Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly articles from December 2005

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly archives from December 2005

MA Supreme Judicial Court rules lawyer entitled to referral fees based on oral agreement.(Saggese v. Kelley)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Ariana L. Johnson A lawyer who referred clients to other attorneys was entitled to receive referral fees even where the agreement was oral, the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled. The defendants argued that the agreement had not...

MA Supreme Judicial Court rules injured workers cannot use Chapter 93A in comp dispute.(Fleming v. National Union Fire Insurance Company)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Tony Wright Big Dig workers injured on the job could not bring Chapter 93A claims against their workers' compensation insurance carriers even though they were alleging unfair and deceptive business practices, the Supreme Judicial...

MA Superior Court judge rules client not required to pay fees until case gets resolved.(Burns and Levinson LLP v. T and D Video Inc.)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Ariana Johnson A lawyer who moved to a new law firm could not demand payment from a long-term client before the case concluded where the parties did not have a prior fee agreement, a Superior Court judge has found. The...

MA Appeals Court rules couple not liable under Chapter 93A for bouncing checks.(Stop and Shop Supermarket Co. v. Loomer)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Ariana L. Johnson A Stop & Shop employee who cashed checks in order for her husband to meet his company's payroll was not liable under Chapter 93A even where the couple knew that the checks would bounce, the Appeals Court has...

MA governor signs bills: December 5, 2005.(Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 126. An act removing the residency requirement for the town counsel of the town of Arlington. App. and eff. Nov. 10, 1 page. 127. An act exempting the town of Winthrop from certain provisions...

Portraits of Berkshire District Court judges by artist Paul Greene unveiled.(portrait painting)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff When retired Sheffield attorney and accomplished artist Paul Greene decided to take up portrait painting, he looked to none other than those who served on the bench for inspiration, using the...

Boston attorney John Affuso receives award from Gay Officers Action League of New England.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff What do Boston attorney John N. Affuso Jr. and Congressman Barney Frank's late mom have in common? A lot, it turns out. Affuso was recently honored at the Gay Officers Action League of...

Boston IP firm tries to lure minority prospects with a fellowship program.(Fish & Richardson's "First Year Law Diversity Fellowship Program" )
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Swim with the fish The pool of intellectual property lawyers with science and engineering degrees is small compared to the general ocean of lawyers. And the subset of minority lawyers within...

Verdicts & Settlements December 5, 2005: Big Dig worker's skull impaled by piece of steel.(negligent)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $8 million settlement The plaintiff, 42, was working in South Boston in a hole about 20 feet below ground on the morning of July 22, 2000, when a bundle of steel cross-braces that was being...

Verdicts & Settlements December 5, 2005: Passenger's foot injured in chain-reaction accident.(motor vehicle negligence)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $100,000 settlement On Jan. 13, 2004, the 19-year-old plaintiff college student was riding as a front-seat passenger in the defendant's Chevrolet Cavalier along the Everett Turnpike in New...

Verdicts & Settlements December 5, 2005: Patient dies following re-anastomosis procedure.(medical malpractice)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.47 million settlement On Jan. 24, 2001, the plaintiff's decedent, 42, underwent a sigmoid colectomy and Hartmann pouch. Following the operation, the plaintiff's decedent was doing well. ...

Notices from the Courts: December 5, 2005.(Public Notice)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Division of Insurance to hold public hearing COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation DIVISION OF INSURANCE IN THE MATTER OF THE...

MA Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: December 5, 2005.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff ADMONITION NO. 05-36 The respondent received an admonition for misconduct in two unrelated matters. In the first matter, a non-attorney filed a petition for asylum on behalf of a...

Commentary: Asset protection planning after the 2005 Bankruptcy Act.(Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2003 (Draft)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Alexander A. Bove Jr. and Melissa Langa As members of the trust and estate bar, we craft estate plans that achieve a client's family, business and philanthropic goals, ever mindful that all such plans are for naught if the family...

Commentary: Paying private investigators.(crisis over fees)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The court system has already seen a crisis over fees for court-appointed lawyers. It now may face another involving private investigators. The amount needed to pay the investigators, and other...

