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Week Of Monday February 8, 2010
A Fein Fit For U.S. Attorney’s Job 
David B. Fein’s nomination to serve as Connecticut’s U.S. Attorney caps a long career of significant accomplishments in criminal law. When he came to New Haven’s Wiggin and Dana in 1997, Fein was the firm’s first white-collar defense partner, fresh from a two-year stint in the Clinton White House, where he was an associate counsel.
LeClairRyan Strikes Again
Before last week, William J. McGrath Jr., managing partner of Halloran & Sage in Hartford, did not have LeClairRyan on his radar screen. After all, Virginia-based LeClairRyan has had a Connecticut presence for less than two years. But now McGrath knows what others are quickly learning – LeClairRyan is in a rapid growth mode that includes recruiting top lawyers from established firms.
Full Decision On Lawyer Advertising Case Now AvailableFREE
The Statewide Grievance Committee on Monday released its full-length decision that brought to an end an array of grievance complaints in the state against attorneys doing business with Total Attorneys, a Chicago-based lawyer-advertising site.
Taking The Show On The RoadFREE
Dyke Spear Jr. was a fledgling divorce lawyer in Hartford in 1961 when he attended a reunion event at Trinity College.
He heard several groups of a capella singers perform and was impressed. Then he got an idea. He signed contracts with 10 of those groups, rented out The Bushnell and then started selling the show to the public.
Defendant Challenges Detectives’ Pot Bust TacticsFREE
Summary: Prosecutors are challenging a trial court’s decision to dismiss charges against a man found in possession of a pound of marijuana at a traffic light. In its ruling of an illegal seizure, the trial court said the defendant couldn’t have felt free to drive away after a police officer approached the car in traffic.
Contractors Nailed By Higher Building Permit FeesFREE
There probably aren’t many town politicians familiar with the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. But that may change soon.
Those five letters – CUTPA – could spell trouble for municipalities that might have drastically raised the fees for building permits or other permits and used the funds generated to pay off debts. Such a scenario is what’s alleged in the town of Madison, where a lengthy legal battle has made its way to the state Supreme Court.
Giving Her Credit For Time Served
Two of the state’s most well-respected legal minds disagree on the constitutionality of a state statute requiring the Connecticut attorney general to be someone who has been in active legal practice for at least 10 years. But Susan Bysiewicz isn’t troubled by the differences. She’s heard enough from both Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and appellate advocate and constitutional scholar Wesley Horton to conclude that she is, in fact, eligible for the AG’s office.
Q&A
A Healthy Outlook On The AG’s Office
New Haven state Rep. Cameron Staples, a Democrat, was the first to officially declare his candidacy for the office of attorney general, after incumbent Richard Blumenthal said he would run for U.S. Senate. People have been expecting big things from Staples since the conclusion of his freshman term in the legislature in 1994, when his colleagues picked him as the lawmaker with “Best Future Promise.”
Cracking Open The Door To Juvenile CourtFREE
Several attorneys who represent juveniles in court questioned a new Judicial Branch pilot program that will open up certain court proceedings to the public. “I don’t understand the reasoning for this,” said Daniel Weiner, a juvenile law attorney in Stamford. “I’m a little surprised. Potentially this could taint a kid.” The juvenile docket historically has been shielded from public view due to the age of its participants. But starting Feb. 16, cases in one courthouse involving allegations of child neglect and abuse, as well as petitions for termination of parental rights, can be heard by anyone who is interested.
Verdicts & Settlements
Hospital Settles For $1.5M After Heart Attack Death
Estate of Arkady Mikhelzon v. The State of Connecticut: The estate of a Russian immigrant collected about $1.5 million from the University of Connecticut’s hospital after claiming that doctors failed to implant a device that might have prevented a fatal heart attack. At age 9, Arkady Mikhelzon moved from Russia to the U.S. with his parents, and they moved to Connecticut when he was 15. Growing up, he was active and healthy, but he had a heart condition that can strike young people unexpectedly.
A Fein Fit For U.S. Attorney’s PostFREE
David B. Fein’s nomination to serve as Connecticut’s U.S. Attorney caps a long career of significant accomplishments in criminal law.
When he came to New Haven’s Wiggin and Dana in 1997, Fein was the firm’s first white-collar defense partner, fresh from a two-year stint in the Clinton White House, where he was an associate counsel.
Before that, Fein was a fast-rising star in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, where one of his bosses was Rudy Giuliani and another was Mary Jo White, now a partner at New York’s Debevoise & Plimpton.
