“The law partner of the tax attorney believed to be a cooperating witness in a sweeping New Jersey pay-to-play corruption investigation has been charged with lying about thousands in political contributions made to secure lucrative municipal contracts,” reports Ted Sherman in NJ.com’s Politics.

“Elizabeth Valandingham, 47, was accused by the state Attorney General’s office of falsely claiming that her firm had not made any reportable contributions to candidates in two towns where the firm had been vying to provide legal services — when in fact it had.”

“Valandingham was a partner of Matthew O’Donnell, the Morristown tax attorney who reportedly served as an undercover informant in the wide-ranging state sting that led to charges in December against five people, including elected and former officials and political candidates. They were accused of taking tens of thousands in bribes disguised as campaign contributions in return for steering legal work to a law firm that multiple sources have said was O’Donnell McCord.”

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“A Princeton graduate and a human rights lawyer were both charged in an attack that left a police car dashboard charred. No one was injured,” report William K. Rashbaum and Andrea Salcedo in The New York Times.

“Two lawyers were charged with taking part in a Molotov cocktail attack on a police patrol car over the weekend — a human rights lawyer and a Princeton-educated associate at a Manhattan law firm.”

“The attack during the Brooklyn protests left the dashboard of a blue-and-white police car charred after a night of violent clashes between protesters and police, a symbol of the chaos wrought over a weekend of sometimes peaceful and sometimes violent demonstrations.”

“Both were arrested shortly after the incident early Saturday during protests against the killing of George Floyd, federal authorities said.”

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“The Louisiana Supreme Court reinstated a lawyer Tuesday who had been suspended for a year and a day for chest bumping a prosecutor in a judge’s chambers,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Latest News.

“The state supreme court reinstated Baton Rouge lawyer Felix Anthony DeJean IV in a per curiam opinion. The opinion said DeJean had complied with reinstatement criteria.”

“Concurring Justice Scott Crichton said DeJean had attended counseling, acknowledged his wrongdoing, and recognized the seriousness of his actions. He presented character witnesses who told of his good character and self-improvement.”

“DeJean had been convicted of simple battery for the March 2015 incident. District Attorney Bradley Burget of Concordia Parish had claimed that DeJean exchanged words with him, physically confronted him and chest bumped him. DeJean received a suspended jail sentence in the criminal case along with 18 months of supervised probation that required him to complete an anger management program.”

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“A well-known Waco, Texas defense lawyer, who once ran for county district attorney, sat behind bars on Saturday after a local police sting allegedly caught him plotting to kill a colleague’s ex-husband using a hitman,” reports Blake Montgomery and Olivia Messer in MSN News’ Crime.

“Seth Andrew Sutton has long held an upstanding reputation in Waco as a criminal defense lawyer, successfully defending clients in high-profile cases.”

“The would-be killer … was actually an undercover policeman all along, and police arrested Sutton and Tijerina on Friday under felony charges of conspiracy to commit capital murder.”

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Police arrested a Staten Island lawyer in the middle of international drug-smuggling investigation, reports Jeff Bachner in New York Daily News’ NYC Crime.

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“The state’s highest court issued an order permanently disbarring a once popular Tampa attorney now accused of withholding his clients’ settlement money,” reports Jackie Callaway in ABC Action Taking Action for You.

“The Florida Supreme Court issued the order disbarring Jose Toledo as of May 14.”

“Toledo practiced personal injury and immigration law in the Tampa Bay area for two decades.”

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“An Ohio lawyer crossed a border and also a line, leading to a two-year suspension and a restitution order under an opinion the state supreme court handed down this week. The suspension was based on ethics violations as to numerous clients, but one involved the prohibitions against unauthorized practice and sexual activity with clients. The opinion continues the disciplinary trend in the Buckeye State to treat all forms of lawyer-client sex harshly — even in the absence of physical contact. It also shines a light on the perils of unlicensed cross-border practice,” reports Karen Rubin in The Law for Today’s How Not to Practice.

“The client’s divorce action was already pending in Monroe County, Michigan when she retained the lawyer, who practiced in Toledo, Ohio, just across the border from Michigan. The lawyer advised the client that he was not licensed to practice in Michigan, but would file a motion for pro hac vice admission and affiliate himself with an Ohio lawyer he knew who was licensed in both states.”

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“A policy adviser to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner was arrested Monday and charged with endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly leaving her 4-year-old daughter unattended in her car for more than a half-hour,” reports Mensah M. Dean in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Dana Lynn Bazelon, 40, was taken into custody about 3:30 p.m. on Rittenhouse Street near Lincoln Drive in West Mount Airy, according to Mark Shade, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office, which is handling the matter.”

