Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from October 2007

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from October 2007

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: October 1, 2007.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Negligence Church defendants - Molestation Where a plaintiff who allegedly was sexually molested as a minor by a Roman Catholic priest seeks to hold the defendant church hierarchy liable...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: October 1, 2007.(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Case closing Where an appellant has challenged a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge's ruling that the present Chapter 7 case closed on Oct. 29, 1993, we hold that the appellant's...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 1, 2007.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Prosecutor's closing Where a defendant has been convicted of conspiracy and possessing heroin with intent to distribute, the convictions must be vacated and a remand ordered...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: October 1, 2007.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Real property Where a dispute has arisen between the plaintiff seller and defendant buyers of certain Barrington property as to how much is owed to the plaintiff by the...

Alexander G. Walsh joins Rhode Island law firm Sayer, Regan, Thayer & Flanagan.(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Alexander G. Walsh has joined the Newport law firm of Sayer, Regan, Thayer & Flanagan as of counsel.

Sean O. Coffey is selected as a leader in environmental law.(The Best Lawyers in America)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Sean O. Coffey, a partner at Burns & Levinson in Providence, has been selected as a leader in environmental law by "The Best Lawyers in America."

Rhode Island Foundation's board of directors elects Cynthia Stewart Reed to a five-year term.(LTR Holdings )(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Cynthia Stewart Reed, president and CEO of LTR Holdings in Providence, has been elected to a five-year term on the Rhode Island Foundation's board of directors.

Commentary: Why non-engagement letters are helpful.(Column)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll This is the first of two parts. Part II will be published next week. We have regularly emphasized in this column the importance of having a signed engagement letter for a new client, stating each party's...

Commentary: How to survive the lawyer cocktail party.
October 1, 2007... Byline: David Yas Some people think the most important thing to bring to a cocktail party is a stack of business cards. Wrong. The most important thing? Breath mints. Trust me on this. No one is going to want your business cards...

Sentencing, bias, and fraud cases prominent on U.S. Supreme Court docket.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Kimberly Atkins The U.S. Supreme Court is set to tackle a number of hot-button issues when its new term begins this month, including the proper interpretation of the federal sentencing guidelines, claims of racially motivated...

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules employer can include paid holidays in FMLA leave time.(Family and Medical Leave Act)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman An employer did not violate the Family and Medical Leave Act by including paid holidays when calculating the amount of leave an employee was entitled to under the act, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has found...

R.I. Superior Court judge rules 1st Amendment won't bar priest molestation lawsuit.(Rhode Island; John Petrocelli)
October 1, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A plaintiff's priest-abuse lawsuit aimed at hierarchy members of the Roman Catholic Church was not barred by the free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment, a Superior Court judge has ruled. ...

Commentary: Clooney in 'Clayton' captures big-firm culture.(George Clooney in the movie 'Michael Clayton')(Movie review)
October 8, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer In the innocuously titled "Michael Clayton," George Clooney portrays one of Hollywood's not-so-innocuous stereotypes: a sleazy corporate lawyer. While title character Michael Clayton works in the sleek high-rise...

Carrier must pay attorneys' fees after refusal to defend, rules U.S. District Court judge.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Thomas E. Egan An insurance company that refused to defend a policyholder in Superfund litigation must pay the $4 million in counsel fees the policyholder incurred, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled. The policyholder argued...

Counsel's disbursal of funds violated escrow agreement, rules R.I. Superior Court.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A lawyer representing the seller of a liquor license violated his fiduciary duty to the purchaser by disbursing sale proceeds to his client before the transfer was approved by the local licensing authority, a...

Immigrant's comp case will not deter similar claims, say lawyers.(Mexican Edgar Velasquez and lawyers Roberto Gonzalez and Maureen D. Gemma)
October 8, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer Two lawyers representing an undocumented Mexican laborer who was deported last year just prior to his workers' compensation case say they are optimistic that his experience won't discourage other undocumented aliens...

Rhode Island Superior Courts Case Summaries: October 8, 2007.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Fiduciary duty - Escrow - Liquor license Where (1) a plaintiff advanced $20,000 to the defendant attorney for a transfer of a liquor license held by the defendant's client and (2)...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 8, 2007.
October 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Suspension Where an attorney has received a three-month suspension from the practice of law before the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the suspension should...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: October 8, 2007.(Brief article)
October 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Duty to defend - Superfund Where a defendant insurance company has breached its duty to defend a policyholder with respect to environmental contamination at a Superfund site, the...

Commentary: Have clear rules of non-engagement.(legal correspondence)(Column)
October 8, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll This is the second of two parts. Part I appeared last week. In last week's column, we discussed how a non-engagement letter can protect a lawyer against clients whose matter you have considered, but decline to...

Commentary: You need to do well to do good.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll There's a relatively new book with the overwrought title "Lawyers Gone Bad," which contends that lawyers have abandoned helping the poor and middle class in their pursuit of profits. However, the simple fact is that...

