Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2006

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2006

Commentary: Crimson confusion: Harvard Law students missing the point.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Oh, you silly Harvard Law students. Last month the word broke that a group of deliciously ideological lawyer-to-be Cantabrigians were plotting a protest against the Boston law firm of Ropes &...

Commentary: Two essential books for your career library.('The Essential Little Book of Great Lawyering', 'The Right Moves: Job Search and Career Development Strategies for Lawyers')
April 3, 2006... Byline: Stephen Seckler Much of what there is to say about legal careers and marketing has already been said. Get a great education. Follow your interests. Do great work. Find a good mentor. Provide outstanding customer service to clients...

Commentary: What's your price? Billing alternatives beyond the hourly rate.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Legal fees were traditionally based not only on the lawyer's time spent, but also the nature of the service, the result achieved and the amount at stake. Charging an appropriate legal fee was a matter of professional...

Commentary: Customized service builds client loyalty.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Kimberly Proctor Client loyalty is best built with customized services that specifically meet client need. It is time to banish the "standard" treatment including standardized letters and invoices in favor of customized support....

Rhode Island lawmaker introduces casino amendment.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff A state representative from West Warwick introduced an amendment to the state Constitution that would allow the Narragansett Indian tribe to open a casino there. If a majority of General...

Rhode Island Senate considers tax sale reform.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Aiming to prevent situations such as an 81-year-old woman losing her house over an $800 sewer bill, the Senate Judiciary Committee is weighing proposals to change the way utility providers, such as...

Stalking bill goes before Rhode Island legislators.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Calling intimate partner stalking "a serious criminal justice issue," advocates for victims of domestic violence say courts should issue restraining orders against stalkers and cyberstalkers,...

Reader clarifies earlier letter on Medicaid law.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: Unfortunately, since the date of my last letter ("'Misleading' points in Medicaid article," March 13), I have further researched the new Medicaid law and now am of the opinion...

U.S. District Court judge OKs termination of agreement with retailer.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Jason M. Scally A crystal jewelry wholesaler could terminate an agreement with one of its authorized retailers, even where, at the time of the agreement, the wholesaler did not disclose that it had planned to reduce the number of...

Rhode Island Supreme Court rules wife can be cut out of estate plan.
April 3, 2006... Byline: David E. Frank In considering a property dispute between a man's second wife and the children of his first marriage, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has found that the judicially created "illusory transfer test" has been...

Former big-firm lawyer: boutiques wave of future in Rhode Island.(Correira & Associates )(Interview)
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff The law firm of Correira & Associates is bi-coastal the coasts of New Bedford, Mass., and Newport, that is. David J. Correira's boutique estate planning and elder law firm draws an even number...

Comments on rules of conduct sought by Rhode Island Supreme Court.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court In re Proposed Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct with Proposed Comments O R D E R On March 23, 2006, this Court's Committee to Review the Rules of Professional...

Rhode Island Supreme Court announces Law Day guidelines.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff SUPREME COURT No. 2006-01 EXECUTIVE ORDER In accordance with the authority granted to the Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court pursuant to Section 8-15-2 of the General...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 3, 2006.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Real property 'Illusory transfer test' Where the Rhode Island legislature enacted R.I.G.L. Sect. 33-25-2(b), we hold that this repealed the "illusory transfer test" set forth by this court...

Superior Court Case Summaries: April 3, 2006.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Voter fraud - Statute of limitations Where a defendant has been charged with voter fraud, the complaint against him must be dismissed due to the state's failure to initiate the...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 3, 2006.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Agency and partnership Dissolution - Valuation Where (1) plaintiffs, who were partners in a real estate partnership, decided to retire and sought to be paid the value of their partnership...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: April 3, 2006.
April 3, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Dealership agreement - Misrepresentation - Tortious interference Where a plaintiff alleges that the defendant manufacturer of crystal gift and collectible products improperly...

Commentary: Battling procrastination with mental toughness training.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Pamela Enders (This article originally appeared in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, another Dolan Media publication). Gina was in trouble. She had a huge brief to write, which was due in two days, and she hadn't even started. Then...

Commentary: Coach's Corner.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll (This article originally appeared in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, another Dolan Media publication). Every lawyer, even the most competent and conscientious, faces the risk of a malpractice lawsuit. Often we seem to...