What’s ‘Active Practice’? Experts Can’t SayFREE
It seems like the most basic point of lawyering. You have an active license to practice law in the state, and you counsel people on the laws of the state. Many would consider you to be a lawyer with an active practice. But, what if you’re a lawyer in a job that does not require a law degree? You’re interpreting laws and providing opinions to people who want to run for elected office or start a business. Are you engaged in the active practice of law?
Sexy Store Dispute Gets X-tra AttentionFREE
Like many towns in Connecticut, Berlin is attempting to define “adult-oriented stores” – and keep them from opening up too close to schools and residential neighborhoods. A long-running dispute between the town and VIP (short for Very Intimate Pleasures) has involved a question about the constitutionality of ordinance language that has banned VIP from doing business in Berlin.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals has just issued a legally substantial ruling on the matter.
Defending Criminals, Offering Comfort To VictimsFREE
John Frazier was returning to his family’s Waterbury home on the night of Jan. 18 to eat birthday cake with his relatives. But the high school student who had just turned 17 didn’t make it inside. He was gunned down on the doorstep in a drive-by shooting. Not only did Frazier’s life end tragically, but his family couldn’t afford to pay for his funeral. Schoolmates at Kaynor Technical High School in Waterbury cobbled together about $2,000 to help out, falling far short of the $8,000 needed.
Verdicts & Settlements
Emergency Room Heart Attack Costs Hospital $1.5M
Harry Johnston, Administrator v. Hartford Hospital: The estate of a woman who died of a heart attack after Hartford Hospital physicians failed to address the low potassium levels in her blood was awarded more than $1.5 million after a jury trial.
Caroline Johnston, the 44-year-old mother of two young boys in East Hartford, was diagnosed in 2003 with a heart condition known as post-partum cardiomyopathy.
From The Highlands To The CoastlineFREE
Hartford lawyer Beth Bryan Critton has always been adventurous. She was once a police officer in Wethersfield and served with the American Red Cross in Vietnam. But about 10 years ago, she began to see the world a different way – on foot. It all started simply enough. Critton is the mother of four adult children. In 2000, her 18-year-old son hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.
Legal Community Eyes New Legislative Session
Two years ago, the General Assembly passed a host of criminal justice reforms in the wake of the brutal Cheshire home invasion and triple murder. Last year, lawmakers voted to abolish the death penalty (a move thwarted by a governor’s veto) and took steps to help financially strapped legal aid agencies. A new legislative session will begin this Wednesday, but it appears -- for now – there is little chance of dramatic action on any issue that directly affects lawyers or the legal community.
New Firms Forego Old-School Competition
About five miles separate downtown Bridgeport and Stratford. But for labor and employment law partners Robert Mitchell and Margaret Sheahan, it’s a world away. With about 60 years combined legal experience, the longtime colleagues left lofty positions at Pullman & Comley in Bridgeport to open their own two-lawyer firm along the banks of the Housatonic River in mid-January. It’s a shockingly different atmosphere at Mitchell & Sheahan, where the partners do everything from sanding down and refinishing the mahogany table in the conference room to making sure the coffee pot is cleaned out every night.
Q&A
Bringing A Business Perspective To AG’s OfficeFREE
In business and in his politics, John Pavia, 46, is focused on the power of good executive management to turn around an ailing business situation. He is the finance chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, and a longtime GOP stalwart. Last week, Pavia filed papers to form an exploratory committee in a possible run for the office of attorney general, in a race that already has three Democratic hopefuls – Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, former state Senate Majority Leader George Jepsen and New Haven Sen. Cameron Staples.
Salty Language Marks Dispute Over Snow RemovalFREE
Sand or salt? Of all the issues that polarize Americans, it seems highly unlikely that a busy labor and employment lawyer would spend three years fighting with officials in his hometown about the best way to make snowy streets safe. But this is exactly what’s happening in Middletown. Meet Scott Macdonald, a guy who says he’s tired of tracking sand into his garage and house and watching pebbles from the sand mixture fly up from the road and crack his car’s windshield.
“It happens every year,” Macdonald said.
New Haven Reportedly Considered For Terror TrialFREE
Could the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks be tried in Connecticut?
Several news organizations are reporting that the New Haven federal courthouse is among the alternate locations being considered for the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four accomplices.
Blumenthal’s Opinion Doesn’t Clear Up AG ControversyFREE
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday offered his opinion on the legal qualifications for Connecticut’s attorney general’s post, but he provided no definitive answers as to whether Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz is eligible to be AG.
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