Commentary: In appreciation of the late Robert Bohn, associate justice of MA Superior Court.(Massachusetts)(Obituary)
December 5, 2005... Byline: John C. Cratsley The Hon. Robert Bohn, an associate justice of the Superior Court whose life exemplified public service, died peacefully at his Concord home on Nov. 27 after a long struggle with cancer. Judge Bohn was a...

Commentary: Why should Probate Rule 16 trump Rule 27B?
December 5, 2005... Byline: C. Peter R. Gossels The "unpublished" Appeals Court decision in Hunter v. O'Rourke, digested in the Aug. 15, 2005, issue of Lawyers Weekly, was truly disappointing to all those who have been working to reduce the costs of...

Donovan Hatem founder dies at 64.(John A. Donovan Jr.)(Obituary)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Boston trial lawyer John A. Donovan Jr. died Nov. 21 at his home after a 10-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 64. Donovan's enthusiasm for local politics, his longtime service to the...

MA Superior Court Judge Bohn dies.(Massachusetts, Robert H. Bohn Jr.)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Longtime Superior Court Judge Robert H. Bohn Jr. died Nov. 26 of cancer in his home in Concord. During his tenure on the Superior Court, Bohn oversaw several significant cases, including the...

MA Lawyers in the News: December 5, 2005.(Massachusetts, Mark G. Lappin, Raymond H. Flynn IISumedha A. Bahri joined )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Sumedha A. Bahri has joined the Concord firm of Hamilton, Brook, Smith & Reynolds as an associate. Michael Gottselig and John T. Hurley have joined the firm as technology...

Boston attorney John V. Bianco dies after six-year battle with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff John V. Bianco, a partner in the Fish & Neave IP group of Boston's Ropes & Gray, died Nov. 17 following a six-year battle with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He was 43. Bianco graduated from Boston...

Boston attorney Denis Maguire dies at 87 years of age.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Denis Maguire, an attorney who devoted his time to equal access to justice for the poor and volunteer services, died Nov. 14. He was 87. Born in Brockton, Maguire graduated from Harvard College...

MA attorney Samuel W. Ripa dies at 97 years of age.(Massachusetts)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Samuel W. Ripa, who practiced law for more than 65 years, died Nov. 7 at the Holyoke Medical Center. He was 97. Born in Holyoke, Ripa graduated from Williams College and received his law...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Bradshaw v. Richey)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Interrogation - Miranda Correction In the Nov an error occurred in the summary of the U.S. Supreme Court case Maryland v. Blake. That summary should have read: The...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Skinner v. Cunningham, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers v. Gwadoski, United States v. Rondeau)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Prisoner - Due process Where a plaintiff filed a civil rights action against defendant New Hampshire prison officials, a judge acted permissibly in awarding the defendants...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Massachusetts )
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Permanent injunction - Small Business Administration Where the U.S. Small Business Administration is seeking permanent injunctive relief against a defendant small business...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Foreclosure sale - Automatic stay Where the holder of a second mortgage conduct a prepetition foreclosure sale of a Chapter 13 debtor's property, the debtor had no legal...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Class certification - Federal Truth in Lending Act Where plaintiffs (1) have filed suit against a defendant home loan company, alleging that it issued confusing and legally...

MA Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Saggese v. Kelley)(Commonwealth v. Daniels)(Twin Fires Investment LLC v. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Co.)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fee-sharing agreement - Referral - Client's written consent Where a judge ordered the defendant attorneys to pay the plaintiff attorney one-third of the fees earned in...

MA Appeals Court Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Commonwealth v. Vazquez)(Commonwealth v. Robles)(Commonwealth v. Nogales)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed The Appeals Court has affirmed, pursuant to Rule 1:28, judgments in the following cases. Although the decisions do not appear to address any substantive issues...

MA Superior Court Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Massachusetts. Supreme Judicial Court)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Lack of written agreement Where an attorney, having represented the defendant client for several years without a written fee agreement, joined the plaintiff law firm in...

MA Land Court Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(real estate)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Real Property Title - No encroachments Where a plaintiff has filed suit seeking to remove a cloud on the title of a certain parcel of Salisbury property, I hold that he should be granted...

District Court/BMC Trial Division Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Welch v. Medford Retirement Board)(Commonwealth v. Fayette )
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Retirement Superannuation allowance - Drug trafficking - Firefighter Where the defendant Medford Retirement Board ordered a plaintiff firefighter convicted of drug trafficking to forfeit...

