Breaking Legal News: 2006

12/28/2006

Law Firm News - Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione

Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione was founded in 1917 as the two-man patent law firm of Wilkinson & Huxley. Today Brinks has approximately 150 attorneys, supported by a full complement of scientific advisors, patent agents and paralegals. Our headquarters are atop Chicago's preeminent NBC Tower.

http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/category/Legal%20Podcast

11/10/2006

Breaking Legal News - 2006 Elite Lawyer Award

The Breaking Legal News “Elite Lawyer Award” awards recognizes a select group of lawyers who have obtained outstanding achievments in their practice. The lawyers offered this award represent a very small percentage of attorneys who have been able to accomplish excellent results for their clients and are highly recognizable figures in the legal profession.

Once selected for the Elite Lawyer Award, attorneys will receive a banner to be put on their website stating that they have been selected as an “Elite Lawyer” by www.BreakingLegalNews.com for the particular year that the award was given.

Each award winner will also receive a dedicated page on Breaking Legal News featuring their achievments and information and this page will have a dedicated link that will be available for life. Each recipient of the award will also receive a glass trophy as proof of the award and to solidify the seriousness and true acheivment that the award stands for.

Lawyer blog award

The Featured Blog section on Breaking Legal News highlights the most exciting and useful law blogs on the Internet. Each blog that is determined to be worthy of being recognized will receive a dedicated page on breakinglegalnews.com with a description of the blog, bio of blog organizer, and any information concerning the blog. Each blog page will have its own dedicated link that will be available for life on

www.Breakinglegalnews.com

If a blog is chosen for the Featured Blog section, they will receive a banner to be put on their blog page showcasing the fact that they have been featured by Breaking Legal News. They will also be able to submit one article per month pertaining to a specific legal matter. They will also be able to submit one article per month pertaining to a specific legal matter.

10/25/2006

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ABA Attacks Bush's "Misuse" of Attaching Signing Statements

On Tuesday, the Lawyers Group, the American Bar Association approved a resolution condemning President Bush's mis-practice of writing exceptions to legislation he signs into law.
At the ABA's annual meeting, delegates, representing 410,000 members, approved the resolution objecting to any president using bill signing statements to dilute or change laws rather than using a veto.
Only one bill (on stem cell research) has been vetoed by Bush, but the president has written exceptions to 800 legislative provisions, more than all the previous presidents combined.

more: http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/Experts-Mel-Gibsons-Apology-Too-Late?TSSESSION=4936713b191175174c32e6763061fcef

10/02/2006

Law Promo announces new partnership with BreakingLegalNews.com

Law Promo announced today that it will form a partnership with BreakingLegalNews.com. The two companies together will create a one stop shop for lawyers and law firms’ online needs. This partnership will allow much more opportunity for both party’s clients in the way of Search Engine Optimization and online awareness.

Lawyers and law firms alike can combine their online marketing efforts with the two companies, making their online brand, marketing and public relations efforts seamless. With direct links between their website or blog and their own dedicated page showcasing their articles, press releases, videos and audio clips on BreakingLegalNews.com, the visibility couldn’t get any better.

Lawyers have a multitude of options with BreakingLegalNews.com to increase their visibility and online visibility. By posting articles and having their own Featured Commentary, lawyers can have a voice in the legal community and advertise their knowledge and opinions on current legal matters. Lawyers can also submit video footage and audio clips for viewers to watch online or download for viewing later. All of the different submission options on BreakingLegalNews.com provide their own dedicated link in which the information will be archived for life.

This partnership will be extremely beneficial for Law Promo clients as well as BreakingLegalNews.com client who are in need of a website to direct potential clients to for more information. Law Promo looks forward to developing a long lasting relationship with BreakingLegalNews.com.

10/01/2006

breaking legal news is now hiring!

Breaking Legal News Corp.(breakinglegalnews.com) is a fast growing internet based company revolutionizing the legal news & PR business, and we are looking for an enthusiastic, results oriented individual to join our team.

We are looking for a smart, articulate and ambitious online marketing manager to implement all of our online marketing and sales activities. This individual will be responsible for business development; sales activities, promoting BreakingLegalNews.com's unique opportunity to lawyers and law firms nationwide, developing new business & relationships, developing marketing strategies and evaluating market conditions and competitor data, and product/service development & pricing.

This individual must posess excellent written/verbal communication skills, the ability to generate new business via email marketing/sales as well as over the phone. The indvidual that we are looking for is well-spoken, poised, dynamic and focused with a vigorous work ethic and enjoys being on the phone

Responsibilities will include:

- Preparing and implementing a marketing strategy for each service - Responsible for managing qualified leads through closure- Develop new and unique ways to reach out to the legal community- Developing new business as well as maintaining our existing customer base

We are offering a unique opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a cutting edge, pro active company looking to change the way lawyers and law firms utilize the internet for marketing. We are fun, entrepreneurial, fast-paced and innovative and we are looking for an individual to help us continue our growth. The individual who is selected for this position will take ownership and pride in his/her job and in the success of our business.

Any experience in the legal field is a big plus.

www.breakinglegalnews.com

US Senate approves US-Mexico border fence bill

The US Senate passed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 Friday by a vote of 80-19, authorizing the construction of a 700-mile fence along the US-Mexico border. President Bush is expected to sign the measure, designed to curb illegal immigration into the United States.

A key provision of the bill dictates that the US Department of Homeland Security must have "operational control" over US borders within 18 months in an effort to keep illegal substances and illegal immigrants from entering the US, while also providing for a study to decide whether the government should also construct a fence along the Canadian border. A separate measure will fund construction and maintenance of the fence.

The US House of Representatives passed the border fence bill by a vote of 283-138 September 15. The Mexican government has already expressed its opposition to the scheme.

www.breakinglegalnews.com

9/28/2006

Merck's $50-Million Vioxx Award Too Excessive

SAN PEDRO, Calif., Sept. 19, 2006 -- When a federal judge threw out a $50-million jury award against Merck & Co.,calling it excessive for a former FBI agent who had suffered a heart attack while using the drug maker's Vioxx painkiller, the news was met with mixed feelings for the 16,000 Vioxx users that have filed suits against Merck.
On August 17, 2006 a federal jury in New Orleans awarded $51 million to Gerald Barnett - a retired FBI agent who had a heart attack in 2002 after taking Vioxx for 55 months - after finding that Merck knowingly misrepresented or failed to disclose a material fact regarding Vioxx safety to the plaintiff's physician.
In a written ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon found that the jury's findings on Merck's liability were reasonable, but that the $50-million compensatory damage assessment was not.
Vioxx plaintiff's can see positive news in the ruling in that the jury's finding of Merck's liability and is a positive development for everyone suing Merck for damages. The ruling clearly establishes Merck's liability and will strengthen future Vioxx cases that go to trial this month. Many experts are predicting that Merck's liability will reach 50 billion in damages.
Fallon ruled that a new trial on all damages was necessary, citing a previous case requiring reconsideration of both awards when compensatory damages are reviewed. The new trial will also reconsider the punitive damages award of $1 million in the case, although the federal judge did not take issue with that award.
Merck may see a surge in Vioxx lawsuits after an independent study found an increased risk of kidney-related complications and arrhythmia. The study was conducted by researchers at Harvard University and published online September 12, 2006 by The Journal of the American Medical Association.
A data analysis of 114 clinical trials involving more than 116,000 patients found that Merck's withdrawn painkiller was associated with an increased risk of "renal events," which include swelling of the hands and feet, high blood pressure and kidney dysfunction.
With the statutes of limitations expiring soon for manyformer patients this may prompt many to "pile on" the tensof thousands of Vioxx-related lawsuits already filed against Merck. Merck is the fourth largest drug manufacturer in the U.S. and has pledged to fight each of the nearly 16,000 cases filed against them individually, rather than as a class action.

keywords:

Tax IRS Jerome Ringler Vioxx Roger Clark Clark & Goldberg Immigration Mark Lanier Lanier Law Firm Stuart D. Zimring Girardi & Keese tax & finance Dan Webb New York Times John Girardi John Manly DUI Mary Helen Sears Justice Department Patricia M. Annino

Shield law's effect on national security debated

Proponents and detractors of a federal law that would protect journalists from revealing their confidential sources clashed Wednesday about whether judges or the executive branch would be better suited to weigh the interests of national security against the rights of reporters to protect their sources.
In its fourth hearing on the proposed Free Flow of Information Act of 2006, the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned a panel of witnesses that included former Solicitor General Theodore Olson and Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, the second-in-command at the Department of Justice.
Although Olson and McNulty both have close ties to the Bush administration -- Olson represented President Bush in the U.S. Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore in 2000 -- they were on different sides Wednesday.
Olson, who supports the legislation, warned that journalist subpoenas have become "weapons of first resort" in federal investigations, and that reporters are often unable to determine whether their actions fall under the jurisdiction of federal or state law. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia recognize some form of a reporter's privilege but no such federal law exists. Olson said that since state shield laws have no federal counterpart, "uncertainty renders provisions in the states ineffective."
Furthermore, Olson argued that even if no federal shield law is adopted, "there will be judicial analysis of the process anyway" when reporters are served with subpoenas and they move to quash those subpoenas. "Judges do consider national security issues," Olson said.
Speaking on behalf of the Department of Justice, McNulty referred to the legislation as "a solution in search of a problem" and said that the department's guidelines already strike the correct balance between the government's interest and the interests of a free press.
A federal shield law, McNulty said, would only make criminal investigations more difficult and put too much power in the hands of judges. "Courts lack the ability and the knowledge to do a balancing test," he said.
In response to McNulty's comments, former prosecutor Bruce Baird said that the bill should be passed primarily because it "does no more than codify the Department of Justice's existing policy" on issuing subpoenas to reporters. Baird said that "from a defense perspective, the bill is also an improvement" because it would apply the department's guidelines to all investigations, creating a more uniform procedure.
Committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the bill's co-sponsor, asked McNulty if under a proper application of the Department of Justice's guidelines, former New York Times reporter Judith Miller would have still gone to jail. McNulty declined to answer.
Steven Clymer, a professor at Cornell Law School, suggested that if a shield law is passed, the Department of Justice should be exempted from its provisions because department officials "already do a good job of policing themselves."
Clymer called the proposed bill "useless" because "at the moment of truth -- when the source seeks an assurance of anonymity -- it will not be clear" if any of the exceptions to the federal shield law apply.
The bill was originally introduced in the Senate last year by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.).
Although the original bill provided for an absolute privilege for confidential sources, the current version, introduced in the Senate in May, offers only a qualified privilege. A similar bill has been introduced in the House.

more info www.breakinglegalnews.com

Justice Department Sues Florida City

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the City of Boca Raton, Fla., alleging that a city zoning ordinance discriminates against individuals with disabilities.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges that a zoning ordinance passed by the city in 2002 and amended in 2003, excludes housing for persons recovering from alcohol or drug dependency from residential areas of the city and unreasonably restricts their operation in commercial zones in violation of the Fair Housing Act. The only zones in the city in which “substance abuse treatment facilities” (SATFs) may operate as of right under the ordinance are “medical center” districts. The complaint alleges that the ordinance intentionally and on its face targets housing for persons in recovery and subjects it to different and substantially more onerous requirements than other types of housing.
“No citizen should be refused an equal opportunity for housing in their community,” said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to preventing such housing discrimination against people with disabilities.”
“The Fair Housing Act protects all Americans from housing discrimination, including those persons recovering from substance abuse problems,” said R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “My office, in conjunction with the Civil Rights Division, is deeply committed to enforcing the laws that provide equal protection to all Americans.”
The suit seeks to prevent the city from enforcing the ordinance, monetary damages to compensate victims, civil penalties, and a court order barring future discrimination.

“Girls Gone Wild” Founder Joseph F. Pleads Guilty

WASHINGTON – Joseph Francis, founder, CEO and sole shareholder of two California companies doing business under the name “Girls Gone Wild,” has pleaded guilty to charges that he failed to create and maintain age and identity documents for performers in sexually explicit films produced and distributed by Girls Gone Wild, as required by federal law, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today.
Francis entered the guilty plea yesterday before U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow at U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Santa Monica-based Mantra Films, Inc., which is owned and operated by Francis, entered a plea agreement on Sept. 12, 2006, at U.S. District Court in Panama City, Fla. A second related company, MRA Holdings, Inc., also entered a deferred prosecution agreement the same day.
Francis pleaded guilty to two counts filed under a law—often referred to as Section 2257—passed by Congress to prevent the sexual exploitation of children. The law protects against the use of minors in the production of sexually explicit material by requiring producers to create and maintain age and identity records for every performer. Producers and distributors must then label their products with the name of the custodian of the records and their location.
Under the agreements, Francis agreed to pay the maximum fine of $500,000, and his two companies agreed to pay an additional sum of $1.6 million in fines and restitution. Francis, Mantra, and MRA Holdings will make a public acknowledgment of criminal wrongdoing and agreed to fully comply with the record-keeping laws going forward. MRA Holdings also agreed that for three years it will employ an independent, outside monitor selected by the government and provide the monitor complete access to the books and records, production facilities and other locations required to ensure the company’s compliance with federal law relating to the production of visual materials under the name Girls Gone Wild, or any other name. In statements filed in court yesterday, Francis admitted that Girls Gone Wild, acting under his direction, filmed performers engaging in sexually explicit conduct and produced and distributed sexually explicit video materials during all of 2002 and part of 2003 while violating the record keeping and labeling laws.
In May 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, pursuant to “Project Safe Childhood,” asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to begin conducting regular inspections of records kept by producers of sexually explicit materials pursuant to Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2257. Producers are required to keep records on performers to include true name and date of birth and to produce these records on demand. These regulations and resulting inspections are designed to prevent producers from hiring minors as performers, and carry criminal penalties for violations.
The Los Angeles case is being prosecuted by Brent D. Ward, Director of the Justice Department’s Obscenity Prosecution Task Force, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Florida. The Obscenity Prosecution Task Force was formed to focus on the prosecution of adult obscenity nationwide. Investigation of the cases was conducted by the Adult Obscenity Squad of the FBI, which is based in Washington, D.C.

9/20/2006

FCC Chief Orders Probe of Unreleased Media Reports

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin has asked the agency's inspector general to investigate why two draft reports on television and radio ownership never saw the light of day until now. Martin said he sought the review after Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) asked whether the agency suppressed the reports, dated 2003 and 2004. Martin, approved for another five-year term Tuesday by the Senate Commerce Committee, said he and his staff had not seen the reports. "I want to assure you that I, too, am concerned about what happened to these two draft reports," Martin said in a letter sent to Boxer late Monday. One draft working paper, dated 2004, suggests that locally owned TV stations produce more coverage of local issues, Boxer said. In 2003, the FCC began looking into the local content offered by media outlets but never concluded the proceeding. The FCC chairman at the time, Michael Powell, and his top aides have denied any knowledge of the study. The other draft report, titled "Review of the Radio Industry" and dated 2003, examines consolidation in radio. Boxer said it showed that the number of station owners had declined. "This is the second report in a week that I have received that appears to have been shelved by officials within the FCC, and I am growing more and more concerned at these developments," Boxer said in a letter to Martin. The FCC in 2003 voted to ease limits on ownership of television stations and lifted a ban preventing a company from owning a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same market. But the new rules were put on hold in 2004 after an appeals court said the FCC failed to sufficiently justify them. The FCC took up the issue again this year.
http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/FCC-Chief-Orders-Probe-of-Unreleased-Media-Reports

9/17/2006

Adult Video Series ‘Girls Gone Wild’ Pleads Guilty

A California company doing business under the name “Girls Gone Wild” has pleaded guilty to charges that it failed to create and maintain age and identity documents for performers in sexually explicit films that it produced and distributed, and that it failed to label its DVDs and videotapes as required by federal law, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Gregory R. Miller of the Northern District of Florida announced today.

Santa Monica-based Mantra Films, Inc. entered its plea agreement today before U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak at U.S. District Court in Panama City, Fla. A second related company, MRA Holdings, LLC, also entered into a deferred prosecution agreement.

Under the agreements, Joseph Francis, the founder of the two companies, agreed to plead guilty to offenses to be filed later in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, and the companies and Francis agreed to pay fines and restitution totaling $2.1 million.

The charges in this case are believed to be the first to be filed under a law – often referred to as Section 2257 – passed by Congress to prevent the sexual exploitation of children. The law protects against the use of minors in the production of sexually explicit material by requiring producers to create and maintain age and identity records for every performer in sexually explicit movies and other media. Producers and distributors must also label their products with the name of the custodian of the records and their location.

Settlement reached with Seaboard & PIC USA

Under two related settlements, Seaboard Foods LP and PIC USA Inc., will take significant steps at many of their facilities to ensure future compliance with environmental laws and to resolve allegations that the companies contaminated groundwater and surface waters near several of their facilities, the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. Seaboard Foods LP, one of the nation’s largest vertically integrated pork producers, is the current owner of more than 200 farms in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and Colorado, and PIC USA, Inc. is the former owner and operator of several of the farms located in Oklahoma now operated by Seaboard.

