Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly articles from May 2006

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly archives from May 2006

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC No. BD-2006-016 In re: David E. Harrison Last known address: 12 Links Road Gloucester, MA 01930 S.J.C. Order Accepting Resignation as a Disciplinary Sanction entered by Justice Greaney...

Minority bar associations taking hold in Massachusetts.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz More numerous and more visible these days, minority lawyers in Massachusetts are finding acceptance in partnerships at major law firms and in judgeships on the courts of the commonwealth. But, as leaders of a...

Governor Signs Bills.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 49. An act authorizing the Town of Milford to grant an additional license for the sale of wine and malt beverages not to be drunk on the premises. App. and eff. March 31, 1 page. 50. An act...

Judges play music in Boston courthouse to keep jury, public from hearing sidebar conferences.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff A quirk in courtroom acoustics at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse in Boston has inadvertently revealed the musical tastes of several U.S. District Court judges. When the courthouse...

Norfolk Superior Court judge rules use of cell phone not warrantless search.(George Cahoon's case of burglary)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The ubiquitous cell phone may have had just a bit too much ubiquity for the defendants in a motions-to-suppress case, Commonwealth v. George Cahoon, decided late last month by Norfolk Superior...

Lawyer: Gay marriage column 'silly and superficial'.(Letter to the editor)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: It is hard to believe that such a silly and superficial [column] could appear in Lawyers Weekly as the one on "gay marriage" in the April 17 issue ("Gay marriage opponents: time...

District attorneys' offices are merely 'revolving doors'.(Letter to the editor)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: This is not a debate about the funding for prosecutors versus the funding for the public defenders and bar advocates. This is a debate about public safety and what price our...

New Supreme Court reveals 'squandered' opportunity.(Letter to the editor)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: One of the great perks of being the dean of a law school is that, every year, I get the opportunity to accompany alumni, students and friends to the U.S. Supreme Court. ...

Important lesson for bench and bar post-'Halperson'.(Letter to the editor)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: First, I thank Lawyers Weekly for publishing a summation of Eyster v. Pechenik (opinion digest: domestic relations, March 27). However, Halperson v. Halperson, 65 Mass. App. Ct....

Commentary: Getting lawyers to accept planning.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll The bane of many law firms is the problem of how to get individualistic attorneys to create and accept both firm and individual business plans. It's no secret that lawyers tend to be technicians who want to do what...

Supreme Judicial Court says 'incompetent' offender subject to sexually dangerous person petition.(Commonwealth v. Nieves, Lawyers Weekly )
May 8, 2006... Byline: David E. Frank The commonwealth may proceed with a sexually dangerous person petition to commit a convicted sex offender who was deemed legally incompetent, so long as he is represented by counsel, the Supreme Judicial Court has...

Malingering charge falters; accident victim gets $2.9M.(Case overview)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Having a client labeled a "malingerer" by an opposing expert does not have to signal the end of a high-stakes brain-injury case, according to two lawyers who helped an electrician garner a $2.9 million settlement...

Supreme Judicial Court interest in judicial review panel stirs buzz among bench.(Commission on Judicial Conduct)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer Lawyers and judges are concerned over the timing and scope of a recent hearing held by the Supreme Judicial Court over the powers of the Commission on Judicial Conduct. During the April 26 hearing, where the...

U.S. District Court approves C.A.R.E. probation program.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts approved the start of a Court Assisted Recovery Effort (C.A.R.E.). C.A.R.E. will begin on Wednesday May 3, 2006. The approval of...

Bernard W. O'Shaughnessy, Massachusetts attorney, dies.(Obituary)(Brief article)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bernard W. O'Shaughnessy, a lawyer who helped low-and-moderate-income Massachusetts residents find affordable housing, died Monday, April 17, of a heart attack while attending an event in Los...

A 'Permit Division' would be radical and unnecessary.(same-sex marriage )
May 8, 2006... Byline: Michael Halley One immutable law of magic is that to pull a rabbit out of a hat one must have first placed it there. The trick is to have done so surreptitiously. The failure of the Supreme Judicial Court's magical declaration...