MA Housing Court Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Mutual Development Company v. Howard)(Cape Ann Camp Site Inc. v. Kangas)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Landlord and tenant Non-renewal - 'Good cause' Where a plaintiff landlord refused to renew a defendant Section 8 tenant's lease without giving any reason for the refusal, this constituted...

MA Labor Relations Commission Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Hanover School Committee v Hanover Teachers Association)(Town of Tisbury and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees)(In the Matter of: City of Malden and Malden Firefighters Union)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor Clarification petition - Contract bar rule Where a teachers association has filed a clarification petition seeking to accrete the position of "TePee Program Director" into an...

MA Commission Against Discrimination Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination v. Boston School Committee)(Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination v. Merle)(Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination v. Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates Inc.)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Handicap and age discrimination - Teacher Where evidence indicates that the respondent school committee (1) failed to schedule classrooms in such a way as to accommodate the...

MA Department of Industrial Accidents Case Summaries: December 5, 2005.(Re: Ricard, Sandra)(Re: Santos, Steven)
December 5, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation 'Heightened causation' provisions Where an administrative judge awarded an employee workers' compensation benefits for an injury that arguably was subject to the...

Employee's demand letter is protected under anti-SLAPP law, rules MA Superior Court.(Biogen Idec U.S. Corp. v. Blanton)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Ariana L. Johnson A company's declaratory judgment action against a terminated employee should be dismissed under the state anti-SLAPP statute where the former employee had earlier sent a demand letter and initiated administrative...

Commentary: Jingle bell schlock: gifts for the lawyer on your list.
December 12, 2005... Byline: David Yas What to get a lawyer for the holidays? Well, for some reason, every huckster in who-ville thinks that attorneys would like nothing better than to find nothing but junk under the tree this year. With a couple casual...

Federal jury in Boston awards $20M in musical instrument case.(First Act Inc.)
December 12, 2005... Byline: David E. Frank A federal jury in Boston recently awarded a local musical instrument manufacturer a $20 million verdict in its claims against a retailer for false advertising, commercial disparagement and tortious interference with...

MA Superior Court judge to decide who owns final baseball of 2004 World Series.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Who owns the ball: Doug Mientkiewicz or the Boston Red Sox? That's the question baseball fans have been debating ever since the Sox won the 2004 World Series. Now a Superior Court judge is...

Bonnie Waters retires as executive director of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.(lawyer assistance)(Interview)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff After nearly two decades on the job, Bonnie Waters retired as executive director of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers earlier this month. Lawyers Weekly recently talked to Waters about her "stint"...

Verdicts & Settlements December 12, 2005: Property taken from land owner for commuter rail.(Stone v. MBTA)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $220,000 settlement As part of its acquisitions of land for the Greenbush commuter rail line, the defendant took the vacant, rear portion of the plaintiff's property in Cohasset on Nov. 1,...

Verdicts & Settlements (December 12, 2005: Man, 38, dies of myocardial infarction while in ER.(emergency room)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $500,000 settlement The 38-year-old plaintiff's decedent presented to the emergency room with complaints of chest pain and diaphoresis. He was hyperventilating and said his arm felt numb. ...

Verdicts & Settlements December 12, 2005: Public project results in a contract dispute.(public contract)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $9.91 million settlement The claimant, a joint venture, entered into a contract with a public authority to construct a public project for the authority. The project was completed for the...

Verdicts & Settlements December 12, 2005: Officer alleges unequal treatment by former chief.(Young v. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, et al.)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Defense verdict The plaintiff claimed she was subjected to crude comments made by the defendant town's former police chief. The plaintiff also alleged that a male reserve officer received...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: December 12, 2005.(Edson H. Rafferty)(Henry Lebensbaum)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff IN RE: EDSON HOWARD RAFFERTY Supreme Judicial Court No. BD-2005-086 IN RE: EDSON HOWARD RAFFERTY Last known address: 232 Lewis Wharf - 2nd Fl. Boston, MA 02110 S.J.C. Order of...

MA Superior Court issues order on continuances of trial.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff STANDING ORDER NO. 1-06 CONTINUANCES OF TRIAL (Applicable to Civil Cases in All Counties) The following procedure shall apply to requests for continuances of trial. 1. No trial...

