Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly articles from January 2008

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly archives from January 2008

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: January 7, 2008.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bar Discipline IN RE: ALAN R. GOODMAN Reinstatement Hearing The Board of Bar Overseers will hold a public hearing on the petition for reinstatement of Alan R. Goodman, of Longmeadow, MA,...

Commentary: Should Massachusetts criminalize torture?(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff At the national level, the debate over the law of torture rages. The newly confirmed U.S. attorney general recently was called on to state whether, in his view, so-called "waterboarding"...

Zig-Zagat-ing around: Law firms give copies of Boston restaurant guide to clients.(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Instead of showering their clients with candies, fruit cake and other gustatory delights of the holiday season, a couple of local law firms have been sending their "customers" a gift that could...

Matchmaker, matchmaker: Recruiter for Boston firm uses skills learned as online matchmaker.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff When Daley & Associates, a Boston-based recruitment firm for accountants and other professionals, added attorneys to that grouping, the search was on for a recruiter to assist Brian R. Cook, an...

Teachable moments: Boston attorney leaves his law practice to become a teacher.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To his great delight and at considerable financial sacrifice, Burton A. Nadler has traded the title of attorney for that of high school teacher. A longtime name partner at the Boston firm of...

Piece on judicial appointments 'disservice' to process.(Letter to the editor)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Your Dec. 17, 2007, article — "Leaders of bar, bench lament pace of judicial appointments" — does a grave disservice to the model judicial selection process for...

Requests for expanded voir dire in Worcester met with mixed reaction.(Letter to the editor)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: In response to your Dec. 24, 2007, article about the courts' alleged openness to individual voir dire ("Voir dire is here"), you might want to hear from those of us who practice...

Escalator accident in China leads to $3.35M verdict in Worcester Superior Court.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Noah Schaffer Despite occurring in China, an escalator accident in which a 4-year-old boy was injured resulted in a recent $3.35 million verdict in Worcester Superior Court. Attorneys for the plaintiff had to convince the local...

'Unprecedented' public hearing on alleged juror bias to get under way in Mass. Superior Court.
January 7, 2008... Byline: David E. Frank The defense lawyer for the black trash collector convicted of raping and killing fashion writer Christa Worthington says if highly charged accusations of juror misconduct and racism are found to be true, the Superior...

Fall victim can't recover from deceased homeowner's estate, rules Mass. Appeals Court.(Massachusetts)(Case note)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman An injury victim could not bring a negligence claim against the estate of a homeowner whose allegedly negligent maintenance of his property during his lifetime caused an accident several months after his death, the...

SJC Docket.(Supreme Judicial Court )(List)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Following is a list of the cases scheduled to be argued before the Supreme Judicial Court in January. The summaries of the issues presented in the cases have been prepared by the editors of...

Commentary: Landlords should beware in wake of SJC's 'DiLiddo' decision.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Zaheer A. Samee The cost of doing business as a landlord in Massachusetts just went up. More than two decades ago, a scholar observed that "[t]he residential tenant, long the stepchild of the law, has now become its ward and...

Mass. Appeals Court Case Summaries: January 7, 2008.(Massachusetts )
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative CRAB decision Where a Superior Court judge has upheld a decision of the Contributory Retirement Appeal Board dismissing a Revere Retirement Board challenge to a benefit...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: January 7, 2008.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Licenses and permits Suspension - Motor vehicle license Where the Registry of Motor Vehicles has upheld the suspension of a plaintiff's driver's license after his arrest for operating a...

Mass. Department of Industrial Accidents Case Summaries: January 7, 2008.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Bacterial meningitis - Truck driver Where an administrative judge has denied workers' compensation benefits to an employee who claimed to have contracted bacterial...

Mass. Land Courts Case Summaries: January 7, 2008.(Massachusetts)(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Real property Building permit - Res judicata Where an appeal has been filed of a Barnstable zoning board decision denying a building permit application filed by plaintiff Daniel C. Wood,...

Other Mass. Agencies Case Summaries: January 7, 2008.(Massachusetts)(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Grants - Consulting work Where a former employee of the Executive Office of Public Safety participated in grants that (1) directly or indirectly impacted the clients...