Italian tax lawyer tours U.S. courts.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Italian tax lawyer Gabriella Geatti immediately noticed something different about tax cases in American courts: the high number of settlements. "Settlement is not very common in Italy," she says,...

Antonin Scalia addresses crowd at New England School of Law's March 15th Law Day banquet.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia shared several sides of himself with the New England legal community while making his rounds throughout the region. During a Mass for lawyers and politicians...

U.S. magistrate judge rules out-of-state former VP can't be forced to appear at deposition.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Jason M. Scally A defendant in a civil case could not compel an out-of-state former executive of the plaintiff company to attend a deposition, even where the ex-executive was the company's "designee" for depositions, a U.S....

R.I. Supreme Court rejects direct appeal of state housing board denial.(Rhode Island)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer A for-profit developer does not have a statutory right to appeal directly to the state Supreme Court after the State Housing Appeals Board failed to find that the developer's permit application to a town zoning board...

It's baptism by fire for young lawyer on Carpio murder case in R.I.(Kirsten M. Wenge, counsel for Esteban Carpio)(Interview)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer Kirsten M. WengeProvidence Born: Jan. 9, 1979; Portland, Ore.Education: Northeastern University School of Law (2004); Davidson College (2001)Bar admission: Rhode Island (2005); Massachusetts (2004)Professional...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 10, 2006.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals SHAB - 'Substantial completeness' Where a plaintiff developer has appealed from a decision by the State Housing Appeals Board concerning "substantial completeness," the appeal must...

Special permit allowing construction of a museum in Newport fails.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Zoning Special permit - On-site parking Where a plaintiff has appealed a special permit allowing construction of a museum without the standard number of on-site parking spaces, the appeal...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: April 10, 2006.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Motion to amend complaint - Motion for additional discovery Where six plaintiff workers (1) filed suit alleging that a layoff methodology negotiated between a defendant union...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: April 10, 2006.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Consent judgment - Alleged violation Where plaintiffs contend that a defendant fire chief has violated the terms of a consent judgment and should be held in contempt, I find...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: April 10, 2006.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Depositions - Current and former employees Where a defendant has moved to compel attendance at depositions, the motion should be allowed as to two of the plaintiff's current...

Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: April 10, 2006.
April 10, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Time for appeal - Retirement Where an employer has challenged an order denying its motion to extend the time for filing a claim of appeal, the order should be...

Rhode Island bill would address judges' pensions.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff The head of Rhode Island's court system has asked the General Assembly to change the way judges' pensions are calculated after a traffic judge was credited for time spent on unpaid leave. Rhode...

Medical marijuana program launched in Rhode Island.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Rhode Islanders suffering from illnesses such as cancer and AIDS can begin applying for cards that let them legally use marijuana. Rhode Island became the 11th state to legalize medical...

Commentary: Is law a commodity? Only if we let it become one.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll In recent years, two Cs -- convergence and commoditization -- have become major issues for large regional and national law firms. Convergence is the trend among large corporate clients to reduce their legal expenses...

Rhode Island lawmakers urged to OK 'Jessica's Law'.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff The father of a 9-year-old Florida girl who was kidnapped and killed last year, allegedly by a convicted sex offender, urged Rhode Island lawmakers to pass tougher laws to keep sex offenders off the...

Rhode Island voter-initiative bill dies in committee.(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff A major Senate committee voted against a voter-initiative measure, dimming considerably chances that the General Assembly will allow voters to decide this year whether to add Rhode Island to the...

Rhode Island legislators consider gay marriage bill.(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Dozens gathered at the State House to testify before lawmakers considering a bill that would legalize gay marriage in Rhode Island. The hearing came a week after the Supreme Judicial Court in...

Advocates try to cut felony expungement wait in Rhode Island.(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Advocates of a more liberal expungement law resumed their annual drive to persuade lawmakers to cut in half the wait so that a felon can legally -- and more quickly -- tell a prospective employer:...

No statute of limitations for first-degree sexual assault, Superior Court judge rules.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer A man could be charged with sexually molesting a child between 1980 and 1981, even though legislation removing the statute of limitations for the crime was not enacted until May 14, 1981, a Superior Court judge has...

U.S. District Court judge says 'enhanced' sentence of worker who stole credit cards was proper.
April 17, 2006... Byline: David E. Frank A U.S. District Court judge properly enhanced the sentence of a postal worker convicted of stealing credit cards from his job after finding that he should have known that the unlawful recipients of the cards would...

