Minnesota Lawyer articles from October 2006

Minnesota Lawyer archives from October 2006

Commentary: Cooperation in disciplinary proceedings.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Patrick R. Burns In all too many cases involving attorney discipline, attorneys fail or refuse to respond to requests for information during the course of the investigation, often to their detriment. In the recent case of In re...

Opening on the Minnesota State Board of Law Examiners.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter 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 made up of seven attorneys and two public members. The...

Commentary: Repeal of intangibles tax makes Florida appealing choice.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Jeffrey A. Baskies When estate planners think of Florida, we usually envision a haven for our retiring clients, like "Del Boca Vista" on Seinfeld. Now, a new law makes Florida even more appealing as a domicile. On July 27, Gov. Jeb...

Commentary: Revisiting the issue of trust accounts and commingling funds.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll I've written before on the issue of trust accounts and general accounts, and the importance of avoiding commingling between the two. It's an issue that refuses to go away, because attorneys handling the money of others...

Interview with John James, Minnesota's Commissioner of Revenue during the late 1980s.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore John James is a business and tax attorney with Lommen Abdo in Minneapolis. He previously served more than three years as Minnesota's Commissioner of Revenue during the late 1980s, managing an agency of more than 1,500...

Interview with Jeff Johnson, MN lawmaker/attorney running for state attorney general.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Jeff Johnson is the founder and president of Midwest Employment Resources, an employment law and human resources consulting service. He also works as an employment attorney with Wessels & Pautsch, P.C. Johnson has...

Plaintiffs injured by E.coli-infected spinach are already preparing for litigation.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen As health officials continue to investigate an E.coli outbreak that resulted in the pulling of bagged spinach from supermarket shelves across the country, injured plaintiffs are already lining up at the courthouse for...

MN's Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Peter Hutchinson gives views on law-related issues.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore For the next several weeks the state's gubernatorial candidates will inundate voters with their views on political issues like education, health care and taxes. But many of the candidates' positions on issues...

It's the first Monday in October, and they're baaack ...
October 2, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson The U.S. Supreme Court begins its 2006-07 term today with an opening conference. Oral arguments kick off tomorrow. Change continues at the court this term: for the first time, same-day transcripts of...

Estate planners, employment lawyers face same-sex marriage issues.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Jaclyn Jaeger More than two years have passed since Massachusetts' highest court legalized same-sex marriage in the state -- the only court in the nation to hold this way. The initial impact of Goodridge v. Department of Public...

MN Bar Buzz: October 2, 2006.(Patrick Schiltz of Supreme Court )
October 2, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Schiltz says his investiture was 'cool' Almost 20 years to the day after Patrick Schiltz headed to the U.S. Supreme Court to clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia, Scalia headed to Minnesota to swear...

Federal judge in Minneapolis declines to enjoin Jones' Georgia suit.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter A federal court judge in Minneapolis declined to enjoin a Georgia state court action filed by former Minnesota State Bar Association President Jarvis Jones against the St. Paul Companies. Jones...

Children's Law Center of Minnesota marks 11th anniversary.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Children's Law Center of Minnesota (CLC) celebrates its 11th anniversary on Thursday, Oct. 5, with a benefit at the Millennium Hotel Minneapolis, 1313 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, from 5 to 8:30 p.m....

Commentary: Fleeing financial felons run into criminal convictions.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick The old saying that a criminal always returns to the scene of the crime is probably not as true as the staple of criminal law that fleeing from the scene of a crime may be evidence of guilt. While there may...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: October 2, 2006.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Michelle Jester, a shareholder with Messerli & Kramer P.A., has been selected to receive the 2006 Top Women in Finance award. This year's award, given by Finance and Commerce, honors 20 women...

Statute restricting sentencing appeals found unconstitutional.
October 2, 2006... A statute restricting a defendant's right to appeal her sentence is unconstitutional because it violates the separation of powers under the Minnesota Constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled. The defendant was indicted for second-degree...

