Welcome to your Friday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)
The top story this morning is the latest in our look at firm financials, detailing Pepper Hamilton’s 3.5 percent revenue bump in the past year. As reporter Zack Needles writes, pharmaceutical, white-collar and patent litigation practices helped the firm increase its profits per equity partner rise 4.8 percent in the last year.
Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that lawyers for out-of-state asbestos plaintiffs are being asked to file their cases in other forums to allow the First Judicial District to get its asbestos case inventory back in compliance. American Bar Association standards require that over 40 percent of cases be resolved within 24 to 25 months.
Also below the fold on Page 1, reporter Gina Passarella writes that a judge has ruled Wolf Block should turn over files and insurance communications to a former client as part of a malpractice suit.
In more Regional News on Page 3, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that the Commonwealth Court has ruled that a Luzerne County township can’t condemn land to be used for a privately owned charter school. Though condemning land for a charter school is a public purpose, the unanimous court ruled that schools are not included as one of the public purposes for which a township following the Second Class Township Code can exercise its powers of eminent domain.
As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sister publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.
In a Litigation column on Page 5, Amie Bailey suggests some tips for putting together the trial team you want, including paying careful attention in the selection process.
In a Bankruptcy Update on Page 7, Rudolph J. Di Massa Jr. and Blake D. Roth write that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the two-year look-back period set forth in Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code is not subject to equitable tolling.
If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.
Comments