Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from November 2008

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from November 2008

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Attorneys Contempt - Sealed documents Where a litigant sought to hold opposing counsel in contempt for disclosing to the press a motion and court order that were under seal, the court below...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: November 3, 2008.(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Jurisdiction Subject matter - 'Qui tam' action Where a plaintiff has brought a qui tam action under the False Claims Act against the defendant city of Woonsocket and its codefendant mayor,...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Civil rights Counsel fees Where plaintiffs have prevailed on a number of claims charging that their rights were violated when a telephone recording system was installed at the Providence...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Civil rights Counsel fees Where plaintiffs have prevailed on a number of claims charging that their rights were violated when a telephone recording system was installed at the Providence...

Rhode Island Superior Courts Case Summaries: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Evidence Privilege - Confidential self-evaluation Where plaintiffs have filed a motion to compel the defendant corporation to produce a confidential audit report of the defendant's quality...

Rhode Island Ethics Commission Case Summaries: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Conflict of interest Stock ownership - Zoning board Where a member of the Tiverton zoning board owns 450 shares of CVS common stock, she may, without committing an ethical violation,...

Rhode Island Ethics Commission: No conflict for zoning board member with stock holdings.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan A zoning board member who owned stock in a corporation could, without committing an ethical violation, vote on the corporation's variance request, the Rhode Island Ethics Commission has found. "The petitioner's...

Lawyers report jury resentment v. corporate America intensifying.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Sylvia Hsieh In the past few months, some lawyers have noticed that jurors, including those serving in Rhode Island, are venting their anger at corporate America. "My impression is that, given facts that establish a pattern of...

R.I. Superior Court rules manufacturer cannot withhold confidential report by outside consultant.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Tom Egan A manufacturer cannot withhold from discovery a confidential audit report of its quality systems conducted by an outside consultant, a Superior Court judge has ruled. The defendant manufacturer argued that the report...

R.I. Supreme Court.(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Felony assault - Interference with use of telephone in emergency Where a plaintiff has appealed his convictions for felony assault and interference with the use of a telephone in...

State Ethics Commission.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Police officer - Position as fire commissioner Where an individual is a Burrillville police officer, it is our opinion that he is not barred by the State Code of Ethics...

Superior Court.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Limitations - Tolling Where a defendant has moved to dismiss a criminal information charging him with child abuse, the motion must be denied on the ground that the information was...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Contempt - Sealed documents Where a litigant sought to hold opposing counsel in contempt for disclosing to the press a motion and court order that were under seal, the court...

U.S. District Court.(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Subject matter - 'Qui tam' action Where a plaintiff has brought a qui tam action under the False Claims Act against the defendant city of Woonsocket and its codefendant mayor,...

U.S. Magistrate Judges.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Counsel fees Where plaintiffs have prevailed on a number of claims charging that their rights were violated when a telephone recording system was installed at the Providence...

Rhode Island Lawyers in the News: November 3, 2008.(Seth H. Handy)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations B>Seth H. Handy has joined Chace, Ruttenberg & Freedman in Providence as of counsel. Handy is the former development director of the Dynamo House project for Struever Bros.,...

Coach's Corner.(practice of law)(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll In the practice of law we should never forget that we are dealing with human lives. Our goals should be to bring a sense of order to troubled situations, to communicate honestly and directly about the legal and human...

Commentary: Are you engaged in 'civil' practice?
November 3, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll In recent years, many state and local bar associations have adopted voluntary professionalism goals and standards that attempt to discourage "unprofessional conduct" and encourage "civility" for lawyers engaged in...

Commentary: Lawyers must learn to manage stress before it manages them.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Roderick MacLeish Jr. Most lawyers have more than enough information about the "challenges" facing their profession. There are unprecedented levels of substance abuse and alcoholism. According to a Johns Hopkins University...

R.I. Superior Court rules ex-lawmaker immune from ethics charge.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff A former state senator with alleged financial ties to a pharmacy chain and health insurer could not be charged with an ethical violation based on his voting on pharmacy legislation, a Superior Court...

U.S. District Court rules employment agreement bars salesman from prior territory.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan A salesman who joined a competitor was barred from working in his prior sales territory for one year based on a non-compete agreement he signed prior to his departure, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled. The...

