Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly articles from December 2006

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly archives from December 2006

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Elderly woman fractures hip in fall from van's lift.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $270,000 settlement A transportation company hired to bring several elderly patients -- including the 91-year-old plaintiff -- to and from their assisted-living facility, allegedly ignored...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Private bank subsidiary recovers initial investment.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $42 million settlement The plaintiff corporation, a subsidiary of a Central American private bank, entrusted the defendant investment adviser with two separate purchases of $20 million each,...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Defense objection leads jury to specify damage elements.(McCamy v. Babineau)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $126,685 verdict The defense stipulated to liability at trial, so the only contested issue concerned damages. Since the defense objected to the economist's opinion on loss of earning...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Unsolicited ads run afoul of laws on telemarketing.(Piotrowski v. National Mortgage Network, Inc.)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $30,000 settlement The plaintiff alleged that the defendants sent six unsolicited fax advertisements for mortgage brokerage services to her residential telephone. Liability was asserted...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Pedestrian struck by automatic 'arm' in garage.(Cardone v. LAZ Parking Ltd., Inc. )(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Defense verdict The plaintiff, who was on foot, was exiting the defendant's parking garage in Worcester when she approached the tollbooth to question the attendant about whether she needed a...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Pharmaceutical companies seen manipulating prices.(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $70 million settlement A $70 million settlement was part of a massive multidistrict litigation against dozens of pharmaceutical companies alleging fraudulent manipulation of "average wholesale...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: SUV rollover sparks dispute over 'permanent impairment'.(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $670,000 settlement The 39-year-old plaintiff suffered major injuries when his sport utility vehicle rolled over on a clear, straight stretch of interstate highway as he was driving home from...

Commentary: voting on gay marriage: yea or nay?
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The slogan "Let the People Vote" has an intuitive appeal. But when it comes to same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, things are not as simple as meets the eye. On Nov. 9, the Legislature,...

Commentary: judges open homes to Chinese counterparts in eye-opening exchange program.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Hon. John T. Lu A group of Beijing judges is getting the full Massachusetts judicial experience. They are seeing up close not only the full range of civil and criminal trials, but also crying babies, restless children and traffic...

Commentary: in holiday season, keep those cards and letters coming.
December 4, 2006... Byline: David Yas Have you noticed that your junk mail is beginning to arrive with a little more mirth than usual? Yes, it's that time of year. Here come the holiday cards. Right down Santa Claus Lane. (You won't actually find Santa on...

MA governor signs bills: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 354. An act further regulating payment agreements for local taxes. App. Nov. 9, eff. Feb. 7, 2007, 1 page. 355. An act establishing the Freedom's Way Heritage Area and Commission. App. Nov....

First justice of the Hadley court known for her creative approach to sentencing.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff When a film student was sentenced to probation at the District Court of Eastern Hampshire County in Hadley for a minor offense involving alcohol possession, the defendant agreed to an unusual...

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sabita Singh confirmed as MA District Court circuit judge.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Annapoorni R. Sankaran, a Boston attorney and president of the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston, has had a Massachusetts judicial appointment for a South Asian in her sights for some...

MA's new attorney general wastes no time putting a staff in place.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff With six weeks remaining until she is sworn in as the state's new attorney general, Martha Coakley appears to be wasting little time putting a staff in place -- or, perhaps, keeping a staff in...

Lawyer lauds Worcester court for starting early.(Letter to the editor)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I practice primarily in Middlesex and Essex counties, but over the last six months I have had to go to the Worcester District Court on about 10 different occasions. I have...

Labor lawyers warn hospitals and physician practices about union recruitment push in MA.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Sylvia Hsieh and David E. Frank Labor lawyers warn that hospitals and physician practices need to be prepared for a new recruitment push by union organizers, which is targeting health care workers in Massachusetts. The...

1st Circuit rules no dismissal for defendant who failed to file motion.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A trial judge was not obligated to dismiss criminal charges against a defendant who neglected to file a motion on his own behalf after the government failed to indict him within the time limits set by the Speedy...

New Worcester courthouse yet to open, already under fire.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer When the new Worcester County Regional Justice Center opens its doors for business next year, it will do so minus a law library -- an oversight that has some local lawyers shaking their heads in disbelief. In a...

Lawyers: MA's wrongful conviction statute mired in bureaucracy.
December 4, 2006... Byline: David Frank Nearly two years after its enactment, the state's wrongful conviction compensation statute is bogged down by bureaucratic red tape and needless delays, lawyers complain. Particularly when dealing with convictions...

Class in Wal-Mart case is decertified.
December 4, 2006... Byline: David Frank A decision by a Superior Court judge in Middlesex County to decertify a group of Wal-Mart employees means that a class-action suit previously scheduled for trial will not go forward. In a 74-page decision, Judge...

