Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from December 2008

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from December 2008

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... Byline: R.I. Lawyers Weekly Staff 1ST U.S. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS Civil practice Replevin - Artwork Where a defendant possessor of a painting has been ordered to turn it over to the plaintiff estate of the original owner from whom it was...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: December 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... Byline: R.I. Lawyers Weekly Staff SUPERIOR COURT Real property Comprehensive permit - Affordable housing Where the Narragansett Planning Board granted approval of a comprehensive permit application to subdivide property to recreate three...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: December 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... Byline: R.I. Lawyers Weekly Staff STATE ETHICS COMMISSION Conflict of interest University faculty members - Peer review Where individuals are faculty members of the University of Rhode Island, it is our opinion that they are prohibited by...

Commentary: ending the 'culture of waiver' in governmental investigations.
December 1, 2008... Byline: William A. Haddad On Oct. 6, the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement issued and released, for the first time, a manual designed to provide basic policy and procedure guidance to its line enforcement staff....

R.I. Superior Court rules standard set for affordable housing permits was proper.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Tom Egan A planning board's grant of a comprehensive permit for affordable housing was proper where it was based on a finding that affordable housing needs outweigh local zoning and planning concerns, a Superior Court judge has...

R.I. Supreme Court vacates default over ex parte phone call.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan A default entered against homeowners must be set aside where their failure to appear for a hearing was the result of confusion caused by an ex parte telephone conversation with opposing counsel, the Rhode Island...

FYI: know the ROI on your IT.(return on investment, information technology)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll In today's economy, new computers, software and database research services are significant overhead costs, and firms are looking hard whether they can afford the high up-front expense. New solo practices may decide...

Facing the facts about booking space on Facebook.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Dianne Bluestein Seller's Market offers practitioners information about marketing their skills and services as attorneys. There is no denying it, professional organizations are joining Facebook. This yearbook-style social...

Superior Court judge in Rhode Island says no strict liability in lead paint case.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Paul E. Lamoureux A tenant could not obtain summary judgment on a negligence claim despite having proof that her landlord violated the state's lead paint statutes, a Superior Court judge has ruled. Judge Alice B. Gibney found...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: Mail fraud proven by letter send to defendant.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan An alleged arsonist could be convicted of mail fraud based solely on a "reservation of rights" letter sent to him by an insurance company representative, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has found. The...

2008 Lawyers of the Year: Appellate lawyer focuses life's work on ensuring justice for all.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers Weekly is honoring three Rhode Island attorneys who stood out from the crowd in 2008 -- by winning important decisions, being involved in cases that raise challenging legal issues, and...

Commentary: to dress for success, motto should be: 'in doubt? Don't'.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Sally C. Stratman Expert Opinion offers the insights of law-firm management specialists on a variety of topics related to the administration of a law office. How we dress sends a message, and the old message in the legal...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 15, 2008.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic relations Pension - Judicial discretion Where a divorced plaintiff has challenged a Family Court decision regarding his wife's share of his pension, the challenge must be...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 15, 2008.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Mail fraud - Letters from insurer Where a defendant has been convicted on two counts of mail fraud in connection with his scheme to burn down a failing business, the conviction...

Rhode Island Lawyers in the News: December 15, 2008.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Erik J. Tomberg has joined Burns & Farrey as an associate. He will work from the Providence and Boston offices. Honors Melissa E. Darigan and Howard Merten, partners...

Commentary: nowadays, no firm is too big to fail.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll The largest law firms, which not too long ago were in the headlines for record high starting associate salaries and profits per partner, now often gain notoriety for their layoffs of lawyers and staff and, in rare but...

Commentary: what employers - and their lawyers - need to know about E-Verify.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Bradley Maged E-Verify (formerly the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program) is an online system operated jointly by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. Participating...

U.S. Supreme Court Decisions: December 22, 2008.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Cigarettes Claims made by states that tobacco companies have deceptively marketed light or low tar cigarettes are not preempted by federal law. Altria Group, Inc., et al. v. Good, et al....

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 22, 2008.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Arrest - Officers' credibility Where a defendant town and two codefendant police officers were awarded summary judgment on civil rights claims asserted by a plaintiff arrestee, the...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Decisions: December 22, 2008.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Disbarment - Felonies Where an attorney has pled guilty in federal court to four felony counts, he should be disbarred. In the Matter of: Cicilline, John M. (Lawyers Weekly No....

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: December 22, 2008.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Discovery - Internal investigations - Deposition preparation - Personnel files Where plaintiffs in a product liability action have moved for an order compelling the defendants to...

Commentary: seller's market: down goes the market, up goes your creativity.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Jeff Scalzi (Seller's Market offers practitioners information about marketing their skills and services as attorneys.) Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "A creative economy is the fuel of magnificence." I'm a survivor of the...

Rhode Island Superior Court rules deposition prep files subject to discovery.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan Manufacturers in a products liability suit must identify which documents a corporate witness relied on to prepare for a deposition, a Superior Court judge has ruled. The defendant manufacturers argued that being...

R.I. Supreme Court.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Disbarment - Felonies Where an attorney has pled guilty in federal court to four felony counts, he should be disbarred. In the Matter of: Cicilline, John M. (Lawyers Weekly...

Superior Court.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Home improvement - Compensation Where the Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board has ordered an appellant subcontractor to pay a customer monetary damages for breach...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Default - Usury Where (1) a plaintiff Chapter 13 debtor obtained a default judgment against two defendants and (2) the defendants' motion to vacate the order of default was...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration DRA - Employment application Where (1) a Maine plaintiff brought suit against the defendant employer alleging federal and state law claims of sex discrimination, age...

U.S. Supreme Court.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Cigarettes State law claims that tobacco companies deceptively market "light" or "low tar" cigarettes are not preempted by federal law. Altria Group, Inc., et al. v. Good,...

Commentary: coach's corner; are you cheap ... or reasonable?(reasonable fee for lawyers' services)
December 22, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll With today's tough economic conditions, chances are few lawyers at any size firm are considering an increase in their fees. This is, of course, a matter of economics. The seller of any service must understand costs, set...

Commentary: advice for taxpayers with undeclared UBS Swiss bank accounts.
December 29, 2008... Byline: Terry Philip Segal and Michael M. Mustokoff At present, up to 19,000 American taxpayers who have undeclared Swiss bank accounts run a substantial risk of criminal prosecution or heavy civil tax penalties. For decades, Swiss...

Commentary: take care of time, and it will take care of you.
December 29, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll Abraham Lincoln is often attributed as having said that time and advice are a lawyer's stock in trade. The client receives advice; the lawyer expends time to provide it. But there are two types of "law time": the...

Q&A with Alison M. Foley, Rhode Island lawyer.(Interview)
December 29, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff In mid-July, 31 janitors working in six courthouses across Rhode Island were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The workers, who had been hired by two independent contractors, were...

Superior Court judge says state contractor must pay prevailing wages.(Rhode Island)
December 29, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan The lowest bidder for a contract with a state agency had to pay prevailing wages to its workers despite being assured by the agency that the project was not subject to prevailing-wage requirements, a Superior Court...

Commentary: in tough times, you could drop a.m. pick-me-up.(legal etiquette)
December 29, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff In Do the Right Thing, consultant Gretchen Neels offers advice on professional etiquette and other behavioral issues that might arise in a law practice. Q. After doing a quick analysis of the...

Commentary: knowing policy provisions key to grasping liability insurance.
December 29, 2008... Byline: William C. Saturley and Joseph S. Callanan Risk-Free Business is an occasional feature intended as a guide for lawyers on the topic of professional liability insurance. As everyone else has done around this time of year, we made...