Mass. Superior Courts Case Summaries: January 7, 2008.(Massachusetts)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative State Architectural Access Board - Sidewalks Where the defendant State Architectural Access Board has issued a decision (1) imposing fines on the plaintiff city of Boston...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: January 7, 2008.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Banks and banking Puerto Rico - Lender Where (1) a plaintiff corporation brought suit alleging that the defendant, while governor of Puerto Rico, improperly influenced the decision of a...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: January 7, 2008.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Maintenance and cure Where following a jury verdict for a plaintiff seaman on a "maintenance and cure" claim, the defendant vessel owner has moved for judgment as a matter of...

Mass. Lawyers in the News: January 7, 2008.(Massachusetts)(Obituary)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Claudia B. McKelway has been named general counsel to the Soldiers' Home in Chelsea, a multi-faceted health care facility available to eligible veterans in Massachusetts. ...

Commentary: Risk-free business.
January 7, 2008... Byline: William C. Saturley and Joseph S. Callanan Risk-Free Business is an occasional feature intended as a guide for lawyers on the topic of professional liability insurance. You probably use an insurance broker to help you with your...

Commentary: Coach's Corner: Bill confidently, even in tough times.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll A question recently sent to me has particular resonance for lawyers at any time, but especially today when the news is full of stories about an impending economic slowdown: "At what point in your career do you...

Verdicts & Settlements January 7, 2008: Man dies of carbon monoxide poisoning in basement.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $245,000 settlement On Oct. 2, 2003, the defendant plumber installed a gas-fireplace insert into the basement chimney at the residence of the plaintiff's decedent. As a licensed plumber, the...

Verdicts & Settlements January 7, 2008: Man in nursing facility chokes to death on hot dog.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $112,500 settlement The plaintiff's decedent -- an elderly man who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease and a traumatic brain injury from an automobile accident -- was admitted to...

Verdicts & Settlements January 7, 2008: Longshoreman sustains shoulder injury on the job.(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $575,000 settlement On Jan. 18, 2000, the employee was injured while working on the docks as a longshoreman and was diagnosed with shoulder impingement syndrome. The insurer paid...

Verdicts & Settlements January 7, 2008: Motorcyclist dies after collision with vehicle.(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.17 million award In November 2006, the 43-year-old decedent was operating his motorcycle on a main thoroughfare when the defendant pulled away from a stop sign and drove his vehicle...

Verdicts & Settlements January 7, 2008: Landowners seek additional compensation for property.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $81,250 settlement In January 2005, the town of North Reading took by eminent domain a number of parcels of land around Eisenhaures Pond for a park and conservation. The plaintiffs owned a...

Verdicts & Settlements January 7, 2008: 'Misuse' of Pitocin results in delivery of stillborn.(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $800,000 settlement The 30-year-old plaintiff presented to the hospital in labor, had an artificial rupture of the membranes and was placed on an electronic fetal heart monitor. Due to a...

Verdicts & Settlements January 7, 2008: Rottweiler bites woman's lip, causing permanent scar.(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $350,000 settlement The 42-year-old plaintiff got up from a chair to leave the home of her boyfriend's cousin when the defendant's Rottweiler dog jumped up and bit her lower lip, tearing it...

Verdicts & Settlements January 7, 2008: Despite multiple tests, patient dies of renal cancer.(Brief article)
January 7, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1 million settlement The 38-year-old plaintiff underwent an MRI in July 2003 following complaints of lower back pain. The MRI correctly reported an extruded disc herniation but failed to...

Electronic discovery poses daunting hurdles for bench and bar, says former Mass. judge.(Massachusetts judge Edward M. Ginsburg)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Edward M. Ginsburg This column offers readers an opportunity to ask questions of a former judge with 25 years of experience on the bench. In this installment, Judge Ginsburg was asked for his thoughts on the state's comprehensive...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: January 14, 2008.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bar Discipline The following summaries were compiled by the Board of Bar Overseers based on the record filed with the Supreme Judicial Court The complete Orders of the Court are available...

Commentary: Stop fraud, but don't insult lawyers.(Brief article)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff What, exactly, is Insurance Commissioner Nonnie S. Burnes trying to tell us? Burnes recently implied that she is taking aim at fraudulent lawyers when she announced that insurance companies...

