Accused by an indigenous group of contaminating the environment in the Amazon region decades ago, Chevron Corp. is fighting back with videotape allegedly showing the judge in the ongoing Ecuador case discussing his planned upcoming ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in October or November of this year. In addition to complaining to the U.S. Department of Justice and authorities in Ecuador about the judge's claimed bias and requesting an investigation, Chevron has also posted the material on its own corporate website and on YouTube, reports Dow Jones Newswires. In an interview with the news service, the judge, Juan Nunez,…

Perhaps seeing the handwriting on the wall, the U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal judge to dismiss a major drug case with prejudice, and the judge has agreed. Friday's dismissal with prejudice of a conspiracy case against Zhenli Ye Gon is expected to send the defendant to Mexico to face trial in a case involving organized crime, drug and firearm allegations, reports the Blog of Legal Times. It also ends an ongoing inquiry by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan into whether the DOJ violated its ethical obligation to provide exculpatory evidence to the defense in a timely manner, the…

It almost had to happen, sooner or later: Among a growing number of employers and agencies surfing the Internet and accessing social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to look for adverse information about applicants is at least one bar group that has just adopted a formal policy of doing so. At a recent meeting, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners voted to review applicants' social networking sites on a case-by-case basis, focusing on those who have demonstrated problem conduct in the past, reports the Florida Bar News. Asked by the group's Character and Fitness Committee whether all Florida bar…

Updated: What is the life span of a legal blog? For many practitioners' blogs, it’s likely less than a year, according to a blogger who conducted his own unscientific survey. Jones Day partner Mark Herrmann, writing for the Drug and Device Law Blog, says he became curious about the life expectancy of legal blogs when he noticed that the professors who oversaw Product Liability Prof Blog and the Civil Procedure Prof Blog had apparently given up their blogging duties. New professors are being sought to take over the work. He also recalled that two of his favorite new blogs had…

Law firm leaders who miss budget projections for partner income should make up the difference through cuts in their own pay, a former managing partner says. Edwin Reeser, a business lawyer who was managing partner of the Los Angeles office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, says law firm leaders need to demonstrate confidence in their budgets and business plans by holding themselves accountable for the outcomes. “It is time for the talk to take a back seat to the walk that will instill confidence in leadership partners who are tasked to look after and promote the best interests of their…

Following news last week that a 450-attorney law firm known for its intellectual property work will be eliminating its corporate practice group comes additional news that Fish & Richardson will also be closing its office in Austin, Texas, by the end of the year. "This was a difficult decision to make but one that is best for the future of the firm," says Fish & Richardson in a written statement reported by the Austin Business Journal. The office, which opened in 2005, will be closed on Dec. 31, 2009, the statement explains, as the firm "continues to make strategic decisions…

Hampered in its defense of a defamation suit by the death of its reporter, the St. Petersburg Times was hit with a libel judgment of more than $10 million on Friday. A four-woman, two-man Florida state-court jury awarded $5.1 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages to the newspaper's parent company after a five-day trial, the St. Petersburg Times reports. The Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court litigation concerns three articles written by reporter Paul de la Garza that were published by the newspaper in December 2003. They discussed the reassignment of the plaintiff, Dr. Harold Kennedy, from his position…

Atlanta-based Morris, Manning & Martin has elected its first female managing partner. Louise Wells, a senior real estate partner who has been with the law firm for more than 30 years, will replace Robert Saudek at the end of December, according to a press release. He has been managing partner for 16 years, and will be turning 65 at the end of this year. The firm’s retirement plan calls for lawyers who turn 65 to start a transition year that ends with their retirement a year later, Saudek said in a conference call. He said his primary emotion is “relief,…

The former managing counsel for Toyota Motor Sales USA has filed a lawsuit against his former employer alleging the automaker destroyed evidence in hundreds of rollover suits, leading to his mental breakdown and firing. The racketeering suit by Dimitrios Biller claims Toyota destroyed evidence in a "ruthless conspiracy" to keep the information secret, CBS News reports. Biller, now a discovery and trial consultant, says on his website that he was an associate and partner at Pillsbury Winthrop for 14 years before joining Toyota. The story says Biller’s suit has “electrified the plaintiffs bar, where some lawyers involved in vehicle cases…

A federal appeals court has ruled that a gay man who claims his effeminate mannerisms led to workplace discrimination may sue under Title VII. The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Brian Prowel may pursue a Title VII claim alleging discrimination stemming from failure to conform to gender stereotypes, a form of sex discrimination, the Legal Intelligencer reports. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that Title VII bars discrimination based on gender stereotyping, although the federal law does not cover discrimination based on sexual orientation, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. A federal…