes coverage for many lawyers.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Some significant obstacles have been established between a lawyer and a successful claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), particularly with respect to claims based on mental illness or chemical...

U.S. Supreme Court hears Confrontation clause case.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral argument on whether Crawford v. Washington, 124 S.Ct. 1354 (2004) -- which precludes the admission of all "testimonial" evidence unless the defendant had the...

Minnesota lawyers receive recognition.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Recent University of Minnesota Law School graduate Shannon Carey-Keil has become the newest lawyer in the four generations of Careys to practice law in Minnesota. Carey-Keil is the great-granddaughter of...

Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower protections should be broadly interpreted.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Jacqueline Williams Corporations have been clamoring for some time for revisions to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and now that the midterm elections have been decided, it is likely that these changes will occur. One target of...

Lawyers contend that they distrust new technology.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Each year the American Bar Association's Legal Technology Resource Center releases a survey to assess how lawyers in private practice are using technology in their law offices. As reported in Law Technology News,...

Minnesota court rules instruction error warrants new trial in accident case.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff A new trial is required in a motor vehicle accident case where the defendants objected to the plaintiff's definition of the standard of care in a closing argument and the next day at the beginning of trial...

Minneapolis law firms announce personnel changes.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Five new associates have joined the Minneapolis law firm of Rider Bennett, LLP. Joe Currier, Careen Martin and Jody Ward practice in the business department; Colleen Daugherty practices in the litigation...