West Warwick divorce lawyer: virtual office means savings for clients.(Interview)
November 10, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff When the economy began its slide, family law attorney Christopher A. Pearsall realized he didn't have enough work coming in to support his three-lawyer office. So he made a radical switch: He...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Suspension from practice Where (1) on Oct. 17, 2008, the present court's Chief Disciplinary Counsel filed a petition for interim suspension which averred that respondent attorney...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Commercial lease - Oral modification Where an arbitrator interpreted a commercial lease between Providence and Worcester Railroad Company and Pawtucket Transfer Operations, LLC...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Sanctions Where a pro se debtor filed a meritless motion to revoke an order denying him a discharge, the bankruptcy judge committed no abuse of discretion by sanctioning the...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Sanctions Where a U.S. District Court judge ruled that a law firm had unreasonably and vexatiously multiplied the proceedings in a class action and should have sanctions imposed...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Non-compete agreement Where a plaintiff floral distributor seeks to bar a defendant former employee from working in his prior sales territory for a codefendant competitor, this...

Commentary: Firms would be wise to bone up on health.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Jim Edholm Benefits Package contains advice about benefits that law firms might want to offer their employees. Employee benefits, particularly health insurance, are both a burden and an opportunity. They are clearly costly, and...

Commentary: A passage to India: how to make outsourcing pay.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll The American Bar Association's Formal Opinion 8-45, issued in August, states the obvious: A lawyer may outsource work to lawyers and non-lawyers when such support is appropriate to represent the interests of clients,...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff 1ST U.S. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS Attorneys Sanctions Where a U.S. District Court judge ruled that a law firm had unreasonably and vexatiously multiplied the proceedings in a class action and should...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff U.S. DISTRICT COURT Employment Non-compete agreement Where a plaintiff floral distributor seeks to bar a defendant former employee from working in his prior sales territory for a codefendant...

R.I. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: R.I. Lawyers Weekly Staff BANKRUPTCY APPELLATE PANEL Bankruptcy Sanctions Where a pro se debtor filed a meritless motion to revoke an order denying him a discharge, the bankruptcy judge committed no abuse of discretion by...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: R.I. Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court Criminal Motion to vacate sentence - Hearing Where the state has filed a confession of error acknowledging that a Superior Court judge failed to provide the defendant with the required...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: R.I. Lawyers Weekly Staff SUPERIOR COURT Conflict of interest Speech in debate clause Where the Rhode Island Ethics Commission refused to dismiss a complaint charging the plaintiff former president of the Rhode Island senate with...

Commentary: for defense attorney, advocacy transcends innocence, guilt.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Jennifer M. Ryan If entering law students were asked which book most inspired their decision to pursue a career in the legal profession, I would be willing to bet (enough to cover my law school loans) that the overwhelming choice...

Civil rights suit by developer gets OK from 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Noah Schaffer A town could be sued for violating a developer's equal protection rights based on evidence that the town's conservation commission acted in bad faith by obstructing a condominium development, according to the 1st U.S....

Title policy ruled void by 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals because of non-disclosure.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan A title insurance policy issued to a condominium developer was null and void because of the developer's failure to inform the insurer of a potential lawsuit over development rights, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules death benefits deemed subject to ERISA suit.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan An insurance company could be sued under ERISA for not paying death benefits directly to plan beneficiaries, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided. The defendant insurer argued that it could not be...

U.S. Supreme Court mulls issue of lab reports as hearsay.
November 17, 2008... Byline: David E. Frank and Kimberly Atkins The U.S. Supreme Court last week heard arguments by in a Massachusetts case that could have a significant impact on the prosecution of drug offenses and other crimes in Rhode Island. In...

Commentary: 'trip-tik': a guide from yesteryear.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Paul R. Morton When I was young, my family took automobile vacations where we would all pile in the car and head off to an exciting destination. My father would go to the AAA to request a "Trip-Tik" and would pore over the maps....

Commentary: when the coach runs the plays.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll As a professional coach, I strive to help attorneys make their practices better, more effective and more profitable based on my years of experience as a practicing lawyer. As a former law firm chief operating officer, I...