Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly articles from January 2007

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly archives from January 2007

Commentary: Ladies and gentlemen, 'The 100 Courthouse March'.(Column)
January 1, 2007... Byline: David Yas Forget New Years' resolutions. This year, I'm setting myself a genuine goal. An honest-to-goodness, definitive promise. And here it is: 100 courthouses. In calendar year 2007, I will visit 100 Massachusetts...

Supreme Judicial Court rules doctor can sue insurance co. for malicious prosecution.(Chervin v. The Travelers Insurance Company)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A neurologist could bring a malicious prosecution suit against an insurer who had unsuccessfully sued him for medical malpractice, the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled. A Superior Court judge had dismissed the...

Supreme Judicial Court rules Nigerian-educated attorney should be allowed to sit for bar exam.(Osakwe v. Board of Bar Examiners)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer An attorney with a Nigerian law degree should be allowed to sit for the Massachusetts bar examination, the Supreme Judicial Court has decided. The defendant Board of Bar Examiners argued that the plaintiff...

With increased caseload, Fitchburg District Court finds itself 'taxed to the limit'.
January 1, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank This is another in an ongoing series in which Lawyers Weekly -- after spending a day in one of the commonwealth's courthouses -- reports on what was observed. When gunfire erupted last summer on the steps of...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: January 1, 2007.(Grigg v. Trustees of Allendale Condominium Trust)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Subject matter Where (1) a plaintiff has appealed a dismissal of her complaint by the West Roxbury Division of the Boston Municipal Court and (2) the defendant has responded...

MA Appeals Court Case Summaries: January 1, 2007.(Hebert v. Board of Appeals of Dennis)(Commonwealth v. Kelly)(Pizzino v. Miller)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed Joseph K. McDonald's Case (Lawyers Weekly No. 82-056-06) (4 pages) (appeal of a decision rejecting an employee's workers' compensation claim) (No. 05-P-1781)...

Department of Industrial Accidents Case Summaries: January 1, 2007.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Drywall services Where certain individuals are performing drywall services, under a contract of hire, for a company, I find that the individuals are statutory...

MA Labor Relations Commission Case Summaries: January 1, 2007.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor Leave to conduct union business Where a union filed a complaint after a governmental employer limited its approval of the union's request for paid leave to conduct union business to...

Land Court Case Summaries: January 1, 2007.(Washington Mutual Bank F.A. v. Spencer trustee)(Fillebrown v. Marciniak)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Mortgages First priority Where a dispute has arisen regarding a plaintiff bank's mortgage rights, I find from the evidence "that plaintiff [Washington Mutual Bank] holds a first priority...

Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: January 1, 2007.(Karimpour v. Supreme Judicial Court)(Scott v. Attorney General)(Snell v. Lee)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals G.L.c. 211, Sect. 3 petition Where a single justice denied a G.L.c. 211, Sect. 3 petition, that order should be affirmed because there are other routes by which the petitioner may...

Superior Court Case Summaries: January 1, 2007.(Covalucci v. Crowley)(Day v. Kerkorian)(Murray v. Dowd)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Banks and banking Loans - Guarantors' liability Where borrowers have defaulted on a number of loans and lines of credit, the defendant guarantors of those loans must be held liable to the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: January 1, 2007.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Mortgage - Standing Where a mortgage lender's nominee seeks leave to foreclose on a Chapter 13 debtor's mortgage, the nominee, contrary to the debtor's assertion, has standing...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: January 1, 2007.(Broadley v. Mashpee Neck Marina, Inc.)(United States v. Simo-Lopez)(United States v. Ziskind)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Marina - Exculpatory clause Where a defendant marina owner was awarded summary judgment in a suit brought by a plaintiff who was injured at the marina, the judgment must be...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: January 1, 2007.(Luthy v. Proulx)(Robles v. O'Brien)(Dialogo LLC v. Santiago)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Complaint - Rule 8 Where plaintiffs have filed an amended complaint against the defendant town of Becket and the codefendant clerk of the Berkshire County Superior Court, I...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: January 1, 2007.(Maraglia v. Maloney)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Summary judgment motion - Exhaustion of remedies Where (1) a plaintiff brought a prisoner civil rights action against several defendant security guards, (2) the defendants...

