The Legal Intelligencer Blog

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.)

The top story this morning is the state Supreme Court sending the voter ID case back to the Commonwealth Court. As reporter Saranac Hale Spencer writes, challengers to the law won a round yesterday when the justices filed a per curiam order vacating the Commonwealth Court’s decision not to issue a preliminary injunction last month. The state must now prove that nobody will be disenfranchised by the law.

Also above the fold on Page 1, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that complaints about priest sexual abuse claim that Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young assisted the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in efforts to conceal sexual misconduct by its clergy. The firm is not a named defendant in the eight civil lawsuits that were filed.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporter Zack Needles writes that a Connecticut insurer has sued Chartwell Law Offices, seeking a declaratory judgment that it does not have a duty to indemnify the firm against malpractice claims tied to the Bridgeport fire.

In more Regional News on Page 3, a New Jersey firm has been sued over the failed use of an involuntary Chapter 7 petition.

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 this week’s GC Mid-Atlantic column on Page 5, Steven D. Usdin and Nella M. Bloom write about a general counsel’s role in a financially distressed company.

In an E-Discovery column on Page 7, Alice E. Burns writes about using predictive coding as another tool in the arsenal.

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 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 a debate regarding privilege-waiver issues in the Catholic Archdiocese abuse case. As reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes, attorneys for the archdiocese say it may assert attorney-client privilege that can’t be waived even if its former personnel director – who is accused of endangering the welfare of children by not taking proper action to protect them from sexually abusive priests – waives his own privilege.

Also above the fold on Page 1, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes about the latest legal salvo between Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille and federal capital case defenders. Castille said in an opinion last week that Defender Billy H. Nolas has created “state-federal gridlock” in a Philadelphia murder case by telling the trial court that his client’s federal appeals pending in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals were being paused to allow state-court proceedings to go forward.

On the bottom of Page 1 today, reporter Zack Needles writes that a man injured in a drywall accident has settled for $5.75 million with the subcontractor whose employee allegedly dropped the drywall.

In more Regional News on Page 3, a Cherry Hill, N.J., firm is suing a former whistleblower client for a share of an award the client received after she revoked the firm’s power of attorney.

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 this week’s Employment Law column on Page 5, Vianei Lopez Robinson of Legal affiliate Texas Lawyer writes about some fixes that companies should make this year, including updating the company’s social media policy.

In a Criminal Practice column on Page 7, Richard Q. Hark writes about some recent changes to Megan’s Law that will add challenges for juvenile offenders attempting to rehabilitate themselves.

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 (and Delaware!)

By Jaime Bochet
Of the Legal Staff

Welcome to your daily 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.)

Just as Tuesdays always include our Pennsylvania Law Weekly section, Wednesday is the unofficial "Day of Delaware," when we roll out the fresh ink from our First State to the south. That includes the Delaware Law Weekly, available online at www.delawarelawweekly.com, as well as our newest product, the Delaware Business Court Insider, an online newsletter that definitely warrants a look.

But more about Delaware in a bit … let's get to today's Legal.

Topping the front page, U.S. Courthouse Correspondent Shannon P. Duffy has news that deals a legal setback to the Obama administration: "A federal judge in Harrisburg has struck down several provisions of the Affordable Care Act after concluding that the law's 'individual mandate' is an unconstitutional extension of Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause. 'The issue is whether Congress can invoke its Commerce Clause power to compel individuals to buy insurance as a condition of lawful citizenship or residency,' U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner wrote in his 53-page opinion in Goudy-Bachman v. United States."

Below the fold, reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel was there as the Supreme Court heard (televised) oral arguments in an historic setting in Old City Philadelphia yesterday. In the case she covered, a state Supreme Court justice characterized the drugmaker Wyeth as asserting that there is enough protection for persons harmed by prescription drugs in federal regulation of the release of drugs onto the market, and limiting plaintiffs to lawsuits for drugmakers' alleged failures to adequately warn of risks.