Statute restricting sentencing appeals found unconstitutional by MN Supreme Court.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter A statute restricting a defendant's right to appeal her sentence is unconstitutional because it violates the separation of powers under the Minnesota Constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled. ...

Photo cop case was decided on state-local conflict grounds in MN.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones A few weeks ago -- in a much publicized decision -- the Court of Appeals upheld a trial court judge's finding that Minneapolis' photo-cop system was constitutionally flawed. The legal committee at the American...

Leonard, Street and Deinard to stay put on Fifth Street.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard The Minneapolis-based Leonard, Street and Deinard law firm has inked an early, long-term renewal at Fifth Street Towers. The approximately 140,000 square foot lease secures the building's largest tenant for about 10...

Legal Aid to hold luncheon celebration in St. Paul.(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services will hold its seventh annual "Luncheon Celebration of the Campaign for Legal Aid," at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006, at the Great River Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza...

MJF to honor pro bono/public interest lawyers.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff The Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF) will host its 19th Annual Awards Celebration (AAC) on Nov. 9, honoring six members of the legal community for their distinguished service in pro bono and public interest...

Commentary: Marketing activities of small law firms vs. large law firms.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll The real definition of marketing is simple: Identify the people most likely to hire you for the work you want to do, communicate with them to let them know who you are, and then develop close relationships with these...

Dialed the wrong number? Sorry, you're under arrest.(Paul P. McKay)
October 9, 2006... Byline: David L. Yas Cell phones are either going to save the world or absolutely destroy us all. Yes, cell phones allow us to dial up friends from ski lifts and order boxes of Crunch 'N' Munch from Fenway Park box seats. But...

MN Court News Summaries: October 9, 2006.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Chemical dependency task force seeks comment on report The Minnesota Supreme Court Chemical Dependency Task Force is seeking public comments on its final report to the Judicial Council, the governing body...

Water intrusion risk period ends with notice of claim.
October 9, 2006... Byline: MN Lawyers Lawyers In a water-intrusion case where the parties agreed to a pro-rata-by-time-on-the-risk liability allocation method, the risk period starts with the closing date on the sale of the property and ends on the date on...

A modest proposal for judicial dependence.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen Editor's note: The Minnesota Citizens Commission to Preserve an Impartial Judiciary -- led by former Gov. Al Quie -- is currently examining how to keep Minnesota's judiciary independent and nonpartisan in light of...

MN Lawyers in the News: October 9, 2006.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Kristin M. Fiumefreddo and Hannah R. Stein have joined Fabyanske, Westra, Hart & Thomson, P.A. Fiumefreddo will practice in the areas of real estate and commercial finance, and Stein will practice in the...

Commentary: Review discovers diverse 'Columbus' cases in MN.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick "Hello Columbus" is what justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court said last month. Christopher Columbus, credited with "discovering America," is important enough to have a day named after him, a quasi-holiday...

Banking on higher IOLTA returns backed by the MN State Bar Assn.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) could generate substantially more funds for Legal Aid groups if the state Supreme Court adopts a proposal backed by the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA). The...

Incumbents sweep in bar judicial polls in MN.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Mark A. Cohen In bar poll results released last week, incumbents prevailed easily over challengers in all eight contested judicial races. The judicial plebiscite was conducted jointly by the Minnesota State Bar Association,...

Is it getting tougher to get medical records in employment cases?
October 16, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Employment lawyers are mulling the significance of a recent federal District Court decision declining to allow the defendant in a sexual harassment case to obtain the medical records of a plaintiff claiming emotional...

Judge Swenson on a decade presiding in Hennepin County family court.(James Swenson )
October 16, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff For the last decade, Hennepin County District Court bench, Assistant Chief Judge James Swenson has been toiling away in family court, helping children and families move through the system as quickly and...