Boston attorney indicted on assault charges.
December 4, 2006... Byline: David Frank A well-known criminal defense lawyer who in 2003 was selected as one of People magazine's "50 Most Eligible Bachelors" has been indicted in connection with two unrelated sexual assaults. In one of the incidents,...

Commentary: truthfulness in negotiations; a little room to maneuver?
December 4, 2006... Byline: James J. Marcellino and David Gacioch When reading a recent American Bar Association Journal, both of us were struck by the subtitle of an article on lawyers' ethics: "Ethics Rules on Truthfulness Give Lawyers a Little Room to...

Appellate Tax Board Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Taxation Income taxes - Gaming activities Where evidence indicated that an appellant's gambling in 1999 was in the nature of a hobby and too sporadic and discontinuous to be considered...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Nonpayment - Items ordered Where a judge in a jury-waived trial found in favor of a plaintiff company that alleged that the defendant had failed to pay for various items which...

Appeals Court Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed Commonwealth v. Bastardo (Lawyers Weekly No. 81-956-06) (3 pages) (challenge to a rejection of the defendant's motion to revise or revoke sentence) (No....

MA Department of Industrial Accidents Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Heightened causation standard Where an employee has appealed a decision denying her claim for weekly incapacity benefits, we conclude that the decision should be...

MA Labor Relations Commission Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor Prohibited practice charge - Timeliness Where the Massachusetts Community College Council has filed a prohibited practice charge, alleging that the Board of Higher Education (1)...

Land Court Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Landlord and tenant Nonpayment of rent Where (1) two plaintiff individuals have not paid the defendant landlord rent on their apartment since March 2004 and (2) a coplaintiff cafe has...

Other MA agencies case summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Elections Candidate services - Issue advocacy Where the sole employee of Mass Alliance has provided coordinated services for endorsed candidates, Mass Alliance board members may...

Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Real property Regulatory taking - Contiguous lots Where a plaintiff claims that a decision by the defendant conservation commission -- refusing to permit the plaintiff to build a house on...

Superior Court Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Division of Energy Resources - Standing Where plaintiffs have challenged a decision by the defendant Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources to issue "Statements of...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Taxes - Capital gains Where a Chapter 13 debtor has moved for an order directing the trustee to reserve funds for the payment of capital gains taxes triggered by the...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Mandamus - LNG Where petitioners filed a petition for mandamus asking this court to compel the U.S. Department of Transportation to comply with a 1979 statute regarding...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.(Joyce v. John Hancock Financial Services, Inc)(Muniz v. Winn)(Gebre v. Rice, et al.)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Homestead - Sale proceeds Where a debtor sold his house which was subject to a homestead exemption, the sale proceeds are exempt from prepetition debts. "... [T]he issue...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort Fraud Where a plaintiff company contends (1) that it was defrauded by a defendant payroll processing firm and (2) that a codefendant firm, which took over the payroll function from...

MA Lawyers in the News: December 4, 2006.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Peter Johnson has joined Nixon Peabody in Boston as a partner in the public finance practice. William J. Gosz has joined Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple in Framingham as an...

Philadelphia's Pepper Hamilton law firm sets up shop in Boston.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Add Philadelphia's Pepper Hamilton to the ever-lengthening list of out-of-town law firms setting up shop in Boston. The 450-attorney firm has leased space in the office tower at 101 Federal...

Indefensible: One Lawyer's Journey into the Inferno of American Justice.(Book review)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Wendy S. Wayne "Indefensible: One Lawyer's Journey Into the Inferno of American Justice" By David Feige Little Brown 2006; $24.95 Having been a public defender for 17 years, I have been asked the same question countless times:...

Commentary: selling a practice must be done right.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll I have written before in this column that selling a law practice to another qualified lawyer is a positive for everyone concerned. Not only do the buying and selling attorneys benefit, but the clients also benefit when...

Interview with Cambridge attorney about her IP law firm's policy on holiday bonuses.(Lowrie, Lando & Anastasi)(Interview)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz In Expert Opinion, Lawyers Weekly seeks out specialists in the administration of law firms for their opinions on management issues of topical interest. This week, reporter Barbara Rabinovitz asks Lisa R. Witham,...

Commentary: Boston's Locke-Ober maintains its hold on the palates of discerning diners.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Locke-Ober, 3 Winter Place, Boston:(617) 542-1340: Lunch, Monday through Friday: Reservations accepted More than 130 years after its opening on a shadowy alleyway in downtown Boston,...

