My original reporting on legal events and trends:
Reporting
Reporting
February 2nd, 2014
The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that it doesn't violate due process for a Connecticut law firm to face a legal malpractice lawsuit in that state even though none of the firm's lawyers are licensed to practice in Arizona. Legal experts, however, said there is little chance that facing a lawsuit in another state will lead law firms to stop the practice of issuing opinion letters to out-of-state clients on tax shelters.
I covered... Continue Reading
January 27th, 2014
A long-pending and widely anticipated opinion of first impression from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week is going to provide more causes of action for plaintiffs lawyers to pursue in the arena of brand-name drug litigation.
The Supreme Court---28 months after it heard oral argument--recognized causes of action for negligent marketing of brand-name drugs, negligent failure to remove prescription drugs from the market and negligence in... Continue Reading
January 26th, 2014
An excerpt of the piece I wrote for the Connecticut Law Tribune about a possible case of wrongful conviction in a double homicide and the law clinic who won a new trial for their client:
When eight law school students had their first day ever in court, the stakes could not have been higher: They were representing a man who contends he was wrongly convicted of a double New Haven homicide.
The payoff was not only a learning... Continue Reading
January 19th, 2014
Here's an excerpt of a story I wrote for the Connecticut Law Tribune about the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford's oral history project documenting Jewish lawyers and judges in Connecticut:
When Gerry Roisman graduated law school in 1962, one of the partners at the law firm where his mother worked as a legal secretary said he would help Roisman find a job.
As he sat in the partner's office, Roisman listened as the... Continue Reading
January 16th, 2014
Philadelphia City Paper cross-posted my report on how the city of Philadelphia is back to square one in its plan to develop an Office of Conflict Counsel to represent criminal defendants and family-court defendants when the Defender Association of Philadelphia, Community Legal Services or the Support Center for Child Advocates is already representing another person in the case. An excerpt:
The city of Philadelphia will not be entering... Continue Reading
January 15th, 2014
The city of Philadelphia is not going to be entering a contract right away to start a for-profit Office of Conflict Counsel after all.
Mayor Michael A. Nutter's press secretary, Mark McDonald, said in an email that the winning bidder did not have the same name in place at the start of the process as at the end of the process, so the contract can't be issued legally.
Philadelphia attorney Daniel-Paul Alva was the winner of the bid... Continue Reading
January 13th, 2014
I wrote a piece for the Connecticut Law Tribune about Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker looking to duplicate its lobbying success in New York's capital in Connecticut. The firm has opened a new office in Hartford, the second one in Connecticut. An excerpt of the piece:
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker is looking to duplicate the lobbying success it's had at New York's capital at Connecticut's seat of... Continue Reading
January 10th, 2014
Last night, I attended a talk given by Heidi Boghosian, executive director of the National Lawyers Guild, in support of a book, Spying on Democracy: Government Surveillance, Corporate Power, and Public Resistance, she wrote before Edward Snowden leaked so many of the surveillance secrets of the United States.
Boghosian pointed out that Americans are not just being monitored by governmental officials but by “its corporate partners.... Continue Reading
January 6th, 2014
Philadelphia attorney Daniel-Paul Alva, winner of the bid to start a new Office of Conflict Counsel in Philadelphia, said in an interview today that he is looking forward to proving “detractors” wrong.
The city announced its intention Tuesday, December 31, to contract with Alva & Associates to start a for-profit law firm from scratch to represent criminal defendants and family court defendants when the Defender Association... Continue Reading
January 4th, 2014
My piece for Philadelphia City Paper:
On Tuesday, the city released a notice of its intention to contract with Alva & Associates to start a for-profit law firm from scratch to represent criminal defendants and family-court defendants when the Defender Association of Philadelphia, Community Legal Services or the Support Center for Child Advocates is already representing another person in the case.
Daniel-Paul Alva, founder of the four... Continue Reading
January 2nd, 2014
Last month, I wrote a piece for the Connecticut Law Tribune about the lack of legal doctrine to govern cyber warfare--and what a UConn professor and law student are doing about it:
Forget Terminator-style cyborgs sent back in time on an assassination mission.
Cyber warfare is here, but the form it takes doesn't involve lethal robots. It's things like Stuxnet, a computer "worm" that is believed to have been created in... Continue Reading
December 25th, 2013
A year ago I spent Christmas with my husband in Newtown, Connecticut, as he covered the community in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shootings. Such grave loss was a reminder to be grateful for what is good in a time that should be about happiness and celebration, not hate and condolence. Here is the blog I wrote a year ago today on the experience:
When I envisioned spending Christmas accompanying my photojournalist husband on... Continue Reading
December 16th, 2013
An excerpt of my piece for the Connecticut Law Tribune about the legal impacts of Superstorm Sandy:
Superstorm Sandy struck a less-devastating blow to Connecticut than it did to New Jersey and New York. Still, the Oct. 29, 2012, hurricane cut a wide swath in terms of affecting the state's legal community.
There are expectations of litigation over insurance coverage. Attorneys working for governmental agencies have helped to put... Continue Reading
December 9th, 2013
An excerpt of the piece I wrote for The Connecticut Law Tribune on the Children's Law Center of Connecticut, which is celebrating 20 years of protecting children this year:
After 6-year-old Ayla was murdered, Judith Hyde heard a voice inside her head. The message: Create a children's legal advocacy center to represent young children in family court.
Hyde had founded the Child Protection Council of Northeastern Connecticut, which... Continue Reading
December 2nd, 2013
I wrote a piece for The Connecticut Law Tribune on a law professor who has gone from reforming tax codes in China, Zambia, Vietnam and Gambia to proposing changes to how taxes are divided between states in which multistate corporations do business.
A story excerpt:
Richard Pomp has drafted tax codes in China, Zambia, Vietnam and Gambia.
One lesson he learned as an academic consultant is that it's a good idea to get the business... Continue Reading
Lawyer and Legal Journalist
