Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly articles from March 2007

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly archives from March 2007

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: March 5, 2007.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC No. BD-2006-082 IN THE MATTER OF JUDITH REUTER O'DONNELL Last known address: 5 East Main Street - Suite 3 Westborough, MA 01581 Order of Indefinite Suspension entered by Cordy, J., on...

Commentary: Legislative archeology?(Column)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff There are efforts under way on Beacon Hill to repeal archaic criminal laws that are not enforced. It will come as no surprise to lawyers that some of the most ancient laws of the state...

Commentary: Navigating a path to the 'country courts' of 495.
March 5, 2007... Byline: David Yas Another installment in my quest to visit 100 Massachusetts courthouses before the year is out... It's Friday, Feb. 23, and there is a proud, new addition to the 100 Courthouse March: a GPS device that I have named...

Barnstable Town Council gives former district court judge responsibility for Lombard Trust.(Joseph J. Reardon)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Three months after leaving the bench at the mandatory retirement age of 70, former Barnstable District Court Judge Joseph J. Reardon has been put in charge of a farm. At least that was what a...

Mass. Dept. of Social Services attorney testifies in Baghdad courtroom via video teleconference.(Jeffrey K. Clifford)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Most lawyers will tell you they're a lot more comfortable asking questions at trial than answering them. Attorney Jeffrey K. Clifford is one of them. After years of appearing in court in...

SJC not running scared from 'Goodridge' decision.(Letter to the editor)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: While I am in complete accord with the facts as stated in the Feb. 5 From the Publisher column ("The Unthinkable: SJC retreating from same-sex marriage?"), I respectfully...

Blogging benefits outweigh the risks.(Letter to the editor)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: As a legal blogger, I was disappointed to read "Follow the 'Rules' for safe blog use" (Feb. 19), since it told less than half the story and may have left readers with the...

Defense bar apprehensive after stabbing of attorney.
March 5, 2007... Byline: David Frank Lawyers are pointing to last week's stabbing of a defense attorney by his client during jury empanelment as another example of the heightened level of violence occurring inside the state's courthouses. The...

Supreme Judicial Court to decide if DCAM must produce privileged documents.(Suffolk Construction Co. Inc. v. DCAM)(Division of Capital Asset Management)
March 5, 2007... Byline: David Frank The Supreme Judicial Court is scheduled to hear arguments this week in a case in which it will decide if an executive agency can be compelled under a public records request to turn over documents protected by the...

Superior Court rules Dept. of Social Services immune from worker's invasion of privacy claim.(Spartaro v. Commonwealth, et al.)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A social worker could not sue the Department of Social Services for invasion of privacy after it placed her on administrative leave for refusing to answer questions about an alleged romantic relationship with a...

Anti-scalping lawsuits aimed at ticket resellers in Mass. threaten secondary ticket market.
March 5, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank Although tickets for opening day at Fenway Park sold out minutes after they became available at the box office, a quick look on the Internet shows there are still plenty of good seats to be had -- assuming, of...

Notices from the Court: March 5, 2007.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC soliciting amicus briefs SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT FOR THE COMMONWEALTH ANNOUNCEMENT THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT IS SOLICITING AMICUS BRIEFS OR MEMORANDA FROM INTERESTED PARTIES IN...

Commentary: Legacy of Carol Donovan lives on at CPCS.(Committee For Public Counsel Services)(Obituary)(Column)
March 5, 2007... Byline: William J. Leahy Throughout her public defender career, Carol A. Donovan was an eloquent and farsighted champion of justice for the deprived and the despised. She died Feb. 18 of brain cancer. During more than two decades...

Appeals Court Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed Schrier v. Banknorth, N.A. Massachusetts (Lawyers Weekly No. 81-173-07) (8 pages) (allegations by a plaintiff that a judge erred in (1) denying the plaintiff's...

Department of Industrial Accidents Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Interlocutory appeal Where an employer has appealed an administrative judge's denial of a motion to approve a proposed lump sum settlement agreement, we find that we...

Housing Court Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Commonwealth, et al. v. Wahconah Grove Street Realty, et al.)(City of Springfield, Code Enforcement Department, Housing Division v. Sourire, LLC, et al.)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Landlord and tenant Familial status - Grandchild Where a defendant landlord instituted a policy prohibiting extended stays by a plaintiff tenant's grandchild, this amounted to...

