The National Law Journal's L.A. Legal Pad

Taxpayer advocate Richard Fine faces disbarment

Tarzana attorney Richard Fine is charged with moral turpitude with a recommendation by California State Bar Court Judge Richard Honn that Fine be disbarred, the Los Angeles Daily News reports (here).

Honn alleges in state bar documents that Fine "filed meritless lawsuits" to retaliate against judges who ruled against him. Fine alleged L.A. Superior Court judges hadn't disclosed the nearly $40,000 paid to them annually by the county, on top of their salary, in cases where the county was a party.

Fine argued his case at state Supreme Court, who haven't ruled yet.

Fine told the Daily News that the state bar began action against him because he filed cases against judges - rather than his earlier cases against the state legislature and governor. According to the newspaper, "legal observers say the case against Fine is unusual." What do you think?

The state Court of Appeal in San Diego will hear oral arguments in February in a lawsuit, filed by Judicial Watch alleging the nearly $40,000 given by the county to judges as a extra benefit are a gift and waste of public funds.

O.C. Board is suing to reduce sheriff deputies' pensions

After $500,000 worth of legal preparation by four different firms, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to file a lawsuit to undo part of their pension agreement with sheriff's deputies.

Kirkland & Ellis, the most recent firm hired by the county, recommended that the county sue.

Two of the three prior firms hired by the county, Orrick Herrington and Snell & Wilmer, said the case was not legally viable, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The suit aims to take $187 million from the pension agreement, lead by board chairman John Moorlach, who's advocated reforming the O.C.'s pension agreements with public employee unions that have lead to a $2.3 billion pension shortfall over the next 30 years.

Moorlach said it would be faster and cheaper to sue than to hire a retired state Supreme Court judge to review the cases merits beforehand as the deputy sheriff's union proposed, the Orange County Register reported.

The better paying 2002 pension deal applied retroactively. The board claims this violates the state Constitution's prohibition on deficit spending and gifts of public funds, reports the Times.

The sheriff deputies union will join the case as an interested party since the O.C.'s employment retirement system is named as the defendant.

Coughlin Stoia to form patent group

San Diego's Coughlin Stoia announced the formation of its patent litigation group yesterday. The new group will be headed by Atlanta lawyers  John Herman and Ryan Walsh who specialize in intellectual property disputes.

It's another sign that the boom in IP litigation will continue, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The new group will focus on enforcing the patent rights of inventors and universities against big corporations. aiming for school administrators to think about maximizing the value of such patents like corporations do.

Greenberg Traurig promotes three to shareholder, one to of counsel

Greenberg Traurig' promoted Grace Chung, Gregg Bernhard and Lisa M. Nitti as shareholders at their Los Angeles office. Mahsa Aliaskari was promoted to of counsel at the L.A. office as well.

Chung focuses on tax, trusts and estates. She represents domestic and foreigns businesses as well as individuals in tax matters. Chung is experienced in U.S. investments abroad and foreign investments in the US, international joint ventures, international withholding tax, and estate and gift tax.

Bernhard is a member of the firm's real estate, hotel, resort and club practice, focusing largely on U.S. and international real estate transactions - specifically the structuring of mixed-use projects.

Nitti is a member of the firm's burgeoning entertainment group.  She represents producers, screenwriters, actors, directors, production companies, banks film funds, independent financier, Internet companies and animation companies.

Aliaskari leads the business immigration and compliance practice at the firms L.A. office, counseling multinational corporations on immigration law, I-9 due diligence, best practices and employment compliance matters. She develops programs to minimize exposure and liabilities.

Orrick Herrington names Adam Mindle partner

Real estate attorney Adam Mindle was promoted to partner at Orrick Herrington's Los Angeles office.

Mindle focuses on complex joint venture transactions, real property portfolio acquisition and disposition, and real estate secured financing and leasing.

A significant portion of his practice is devoted to representing investment funds, pension funds and other tax-exempt entities and their advisors.

Margaret Gillespie named shareholder at Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins elected Margaret H. Gillespie shareholder at their Los Angeles office.

