Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly articles from May 2008

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly archives from May 2008

Verdicts & Settlements May 5, 2008: Untreated jaundice leads to baby's death at four days.(medical malpractice)(Case overview)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $460,000 settlement This medical-malpractice action was brought by the parents of a four-day-old baby girl who died from hyperbilirubinemia. The baby was born at 36 weeks'gestation to...

Verdicts & Settlements May 5, 2008: Labor distress leads to child's permanent disability.(medical malpractice)(Case overview)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1 million settlement On June 8, 1999, the plaintiff, a full-term pregnant woman, was anticipating the delivery of her first child. She had received prenatal care throughout her unremarkable...

Verdicts & Settlements May 5, 2008: Jury says woman was victim of harassment.(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.3 million verdict A Hampden Superior Court jury awarded the plaintiff nearly $1.4 million after finding that she was the victim of sexual harassment and retaliation by layoff after she...

Verdicts & Settlements May 5, 2008: Doctor, patient settle over disputed X-ray reading.(Medical malpractice)(Brief article)(Case overview)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.2 million settlement In 2003, the minor plaintiff, then 12, complained of hip pain. X-rays were taken to rule out a lower-extremity orthopedic injury. The X-rays were reviewed and...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: May 5, 2008).(Case overview)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC No. BD-2002-0061 IN RE: WILLIAM H. SHAUGHNESSY Reinstatement Hearing The Board of Bar Overseers will hold a public hearing on the petition for reinstatement of William H. Shaughnessy,...

Commentary: Police reports and privacy.(publicity of Randi Goldklank's case)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The news broke quickly: Randi Goldklank, a Boston TV station general manager, had been apprehended for resisting arrest after a bizarre scene at Logan International Airport where she allegedly...

Commentary: You don't have time to read this column.(being busy in the month of May)(Column)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff You really think I had time to write a column this week? C'mon. This is May. The cruelest month. May has it charms. Lovely weather. The students graduating. Birds chirping and...

Commentary: The SMART way to do marketing.(specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable and timely)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll For too many lawyers, the idea of marketing is daunting because there are so many potential clients, so little time to reach them and so many options for pursuing them. Marketing can only be approached practically...

How To...Choose a relocation firm.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Bernadette Starzee How to... offers advice on a variety of subjects related to the management of a law practice. For all its climatical pleasures, spring can be a stressful season if, as is often the case this time of the...

Commentary: No matter the format, consistency key to correct citations.(Massachusetts Reports Style Manual)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Julie Baker and Lisa Healy Write On is an occasional feature providing guidance for attorneys on writing legal memoranda and briefs. We want to start by thanking all the people who gave us feedback on our last two columns...

Lots of slots open for clerks in Mass.(Massachusetts)(judicial vacancies)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Even as the Judicial Nominating Commission and Gov. Deval L. Patrick continue to chip away at the backlog of judicial vacancies in Massachusetts, none of the five clerkship positions that were...

Acting Anonymously in Boston.(misdemeanor harassment case against Anonymous, a web-based group)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff A previously covert member of a controversial web-based group called Anonymous was headed for Boston Municipal Court last week to face misdemeanor harassment charges for his role in anti-Church of...

Pronouncement on governor was 'way too premature'.(Letter to the editor)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Even if I didn't think that your April 14 editorial, "Patrick and the courts: We're still waiting," declaring Gov. Deval L. Patrick's attention to the judiciary a...

Time to focus on critical issues at Probate & Family Court.(Letter to the editor)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Thank you for your article in the Hearsay section entitled "Muddle in Middlesex" (March 24). Your attention to the Middlesex Probate & Family Court allows our association to...

Pregnant pauses in Boston law firm.(Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C.)(Sex discrimination against women)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Noah Schaffer "[I]f I delegate work to an 8th year associate, I do not expect to have to double check the work." The e-mail from Donald W. Schroeder made it crystal clear that the partner at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky...

