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Court denies appeal over inmate's long sentence
Court Center |
2011/04/19 16:02
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The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a convicted insurance swindler who is protesting his 835-year prison term.
The court did not comment Monday in turning away a plea from Sholam Weiss for his release from prison and return to Austria, where he was arrested after he fled the United States during his criminal trial in Orlando, Fla. Weiss is in prison for his role in the collapse of a life insurance company in the 1990s that cost thousands of people their life savings.
He still may be able to appeal his conviction and sentence, even though an appeals court had earlier ruled that he forfeited his appeal rights when he became a fugitive.
A judge cut 10 years from Weiss' sentence when Austria returned him to the U.S.
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Democrats criticize hiring of firm for House remap
Legal News |
2011/04/19 16:02
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Democratic lawmakers are raising complaints about Republican House Speaker Jim Tucker's decision to hire a law firm with national GOP ties to submit the state House remap to federal officials.
The head of the House redistricting committee, Democratic Rep. Rick Gallot, said Friday the choice creates the appearance of impropriety because the firm had given the Republican delegation advice about redistricting.
The Senate is using its staff to do its redistricting submission.
Tucker has hired Washington, D.C.-based Holtzman Vogel PLLC to guide the redesign of the 105 House districts to the U.S. Justice Department for review under the Voting Rights Act.
Tucker says he chose a firm with the expertise needed for the complex legal work.
The managing partner of Holtzman Vogel is chief counsel to the Republican National Committee.
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Treasury risks overpaying law firms
Legal News |
2011/04/18 16:03
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The Treasury Department paid out more than $27 million to law firms overseeing the financial bailouts without requiring detailed bills or questioning the incomplete records that the lawyers provided, a government watchdog says.
Treasury's "current contracts and fee bill review practices create an unacceptable risk that Treasury, and therefore the American taxpayer, is overpaying for legal services," the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said in a report issued Thursday.
Treasury could not have adequately gauged whether the fees were reasonable because the records are so sparse, the report says.
The report criticizes so-called "block billing," in which law firms submit "vague and inadequate descriptions of work, and administrative charges — all of which should have been questioned before payment," the report says. |
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High court takes no action on Va. health care case
Legal News |
2011/04/17 16:03
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The Supreme Court has taken no action on Virginia's call for speedy review of the health care law.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is asking the court to resolve questions about the law quickly, without the usual consideration by federal appellate judges and over the objection of the Obama administration.
The case was among those that were scheduled to be discussed in the justices' private conference on Friday, but there was no announcement about the case when the court convened on Monday.
The silence could mean, among other things, that one justice asked for more time to think about the case or to write a short opinion that would accompany an order.
The justices meet again on Friday to discuss pending cases. |
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No Second Chances for Faulty IRA Trusts
Lawyer Blogs |
2010/09/07 14:17
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Postmortem wealth transfers to IRA beneficiaries continues to present estate planning challenges. Although perhaps not the final word on the matter, the IRS now prevents postmortem trust reformation designed to allow trustees to treat them as designated beneficiary trusts. The relevant ruling is PLR 201021038.
The broadness of the limited power of appointment was perhaps the most critical flaw in the subject trust. It was too broad to be able to determine the correct measuring life. There were other flaws as well, most notably the trust’s naming of charities as potential beneficiaries.
The tax consequences of this ruling are devastating to any similarly-flawed trust: Beneficiaries cannot stretch out required withdrawals over the lifespan of the oldest beneficiary but would presumably have to withdraw all money from the plan within just a few years.
Unless a tax court modifies this ruling – and until it does – the bar is very high indeed for those who draft trusts for the purpose of receiving postmortem IRA distributions. In short, get it right the first time! I would read and reread section 401(a)(9) to ensure the trust conforms to the section’s standards precisely. Going forward, you may also wish to give grantors an opportunity to review the terms of their trusts to ensure they conform with the changing law on this subject. A brief look every three-to-five years is appropriate, although factors like ill health |
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The Rosen Law Firm Files Securities Fraud Class Action Against American Apparel, Inc.
Press Releases |
2010/09/06 14:23
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NEW YORK, Sep 7, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. today announced that it has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of America Apparel, Inc. ("American Apparel") /quotes/comstock/14*!app/quotes/nls/app (APP 1.07, +0.01, +0.94%) stock during the period from December 20, 2006 to August 17, 2010 (the "Class Period"). To join the American Apparel class action, go to the website at http://www.rosenlegal.com or call Laurence Rosen, Esq. or Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653, or you may also email lrosen@rosenlegal.com or pkim@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. You can obtain a copy of the complaint from the clerk of court or you may contact counsel for plaintiffs Laurence Rosen, Esq. or Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email lrosen@rosenlegal.com or pkim@rosenlegal.com. NO CLASS HAS YET BEEN CERTIFIED IN THE ABOVE ACTION. UNTIL A CLASS IS CERTIFIED, YOU ARE NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL UNLESS YOU RETAIN ONE. YOU MAY CHOOSE TO DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT AND REMAIN AN ABSENT CLASS MEMBER. The Complaint asserts that during the Class Period, defendants misrepresented American Apparel's hiring practices and the impact of such practices on the Company's business and financial performance. The Company's hiring practices were improper and beginning in July 2009, American Apparel revealed that it was being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency regarding the Company's compliance with U.S. immigration law. On August 17, 2010, the Company announced it expected to report a loss of $5 million to $7 million in the second quarter of 2010 on net sales of $132 million to $143 million. According to the announcement, a significant factor in such losses was "lower labor efficiency at the Company's production facilities in the second quarter of 2010 compared to the prior year period. The lower labor efficiency was primarily a result of the hiring of over 1,600 net new manufacturing workers during the second quarter of 2010." As a result, the Complaint alleges that the price of American Apparel stock declined, damaging investors. A class action lawsuit has already been filed on behalf of American Apparel shareholders. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 25, 2010. If you wish to join the litigation or to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Laurence Rosen, Esq. or Phillip Kim, Esq. of The Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via e-mail at lrosen@rosenlegal.com or pkim@rosenlegal.com. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com |
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Law firms may be forced to publish diversity figures
Top Legal News |
2010/09/05 14:28
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Justice may be blind, but the legal profession isn't, and from next year the public may get to see just what kind of people they are buying their legal services from. The Legal Services Board (LSB), the body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales, is mulling over plans that would require law firms and chambers to compile and publish comprehensive diversity information about their staff . This would include the seven diversity strands – age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and working patterns – plus social mobility. The work is the latest in a string of initiatives aimed at changing the profile of the profession. However, the headline statistics are pretty good. Women have made huge strides over the last 40 years and it will not be long before they make up the majority of solicitors, while black and minority ethnic (BME) lawyers are over-represented in the profession in proportion to the population as a whole. But this only tells part of the story. The LSB notes that much of the work has focused, successfully, on entry level. For example, only a quarter of law firm partners are women, and a mere 3.5% of partners in the biggest 150 firms are BME. "The anticipated 'trickle up' effect has not materialised," it says. There is also evidence of significant pay differentials, as well as concern that the impressive BME statistics mask significant under-representation for some groups, such as African-Caribbean men and Bangladeshi women. |
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