Sideways Society

A battery of lawyers for Internet businesses, domain registrars, civil liberties groups and others have engaged the state of Kentucky in legal battle over that state’s attempt to halt Internet gambling by seizing 141 domain names whose owners are located primarily out of state or overseas. The core concern is jurisdictional: Does a state court have the authority or power to seize domain names when none of the domain owners is present in the state and all of the names are registered outside of the state?

What constitutes the “right” general counsel? While there is a laundry list of attributes that any effective in-house lawyer will possess, the game changes dramatically when major litigation, government investigations and shareholder disputes loom simultaneously. In challenging times, the qualities that distinguish top trial attorneys — big-picture thinking, judgment and credibility, and effective communication skills — may be the key differentiators for successful GCs, says attorney Robert Abrams.

In a lesson in frugality, a New Jersey appeals court has denied a lawyer’s request to reduce his alimony and child support payments due to his firm’s dwindling performance. The appellate court affirmed the lower court’s decision to reject attorney Gregory Donnelly’s second attempt at a reduction, noting that the court “correctly focused on Gregory’s inequitable attempt to have [his ex-wife] and their children bear the brunt of the luxurious lifestyle Gregory adopted with his new wife.”

Denver firm Fairfield and Woods is on a Rocky Mountain high. Well, maybe not a high, but things are looking relatively rosy for the 42-attorney shop. The law firm is slowly growing at a time when many others are shedding lawyers, and business held steady in 2008, when others saw a falloff. Leaders at Fairfield and Woods acknowledge that geography, size and diversification have helped it avoid some of the competition’s problems. “It’s a pretty good time to be a lawyer in Denver,” said partner John Eckstein.

Maine law firm Pierce Atwood has confirmed layoffs of seven attorneys and 14 staff members in Maine and New Hampshire, but meanwhile says it plans to expand the firm’s Boston and Rhode Island footprint. Managing partner Gloria A. Pinza said the firm is in the process of adding three attorneys to the Boston office, and plans to open a Providence, R.I., office with two new lawyers. “When the economic climate is so uncertain and tenuous, we have to align our resources where the client needs are,” Pinza said.

Do U.S. Supreme Court justices, as some historical evidence suggests, time their retirements with an eye to the partisan or political affiliation of the president or the Senate majority? No, when it comes to retirement decisions, justices care more about power than party and policy, according to a new empirical study. Two political scientists at Santa Clara University found that, in the modern era, justices’ retirement decisions are influenced by three dominant factors.

When you see the vendors displaying their products and services at LegalTech New York, Law.com’s Legal Technology editor Sean Doherty suggests you ask, “What can you do for me?” You’re all looking for business, so don’t hesitate to tell them your needs. They listen and innovate.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has made new law by holding for the first time that trial judges have the power to increase an award for winning plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases to compensate for the tax consequences of receiving a backpay award in one lump sum. The ruling sharpens a split in the circuits, with the 3rd Circuit opting to follow a 1984 decision from the 10th Circuit and rejecting a 1994 decision from the D.C. Circuit.