Gary Young

April 17, 2003 | Law.com

As the battle lines draw up again over the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed "noisy withdrawal" rule for lawyers, there's been a shift in the positions of the contending forces. Most noticeably, the practicing bar has staked out fallback positions in the face of the commission's seeming determination to press through with some kind of requirement for attorneys to report wrongdoings of clients.

By Gary Young

6 minute read

July 28, 2004 | Law.com

The bankruptcy system got harsh criticism at a congressional hearing last week, with much of the blame being pinned on attorneys. On July 21, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law heard from two law professors. Lynn LoPucki of UCLA alleged that liberal choice-of-venue rules allow corporate bankruptcy attorneys to play the bankruptcy courts off against each other, while Lester Brickman of NYU criticized the control plaintiff's firms hold over of asbestos-related bankruptcies.

By Gary Young

4 minute read

October 23, 2002 | Law.com

In November, South Dakotans will vote on an issue the legal profession has long been loath to look in the face: jury nullification. Amendment A would allow a criminal defendant to ask a jury for an acquittal on the ground that a mechanical application of the law to his case would result in an injustice. While legal scholars debate jury nullification's merits, the political debate in South Dakota has arguably been less than admirable.

By Gary Young

8 minute read

August 12, 2003 | Law.com

If first amendment law keeps to its present course, you may soon see an end to the ads that say, "Beef. It's what's for dinner!" On July 8, the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals declared unconstitutional the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985, commonly called the Beef Act, because it mandates that all beef producers contribute money to an advertising campaign with which some of them take issue. Livestock Marketing Association v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, 02-2769.

By Gary Young

5 minute read

January 08, 2003 | Law.com

Reactions to the SEC's proposed regulation governing attorney conduct have revealed a fissure in the profession between practitioners and professors. While securities lawyers have been quite vocal in their objections to the regulation since its November unveiling, the national press has given little attention to the 51 ethics and securities law professors who support the regulation -- and urge that it be made stricter.

By Gary Young

6 minute read

October 11, 2001 | Law.com

The judiciary's historic animus toward arbitration may have stymied parties from deciding how to enforce their contracts, but it also ensured an element of stability when things broke down. A 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case highlights the different ways the circuits have determined whether a party who contends that a contract is invalid can be compelled to submit to arbitration based on a clause in that very contract.

By Gary Young

4 minute read

December 17, 2002 | Law.com

The lawyer who represents three of the five men convicted as teen-agers in the Central Park jogger case is confident that his clients will get compensation from the state of New York for their prison terms. But legal experts warn that getting compensation for wrongful imprisonment is an uphill battle, even in New York, which is thought to be the most generous of the 17 jurisdictions that have a statutory compensation scheme.

By Gary Young

8 minute read

April 21, 2003 | Law.com

The securities bar was taken by surprise when the U.S. Senate approved a measure recently that would give the SEC new powers to investigate and impose fines on attorneys, accountants, companies and anyone else found to have violated securities laws. "The Levin amendment is moving too fast for the bar to react," said Skadden Arps' Kenneth J. Bialkin, referring to the measure sponsored by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.

By Gary Young

6 minute read

October 13, 2003 | Law.com

A legal doctrine with a disputed claim to legitimacy has repeatedly been used to deprive foreign governments of a U.S. forum in which to recover millions of dollars in tax revenues lost to cigarette smuggling. The governments' suits have almost always been thrown out under the common-law revenue rule. But for most of its critics, the rule's shifting purposes and rationales are enough to retire or restrict it.

By Gary Young

9 minute read

August 09, 2000 | Law.com

The Massachusetts Department of Social Services did not violate the First Amendment rights of a social worker when it fired her for making a remark at a testimonial dinner that she herself later described as a "stupid," "racist," and "unthinking" joke, the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday.

By Gary Young

5 minute read