“Bazelon took her 6-year-old son for a walk and left her sleeping daughter in the backseat of her Ford Fusion with all four windows cracked but not enough for a person to be able to reach inside, a law-enforcement source said.”

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“Jennifer Loya, 30, helped a drug network in San Antonio stay a step ahead of drug enforcement agents through her access to information as a federal employee, according to court documents,” reports Christine Hauser in The New York Times.

“A paralegal in the San Antonio headquarters of the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas is accused of using her access to help a notorious drug cartel evade the authorities.”

“Just before they were raided by federal agents, drug dealers in San Antonio affiliated with a Mexican cartel moved their stockpiles of heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. A paralegal in the federal prosecutor’s office tipped them off, the authorities said.”

“Court filings in Texas describe a career path that took Jennifer Loya, 30, from a low-level post in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Antonio to a promotion in February to paralegal, a position that prosecutors said she turned into an inside job helping a network of Cartel del Noreste associates stay a step ahead of the authorities.”

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Comedian, Jeff Dunham, “plays a bland everyman who brings to life a series of over-the-top puppet characters, some of which have offended politically correct sensibilities – there’s a skeletal terrorist, a crotchety old geezer, a jalapeño pepper with a Mexican accent, a flamboyant pimp, and so on,” reported in BakerHostetler’s blog.

“These characters are Jeff Dunham’s living.”

“The value of Dunham’s puppet partners is at the center of a deeply exasperated complaint he filed in the Central District of California in April. Dunham goes after the defendants, Raymond Lei and his novelty fashion company ooshirts… Allegedly, Lei and company have spent years profiting from Dunham’s copyrights and trademarks by printing his various characters and their catch phrases, as well as images of Dunham himself, on T-shirts and other products.”

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“The Ohio State University announced today details of a $40.9 million settlement reached with 162 survivors in 12 lawsuits related to sexual abuse by Richard Strauss, a university-employed physician from 1978 to 1998 who died in 2005,” was reported in Ohio State News.

“An independent investigation launched by the university determined in 2019 that Strauss abused students during his time at Ohio State and the university administration failed to appropriately respond at the time.”

“In March, Ohio State announced a monetary settlement with nearly half of the individuals who brought claims against the university related to Strauss. All have now signed on to the terms of the settlement.”

“Ohio State continues to participate in good faith in the mediation process with the survivors involved in the remaining lawsuits, and remains committed to a resolution with plaintiffs, including a monetary resolution.”

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“Federal authorities in New York have charged a Santa Rosa attorney with conspiring to sell one million protective masks in short supply during the coronavirus pandemic at a steep markup, in violation of the Defense Production Act invoked by President Donald Trump,” reports Kerry Benefield in The Press Democrat.

“Kent Bulloch, 56, of Santa Rosa, and William Young Sr., 64, of Arizona, are accused in a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in Brooklyn of attempting to sell the masks at prices inflated by as much as 50%, according to a complaint filed by federal prosecutors in New York. Bulloch was arrested in Santa Rosa on Monday night.”

“Bulloch and Young allegedly sought investors to sell one million KN95 respirator masks at double or triple their purchase price, according to the complaint. Bulloch allegedly tried to conceal the markup and the scheme by creating an escrow agreement that falsely stated the profits would not exceed the federal limit of 10%, according to the complaint.”

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“Based on a mistake about when a Cook County default judgment became final — plus a 60-cent discrepancy between the amount of the judgment ($238,007.61) and the amount listed in a memorandum of judgment ($238,007.01) that the plaintiffs filed as a lien on the defendant’s real estate in Will County,” reports Steven P. Garmisa in Chicago Daily Law Bulletin’s Courts & Cases.

“Leonard and Cecilia Urban sued Joseph L. Blewitt in Cook County. On August 6, 2003, a default judgment was entered against Blewitt, in favor of Leonard, in the amount on $238,007.61. And on March 29, 2004, a Cook County judge (1) denied Blewitt’s motion to vacate and (2) revised the judgment to include Cecilia. As the judge explained: ‘The order of August 6, 2003, was considered by the court at that time to adjudicate all claims, therefore the order will be considered to include the non-injured spouse (Ms. Urban) nunc pro tunc to August 6, 2003.'”

“A Rule 23 order from the 1st District (a) affirmed the order that denied Blewitt’s motion to vacate (b) ruled that the judge erred in adding Cecilia nunc pro tunc and (c) concluded that the March 29, 2004, order was the final judgment that resolved all the claims of all the parties — with a money judgment for Leonard and no award for Cecilia.”

