Ben Seal

July 13, 2016 | National Law Journal

The New York attorney general's office on Wednesday, responding to Republican U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith's demand for information about a state investigation of Exxon Mobil and climate change, said the use of congressional subpoena power is "courting constitutional conflict." Smith's office issued subpoenas to New York AG Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts AG Maura Healey on Wednesday after the two offices refused to turn over the requested information.

By Ben Seal

10 minute read

July 13, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

"On-call" service is included in the calculation of retirement benefits for Pennsylvania state employees, the Commonwealth Court has ruled.

By Ben Seal

7 minute read

July 08, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General has run up a $436,065 tab fighting a series of lawsuits alleging various forms of retaliation on the part of Attorney General Kathleen Kane, chief of staff Jonathan Duecker and other members of the office.

By Ben Seal

17 minute read

July 08, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

A bank cannot apply the work-product doctrine to a series of communications exchanged by a consultant it hired to operate an indebted construction company, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled.

By Ben Seal

10 minute read

July 08, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

A woman suing her former attorney for legal malpractice and breach of contract over advice that reduced her share of her husband's estate can proceed with her lawsuit, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled, despite the fact that she agreed to a settlement with the estate after obtaining new counsel.

By Ben Seal

7 minute read

July 08, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Pennsylvania's appellate courts have grown accustomed to operating shorthanded. The Superior and Commonwealth courts have been working with five open seats, combined, for the past several months, and the state Supreme Court hasn't had a full complement of seven justices in nearly two years. Reinforcements are on the way.

By Ben Seal

12 minute read

July 06, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Pennsylvania voters are set to see a judicial retirement age ballot question again for the first time this November after the Commonwealth Court ruled Wednesday against a group of Senate Democrats challenging its delay.

By Ben Seal

10 minute read

July 05, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Bruce Beemer, first deputy in the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and an occasional thorn in the side of Attorney General Kathleen Kane, is leaving the office to become the state's next inspector general.

By Ben Seal

5 minute read

July 01, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

When Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray told his community he wouldn't cave to a legal challenge and repeal the city's gun laws, a former mayor offered $1,000 to a legal defense fund backing the decision. Gray matched the donation, and before long "people were coming out of the woodwork" to support the city's legal defense, he said.

By Ben Seal

8 minute read

July 01, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Lannett Co., a Philadelphia pharmaceutical company, has sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for revoking its approval of a new chemotherapy medicine.

By Ben Seal

7 minute read