Billing manager's salary may be money well spent, advises Mass. attorney.(Leo J. Cushing; Massachusetts)(Interview)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Hire Calling is a feature about hiring decisions and related employment matters. This week, reporter Barbara Rabinovitz speaks with attorney Leo J. Cushing about recruiting a billing manager for his...

Commentary: Subtlety, storytelling keys to writing persuasively.(Column)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Lisa Healy and Julie Baker Write On is an occasional feature providing guidance for attorneys on writing legal memoranda and briefs. Recently, in an advanced legal writing class, we asked students to bring in examples of their...

Commentary: Contested wills: an expert's view on challenges for attorneys.(Column)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Sanford I. Finkel We are experiencing an unprecedented transfer of wealth from the elderly generation to their baby boomer progeny. The current elderly possess substantial assets -- appreciated homes, farmland and equities. The...

Verdicts & Settlements October 15, 2007: Worker loses finger after snow-blower accident.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff $301,328 verdict (reduced by 50 percent) The 39-year-old plaintiff received a jury verdict of $400,000, including interest, stemming from claims against a corporation that operated an assisted...

Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights finds sex bias despite claim of downsizing.
October 15, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank A female employee who lost her job can recover against her former employer for sex discrimination even where the company claimed her termination was due to downsizing, the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights has...

Lawyer: recent R.I. Superior Court ruling sends message to zoning boards.(Rhode Island)(Interview)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer Lawyers who represent developers and municipalities report that appeals of administrative board denials are on the rise, with judges subsequently overturning many of the panels and remanding the cases back to them....

U.S. District Court for the District of R.I. issues order on BBE and its fees.(Rhode Island; Board of Bar Examiners)(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND Administrative Order 2007-05 Re: Local Rules Amendments It is hereby ordered that: 1. The name, "Board of Bar...

R.I. Human Rights Commission Case Summaries: October 15, 2007.(Rhode Island)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Sex discrimination - Discharge Where a complainant was fired by the respondent employer, the respondent should be held liable for sex discrimination, as the complainant suffered...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: October 15, 2007.(Rhode Island)(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Town council president - Application for zoning change Where an individual serves as President of the North Providence Town Council, it is our opinion that he would be...

Rhode Island Superior Courts Case Summaries: October 15, 2007.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Postconviction relief - Immigration warning Where an individual has applied for postconviction relief, I find that his application should be granted in light of evidence that he...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 15, 2007.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Education Harassment - Response Where the plaintiff parents of a kindergarten student brought suit seeking to hold a defendant school committee and a codefendant school superintendent...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: October 15, 2007.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Personal - Trademark infringement suit Where the Illinois defendant in a trademark infringement suit filed in Rhode Island by a plaintiff Delaware corporation with its...

Cetrulo & Capone accepted into membership by International Society of Primerus Law Firms.(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Cetrulo & Capone, which has an office in Providence, has been accepted into membership by the International Society of Primerus Law Firms.

Rhode Island Lawyers in the News: October 15, 2007.(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Norman A. Peloquin II has joined Partridge, Snow & Hahn in Providence as of counsel, and Lalitha Rao has joined the firm as an associate. Jeffrey M. Grybowski has rejoined Hinckley, Allen &...

Honors.(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Thomas R. Bender, a partner at Hanson Curran in Providence, has been selected for inclusion in the 2008 edition of "The Best Lawyers in America" in the specialty of appellate law. Thomas W....

Rhode Island Lawyers in the News: October 15, 2007.(Strauss, Factor, Laing & Lyons)(Brief article)
October 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Staff Report Thomas R. Bender, a partner at Hanson Curran in Providence, has been selected for inclusion in the 2008 edition of "The Best Lawyers in America" in the specialty of appellate law. Thomas W. Lyons III...

Civil rights suit over alleged harassment of student precluded, rules 1st Circuit.
October 15, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A Section 1983 action brought by a couple who accused a school district and its superintendent of insufficiently protecting their kindergartner from alleged sexual harassment by an older student was precluded by...

Commentary: Trial work is an adversarial process - so stop apologizing.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Paul R. Kelley As an arbitrator of personal injury cases, I often hear cross-examinations that begin with, "Ms. Smith, I'm going to ask you some questions about the accident. I represent the defendant, and I'm just doing my job. I...

'Dig Safe' hearing won't preclude negligence suit, rules R.I. Superior Court judge.(Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Alice B. Gibney)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Jason M. Scally A finding by the Public Utilities Commission that an excavation company violated "Dig Safe" laws by damaging Verizon's underground utility wires should not be given preclusive effect in a subsequent negligence suit...

Rogers Williams University law prof sees kids paying price for R.I. budget-cutting measure.(law professor Tricia P. Martland, Rhode Island)(Interview)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff The wave of protest sweeping over the General Assembly for having enacted earlier this year a law requiring that 17-year-olds be prosecuted as adults has reached into the academic community....

Withdrawn guilty plea inadmissible at trial, rules 1st Circuit.(United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A plea agreement withdrawn by a defendant after the emergence of evidence suggesting his actual innocence could not be introduced by the government in subsequent proceedings, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...

