Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly articles from September 2006

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly archives from September 2006

Unpublished decisions: ready for prime time.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New Chief Justice Phillip Rapoza takes over the Appeals Court after an unprecedented period of efficiency under recently retired Chief Christopher J. Armstrong. While the court is in good...

Commentary: Happy Labor Day! Now get back to work, slackers ...
September 4, 2006... Byline: David Yas Final thoughts for the summer as we collectively grumble and get back to work... Did you notice that Rapper 50 Cent has been served with a lawsuit connected to an incident in Springfield in 2004? The performer...

Massachusetts governor signs bills.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 214. An act establishing a sick leave bank for Cheryl Ferrara, an employee of the Department of Mental Retardation. App. and eff. Aug. 4, 1 page. 215. An act designating basketball as the...

Taunton District Court gets a whiff of pizza.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff While there are technically no limitations on what kind of evidence a lawyer can submit to a jury, a recent trial in Taunton District Court shows that not every request will be allowed. The...

In Suffolk, the race is on.(elections for superior court judges)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff If staffers at the Suffolk Superior Court's Criminal Business Division seem a bit distracted these days, perhaps it's because they are trying to figure out who their new boss will be. With the...

Charlestown attorney wants to reinstate old, but not forgotten case.(Vincent F. Zarrilli)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff There's always that litigant who cannot let go of the case he believes he should have won. But pro se stalwart Vincent F. Zarrilli of Charlestown is giving new meaning to the word "persistence."...

Commentary: Taking the mystery out of the hiring process.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Technology has conspired with traditional attitudes to make many solo practitioners think they truly can go it alone. However, if you believe that the only things done right are the things you do yourself, you'll...

Former MA Superior Court Judge Maria I. Lopez: 'I'm never going back to that life'.(Massachusetts)
September 4, 2006... Byline: David E. Frank "You may sit down. You may sit down now or I'll get a court officer to make you sit down!" Those were the now-infamous instructions former Superior Court Judge Maria I. Lopez barked at Suffolk County prosecutor...

Those who can... teach.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz As law schools in Massachusetts fling open their doors this month to welcome students for the 2006-2007 academic year, they also are giving wide berth to adjunct faculty members -- lawyers and judges who...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules company not required to allow employee to work remotely.(National Economic Research Associates Inc.)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Eric T. Berkman E-mail conversations between an employee and his lawyer, conducted via the employee's private, web-based e-mail account but from a company-issued computer, were protected by the attorney-client privilege, a Superior...

Supreme Judicial Court rules lawyer lacked standing to challenge taking of files.(Michael E. Bryant, Ellis and Ellis)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer An attorney facing larceny charges could not challenge the seizure of computer files from the law firm for which he worked, the Supreme Judicial Court has held. The defendant lawyer, who was subsequently convicted...

Revised notice for MA Division of Insurance.(Public notice)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Division of Insurance posts revised notice COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation DIVISION OF INSURANCE Revised Hearing Notice ...

Commentary: Massachusetts gets updated trademark statute.
September 4, 2006... Byline: David J. Byer Last month, when Gov. Mitt Romney signed the new Massachusetts State Trademark Act, the commonwealth joined 29 other states that have enacted some form of the Model State Trademark Bill. The bill, introduced in...

Commentary: Recent tax ruling to impact employment lawyers.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Elizabeth A. Rodgers All Massachusetts employers and employment lawyers will be examining the implications of a recent decision holding the taxation of emotional-distress and loss-of-reputation damages to be unconstitutional....

Appellate Tax Board Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Taxation Assessment - Renovations Where a homeowner has challenged an assessment of his property, he should be granted a $213.61 abatement because the assessors did not properly consider...

MA Appeals Court Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed Forty-Three Kingston Street Condominium Association v. Bedfordor Limited Partnership, et al.; Mahaney, et al., third-party defendants (Lawyers Weekly No....

