LAW BLOG NEWSLETTER
from The Wall Street Journal Online
November 28, 2008 -- 5:15 p.m. EST
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TODAY'S POSTS
- Moscow Lawyer Gives Birth in State Custody
- Reed Smith Partner Recounts a Frantic Search for Family in Mumbai
- Another Shot Fired in Alex Kozinski Ethics Investigation
- Pro Se Litigants: On the Rise and Mucking Things Up
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Moscow Lawyer Gives Birth in State Custody
A lawyer convicted of embezzlement as part of a government investigation of her employer, the Yukos oil company, and its then-top executive, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, gave birth today at an undisclosed hospital while remaining in state custody. Here's the previous LB coverage.
The saga of Svetlana Bakhmina (pictured with previous two children) has garnered international attention not only because many supporters say she is an innocent victim of a feud between Khodorkovsky and Vladimir Putin, but also because of the circumstances under which she became pregnant.
Here's this from the Washington Post: "After one of Bakhmina's high school classmates wrote an online appeal in late September urging Putin's successor, Dmitry Medvedev, to pardon her, more than 87,000 people signed an Internet petition on her behalf. A host of prominent figures in politics and the arts also called on Medvedev to grant her clemency, and the case emerged as an unusually public test of the new president's values and political clout.
Bakhmina won public sympathy in part because she became pregnant in March, when prison officials granted her a furlough for good behavior and let her visit her husband and their two young boys."
See and Post Comments: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/11/28/moscow-lawyer-gives-birth-in-state-custody?mod=djemWLB&reflink=djemWLB&reflink=djemWLB
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Reed Smith Partner Recounts a Frantic Search for Family in Mumbai
Weve all been riveted and horrified by whats going on India, but the terrorist attacks hit particularly close to home for Reed Smith partner Bradley Schmarak. On Wednesday afternoon, he learned that his aunt and uncle, Joe and Marilyn Ernsteen, were traveling in India and staying at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai (pictured). We caught up with Schmarak today, and he recounted the angst he went through until he learned Thursday morning that his relatives had survived the attacks.
He says that on Wednesday, when he heard the news, he reached out to the U.S. embassy and also to fellow partners at Reed Smith to see if they could help him get any information about whether his aunt and uncle were alive. Ajay Raju, who heads the firms India practice and has deep contacts in the country, started frantically calling business contacts in Mumbai. Raju says he even called a prominent art deal in New Delhi whom he knows, to see if he could offer any help locating the Ernsteens. But because Mumbai was then in a lockdown, he explains, it was impossible to get information.
Schmarak, an M&A and private equity lawyer, says he learned that his aunt and uncle were in their room when the terrorists entered the hotel. They faced a quandary: whether to hole up until the danger passed or to try to escape. If they left, he says, they faced running into the terrorists, Schmarak says, but if they stayed they ran the risk of getting engulfed in flames or smoke. They gathered their passport and headed out of the room, finding a fire escape that led to the roof. There, they found a safe army position and were later evacuated. One member of their tour group, Schmarak says, was shot and killed.
The Ernsteens are catching a flight that should get them back to Chicago tomorrow afternoon. The entire extended family will meet them at airport," he say. " My uncle videotaped a a lot, and he says he has material that CNN would drool over.
Joe Ernsteen did not lose his sense of humor, Schmarak says, noting that he had sent his uncle an email earlier in the week noting the beating Schmarak was taking in the market and inquiring whether he should trade out of a certain position. He wrote me back when they got out [of the hotel], sorry it took me so long to get back you about the bullets you have taken in the stock market, but I have been dodging bullets of my own.
Learning that his aunt and uncle were alive, he adds, "made for a truly joyous Thanksgiving. It makes you appreciate so many things."
See and Post Comments: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/11/28/reed-smith-partner-recounts-a-frantic-search-for-family-in-mumbai?mod=djemWLB&reflink=djemWLB&reflink=djemWLB
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Another Shot Fired in Alex Kozinski Ethics Investigation
Earlier this week, there was a new development in the Alex Kozinski ethics investigation. As readers surely recall, the Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit landed in hot water this summer when it surfaced that he had posted sexually explicit images onto what he believed was a private Web address.
Heres a Law Blog post on the matter, which first surfaced in a Los Angeles times article, and a Law Blog backgrounder on the judges ribald sense of humor.
Earlier this week, Ralph Mecham, who headed the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts before retiring in 2006, filed a complaint alleging that Kozinski disabled a judicial computer security system meant to block access to pornographic Web sites.
Heres a Bloomberg article about the Mecham complaint, which was filed Monday with the Third Circuit in Philadelphia. The court is handling an ethics investigation into Kozinski over the sexual images. We could not locate a copy of the complaint, but here's an earlier letter Mecham filed to the U.S. Judicial Conference outlining his allegations about the computer, courtesy of the ABA Journal.
In his complaint, Mecham claimed that former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist became enraged when he learned that Kozinski had not been disciplined when, in 2001, he allegedly disabled the computer filter software. Tell Kozinski to watch pornography at home and not in his own court, Rehnquist allegedly told Mecham, according to the complaint. Mecham, Bloomberg reports, wants Kozinski to resign or be impeached by Congress for allegedly destroying government property.
Bloomberg spoke to Kozinskis lawyer, Mark Holscher. Mechams allegations were reviewed several years ago and found to be baseless, Holscher said. It is unfortunate that he would raise them now with purported quotes from Chief Justice Rehnquist after he passed away.
Mechams complaint also calls for discipline against Ninth Circuit judges, including former chief judge Mary Schroeder, asserting they allegedly approved the computer tampering. Calls to their chambers from Bloomberg were not returned, and the Ninth Circuits spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
See and Post Comments: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/11/28/another-shot-fired-in-alex-kozisnki-ethics-investigation?mod=djemWLB&reflink=djemWLB&reflink=djemWLB
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Pro Se Litigants: On the Rise and Mucking Things Up
As LB readers are very aware, it's been a stressful year for the legal profession. Several sizable firms have resorted to layoffs and many more are expecting profits to be down considerably. So the Associated Press didn't do much to cheer us this week by reporting that more individuals have resorted to serving as their own lawyer. (Here's the story.)
"The number of people serving as their own lawyers is on the rise across the country, and the cases are no longer limited to uncontested divorces and small claims. Even people embroiled in child-custody cases, potentially devastating lawsuits, and bankruptcies are representing themselves, legal specialists say," the AP reports.
Worse yet, these do-it-yourselfers are apparently making things worse for the professionals.
"The trend has resulted in court systems clogged with filings from people unfamiliar with legal procedure. Moreover, some of these pro se litigants, as they are known, are making mistakes with expensive and long-lasting consequences - perhaps confirming the old saying that he who represents himself has a fool for a client."
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the story: the ABA is aiding and abetting this effort. "The legal profession may not like the trend but realizes it is here to stay; it has gotten behind the effort. The American Bar Association is encouraging states to set up self-help desks and adopt standard forms for such things as uncontested divorces."
Ah, with friends like the ABA...
See and Post Comments: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/11/28/pro-se-litigants-on-the-rise-and-mucking-things-up?mod=djemWLB&reflink=djemWLB&reflink=djemWLB
TOP LAW NEWS
Cost-conscious clients are pressuring the law firms they hire to trim fees, which has more firms outsourcing research to Indian lawyers. - Photos: Legal Outsourcing Grows
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122765161306957779.html?mod=djemWLB&reflink=djemWLB
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