Commentary: Attorneys' resolutions for 2007.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff As attorneys, we resolve the following for 2007: We will not laugh at lawyer jokes. We will instead tell a few client jokes. We will invite a younger member of the bar for no other reason...

Massachusetts governor signs bills: January 1, 2007.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 375. An act relative to hazardous materials mitigation. App. Dec. 13, 2006, eff. Feb. 13, 1 page. 376. An act authorizing transfers from the North East Solid Waste Committee Enterprise Fund...

Massachusetts IOLTA Committee moves to take advantage of improving rate climate.(Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts programs)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff With bank-deposit interest rates on the ascent, the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee has moved to take advantage of the improving rate climate -- beginning this first day of the New Year. The...

Incoming class of MA state representatives has two more attorneys than last year's class.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Longtime observers of the Legislature know that both chambers could claim numerous lawyers among their members for much of the past half-century. But in recent years, those numbers have dwindled....

Lawyer's spirit will be with bar for years to come.(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I have known Ellen Carpenter for many years and considered her a friend. We worked on bar association activities together, and I also had the privilege of servicing her clients'...

1st Circuit seeking comments on amendments to Local Rule 28.0.(Public notice)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff OFFICE OF THE CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT NOTICE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO LOCAL RULE 28.0 The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit...

Commentary: The citizens' petition on gay marriage deserves a vote.(Column)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Brian P. Burke and Douglas L. Fox "The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court,... the people...

Correction: In last week's digest of Chreng v. Gonzales (Lawyers Weekly No. 01-392-06; 35 MLW 956).(Correction notice)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Correction In last week's digest of Chreng v. Gonzales (Lawyers Weekly No. 01-392-06; 35 MLW 956), we reported erroneously that the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that a plaintiff...

MA law firms announce new associations: January 1, 2007.(Foley Hoag L.L.P. appoints Kevin Smith)(Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye appoints John Bradley, Thomas K. Westort)(Edwards, Angell, Palmer and Dodge appoints Benjamin Ferrucci )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Kevin Smith has joined Foley Hoag in Boston as the firm's first chief financial officer. John Bradley has joined Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye in Boston as of counsel, and Thomas K. Westort has...

George R. Moore elected to one-year term as president of the New England Bar Association.(Devine Millimet)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff George R. Moore, a shareholder in the Andover office of Devine Millimet, has been elected to a one-year term as president of the New England Bar Association. Moore focuses his practice on complex...

Francis X. Ahearn, former Boston City Council president, dies Dec. 12, 2006.(Obituary)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Francis X. Ahearn, a former Boston City Council president, died Dec. 12, 2006, at a rehabilitation facility in Bourne of complications from a fall at his Cape Cod home. He was 89. Ahearn...

Commentary: Is benchmarking the master or merely the servant?(Column)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll The idea of benchmarking -- setting up statistical guidelines to identify best management practices -- has long been used in industry, and it can apply as well to law and other professional service firms. For the...

Issuing an opinion: MA lawyers offer opinions on the business of law.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff "I'm most excited to be doing something useful and actually practicing law, instead of doing things in the classroom. Since my father is a retired judge, I've heard about the mistakes...

Boston-based Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers program to aid attorneys in managing their law offices.(Interview)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff In Expert Opinion, Lawyers Weekly interviews specialists in the management of law firms. This week, reporter Barbara Rabinovitz asks Ellen M. Jernigan, executive director of Boston-based Lawyers...

Verdicts & Settlements January 1, 2007: Passenger claims brain injury after elevator accident.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.1 million settlement The plaintiff was taking the elevator from the fifth floor to the lobby of a building in downtown Boston when she and another passenger testified that they felt the...

Verdicts & Settlements January 1, 2007: Motorist strikes vehicle on bridge, injures other driver.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $850,000 settlement On Sept. 9, 2004, the 71-year-old plaintiff was traveling east on a bridge when the defendant, while driving west on the bridge, traveled into the eastbound traffic lane...

Verdicts & Settlements January 1, 2007: Landlord fails to pay interest on rental deposits.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $106,790 settlement The defendant, one of Boston's largest residential and commercial landlords, had failed, since its inception in January 1998, to pay interest owed under G.L. c. 186 Sect....

Verdicts & Settlements January 1, 2007: Infant diagnosed with cerebral palsy, brain damage.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $3 million settlement On March 3, 1994, at 28 weeks gestation, the 18-year-old plaintiff arrived at the hospital for the birth of her first child with an obvious rupture of membranes. The...

