San Diego sues former lawyer, law firm after losing $3.9 million wrongful-termination case

Months after losing a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed by one of its longtime prosecutors, the San Diego City Attorney’s Office has sued the outside law firm and one of its then-lawyers for malpractice and other alleged lapses.

City Attorney Mara Elliott is suing lawyer William Price and Burke, Williams & Sorensen, the firm she hired to defend against a case brought by former assistant city attorney Marlea Dell’Anno.

The lawsuit, filed last week in San Diego Superior Court, accuses the firm and its former partner of mishandling the case, which earlier this year ended with a $3.9 million jury verdict against the city.

“Defendants breached the duty of an attorney to discharge duties faithfully to the best of their knowledge and ability,” the suit says. “As a direct, foreseeable and proximate result of defendants’ conduct, the city has suffered substantial economic losses.”

Neither Burke nor Price responded to requests for comment on the allegations.

According to the suit, Price was defending the city in

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August 1, 2022 by LAW

Could Amber Heard Just File For Bankruptcy To Avoid Paying Johnny Depp?

There are messy celebrity divorces, and then there’s the infamous split between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. The two actors have been battling in court for years, and that’s only continued following the verdict of their defamation suits. The Aquaman star was found guilty on three counts, and ordered to pay her ex over $10 million after the dust settled. But could Heard just file for bankruptcy to avoid paying Depp this sum?

$10 million is a truly insurmountable sum of money for most people, including celebrities like Amber Heard. Her lawyer has gone on record saying she won’t be able to pay those millions of dollars, with the legal team continuing to attempt some appeals. But could bankruptcy help Amber Heard? According to a report by heard/amber-heard-would-gain-no-real-benefit-by-using-bankruptcy-to-avoid-paying-johnny-depp-millions-but-theres-a-catch-law-prof/” data-url=”https://lawandcrime.com/live-trials/live-trials-current/depp-v-heard/amber-heard-would-gain-no-real-benefit-by-using-bankruptcy-to-avoid-paying-johnny-depp-millions-but-theres-a-catch-law-prof/”Law and Crime, the short answer is no.

Unfortunately for Amber Heard, declaring bankruptcy won’t help her avoid paying Johnny Depp over the defamation case. Instead, going this route might help Heard slow down the payments. And with Heard’s legal team continuing to make appeals over the verdict, this might be able to buy her time as well. Clearly the ongoing legal battle isn’t going to

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July 31, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Three Big Law Firms Aid Amazon $3.49 Billion One Medical Buy (1)

Amazon.com Inc.‘s bid to buy One Medical and break into the US health care market is getting help from three Big Law firms.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is advising Amazon while Cooley and Ropes & Gray are representing San Francisco-based 1Life Healthcare Inc., parent of primary care company One Medical.

One Medical operates 182 medical offices in 25 markets in the US. Customers pay a subscription fee for access to doctors and 24-hour digital services. Amazon’s purchase of One Medical for $3.49 billion in cash would be the third-largest deal in the Seattle-based company’s history.

Paul Weiss corporate partners Krishna Veeraraghavan and Kyle Seifried are counseling Amazon. Paul Weiss recruited Veeraraghavan last year from Sullivan & Cromwell in a high-profile lateral move.

Steven Tonsfeldt leads the Cooley team. Cooley hired him in 2016 after the Silicon Valley dealmaker led the mergers and acquisitions practice at O’Melveny & Myers.

Other Cooley lawyers representing One Medical include corporate partners Matthew Hemington and Annie Lieberman, as well as associate Gaël Hagan.

Ropes & Gray health care partners Jennifer Romig and Christina Bergeron are working with a half-dozen associates for One Medical.

Cooley’s Tonsfeldt and Hemington and Ropes & Gray’s Romig

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July 31, 2022 by LAW

J.Crew recruits new top lawyer from rival American Eagle Outfitters

A J.Crew store logo is pictured on a building along the Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach, Florida March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

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  • Stacy Siegal has joined J.Crew as chief legal officer
  • Clothing retailer emerged from bankruptcy in September 2020

(Reuters) – J.Crew Group Inc has hired longtime retail company attorney Stacy Siegal away from American Eagle Outfitters Inc to be its new top lawyer, according to a Monday statement.

J.Crew said Siegal will be chief legal officer and corporate secretary of the New York-based company, reporting to CEO Libby Wadle.

Siegal said she is replacing J.Crew’s interim general counsel, Peter Damiano, who will remain at the company.

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A J.Crew spokesperson declined to comment beyond the statement. An American Eagle spokesperson didn’t immediately comment on Siegal’s departure on Monday.

J.Crew filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic triggered temporary store closures of its nearly 500 J.Crew, J.Crew Factory outlet and Madewell stores. A bankruptcy judge approved the clothing company’s reorganization plan in August 2020.

Siegal joined American Eagle Outfitters as general counsel in 2016, according to her LinkedIn

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July 30, 2022 by ATTORNEY

U.S. Treasury gives green light to Russian default insurance payouts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Treasury issued a special waiver on Friday to allow investors with insurance against a Russian default, known as Credit Default Swaps, to receive their payouts.

The normally straightforward process of CDS payouts was thrown into chaos in June when Washington said its sanctions on Russia represented a total ban on buying Moscow’s debt.

An investor who buys a CDS contract usually hands over the underlying bond to the bank or fund that sold them the CDS when a default happens. It traditionally involves an auction to determine the price, but under the sanctions that exchange effectively became illegal.

The license authorizes U.S. persons to purchase or receive Russian bonds starting two days before the announced date of the auction, and up to eight business days after the auction takes place.

The committee that sets the auction date has a scheduled meeting on Monday at 1300 GMT after having met three times this week.

“OFAC has issued two General Licenses (waivers) to help U.S. and other global investors more cleanly exit their exposures to Russia,” a Treasury spokesperson said, referring to the Office of Foreign Assets Control which enforces U.S. sanctions.

The move also authorizes financial

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July 30, 2022 by INSURANCE
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