Law firms eye focus groups for market research.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher When Hinckley, Allen & Snyder was considering a new advertising campaign, its attorneys wanted a sense of whether the ads would fly before they started running. To gauge reaction, the Providence firm hired...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 17, 2006.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Contingent fee - Sale of restaurant Where a law firm claimed to be owed a contingency fee in connection with a former client's sale of a restaurant, an arbitrator's decision...

Superior Court Case Summaries: April 17, 2006.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sexual molestation - Motion to dismiss Where a sexual molestation defendant has moved to dismiss, alleging violation of the statute of limitations and prejudicial pre-indictment...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 17, 2006.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative FCC - Intercarrier compensation Where a dispute has arisen regarding intercarrier compensation, we hold that the Federal Communications Commission has not expressly...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: April 17, 2006.
April 17, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Fisherman - License Where a fisherman was fined $50,000 for unlawfully catching and possessing monkfish in federal waters without a federal permit, the fine should be...

Nixon Peabody adds four to Providence office.(Gregory L. Benik, Neal J. McNamara, Matthew J. Frankel and Jason P. Marino appointed)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Gregory L. Benik, Neal J. McNamara, Matthew J. Frankel and Jason P. Marino have joined the Providence office of Nixon Peabody. Benik and McNamara have joined the firm as partners; Frankel and Marino...

Commentary: Gay-marriage opponents keep battling in Mass.(Massachusetts)
April 24, 2006... Byline: David Yas With the gay-marriage battle still to be fought in Rhode Island, it is worth peering north to see what the fallout has looked like in Massachusetts. This was an emotional battle and one that the Massachusetts Supreme...

Commentary: Do you want a bank loan? Then make sure you qualify.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Lawyers may believe that a bank will only lend them money when they don't need it. The reality is that to get a loan you need to establish an ongoing relationship with a bank so that it understands your law firm's...

Blogging bug reaches Rhode Island legal shores.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff The blogging bug has reached the Rhode Island legal shores, and it appears no one is immune. Blogs, or web logs, have become a mainstay on the Internet, but attorney-bloggers -- or "blawgers"...

Winning attorney in Roe v. Wade speaks to law students about the profession.(Sarah Weddington)
April 24, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff If searching for an inspirational speaker to demonstrate to future women lawyers all that is possible with a law degree, you can't do much better than Sarah Weddington. So it was more than...

Rhode Island Supreme Court rules denial of pension application erroneous.(Jeanne Rossi v. Employees' Retirement System of the State of Rhode Island)(denial of pension rights for disabled case)(Case overview)
April 24, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer A state worker claiming aggravation of a previous injury should not have had her disability pension application denied even though she could not point to a specific injury, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has decided....

Grandchildren can't sue over loss of expected inheritance, rules 1st Circuit.(Umsted v. Umsted)(inheritance and succession case)(Case overview)
April 24, 2006... Byline: Jason M. Scally Grandchildren could not have their deceased grandmother's oceanfront property placed in a constructive trust for their benefit where prior to her death she conveyed the property to their uncle, who was also the...

National law firm Holland & Knight closes its Providence office.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer Neal J. McNamara was shocked when he got the news last November that the office he practiced out of would be shutting its doors. Holland & Knight's Providence office was "profitable, and we were all quite busy,"...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 24, 2006.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Probation revocation - Exclusionary rule Where a defendant's probation was revoked based on a finding that he had groped a teenager, the revocation order must be upheld because...

Superior Court Case Summaries: April 24, 2006.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor Arbitration - Abolished position Where an arbitrator has ordered the Department of Environmental Management to interview four bargaining unit applicants for the position of...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 24, 2006.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Political discrimination - Puerto Rico - Opposition to summary judgment Where (1) plaintiffs brought suit alleging political discrimination, (2) the defendants' motion for...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: April 24, 2006.
April 24, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Inmate - Preliminary injunction Where a plaintiff inmate (1) has filed a civil rights suit against defendant Rhode Island corrections officials, alleging that they transferred...

Rhode Island Lawyers in the News: April 24, 2006.(Judge Bruce M. Selya is honored)(Victoria M. Almeida reappointed at Rhode Island State Parole Board )(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Honors 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Bruce M. Selya is scheduled to be inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. Professional groups Victoria M. Almeida, a...