Evidence Workshop: Judges respond to questions about medical malpractice law.(medical law)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff ABOUT THIS FEATURE: Massachusetts has no codified rules of evidence, so judges encounter unsettled areas on a daily basis. Periodically, Lawyers Weekly asks a number of judges to respond to...

Commentary: E-mail: career opportunities and pitfalls.(communication trends)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Stephen Seckler and Rob Toomey Communication has changed dramatically in the workplace in the past two decades. In a span of less than 20 years, voice-mail, cell phones, overnight delivery and personal computers have altered where...

Commentary: A letter to Judge Robert Bohn.
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Dear Judge Bohn: Now that you have departed, the Superior Court and the legal community have lost a good person and a good judge. You deserve to hear us say a few words about the life that you...

Judge Ginsburg answers question "What makes a good expert witness?".(Column)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff This column offers readers an opportunity to ask a former judge with 25 years of experience on the bench questions that are of interest to lawyers. To ask Judge Ginsburg a question, e-mail...

Commentary: The Supreme Court and the '69 Dodge.(judicial nominees)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Eric Lucien Citizens of Wyoming have more of a say in the shape of the Supreme Court than the rest of us, and it has more to do with Catherine Bach than you might think. "In a month, who will remember the name Harriet Miers?"...

MA Lawyers in the News: December 12, 2005.(Massachusetts)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Colleen Nevin has joined the Boston office of Adler, Pollock & Sheehan as an associate in the litigation department. Daniel O'Connell has joined the Boston-based...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.(Lincoln Property Co. v. Roche, Wagnon v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation )(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Diversity - Removal When a defendant validly removes a case to federal court, it is not required to negate the existence of a potential codefendant whose presence in the...

MA Superior Court Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.(Massachusetts)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Personal guaranty - Real estate attachment Where a plaintiff, claiming that the defendant individual personally guaranteed a corporation's debt obligations, has moved for a real...

U.S. District Court judge rules insurance co. can't avoid peer review subpoena.(Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
December 12, 2005... Byline: David E. Frank A health care provider could not quash a government-issued subpoena requiring that documents generated during a peer review inquiry of a Massachusetts doctor be turned over to federal law enforcement officials, a...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.(National Casualty Co. v. First State Insurance Group, Powell v. United States, Vistamar Inc. v. Fagundo-Fagundo)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Discovery violation Where an appellant sought to have an arbitration award vacated, a U.S. District Court decision denying that request should be affirmed, as the appellee's...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.(Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Inc.)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Evidence Peer review privilege - Federal courts Where the U.S. government, in connection with a criminal investigation, seeks production of documents from Blue Cross Blue Shield of...

U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Subordination agreement Where a defendant has appealed a judgment holding him liable for breach of a subordination agreement, the judgment should be affirmed based on the...

MA Appeals Court Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.(Public Notice)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed The Appeals Court has affirmed, pursuant to Rule 1:28, judgments in the following cases. Although the decisions do not appear to address any substantive issues...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Default - Good cause Where a default judgment was entered against the defendant, an order denying the defendant's motion to vacate the default should be affirmed on the...

MA Land Court Case Summaries: December 12, 2005.(Realm Realty Corporation v. Fasan, Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
December 12, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Zoning Special permit - Drive-through windows Where the defendant planning board denied a plaintiff corporation a special permit for the construction of drive-through windows at a...

MA Land Court Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(zoning, Massachusetts)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Zoning Building permit revocation Where the defendant Marblehead zoning board has declared that an existing garage on the plaintiff's property is not lawful, the defendant has acted...

MA Department of Industrial Accidents Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Bias allegation Where a plaintiff employee, who was awarded closed periods of G.L.c. 152, Sects. 34 and 35 incapacity benefits for an accepted industrial injury, has...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: December 19, 2005.(Stephen Mark Foley)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC No. BD-2002-033 IN RE: STEPHEN MARK FOLEY SJC No. BD-2002-033 IN RE: STEPHEN MARK FOLEY MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF BAR OVERSEERS Reinstatement Hearing The Board of Bar...

The art of apologizing takes hold in the legal world.(say you're sorry)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Reni Gertner "Say you're sorry." It's something moms everywhere tell their children when they hurt someone at the playground. Now, it appears, the art of apologizing is taking hold of the legal world, with risk managers,...

