Supreme Court Oks Fee Enhancement, But Questions Remain

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Julie Brook, Esq.

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court in Perdue v Kenny A. (U.S. Sup Ct, Apr. 21, 2010, No. 08-970) 2010 US Lexis 3481 ruled that attorney fees awarded under federal fee-shifting statutes may exceed the “lodestar” amount, i.e., the number of hours worked multiplied by the prevailing hourly rates. But such enhancements are only permissible under rare circumstances, which include superior performance by the attorneys. This is clearly an important ruling, but there are a couple of aspects to the case that haven’t received much notice, yet. (more…)

Filed under: Litigation Strategy, New Legal Developments | Leave a Comment »

Health Care Reform Includes Surprise Tax Increase for High Earners

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Julie Brook, Esq.

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Pub L 111–148, 124 Stat 119). As expected, the health care reform legislation, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub L 111–152, 124 Stat 1029), includes an additional Medicare tax beginning in 2013 on individuals making over $200,000 per year ($250,000 for joint filers), bringing the Medicare tax rate to 3.8 percent for those individuals. In a surprising development, for the first time in the history of the Medicare program, the new 3.8 percent Medicare tax will apply to the net investment income of those individuals. (more…)

Filed under: Estate Planning, Legal Topics, Tax Law | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

7 Wage and Hour Issues to Be Decided

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Julie Brook, Esq.

Think you’re current with wage and hour law? Did you know that the California Supreme Court currently has 7 wage and hour cases on its docket? These cases involve some very interesting and important issues, including (more…)

Filed under: Employment Law | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Increased Access to Federal Court Records

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Julie Brook, Esq.

The Judicial Conference of the United States has approved key steps to improve public access to federal court records. These steps include: 

They also added a pilot program to publish federal district and bankruptcy court opinions via the Government Printing Office’s Federal Digital System, so the public can more easily search across opinions and across courts. (more…)

Filed under: Business, Legal Topics, Litigation Strategy | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Economy Still Stressed: Foreclosure, Unemployment and Bankruptcies

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Kay Tindel

On April 13, 2010 the Associated Press reported in its Economic Stress Index, that the US economy in February was still under “stress” with a score of 11.8, although the number was slightly down from its all time high of 11.9 in January. The Index calculates a score for more than 3100 counties based on the county’s unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates. A higher score means things are worse, and a score above 11 generally indicates economic stress.

The nation’s most economically distressed states were: Nevada (21.4), Michigan (17.84), California (16.94), Florida (16.26) and (more…)

Filed under: Bankruptcy, Real Property | 1 Comment »

Any Comment on the Amended Ethics Rules?

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Julie Brook, Esq.

Update: A State Bar commission will hold a hearing June 10 in Los Angeles to receive testimony on the new and revised Rules of Professional Conduct.

Now is your chance  to comment on the 69 amended Rules of Professional Conduct set to be adopted by the State Bar’s Board of Governors by September.  California is still the only state not to pattern its ethics rules on the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, but these amendments bring California’s rules closer in both form and content. (more…)

Filed under: Practice of Law | Leave a Comment »

Hiring Help for E-Discovery

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Julie Brook, Esq.

With most data now generated and stored electronically, discovery has significantly changed and a new industry of  consultants looking to assist attorneys in gathering and producing electronic data has developed and grown.  But how does a tech-impaired attorney hire an e-discovery vendor? (more…)

Filed under: Civil Litigation, Discovery, Litigation Strategy | Leave a Comment »

Profile in Practice: James J. Brosnahan

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Julie Brook, Esq.

As part of CEB’s commitment to bringing together California’s legal community, our blog will post a short interview with one of your fellow attorneys.

This week, we profile attorney and CEB contributor James J. Brosnahan:

CEB: What is your practice area and how did you choose it?

Jim: I am a trial lawyer who tries civil and criminal cases. I enjoy the competitive and intellectual aspects of such a practice and that is why I started it 51 years ago.

CEB: What do you like best and least about practicing law?

Jim: I like best the meeting and working with many different kinds of people and the fueling of intellectual curiosity that it brings.  I like least meeting some of these people. (more…)

Filed under: Legal Topics, Litigation Strategy, Profiles | Leave a Comment »

Thank you, Justice Stevens

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Julie Brook, Esq.

After 34 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Stevens will retire at the end of this term.  As described by the National Law Journal, Justice Stevens leaves a “diverse legal legacy,” including

…authoring landmark decisions ranging from Reno v. ACLU, the 1997 decision that anointed the Internet with broad First Amendment protection, to Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council in 1984, which has guided the administrative state ever since. (more…)

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Court Overrules FCC Authority Over Net Neutrality

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Kay Tindel

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, recently issued an order overturning the FCC’s August 2008 ruling against Comcast. The FCC order would have required the provider to “give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks” according to the Huffington Post. (more…)

Filed under: New Legal Developments | Leave a Comment »

Next Page »

  • CEB is now tweeting squibs with links for all CA, 9th Cir, and US Sup Ct cases! Get your cases daily by following CEB.

  • Featured Program

    The 35th Annual UCLA-CEB Estate Planning Institute

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 2,900 other followers

  • Find CEB on:

    Facebook IconTwitter IconLinkedin IconGooglePlus Icon

  • About the Author

    Julie Brook, Esq.

  • Disclaimer

    This blog is not intended to reflect the position of the State Bar of California or of the University of California. The content is provided with the understanding that CEB does not render any legal, accounting, or other professional service. Attorneys using CEB Blog - Your Partner In Practice should research original sources of authority. Any CEB publication cited is not intended to describe the standard of care for attorneys in any community, but rather to be of assistance to attorneys in providing high quality service to their clients and in protecting their own interests.
%d bloggers like this: