When the president of the Rhode Island Bar Association abruptly resigned last week, a press release cited “personal and professional” matters that required “full-time attention.” Today the Providence Journal has a story summarizing several pressing matters for Richard Pacia that stem from his real estate practice and investments. Many problems stem from loans Pacia took to finance rehabbing and then reselling homes, a venture that apparently suffered after the collapse of the real estate market. Others concern real estate work that resulted in three malpractice suits against Pacia, the story says. Pacia “is awash in debt,” the story says. “There…

Rumored layoffs at Latham & Watkins have become a record-setting reality: The law firm is cutting 190 associates and 250 staff members. Above the Law says it knows of no other law firm to have laid off so many employees, absent a dissolution. "But Latham is also setting another record, of a more positive nature," Above the Law says. The firm is offering an unheard of severance package that includes six months' salary and medical coverage. The pay will be capped at $100,000, according to the Am Law Daily. Above the Law posted an internal memo announcing the layoffs. The…

Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline and two of his deputies have been notified they are facing a state ethics probe. The letter to Kline and deputies Stephen Maxwell and Eric Rucker did not state the reason for the probe, according to the Associated Press and the Wichita Eagle. But the Kansas Supreme Court has suggested that Kline could be sanctioned for his conduct in abortion cases, the AP story says. Kline had sought the names and personal information of those who had abortions in his investigation of two clinics. In December, the state supreme court allowed an abortion case…

The FBI has made its first arrest in a probe of wrongdoing at Stanford Financial Group. Laura Pendergest-Holt, the company’s top investment officer, was charged with obstruction of justice, according to stories in the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), the New York Times and Reuters. She is accused of misleading the Securities and Exchange Commission in its investigation of a corporate bank in Antigua. Pendergest-Holt was also named in the SEC’s civil complaint against the company’s namesake, R. Allen Stanford, that alleges the Texas billionaire defrauded investors in bank certificates of deposit out of $8 billion by promising improbable returns.…

The federal Office of Thrift Supervision ignored inflated appraisals and lax lending standards that led to the failure of California-based IndyMac Bancorp, according to a report by the U.S. Treasury Department's inspector general. And that failure cost the taxpayer-funded Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. $10.7 billion, writes the Los Angeles Times. OTS should have acted two years before the FDIC took over the bank in July 2008, and had it done so the failure might have been averted, the report says. Focusing on short-term profits from making loans, the bank didn't adequately look out for the long-term interests of those to…

In an unprecedented move, the 300-lawyer Philadelphia district attorney's office has revoked its earlier offers to all 12 of the new attorneys who were scheduled to start work there this fall. Hiring committee chair Kathleen McDonnell said reduced attrition--only two lawyers left last year, compared to the usual 30 or so--is one reason why the "heartbreaking" decision had to be made, reports the Legal Intelligencer. The city also is struggling financially, and the DA's office budget was cut by 5 percent during the current fiscal year. Last year, the DA's office brought in a 35-attorney starting class. Hat tip: Above…

Over the objections of an attorney representing U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent in a criminal case, the federal jurist hearing the case today lifted an unusual gag order that had prevented those involved from commenting publicly. Kent pleaded guilty Monday to an obstruction count and announced his retirement from the bench as his trial for aggravated sexual abuse of two courthouse workers was about to begin. Now the judge won't be able to defend himself if public accusations are made concerning the case, according to his attorney, Dick DeGuerin, because he is awaiting sentencing and needs to put his best…

A U.S. prisoner who has been held without trial for more than five years as an alleged "enemy combatant" is now reportedly about to be charged by the Department of Justice in a civilian criminal case. The expected indictment against Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a legal resident and citizen of Qatar, may signal an important policy change: The Bush administration had argued that his case--and those of other claimed enemy combatants--should be handled by a military tribunal that does not provide the same protections to a suspect as the federal courts. If al-Marri's case is transferred to a civilian court,…

As the dismal economy has continued on a downward spiral this month, so has the legal industry, with February layoffs exceeding January's by a considerable margin. January's carnage, in which renowned law firms laid off more than 1,500 attorneys and staff at last count, has been followed by further freefall in February in which more than 2,000 attorneys and staff lost their jobs. On a single "Bloody Thursday," Feb. 12, law firms announced plans to ax some 800 attorneys and staff, at last report, and at least one has also imposed a pay freeze. And, in another major milestone, a…

If you have been laid off, you need to take some time to figure out the minimum amount of money you will need to meet expenses and what kind of extras can be cut. You may want to consider cuts in tiers, looking at what can be eliminated now and what has to go if the job search takes three to six months, or longer, experts told the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). Discuss finances with older children as well as your spouse or partner, the article advises. But employment consultant Melvin Scales of Right Management in Philadelphia said he…