Warrantless handbag search gets nod from Mass. Appeals Court.(Massachusetts)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A police officer's warrantless search of a handbag belonging to a woman suffering from an apparent drug overdose was permissible under the "emergency exception" to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement, the...

DNA test making its way into civil litigation arena.(The Cytokine Institute)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson The use of DNA testing has fundamentally altered criminal law, offering both the prosecution and the defense a definitive answer to the age-old question of "whodunit?" Now, a company has developed a new...

Issue of bias claims against small businesses goes to Mass. Supreme Judicial Court.(Massachusetts)
May 5, 2008... Byline: David E. Frank A case that would greatly expand an employee's ability to bring discrimination claims against small businesses will get an airing before the Supreme Judicial Court next week. The court, scheduled to hear...

Massd. Bar Association and Conservation Law Foundation: Eco-Tip.(Massachusetts Bar Association)(waste reduction)(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The following is an "Eco-Tip" offered by the Massachusetts Bar Association and Conservation Law Foundation as part of their "Lawyers Eco-Challenge." To obtain more tips and to sign up for the...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court invites comments on proposed change to criminal rule.(Massachusetts)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff NOTICE The Supreme Judicial Court's Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure invites comments on a proposed amendment to Rule 28 of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal...

Commentary: Wage legislation meets needs of employees and employers.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Philip J. Gordon Whatever people might think of the new legislation clarifying Massachusetts law -- that treble damages shall be awarded to an employee who wins a lawsuit for non-payment of wages -- it is not new law for this...

Appellate Tax Board Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(taxation)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Taxation Real estate assessment Where a homeowner has challenged a real estate tax assessment, he has not substantiated his "comparable sales" argument and thus the challenge must be...

Mass. Appeals Court Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(Massachusetts)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed The Appeals Court has affirmed, pursuant to Rule 1:28, judgments in the following case. Although the decision does not appear to address any substantive issues...

District Court/BMC Trial Division Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(Boston Municipal Court)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance PIP - Examination under oath Where a defendant insurance company denied a plaintiff's request for personal injury protection benefits, the insurance company acted properly in...

Mass. Land Court Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(Massachusetts)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Real property Executor's actions Where a defendant estate executor took action to cause the preparation, endorsement and recording of an ANR plan which divided a "cottage" parcel, I hold...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(Massachusetts)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals G.L.c. 211, Sect. 3 Where (1) a complaint was filed seeking recusal of a Superior Court judge and (2) treating the complaint as a petition for relief pursuant to G.L.c. 211, Sect....

Mass. Superior Court Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(Massachusetts)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Special motion to dismiss Where (1) a plaintiff self-storage facility has filed suit seeking judicial review of a defendant zoning board's ruling upholding a Director of...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(United States)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Sanctions - Mortgage holder Where a mortgage company and its counsel have misrepresented the mortgage company's status as the holder of a note and mortgage, they should be...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Termination of employment Where an arbitrator upheld the termination of a delivery service driver who failed to deliver 37 packages over the span of two business days, the...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(United States)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Social security - Excessive deductions Where low income plaintiffs have filed suit alleging that the defendant Department of Health and Human Services and codefendant Social...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(United States)(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Auto policy - Intervention Where (1) a plaintiff insurance company brought suit seeking a declaratory judgment that, under the terms of a commercial automobile insurance policy,...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 5, 2008.(United States)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Death penalty Kentucky's three-drug lethal injection procedure complies with the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Baze, et al. v....

Massachusetts Lawyers in the News: May 5, 2008.(Obituary)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Jodi K. Hanover has joined Rich May in Boston as an associate. Marc Henschke has joined the Boston firm of Foley & Lardner. Maria L. Mazur has joined Lubin & Meyer in...

Commentary: Test yourself.(golf rules)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff You take a practice swing and accidentally hit the ball. Does that count as a shot? It depends. If you're on the tee and you accidentally hit the ball with a practice swing, then it doesn't...