District Court/BMC Trial Division Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Chiropractor's bills - G.L.c. 93A Where a chiropractor has filed suit against a defendant insurance company, I find that the defendant (1) should be granted summary judgment on...

Department of Industrial Accidents Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Remand Where the Appeals Court has directed us to remand the present matter to the administrative judge "for a determination as to the claimants' entitlement to...

MA Land Court Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Real property Parking rights - Dune road Where a plaintiff, who owns property within a Harwich subdivision and benefits from express rights to use a private beach and rights to access the...

Other MA Agencies Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Environmental House construction - Bordering vegetated wetland Where petitioners have challenged a superseding order of conditions allowing construction of a single-family house on an...

MA Supreme Judicial Court Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals G.L.c. 211, Sect. 3 - Pretrial detainee - Transfer Where a petitioner sought relief, pursuant to G.L.c. 211, Sect. 3, from an order transferring him from a county jail to a state...

MA Superior Court Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Privilege - Employer-issued computer Where a plaintiff, engaged in litigation with one of its former employees (the defendant), has moved for disclosure of communications...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Relief from stay - Mortgage foreclosure - Fraud Where a mortgagee has moved for relief from the automatic stay in order to proceed against the mortgaged property, the motion...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Intellectual property rights Where a plaintiff sued a defendant corporation, alleging breach of contract and infringement of the plaintiff's intellectual property rights, we hold...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Police chase Where a civil rights suit has been brought on behalf of a decedent who was killed by a fleeing motor vehicle during a police pursuit, the defendant police...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Sexual harassment - Discrimination - Retaliation Where a plaintiff has brought a sexual harassment claim based on an alleged relationship between his supervisor and one of the...

MA Lawyers in the News: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Edward E. Hale Jr. has joined the litigation department at Greenberg Traurig in Boston. Kevin M. Littman, Thomas P. McNulty, Mark A. Miller, Thomas J. McGinnis and Sandra...

Commentary: Changes in MA trust law pose risk of 93A liability.(Massachusetts)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Mark E. Swirbalus Recent changes to trust law in Massachusetts have been the subject of a seemingly continuous discussion for the past number of months. This discussion has been dominated by the Legislature's enactment of the...

Commentary: When 'irrevocable' doesn't really mean irrevocable.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Perry Ganz At the time, it seemed an appropriate estate planning strategy: purchase life insurance, set up an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT), name trusted friends and advisors John and Jane as co-trustees, and following...

September 4, 2006: Bodyshop technician's leg squashed while testing van.(John v. Volkswagon of America, Inc. )(product liability case)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $495,000 settlement The plaintiff, a body repair shop technician, was approached by a co-worker to replace a battery in a company van. The co-worker observed as the plaintiff installed the new...

September 4, 2006: Land owner disputes payment from land taking.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $102,000 settlement The plaintiff owned three residentially-zoned lots in the defendant town. Two of the three lots were abutting, and the third lot was separated from the others by a side...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Worker severely injured when platform collapses.(negligence and torts case)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $8 million settlement The 41-year-old plaintiff bricklayer was injured when the platform on which he was working collapsed at a construction site. The plaintiff sustained a burst fracture...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Passenger hurts spine after hitting guard rail.(Levrault v. Carter)(negligence case)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $5.5 million verdict The plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle being operated by the defendant. There was disputed evidence as to the speed of the defendant's vehicle, although the...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Pharmacist leaves threatening voice-mail for officer.(emotional distress, damage to reputation, breach of contract case)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Defense verdict The plaintiff had been a pharmacist for CVS, Inc. since September 2001. The plaintiff and CVS agreed that he would work for a period of time at a reduced salary to allow the...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Tugboat crewman crushed between two barges dies.(wrongful death case)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.4 million settlement The 57-year-old decedent was making $30,000 yearly working as a tugboat crewmember for the defendant, a Massachusetts corporation that was operating barges in a...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC No. BD-2006-021 IN THE MATTER OF PAUL J. GRELLA Last known address: 13070 White Marsh Lane Unit 207 Fort Myers, FL 33912 Judgment of Disbarment entered by Cordy, J., on August 9, 2006...

