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Lawsuit Filed by Katz & Moon Against Actress Robyn Cohen Allowed to Continue

On Thursday, a judge ruled that Katz & Yoon can pursue a lawsuit filed against actress Robyn Cohen for $760,000 in unpaid legal fees, according to mynewsla.com.

Cohen was represented by attorneys from the firm when she sued former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for a fire in her apartment in a building he owned.

The ruling was issued by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard Fruin when he said he disagreed with arguments by Cohen’s attorneys that Katz & Yoon did not provide enough details in its lawsuit for the case to continue.

Fruin did accept another dismissal motion from attorneys who represent Cohen. The dismissal motion asks that the lawsuit be thrown out of court and that Katz & Yoon be fined $12,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit only to harass the actress.

Fruin said he might stay the case if he denies the second dismissal motion pending the outcome of an appeal filed by Cohen with another judge.

Cohen was represented by Katz & Yoon from June 2012 to January 2013. Brian Henri, a former member of the law firm, is currently defending Cohen. Henri represented Cohen with Melissa Yoon during the Sterling trial.

Katz & Yoon is requesting that Henri be disqualified from representing Cohen in another motion in front of Judge Fruin. The lawyers for the firm claim that Henri could use confidential information against the firm in order to defend Cohen. They also claim that Henri could be a key witness.

The law firm claims that Henri’s job was to acquire the signature of Cohen on a contingency fee agreement. The lawsuit states that Henri said he did not get the signature on the agreement following the verdict in December of 2012.

The lawsuit states that one month later, Henry “disavowed any contingency fee arrangement with the firm and denied that Cohen had any obligation to pay a contingent or any other fee to the firm. Cohen then went silent, refusing to reply to any inquiries from the firm’s other partners as to the status of her written fee agreement.”

The lawsuit states that the lawyers at the firm spent more than 1,600 hours working on the case against Sterling for Cohen.

Henri runs his own firm in Sunnyvale known as Henri Law Group.

In the case for Cohen against Sterling, a jury found the former Clippers owner liable for breach of warranty of habitability, breach of contract and infliction of emotional distress. Cohen was awarded $2.3 million in compensatory damages.

Sterling and his employees from the West Hollywood property were also found guilty of acting with malice towards Cohen. This led to punitive damages of $15 million being awarded.

12-07-2014

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District Attorney Seeking Prison Terms for Former Philadelphia Traffic Court Judges

It is expected that federal prosecutors will look for prison terms for four former traffic court judges in Philadelphia, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The judges have been convicted of felony counts for lying about fixing tickets even though a jury acquitted all four of corruption charges this summer.

The four judges are Michael Lowry, Robert Mulgrew, Willie Singletary and Thomasine Tynes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Wolf wrote that the four judges “destroyed an entire court system and brought disgrace to the legal profession” when they provided their family, friends and political allies with special treatment.

Wolf said that each of the judges should receive anywhere from two to three years in prison.

"For a judge to give preferential treatment to certain litigants because of their social and political connections turns the system on its head," Wolf wrote. "For that judge then to cover up his wrongdoing by lying in another judicial proceeding is unconscionable."

In her sentencing memo, Wolf claims that the judges continued to commit bad behavior even after they had been charged.

Wolf said that Tynes still communicated with a chief witness against her despite court orders against it. Tynes reportedly texted the witness during the trial in an attempt to influence the testimony the witness would provide.

Earlier this year, Singletary reportedly used his Traffic Court badge to get out of a ticket in Cheltenham even though he had been indicted and was suspended from the bench.

"The government may take the position that a finding of guilty on the perjury count is tantamount to the jury's endorsement of the government's allegations of ticket-fixing,” said Mulgrew's attorney, Angela Halim, in court filings. "That is a misleading position. Mr. Mulgrew was unanimously acquitted of committing any crime relating to his duties on the bench in Traffic Court."

The judge who will issue the sentences is that of U.S. District Judge Lawrence Stengel.

Outside of the sentencing, all four of the judges have already lost their jobs and can lose their pensions.

"Our system of justice depends on the integrity of judicial proceedings," Wolf wrote to the judge in the sentencing memo for Mulgrew. "It falls to this court to ensure that [their] story is a cautionary tale."

11-30-2014

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Supreme Court of Rhode Island Disciplines Four Lawyers

Four lawyers have been disciplined by the Rhode Island Supreme Court, according to The Providence Journal. The rulings were issued by the court last week.

The four lawyers disciplined by the court are George E. Babcock, William F. Holt, Robert F. McNelis and Augustus Charos Jr.

Babcock was suspended by the court for one year. He is Pawtucket and is known for handling cases involving homeowners fighting foreclosures that stem from the Great Recession.

Babcock was suspended for violations of the Bankruptcy Court including filing documents not signed by a client.

He has been suspended in both Bankruptcy Court and from practicing in federal District Court. He also received a 30-day suspension that begins on December 1 and prevents him from practicing in the Supreme Court.

In their ruling, the court said, “We find [Babcock’s] conduct … to be troubling and worthy of sanction.”

Holt was suspended for misconduct in his representation of four clients in Family Court. His suspension will last three years. Holt practices in Cranston.