Commentary: The Supreme Court of golf.('The Rules of Golf' by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and the United States Golf Association)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Thomas F. Harrison On the next-to-last hole of the 2006 U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson had a one-shot lead when he drove his ball into a trash can. What's the rule? What do you do when your ball is in the trash? During the 1999...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC No. BD-2008-032 IN RE: JAMES S. GREGSON Last known address: P.O. Box 1175 Saugus, MA 01906 S.J.C. Judgment of Disbarment entered by Justice Cowin on March 21, 2008, with an effective...

The woes continue in Cambridge.(Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse )
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff >It's hard to figure what keeps Cambridge District Court employees going. As lone remaining inhabitants of the Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse in East Cambridge, every day the staffers report to...

Commentary: 'I want to thank all the little people ...'.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll It's a common practice for someone accepting an award or honor to thank a list of people who made the accomplishment possible, even if many of them had never received such thanks from the honoree before. In law...

Commentary: Well-written attorney bios are good read.(biographies)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Kristen V. Weller Seller's Market offers practitioners information about marketing their skills and services as attorneys. Creating an effective attorney bio takes more than a simple list of dates and accomplishments. Rather,...

Bounty from the big firms.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff For many months leading up to the 2008 summer-associate season, the mailboxes of second-year students at top-tier law schools have been overflowing with gifts -- many from Boston's bigger law...

Get a (second) life.(Tamiko R. Franklin's online virtual community )
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff First, Lowell attorney Tamiko R. Franklin moved her IP practice to Zagreb, Croatia. Now she's practicing law in an even more distant frontier: that of virtual reality. Franklin started...

Family-friendly policy doesn't mean anything.(Letter to the editor)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Your recent article, "Pregnant pauses: Women's claims of bias persist despite family-friendly policies" (May 5), hit the issue on the head: the difference between a law firm...

Not impressed by unattributed quote in story.(Letter to the editor)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Thanks for the story on the Church of Scientology case (Hearsay: "Acting Anonymously," May 5). I was, however, surprised by the "do-not-quote-me" lawyer comment. How would...

"Eco-Tip" from Mass. Bar Assn. and Conservation Law Foundation: Easy Being Green.(Massachusetts Bar Association)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The following is an "Eco-Tip" offered by the Massachusetts Bar Association and Conservation Law Foundation as part of their "Lawyers Eco-Challenge." To obtain more tips and to sign up for the...

Best offense is good defense.(a day with Attorney Catherine K. Byrne)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz This is another in a series in which Lawyers Weekly spends a day with an attorney, in this case a federal public defender, and reports on what transpired. The client is clad in a Day-Glo orange jumpsuit, the...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court weighing future of Wal-Mart wage suit.(Massachusetts)(Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A case that could greatly restrict the ability of hourly employees to bring class-action suits against employers for alleged wage violations was aired before the Supreme Judicial Court last week. The court --...

Mass. Superior Court rules law firm owes no duty to third-party bank.(Cushing & Dolan, P.C. and U.S. Bank)(Massachusetts)
May 12, 2008... Byline: David E. Frank A law firm that represented a mortgage company at a closing could not be held liable to a bank that was not a party to the transaction, a Superior Court judge has ruled. The Boston firm, Cushing & Dolan, argued...

Forensic linguists make a science of syntax.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Dick Dahl Wife killer Brian David Hummert never intended to rat himself out. But in the end, his own written words -- picked over by a forensic linguist -- did just that. Hummert was convicted of first-degree murder by a...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court invites comments on proposed change to professional conduct rule.(Massachusetts)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The Supreme Judicial Court's Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct Invites Comments on Proposed Revisions to Massachusetts Rule of Professional Conduct 8.5...

U.S. District Court District of Mass.: Transcript redaction policy announced.(United States)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff United States District Court District of Massachusetts NOTICE TRANSCRIPT REDACTION POLICY Effective May 5, 2008, the District of Massachusetts, in accordance with Judicial Conference...

Commentary: Supreme Court case limits ability to obtain review of arbitration award for legal errors.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Gordon P. Katz The bloom is off the arbitration rose -- or at least off some of the petals. Arbitration holds out the promise of a speedy and less costly dispute resolution mechanism. To some degree, the use of arbitration is...

