July 2011 Archives

What will it take for the dynamic duo of Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss to curl up with their $65 million Facebook settlement and leave the judicial system alone? More than an admonishment from Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski that the time for the litigation to end "has now been reached."

The Winklevii are at it again, this time challenging Facebook in the United States District Court in Boston. Their claim? Facebook "intentionally or inadvertently suppressed evidence" during settlement talks, including communications from the time of Facebook's founding. The outcome? Denied. Again.

If you need to satisfy continuing legal education requirements - we’re talking to you, New Hampshire and Rhode Island attorneys - or brush up on the particulars of estate planning, you still have time to register for the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Basics of Developing an Estate Plan CLE course on Thursday, July 28.

The seminar will provide advice for developing an estate plan from beginning to end, and address estate taxes, long-term care, and providing for minors. Participants can attend the session from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST on site at the Massachusetts Bar office at 20 West Street in Boston, or watch the class via Real-time or On Demand webcast. (Webcast participants will not receive a certificate of attendance.)

Whether aspiring to be Atticus Finch or Gloria Allred, law students can get an early shot at the big time in First Circuit Court of Appeals.

The First Circuit has adopted amendments to Local Rule 46.0(f), broadening the scope of law student representation. Under the expanded rule, a law student may represent the federal government or a federal agency, and a law graduate may represent clients under certain circumstances while waiting to sit for the bar for the first time or waiting for bar examination results.

Of course, there are limitations to the not-quite-lawyer's new-found freedoms.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals has been asked to overturn a ruling that would transfer a Rhode Island man into the custody of federal officials in a death penalty case.

Boston.com reports that the appeal was filed with the First Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this week in the case of Jason Pleau.

Pleau’s lawyers are appealing an order by federal Judge William E. Smith for the state of Rhode Island to hand over Pleau to federal officials so that he can stand trial in federal court.

A new judge has been sworn into office in the First Circuit this week.

The Associated Press reports that the investiture ceremony for U.S. District Judge John James McConnell (Jack McConnell) occurred earlier this week as he was sworn in to the Federal Circuit as a District Court Judge.

The ceremony was a tearful one, reports the AP, and it took place at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, RI.