Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from July 2007

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from July 2007

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 2, 2007.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional First Amendment - Pro-drug banner School officials did not violate the First Amendment by confiscating a pro-drug banner and suspending a student who displayed it at a...

R.I. Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel allows attorney to represent abutters of a former client.(Rhode Island)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer An attorney can represent abutters in a dispute with land developers, even where the lawyer had previously represented the developers on an unrelated matter, the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel has...

Rhode Island Supreme Court rules hearsay is not a basis for probation revocation.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Thomas E. Egan A defendant should not have had his probation revoked where the witness who testified against him did not have firsthand knowledge of the alleged violations, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has ruled. The...

Signing of bill could mean end to 'mandatory' drug sentences in Rhode Island.(Interview)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer Amid the chaos of the final 24 hours of the General Assembly's recent session, a bill was passed by both the House and Senate that, if signed into law, would eliminate mandatory-minimum sentences for drug offenders....

R.I. Supreme Court Appellate Mediation Program updates its eligibility form.(Rhode Island)(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff The Rhode Island Supreme Court Appellate Mediation Program has updated its "Mediation Eligibility Form and Confidential Mediation Statement." The new form changes the format, modifies some sections...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 2, 2007.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration CBA - Conflict with state statute Where an arbitrator entered an award in favor of a union in a dispute concerning overtime compensation, the award was not contrary to state...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: July 2, 2007.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Zoning Master plan approval - Subdivision Where a defendant zoning board has upheld a planning board's approval of the master plan for a residential subdivision, the zoning board's...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: July 2, 2007.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Political discrimination - Puerto Rico Where a plaintiff brought suit claiming political discrimination and a violation of his civil rights in connection with his demotion by...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: July 2, 2007.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Banks and banking Expedited Funds Availability Act Where a plaintiff customer has filed an action against a defendant bank for damages stemming from the deposit of a dishonored check, I...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: July 2, 2007.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Deposition - Motion to compel Where an attorney representing an insurance company directed a witness (an employee of a local insurance adjusting firm retained by the...

R.I. Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel Case Summaries: July 2, 2007.(Rhode Island)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Conflict - Developer Where parties opposed to a real estate development have requested an attorney to represent them, such representation would be permissible despite the fact...

'One step at a time' trumps fear, stress.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll I could hear the stress on the other end of the phone. A coaching client had called and obviously needed help, but he couldn't verbalize why. His practice seemed to be spinning out of control, and he couldn't...

The Federal Circuit: no special treatment for this specialized court.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Barbara A. Fiacco Twenty-five years ago, Congress created the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Unlike other federal appellate courts, its jurisdiction is defined by subject matter, reflecting congressional intent to...

Commentary: New book uncovers the 'political' in the judicial branch.(The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America)(Book review)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Neil V. McKittrick "The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America" By Jeffrey Rosen Henry Holt and Co.; 2007 288 pages; $25 Jeffrey Rosen's "The Supreme Court: The Personalities and...

Commentary: In negotiating the departure of an employee, talk is cheap.
July 9, 2007... Byline: J. Charles Mokriski After a difficult and contentious struggle, Paul Wolfowitz resigned from the presidency of the World Bank recently. The bank's board announced the move with the following statement: "He assured us that he...

Commentary: Philanthropy: as simple as giving your money away?
July 9, 2007... Byline: William Bagley Let's say that you logged onto www.networkforgood.org. It's a website that allows you to make donations to many of your favorite charities. Assuming that the intended charity is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization,...

Commentary: Hanging a shingle on a 'shoestring'.
July 9, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll You've decided to open your own practice. You've heard that it takes up to five years to get a new practice established. You know the rule of thumb that you need six months of living expenses saved before you pay...

Commentary: The 'perfect bill' prompts pay, goodwill.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll Although the main purpose of your bill is to make sure you get paid, there is a secondary purpose that lawyers often miss: to leave the client with a favorable impression of the services he or she received. In other...

Commentary: From mobsters to memos: editing key to good writing.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Lisa Healy Write On provides guidance on writing memoranda and briefs that will lead to the results their authors -- attorneys -- are hoping for from readers of those legal documents. Whether you hated the ending of "The...

Commentary: Lawyers not always equipped to work with family-owned businesses.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Thomas D. Davidow As a family business consultant, I have found lawyers to be some of the smartest professionals with whom I work. As a group, they are highly conceptual and intellectually curious about how to resolve the most...