Verdicts & Settlements January 1, 2007: Temp worker's left arm severed by recycling machine.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $250,000 settlement The 24-year-old plaintiff was employed by a temporary agency and was placed by the agency at a manufacturing/recycling plant. On Aug. 23, 2004, during the course and...

Verdicts & Settlements January 1, 2007: Worker sustains disc herniation installing equipment.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $400,000 settlement The 60-year-old plaintiff subcontractor was installing sound equipment in a newly built school when a sound cabinet, in which the plaintiff was to install electronic...

Commentary: Lessons from the Brett Myers assault-and-battery case.(Column)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff This column offers readers an opportunity to ask questions of a former judge with 25 years of experience on the bench. To contact Judge Ginsburg with your question, e-mail SeniorLawyers@aol.com....

MA Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(Massachusetts)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC No. BD-2006-063 IN RE: S. MICHAEL BRETT Last known address: P.O. Box 299 York Beach, ME 03910 Order of term suspension entered by Spina, J., on December 5, 2006 Bar counsel filed a...

Commentary: Preserving the privilege.(American Civil Liberties Union, et al. v. National Security Agency, et al.)(Brief article)(Column)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff There are few things that all lawyers agree upon, but you would be hard-pressed to find an attorney who does not appreciate the importance of the attorney-client privilege. The Boston Bar...

Commentary: 'The Supreme Court' is a worthwhile history lesson.(Movie review)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff If you're provincial like me, you don't give a heck of a lot of thought to life outside of our fair commonwealth. As long as Curt Schilling's ankle is holding up in the off season and our snow...

Gerald J. Alch of MA: Mandating a change.(Massachusetts)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Nearing the age of 74, Gerald J. Alch is hardly the retiring type. First justice of Dedham District Court until the state's mandatory-retirement law forced him to step down at age 70 in...

Comings and goings within the judgeship openings in MA.(Massachusetts)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers with their eyes on judgeship openings have been known to regularly visit the website of the Judicial Nominating Commission and peruse its list of judicial vacancies. But they may have to...

Executive director at the MA Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights steps down.(Charles E. Walker Jr.)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Only 11 months into the job of executive director at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law of the Boston Bar Association, Charles E. Walker Jr. has stepped down. The parting was...

The Timepiece: MA Lawyers Weekly reviews some past issues.(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The Timepiece is an occasional Hearsay feature that goes back in time to recall events in the Massachusetts legal-judicial community, as reported in previous issues of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly....

Defense counsel can inspect victim's treatment records rules Supreme Judicial Court.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A rape defendant's attorney can inspect the victim's privileged treatment records under a new rule announced by the Supreme Judicial Court. The defendant argued that the existing rule -- the so-called...

Multi-firm collaboration nets $8.4M settlement in fire case.(Case overview)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Disproving the old adage that three's a crowd, a team of seven lawyers from several Boston plaintiffs' firms recently secured an $8.4 million settlement in a case involving a deadly office-building...

Fighting back against 'bullying' in the workplace.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer David C. Yamada is on a mission. Upon learning that one of his friends was being mistreated by her bosses, Yamada decided to tackle the problem of workplace bullying head-on by drafting model legislation that...

Bar in MA weighs in on new policy that clamps down on protective orders.(Massachusetts)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Four months after the chief justices of the state's trial courts and their chief for administration and management, Judge Robert A. Mulligan, agreed to a new protective-order policy covering conflicts in court...

Commentary: Going to the dogs: It's time for reform of the initiative process.(Column)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Christine A. Dorchak Despite the signatures of more than 150,000 Massachusetts citizens, there was one question on which we were not permitted to vote on Nov. 7. It was a petition to protect dogs from being used in dog fighting,...

Supreme Judicial Court: Court-imposed 'buy-out' of minority shareholder is an inappropriate remedy.(Brodie v. Jordan)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Andrew P. Botti The Supreme Judicial Court recently overturned a court-ordered buy-out of a minority shareholder's interest in a closely held business, saying it was not an appropriate remedy for a "freeze-out" by the controlling...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance 'PIP' benefits - Provider agreement Where a plaintiff chiropractor sought to recover from the defendant insurance company "personal injury protection" benefits for chiropractic...