Mass. Appellate Tax Board Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(Massachusetts)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Taxation Interest Where appellants have sought an abatement of interest imposed by the appellee Commissioner of Revenue due to the appellants' failure to pay their 2002 income taxes in...

Mass. Appeals Court Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(Massachusetts)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed The Appeals Court has affirmed, pursuant to Rule 1:28, a judgment in the following case. Although the decision does not appear to address any substantive issues...

Mass. Housing Court Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(Massachusetts)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Landlord and tenant Security deposit law - G.L.c. 93A Where a dispute has arisen between a plaintiff landlord and certain defendant tenants, I find from the evidence that the tenants are...

Mass. Labor Relations Commission Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(Massachusetts)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor Changes in inmates' exercise schedules Where the Commissioner of Administration and Finance implemented changes to the exercise schedules of inmates in the Special Management Unit...

Mass. Land Court Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(Massachusetts)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Real property Easement by estoppel Where defendants purchased land from the estate of a decedent who enjoyed a right of way over Iveson Street in Middleton, the defendants now enjoy an...

Mass. Commission Against Discrimination Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(Massachusetts)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Petition for review Where, after a hearing officer issued a decision for the respondent, the complainant filed a notice of appeal but no timely petition for review, the appeal...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(Massachusetts)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff ORDERS Orders April 30, 2008 Further appellate review granted: Gale Costa vs. Fall River Housing Authority. Reported below: 71 Mass. App. Ct. 269 (2008). Michael Seller's...

Mass. Superior Court Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(Massachusetts)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Closing - Negligence Where plaintiffs have brought suit in connection with their purchase of a mortgage for which the defendants were the closing attorneys, the plaintiff's...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(United States)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Chapter 7 - Dismissal Where (1) a debtor has moved to dismiss the Chapter 11 case and (2) two parties in interest have moved to convert the case to Chapter 7, or, in the...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(United States)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Civil rights action Where plaintiffs (1) were awarded counsel fees in a civil rights case, (2) were later denied additional amounts for services rendered in litigating...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.(United States)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - G.L.c. 93A case Where a plaintiff company (1) has been found liable under G.L.c. 93A for engaging in unfair and deceptive practices in procuring the renewal of a contract...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: May 12, 2008.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fee - Whistleblower case Where an attorney represented crew members who received awards, pursuant to the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, in a whistleblower case, I find...

Mass. Lawyers in the News: May 12, 2008.(Massachusetts )(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Rebecca R. Bodfish has joined Fish & Richardson in Boston as an associate. James R. Shea Jr. has joined Choate, Hall & Stewart in Boston as a partner in its real estate...

Verdicts & Settlements May 12, 2008: Woman's pap smear results vanish from medical record.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $500,000 settlement In July 1998, the plaintiff, a 36-year-old childless woman, transferred her gynecological care to the defendant. The woman's last pap smear, prior to her changing her care,...

Verdicts & Settlements May 12, 2008: Doctor accused of overlooking diabetes symptoms.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1 million settlement On May 12, 2003, the decedent, a 27-year-old man whose mother suffered from diabetes, went to the defendant, his primary care physician, complaining of mouth dryness for...

Verdicts & Settlements May 12, 2008: Pedestrian struck by car, suffers damage to knee.(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $175,000 settlement The plaintiff, a 45-year-old optician, was crossing a street when she was struck by a motor vehicle. The driver of the vehicle claimed that he was momentarily blinded by...

Verdicts & Settlements May 12, 2008: Court rules husband controlled trustee in divorce.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Alimony plus property This was a highly contested divorce following a 32-year marriage. The couple had two children, now adults. The wife was the primary caretaker and worked throughout most...

Verdicts & Settlements May 12, 2008: Plaintiff: surgeon failed to excise entire mole.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $3 million settlement The defendant surgeon, an oncologist, biopsied a mole from the upper back of a 42-year-old male. The biopsy specimen was reviewed by the defendant pathologist, who...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court: Contingent-fee agreements: confusion and fear.(Massachusetts)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff If you have ever used a contingent-fee agreement, you should read the Supreme Judicial Court's recent ruling in In the Matter of the Discipline of an Attorney (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-071-08). ...