Attorney Victor C. Garo receives first-annual James C. Doyle Courageous Advocate Award.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Hollywood has always been a sucker for a legal drama set in Boston. "Mystic River," "A Civil Action" and "The Verdict" all spring to mind. There is another in the works, a saga that was the...

Boston attorney Arthur F. Licata listed in the 2006 "Who's Who in the World".(professional fields)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Step off, Super Lawyers of Massachusetts, and make way for Boston attorney Arthur F. Licata, who was recently listed in the 2006 "Who's Who in the World." That's right, the world. Licata,...

MA governor signs bills: December 19, 2005.(Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 159. An act establishing a project mitigation contribution or linkage program for affordable housing in the city of Somerville. App. and eff. Dec. 4, 2 pages. 160. An act authorizing the...

MA Supreme Judicial Court rules lawyer's criticism of judge could be used for disbarment.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Ariana L. Johnson A lawyer's criticism of a judge made in court filings could be used as part of the basis for his disbarment, the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled. The defendant lawyer argued that his statements accusing the...

U.S. District Court judge rules director must reimburse company for legal fees.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Tony Wright A company director found by the SEC to have impermissibly traded his firm's stock must repay nearly $90,000 in legal fees his employer had advanced to him pursuant to an indemnification agreement, a U.S. District Court...

Commentary: Increase new business by re-connecting with ex-clients and colleagues.
December 19, 2005... Byline: James Hassett When you want to build new business, it is always easiest and fastest to start with people who already know you. Your current clients should come first. After that, the next place to look is past clients and...

Commentary: Voir dire: will 2006 be the year?
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff What does the average juror think of trial lawyers? As attorneys, we hope that jurors are open-minded and fair. And yet, there are reminders that it is hard to empanel a jury that does not...

MA Lawyers in the News: December 19, 2005.(Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Christopher J. Denn has joined Goodwin Procter in Boston as a partner in the life sciences practice. Previously, Denn was a partner at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and...

Attorney Robert Athy Cole dies at his home in Shrewsbury following an illness.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Robert Athy Cole, a sole practitioner, died Nov. 23 at his home in Shrewsbury following an illness. He was 57. Born in Holden, Cole earned his bachelor of arts in psychology from the College...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil procedure Wrongful removal - Counsel fees Absent unusual circumstances, counsel fees should not be awarded for a case wrongfully removed to federal court and subsequently remanded...

MA Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(Commonwealth v. Robles)(Scott v. District Attorney for the Norfolk District)(Commonwealth v. Herbert)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Single justice opinion - New trial motion Where a single justice has rejected a defendant's request for leave to appeal a denial of his new trial motion, the single justice has...

Verdicts & Settlements December 19, 2005: Driver rear-ended in traffic sustains disc herniation.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $395,000 settlement On March 6, 2003, the plaintiff was stopped in traffic on an exit ramp off of I-291 East in the Springfield area, waiting for a traffic light to turn green. The defendant...

Verdicts & Settlements December 19, 2005: Man dies two months after colon cancer diagnosis.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $975,000 settlement The plaintiff's decedent was a retired 79-year-old with a significant medical history who died in 2001, just two months after being diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. ...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(Medeiros v. Vincent)(Taylor v. United States Department of Labor)(Gorfinkle v. U.S. Airways Inc.)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Rhode Island regulation - Lobster harvesting Where a plaintiff has challenged the constitutionality of a Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management regulation...

Commentary: Understanding tenant-in-common offerings.
December 19, 2005... Byline: Stephen I. Burr If you are a real estate, tax or securities lawyer you may have "bumped" into tenant-in-common offerings lately. Perhaps a real estate client asked about how to do such an offering. Maybe a broker-dealer client...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(Bradley v. City of Lynn)(Happ v. Corning Inc.)(Tracy v. Olson)
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Civil service examinations - Minority candidates Where African-American plaintiffs have filed a proposed class action against a number of defendants (including the Human...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: December 19, 2005.(In Re: Connolly, Dorothy M.)(In Re: Searcy, Cheryl )
December 19, 2005... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Priority claim - Real estate taxes Where a town has asserted a secured claim for real estate taxes in the amount of $5,026.57, the Chapter 7 Trustee's objection should be...