Land Court Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Whitkin, et al. v. Ottaviani, et al.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Zoning Special permits - Variance Where a zoning board granted a defendant three special permits and a variance in connection with a proposed redevelopment of commercial property, I find...

Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Singh, et al. v. Brookline School Department )
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Discrimination - Pretext Where a complainant who was denied a promotion claims that she was discriminated against on the basis of race, the complaint must be dismissed because...

Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Awad v. Fisher College)(Vranos v. Franklin Medical Center, et al.)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals G.L.c. 211, Sect. 3 petition Where a petitioner sought relief under G.L.c. 211, Sect. 3 from the failure of the Superior Court to act on motions he had filed in a civil action, a...

Superior Court Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Bejoian v. Barnes, et al.)(Balyozian v. City of Somerville)(Lowell Central Electric Co., Inc. v. Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, et al.)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Intranet software - Consulting Where (1) the plaintiff and the defendant allegedly entered into a partnership or joint venture to propose a software intranet site for sale to...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(First Medical Health Plan, Inc. v. Vega-Ramos )
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Puerto Rico - Prescription drug coverage Where a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction requiring a defendant Puerto Rico agency to permit a plaintiff health...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Parker, et al. v. Hurley, et al.)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Public schools - Homosexuality Where plaintiff parents have brought suit challenging the inclusion in public school curricula of materials depicting same-sex relationships,...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: March 5, 2007.(Miller v. Verizon Communications, Inc.)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Discrimination - Disability Where a plaintiff has filed a handicap discrimination suit against the defendant employer, the defendant's motion for summary judgment must be...

Mass. Lawyers in the News: March 5, 2007.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Charlotte L. Bednar has joined Eckert, Seamans, Cherin and Mellott in Boston as an associate. Ursula Knight has joined the firm as an equity member. Kerri P. Schray has...

The Big Picture: March 5, 2007.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Fit to be tied The game of see-saw between the Boston firms of Goodwin Procter and Ropes & Gray, in which the two counseling colossuses have been vying for the top spot among the state's...

Commentary: Apprenticeship can give lawyer a practical edge.(Column)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll A few months back I wrote in this column that law schools really don't teach the day-to-day aspects of being a lawyer -- interacting with clients and running a practice -- because such skills are seen as too...

Expert Opinion: Lawyers' professional liability and risk management.(Scott D. Burke)(Interview)
March 5, 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 Boston attorney Scott D. Burke about "Packing Your Parachute:...

Seller's Market: Q&A about how law firms can maximize value of law directory listing.(Paul Klager of Bacon and Wilson)(Interview)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Seller's Market offers practitioners information about marketing their skills and services as attorneys. This week, reporter Noah Schaffer speaks with Paul Klager, executive director of the...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Teen dies after delay in diagnosis of testicular cancer.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $500,000 settlement The plaintiffs' decedent was a 19-year-old who suffered a significant delay in the diagnosis of his testicular cancer, allowing it to spread to his liver and abdomen and...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Induced delivery leaves newborn impaired.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $2 million settlement In September 1995, the plaintiff mother began prenatal care with the first defendant, and on April 2, 1996, the plaintiff arrived at the hospital for induction, which was...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Motorist skips stop sign, strikes motorcyclist.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $950,000 settlement On June 2, 2002, the 43-year-old plaintiff was riding his motorcycle at a safe and leisurely pace on Route 12 in West Boylston. When he reached the intersection of...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Patient dies of hemorrhage in ER after fall.(emergency room)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $800,000 settlement The plaintiff's decedent, 69, fell and was taken to the Norwood Hospital emergency department with complaints of chest pain, side pain and shortness of breath. The...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Woman seeks restraining order against police officer.(Sullivan v. Watkins)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Defense verdict The plaintiff, a confidential informant who attempted to obtain a restraining order against the defendant police officer, failed to meet her burden of proving, as required by...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Cyclist thrown from bike in collision with motor vehicle.(Moran v. Conklin, et al.)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $400,000 verdict On May 29, 2003, the 44-year-old plaintiff sustained injuries as a result of being thrown from her bicycle by a motor vehicle that was making a right-hand turn in front of...

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Patient dies of severe sepsis during hospital treatment.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $350,000 settlement The plaintiff's decedent, 74, presented to a hospital emergency department with a one-week history of severe abdominal pain with diarrhea and abdominal distension....