Commentary: Attorney Ned Hines was one of the good ones.(Edward F. "Ned" Hines Jr. )(Obituary)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The Massachusetts legal community lost a true great with the passing of Edward F. "Ned" Hines Jr. last month after a valiant fight with lymphoma. He was 60 years old. The consummate "can-do"...

Lawyers looking at running for public office.(Laurence D. Shind )
September 11, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer The first time Laurence D. Shind ran for public office, it didn't go well. The Boston-based attorney had his sights on an opening on Wellesley's Natural Resources Commission. Unlike Shind, his opponent had lived...

Governor Signs Bills.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 243. An act authorizing the disposition of easements or other interests in land in the Town of Uxbridge. App. and eff. Aug. 9, 5 pages. 244. An act authorizing the Division of Capital Asset...

Big Dig tunnell collapse victim's kids retain counsel.(Case overview)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Barely two weeks had passed after a ceiling collapse in one of the Big Dig tunnels killed automobile passenger Milena Del Valle of Boston's Jamaica Plain when attorney Jeffrey A. Denner of the...

Boston atty. participates in high-speed race for charity.(Richard P. Bowen )
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff On any given weekday Richard P. Bowen can be found laboring as a lawyer at the downtown Boston municipal-law firm of Kopelman & Paige. But on one recent weekend Bowen shed his somber business...

Massachusetts Bar Assn. sponsors advertising on WBUR.(WBUR-Radio (Boston, Massachusetts))(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff The Boston public radio station WBUR recently enjoyed the support of the Massachusetts Bar Association, which sponsored two weeks' worth of advertising on 'BUR as part of "an image-building...

Article reveals 'violations of professional ethics'.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I would like to direct your attention to an article published in the Aug. 28 edition of the National Review by Edward Whelan entitled "Not Qualified." The article discusses...

Author disagrees with critical book review, cites 'errors'.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I write to correct factual errors in Jonathan Brant's review of my book, "The Making of a Civil Rights Lawyer" ("'Making of a Civil Rights Lawyer' misses its mark," Aug. 28)....

Commentary: Partner compensation in big-firms.(Column)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll As an earlier story on big-firm profits might suggest, averaging $1 million in profits per partner raises a host of questions on how those profits are realized in terms of partner compensation. There are, of course,...

Judge expunges restraining order obtained by fraud.(Gregory C. Flynn )
September 11, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer A state District Court judge has ordered the expungement of a restraining order that had been procured by fraud against a female pharmacy school student, in a case that some lawyers predict could trigger similar...

'Melanie's Law' challenged over live-witness requirement.
September 11, 2006... Byline: David E. Frank In the first appellate challenge to "Melanie's Law," the Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments last week in a case that could clarify whether prosecutors in drunk-driving cases need live witnesses to introduce...

'Public hazards' may not be deemed confidential under new order.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Discovery materials deemed "public hazards" -- including those relating to matters such as sexual abuse or defective products -- may not be designated in discovery as confidential, under a proposed order being...

Notices from the Court: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Mulligan announces new approval process for ADR services NOTICE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE TRIAL COURT COURT-CONNECTED DISPUTERESOLUTION SERVICES APPLICATION PROCESS FOR...

Commentary: A word to the wise: Massachusetts attorneys, save your 'tax basis'.(income tax regulations)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Natalie B. Choate If you have ever participated in a "Keogh plan" while practicing as a sole proprietor or a partner, you need to go through all your retirement plan records immediately and dig up proof of your Massachusetts tax...

District Court/BMC Appellate Division Case Summaries: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Landlord and tenant G.L.c. 93A - Counsel fees Where a G.L.c. 93A judgment was entered against a landlord, the landlord's appeal must be rejected, as the judge below did not err in finding...