Under the first consent decree, Seaboard Foods and PIC USA, Inc will pay a civil penalty of $240,000 for violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the federal hazardous waste statute, dating back to 2001. In the second settlement, Seaboard will pay a civil penalty of $205,000 for failure to comply with the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Clean Air Act (CAA), and for failure to comply with the continuous release reporting requirements of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA). Payment of a $100,000 civil penalty by Seaboard in a separate Air Compliance Agreement with the EPA will be credited toward this amount.

“Today’s settlements represent an excellent result for the people of Oklahoma and a significant commitment by the companies to address the impacts of their operations and to remedy their impacts on ground water and surface waters, said Sue Ellen Wooldridge, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. In securing an extensive program of injunctive relief, we are confident that today’s settlement will help to ensure the protection of drinking water sources in Oklahoma.”

“This settlement represents a significant effort to address the impacts of animal waste handling practices and to bring operations into compliance with all applicable environmental regulations,” said Granta Y. Nakayama, the EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

“People know the value of clean water and air. This settlement represents a significant effort by two major companies to bring their waste handling operations into compliance,” EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene said. “We are pleased with these efforts, which will ensure better air and water near the farms.”

www.breakinglegalnews.com

9/06/2006

Law Firm, Lawyer and Legal Professional news in the Media

As innovators and the leader in online legal press release distribution since 2002, Law Promo has provided a simple, easy to use platform to ensure you get your message to the online media.

www.breakinglegalnews.com

Breaking Legal News for You to Reach Famous Attorneys and America's Best Legal Professionals.

Having a law blog or blawg is another excellent marketing tool for you and your firm. Your blawg is a database-driven tool that not only allows your firm to establish itself as a reliable, helpful authority on particular legal subject matters online, while also significantly elevating your search engine rankings. 14.8 million adults in the US downloaded an audio or video pod cast in the last month. Pod casting is one of the fastest growing technologies today, it allows for potential clients to download your multimedia content in a portable format that can be listened to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.. This is a great way to increase awareness for your firm while capitalizing on this new media format.

9/04/2006

IRS says NAACP didn't violate tax status

Marvin Goodson is a tax maven. He is also thoroughly analyzing this story from the Associated Press (ap.org) about how the NAACP did not violate the conditions of its tax-exempt status when its chairman gave a speech that criticized President Bush, according to a newly released letter from the Internal Revenue Service to the civil rights group. The IRS began looking into the Baltimore-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People about a month before the 2004 presidential election after a speech by NAACP Chairman Julian Bond that was largely critical of Bush's policies. Politics is sometimes a nasty business, from which no one is totally immune. Thankfully, the IRS made the right decision here.

Spotlight on one of America’s Best Trial attorneys

Jack Girardi, Partner at Girardi & Keese relates a recent case of how once again he and his firm represents everyday Americans, this time, “a former Anaheim Police Lieutenant” in an “employment discrimination” case and won $5 million dollars for his client.

Jack is a breed of lawyer who spends his whole life fighting for ordinary people. He spends his time, his energy, and his firm’s money working to hold huge corporations, (like the PGE case made famous by the movie “Erin Brockovich”), oppressive governments and other wrongdoers accountable. Jack is one of those great lawyers who are committed to ensure that justice prevails.

-Law Business Insider

9/02/2006

LawPromo.com news

LawPromo.com is a professional website development and marketing agency that caters exclusively for the Legal Professionals. Our clean, advanced design approach, combined with search engine marketing, has positioned ourself as a leader in creating a successful online presence for legal professions.
We have successfully offered the internet legal marketing solutions to our clients - powerful and effective web site designs that have met or exceeded their expectations.
Lawyer, Attorney, Law Firm Website Design - LawPromo has a solid understanding of what attorneys and law firms need in a successful website. Our award winning team and dedication to excellence are what make us stand out from other design firms. We understand that your company is unique and we can create a professional custom website that will increase traffic and visibility for your firm.