Gillespie's represented management in employment litigation matters, as well as providing employment advice and counseling to employers.

She's defended employers in wage and hour class actions, claims brought under California Business and Professions Code Section 17200, and traditional single and multi-plaintiff lawsuits involving claims for discrimination, harassment, unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, and other employment related torts and claims, as well as ERISA claims for benefits.

Latinos underrepresented in downtown San Diego juries, finds study

Two defense attorneys are arguing that the system of summoning jurors in San Diego is unconstitutional, citing a study that found Latinos underrepresented by 50%, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Attorneys Christopher Plourd and Donald Levine cite the analysis of a San Diego State University geography professor John Weeks in a court-order study of people reporting to jury duty in San Diego's five county courthouses last February.

Weeks found that 9.4 percent of the 4,251 questionnaires identified as Latino, while statistics find 19 percent of San Diego's population identify as Latino.

San DIego Superior Court Judge David Gill ordered the study and will determine the next course of action following a hearing, scheduled for Feb. 25, with Ploud and Levine. They are representing a man accused with murdering two San Diego women.

Investigators can use baseball players' drug tests, 9th Circuit rules

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals approved the use of the names and urine samples of about 100 professional baseball players that tested positive for steroids in 2003, the San Jose Mercury News reported last week.

This would provide more names that the Mitchell Report, which publicly identified 85 players.

The appeals court rejected arguments by the players' union that seizing the records was a violation of their medical privacy rights and protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

The court upheld their 2006 rulings, which had overturned San Francisco, Los Angeles and Nevada federal courts finding that the governmental searches were illegal. But it said that the appeal to the Los Angeles case was filed too late, which could be a challenge to getting the information seized through that specific case, finds the Mercury News.

In this week's National Law Journal, Stroock & Stroock partner Joel Cohen questions whether the public outing of players via the Mitchell report is fair and responsible. While the Mitchell Report may seem to continue the prejudicial behavior of publicly naming communists and witches, the report would have appeared less credible and received less attention if players hadn't been named, finds Cohen. 

Between Lerach and a hard place

Federal prosecutors say securities plaintiffs' lawyer William Lerach should serve two years in prison in the Milberg Weiss case, contesting a pre-sentencing report's recommendation of 15 months in prison, The National Law Journal reports.

Lerach, a former Milberg Weiss partner, will be sentenced on Feb. 11 on one count of federal conspiracy. A  government probe allre alleges the firm obtained $250 million in attorney fees by paying plaintiffs in over 150 class action and shareholder lawsuits.

Lerach agreed serve 1-2 years in prison, forfeit $7.75 million and pay a $250,000 fine in a plea deal reached in October.

Prosecutors said a 15 month sentence would fail to deter other attorneys from committing similar acts, arguing that a 24 month sentence would. They also counter the pre-sentencing reports assertion that Lerach didn't commit any overt acts after 2002, noting that there's no evidence that he withdrew from the conspiracy while remaining a partner in the firm until 2004.

"U.S. Prosecutors seek two-year prison term for Lerach," Reuters

O.C. attorney nailed in money laundering scheme

LOS ANGELES ­— Thomas Burton, an attorney in Newport Beach, Calif., plead guilty to a federal money laundering charge and admitted he laundered $500,000 for a man involved in an international mail fraud scheme.

According to the plea agreement, Burton agreed to launder the money for Daryl Ray Rice, who recorded their conversation for the Federal Bureau of Information. Burton said he could make Rice's mail fraud proceeds "look like an investment" by preparing documentation as if it were a loan. Their plan was to wire $500,000 to an offshore account of a company called UniCache, which would wire $200,000 from a different account to Rice's attorney's trust account.

The FBI instructed Rice to complete the transaction using a $50,000 transfer to the UniCache account. UniCache then wired $30,000 to an account in the United States and $20,000 to Rice's attorney's trust account.

Burton faces 20 years in federal prison. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Santa Ana, Calif., on Feb. 4.

He also agreed to reimburse the FBI $30,000.

-- Amanda Bronstad

Press Release, U.S. Attorney's Office - Central District of California