Attorneys: Rhode Island's Civil Rights Act time limits will change employment law practice.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer Both plaintiffs' and defense-side employment attorneys say their practices will feel the impact of a recent state Supreme Court ruling that found a one-year statute of limitations is applicable in employment...

RICO covers violent, noneconomic activity, rules 1st Circuit.(Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman The federal government could prosecute gang members under RICO for conspiring to kill members of a rival gang, even where the alleged crime lacked an economic component, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has...

1st Circuit denies worker's bias suit without proof of disability.(United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A U.S. Postal Service employee who was allegedly denied overtime hours because of his transfer to a "rehabilitation" position could not sue for handicap discrimination without proving he was actually disabled, the...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 16, 2007.(Rhode Island)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Reinstatement - Waiver of appeal Where an arbitrator ordered the reinstatement of an animal control supervisor, the arbitration award was properly vacated in Superior Court on...

R.I. Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel Case Summaries: Jully 16, 2007.(Rhode Island)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Conflict - Office of Labor Relations Where an attorney, formerly employed by the state's Office of Labor Relations, has been retained by a state employee facing disciplinary...

Rhode Island Superior Courts Case Summaries: July 16, 2007.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Guardianship Where the record indicates that a 90-year-old woman is in need of a guardian and that her two grown daughters, granddaughter and former son-in-law do not appear...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: July 16, 2007.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Homestead exemption Where a Chapter 7 trustee objected to a debtor's homestead exemption claim, an order overruling that objection should be affirmed in light of the fact that...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 16, 2007.(United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal RICO Where defendant gang members, who were engaged in violent but noneconomic criminal activity were convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, we...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: July 16, 2007.(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Protective order Where (1) a number of plaintiff landowners filed suit against a defendant gas company, alleging that their property was contaminated by coal gasification...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: July 16, 2007.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Motion to compel Where a number of Hispanic plaintiffs stopped by the state police (1) have sued the state for discrimination and unlawful searches and seizures and (2) have...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 16, 2007.(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Antitrust 'Rule of reason' A challenge to a product maker's retail price floor for an item should be evaluated under the Sherman Act as a possible antitrust violation using a "rule of...

Rhode Island Lawyers in the News: July 16, 2007.(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Nixon Peabody, which has an office in Providence, has received the Minority Corporate Counsel Association's 2007 Mid-Atlantic Region Thomas L. Sager Award for the firm's commitment to diversity and...

Professional groups.(Defense Counsel of Rhode Island)(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff The Defense Counsel of Rhode Island has elected its officers and directors for 2007-2008. Michael J. Reed Jr. has been named president; Robert J. Quigley Jr., president-elect; Brooks R. Magratten,...

How to ...throw a summertime law-firm picnic.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff How To... offers advice on a variety of subjects related to the management of a law practice. With warm weather in full swing, Lawyers Weekly presents a primer on throwing a summertime law-firm...

Providence attorney Jeffrey G. Latham is also known as local TV weatherman.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Providence attorney Jeffrey G. Latham may be the one person for whom the label "rainmaker" carries both positive and negative connotations. After all, the co-founder and partner of Tate &...

The write time: Big-firm Boston corporate lawyer retires and writes book about Bart Giamatti.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff What does a big-firm corporate lawyer do at the end of a long legal career? For some, it's golf; for others, fishing. But for Robert P. Moncreiff, retirement offered him the opportunity to...

Miranda warnings needed for suspect questioned at home, rules 1st Circuit.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Thomas E. Egan A child-pornography suspect's statements to the police during early-morning questioning at his home must be suppressed where he was not informed of his Miranda rights, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled....

R.I. DEM has power to set contamination liability, rules Superior Court.(Rhode Island, Department of Environmental Management)(Starwood Tiverton LLC)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman The Department of Environmental Management -- not the Superior Court -- had the authority to determine whether a gas company was a "responsible party" for the contamination of a site under the Industrial Property...

Parker appointed chief magistrate of Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal.(Edward C. Parker)(Brief article)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court No. 2007-03 EXECUTIVE ORDER Whereas the General Assembly has enacted an amendment to G.L.1956 Sect. 8-8.2-1(a) which requires the Chief Justice to appoint, with the...

R.I. Commissioner of Education Case Summaries: July 23, 2007.(Rhode Island)(Brief article)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Education Teachers - Notice of non-renewal Where the Providence school board decided not to renew the contracts of seven teachers for the 2006-07 school year, those non-renewals cannot be...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: July 23, 2007.(Rhode Island)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest City councilman - Newspaper Where a Providence city councilman wishes to accept private employment with a newspaper, no conflict of interest would result despite the...

