A California appeals judge who scolded lawyers for using too many acronyms decided to set an example by avoiding them in 27 pages of his opinion. Judge David Sills of the Fourth District Court of Appeal criticized the lawyers for “descending into an alphabet soup of jargon-based acronyms,” the Legal Pad blog reports. The Santa Ana judge is known for his lively opinions, and didn’t disappoint in the case involving organic compounds in paint and coatings. Sills lodged his protest in a footnote. “Consider, for example, this sentence, committed on page 32 of the appellant’s opening brief: ‘In June 22,…

A former Paul Hastings associate who pleaded guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy in a $4.8 million insider trading scheme won’t have to go to jail. Instead, former tax associate Eric Holzer will have to spend nine months in a halfway house, time that can be served on weekends, the New York Law Journal reports. Holzer “choked back sobs” as he asked for leniency, the story says. "I've embarrassed myself, my friends, my family and my colleagues," he told the court. "I want you to know. I need you to know, that you'll never find Eric Holzer in this kind…

A lawyer who represents a company sued for unpaid legal fees says such claims aren’t a good idea. Lawyer Warren Trazenfeld represents Whitney Information Network, sued by the Florida law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, allegedly for failing to pay more than $400,000 in legal bills, the Daily Business Review reports. Trazenfeld told the publication he is planning to file a malpractice counterclaim. Suing a client is "one of the top 10 stupidest things a lawyer can do,” he said. The story asserts the case is one of a growing number of instances in which law firms are suing clients for…

A Texas lawyer briefly jailed for contempt after he refused to testify against his client has been acquitted under an agreement approved by a judge on Tuesday. Lubbock lawyer Ben Webb was jailed for about an hour in June after he refused to testify that his client had failed to appear for a 2008 trial, according to KCBD.com. At the time, Judge Jim Bob Darnell found Webb in contempt, saying the information fell outside the scope of attorney-client privilege, LubbockOnline reports. Later, Darnell signed an order saying he did not want the state to seek further punishment against Webb. Prosecutors…

A stunning April jury verdict of almost $390 million against Microsoft Corp. in a patent infringement case brought by an anti-piracy software maker has been overturned by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge William Smith wrote that the jury in the Rhode Island federal court case “lacked a grasp of the issues before it and reached a finding without a legally sufficient basis” in favor of Uniloc USA Inc., according to Bloomberg and Reuters. He also said that even if an appeals court reverses his vacation of the verdict, Microsoft should still get a new trial concerning damages because Uniloc…

Marc Dreier admits he had a lengthy track record of "cutting corners." But it wasn't until an apparent midlife crisis, precipitated by his divorce and a sense of failure, when he compared his own life to the noteworthy success some of his well-educated, well-to-do peers had achieved, that the 50-something New York attorney considered outright fraud to achieve the luxe life and accolades he yearned for. One day in 2003, the 1975 Harvard Law School graduate spotted a palatial waterfront home while walking near his inland vacation home in Westhampton Beach, N.Y., and realized he had to have one like…

The U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term Monday with a docket that includes two kinds of videos (one opposing Hillary Clinton and another featuring dogfights), a cross in the Mojave National Preserve, and life sentences for juveniles. More than half of the 45 cases already accepted for argument this term focus on business, the National Law Journal reports. Six cases involve the day-to-day practice of law, the National Law Journal reports in a separate story. One of the biggest questions is whether the court’s conservative bloc will become more unified this term, according to the Wall Street Journal. Those…

In a ruling that a CBS spokesman called "a total victory," a New York appeals court today reversed a trial judge and said former network anchorman Dan Rather's breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty claims against the network should have been dismissed. The $70 million case isn't entirely over, however: Rather's lawyers intend to appeal, reports the Los Angeles Times. Rather had contended that he was wrongfully taken off the air in the wake of his controversial news report on former President George W. Bush's Vietnam-era history of service in the Texas Air National Guard. However, the network…

A federal judge today approved a consent decree in which Sears Roebuck & Co. agrees to a record-breaking $6.2 million settlement of an Americans with Disabilities Act case brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In an e-mail today, the EEOC says the settlement of claims that the giant retailer terminated more than 100 employees rather than attempt to make a reasonable accommodation for their disabilities as required by the ADA is the largest disability-related settlement for the commission, reports Bloomberg. “This record settlement sends the strongest possible message that the EEOC will use its enforcement authority boldly to protect…

A former Washington, D.C., attorney general and her ex-chief of staff are joining a plaintiff's firm to launch a new public client practice. The ex-attorney general, Linda Singer, starts Monday at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. Her new practice group will focus on serving as outside counsel to state attorneys general in lawsuits over fraudulent mortgage lending, deceptive prescription drug practices and the misclassification of employees as independent contractors, according to the Blog of Legal Times. Singer previously co-chaired a similar practice group at Zuckerman Spaeder.