Verdicts & Settlements December 4, 2006: Woman, 43, dies of infection from gastric-bypass surgery.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $750,000 settlement In July 2001, the 43-year-old decedent underwent bariatric surgery and began to exhibit signs and symptoms of an intra-abdominal infection. A "blue-dye test" was...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative FECA - Presentment requirement Where a plaintiff, an attorney who was assigned to work for the U.S. Navy, filed suit along with his wife seeking emotional distress damages...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Commuter Railroad Company - 42 U.S.C. Sect. 1983 Where the plaintiff, a fired locomotive engineer, has filed a 42 U.S.C. Sect. 1983 action alleging that he was wrongfully...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Immigration State offense - Felony A state offense constitutes a felony punishable under the federal Controlled Substances Act and triggering deportation only if it proscribes conduct...

Massachusetts Lawyers in the News: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Chris Bowley, Jenny Chen, Matthew Fenselau, Brett Krueger, Matthew Leary, Stephen Marshall, Amar Mehta, Michael Newman and Samuel Sherry have joined Fish & Richardson in...

Credentials not as important as expert's ability to teach.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Bill Ibelle Credentials or stage presence? When it comes to selecting an expert witness, deciding which quality should take precedence often depends on how central the expert's testimony is to the fundamental question being put...

Commentary: Truth stranger than fiction in Grisham's latest.("The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town" By John Grisham)(Book review)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Matt Harper-Nixon "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town" By John Grisham Doubleday, 2006 360 pages; $28.95 John Grisham has made a career writing books that often rely on legal situations bordering on the...

Commentary: When it's necessary to terminate a lawyer.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Plenty of news stories attest that associates are not satisfied with their lot in life, particularly at large law firms. The current business model of these firms "eats 'em up and spits 'em out." This "culling...

How To...choose a records management software for your law office.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff How To... offers advice on a variety of subjects related to the management of a law practice. This week, Henry Chace, chief information officer at the Boston firm of Burns & Levinson, goes on the...

Issuing an opinion: Giving of gifts by lawyers to clients.(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Issuing an Opinion offers the views of attorneys, interviewed at random by Lawyers Weekly, on issues related to the business of law. This week, as the end-of-the-year holidays approach, reporter...

Verdicts & Settlements December 11, 2006: Man's pain continues despite surgical repair.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $300,000 settlement A 48-year-old sought care from the defendant neurosurgeon because of neck pain, radiating pain in the arms and numbness in the arms and hands. The defendant...

Verdicts & Settlements December 11, 2006: Driver suffers multiple fractures following accident.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $750,000 settlement A motor vehicle accident occurred on Route 9 in East Brookfield on June 18, 2003, when the defendant turned left into the path of the plaintiff's oncoming vehicle during...

Verdicts & Settlements December 11, 2006: Woman sustains closed head injury in car collision.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $270,000 settlement The 67-year-old plaintiff was the passenger of a vehicle operated by her husband when the defendant pulled out from a side street and collided with the plaintiff's vehicle....

Verdicts & Settlements December 11, 2006: Elderly client is victimized by home health aide.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1 million-plus judgment In a will contest that took 13 years, a home health aide bilked his 84-year-old handicapped client out of his home and savings. The decedent, who was bedridden,...

Verdicts & Settlements December 11, 2006: Pipe fitter trips over worksite debris, injures back.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $250,000 settlement The 37-year-old plaintiff pipe fitter asserted that he tripped on a piece of carelessly discarded debris at a construction worksite and suffered a twisting injury to his...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff BBO Public Reprimand No. 2006-18 IN RE: GERALD J. ZYFERS Last known office address: 80 Clinton Place Newton, MA 02459-1141 Order (public reprimand) entered by the Board November 22, 2006...

Commentary: Criticism leads to close call in Judge Sikora Jr.'s confirmation hearing.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Many candidates for the bench face critical testimony at their confirmation hearing before the Governor's Council. But the criticism lodged against Superior Court Judge Mitchell J. Sikora Jr. in...

Wife of governor-elect strives to avoid conflict of interest between law firm, commonwealth.(Ropes & Gray's partner Diane B. Patrick)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The well-appointed offices of the downtown Boston firm of Ropes & Gray are abuzz with activity these days as Deval L. Patrick, husband of Ropes partner Diane B. Patrick, prepares to take the oath...

Few lawyers on Deval L. Patrick's gubernatorial transition committees.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Considering the hefty amount of support Deval L. Patrick received from the legal community during his recent gubernatorial campaign, you might think that the rosters of his transition committees,...

Founding partner of Boston law firm represents indigent client in murder case.(Dwyer & Collora's Michael A. Collora)(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff It's not every day that the founding partner of a sizeable Boston law firm gets down into the trenches to handle a murder case on behalf of an indigent client. Such was the move by Dwyer &...

REBA: headline gave readers 'false impression'.(Letter to the editor)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I am writing in reference to an article in the Nov. 20 issue concerning the lawsuits recently filed by the Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts ("REBA: no plans to 'go...

