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Disagreeing with a recommendation by a magistrate that a civil rights case should be dismissed, a federal judge in Denver gave a green light on Monday to a family's lawsuit over the death of a Sudanese refugee. Soon-to-be victim Jimma Reat, 25, and others called 911 in April 2012 reporting…

Citing its First Amendment rights, Google has asked the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to relax long-standing gag orders restricting what can be said about the information the court requests. In a Tuesday motion (PDF) that seeks a declaratory judgment, the Internet search-engine Goliath says it wants to…

In one of the biggest criminal cases ever brought by the Department of Justice over the employment of immigrants, federal agents have seized the franchise rights of 14 7-Eleven stores and announced charges against nine individuals responsible for their operation. The feds also seized five homes and are executing search…

A new policy at Becker & Poliakoff of holding back 20 percent of partners' pay is not popular, managing shareholder Gary Rosen admits. However, he said such measures are a standard business procedure at law firms today in order to maintain a cash reserve and insisted that the holdback is…

Two Iowa lawyers have each been suspended for 18 months for billing up to $125 an hour for “conservator services” that included nonlegal tasks such as attending birthday parties. The lawyers are Donald Laing and Scott Railsback of Keota, Iowa, according to the Associated Press and the…

In an unusual effort to obtain federal appellate court clarification, Hearst Corp., which has been successfully defending a case over the use of unpaid interns in its publishing ventures, is supporting the plaintiffs in their request for an interlocutory appeal of a recent trial court ruling, Reuters reports.…

Man of Steel spoilers follow: As most readers probably remember from law school, there's generally no duty to rescue unless a special relationship applies or the Good Samaritan has voluntarily assumed the duty. But that legal rule can create discomfort, as the Superman movie Man of Steel illustrates, attorney and…

The family of a Georgia law graduate allegedly slain by a neighbor and law school classmate two years ago has filed a wrongful death suit seeking answers about the case. Although jailed suspect Stephen McDaniel doesn't have any money and isn't likely to, the family wants answers about what happened…

Updated: A Labor Department lawyer accused of assaulting a co-worker was found dead today in his jail cell in Washington, D.C. The lawyer, 58-year-old Paul Mannina, was found dead a day after a detective summarized the allegations during a preliminary hearing, the Washington Post reports. Mannina sobbed…

A Minnesota man who is a reputed gang member got probation Monday after inking over a tattoo that was thought to pose a threat to a Minneapolis police officer working in a gang-investigation unit. Antonio Fransion Jenkins Jr. had faced a felony terroristic threat charge in the Hennepin County case…

New York University has loaned money to some of its star professors—including law faculty—to buy expensive vacation homes in places such as East Hampton, Fire Island and Litchfield County, Conn. University spokesman John Beckman confirmed such loans in an interview with the New York Times, but…

Pennsylvania judges challenging the state’s mandatory retirement age have failed to persuade the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that the state constitutional provision is invalid. The court rejected the judges’ challenge on Monday, saying they should pursue a constitutional amendment if they dislike the provision requiring retirement at age 70, according to…

Harrumph! After receiving several complaints, the office managing partner of a national law firm has decided the firm’s poorly dressed male lawyers need some business-casual guidelines. No. 1 on the list: “If you cannot dry clean it, don’t wear it.” Above the Law published the entire…

The U.S. Supreme Court has once again agreed to decide whether Fair Housing Act cases may be based on disparate impact analysis, and once again an agreement could derail the case. The court granted cert on Monday in a suit filed by residents of a predominantly minority neighborhood in Mount…

A 16-year-old youth has been arrested in the April 15 stabbing deaths of a long-time California lawyer and his wife. The name of the teen, who lives in Davis, has not been released, report CBS13, the Daily Democrat, and…

A venture capital firm's bid to help some struggling homeowners avert foreclosure by using the government's eminent domain power to purchase their property at actual value is gathering steam. Several cities in California have agreed to pursue the idea, and others, including North Las Vegas, Nev., are pondering the plan,…

Hurricane Sandy was over months ago, but it's still a daily reality for a number of New York law firms struggling with the aftermath. Among that group are law firms which were located at 110 Wall Street, where leases were cancelled due to flood damage. Finding new office space is…

An exonerated former inmate who was awarded a $6 million compensation package after serving 24 years for rapes committed by another man is still racking up big legal bills. First Steven Phillips did battle with the lawyer who represented him in the compensation case, contending that the $1 million fee…

Any fact that spurs a higher mandatory minimum sentence must be decided by a jury, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion (PDF) overruling Harris v. United States, a 2002 decision that allowed judges to conduct such fact-finding. Harris was decided two…

A worker at a Pennsylvania McDonald's who says she was told she would not be paid unless she accepted her money in the form of a debit card that carried hefty charges for virtually every transaction has filed suit against her employers. Natalie Gunshannon, a single mom who was to…