News from July 2009
THIS JUST IN: Jefferson County
June 11
THIS JUST IN: Jackson County
June 22
THIS JUST IN: Mason County
June 10
THIS JUST IN: Berkeley County
June 11
THEIR VIEW: Do-it-yourself class action administration
MARTINSBURG -- Legal firms know that the complexity of class action lawsuits can drag such cases out for years; what may not be so obvious is that once the settlement is reached, an entirely new stage of work begins, one that is also complex and can take a lot of time to resolve.
Lawmaker wants PEIA to ask for Oxy money
McGraw CHARLESTON -- Before a state agency starts making budget cuts, one West Virginia lawmaker wants it to inquire about money that he feels it may be owed from state Attorney General Darrell McGraw's controversial 2004 OxyContin settlement.
Federal judge dismissed doctor's privileges suit
Westmoreland HUNTINGTON - Despite denying a previous motion to move the case to state court, a federal judge has dismissed a Mason County physician's staffing privileges lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction.
*** Copyblock for p1 art: IOLTA awards
CHARLESTON – Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Benjamin awarded $100,000 in IOLTA (Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts) funds during a July 2 press conference in the Supreme Court Chamber.
Berger nominated for federal bench
Berger CHARLESTON – President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he nominated Kanawha Circuit Judge Irene Berger to replace U.S. District Judge David Faber in West Virginia's Southern District.
Tax Dept. attorney pays former client $200 during hearing
Golden CHARLESTON - If anything, a Charleston man has recouped $200 in a legal malpractice suit against a state Tax Department attorney he claims failed to file his bankruptcy case six years ago when she was in private practice.
Golden again admonished twice for communication failure
Golden CHARLESTON - For the second time in her legal career, Ellen Golden has been disciplined twice in the same year by the state Bar for failing to timely handle her client's cases.
Nick Nolte's ex-wife sues woman over arrest
CHARLESTON – The ex-wife of actor Nick Nolte is suing two Charleston women, saying she was arrested on bogus charges following an attempt to visit her niece.
PERSONNEL FILE: Paralegals elected to board, receive award for service
Lowther CHARLESTON -– Three Steptoe & Johnson paralegals have been recognized by the Legal Assistants/Paralegals of Southern West Virginia (LAPSWV) at the organization's fifth annual meeting and seminar held in June.
Lawsuit filed over wreck that killed five
Stone MORGANTOWN -- A Monongalia County lawsuit seeks damages from a man who drove drunk and killed five people and the two bars where the man drank that day.
Forbes to headline W.Va. Business Summit
Forbes CHARLESTON -- Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine and former Presidential candidate, will be the headline speaker at the W.Va. Chamber's 2009 Annual Meeting and West Virginia Business Summit.
PERSONNEL FILE: HR professionals receive certifications
Quaranto CLARKSBURG -– Dee Quaranto, Stacia Martin, Tara Stevens and James Smith, members of the North Central West Virginia Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management, recently earned prestigious professional certifications awarded to distinguished practitioners in the field.
Blumenthal is a literary lawyer
Blumenthal MORGANTOWN -- He publishes regularly in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The New Republic and The Nation.
McGraw backs NRA in Chicago case
McGraw WASHINGTON - West Virginia is one of a group states that has joined in a brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court defending the Second Amendment rights of individuals who live in cities that have banned handguns at home.
Former officer pleads guilty to civil rights charges
CHARLESTON – A former Montgomery police officer pleaded guilty Monday to depriving two individuals of their civil rights during an incident while he was on duty.
Woman says lawyer helped ex-husband ruin her
CHARLESTON -- A woman says her well-to-do ex-husband and his lawyer friend hoodwinked her in a divorce and left her with nothing.