“On Sept. 16, 2004, the Urbans filed a memorandum of judgment in Will County that listed Leonard and Cecilia having scored a default judgment of $238,007.61 on Aug. 6, 2003. But on Feb. 28, 2006, the Urbans filed a memorandum of judgment that said the default judgment was $238,007.01.”

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“A retired FBI agent arrested Friday near his home in Lafayette accepted more than more than $200,000 in cash bribes and gifts in exchange for funneling sensitive information to Armenian organized crime,” reports Bay City News.

“Babak Broumand, who retired from the FBI last year after 20 years as a special agent, was arrested by special agents with the FBI and Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.”

“Broumand was charged in a criminal complaint Tuesday in United States District Court in Los Angeles, with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official.”

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“Atlanta lawyer Robert Ward acknowledges that he took off his pants at a security checkpoint at a federal courthouse in Tampa, Florida,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Trials & Litigation News.

“In an April 13 opposition, Wyndham noted that U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell ordered Ward Feb. 21 to show cause why she shouldn’t revoke his pro hac vice status for taking off his pants.”

“The Jan. 30 incident was precipitated when a court security officer told Ward that he would have to take off his belt for the metal detector. Ward replied that lawyers shouldn’t have to take off their belts. Ward then took off his pants, threw them in the bin and walked through the metal detector.”

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“A 71-year-old criminal defense lawyer in Melbourne, Florida, was arrested Saturday for allegedly using his legal practice to recruit clients into a prostitution ring that he ran out of his home,” report Law.com, the Orlando Sentinel, the Miami Herald and WESH.

“The lawyer, John Gillespie, was arrested in a sting operation.”

Gillespie ran unsuccessfully to be the Orange-Osceola public defender as a Republican in 2004.’

The Orlando Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation cited evidence that Gillespie ‘would initiate women he represented on criminal charges into prostitution or exchange sex acts for legal fees.'”

“The agency began investigating after a former law firm employee said she had helped Gillespie recruit women and girls into sex trafficking, according to an arrest warrant cited by the Orlando Sentinel.”

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“An Ohio attorney who stole from and overcharged a client nearly $129,000 was indefinitely suspended by the state’s highest court,” reports Melissa Heelan in Bloomberg Law.

“The Dublin, Ohio, lawyer first began working for the client, who suffered from mental illness, alcoholism, and depression, in 2015, the court said. His then-firm agreed to represent her pro bono for $20 per month. But Buttars entered into a separate written fee agreement, agreeing to represent her “in any capacity” for an hourly rate of $250.”

“The client told Buttars that even though she couldn’t pay him right away, she was going to receive ‘a substantial inheritance’ from her mother when she passed away, the court said.”

“After the mother died in 2015, Buttars—who soon after formed his own firm—administered the estate and did various nonlegal, personal jobs for the client, according to the court. He helped her look for a new apartment, mowed her lawn, and went shopping for her. He sometimes charged his hourly rate of $250 and at other time the paralegal rate of $150 per hour, the court said.”

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“The Unites States District Court for the Northern District of California recently found that 10b-5 litigation regarding Elon Musk’s tweets could move forward after reviewing a motion to dismiss in In Re Tesla Inc. Securities Litigation,” discusses Steve Quinlivan in Dodd-Frank’s Litigation blog.

“Mr. Musk famously tweeted ‘Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.’ Mr. Musk later responded to comments related to his tweet and also posted new tweets on the subject. Tesla’s Senior Director of Investor Relations received three e-mails inquiring about Mr. Musk’s tweets. One response given was ‘I can only say that the first Tweet clearly stated that ‘financing is secured.’ Yes, there is a firm offer.'”

“The Court rejected the defendants’ argument that the tweet was not false and misleading. Among other things, the Court found even if the entire tweet is deemed an opinion about the future funding, that would not insulate the tweet from scrutiny; a statement of opinion can be deemed misleading if it conveys facts, and this is especially so when the opinion contains highly specific facts—e.g., here, the specific price of $420. Because Mr. Musk, the CEO of Tesla, included the highly-specific price of $420 at which shares would be bought for the going-private transaction, and because his tweet followed with “funding secured,” a reasonable investor would have interpreted it as something more than a speculative amorphous opinion about future possibilities. Instead, it can be read as implying a more concrete state of affairs.”

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“The Supreme Court’s announcement this week that it will hold oral arguments via teleconference for the first time in its history has a small group of America’s top attorneys prepping for the most important phone calls of their careers,” writes Tucker Higgins in CNBC’s Politics.

“The court said that it will hear 10 arguments over the first two weeks in May, including blockbuster disputes over the Electoral College and whether President Donald Trump can keep his tax records shielded from investigators. ”

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