Troubled over age bias in lawyer-hiring practices.(Letter to the editor)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I congratulate Lawyers Weekly's Board of Editors for raising the issue of discriminatory practices among law firms in hiring ("Senior lawyers need not apply?," Nov. 27). As...

At a loss to explain 'epidemic' of disbarments, reprimands.(Letter to the editor)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I am deeply disturbed by the reports of disbarments, suspensions and reprimands set forth in the pages of Lawyers Weekly each week. These attorneys are far more successful and...

Judges applaud guest column by probation officer.(Letter to the editor)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Awesome, eloquent, astute. We applaud recently retired Norfolk Probate & Family Court Probation Officer Stephen Rocco on his well-written article, which appeared in the...

Supreme Judicial Court says victim's 911 call admissible.
December 11, 2006... Byline: David E. Frank Though a trial judge properly allowed into evidence a crime victim's 911 telephone call, admission of the victim's subsequent hearsay statements to police violated the defendant's constitutional right to confront his...

E-discovery rules signal new era in federal practice.(Federal Rules of Civil Procedure)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Lawyers who practice in the federal courts are cautiously eyeing major rule changes dealing with electronic discovery, with some warning that the new amendments signal a seismic shift in federal court practice....

Structured orientation programs for judges gaining favor.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Ten years ago this fall, when then-Boston attorney Allan van Gestel was named to the Superior Court, he brought to the bench 35 years' experience in civil litigation but, by his own admission, "not a lot of...

Massachusetts Judges Conference proposing judicial-pay panel.(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The Massachusetts Judges Conference is drafting legislation that would create a judicial compensation commission in an effort to depoliticize the issue of judges' pay. Under the proposal, the...

Notices from the Court: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC Rule 3:07 amended COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS At the Supreme Judicial Court holden at Boston within and for said Commonwealth on the twenty-ninth day of November, in the year two...

Appellate Tax Board Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Taxation Withdrawal penalty taxes Where an appellee board of assessors levied a withdrawal penalty tax on the appellant, we find that the appellee failed to comply with the provisions of...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Motion to vacate judgment of dismissal Where a judge allowed a plaintiff's motion to vacate a judgment of dismissal, the judge acted within her discretion and her decision...

Appeals Court Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed Gilbride v. Dickson, administratrix (Lawyers Weekly No. 81-983-06) (4 pages) (appeal of a decision dismissing, as untimely, a complaint seeking to recover...

Labor Relations Commission Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor Reconsideration - Dismissal Where a union's charge -- alleging that the University of Massachusetts violated G.L.c. 150E by (1) promoting two unit members to positions in another...

Massachusetts commission against discrimination: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Petition for review Where a complainant filed a notice of appeal of an adverse decision by a hearing officer but did not file a timely petition for review, the complainant...

Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Sex Offender Registry Board - Expert evidence Where a plaintiff has challenged a Superior Court order affirming the Sex Offender Registry Board's decision classifying the...

Superior Court Case Summaries: December 11, 2006.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Privileged documents Where a defendant has moved to compel production of documents relating to an arbitration proceeding involving the plaintiff and a third party, the motion...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: December 18, 2006.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff ADMONITION NO. 06-43 In early 2000, a client retained the respondent to represent her in connection with injuries she sustained in an automobile accident in November 1999. The respondent filed...

Commentary: Abolish the charity cap now.(Column)
December 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Prior to 1971, nonprofit hospitals and other charitable organizations enjoyed charitable immunity from tort liability. In 1971, after prompting from the Supreme Judicial Court, the Legislature...

Commentary: 2006: remembering the year, in limerick ...
December 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff With 2007 knocking at our door, and thus another year published, annotated, footnoted, Shepardized and otherwise in the books, we revisit the year in law 2006 by pouring ourselves a bubbling glass...

Warren F. Fitzgerald leaves Boston firm to open his own practice in Charlestown.(Meehan, Boyle, Black and Fitzgerald)
December 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The nameplate for the downtown Boston firm of Meehan, Boyle, Black & Fitzgerald will be without the "Fitzgerald" at the end of this month. After 22 years as a member of the plaintiffs' firm,...

Executive director of Hampden County Bar Association steps down at end of this month.(Judith K. Potter )
December 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The woman who tripled the size of the Hampden County Bar Association during her three-plus decades as its executive director steps down at the end of this month, having enjoyed "almost every...

Access to Locke-Ober 'outrageous,' maybe even illegal.(Letter to the editor)
December 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I think it is outrageous — and possibly illegal — that Locke-Ober is not wheelchair accessible ("Local institution has Locke on gourmet dining downtown," Dec. 4)....

Lawyer: don't change Superior Court Rule 9C.(Letter to the editor)
December 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: The proposed change to Superior Court Rule 9C should not be made (Notices from the Courts: "Superior Court seeks comments on Rule 9C," Dec. 4). In my experience, lawyers...