Rhode Island Superior Courts Case Summaries: July 23, 2007.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Environmental Jurisdiction - IPRRA Where a site has been found to be contaminated, I hold that the Administrative Adjudication Division of the Department of Environmental Management has...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 23, 2007.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Drug conspiracy - Prior conviction Where a defendant was convicted of conspiring to distribute between 500 grams and five kilograms of cocaine and one count of cocaine...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: July 23, 2007.(Brief article)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees Where the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Rhode Island are seeking to recover counsel fees incurred by them in...

Commentary: Seller's Market: Drive your own message to make an impact.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Seller's Market offers practitioners information about marketing their skills and services as attorneys. This week, Audra K. Callanan, president of the New England chapter of the Legal Marketing...

Commentary: 'Product-izing' a law practice adds value.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll General Electric's aircraft sales force negotiates deals around the world. They submit purchase contracts to their prospective customers. When terms or the words of the contract need to be changed to meet customer...

Commentary: Collaborative law can take the sting out of divorce proceedings.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Laurie Israel At some point during a divorce process, there is a four-way meeting of the divorcing parties and their attorneys. In a litigated case, the first in-person four-way meeting might be at a court hearing on a motion...

R.I. Superior Court jury finds for inmate injured during workout.(Rhode Island)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer It was a case other attorneys wouldn't touch. The plaintiff had suffered extensive injuries when a rusted piece of exercise equipment he was using broke. The operator of the facility even admitted that the...

Commentary: A Tax Court considers: Did she need to be female?
July 30, 2007... Byline: David Yas Rhiannon O'Donnabhain paused and put her hand to her eyes. The 50-odd people in room 1013 of Boston's U.S. Tax Court could see that she was near tears. Anyone who happened to enter this courtroom might have thought...

Indian land exempt from local control, rules 1st Circuit.(United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit)
July 30, 2007... Byline: Thomas E. Egan Indian land taken into trust by the federal government is not subject to local zoning regulations, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The state of Rhode Island and the town of Charlestown argued...

Gambling references in prosecutor's closing compel retrial in fraud case, rules 1st Circuit.(United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit)
July 30, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer A business executive found guilty of wire and mail fraud by a jury should be granted a new trial where the prosecutor made repeated references to gambling during his closing argument, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of...

Rhode Island Bar Association's new president goes public with her plans.(Marcia McGair Ippolito)(Interview)
July 30, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Longtime government lawyer Marcia McGair Ippolito has assumed responsibility for the governance of the Rhode Island Bar Association as its new president, the 84th person to hold that office in the...

Superior Court issues judge assignments.
July 30, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS SUPERIOR COURT PROVIDENCE, SC. ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 2007-10 RE: ASSIGNMENTS — FIRST PERIOD September 2, 2007 through...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 30, 2007.
July 30, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative USDA regulations - 'Organic' foods Where a plaintiff filed suit challenging Department of Agriculture regulations permitting the use of synthetic ingredients in products sold...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: July 30, 2007.(Brief article)
July 30, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Discovery Where, in response to one defendant's motion for summary judgment in the suit growing out of the fire at the Station nightclub, the plaintiffs have filed discovery...

Rhode Island Paralegal Association elects its board of directors.(Brief article)
July 30, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff The Rhode Island Paralegal Association has elected its board of directors for the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Kelly A. Lajoie-Burns has been named president; Pauline Long, vice president; Kristen...

Commenary: Do you know how you rate?
July 30, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll It's estimated by the American Bar Foundation that there are more than one million practicing lawyers in this country. Differentiating yourself in that kind of crowded market is a major challenge, and a number of...

How to ... choose a postage system.
July 30, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer How To... offers advice on a variety of subjects related to the management of a law practice. Mailing letters and other documents is as old as the pony express, but, as Lawyers Weekly's Noah Schaffer reports this...

Commentary: Book Review: Lawyer traces history of landmark slavery case.(Though the Heavens May Fall: The Landmark Trial That Led to the End of Human Slavery)(Book review)
July 30, 2007... Byline: Damon P. Hart "Though the Heavens May Fall: The Landmark Trial That Led to the End of Human Slavery" By Steven Wise De Capo Press, 2006 282 pages; $17.95 Steven Wise's "Though the Heavens May Fall: The...