Verdicts & Settlements March 5, 2007: Cleaner suffers paralysis in arm from fall through trap door.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.9 million settlement In August 2002, the 38-year-old plaintiff floor cleaner, who worked at a Massachusetts college, was allegedly directed by his immediate supervisor to climb into the...

Commentary: Facing up to the potential for embezzlement.(Column)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll I am a firm believer that running a law firm in a businesslike way improves the professionalism of legal practice. A profitable law practice is much more likely to avoid ethical problems regarding client funds. ...

Issuing An Opinion: March 12, 2007.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... 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, reporter Noah Schaffer provides a sampling of...

Verdicts & Settlements March 12, 2007: Motorist suffers closed head injury in car accident.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $3 million settlement In December 2004, the 40-year-old plaintiff was operating her vehicle in the MetroWest area when the defendant, driving from the opposite direction, lost control of his...

Verdicts & Settlements March 12, 2007: Discharged woman dies of pulmonary embolism.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $500,000 settlement The plaintiff's decedent, 57, presented to the defendant hospital on Jan. 3, 2002, with complaints of chest pain and shortness of breath -- symptoms that had started the...

Verdicts & Settlements March 12, 2007: Fetal abnormalities lead to brain damage in newborn.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $2.5 million settlement The 4-year-old plaintiff had suffered a severe and permanent neurological injury as a result of the defendants' failure to properly recognize and respond to fetal...

Verdicts & Settlements March 12, 2007: Abdominal aneurysm was misdiagnosed as back strain.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1 million settlement On Nov. 16, 1999, the plaintiff's decedent presented to the defendant primary care physician with complaints of back pain. The defendant diagnosed the decedent with a...

Mass. Appeals Court Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Lee v. Boston Computer Exchange)(Commonwealth v. Goncalves )
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Reported question - JNOV Where (1) a jury found that the defendant was not the plaintiff's employer, (2) the trial judge then entered a judgment notwithstanding the verdict and...

District Court/BMC Trial Division Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Commonwealth v. Dos Santos )
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Search and seizure Breath test - Police station Where a defendant has moved to suppress the results of a breath test given to him at a police station, I hold that the motion must be...

Mass. Land Court Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Saunders, et al., trustees v. Clancy, trustee, et al.)(Clayton v. City of Brockton Zoning Board of Appeals)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Real property Cross-easement agreements Where a dispute has arisen between the trustees of two neighboring condominium complexes regarding certain cross-easement agreements, I find from...

Mass. Commission Against Discrimination Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(MCAD, et al. v. Pleasant Poly International, Inc. )
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Layoff - Age discrimination Where a respondent laid off a complainant supervisor and now is charged with age discrimination, the complaint must be dismissed on the ground that...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Chandanais v. Commonwealth)(Commonwealth v. Murphy )
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals G.L.c. 211, Sect. 3 petition Where a petitioner sought G.L.c. 211, Sect. 3 relief when his motion to dismiss a marijuana possession charge was denied, a single justice committed...

Mass. Superior Court Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Loveday v. Sex Offender Registry Board)(Policastro v. City of Boston)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Classification - Sex offender Where a plaintiff has appealed his classification by the Sex Offender Registry Board as a level 2 sex offender, I hold that the appeal must be...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Hudson Savings Bank v. Austin)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Derivative claims - Settlement Where a Chapter 7 trustee of a bankrupt corporation settled for $50,000 claims brought by former corporate officers alleging fraudulent transfer,...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(DeMayo v. Nugent)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Qualified immunity - Search Where a plaintiff homeowner has brought a civil rights suit against two defendant police officers who conducted a warrantless protective sweep of...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Camacho v. Pepsi-Cola of Merrimack Valley)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Discrimination - Retaliation Where the defendants have moved for dismissal of the plaintiff's employment discrimination and retaliation suit, I find that the motion should be...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(Marrama v. Citizens Bank of Massachusetts)(Whorton v. Bockting)(Lance v. Coffman )
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Conversion A Chapter 7 debtor does not have an absolute right to convert to a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing if he or she engaged in "bad faith" conduct. Marrama v. Citizens...

Massachusetts Lawyers in the News: March 12, 2007.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Joseph B. Milstein, Ph.D., and Duan Wu have joined the Boston office of New York-based Hiscock & Barclay. Jeffrey M. Alexander has joined the Boston office of Eckert,...