Commentary: Recent Supreme Judicial Court decision makes the irrational rational.(non-resident same-sex partners )
May 8, 2006... Byline: Michael Halley One immutable law of magic is that to pull a rabbit out of a hat one must have first placed it there. The trick is to have done so surreptitiously. The failure of the Supreme Judicial Court's magical declaration...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.(breach of contract)(negligence)(torts)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Mobile home sale Where (1) plaintiffs, who executed an agreement to purchase the defendants' mobile home, brought an eight-count complaint and (2) the plaintiffs were awarded...

Appeals Court Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed The Appeals Court has affirmed, pursuant to Rule 1:28, judgments in the following cases. Although the decisions do not appear to address any substantive issues...

District Court/BMC Trial Division Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Equipment rental Where a defendant lessee of equipment has not paid the rental charge, the plaintiff lessor is entitled to summary judgment on a claim asserting breach of the...

Department Of Industrial Accidents Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.(Case overview)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Hip injury - Medical evidence Where an employee and an insurer cross-appeal from an administrative judge's decision awarding weekly incapacity benefits for an...

Land Court Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Real property Reformation of deed - Laches Where a plaintiff corporation seeks to amend an ownership certificate, arguing that an attorney acting as the corporation's treasurer did not...

Other Agencies Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Environmental Riverfront construction Where a petitioner has challenged a wetlands permit for the construction of a single-family house in an undeveloped riverfront area adjoining a...

Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Single justice's order - Certiorari Where the petitioners have appealed from a single justice's decision, the appeal must be rejected because the single justice committed no error...

Superior Court Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - G.L.c. 93A counterclaim Where this court ruled in January 2006 that the defendant was entitled to (1) treble damages of $627,900 on a G.L.c. 93A counterclaim and (2)...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.(Case overview)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Amended proof of claim - Leave to file late Where (1) a union fund filed a claim against a Chapter 11 debtor, (2) that claim was paid in full and (3) the fund now seeks to file...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Student loans - Bipolar disorder Where a debtor requested to have her student loan obligations discharged on the ground of undue hardship, the bankruptcy court did not err in...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Social Security disability litigation Where an applicant for Social Security disability benefits has requested attorneys' fees, that request should be denied without...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Challenges to trades Where (1) a plaintiff commenced an arbitration challenging trades made on his account by the defendant brokerage and seeking damages in excess of $100,000...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Probate exception The probate exception to federal court jurisdiction doesn't apply to bankruptcy proceedings - and therefore former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith can go...

Massachusetts Lawyers in the News: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Bethany A. Grazio has joined Ruberto, Israel & Weiner in Boston as an associate in the firm's corporate & business services and mergers and acquisitions groups. Brown,...

The Big Picture: May 8, 2006.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Big, good Wolf When the International Trademark Association gathers in Toronto this week for its annual meeting, Boston attorney Douglas R. Wolf and several members of Wolf, Greenfield &...

Verdicts & Settlements May 8, 2006: Employee settles workers' compensation claims.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $400,000 settlement Based upon an average weekly wage of $883, the employee received weekly benefits under Section 34 for temporary total disability in the amount of $530. As a result of the...

Verdicts & Settlements May 8, 2006: Female police officer claims retaliation by co-workers.(Dixon v. International Brotherhood of Police Officers)(Brief article)(Case overview)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $2.2 million verdict The plaintiff, a police officer for the City of Lowell, was allegedly sexually harassed by fellow police officers on a union-sponsored trip. Following a police...

Verdicts & Settlements May 8, 2006: Man dies from an undetected aortic aneurysm.(Case overview)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.25 million settlement On Feb. 27, 2001, the plaintiff's decedent arrived at the Lahey Clinic Emergency Department with complaints of chest pain, chest tightness, nausea and shortness of...

Verdicts & Settlements May 8, 2006: 67-year-old trips and falls outside grocery store.
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Defense verdict A Superior Court jury trial followed the appeal of a decision rendered in an earlier bench trial in the Clinton District Court. Following the bench trial, the District Court...