Today's Page 3 Regional News story is by reporter Zack Needles, who chronicles the growth of an area law firm: Philadelphia-based Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer Toddy has acquired four transactional lawyers from the Philadelphia office of Maryland-based Offit Kurman, saying increased work in that practice area over the last few months has necessitated the growth.

As always, our People in the News sectionis on Page 2. The top stories from our sister publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

Today's contributed columns begin on Page 5 with an "Employment Law" column by Sid Steinberg of Post & Schell, who writes that as cases under the amended Americans with Disabilities Act begin to reach the courts, less emphasis will be placed on whether an employee is "disabled" and a greater emphasis will be placed on the questions of whether an employee is a "qualified individual" under the act and whether an employee could be reasonably accommodated.

Page 7 features our weekly "GC Mid-Atlantic" page, with an article from affiliate Corporate Counsel magazine, which profiles the new head of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), Joe West.

As we move south in our weekly coverage to Delaware, we'll stop first at the Delaware Law Weekly, where reporter Jeff Mordock has the top stories. Please note: all of our Delaware coverage is for paid subscribers, but you can register for a free 30-day trial by clicking here.

In the top slot, Jeff writes that four Sussex County residents have filed a lawsuit accusing the county's legislative council of explicitly endorsing Christianity by beginning each meeting by reciting the "Our Father."

Jeff also reports that St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. has filed a lawsuit seeking to remove itself from the duty of defending or reimbursing the Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, Del., from civil lawsuits related to the crimes committed by former pediatrician Earl Bradley.

Finally, we'd like you to meet (if you haven't already) the Delaware Business Court Insider.  As the name suggests, this is a national product covering the latest news, analysis and cases from the Delaware Chancery Court, Bankruptcy Court and Supreme Court. The accompanying website is www.delbizcourt.com, where you can go to subscribe to this newsletter weekly. You can also follow us on Twitter at: @delbizcour.

Top stories there include the following:
- President Obama is set to overhaul the nation's patent system, but attorneys say it is too early to see how the law will affect business.
-  Plaintiffs filed yet another amended complaint in their derivative suit against News Corp., including new allegations against the company.
- Vice Chancellor Noble denies plaintiffs' request for interim attorney fees in the Novell shareholder dispute.

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 and our Delaware coverage!

Jaime Bochet is the Magazines & Supplements Editor for The Legal. Follow her on Twitter at @JaimeBochetTLI or e-mail [email protected].

Fresh Ink - Inside Today's Legal

By Jaime Bochet
Of the Legal Staff

Welcome to your daily 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 top story is by our U.S. Courthouse Correspondent, Shannon P. Duffy, who writes that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, adopting a nine-factor balancing test for deciding when litigants may keep their names secret, has ruled that pseudonyms should be reserved for those who can show a "reasonable" fear of "severe" harm.

Also leading the front page is a story from reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel: The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office moved Friday to disqualify law firm Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young from representing both the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia and retired Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua in the latest round of allegations of church sex abuse.

Below the fold, senior reporter Gina Passarella writes that a Philadelphia attorney suspended for five years after her conviction for mail fraud related to a cash payment to disgraced former city treasurer Corey Kemp has been reinstated to the bar with the blessing of all but one state Supreme Court justice.

In our Page 3 Regional News section, reporter Zack Needles has a story about the Philadelphia Parking Authority: As the question of whether PPA has the power to create its own taxicab regulations without public input awaits argument before the state Supreme Court, the Commonwealth Court has ruled that agency-issued citations based on those regulations remain unenforceable in the meantime.  

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.

Our first contributed article on this Monday morning is our "Insight on Diversity" column by Stacy Hawkins of Rutgers School of Law-Camden, who wonders if the legal profession is unconsciously undermining its diversity commitment.

Our second contributed article is our "U.S. Supreme Court" column by John S. Summers and Dylan J. Steinberg of Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin, who take a look at the court's June 23 decision in Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc.

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 [email protected].