Appeals Court Case Summaries: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Judgments affirmed Fleet National Bank v. Baker (Lawyers Weekly No. 81-733-06) (4 pages) (appeal of a judgment entered in favor of a plaintiff bank in an action to recover a debt)...

District Court/BMC Trial Division Case Summaries: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic relations G.L.c. 209A order - Motion to expunge Where a defendant has moved to expunge a G.L.c. 209A protective order, I find that the motion should be allowed pursuant to the...

Land Court Case Summaries: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Real property Prescriptive easement - Driveway Where a dispute has arisen regarding rights in a driveway located on the defendant's Gloucester property, I conclude from the evidence that...

Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination Case Summaries: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Harassment - Retaliation Where a complainant was denied overtime opportunities after complaining to her employer about sexual harassment by a coworker, the employer should be...

Probate & Family Court Case Summaries: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic relations Divorce - Misrepresentation - Financial assets Where a husband in a divorce action misrepresented his financial assets, the divorce judgment must be vacated. ...

Superior Court Case Summaries: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Res judicata - Car accident - Employee Where (1) two defendant motorists were sued by the owner of a van that was damaged in a traffic accident, (2) a negligence suit was...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Discharge injunction - Violation Where the appellee, General Motors Acceptance Corporation, declined to discharge its lien on the appellant debtors' inoperable automobile until...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Non-disclosure during bankruptcy proceeding Where (1) a plaintiff police officer has filed suit alleging that he has valid claims against the defendants for money damages...

Massachusetts People in the Law: September 11, 2006.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Jennifer C. Roman, a lawyer at Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers in Boston, has been named the on-camera contributing legal analyst for the local affiliate of CBS, Channel 4...

Commentary: Frequently asked questions about 'going in-house,' Part II.
September 11, 2006... Byline: Stephen Seckler This is the second of a two-part article. Part I appeared on Aug. 21. If you are an associate at a major firm, chances are great that you have contemplated moving in-house at some point in your career. But have...

Boston atty. engineers sale of MIT real estate.(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff In a deal with all the complexity of an advanced scientific breakthrough, attorney Daniel D. Sullivan of the Boston firm of Goulston & Storrs recently engineered the sale of a major piece of...

Verdicts & Settlements September 11, 2006: Pedestrian dragged by van pronounced dead at the scene.(negligence)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $550,000 settlement On Aug. 12, 2003, the 19-year-old plaintiff's decedent was attempting to cross Washington St. at Weymouth Landing, a heavily congested intersection governed by several...

Verdicts & Settlements September 11, 2006: Worker fractures ankle when dike collapses.(premises liability)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $750,000 settlement An earthen containment dike that surrounded a large oil storage tank collapsed as the plaintiff was walking along the top of it. The plaintiff, whose left foot sunk into...

Verdicts & Settlements September 11, 2006: Patient's shoulder injured during lymph node procedure.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $200,000 settlement The 47-year-old plaintiff underwent surgery for removal of a lymph node on the right side of her neck. Following surgery, the plaintiff encountered severe difficulty...

Verdicts & Settlements September 11, 2006: Home builder: permit denied due to bias.(Porcaro v. Town of Hopkinton, et al)(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $2.55 million settlement In December 2003, after a four week trial, a Middlesex Superior Court jury returned a verdict against the defendant town, its building inspector and a member of the...

Verdicts & Settlements September 11, 2006: Passenger sustains spinal fractures in auto accident.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $322,500 settlement The plaintiff, a back seat passenger, was injured in an automobile accident on Jan. 23, 2005, in Stonington, Conn., when the defendant driver lost control of the vehicle in...

Verdicts & Settlements September 11, 2006: Fisherman's necrotic finger gets amputated.(negligence)(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff $514,000 settlement On Nov.15, 2004, the plaintiff, a 44-year-old commercial fisherman, was flaring out the dredge of the defendant's vessel when his right hand became pinned between the...

Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Admonitions: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff SJC No. BD-2002-009 J. DOUGLAS LIBASSI Last known address: 16 Harley Street Dorchester, MA 02124 Judgment of Disbarment and Board Memorandum The respondent J. Douglas LiBassi appeals...

Commentary: Don't give in to the politics of fear.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff In several Massachusetts cities and towns, including Fitchburg, Taunton, Revere, Marlborough and Chelsea, local officials have been enacting ordinances -- like those banning sex offenders from...

Northampton attracts interest of major law firms in Springfield.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz One is a leafy college community in Hampshire County, touted for its livability and economic vitality; the other is a gritty city in nearby Hampden County, hanging onto its business base but struggling with the...

MA Lawyers Weekly Judicial Scouting Report: Judge Ford.(Massachusetts )
September 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff In this Lawyers Weekly feature, a different Massachusetts judge is highlighted on a regular basis in an effort to provide practitioners with a snapshot of the jurist and a flavor of his or her...

Massachusetts' own Maria Lopez's debuts as a television judge.
September 18, 2006... Byline: David Yas You might recall the scene in the film "Rain Man" where Tom Cruise's character tells his brother in exasperation that he cannot watch "The People's Court," and thus he will miss the profound "legal history being made."...

Massachusetts governor signs bills: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff 261. An act validating certain actions taken by the Town of Norton. App. and eff. Aug. 16, 1 page. 262. An act reorganizing the Department of Public Works in the Town of Hopkinton. App. and...

MA Governor's Council is last link in judicial-nomination review chain.(Massachusetts )
September 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff As the last link in the judicial-nomination-review chain, members of the Governor's Council have the ability turn lawyers into high-profile judges. But to most of the voting public, the council is...

Pittsfield District Court Judge Alfred A. Barbalunga steps down from the bench.(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff After more than a quarter-century with the judiciary, Pittsfield District Court Judge Alfred A. Barbalunga stepped down from the bench last month at the age of 64. "I thought at this point in...

Item on attorney's arraignment not newsworthy.(Letter to the editor)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Congratulations to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. How proud you must be to have been the first — and only — publication to report on the arraignment of a Boston...

Lopez story belonged in National Enquirer, not MLW.(Letter to the editor)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: I just picked up the most recent edition of Lawyers Weekly and have one question: When are you going to start distributing Lawyers Weekly next to the checkout counter at my...

CJAM clarifies caseflow position.(Letter to the editor)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: In your "Hearsay" column of Sept. 4 you report that I met with Maura Hennigan, a candidate for the position of clerk for Criminal Business in Suffolk Superior Court ("In...

Commentary: Law firm accounting 101: a brief lesson.(Column)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll There are two basic methods for keeping track of law firm financial performance: accrual versus cash accounting. Accrual records reflect income irrespective of whether cash has been collected. In other words,...

Commentary: Info systems: what they can do and how much they cost.(Column)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Rick Trilling My most recent two columns reviewed how and why the business world in general and the legal profession in particular use information systems to gain competitive advantages. In this column, the last of our "summer...

MA Superior Court rules lender's counsel can't be sued over borrower's liability nondisclosure.(Massachusetts )
September 18, 2006... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A borrower's lawyer who was sued by a lender for not disclosing his client's liabilities could not bring a third-party contribution claim against the lender's attorney for also failing to uncover the alleged...

Massachusetts U.S. attorney's new job as acting director of ATF will require a juggling act.(Michael J. Sullivan)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Staff Despite his recent appointment as acting director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Washington, D.C., Michael J. Sullivan says he has no designs to relinquish...

MA Appeals Court overturns rape conviction because of 'flawed' alcohol instruction.(Massachusetts )
September 18, 2006... Byline: David E. Frank A defendant's rape conviction should be overturned where the jury was erroneously given an instruction that the alleged victim could not have consented to the sexual encounter simply because she was drunk, the...