Verdicts & Settlements May 8, 2006: Electrician shocked by live wire while changing light fixture.(Case overview)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $2.9 million settlement The plaintiff was a 36-year-old electrician employed in a downtown Boston office building. While changing a device located adjacent to a florescent light fixture, a...

Verdicts & Settlements May 8, 2006: Woman's metastatic lung cancer goes undiagnosed.(Case overview)
May 8, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $650,000 settlement The decedent presented to Salem Hospital on Dec. 23, 1999 with complaints of shoulder and neck pain following a motor vehicle collision. X-rays of her neck and shoulder...

Commentary: Need advice? Send your queries to 'Ask the Pitbull'.(Column)
May 15, 2006... Byline: David Yas Hello and welcome to "Ask the Pitbull," where advice is offered from a tough lawyer who isn't afraid to give you tough answers. Dear Pitbull: I have a client who is in a business dispute with his own brother; they...

Commentary: do prospects want your testimonials ... or you?
May 15, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll As evidence that the Tin Man finally had a heart, the Wizard of Oz conferred a testimonial upon him. Marketers consistently use testimonials from presumably satisfied customers to serve as evidence of an...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC No. BD-2005-106 IN RE: ALAN MASON Last known addresses: 428 Shrewsbury Street Worcester, MA 01604 26 Pine Hill Road Princeton, MA 01541 c/o Platinum Real Estate Rte. 41 Naples, FL...

Commentary: Massachusetts' organ-donation law.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Although the state's law on donating organs is hardly something most lawyers consider every day, a recent case reveals that the law raises important issues. The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act...

Lack of space, staff hamper business at Salem District Court.
May 15, 2006... Byline: David 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 the issues observed there. Nestled between some of the oldest and most...

MA governor signs bills: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 69. An act establishing a sick leave bank for Denise Gamache, an employee the Department of Revenue. App. and eff. April 24, 1 page. 70. An act relative to the financial condition of the Town...

Superior Court Judge Catherine A. White: From bar to bench and back again.(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Catherine A. White, who stepped down as a Superior Court judge on March 31 at age 65, has opted for the life (and work) of a lawyer again in an of-counsel position at the firm of a former...

MA lawyer joins defense team of high school senior held without bail in Spanish jail.(Julio R. Hernando)(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The fate of a Norton High School senior held without bail in a Spanish jail now rests, in part, in the hands of a Massachusetts lawyer with strong ties to the country in which his client awaits...

CJC decisions cannot be appealed to the SJC.(Letter to the editor)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I noted that your page 1 story on May 8 indicated that decisions of the Commission on Judicial Conduct may be "appealed" to the Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC interest in judicial...

Remembering a 'giant' of the workers' comp practice.(Letter to the editor)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Attorney Laurence S. Locke of Boston passed away in April at the age of 89. Larry was one of the giants of the workers' compensation practice in Massachusetts. He was the...

Commentary: mind your business.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Rick Trilling Let's start with the bad news, which you hopefully already know: The practice of law is a business as well as a profession. This raises two substantial problems. First, you probably are already plenty busy being a...

Superior Court judge rules tenant can recover for lead dust caused by other unit.
May 15, 2006... Byline: David E. Frank A commercial tenant could recover for property damage caused by lead-paint dust that migrated from another unit during renovations, even where its insurance policy contained a pollution exclusion clause, a Superior...

Superior Court judge rules CFO cannot arbitrate own company's dispute.(Uniform Arbitration Act)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer The chief financial officer of a corporation could not preside as arbitrator over a dispute involving another company and his own, even where the parties had agreed in writing to his appointment as neutral, a Superior...

Superior Court judge rules employer can't dismiss suit over switched office.
May 15, 2006... Byline: David Frank An employee who was moved to another office after complaining of sexual harassment can maintain her suit for retaliation after the employer did not allow her to return to her office, a Superior Court judge has ruled....

