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Former Justice Richard Neely brought suit on behalf of a client and Volkswagen Passat owner against the automaker and its counsel. (Credit: AP)

McGuireWoods' VW MDL Removal Is Fraud, Ex-Judge Says

A former West Virginia high court chief justice has launched fiery fraud allegations against McGuireWoods LLP and Volkswagen AG on a client's behalf, alleging they deliberately attempted to obstruct justice by joining individual state court cases over the automaker's emissions scandal to federal multidistrict litigation.

  • Massey Ex-CEO Pleads Fifth On Finances Before Sentencing

    Disgraced Massey Energy ex-CEO Don Blankenship told a West Virginia federal judge Friday the Fifth Amendment protects him from having to disclose financial information the government wants in relation to his sentencing for a conspiracy conviction that followed a fatal mine explosion.

  • SEC Upholds Ex-Stanford Compliance Chief's Fraud Penalties

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission upheld a decision Thursday penalizing the former chief compliance officer of one of R. Allen Stanford’s companies, finding he played a key role in the $7 billion Ponzi scheme by failing to perform due diligence.

  • Baker Botts Loss On Ch. 11 Fees May Nudge BigLaw Rates

    A Delaware bankruptcy court denial of Baker Botts LLC’s “creative” workaround of the U.S. Supreme Court ban on debtors picking up the bill for lawyers’ defense of their fee applications raises pressure on BigLaw to consider rate bumps, experts say.

  • IRS Finalizes Rules On Importation Of Net Built-In Losses

    The IRS released final regulations Friday that apply to losses transferred to profitable corporations that receive assets from their shareholders in exchange for company stock.

  • Ex-Sanford Atty Wins $5M In Partnership Spat

    A New York appeals court has affirmed a $5 million arbitration award to a former Sanford Heisler LLP attorney who accused the firm and name partners of booting him without paying out his alleged $25 million or more interest in the partnership.

  • Ex-DOJ Atty Admits Surveillance Leaks Were Unethical

    A former U.S. Department of Justice attorney who leaked information about the government’s domestic surveillance program admitted Thursday that under D.C. ethics rules, he should have reported his concerns to DOJ superiors instead of the press.