Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly articles from June 2009

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly archives from June 2009

U.S. Supreme Court ruling: higher pleading standard applies to all civil complaints.
June 8, 2009... Byline: David E. Frank Civil litigators say a recently decided U.S. Supreme Court case makes it crystal clear that a controversial ruling the court issued in 2007 drastically heightened the standard of proof required to survive motions to...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules offensive odor a physical injury to property.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A decision from the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals categorizing a permeating odor as a "physical injury to property" could have significant implications for liability carriers that insure contractors, according...

With retail sector in tatters, Mass. lawyers fashion new brand of commercial real estate practice.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz "Shop 'til you drop." Until about a year ago, that phrase was a mantra for U.S. consumers. Flush with cash from paychecks, investments or lines of credit that seemed to know no limits, shoppers indulged...

The Sacco-Vanzetti Affair: America on Trial.(Book review)
June 8, 2009... Byline: Barbara F. Berenson The Sacco-Vanzetti Affair: America on Trial By Moshik Temkin Yale University Press, 2009 344 pages; $35 The 1920s trial and executions of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti has aptly been called "the case...

Commentary: transition from big to small firm calls up one's entrepreneurialism.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Edward Poll In an earlier column, we speculated about a trend that anecdotal evidence says is growing but one for which there is not yet solid statistical proof: lawyers who are starting solo practices after either being laid off...

Commentary: in editing others' docs, point out negative, accentuate positive.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Julie A. Baker All legal professionals write, and most of us are asked to read and "edit" other lawyers' writing, too. For practitioners, this can take the form of reviewing a draft settlement agreement, editing a trial memorandum...

Commentary: new statute on inheritance rights of adopted children takes bar by surprise.(Massachusetts)
June 8, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Locke On Jan. 15, Gov. Deval L. Patrick signed into law an amendment to G.L.c. 210, s.8, which governs the inheritance rights of adopted children (the "retroactive amendment"). It provides that adopted descendants are...

'Powerful' jury instruction follows Boston lawyer's discovery violation.
June 15, 2009... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A severe sanction obtained by a Boston lawyer in a federal environmental case recently prosecuted in Montana serves as a powerful weapon for lawyers everywhere, according to practitioners. In United States v....

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court ruling says collective bargaining agreement trumped by MBTA settlement.(Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority)
June 15, 2009... Byline: David E. Frank In a decision that is expected to create a stir in the labor and employment field, the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that public policy interests in favor of preventing work-place discrimination outweigh a union's...

Massachusetts boosts status as go-to venue for patent litigation.
June 15, 2009... Byline: Julia Reischel Patent litigation filings in Massachusetts jumped earlier this year, which some believe may be the result of new local rules implemented in U.S. District Court last fall. But while lawyers and judges report that...

Bench, bar respond to bankruptcy filing spike in Massachusetts.
June 15, 2009... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Soaring numbers of bankruptcy filings are prompting members of the bench and the bar to take steps to alleviate the pressures on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court as it copes with the fallout from the economic downturn...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court panel OKs plan for firm-sponsored law clerks.
June 15, 2009... Byline: Julia Reischel The Supreme Judicial Court's Committee on Judicial Ethics has approved a proposal by Chief Justice for Administration and Management Robert A. Mulligan that would allow deferred law-firm associates to work for the...

Commentary: technoLAWgically speaking: new computer security regs must be SOP in law office.(part 2)
June 15, 2009... Byline: Henry B. Chace TechnoLAWgically Speaking discusses how advances in office technology can best be used in the management of a law practice. This is the second installment in a three-part series. In my previous column, I provided...

Commentary: making the case for lawyers on Facebook.
June 15, 2009... Byline: Marc LaCasse President Obama is doing it. Congressmen are doing it. Gov. Patrick and Boston Mayor Menino are doing it. And yes, lawyers are doing it. Or at least some lawyers are doing it. "It" is using Facebook to market...

And then there were two: with only two members, NLRB sees its power called into question.
June 22, 2009... Byline: David E. Frank A dramatic jurisdictional split among the federal circuit courts of appeal has put in jeopardy more than 400 cases decided by the National Labor Relations Board over the past 18 months. The issue revolves around...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court finds fired worker owed unused vacation days.
June 22, 2009... Byline: Eric T. Berkman An employer violated the Wage Act when it refused to pay a fired employee for his unused vacation time, the Supreme Judicial Court has decided. The employer - whose written policy provided that any employee who...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court says defendant who made threats could forfeit right to counsel.
June 22, 2009... Byline: David E. Frank A criminal defendant who sent a blood-smeared letter to his attorney and threatened to physically harm the lawyer's family if he did not withdraw from the case was entitled to a full hearing on whether the defendant...