Commentary: Show them the money: making earn-outs work for sellers.(Column)
March 12, 2007... Byline: David Baer and Gary C. Bubb As lawyers, we know that earn-outs are often an element of the purchase price in the sale of a business. This means both good and bad news for our client sellers. A seller risks the possibility that...

Hire Call: Boston Attorney, Deborah A. Daccord.(Interview)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff DEBORAH A. DACCORD Hire Calling is a feature in which law-firm partners in administrative positions are interviewed about hiring decisions and related employment matters at their firms. This...

DA: crime lab woes, DNA results unrelated.(Letter to the editor)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Lost in the avalanche of negative press about [the Combined DNA Index System] and the State Police crime lab is the critical distinction between administrative/management...

Locke-Ober responds to access complaints.(Letter to the editor)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I am writing in response to recent items in Lawyers Weekly regarding handicap accessibility at Locke-Ober in Boston (Lunch Box review: "Local institution has Locke on gourmet...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court rules confession to jailhouse informant inadmissible.(Commonwealth v. Murphy)
March 12, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank A trial judge violated a murder defendant's right to counsel by admitting into evidence a confession elicited by a jailhouse informant who had already entered into a cooperation agreement with the government, the...

Lawyers predict business as usual at Mass. DSS in wake of high-profile cases.(Department of Social Services)
March 12, 2007... Byline: David Frank Despite a wave of criticism against the Department of Social Services in the wake of a 4-year-old Hull girl's death, many family-law practitioners who regularly work with the agency say they do not expect DSS lawyers or...

Mass. Appeals Court rules federal law won't bar union worker's bias suit.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A unionized employee's Chapter 151B claim against her employer for failure to accommodate her multiple sclerosis was not preempted by federal law, the Appeals Court has ruled. Lawyers say the decision will...

Never too late.(law schools)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer It sounds counterintuitive, but law schools do, in fact, graduate experienced lawyers all the time -- it's just that they have life experience rather than legal experience. Law schools in Massachusetts and across...

Breath-test results by police in Marlborough suppressed by judge.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Paul E. Lamoureux In a case of apparent first impression, a District Court judge has suppressed the results of a breath test conducted on a suspected drunk driver because the police gave him inaccurate information about how long he...

Suffolk County jury returns verdict in lawyer-attack case.
March 12, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank A Suffolk County jury returned a split verdict in a case involving a defendant who was accused of attacking his lawyer in 2006. After two hours of deliberations, the jury last week found defendant John Gomes...

Middlesex Superior Court awards Boston firm $1.2M in counsel fees.(Fronk, et al. v. Fowler, et al.)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Paul E. Lamoureux A Middlesex Superior Court judge has awarded nearly $1.2 million in attorneys' fees and costs to the Boston firm of WilmerHale for having to defend some of its clients against a frivolous lawsuit. The...

Notices from the Court: March 12, 2007.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Probate & Family Court seeks comment on draft standards PROBATE AND FAMILY COURT SEEKS COMMENT ON DRAFT STANDARDS FOR EVALUATIONS AND REPORT WRITING FOR GUARDIANS AD LITEM/EVALUATORS APPOINTED...

Marilyn M. Sullivan, first woman chief justice of Mass. Land Court, dies at 83.(Obituary)(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Marilyn M. Sullivan, the first woman to serve as chief justice of the Land Court and the first female chief justice in the trial courts, died Feb. 20 at Brigham and Women's Hospital of congestive...

Judge Marilyn Sullivan: 'a woman of many firsts' in Mass.(Biography)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Julia Huston Judge Marilyn M. Sullivan, who died on Feb. 20, will always be remembered as a woman of many firsts -- the first woman to serve as chief justice of the Land Court, the first woman to serve as a chief justice of any...

District Court/BMC Appellate Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.(North Shore Plaza II, Inc. v. Northshore Mall Salon, Inc.)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Counterclaim - Subrogation Where (1) an insurance company, having paid $14,000 to a commercial tenant whose premises were damaged by fire, brought a subrogation action...