Patricia M. Annino - Women & Money

Patricia M. Annino chairs Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye’s Estate Planning and Tax Group. She is a nationally recognized authority on estate planning and taxation, with 20 years’ experience serving the estate planning needs of families, individuals, and owners of closely held businesses. A member of the firm’s Media and Intellectual Property Group, she represents authors, artists, and musicians in estate planning and probate matters.

She is the author of two widely utilized professional texts: Estate Planning in Massachusetts, part of West Publishing Company’s Massachusetts Practice Series; Taxwise Planning for Aging, Ill, or Incapacitated Clients, published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; author of The Federal Gift Tax, A Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Massachusetts published by MCLE and author of the published book, Women & Money, A Practical Guide to Estate Planning.

Review: Annino's book provides the basic legal knowledge women need to deal with problems such as caring for elderly parents or young children, preparing for death or disability of self or spouse, whether to buy insurance, etc. However, there is no dry legalese: the advice is straightforward and abundantly illustrated with interesting stories from her law practice. In chapters aimed at women in various stages (divorcing, single, married, etc.) Annino seems to be having a personal conversation directly with the reader, offering lots of practical advice. Even has a fashionably pretty cover! Ladies: start your studies with this book.

About Costell & Cornelius Law Corporation

The firm of Costell & Cornelius Law Corporation was originally formed by Jeffrey Lee Costell in January of 1993 and presently consists of six attorneys. The firm prides itself in being an established, full-service real estate law firm with a high-quality practice in the areas of real estate litigation, transactions, leasing, acquisitions, dispositions, finance, valuation, and development, as well as in the areas of bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, debtor/creditor rights and general commercial and business litigation and transactions.

The firm has significant experience in the representation of a wide-variety of real estate clients, including real estate owners, landlords, tenants, developers, investors, borrowers, lenders, financiers and other real estate-related companies. The firm also represents non-profit organizations, institutional entities, entrepreneurs, corporations, small businesses, partnerships and numerous mid-sized companies or entities involved in a variety of businesses.

The firm has also represented foreign clients and governments, such as the State of Israel. The firm's Chief Executive Officer and Senior Attorney, Jeffrey Lee Costell had several years of experience with large, national law firms, but then made a deliberate choice to grow his practice in a smaller firm environment in order to most efficiently serve his clients. The Firm continues to provide enhanced service to its clients by virtue of it's relationship-oriented approach to representation. This approach is characterized by a global view of the engagement in the context of the client's overall business operations and extensive, prompt and ongoing communication with the client as to the direction of each matter.

Costell & Cornelius founding principles are the creation of successful, long-term relationships with clients, and a dedication to the profession and to being good corporate citizens in the community where we live and work.

9/01/2006

Prudential Tax - Tax Help

Prudential Tax is comprised of some of the best tax lawyers in the greater Los Angeles area. Their experienced and accomplished attorneys have helped many people overcome their ever growing tax debt and release the pressure of their debt. With no existing website and no specific direction, Prudential needed a clean cut, professional website that included content management as well as Search Engine Optimization. Law Promo created the design, keyword rich content and layout and architecture of the site to be easily navigated and to make viewers know that they are dealing with professionals.

CALIFORNIA TAKES THE LEAD ON GLOBAL WARMING

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a deal under which California will mandate a reduction in the state's emissions of gases contributing to global warming to 1990 levels by 2020.

California already has passed a law requiring greenhouse-gas-emission cuts from cars and light trucks sold in the state. The cut would target the state's biggest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases, such as power plants, oil refineries and cement factories.

Finally: a politician who understands the threat posed by global warming! Regardless of whether you agree with Schwarzenegger's other political ideas, he's exactly right on this one. It's about time somone acknowledged the obvious - that the planet is not ours to pillage and ignore.

Patricia Annino - Women & Money

Patricia Annino, Best Selling Author of Women & Money:
A Practical Guide to Estate Planning
Providing women a roadmap of the financial world”

Patricia M. Annino is a nationally recognized authority on estate planning and a partner in the Boston law firm of Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye LLP where she chairs the Estate Planning Group. Our Co-Host, Jerry Ringler is one of America’s most successful trial attorneys who has won over $200 million dollars in verdicts for his clients across a wide array of different cases

As a lawyer handling estate planning for over twenty years, Patricia has seen first hand how many women do not realize the importance of planning until it is too late. She understands the way women learn and analyze. She has written a best selling book, Women and Money, A Practical Guide to Estate Planning, which has been recommended both by the Wall St Journal and Amazon.com.