'Instrumentality' rule rejected by 1st Circuit.(theory of lender liability)
June 22, 2009... Byline: Thomas E. Egan In a case of first impression, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has found the "instrumentality" theory of lender liability inapplicable in a lawsuit brought by borrowers against a bank. Where the theory is...

Homeowner barred from rescinding loan by 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.
June 22, 2009... Byline: Thomas E. Egan A homeowner could not rescind a mortgage refinancing even though the notice he received of his rescission rights left blank the spaces for the date of the transaction and the actual deadline to rescind, the 1st U.S....

Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans from Too Much.(Book review)
June 22, 2009... Byline: Andrew M. Abraham Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans From Too Much Law By Philip K. Howard W.W. Norton & Co., 2009 221 pages: $24.95 Philip Howard's new book, "Life Without Lawyers," should be called "Life Without...

Commentary: helping profession should do just that for troubled members.
June 22, 2009... Byline: Edward Poll The story was tragic and provoked wide comment among lawyers and bloggers on the Internet. A 59-year-old lawyer who, in his career, had been a senior Justice Department official, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court...

Commentary: guardianship reform under new UPC nearly here.(Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code)
June 22, 2009... Byline: Rebecca J. Benson This article highlights dramatic changes in guardianship law and procedure under the new Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code, which was enacted on Jan. 15 (Chapter 521 of the Acts of 2008, codified as G.L.c. 190B)...

Commentary: the appearance of baseball impropriety.(Massachusetts)
June 22, 2009... Byline: David E. Frank No one will ever accuse the 380-plus state court judges in Massachusetts of throwing caution to the wind. We've heard about judges backing out of galas at which they were to be honored upon learning that the...

Out of the spotlight, ex-U.S. attorney settling into private practice in Boston.
June 22, 2009... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Gone are the bright lights and the TV cameras beamed on his every gesture, the microphones catching his every word, the crush of reporters recording his announcements of arrests, indictments, convictions and all...

Former Bingham associate files Superior Court suit against firm.(Massachusetts)
June 29, 2009... Byline: David E. Frank Three months after the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination dismissed her complaint, a former Bingham McCutchen associate has fired back with a gender-discrimination suit against the Boston firm she left...

Commentary: using spousal agreements for asset protection.(Massachusetts)
June 29, 2009... Byline: Alexander A. Bove Jr. and Melissa Langa Tristan and Isolde have been married for 28 years. After the marriage, Isolde continued to work for five years so that Tristan could complete his music education. Thereafter, Tristan became a...

Judge slams Springfield attorney for 'disgraceful' claims vs. opposing counsel.(Massachusetts)
June 29, 2009... Byline: David E. Frank Stiff sanctions imposed against a well-known Springfield lawyer should serve as a cautionary tale for attorneys who baselessly accuse opposing counsel of misconduct during the course of discovery, say litigators...

Brookline lawyer defies odds in securing habeas corpus ruling for client.(Massachusetts)
June 29, 2009... Byline: Julia Reischel When Kenneth I. Seiger received a call from the Clerk's Office earlier this month informing him that the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had overturned both the state and federal court rulings in his client's case,...

Massachusetts Appeals Court finds company not liable for employee's drunk driving.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Julia Reischel An employer could not be held liable after one of its employees left a restaurant where he had been drinking with his supervisor and struck a pedestrian, the Appeals Court has ruled in a 2-1 decision. Relying on...

Massachusetts Criminal Practice.(Book review)
June 29, 2009... Byline: David Yas When it comes to legal research, the "pocket part" has always been one of the handiest tools available to a lawyer. Lovably tucked into the back of a treatise, it sits ready to update the attorney on the litany of...

Commentary: overview of the mortgage foreclosure process.
June 29, 2009... Byline: William V. Hovey With the number of foreclosures occurring these days, it seemed appropriate to overview the process and point out some of the dangers of bidding at a foreclosures sale. First, the bankruptcy records should be...

Commentary: coach's corner: senior lawyers may hold a valuable commodity.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Edward Poll The global financial crisis has created fear and confusion for countless lawyers who, like many others, suddenly have seen nest eggs shrink dramatically and fear they may outlive them if they do not continue working....

Commentary: recover big dollars with small health plan modifications.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Jim Edholm Benefits Package contains advice about benefits that law firms might want to offer their employees. With four major, high-quality health care carriers in the state, there's no need for a firm to feel as if it has to...