|
|
|
Treasury risks overpaying law firms
Law Firm News |
2011/04/18 09:03
|
The Treasury Department paid out more than $27 million to law firms overseeing the financial bailouts without requiring detailed bills or questioning the incomplete records that the lawyers provided, a government watchdog says.
Treasury's current contracts and fee bill review practices create an unacceptable risk that Treasury, and therefore the American taxpayer, is overpaying for legal services, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said in a report issued Thursday.
Treasury could not have adequately gauged whether the fees were reasonable because the records are so sparse, the report says.
The report criticizes so-called block billing, in which law firms submit vague and inadequate descriptions of work, and administrative charges — all of which should have been questioned before payment, the report says. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
High court takes no action on Va. health care case
Law Firm News |
2011/04/17 09:03
|
The Supreme Court has taken no action on Virginia's call for speedy review of the health care law.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is asking the court to resolve questions about the law quickly, without the usual consideration by federal appellate judges and over the objection of the Obama administration.
The case was among those that were scheduled to be discussed in the justices' private conference on Friday, but there was no announcement about the case when the court convened on Monday.
The silence could mean, among other things, that one justice asked for more time to think about the case or to write a short opinion that would accompany an order.
The justices meet again on Friday to discuss pending cases. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
DOJ's elite Public Integrity unit gets new leader
Law Firm News |
2010/08/30 09:02
|
| pThe Justice Department's Public Integrity Section has a storied 34-year history of pursuing corruption in government and safeguarding the public trust./ppThat trust was breached, however, when some of the unit's prosecutors failed to turn over evidence favorable to the defense in their high-profile criminal trial of Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who died earlier this month in a plane crash./ppNow Jack Smith, a 41-year-old prosecutor with a love for courtroom work and an impressive record, has been brought in to restore the elite unit's credibility./ppBefore Stevens, Public Integrity's renown was built on large successes — like the prosecution of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and convictions of federal and state judges, members of Congress and state legislators, military officers, federal lawmen and bureaucrats and their state counterparts over the years./ppBut its stumble — not disclosing exculpatory evidence as Supreme Court precedent requires — was equally large. It was so serious that Attorney General Eric Holder, one of Public Integrity's distinguished alums, stepped in and asked a federal judge to throw out Stevens' convictions./p |
|
|
|
|
|
|
DUI Life Sentence Stirs Debate About Alcoholism
Law Firm News |
2010/08/17 12:25
|
pNobody disputes that driving under the influence of alcohol is dangerous. In fact, it's one of the most deadly crimes. You won't get any serious arguments from anybody that people should be allowed to drive while impaired. Nobody would dispute that you are far more likely to die at the hands of a DUI driver than at the hands of a serial killer or by gang violence./ppThe dispute is not about the problem of impaired driving, but rather about what to do about it. Every year, many states increase the jail time, fines and other penalties for DUI offenders. There is little evidence that increased punishment deters impaired driving. In fact, there's no conclusive evidence that suggests that the average would-be drunk driver even considers the penalties before turning on the ignition and hitting the road./ppMost state lawmakers increase the penalties because it is politically popular to do so, and it’s the only thing they can think of doing. In most states, the average DUI convict spends no more than a day or two in jail for a first offense, and no longer than a year for a third offense. After that, the states have a tremendous range./ppIt seems for most offenders, a first, second or third DUI arrest is the wake-up call they need, and very few people get caught more than three times in their lifetime. In states such as Washington that have systems that treat and educate for alcohol and drug issues, there is a ray of hope that recidivism may be reduced. In states such as Arizona, where the focus is on punishment rather than treatment, DWI convictions often do little for a would-be repeat offender than take them off the road temprarily while they are incarcerated./pp- a href=http://www.attorney-webdesign.comattorney webdesign/a
- a href=http://www.law-firm-website-design.comlaw firm website design/a
- a href=http://www.lawyer-webdesigner.comlawyer web designers/a
- a href=http://www.attorney-web-design.comattorney web design/a/ppa href=http://www.attorney-website-design.com/a /p |
|
|
|
|
|
Law Firm News RSS Feed