Notices from the Rhode Island Courts: October 22, 2007.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Order redefines 'senior law student' Supreme Court In re Article II, Rule 9(c)(3) of the Rules of the Supreme Court (Senior Law Student defined) ORDER Article II, Rule 9,...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: October 22, 2007.(Rhode Island State Ethics Commission)(Brief article)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Town council member - Appearance before zoning board Where the petitioner is a member of the Portsmouth town council, it is our opinion that he would be permitted by...

Rhode Island Superior Courts Case Summaries: October 22, 2007.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Collateral estoppel - PUC Where a plaintiff, having brought suit alleging that its utility lines were damaged by excavation work performed by the defendant, now moves for...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 22, 2007.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Dormant commerce clause - Small wineries Where plaintiffs filed suit, claiming that Maine's statutory scheme allowing small wineries to operate partially outside the usual...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: October 22, 2007.(Brief article)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Education Private tuition The Individuals with Disabilities Act allows parents to seek tuition reimbursement for private school costs for a child who never attended public school. ...

Commentary: Coach's Corner: Is exceeding client expectations possible or even desirable?
October 22, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll It has become a cliche that success is defined by doing more than anyone rationally can possibly do. "Giving 120 percent" or "working a 25-hour day" are examples of this kind of mindset. Lawyers are particularly...

Commentary: Seller's Market: Tips on how to launch an e-mail marketing initiative.
October 22, 2007... Byline: Lisa Meyer Seller's Market offers practitioners information about marketing their skills and services as attorneys. An increasing number of law firms are making the switch from paper to electronic communication by launching...

Commentary: Book Review: In final analysis, this psychological drama a grabber.(Book review)
October 22, 2007... Byline: Marsha V. Kazarosian "Final Analysis" By Catherine Crier Harper Collins, 2007 353 pages; $27.95 On the morning of Oct. 15, 2002, Susan Polk killed her husband Felix, a wealthy psychologist, in a quiet little suburb of San...

Commentary: Lawyer's dilemma drives the film 'Reservation Road'.(Movie review)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz "Reservation Road" 102 minutes Rated R Now playing at local movie theaters * * * With the Boston Red Sox in full playoff-mode these recent weeks, a filmgoer taking in an Oct. 11 press...

Litigant can't get brother's former counsel disqualified, rules U.S. District Court judge.(Judge Ernest C. Torres)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A plaintiff in a federal lawsuit for injunctive relief could not disqualify a defense attorney even though the attorney's firm had previously represented the plaintiff's brother in a tangentially related state court...

Voyeur has privacy right in digital camera images, rules R.I. Superior Court judge.(Rhode Island, Judge Edwin J. Gale)
October 29, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank Police were justified in searching digital cameras in possession of a man suspected of taking unauthorized photos of young girls, even where he claimed he had an expectation of privacy, a Superior Court judge has...

Co-defendant not entitled to disclosure of party's settlement, rules Providence Superior Court judge.(Judge Alice B. Gibney)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer A co-defendant in a negligence case was not entitled to the disclosure of a settlement agreement entered into between the plaintiff and another defendant, a Providence Superior Court judge has ruled. The defendant...

R.I. District Court Case Summaries: October 29, 2007.
October 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Unemployment compensation Late appeal - Intoxication Where a claimant did not demonstrate good cause why he filed late an appeal of an adverse decision on his application for unemployment...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: October 29, 2007.(Rhode Island Supreme Court)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Real estate closing Where an appeal has been filed raising issues regarding the duty of care owed by an attorney at a real estate closing when the attorney represents the...

Rhode Island Superior Courts Case Summaries: October 29, 2007.
October 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Motion to compel - Settlement agreement Where one defendant in a negligence action has filed a motion to compel, I hold that the motion should be denied because the defendant...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 29, 2007.
October 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Limitations Where a civil rights suit was filed against the defendant United States following the death of an undercover witness cooperating with the FBI in a sting operation,...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: October 29, 2007.
October 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Disqualification - Conflict of interest Where a plaintiff has moved to disqualify the defendants' counsel, the motion must be denied, as counsel's prior representation of the...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: October 29, 2007.(Deep Sea Fish of Rhode Island, Inc.)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Maintenance and cure Where a plaintiff injured seaman, who has brought a number of claims against two defendants, has moved to sever his maintenance and cure claims from others...

Rhode Island Lawyers in the News: October 29, 2007.(Brief article)
October 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff New associations Joseph R. Marion III has joined the Providence office of Burns & Levinson as an associate. Honors Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald C. Lockhart has been recognized by...

Commentary: Firm support makes rainmaking easier.
October 29, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll In a recent article, I read a new reason given for why lawyers hate marketing and can't "sell." Consultant Larry Richard, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology as well as a J.D., suggests that it's because lawyers have little...

How to ... choose law office furniture.
October 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff How to... offers advice on a variety of subjects related to the management of a law practice. The chairs, tables and couches in a law office can often make or break one's first impression of a...