Legal Industry News
Former Rhode Island Attorney Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud, Tax Evasion Charges
February 3, 2012
Former Rhode Island attorney James D. Levitt, 66, pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence on Wednesday, February 1, to three counts of bank fraud and two counts of filing false tax returns for his role in a million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme. More...
Tax Attorney Deported from Panama, Indicted with UBS Clients for Hiding Assets in Secret Foreign Bank Accounts
February 2, 2012
Former San Diego attorney Christopher M. Rusch and Phoenix-area businessmen Stephen M. Kerr and Michael Quiel andwere charged in Phoenix with conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for concealing millions of dollars in assets in numerous secret Swiss bank accounts held at UBS and elsewhere, according to the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). More...
New Indictment Charges Philadelphia Lawyer in Alleged Theft of $324,000 That Firm Client Received in a Personal Injury Settlement
February 1, 2012
Michael W. Kwasnik, a Philadelphia lawyer who already is in jail for allegedly stealing over $1 million from a 96-year-old client in New Jersey, has been indicted on new charges that he stole over $324,000 from the proceeds of a personal injury settlement that his law partner recovered for a married couple. More...
Bogus Law Firm Headed by Florida-Based Attorney Surrenders $1.2M Taken from North Carolina Consumers
January 31, 2012
A bogus Florida law firm that falsely claimed it would reduce consumers’ debts by more than half has been barred from debt relief work in North Carolina. More...
Mass. Dentist Who Used Paper Clips for Root Canals to Serve One Year in Jail for Slew of Charges
January 30, 2012
A former Fall River, Massachusetts dentist has been sentenced to two and a half years in jail after pleading guilty to charges of Medicaid fraud for inserting paper clips into patients’ mouths for root canals instead of using stainless steel posts. More...
LSC Survey: Staff Reductions Hit Legal Aid Programs
January 27, 2012
The nonprofit programs funded by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to deliver civil legal assistance to low-income Americans are implementing layoffs and staff reductions because of budget constraints, a survey conducted by LSC found. More...
Former Teamsters Union General Counsel Accused of Submitting 150 Bogus Receipts for CLE Classes, Legal Reference Materials
January 26, 2012
Kevin Clor, who at the age of 30 became a Teamsters union general counsel, has been indicted for stealing more than $211,000 from the New York State Thruway Employees Local 72 (“Union”) and for submitting forged receipts for reimbursement. More...
Manhattan-Based Law Firm Found to Have Submitted 20th False Immigration Applications, as Founder Is Extradited from Canada
January 25, 2012
New York lawyer Earl Seth David, a/k/a “Rabbi Avrahom David,” has been extradited from Canada to face charges of conspiracy to commit immigration fraud, conspiracy to make false statements to immigration authorities, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. More...
Ex-Colorado District Attorney Given One-Year Prison Sentence for Demanding Sexual Favors from Workers
January 23, 2012
The Combined Court of Montrose County, Colorado has sentenced Myrl Serra, a former District Attorney for the 7th Judicial District of Colorado, to one year in prison followed by 60 days in the Montrose County Jail after pleading guilty in October 2011 to criminal extortion, a class-four felony, and unlawful sexual contact, a class-one misdemeanor. More...
Part-time Work Among Lawyers Declined for First Time in 17 Years, NALP Study Finds
January 20, 2012
A study conducted by the National Association for Law Placement, Inc. (NALP) showed that most large law firms have made part-time schedules available to their experienced lawyers for many years. More...