Patricia will bring alive her best selling book in a simplified manner to serve as your trusted companion embarking on the estate planning process.

About Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP - Jerome L. Ringler

Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP specializes in high-end cases in the areas of both business tort, class action and catastrophic personal tort matters.

Name Partner & Founder Mr. Ringler served as President of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers in 1992 and has been active in bench bar relations throughout his career.

Experience

Jerome L. Ringler is regarded as one of the premier trial attorneys in California, having tried over 75 cases to verdict with phenomenal success. He has achieved the rank of Diplomate, the highest level of achievement in the American Board of Trial Advocates and a rank attained by only a small fraction of lawyers in the United States. He is also a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an elite organization of courtroom attorneys which selects its members from the top of the crust of the trial bar. Indeed, membership is limited to 500 lawyers from the United States judged to possess, to an exceptional degree, superior skill and recognized ability in trial and appellate practice, and to be of excellent character and absolute integrity. Mr. Ringler has also been awarded "best of" recognitions by various media and legal associations such as Super Lawyer magazine, Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, California Trial Lawyers Association, and Los Angeles County Bar Association.

8/30/2006

CLINTON'S LEGACY

John Manly of Manly, McGuire & Stewart is a leader of great vision and integrity. He applauds this story by Celia Duger in the New York Times (nytimes.com) about how Bill Clinton has made a lasting mark in a cause that he came to only late in his presidency: fighting the AIDS pandemic across Africa and the world.

On Mr. Clinton’s fourth visit to Rwanda, it was clear the efforts by his foundation had personal meaning. He said he was sorry his administration failed to intervene during the 1994 genocide. “The United States just blew it in Rwanda,” he said flatly. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, said he had accepted Mr. Clinton’s repeated apologies. Defeating the scourge of AIDS will have far lasting impact than, say, our war against "terror."

The real terror is the disease that kills children and further enslaves Africa. That disease is AIDS. Bill Clinton deserves our help in the global war against AIDS.

You can listen to more of John Manly on "The Law Business Insider," at www.lbishow.com.

Law Business Insider News

Professional Recruiters, Inc. of Los Angeles, California, represents top law firms, public corporations and fortune 500 companies in connection with the hiring of partners, senior attorneys and practice groups.

Professional Recruiters also runs a marketing program for America's leading lawyers where Steve Murphy, Professional Recruiters’ President and Senior Producer for Sky Radio Networks, interviews some of America’s “Go-to” Lawyers, up-and-coming superstars, and newsmakers like Johnnie Cochran, Larry Sonsini, Martin Lueck, Douglas Rosenthal, Phil Beck, Tom Girardi, and many more to deliver in-depth coverage of the day’s top legal stories for Sky Radio Network’s daily legal and business shows broadcast exclusively on American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, U.S. Airways and Northwest Airlines.

Sonsini - SEC issue?

Like many other publicly traded companies, semiconductor maker LSI Logic Corp. awarded stock options to executives at regular planned intervals, a practice that leaves no room for improperly backdating options.

From 1997 to 2001, the company gave out regular executive grants in August and November, and occasionally in February.

But in February 2002, the company told the SEC that it had deviated from that practice the previous April, when it granted CEO Wilfred Corrigan an option to buy 1.5 million shares at the April 2 price.

The company had seen a long and painful descent in its stock price -- one that prompted executives to voluntarily take a 10 percent salary cut. The April 2 grant date came near the bottom. The stock was trading at $14.94 that day, then dropped to $13.97 two days later before climbing and cresting above $21 by month's end (see LSI chart showing company stock price from August 2000 through July 2001).

It was unusual for executives to receive stock options in April. That was the time of year that LSI board members -- including Larry Sonsini of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati -- typically received their options. On that April 2, Sonsini and his law firm were awarded options to buy 10,000 shares of LSI stock.

In an e-mail last week, an LSI spokeswoman said the company has voluntarily reviewed its option grants.

"The review covered the period of 1995 to 2005, and was completed by the company's internal audit group," she added. "No instances of backdating or other improprieties were found. LSI Logic has not been contacted by the SEC, or any other governmental agency, regarding its stock option practices."

SEC filings from two other companies where Sonsini was a board member -- Echelon Corp. and Lattice Semiconductor Corp. -- reveal stock option grants to executives at exceptionally low levels.