Commentary: Quick 'health' checks for you and your practice.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Nancy Byerly Jones There's just not enough time in a day. Where did the years go? How did I get to this age so fast? Got to get to that backburner client matter tomorrow! If you're like me, these types of thoughts pop up all...

Commentary: Overworked? Demands to bill hours? Here, have a candy apple.
January 14, 2008... Byline: David Yas If you're a young associate at a major law firm, you're likely starting your career at a salary of $160,000 per year. But don't be satisfied with just the money. Hold out for the candy apples. You see, at the...

Mass. IOLTA accounts have great 2007 but are experiencing decreases over past few months.(Massachusetts, interest on lawyer trust accounts )
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The good news is that the interest collected on so-called IOLTA accounts for the first 11 months of 2007 amounted to more than $30 million -- nearly twice as much as the $17 million that the...

President of Massachusetts District Attorneys Association tackles controversy.(Michael D. O'Keefe)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Less than three weeks after Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael D. O'Keefe assumed the presidency of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, the state's criminal justice system...

In 'Wake' of crime at sea ...Story of what inspired Gene Allen's feature film.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff A sordid case from the early 1990s may be the object of renewed attention now that it is the basis for a local filmmaker's upcoming debut. Somerville-based advertising/marketing producer Gene...

Many played 'critical role' in New Bedford raid cases.(Letter to the editor)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Thank you for honoring Greater Boston Legal Services attorneys Nancy J. Kelly and John Willshire-Carrera as "Lawyers of the Year, 2007" (Dec. 31, 2007). Thank you also for...

Slow pace of judicial appointments is to be expected.(Letter to the editor)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Regarding the story in the Dec. 17 issue of Lawyers Weekly about the slow pace of judicial appointments, it seems we see this same story every time a new governor takes office...

Landlord can be sued by tenant's injured guest, rules Mass. Housing Court judge.(Massachusetts)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A man who was injured on a defective step while visiting an acquaintance could sue the acquaintance's landlord for breach of warranty of habitability, a Housing Court judge has ruled. The defendant landlord...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Ct. rules employer seeking to arbitrate bias dispute entitled to hearing.(Massachusetts court, WPI Cable Systems/Mutron)
January 14, 2008... Byline: David E. Frank A Superior Court judge should have held an evidentiary hearing before denying a defense request to compel arbitration of a wrongful termination dispute, the Supreme Judicial Court has decided. The plaintiff...

Commentary: 100 days of justice.
January 14, 2008... Byline: David L. Yas I saw him coming up the stairs of the East Boston District Court, emerging from the shadows of the rickety, tumbledown building. His coat was half-buttoned and glittering with fresh snow. He was breathing heavily. ...

MBTA liable for religious bias against Adventist bus driver, rules Mass. Supreme Judicial Ct.(Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, David Marquez)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman The failure of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to consider shift-swaps and relief drivers to accommodate a prospective bus driver's Sabbath observance amounted to religious discrimination under G.L.c....

Commentary: Challenging initiative takes on global climate change.
January 14, 2008... Byline: David W. White Jr. and Philip Warburg The state and nation are facing an unprecedented environmental challenge in global climate change. This challenge provides us with a real opportunity for a cleaner, healthier future. That is why...

Mass. Appellate Tax Board Case Summaries: January 14, 2008.(Massachusetts)(Brief article)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Taxation Personal property Where an appellant is seeking an abatement of taxes imposed on items of his personal property, I find that his abatement request (1) should be denied with...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: January 14, 2008.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Timeliness Where (1) a jury found that a defendant insurance company had committed a knowing and willful G.L.c. 93A violation but that such conduct caused no damage to the...

Mass. Appeals Court Case Summaries: January 14, 2008.(Massachusetts)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed Commonwealth v. Hilton (Lawyers Weekly No. 81-004-08) (3 pages) (operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor, second offense; claim that substantial...

District Court/BMC Trial Division Case Summaries: January 14, 2008.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Motor vehicles OUI - Campground Where a defendant convicted of OUI has moved for a required finding of not guilty, the motion must be denied based on evidence that his operation of a...

