The Legal Intelligencer Blog

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

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 today is the state Supreme Court ruling that uninsured drivers can sue insured drivers for economic damages. As reporter Zack Needles writes, the court ruled unanimously in favor of plaintiff Mary Corbin, an uninsured motorist who was injured in an accident and had sought to sue the other driver, who was insured, for economic damages. Justice Seamus P. McCaffery, writing for the majority, said that while the issue seemed to deal with two incongruous sections of the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law, when considered together “there is no ambiguity.”

Also above the fold on Page 1, reporter Gina Passarella writes that Cozen O’Connor has hired Joseph Dever, who most recently served as an assistant regional director of the enforcement division for the Securities and Exchange Commission in New York, as the new chairman of its securities litigation and SEC enforcement practice group.

In more Regional News on Page 3, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille asked Thursday that legislators find more funding for the state judiciary. He recommended an extension of a temporary fee surcharge to traffic citations in order to help cover a project $29.6 million shortfall under Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed budget.

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 Franchise Law column on Page 5, Craig R. Tractenberg writes that most franchise professionals have expressed a cautious optimism for the industry, despite economic pressures that abound.

In an Environmental Law column on Page 7, Katherine L. Vaccaro and Diana A. Silva write that uncertainty looms over the EPA’s cross-state air pollution rule.

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.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Wednesday 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.)

Today’s top story is a U.S. Department of Justice brief that deemed the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. The brief was filed in a Pennsylvania case, writes reporter Gina Passarella, regarding whether the wife of a former female Cozen O’Connor partner is able to collect her partner’s profit-sharing plan benefits under federal law. “Section 3 (of DOMA) treats same-sex couples who are legally married under their states’ law differently than similarly situated same-sex couples, denying them the status, recognition and significant federal benefits otherwise available to married persons,” said attorneys for the DOJ in the brief.

On the bottom of Page 1 in today’s Legal, reporter Zack Needles writes that an en banc Commonwealth Court panel has ruled in a case of first impression that Pennsylvania’s personal income tax can be applied to debt discharged in a property foreclosure. The court ruled 5-2 to affirm a Board of Finance and Revenue decision requiring a nonresident to pay personal income tax on his share of a $2.6 billion debt.

Today’s Page 3 story, written by reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel, takes a look at former Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Howland W. Abramson’s move to a new job, where he will be vice president and chief compliance officer for Panafrican Satellite Communications Inc., a startup that aims to close the digital divide between developed and developing countries.

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.

Page 5 is the home of this week’s GC Mid-Atlantic column, taking a look at what general counsel fears most in 2012. Topping that list, according to a survey done by Legal affiliates Corporate Counsel and ALM Legal Intelligence, is a change in business conditions that specifically affects their firm or industry.

Today’s Securities Law column is on Page 7, as contributors Robert L. Hickok and Gay Parks Rainville write about how lower courts are following the guidance set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the securities class action Matrixx Initiatives v. Siracusano regarding motions to dismiss. So far, lower courts appear to be properly using the ruling.

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.

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

By Jaime Bochet
Of the Legal Staff

Welcome to your morning round-up of stories in today's edition of The Legal Intelligencer. Click the links below to access stories directly, or head to The Legal homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

Today's front page features two stories from senior reporter Gina Passarella. The top story is her coverage of one of the oral arguments before the state Supreme Court. "An attorney for Jordan Lewis, found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the 2007 shooting of a Philadelphia police officer in a Dunkin Donuts, argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Wednesday that evidence put on during the guilt phase of the trial improperly swayed the jury to find Lewis committed premeditated murder. The evidence, including the widow's testimony and playing surveillance footage of the crime in slow motion, was prejudicial to his client, the attorney said."

Below the fold, Gina has a business of law story, reviewing the national and local results of a survey regarding firm profitability: "The legal industry will see on average a slight increase in gross revenue, net income and profits per equity partner in 2011, while the Philadelphia market could face a slight increase in gross revenue and flat to modest bumps in net income and PPP, according to a preliminary survey of the marketplace by Wells Fargo's Legal Specialty Group."

Reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel has today's Page 3 Regional News story, a profile of the new head of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute. "As the organization approaches its 42nd year, it's the turn of an attorney to lead the organization, specifically Harrisburg attorney Charles Wasilefski of seven-lawyer firm Peters & Wasilefski."

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.

Page 5 features our "YL" or "Young Lawyer" page, this week an article by an anonymous lawyer from our South Florida affiliate, the Daily Business Review.  "The Rodent" writes about "divining the bonus pool."

Page 7 is where you'll find a "Securities Law" column by Katayun Jaffari of Saul Ewing, who wonders how the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower rules will affect companies.

Have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole? E-mail me or any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal!

Jaime Bochet is the Magazines & Supplements Editor for The Legal. Follow her on Twitter at @JaimeBochetTLI or e-mail JBochet@alm.com.

Klehr Harrison Picks Up Dechert Corporate Partner

By Gina Passarella
Of the Legal Staff

Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg has picked up a Dechert corporate and securities partner in Philadelphia.

Lisa Burnett moved to the firm after 13 years at Dechert — serving the last few as a partner.  Burnett has represented private equity clients in middle market deals and has handled general mergers and acquisitions work for public and private companies. She joined Dechert in 1997 after clerking for now Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille.

She said she was talking to someone in the legal community about what she was looking for in her career and that person suggested she reach out to Klehr Harrison. Burnett said she was looking to bring in more clients, a difficult prospect in this economic environment coupled with the rates at Dechert, she said.

 “I was looking for a place where I could build relationships with clients and get them to be comfortable calling me on a general basis, not just [for] a really big deal because of the rate structures.”

Burnett said Klehr Harrison was a good fit and had recently brought over a tax partner with experience in the private equity realm, Benedict Kwon. Partner Keith W. Kaplan has a strong funds formation practice and a lot of contacts in the private equity world that could be helpful as well, she said.

Burnett isn’t bringing over any clients from Dechert, but said she hopes some of the client relationships she had there that weren’t under her name might want to look at Klehr Harrison. Burnett said she also wants to capitalize on the relationships already at her new firm as well as the possibility of bringing on old contacts as new clients, now that she is at a firm with a lower rate structure.

Number of Securities Class Action Filings Stay Below Average in 2007

For the fourth consecutive six-month period, securities class action filings are "well below" historical averages, according to a mid-year report issued this week by the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse and Cornerstone Research.

There were 59 filings between January and June 22, 2007, a 42 percent drop from the average semi-annual filing rate of 101. Those statistics come from examining filings from 1996 through 2005.

"We've now had two years worth of extremely low filing activity," Stanford Law School professor Joseph Grundfest said. "This is starting to look like a permanent shift, not a transitory phenomenon."

The second half of 2006 reported 53 filings and the latter half of 2005 showed 61 filings, according to the report.

Grundfest said increased enforcement activity by the SEC and DOJ has resulted in a decrease in fraud. Another explanation for the decrease in filings over the past two years is the strong stock market over that same time period, according to the report.

~Gina Passarella, Staff Reporter