Rebecca Baker

January 04, 2017 | New York Law Journal

The New York City Bar Association will honor Southern District Senior Judge Jed Rakoff in its annual "Twelfth Night" musical revue on Jan. 13.

By Rebecca Baker

5 minute read

December 23, 2016 | New York Law Journal

In a year when the presidential campaign between two New Yorkers dominated the news cycle, our legal community generated no shortage of headlines about high-profile trials, firm mergers, precedent-setting rulings and the loss of well-known leaders.

By Rebecca Baker

2 minute read

December 23, 2016 | New York Law Journal

Cancer claimed the lives of Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson and former state chief judge Judith Kaye, at a time when both were still active in the legal community and championing the interests of justice.

By Rebecca Baker

15 minute read

December 23, 2016 | New York Law Journal

The Southern District played host this year to a series of bellwether cases from across the country, intended to set the stage for settling hundreds of economic damages, personal injury and wrongful death claims stemming from ignition switch defects in old GM cars. It did not go as expected.

By Rebecca Baker

3 minute read

December 23, 2016 | New York Law Journal

After a series of shootings of unarmed black men nationwide by police that failed to result in an indictment, much less a conviction, a Brooklyn jury on Feb. 11 found that NYPD Officer Peter Liang was criminally reckless when he fired a single shot from the top of a pitch-black stairwell that ricocheted into Akai Gurley's heart.

By Rebecca Baker

3 minute read

December 23, 2016 | New York Law Journal

The federal courts in New York have been home to some high-profile cases over the years. But Tom Brady's legal battle with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell over deflated footballs captured national attention, with sports fans and non-fans taking sides in the dispute.

By Rebecca Baker

7 minute read

December 23, 2016 | New York Law Journal

Privacy, technology and U.S. government control all came together in an Eastern District case in which federal prosecutors wanted Apple to unlock the iPhone of an alleged drug dealer.

By Rebecca Baker

3 minute read

December 23, 2016 | New York Law Journal

The back-to-back convictions of New York state's most powerful legislators launched a fresh call to end political corruption, "business as usual" in Albany.

By Rebecca Baker

4 minute read

December 23, 2016 | New York Law Journal

On Aug. 30, the Court of Appeals expanded the definition of parenthood statewide to include non-married, non-adoptive ex-partners of biological parents.

By Rebecca Baker

2 minute read

December 23, 2016 | New York Law Journal

Judicial campaigns for re-election aren't typically a source of controversy, but when a screening panel deemed Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan unqualified for re-election, it set off outrage in the legal community and accusations that discrimination played a role in a rare move to reject an incumbent judge.

By Rebecca Baker

5 minute read