Mass. Dept. of Industrial Accidents: January 14, 2008.(Massachusetts Department)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Incapacity analysis Where an employer has appealed a decision awarding an employee permanent and total incapacity benefits, we hold that the case must be recommitted...

Mass. Housing Courts Case Summaries: January 14, 2008.(Massachusetts)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Landlord and tenant Guest - Implied warranty of habitability Where (1) a plaintiff, who was injured while visiting leased premises, brought suit alleging that his injuries were caused by a...

Other Mass. Agencies Case Summaries: January 14, 2008.(Massachusetts )
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Zoning Comprehensive permit Where the West Boylston zoning board granted an appellant's application for a comprehensive permit subject to a number of conditions, we hold (1) that the...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: January 14, 2008.(Massachusetts)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals G.L.c. 211, Sect. 3 - Dismissal motion Where a single justice failed to grant relief under G.L.c. 211, Sect. 3, to an individual challenging a denial of his motion to dismiss a...

Mass. Superior Courts Case Summaries: January 14, 2008.(Massachusetts)(Brief article)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Handicap discrimination Where (1) a plaintiff, after a shouting match with a supervisor, left and never returned and (2) the plaintiff subsequently brought a handicap...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: January 14, 2008.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Discharge - Destruction of records Where the Chapter 7 trustee objects to the debtor's discharge, the objection must be sustained in light of the debtor's destruction of...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: January 14, 2008.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Discovery failure - Dismissal Where a judge dismissed a civil case in response to the plaintiffs' failure to respond to the defendants' discovery requests, the judge acted...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: January 14, 2008.(Brief article)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer protection FDCPA - G.L.c. 93A Where a defendant engaged in debt collecting practices has been charged with violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and G.L.c. 93A,...

Mass. Lawyers in the News: January 14, 2008.(Massachusetts)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Edwards, Angell, Palmer & Dodge, which has an office in Boston, has merged with London-based Kendall Freeman. Peter A. Spellios has joined The Beal Cos. in Boston as...

Commentary: Fine Print: Book review of "Innocence" by David Hosp.(Book review)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Alan S. Pierce "Innocence" By David Hosp Warner Books, 2007 413 pages; $24.99 What hath George wrought? (George being the late George V. Higgins, a Boston lawyer who penned "The Friends of Eddie Coyle.") Higgins -- whose...

Commentary: Will you avoid the 'credit crunch'?
January 14, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll Lawyers might need a bank loan for any number of good reasons: to finance growth, recover from a disaster, meet unexpected expenses or purchase new technology. For weeks, the daily news headlines have talked about...

Hire Calling: Q&A about flexible-work mentors for associates.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Hire Calling is a feature about hiring decisions and related employment matters. This week, reporter Barbara Rabinovitz speaks with attorney Elizabeth Foster-Nolan, director of professional development at...

Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Waitress falls down basement stairs, breaks ankle.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Defense verdict The plaintiff was injured while working as a waitress. The restaurant was a commercial tenant of the defendant landlord. The plaintiff brought a lawsuit against the landlord,...

Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Truck driver injured when tractor trailer hits him.(Brief article)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1 million settlement The plaintiff, a 38-year-old commercial truck driver, was standing outside his truck at a loading dock in New Jersey talking to another driver when he was knocked down...

Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Dying mother rewrites will to benefit estranged son.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Declaratory judgment The 83-year-old decedent, who suffered various serious illnesses, was admitted to the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital for recovery from cardiac surgery in May 2006. She...

Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Patient left overnight in ER with ruptured appendix.(emergency room)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $225,000 settlement The 29-year-old plaintiff presented to a local hospital emergency room in the early morning of Oct. 26, 1998, with complaints of mid- to low-abdominal cramping, nausea,...

Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Fisherman's knee injury exacerbated by car accident.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $473,654, $40,000 and $20,000 awards An accident occurred when the 52-year-old plaintiff, a fisherman who had undergone knee-replacement surgery, got a ride home from the hospital from his...

Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Collision leaves motorcyclist with multiple injuries.
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $475,000 settlement The 45-year-old plaintiff was injured when his motorcycle was rear-ended by a commercial van while he was stopped at a red light. The plaintiff suffered a burst...

Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Child sustains head trauma during surgical procedure.(Brief article)
January 14, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $2.4 million settlement During brain surgery for a congenital condition, a young child suffered an inadvertent head injury. A claim was advanced against the allegedly responsible...

Commentary: Guardianship reform is overdue.
January 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Editorial A recent series in The Boston Globe revealed numerous problems with guardianship cases in Massachusetts. Many of the examples were rather chilling indicators that the very system that is...

Lawyers Weekly Diversity Heroes: Boston attorney Harry T. Daniels.
January 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff From an impoverished childhood in the Deep South, a young black man moved north for a law school education and a long-lasting partnership at a prestigious white-shoe Boston law firm. Age/place...

Lawyers Weekly Diversity Heroes: Mass. Appeals Court Judge Fernande Renate Vanden Berg Duffly.(Massachusetts)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff A commitment to advancing Asian-Americans as lawyers and judges has been a guiding principle for this Appeals Court judge, who traces her ethnicity to her native Indonesia. Age/place of birth:...

Lawyers Weekly Diversity Heroes: Springfield sole practitioner Mickey E. Harris.
January 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff This Springfield sole practitioner has gone beyond the confines of his law office to lend his considerable community-building skills to African-American causes in his adopted home city. ...

Lawyers Weekly Diversity Heroes: Boston Municipal Court Chief Justice Charles R. Johnson.
January 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff A Boston Municipal Court judge for nearly 25 years and its chief for the past five, this African-American holds onto the hope "that one day we can all see each other as the same." Age/place of...

Lawyers Weekly Diversity Heroes: Legal services attorney Bernadette Stark.
January 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff As a Latina and a lesbian, Bernadette Stark chose Western Massachusetts for its welcoming ways and found employment as a legal services lawyer and enjoyment as a spouse and mother. Age/place...

Pacific prospects: Mass. AG urges attorneys to check out AG's office in Guam.(Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley)(Brief article)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff With an abundance of attorneys in Massachusetts -- 51,000 on active status (by the Board of Bar Overseers' latest count) -- it is likely that some recent law school graduates are muddling through a...

Up close and personal with Superior Court Judge Hiller B. Zobel.
January 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Superior Court Judge Hiller B. Zobel recently heard a case in a seat where few jurists ever get to sit in the courtroom: the jury box. As a resident of Suffolk County, Zobel was selected as a...

LOMAP, LCL directors clarify their missions.(Law Office Management Assistance Program; Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers)(Letter to the editor)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: We at the Law Office Management Assistance Program and Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers are gratified to have received a flurry of calls following recent publicity about LOMAP....

CSB claimants can't seek review of disbursements, rules Mass. Supreme Judicial Court.(Clients' Security Board; Massachusetts)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman Disbursement determinations by the Clients' Security Board are not subject to judicial review, the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled in two separate decisions. The CSB distributes funds to reimburse clients whose...

Mid-trial e-mails constitute binding settlement agreement, rules Mass. Appeals Court.(Massachusetts)
January 21, 2008... Byline: David E. Frank Civil litigators say a recent Appeals Court decision underscores how careful parties to a dispute must be when they inform the court of a mid-trial resolution -- particularly when that declaration prompts the judge...

Year into job, Mass. bar counsel earns good marks from critic of system.(Massachusetts)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Twelve months after she was named chief bar counsel, Constance V. Vecchione is claiming some success in streamlining the oft-maligned bar-discipline process, and her initial efforts are earning her plaudits from...

New Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination chairman mulls 'testing' for predatory loans.(Malcolm S. Medley)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Noah Schaffer Expanded educational efforts and a revival of the so-called "testers" undercover sting operations are on the 2008 agenda of the new chairman of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. "A huge focus...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: January 21, 2008.(Boston Municipal Court)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Dismissal - Notice Where (1) a judge ruled in the plaintiff's favor on a G.L.c. 93A count and (2) the judge dismissed the appeal then allowed the defendant's request for...

Mass. Appeals Court Case Summaries: January 21, 2008.(Massachusetts)
January 21, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed Commonwealth v. Farrow (Lawyers Weekly No. 81-022-08) (10 pages) (possession of a firearm without a license; possession of ammunition without a firearm...