New 'success kit' helps lawyers step up their sales tactics.(LegalBizDev Success Kit)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Reni Gertner Sales may not be every lawyer's strongest suit, but with the new LegalBizDev Success Kit, perhaps it could be. The kit -- intended to help lawyers get new business -- is being used by law firms big and small that...

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: Should doctor be Schilling for air time?(Curt Schilling)
May 19, 2008... Byline: David E. Frank Isn't a doctor -- particularly one treating a famous Major League pitcher -- legally obligated to keep his mouth shut when it comes to discussing the privileged medical condition of a patient? Lawyers listening...

Hairdresser's brush with the law ultimately leads to Women's Bar Assn. presidency.(Kathy Jo Cook as the 29th president of the Women's Bar Association)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Matt Yas What does a former cosmetologist-turned-groundbreaking-litigator do for an encore? She moves to the big city and becomes president, of course. In March, 48-year-old Kathy Jo Cook was installed as the 29th...

Administering last rites for civility in divorce cases?
May 19, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Lost: sense of perspective. If found, please rush to the nearest courthouse immediately. Reports of the demise of civility in the Massachusetts bar may be exaggerated, but try telling that to...

The departed: The "old" Worcester courthouse.(Worcester courthouse used as the backdrop for "The Surrogates" film)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The "old" Worcester courthouse, which was vacated in favor of the spacious new trial court complex up the street last year, appears to be experiencing a new lease on life. The nearly abandoned...

A firm response from Bingham McCutchen in Boston.
May 19, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff When a former Bingham McCutchen associate alleged recently that the Boston firm stood idly by after she reported a coworker slipped her a "roofie" at a holiday party last year, Internet blogs...

Should marijuana be legal in Massachusetts?: Smoked out.
May 19, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Despite defense arguments that marijuana should be legal in Massachusetts, an editor of a leading pro-cannabis magazine and a lawyer from Washington, D.C. learned firsthand that some in Boston feel...

Commentary: Emphasis Supplied.(Ralph D. Gants)(Quotation)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff "A few months ago, my daughter, a senior in high school, told me for the first time that she thinks she might want to be an attorney. What I found suprising was not this revelation, even though she...

Chief: Middlesex Probate Court on solid ground.(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I write in response to a letter by Frank J. Ciano and Lloyd D. Godson as representatives of the Middlesex Bar Association ("Time to focus on critical issues at Probate & Family...

Legal fees for CJAM's defense in courthouse lawsuit at $248K.(Robert A. Mulligan)
May 19, 2008... Byline: David E. Frank A Boston law firm has been paid nearly a quarter of a million dollars to defend the chief justice for administration and management in the dispute raging over conditions at the Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse. CJAM...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court rules suppression order not binding in codefendant's case.(Massachusetts)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A Superior Court judge could deny a defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained in a police search even though a District Court judge had granted a codefendant's motion to suppress the same evidence in a...

Mass. Supreme Judicial Court rules health insurer can deny benefits based on 'MedPay'.(Massachusetts)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Matthew C. Harper-Nixon A health insurer could defer coverage of accident-related medical costs above $2,000 where the policyholder purchased, as part of his automobile policy, optional medical payment -- or MedPay -- benefits, the...

Mass. Bar Association's Animal Law Practice Group: Fighting like cats and dogs.(Massachusetts Bar Association)(Conference news)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Julia Reischel When the Massachusetts Bar Association's newly formed Animal Law Practice Group held its inaugural meeting last month, a larger-than-expected gathering of more than 60 showed up. If the MBA was surprised by the...

Mass.Supreme Judicial Court invites comments on the report of the ad hoc advisory committee.(Massachusetts)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court invite comments on the attached report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee to Study Canon 3B(9) of the Code of Judicial Conduct ("Committee"). The Committee...