Notices from the Courts: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Division of Insurance announces hearings COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation DIVISION OF INSURANCE NOTICE OF HEARING In...

How 'Bust Dat Groove' landed Pfizer in court ... and more.(Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Massachusetts resident Rob Scanlan advertised himself as an accredited marine surveyor, using the acronym "AMS" to the chagrin of the Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (SAMS), which alleged...

Commentary: Recent developments in the Business Litigation Session.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Beth I.Z. Boland and Brandon L. Bigelow The Business Litigation Session entered 2006 with new challenges arising from the mandatory retirement of BLS Chief Judge Allan van Gestel in December 2005. While van Gestel has been...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Payment bond - Supplier Where a plaintiff, claiming to be unpaid for supplies sent to a construction site, was awarded summary judgment in a suit against a defendant which had...

MA Appeals Court Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed The Appeals Court has affirmed, pursuant to Rule 1:28, judgments in the following cases. Although the decisions do not appear to address any substantive issues...

U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Dismissal - Serial petitions Where a bankruptcy judge dismissed the debtors' fourth Chapter 13 petition, the dismissal order should be affirmed based on the debtors' bad faith....

MA Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Discovery - Crime scene Where a defendant was indicted for rape of a child with force in the complainant's home and assault and battery, we hold that a judge had the authority to...

Superior Court Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Partiality of arbitrator Where a plaintiff is seeking to vacate an arbitrator's award, I find that the plaintiff should be given the relief requested in light of the facts (1)...

MA Lawyers in the News: May 15, 2006.(Lara Beth Winn joins Ankner & Levy)(Roger C. Zehntner joins Partridge, Snow & Hahn)(Bowditch & Dewey promoted Louis M. Ciavarra)(Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom L.L.P. promoted Scott D. Brown and Timothy F. Nelson)(Holland and Knight received "Celebrate the Village" award)(Douglas R. Wolf has been ranked 44th)(Wendy H. Sibbison has been elected by American Academy of Appellate Lawyers)(Peter J. Antoszyk has been elected as board of directors)(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Lara Beth Winn has joined Ankner & Levy in Boston as a senior associate. Roger C. Zehntner has joined the New Bedford and Boston offices of Partridge, Snow & Hahn as a...

Verdicts & Settlements May 15, 2006: College president fires CFO before contract has expired.(Roxbury Community College)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $215,000 settlement From July 1995 through Sept. 11, 2001, the plaintiff was employed by the defendant, a public educational institution. He was comptroller for a number of years, but at...

Verdicts & Settlements May 15, 2006: M.D. performs multiple unsuccessful operations on patient.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $500,000 settlement The 57-year-old plaintiff alleged that the defendant orthopedic surgeon failed to timely and appropriately stabilize the distal fibula (lateral malleolus) by placing an...

Verdicts & Settlements May 15, 2006: Passenger in bus accident requires leg amputation.(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $6.1 million settlement The plaintiff, a single, 38-year-old security guard from Boston, was injured when he was ejected from a motor coach which was returning from New York City. The bus...

Verdicts & Settlements May 15, 2006: Woman dies of toxic shock syndrome following breast biopsy.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.5 million settlement A 55-year-old woman underwent an uncomplicated breast biopsy on Feb. 20, 1998. Several days later, she developed signs of overwhelming infection, and two weeks later...

Verdicts & Settlements May 15, 2006: Baby suffers permanent injuries during childbirth.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.28 million settlement In September 2000 the minor plaintiff's mother presented to the defendant obstetrician for prenatal care. Significant past medical history included delivery of a...

Verdicts & Settlements May 15, 2006: Parents settle after gas explosion kills two young girls.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $17.18 million settlement The plaintiffs' two daughters, aged four and five, were killed when the apartment house in which they were living was destroyed as the result of a gas explosion. ...

Verdicts & Settlements May 15, 2006: Patient suffers brain damage during exploratory surgery.(Brief article)
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $2 million settlement The plaintiff underwent exploratory laparotomy because of possible internal bleeding. Shortly after incision, the plaintiff's heart rate dropped below 50 and he became...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 15, 2006.
May 15, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Medicare - Reimbursement of costs Where a plaintiff health care provider has challenged the reimbursement of necessary and proper costs related to patient care under the...

