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Study Predicts 5 Percent Growth in Legal Spending
Legal Blog News |
2009/05/07 10:48
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pA decline in legal spending by large companies is about to be reversed, according to a new survey of Fortune 1000 companies.
/ppThe study by market research firm BTI Consulting says large companies will increase legal spending on outside counsel nearly 5 percent over the next six months, according to a press release. The top areas for growth in legal spending will be in the areas of regulatory compliance (up 5.8 percent), bankruptcy (up 2.6 percent), securities and finance (up 2.1 percent), and employment (up .7 percent), an executive summary says (PDF)./ppThe projected increase in spending follows a significant drop in legal spending last year and in the first six months of 2009. When the expected increase is taken into account, overall legal spending is expected to decline just 1.4 percent for the year./ppIn a press release, Michael Rynowecer, president of BTI Consulting, calls the findings “a big ray of sunshine in what has been a very stormy environment.” He cautions, however, that some law firms won’t benefit from the increase in spending./pp“Rather than a wholesale recovery, we are seeing a shift of resources to specific firms and practices that are well-positioned,” he said in the press release. “Large companies are sharing this renewed spending with a smaller group of law firms than just six months ago. Those firms caught unaware or unprepared for this shift will continue to face significant challenges and not reap the benefits of this increased spending.”/ppThe study is based on 370 interviews with corporate counsel at Fortune 1000 companies that average $19.4 million in outside counsel spending./p |
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Demjanjuk appeals German court decision
Top Court Watch |
2009/05/07 10:46
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Suspected Nazi guard John Demjanjuk's attorney says he has appealed a Berlin court ruling that stymied an attempt to stop his client's deportation from the United States.
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Lawyer Ulrich Busch told The Associated Press late Thursday he is asking for the German government to retract its agreement to take Demjanjuk on humanitarian grounds./ppHe says it might take two weeks for the appeal filed with a Berlin administrative court to be ruled upon. And he says even if the ruling is in Demjanjuk's favor, American authorities still could deport him./ppDemjanjuk (dem-YAHN'-yuk) is wanted in Germany on an arrest warrant accusing him of being an accessory to 29,000 murders at the Nazis' Sobibor death camp in occupied Poland. He denies the charges./p |
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Judge waives waiting period for gay Iowa couple
Topics in Legal News |
2009/04/27 09:33
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A same-sex Iowa couple will be allowed to wed as soon as Monday after a judge allowed them to bypass the state's three-day waiting period.
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Melisa Keeton and Shelley Wolfe of Des Moines received their waiver by 9 a.m./ppSame-sex couples in Iowa began applying for marriage license Monday after a state Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay unions took effect./ppThe high court issued an order early in the day confirming that the appeals process in the case has officially concluded./ppThe Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous and emphatic decision on April 3 made Iowa the third state to allow same-sex marriage, joining Massachusetts and Connecticut. Vermont has passed a law that will take effect in September./p |
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Judge in LA orders green card cases reopened
Topics in Legal News |
2009/04/24 09:33
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A federal judge tentatively ordered the Department of Homeland Security to reopen the cases of 22 people who were denied green cards because their American spouses died during the application process.
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U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled the so-called widow penalty doesn't necessarily require that immigrants' permanent residency applications be denied when their American spouses die. Citing a 2006 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Snyder ruled this week that applicants don't lose their status as spouses of U.S. citizens if the death occurs before the government rules on their applications./ppThe decision, if made final, would be a victory for more than 200 people across the country who have been affected by the widow penalty, said attorney Brent Renison, who filed the class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles./ppThis case is very significant because it's the first that follows the circuit court decision and gives guidance to the agency on what it can and cannot do in these situations, Renison told The Associated Press on Tuesday./ppThe U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has argued the law requires that residency applications be rejected for immigrants whose American spouses die within two years of being married./p |
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Discrimination claim appears to divide high court
Attorney Blog News |
2009/04/23 09:32
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A divided Supreme Court took up its first examination of race in the Obama era Wednesday, wrestling with claims of job discrimination by white firefighters in a case that could force changes in employment practices nationwide.
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The case from New Haven, Conn., pits white firefighters, who showed up at the court Wednesday in their dress uniforms, against the city over its decision to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results./ppAs is often the case with closely fought social issues at the court, Justice Anthony Kennedy appeared to hold the key to the outcome. He seemed concerned that New Haven scuttled the test without determining that there were flaws that might have led to the racially disproportionate results./ppSo shouldn't there be some standard that there has to be a significant, a strong showing after the test has been taken that it's deficient? Before it can be set aside? he said./ppKennedy often frowns on racial classifications, yet he is not as opposed to drawing distinctions on the basis of race as his more conservative colleagues./ppBut where Kennedy saw shades of gray, the rest of the court seemed to view the case clearly in terms of black and white./p |
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