Minnesota Lawyer articles from September 2005

Minnesota Lawyer archives from September 2005

Minneapolis women lawyers making inroads in construction law market.
September 5, 2005... Byline: Barbara L. Jones It's a sign of the times in both the construction industry and the legal profession when the two major officers of the state bar association's Construction Law Section are women. For the second year in a row,...

Minnesota's 'white' plaintiffs file for $1.5M in attorney fees.
September 5, 2005... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the landmark judicial-election case, Republican Party, et al. v. White, et al., have requested more than $1.5 million in attorney fees. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in...

MN Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility are looking into high number of violations.(Minnesota)(Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility )
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michelle Lore The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility (OLPR) is currently investigating an unusually high number of lawyer trust-account irregularities. The OLPR has noticed an increasing incidence of reported...

Commentary: Minnesota State Bar Assn. plans effort to aid with hurricane relief.
September 5, 2005... Byline: Susan Holden Editor's Note: Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) President Susan Holden last week sent the following letter to MSBA members regarding the bar's response to the devastation following Hurricane Katrina. As the...

Commentary: Minnesota Bar Buzz September 5, 2005.
September 5, 2005... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Law faculties have more donkeys than elephants Bar Buzz was shocked, shocked to hear that most University of Minnesota law professors who gave money to political campaigns donated to liberal...

Fairness of process for non-English speakers in Minnesota is a matter of interpretation.
September 5, 2005... Byline: Barbara L. Jones A fair courtroom process for the non-English speaking or hearing-impaired client depends upon continued commitment to their issues; it also depends upon judicial and lawyer training and insight. Opinions differ on...

Principles governing the conduct of Minnesota interpreters.
September 5, 2005... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The following principles are taken from the professional responsibility code governing interpreters. * Interpreters shall render a complete and accurate interpretation or sight translation, without altering,...

MN Court of Appeals rules former county attorney's defamation claim can proceed.
September 5, 2005... Byline: Mark A. Cohen The former Cottonwood County attorney is entitled to a trial on his claim that he was defamed by the county, the Court of Appeals ruled last week in the latest chapter of a long-simmering dispute. David Honan -...

New rules regarding prospective and limited service pro bono clients.
September 5, 2005... Byline: Patrick R. Burns Two new rules adopted as a part of the recent amendments to the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC) are intended to address the issue of conflicts of interest and imputation of those conflicts in...

8th Judicial District trial court bench finalists announced.(appointments in 8th Judicial District trial court )(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Governor Tim Pawlenty has announced the candidates for an 8th Judicial District trial court bench vacancy in the city of Willmar in Kandiyohi County. The opening occurred with the retirement of Judge...

When the bill arrives, who will pull out their checkbook?<P>.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Barbara L. Jones The identity of the defendants raises the additional question of who will pay the fees in Republican Party of Minnesota, et al. v. White, et al. One of the defendants, the Board on Judicial Standards, is funded...

Minnesota Defense Lawyers Assn. elects new officers, recognizes members.
September 5, 2005... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association (MDLA) elected new officers and board members at the organization's annual meeting held recently in Duluth. Gregory P. Bulinski, Minneapolis, was elected...

Recent ratio ruling by 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals repeats rationale rejection.
September 5, 2005... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick As they celebrate Labor Day this year, unions in Minnesota are lamenting how they have fared poorly in cases involving ratios decided by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1991, the 8th Circuit,...

Minnesota law school applications rise sharply in '05.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michelle Lore Three of the state's four schools reported increases of at least 20 percent in applicants this year. Hamline University School of Law, St. Thomas University School of Law and University of Minnesota Law School all...

Court administrators identify common errors lawyers make when filing cases.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michelle Lore Attorneys frequently deal with court administrators, scheduling hearings or filing complaints, answers or other pleadings. While court administrators say that most lawyers do most things right most of the time, there...

Changing composition of U.S. Supreme Court may impact bid for review in 'White' case.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Mark A. Cohen Court observers are split on what effect, if any, the death of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist and the retirement of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will have on the ongoing battle over the...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: September 12, 2005.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Fear not hurricane-surviving attorneys! You get a free Web listing! Wal-Mart recently announced it is giving $17 million to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Target at last count was giving more...

Commentary: Liberal bias is definitely present in the law school classroom.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Jason Adkins Despite scoffing and laughter at Northwestern University law professor John O. McGinnis's recent study suggesting that law professors exhibit liberal bias because they give campaign contributions overwhelmingly to...

Hurricane disaster leads to unprecedented relief effort by Minnesota State Bar.(lawyers and students donation)
September 12, 2005... Byline: Barbara L. Jones With many lawyers and law students among the hundreds of thousands left dislocated by Hurricane Katrina, their brothers and sisters in the bar in Minnesota and throughout the country are donating their efforts,...

Judge Raymond L. Erickson named chief U.S. magistrate judge for District of Minnesota.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota recently announced that effective Sept. 21, 2005, Magistrate Judge Raymond L. Erickson will be the chief U.S. magistrate judge for the district....

Commentary: Cases compare, contrast constitutional clauses.(Column)
September 12, 2005... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick The commemoration on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2005, of Constitution Day, marking the 216th anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, is noteworthy. No such acclaim is directed to the Minnesota...

Attorney Kenneth Feinberg to speak at Hamline University School of Law.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, one of the nation's leading experts in mediation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR), will speak at Hamline University School of Law on Sept. 14. Feinberg was appointed...

Commentary: In search of innovation in the Minnesota legal community.(law practice)
September 12, 2005... Byline: LaVern A. Pritchard Innovation is one of those subjective labels people apply to new things they take pride in having achieved or things others do that they especially like. Innovation seems like a simple concept, but there are...

Commentary: Research reveals that clients are demanding change<P>.
September 12, 2005... Byline: LaVern A. Pritchard Research suggests that, at the national level, some key upper bracket corporate legal services purchasers are saying they are not receiving the sort of innovation they would really like to receive from their...

Commentary: Corporate counsel's perspective on innovation.
September 12, 2005... Byline: LaVern A. Pritchard In doing a recent survey on innovation in technology use among lawyers, I was not all that successful in reaching members of a group I started out most wanting to hear from, Minnesota's corporate counsel. They...

Dealing with disaster.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Barbara L. Jones With many law offices in New Orleans destroyed, heavily damaged and/or under water as a result of Hurricane Katrina, lawyers in Minnesota and elsewhere are reassessing their preparedness for dealing with disasters....

Getting and maximizing future wage loss awards.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Michelle Lore While proving to a jury that an injured plaintiff will suffer loss of future wages is challenging, practitioners who recently spoke with Minnesota Lawyer had several tips for getting and maximizing such an award. ...

Meet Minnesota's new chief magistrate judge<P>.(Raymond Erickson )(Interview)
September 19, 2005... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Raymond Erickson will take over as chief magistrate judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota this week with the retirement of Chief Magistrate Judge Jonathan Lebedoff. Erickson has served...

Courts' new computer system now online in more than 30 MN counties.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Michelle Lore After years in the making, the Minnesota court system's much-anticipated new computer system is now underway in more than 30 of the state's 87 counties. The system will eventually give the legal community an...

Minnesota Bar Buzz: September 19, 2005.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Justice Roberts' Soule source of support Minneapolis attorney George Soule has had a busy couple of weeks assisting with two very different kinds of candidacies. On the national level,...

Commentary: The 'sophisticated' investor defense: More frequently raised than proven.
September 19, 2005... Byline: James J. Eccleston It seems everyone is a sophisticated investor, at least in securities arbitrations where investors seek to recover their investment losses. There, brokerage firm counsel routinely argue that the investor is...

Federal court proposes to amend local rules.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota has approved several proposed amendments to the court's Local Rules of Practice. The changes, which will affect pre-trial procedures in patent...

Minnesota to host national foster-care reform meeting.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Minnesota court and child welfare agency leaders are participating in an unprecedented national effort to better protect abused and neglected children who are in the court system. Minnesota's team is...

Disaster planning 101: A primer for attorneys.(American Bar Association gives tips)
September 19, 2005... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Disaster planning is a complex process, and it is easy to procrastinate. But, if disaster strikes, having a plan in place can make or break a firm as it struggles to survive, according to an American Bar...

Commentary: Rulings lean in favor, and against, lien claimants.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Those who perform service in connection with improvements to real estate, unlike most other workers, can obtain a security interest for their payment. The device is known as a mechanic's lien, which exists in...

MN Lawyers in the News: September 19, 2005.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala, P.A., has announced that Michael D. Carr has joined the firm as Of Counsel. Carr practices in the areas of workers' compensation subrogation and employer...

Federal court jury awards $4.8M in false-advertising battle between two hunting-products companies.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Barbara L. Jones When a federal court jury returned a verdict of approximately $4.8 million for a false-advertising claim in a battle between two competing hunting-products companies, the plaintiff's attorney quit worrying about...

Psychological injury from minor crash in Ramsey County nets $425K.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michelle Lore An automobile accident case in Ramsey County recently settled for more than $400,000 even though the plaintiff driver suffered no lasting physical injury and his vehicle sustained only minor damage. The plaintiff...

Elected to bench, 9th Judicial District Court Judge Harrington is no fan of judicial elections.(David Harrington )
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michelle Lore Unlike the vast majority of Minnesota judges, 9th Judicial District Court Judge David Harrington got his seat on the bench through election rather than gubernatorial appointment. In late 2002, he beat out four other...

MN Legal Briefs: September 26, 2005.(American Bar Association conference)(John Roberts nomination for supreme court judge)(constitution day)
September 26, 2005... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Have gavel, will travel Most federal court judges in St. Paul are being only temporarily inconvenienced as a result of the massive renovation of the city's federal courthouse. But the project has...

Commentary: 'Eleven' commandments case construes court concurrence.( )
September 26, 2005... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick The Supreme Court issued a monumental decision this summer in Van Orden v. Perry, 125 S.Ct. 2854 (2005), in which it allowed the display of a depiction of the Ten Commandments on the Texas Capitol grounds. The...

More and more law firms are designating their own 'in-house' general counsel.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Jane Pribek George and Ira Gershwin wrote a familiar song about the comfort of having "Someone to watch over me." Though most people do not think of attorneys as "a little lamb who's lost in a wood," these days, the environment...