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Amanda Bronstad

Amanda Bronstad

Amanda Bronstad is the ALM staff reporter covering class actions and mass torts nationwide. She writes the email dispatch Law.com Class Actions: Critical Mass. She is based in Los Angeles.

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February 08, 2010 | Law.com

SEC Abandons Beleaguered Backdating Case Against Former Broadcom Executives

The SEC has voluntarily dropped its civil case against four former Broadcom executives, including the former general counsel. It was the latest setback in the U.S. government's pursuit of securities fraud tied to stock options backdating at Broadcom. In December, a federal judge dismissed criminal charges against Broadcom co-founder Henry Nicholas and former CFO William Ruehle, largely due to prosecutorial misconduct. The judge also dismissed the SEC's related complaint but gave the commission the option to amend the charges.

By Amanda Bronstad

3 minute read

March 05, 2008 | National Law Journal

Pellicano Defendant's Firm Weathers the Storm

In the past year, L.A.-based Christensen, Glaser, Fink, Jacobs, Weil & Shapiro has lost some lawyers yet has remained busy in litigation and real estate work and even launched a new office in Las Vegas last month. That productivity could help temper the upcoming trial of its managing partner, Terry Christensen, accused of paying celebrity sleuth Anthony Pellicano more than $100,000 to wiretap the phones of Lisa Bonder Kerkorian, the ex-wife of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, during a paternity dispute in 2002.

By Amanda Bronstad

3 minute read

February 21, 2006 | Law.com

Cochran Firm Branching Out

The L.A.-based firm begins an ad campaign this month to publicize its move away from police brutality cases and toward more personal injury cases.

By Amanda Bronstad

4 minute read

December 15, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

BigLaw Beware!: Baseball Baron's Bad Breakup Bodes Badly

Ever since a judge invalidated an agreement that could have resolved a dispute between Frank and Jamie McCourt about who owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, legal experts have been warning that the ruling puts Bingham McCutchen at risk of a malpractice claim.

By Amanda Bronstad

6 minute read

August 07, 2008 | Law.com

Amicus Groups Oppose Feds' Use of Computer Fraud Act in Myspace Case

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Democracy and Technology, Public Citizen and more than a dozen law professors have filed an amicus brief to dismiss the federal government's criminal case against a Missouri woman who used a false identity on a MySpace page to bully a teenager who ultimately committed suicide. Federal prosecutors contend that the woman, Lori Drew, created a MySpace account under the name "Josh Evans" and, using that false identity, developed an online relationship with Megan Meier, a 13-year-old girl who later committed suicide.

By Amanda Bronstad

3 minute read

May 08, 2007 | Corporate Counsel

Overseas Corporate Deals Boost Paul Hastings

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, long known for its employment litigation and real estate work, is banking on its corporate department for future growth. Last year, the firm's revenues topped $813.5 million, up 22 percent from 2005. Seth Zachary, chairman and partner in the New York office, attributes the growth to the firm's corporate deals, many of which closed in Asia and Europe. He also says increased revenues came from a growing practice in intellectual property litigation.

By Amanda Bronstad

3 minute read

June 03, 2008 | Law.com

Mel Weiss Sentenced to 30 Months for Kickback Scheme

A federal judge in Los Angeles sentenced Melvyn Weiss to 30 months in prison on Monday, saying that the criminal conduct of the co-founding partner of the Milberg firm "strikes directly at the core and heart of the judicial system." Under a plea deal reached earlier this year, Weiss agreed to forfeit $9.75 million and pay a $250,000 fine. At Monday's hearing, Judge John Walter ordered Weiss to pay $5 million of the forfeiture within the next seven days; the remaining is due in 180 days.

By Amanda Bronstad

5 minute read

July 17, 2009 | Law.com

Los Angeles Superior Court Survives Its First Furlough

Los Angeles County Superior Court survived the first of 12 days of self-imposed job furloughs Wednesday. But that didn't mean judges weren't busy. "It was a long day yesterday," said Presiding Judge Charles "Tim" McCoy, who began an arduous, daylong series of interviews with reporters at 3 a.m. The court, which faces an estimated shortfall of almost $138 million during the fiscal year that began on July 1, has taken the unprecedented step of voluntarily furloughing employees on the third Wednesday of each month.

By Amanda Bronstad

3 minute read

June 08, 2006 | Law.com

Merck Goes for Early Knockout in Calif. Vioxx Case

As the start of Merck's first California trial involving Vioxx fast approaches, the company is seeking to have one of the two consolidated cases thrown out on statute of limitations grounds. The suits are among 1,800 Vioxx cases filed against Merck in California since the company pulled the drug from the market. Attorneys on both sides each got to select a case for trial. A hearing on Merck's motion for summary judgment is scheduled for June 15 and trial is planned for June 21.

By Amanda Bronstad

3 minute read

February 01, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Ringtone Litigation

EMI Music Publishing has filed a $100 million copyright infringement lawsuit in the Southern District against one of the leading providers of ringtones, just three months after the U.S. register of copyrights issued a controversial administrative ruling about the licensing of ringtones.

By Amanda BronstadThe National Law Journal

4 minute read