MA Appeals Court Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(Massachusetts)(Commonwealth v. Henderson)(Commonwealth v. Hernandez)(Commonwealth v. Hampe )
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed Commonwealth v. Henderson (Lawyers Weekly No. 81-001-07) (8 pages) (challenge to denial of defendant's motion to withdraw guilty plea and for new trial;...

U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Automatic stay - Section 362(c)(3)(A) Where a bankruptcy judge lifted the automatic stay with respect to the debtor, the property of the debtor and the estate property, this was...

Department of Industrial Accidents Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Limited liability corporation Where the employee of a limited liability corporation was injured in a workplace accident, workers' compensation benefits must be paid...

Labor Relations Commission Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor School committee - Prohibited practices Where a school committee (1) laid an employee off as retaliation for her participation in concerted, protected activity, (2) interrogated a...

MA Land Court Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(Massachusetts)(Cameron, et al. v. Donovan, et al.)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Real property Deed reformation request Where plaintiffs have requested that a deed be reformed to show that they own three, not two, parcels, I hold that the plaintiffs' request must be...

MA Commission Against Discrimination Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(Massachusetts)(Thurston, et al. v. Lynn School Department, et al.)(MCAD, et al. v. Metso Automation, Inc.)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment School custodian - Harassment and discrimination claims Where a school custodian has filed a claim of sexual harassment, I find that this claim must fail because she has not...

Other MA Agencies Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(Massachusetts)(Meadowbrook Estates Ventures, LLC v. Amesbury Board of Appeals)(Case overview)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Zoning Housing Appeals Committee - Condominium project Where the Amesbury zoning board denied an application for a comprehensive permit for the construction of 268 condominium units, the...

Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Discipline - Delay Where an attorney misappropriated client funds and submitted fabricated evidence to bar counsel, she should be suspended indefinitely from the practice of law...

MA Superior Court Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(Massachusetts)(Lydon v. Society for the Latin Mass, Inc.)(Bank of America, N.A. v. McLaughlin Mechanical Services, Inc., et al.)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Lien Where a plaintiff attorney has filed suit claiming to be owed fees, a motion by the defendant to dismiss the complaint should be denied, as the "attorney's lien"...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Extension - Attorney's hospitalization Where an attorney, citing his hospitalization, has filed, in three separate cases, a motion for enlargement of time in which to file an...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(Diaz-Reyes v. Fuentes-Ortiz, et al.)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Employment discrimination Where a plaintiff has filed an appeal in an employment discrimination case, the appeal must be dismissed because there was no judgment in the case...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(United States v. Ennis, et al.)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sentencing - Career offender guidelines Where three defendants convicted of taking part in a narcotics conspiracy are to be sentenced, I find that I should not apply the career...

MA Lawers in the News: January 8, 2007.(Massachusetts)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Honors Harold Cohen, a New England Sinai Hospital board member, has been honored by Sinai's Men's Associates for his contributions to the hospital. Cohen is with Cohen & Sherwood in...

The latest on the IP front, from brick-oven pizzas to toy Hummers.(intellectual property)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Kirk Teska The lawsuit between the two "Foley" firms has now settled but another law-firm name dispute in Connecticut took it to the mat. New London, Conn.-based Suisman, Shapiro, Wool, Brennan, Gray & Greenberg sued the sons...

Voluminous treatise on business cases worth the time.(Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts)(Book review)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Neil V. McKittrick "Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts"By Robert L. HaigThomson-West and American Bar Association Section on Litigation, 20058,922 pages; $960 (including CD-ROM) The second edition of Robert L....

Make sure you're unique before seeking a raise.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll It's that time of year again when lawyers reassess (and often raise) their billing rates. This annual exercise is hardly beloved by clients, especially after the 2006 news stories that the average profit per partner at...

2007 emerging as Year of Transactional Attorney.(Interview)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Hire Calling is a feature focusing on hiring decisions and related employment matters at law firms. This week, reporter Barbara Rabinovitz speaks with Jane E. Sender of Sender Legal Search in...

How to ... decide how much court-appointed work to accept.(Robert D. Dimler )(Interview)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff How to offers advice on a variety of subjects related to the management of a law practice. This week, reporter Noah Schaffer talks with Plymouth solo Robert D. Dimler about how lawyers can map a...

Verdicts & Settlements January 8, 2007: Infant in day care diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.75 million settlement The 11-week-old plaintiff was brought by ambulance to the emergency room after suffering seizures while in the care of her home-based day-care provider. The...