Commentary: New protective order policy is good for lawyers and the public.(Column)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Judge Edward M. Ginsburg 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. ...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions Case Summaries: March 12, 2007.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC No. BD-2001-0083 IN RE: JOSEPH PAUL GARGOLINSKI Reinstatement hearing The Board of Bar Overseers will hold a public hearing on the petition for reinstatement of Joseph Paul...

Commentary: Passengers' rights left on the runway.(Column)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff When businesses treat consumers inappropriately, deceptively or with utter disdain, there is often a remedy under state law. In Massachusetts, Chapter 93A and other provisions stand as a safeguard...

Judicial Scouting Report: Mass. Judge Murphy.(Ernest B. Murphy)(Biography)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff THE LOWDOWN ON JUDGE MURPHY Born in 1943 Graduated from Boston College Law School (1970); Oberlin College (1965) Appointed to bench in 2000 by Gov. A. Paul Cellucci Partner,...

Commentary: Will young lawyers care? The question is hardly moot.(Column)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff "May it please the court, your honor, I represent the petitioner in this case..." The young woman stared up at me, focused and intense. She stared down at her notes nervously and then...

Commentary: Judge's (in)decision.(Column)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Three weeks ago, Superior Court Judge Margot Botsford confirmed in this column that she would leave the bench this month after 16 years of judicial service. She has since changed her mind and has...

Boston Herald responds to Mass. judge's request.(Mitchell J. Sikora)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The Boston Herald has responded to Appeals Court Judge Mitchell J. Sikora's recent request for "a fair and complete correction" of "several false and highly defamatory 'facts'" about a case in...

Commentary: Revamped lineup on Beacon Hill makes reform an attainable goal.(Column)
March 12, 2007... Byline: Martin W. Healy The new Patrick administration, with its grassroots mandate, may be just the spark needed to pick up the pace for reform on Beacon Hill. Gone are the days of Faustian deals between the Democratic-controlled...

Proposed funding for Mass. Committee for Public Counsel Services takes $17.5M hit.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer While Gov. Deval L. Patrick proposed level funding for the courts and most legal agencies in the state's 2008 budget, one group came up $17.5 million short -- the Committee for Public Counsel Services. But, say...

Commonwealth's Courthouses: Barnstable Probate Court - Cape of lost hope.
March 19, 2007... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz 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. The young man and woman stand, lawyer-less, at...

Mass. Superior Court rules tenant can't use lis pendens to enforce option to purchase.(Danvers-DCH Inc. v. Hill)
March 19, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A landlord should be entitled to the dismissal of a memorandum of lis pendens filed by a commercial tenant seeking to enforce an option to purchase under a lease, where the tenant failed to mention in its ex parte...

Deceased Mass. Supreme Judicial Court Justice Sosman honored for her legacy, tenacity.(Obituary)
March 19, 2007... Byline: David Frank In the days following the March 10 death of Supreme Judicial Court Justice Martha B. Sosman, many of the stories about her judicial career focused on the dissenting opinion she authored in the landmark 2003 decision in...

Massachusetts. Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Hennessey remembered for his 'comforting' ways.(Edward F. Hennessey dies)(Obituary)
March 19, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank When Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Edward F. Hennessey reached the mandatory retirement age in 1989, then-retired Appeals Court Judge Allan M. Hale was quoted as saying he would "go down as the one of the...

Boston lawyer, businessman John P. Birmingham dies.(Obituary)(Brief article)
March 19, 2007... Byline: Mass. Lawyers Weekly Staff John P. Birmingham Jr., a Boston lawyer and businessman, died Saturday, Feb. 24 at his home in Osterville from complications arising from multiple-system ataxia. He was 65. Born in Boston in 1941,...

Former Mass. Superior Court judge Murphy dies at 80.(John L. Murphy Jr.)(Obituary)(Brief article)
March 19, 2007... Byline: Mass. Lawyers Weekly Staff John L. Murphy Jr., a former Superior Court judge, died Thursday, March 1 from a stroke at the North Shore Medical Center Union Hospital in Lynn. He was 80. Born in Arlington, Murphy entered the Navy...

They boldly went where women had not before.(Chris Roach, Ellen Carpenter, Leila Kern and Eileen Hagerty)
March 19, 2007... Byline: David Yas All four lawyers received the same note at their desks. "Fantasy Five: Ready for blastoff." Chris Roach, Ellen Carpenter, Leila Kern and Eileen Hagerty saw the message on that day in 1989 and knew exactly what it...