Legal malpractice coverage disclosure controversial in California.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Dick Dahl Nineteen states -- including Minnesota -- require lawyers who do not carry malpractice insurance to disclose that fact. However, California appears poised to take malpractice insurance disclosure to a new level with a...

The Vioxx Wars.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson Two years after Merck pulled the painkiller Vioxx from the market, 10 personal injury lawsuits have reached a verdict, with decidedly mixed results for the drug maker. After losing a $235 million verdict in...

The Vioxx Wars.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson Two years after Merck pulled the painkiller Vioxx from the market, 10 personal injury lawsuits have reached a verdict, with decidedly mixed results for the drug maker. After losing a $235 million verdict in...

The Vioxx Wars.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson Two years after Merck pulled the painkiller Vioxx from the market, 10 personal injury lawsuits have reached a verdict, with decidedly mixed results for the drug maker. After losing a $235 million verdict in...

The Vioxx Wars.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson Two years after Merck pulled the painkiller Vioxx from the market, 10 personal injury lawsuits have reached a verdict, with decidedly mixed results for the drug maker. After losing a $235 million verdict in...

Minnesota Supreme Court judges visit city of Hutchinson.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Minnesota Supreme Court went on the road last week, visiting Hutchinson, the city its Chamber of Commerce describes as the hometown of Minnesota. It's also the city where Justice G. Barry Anderson has deep...

MN Bar Buzz: October 16, 2006.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer 'Project Posner' -- Trick or Treat? At www.projectposner.org, you can find all of the opinions of a legend in legal jurisprudence -- 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner -- in a single...

Hennepin County Bar Association seeks participants for leadership program.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) is seeking nonattorney and attorney applicants for the 2007 sessions of LINC -- Leaders Impacting the Nonprofit Community, a six-month training program...

Minnesota Legal Briefs: October 16, 2006.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Bill Michael has joined the Minneapolis office of Dorsey & Whitney, LLP, as a partner in the trial group. Michael will concentrate on white collar crime and regulatory defense, civil and criminal...

Commentary: Staff 'warning signs' that may steer your office off course.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Nancy Byerly Jones Clients often ask me what staff problems would make my "High Voltage -- Beware the Dangers" list. That's a tough question to answer generically, but here's a top 10 list: * Adults whose office behavior is...

Last week summed up: A maelstrom of dissents for MN Supreme Court.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Last week was a week of dissents for the Minnesota Supreme Court. In four decisions ranging from auto repair and presumption of paternity to the right to advisory counsel and the doctrine of...

American Bar Assn. survey shows tech budgets are scarce in small firms.(American Bar Association's 2006 "Legal Technology Survey Report")
October 16, 2006... Byline: Amy Johnson Conner Nearly 30 percent of law firms across the country have no budget for technology, according to the American Bar Association's 2006 "Legal Technology Survey Report." That's scary though not at all surprising,...

American Bar Assn. Young Lawyers Division kicks off public service project.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Young lawyers from across the country got a taste of "Choose Law: A Profession for All" during its official kickoff at the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (YLD) 2006 Fall Conference,...

Analyzing your expected return on your technology investments.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Purchasing new computers and software, or even subscribing to a database research service, can have a significant return on investment. Many larger law firms establish formal budgets for their technology purchases....

MN Court News Briefs: October 23, 2006.(judicial selection)
October 23, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Vacancy announced on 9th District bench The Commission on Judicial Selection has announced a 9th Judicial District trial court bench vacancy in Hubbard County. The vacancy will occur with the...

Commentary: response types and their appropriateness in individual situations.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Neil Hamilton and Andy Pieper The next time you find yourself in an emotionally charged debate among family, friends or colleagues, briefly stop the discussion and suggest a rule: Each person can give an opinion only after first...

MN Lawyers in the News: October 23, 2006.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Daniel Bryden has joined the Minneapolis office of Sprenger & Lang, where he will practice in the areas of civil rights and employment law. Bryden obtained his law degree cum laude from the University of Minnesota...