One of the cases that led to his suspension involved Holt modifying a restraining order filed against one of his clients. In another of his cases, Holt took divorce documents in order to give his client an unfair advantage.

A third violation saw Holt prepare documents in order to claim a larger share of pension benefits for a client even though it was larger than what was agreed upon in a divorce settlement. The fourth violation saw Holt write a misleading order for a custody and visitation case surrounding a client’s child.

The court said Holt displayed a “persistent pattern of deceiving judges. [Holt] did not just prejudice the administration of justice, he sabotaged it.”

McNelis has been censured by the court for misconduct in representing clients in Bankruptcy Court.

He failed to provide his clients with notices from the court multiple times and filed documents that were not signed by clients.

McNelis has received a one year suspension from practicing in both federal District Court and in Bankruptcy Court.

McNelis was not suspended from practicing in the Supreme Court.

Charos Jr. was censured by the court for violations committed in Bankruptcy Court.

Charos filed inaccurate disclosures with the court involving compensation from a client. He also did not disclose fee arrangements with another firm.

Charos was also accused of not providing his clients with notices filed by the court and filed documents without signatures from his clients.

He received a two year suspension from practicing in federal District Court and Bankruptcy Court.

11-23-2014

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Married Couple Identified as Suspects in Home Invasion and Stabbing of Former Boss at Virginia Law Firm

Alecia and Andrew Schmuhl have been identified as two suspects in a home invasion and stabbing of Alecia’s former boss, according to The Washington Post.

Andrew is a former judge advocate in the Army at Fort Belvoir and Alecia is a former attorney.

The couple drove to the home of Alecia’s former boss in McLean, Virginia. Andrew knocked on the door and stabbed the man when he answered. When the wife came to see what was going on, Andrew stabbed her too.

The couple has been charged with two counts each of abduction and malicious wounding and were arraigned Wednesday in Fairfax County General District Court.

“It’s a horrendously sad situation,” said Merrit Green, a founding partner of McLean’s General Counsel, P.C. This is where Alecia used to work prior to her recent job. “She was on a good, bright career path, and so was her husband. It’s just unbelievable.”

Alecia stopped working at the firm in January of 2013 and was reported to be a diligent worker during her three years with the law firm.

Upon leaving McLean’s General Counsel, P.C., Alecia moved to Bean Kinney & Korman, which is located in Arlington. She was fired from the firm last week, according to WJLA.

The law firm released the following statement after the incident broke in the media:

"As reported through multiple media sources, Leo Fisher, Bean Kinney & Korman’s managing shareholder, and his wife were savagely assaulted and repeatedly stabbed in their home by intruders, identified as Andrew Schmuhl and Alecia Schmuhl, husband and wife. Alecia Schmuhl was an associate attorney with the firm from February 13, 2013, through October 28, 2014. As the matter is a subject of an active police investigation, the firm is unable to comment further on the circumstances of her employment and separation from the firm.

We are shocked and horrified by the facts of the matter as presented at this morning’s bond hearing for Ms. Schmuhl, and entirely support the decision to deny her bond. Our hearts go out to a wonderful colleague and his beloved wife. We are doing everything possible to support them through this ordeal and pray for their recovery. We are confident in the ability of the judicial process to achieve a just outcome and will fully cooperate with the Fairfax County investigative authorities to assure that those who have committed these unspeakable offenses against good people are fittingly punished for their actions.”

Both victims remain in the hospital with life-threatening wounds.

Both Alecia and Andrew are graduates of Valparaiso University Law School.

The couple is scheduled to make another court appearance on January 6.

11-14-2014

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President Barack Obama Nominates Loretta Lynch for U.S. Attorney General

In a move that was rumored to happen earlier in the week, Loretta Lynch was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the new United States Attorney General, according to WTVD.

Should Lynch be approved by the Senate, she would become the first black woman to hold the position.

"Thank you for your faith in me and asking me to succeed an attorney general whom I admire and to lead the department that I love," Lynch said.

The president said the following when he nominated Lynch at the White House:

"She has spent years in the trenches as a prosecutor aggressively fighting terrorism, financial fraud, cyber-crime, all while vigorously defending civil rights. In a country that is built on the rule of law, there are few offices more important than that of Attorney General."

Lynch is working in her second tour of duty as the United States Attorney General for the Eastern District of New York.

Lynch would take over for Eric Holder, who announced his resignation back in September, but he said he would remain in the position until a replacement is found and approved by the Senate.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, said that he wants the nomination to be handled in January. On the other side of the spectrum, Democrats told the White House it would be hard to win the confirmation when the lame-duck session of Congress begins in the coming week.

Chuck Grassley, a senator from Iowa who is the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, expressed "every confidence that Ms. Lynch will receive a very fair, but thorough, vetting by the Judiciary Committee."

"U.S. attorneys are rarely elevated directly to this position, so I look forward to learning more about her, how she will interact with Congress, and how she proposes to lead the department," Grassley said. "I'm hopeful that her tenure, if confirmed, will restore confidence in the attorney general as a politically independent voice for the American people."

11-09-2014

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