Verdicts & Settlements January 8, 2007: Patient's MS diagnosis not reported by doctor.(Eileen Davis and Richard Davis, Individually and as Next Friends of Minor Plaintiff v. Schiff)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $350,000 settlement In December 1999, the plaintiff's primary care physician referred her to the defendant neurologist after she complained of headaches and visual symptoms of flashing lights....

Verdicts & Settlements January 8, 2007: Newborn sustains significant brain injury.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $4.2 million settlement The 48-year-old plaintiff conceived triplets through in vitro fertilization in 1999. The pregnancy was uneventful until the 20th week, at which point the plaintiff was...

Verdicts & Settlements January 8, 2007: Passenger injured when car strikes utility pole.(Castro v. O'Gara)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $75,000 verdict The plaintiff was a 16-year-old passenger in a motor vehicle driven by the defendant, his 16-year-old friend, who was driving with three passengers in violation of his junior...

Verdicts & Settlements January 8, 2007: Plasterer dies after fall.(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $725,000 settlement An accident occurred when the plaintiff's decedent, a 29-year-old independent contractor, fell approximately 30 feet while working as a plasterer at a construction site in...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: January 15, 2007.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff ADMONITION NO. 06-46 In June 2005, a foreign national living in Worcester, Massachusetts hired the respondent to file an application to adjust to permanent resident status on her behalf based...

Commentary: Updating the law on incest.(Column)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The topic of incest is not one that most people choose to bring up, nor is it an area of the law that an advocate for reform is likely to attack But the Massachusetts incest statute, G.L.c....

Largest Verdicts & Settlements of 2006.(Getz v. Shapiro)(Levrault v. Carter)(Parilla v. Arrow International)
January 15, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank Although the uncertainty of a trial's outcome prompts many a lawyer to settle his or her case, last year's largest verdicts statewide show that rolling the dice with a Massachusetts jury also can lead to a big...

Largest Verdicts & Settlements of 2006: 6-15.(Getz v. Shapiro)(Levrault v. Carter)(Parilla v. Arrow International, et al.)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 6.$5.95 MILLION ($8.4 million with interest) Getz v. Shapiro Norfolk Superior Court, No. 03-00439 Date of verdict: Sept. 14, 2006 Plaintiff's counsel: Adam R. Satin and...

Largest Verdicts & Settlements of 2006: 1-7.(Bourque v. O'Dea)(Milliken & Company v. Duro Textiles, LLC)(Instrument Industries Trust v. Danaher, et al.)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 1.$9.38 MILLION ($15 million with interest) Bourque v. O'Dea Suffolk Superior Court, No. 01-1960 Date of verdict: July 18, 2006 Plaintiff's counsel: Jeffrey N. Roy and Paul...

Largest Verdicts & Settlements of 2006: 1-5.(O'Connell v. MassMutual)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 1.$40-$50 MILLION O'Connell v. MassMutual American Arbitration Association, AAA Matter No. 11-116-Y0136205 Date of award: Sept. 22, 2006 Plaintiff's counsel: Michael B. Keating,...

Largest Verdicts & Settlements of 2006: 1-76.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 1.$435 MILLION Schering-Plough agrees to settlement Schering-Plough Corp. pled guilty to conspiracy to settle a federal investigation into its drug sales and marketing practices and its...

Commentary: Plenty to see before darkness falls on Norfolk courthouses.(Column)
January 15, 2007... Byline: David Yas Here is installment No. 1 of my "100 Courthouse March," as I begin my quest to visit 100 Massachusetts courthouses before the year is out. NORFOLK SUPERIOR COURT A prosecutor darts past me on the courthouse...

Governor Signs Bills.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 386. An act validating the action taken at the town election held by the Town of Lanesborough. App. and eff. Dec. 22, 2006, 1 page. 387. An act establishing a sick leave bank for Carol Denault,...

Massachusetts bar assns. see increase in lawyer-referral business.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The results are in for the volume of lawyer-referral business logged by the state's two biggest bar associations during 2006, and they appear to be impressive. The Boston Bar Association,...

The lawyers on the Hill.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The 34 Massachusetts lawyer-legislators who are reportedly the subjects of disciplinary complaints to the Board of Bar Overseers for not having voted earlier this month on an affordable-health-care...