Commentary: size matters; courts curtail cumbersome counsel.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Lawyers are rarely known for being brief, especially in briefs. Where one word would suffice, they usually find ways to use multiple terminology. The verbosity of attorneys was addressed in a pair of recent...

Judge Leung resigns from board of Twin Cities diversity group.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Hennepin County District Court Judge Tony Leung has resigned his post as chair of the board of a local nonprofit group promoting the recruitment and employment of attorneys of color in the Twin Cities. The Twin...

MN Supreme Court rules dram-shop actions are limited to licensed vendors.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones In a closely watched dram-shop liability case, the state Supreme Court has ruled that the national and state American Legion organizations cannot be sued under a theory of respondeat superior for an allegedly...

Overburdened MN public defenders seek major funding hike.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Feeling the strain of caseloads well in excess of nationally recommended standards, Minnesota public defenders have asked Gov. Tim Pawlenty for a major funding increase in the next two-year budget cycle. The...

More class actions nationally are winding up in federal courts.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) has done what it was intended to do, which is to shift class action litigation from state to federal court. That's the conclusion of a recent study by the Federal...

DNA sample decision in MN gets a mixed reaction from bar.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore Criminal defense lawyers are hailing as a significant victory a recent appellate decision ending the state's practice of taking arrestees' DNA samples without first obtaining a search warrant. In In the Matter of...

Families that practice law together... (you know the rest).
October 23, 2006... Byline: Jane Pribek Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part feature series looking at Minnesota lawyers who practice law with other members of their family. It was just happenstance -- and perhaps a little youth and naivete --...

Bankruptcy filings on the upswing.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson A year after the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act went into effect, the number of consumer bankruptcy filings is rising again. In the months leading up to the Oct. 17 date of...

Minnesota State Bar Association Briefs: October 23, 2006.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Mississippi lawyers honor Minnesota bar The Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) recently thanked the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) and other organizations at a "Champions of Justice"...

MN bar buzz October 23, 2006.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter We know where Waldo is -- with Justice Paul Anderson The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota recently held its 10th anniversary celebration at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul. Bar Buzz...

You may not be able to afford not to hire a financial expert.
October 30, 2006... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Bringing a financial expert into an investigation or a lawsuit should be like the old saying about voting in Chicago -- it should happen early and often. That's the advice of some local experts who work with...

New niche: Representing nuclear weapons workers.
October 30, 2006... Byline: Sylvia Hsieh Attorneys looking to start a new practice niche and do a good deed at the same time need look no further than the hundreds of thousands of workers who sacrificed their health, and often their lives, to the country's...

Part II: When law is the family business.
October 30, 2006... Byline: Jane Pribek Editor's note: This is the second in a three-part feature series looking at Minnesota lawyers who practice law with other members of their families. When he was growing up, Jeff Stowman noticed that his dad,...

MN Bar Buzz: October 30, 2006.
October 30, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter You have to hand it to Chief Judge Toussaint... Minnesota Court of Appeals Chief Judge Edward Toussaint Jr. appears to be in danger of getting his hand slapped by the disembodied digits guarding...

Ramsey County District Court judge, St. Paul city council member debate at Hamline University.
October 30, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter About 50 people were recently on hand at Hamline University School of Law to see a debate between Ramsey County District Court Judge Elena Ostby and St. Paul city council member Jay Benanav. ...

Female workers sue C.H. Robinson for sex harassment, bias.
October 30, 2006... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Six former employees of C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. last week filed sexual harassment and other individual claims of sex discrimination against the company in Hennepin County District Court. The...

Commentary: Harassment twists: Arbitration, interference, retaliation and unemployment.
October 30, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Most sex harassment cases turn on whether the conduct of the perpetrator was sufficiently "severe or pervasive" to warrant liability. On this score, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is one of the least...