February 17 roundup

“Lawyers seem to have a fondness for cloak and dagger stuff”

What did law and lobbying firm Hunton & Williams know, and when did it know it, about subcontractor proposals to employ hardball and covert tactics against critics of Bank of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, including in one instance what has been reported as “the identification of vulnerabilities in critics’ computer networks that might be exploited”? [Brad Wendel/Legal Ethics Forum, BLT, Above the Law] Per Above the Law, “Based on what we know now, it doesn’t seem like Hunton actually accepted or endorsed any of these tactics, nor does it seem that Bank of America or the Chamber of Commerce knew about or signed off on ‘Project Themis,’ protecting them from legal fall-out.” But if Hunton was in fact sure to greet the proposed tactics with shock and dismay, why had the subcontractors imagined that they would fall on welcoming ears?

I took you in, and your family sued me

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “The parents of a man fatally stabbed at the New Life Evangelistic Center homeless shelter in 2008 have filed wrongful death lawsuits against the center, saying the center did not provide adequate security.” Jeremy Dunlap was 21 years old when he was stabbed at the center by Robert Gamble, another homeless man who was convicted of murder. “We are saddened that the family would claim that we were negligent,” a church assistant said. “We are in the business of trying to help people that nobody else will help.”

February 15 roundup

  • Artist Jeff Koons drops his lawsuit against maker of resin balloon dogs [Legal Blog Watch, BoingBoing, earlier]
  • The car pile-up happened fast, the come-ons from lawyers and chiropractors were almost as speedy [Adler/Volokh]
  • Andrew Thomas update: former Maricopa County Attorney intends to sue former bar president and ethics investigators [ABA Journal, Coyote]
  • Litigation finance: “Poker Magnate, London Firm Bankroll Chevron Plaintiffs” [Dan Fisher, Forbes] Case for champerty pleaded before ethics commission [Podgers, ABA Journal] The experience in Australia [Karlsgodt]
  • Judge: Kansas City stadium mascot hot dog toss suit can go to trial [OnPoint News, earlier]
  • How National Enquirer matched wits with John Edwards to expose scandal [David Perel, HuffPo] More: Justice Department building a case? [AW]
  • “The Whooping Cough’s Unnecessary Return” [Paul Howard/Jim Copland, City Journal] Theodore Dalrymple reviews new Paul Offit vaccine book [same]
  • Many trial lawyers yank funding from Ralph Nader operations in pique over his role in depriving Al Gore of White House victory [ten years ago on Overlawyered]

“Chevron Hit With $8 Billion Ecuador Verdict It Vows Not To Pay”

Daniel Fisher at Forbes has the latest on an unsurprising development in a story we’ve been following for a long time (e.g.). More: Roger Alford/Opinio Juris and more, Carter Wood/ShopFloor, Ashby Jones/WSJ Law Blog (with breakdown of verdict), more from Fisher. And: Carter Wood begins a 3-part series in the Examiner. And who’s more incurious about all the indicia of plaintiff misconduct in the case, BoingBoing or their average commenter?