Commentary: How do you measure financial performance?(Column)
May 22, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll What management reports do sole and small-firm practitioners look at to determine how well they're doing? It's a very good question. There is much data out there, and most good financial information systems can and do...

MA Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: May 22, 2006.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC Court No. BD-2006-001 IN RE: JOHN ALAN ROBERTS Last known address: 42 Berkeley Road North Andover, MA 01845 S.J.C. Judgment of Disbarment entered by Justice Ireland on April 20, 2006...

Court-appointed lawyer pay: Let's stop the whining.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers who work for the state are becoming famous for reminding the public that they are underpaid. Court-appointed lawyers staged a near-mutiny in recent years over their hourly rate. Judges...

Double Jeopardy: Boston attorney hardly the sore loser on T.V. quiz show.(David A. Rozenson)(Brief article)
May 22, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff A local lawyer who made it into the Tournament of Champions on the TV quiz show "Jeopardy" earlier this month, only to be eliminated in the first round, is hardly the sore loser. In fact,...

Winslow volunteering as "a legal advisor" to Samiyah Diaz campaign.(Brief article)
May 22, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff When the news media reported two weeks ago that state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson of Boston had failed to obtain the required number of certified signatures to qualify for placement on the Democratic...

Time for Legislature, court to act on permitting issue.(Letter to the editor)
May 22, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: The development community and the editorial board of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly agree that the more efficient movement of land use cases through the court system is a...

Position of Romney, others on Catholic Charities issue 'alarming'.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: One of the truly miraculous accomplishments of the drafters of our federal Constitution, and that splendid Massachusetts Constitution penned by John Adams in 1780, was the...

Survey shows corporations these days want more value for their legal budget.(corporations demands financial accountability from law firms)
May 22, 2006... Byline: Dick Dahl Back in the day, a law firm's relationship with its clients was often a cozy affair. Senior corporate managers and senior partners belonged to the same country clubs, and the legal bills that the firms submitted were...

Is ballistic evidence reliable in Massachusetts?
May 22, 2006... Byline: David E. Frank Criminal defense lawyers are awaiting the outcome of a hearing in Suffolk Superior Court that could determine whether the methodology used by police in Massachusetts for decades to analyze ballistic evidence is still...

Supreme Judicial Court rules employee's bias claim survives death.
May 22, 2006... Byline: David Frank The estate of an employee who claimed he was wrongfully prevented from returning to his job of almost 20 years could move forward with a discrimination suit even after his death, the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled in...

High drama case set in Suffolk Superior Court with Maine's Poland Spring Water Co. as defendant.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz A $7 billion-a-year industry, a scion of the Kennedy family, a Wednesday Night Deal that took on the look of a Saturday Night Massacre, a power-packed legal lineup -- the stage is set in Suffolk Superior Court...

Daniel C. Crane steps down as bar counsel in Massachusetts.
May 22, 2006... Byline: David L. Yas Though he has yet to decide on what the next chapter of his legal career will be, Daniel C. Crane has decided that his run as the commonwealth's bar counsel is over. Crane has announced that he will resign as bar...

Drama continues at Appellate Tax Board.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer Just as some of the turmoil surrounding the Appellate Tax Board seemed to be receding, there was new speculation about the embattled panel's future. Last week, ATB Chair Anne T. Foley recused herself from a major...

Notices from the Courts: May 22, 2006.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff District Court revises order establishing Lynn firearm session NEW CHARGES TO BE INCLUDED WITHIN JURISDICTION OF FIREARM SESSION OF THE LYNN DISTRICT COURT Beginning on February 1, 2006, a...

Agawam attorney, Thomas S. Locke dies at age 51.
May 22, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Thomas S. Locke, an attorney and city solicitor from Agawam, died May 7 at his home. He was 51. Locke received his bachelor's degree and law degree from Western New England College, and held a...