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 Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Sandra Mazer Moss rejecting Pennsylvania as a forum for a Texas plaintiff’s asbestos case. As reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes, the plaintiffs argued that Pennsylvania was an appropriate forum because the defendants they are suing “willingly marketed” asbestos-related products in Pennsylvania, among other reasons. But Moss wrote that all of the alleged exposure to asbestos occurred in Texas, making the Lone Star state a better forum.
Also above the fold on Page 1, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that Senior Judge Benjamin Lerner said in a report issued yesterday that the pay given to private defense lawyers for defendants facing death row is “grossly inadequate.” He also said that low pay has led to a shortage of lawyers willing to take the cases.
Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Zack Needles writes that a Delaware County trial judge has ruled that a school’s ban on employees with certain prior criminal convictions does not apply to current employees. Two Penn-Delco School District employees were fired following a recent amendment to the state’s Public School Code over prior convictions disclosed at the time they were hired.
In more Regional News on Page 3, reporter Gina Passarella writes that real estate finance is on the rise again, after the practice area plummeted during the recession.
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, including the U.S. Supreme Court revisiting the divisive issue of affirmative action in higher education as part of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin.
As it is Wednesday, this week’s GC Mid-Atlantic column is on Page 5, as Catherine Dunn of Legal affiliate Corporate Counsel writes that pro bono work is being inhabited more and more by in-house legal departments in recent years. Esther Lardent, president and CEO of the Pro Bono Institute, said, “It’s like a quiet revolution.”
In a Legal Marketing column on Page 7, Stacy West Clark writes a blueprint for achieving results with your firm’s marketing committee. Her tips include making an agenda for meetings and establishing authority within the committee.
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.
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