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Government
Senate Mulling Bill Aimed at Redefining Child Abuse
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
The state Senate is currently mulling legislation that aims to broaden the legal definition of "child abuse," which attorneys and legislators say would make it easier to identify and punish abusers.
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- Pa. Justices Uphold Mandatory Judicial Retirement
- Senate Confirms Two Fed. Judges for Eastern District
- Sources: Justice McCaffery Contacted FJD About Cases
- Corbett to Nominate Stevens to High Court
- O'Connor Suggests End to Judicial Elections in Pa.
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Legal Profession
New PBA Head Seeks 'Epidemic' Of Membership
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Incoming Pennsylvania Bar Association President Forest N. Myers admits his new goal for the upcoming year is not any easy one to achieve. He said his greatest challenge and ultimate goal in his new position will be encouraging every lawyer in Pennsylvania to become a member of the PBA — although he said persuading every Pennsylvania lawyer to join is "probably not attainable in one year."
Government
Feds Seeking Lackawanna Guardian's Law School Records
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
A controversy surrounding the Lackawanna County guardian ad litem program and Danielle Ross, once the county's sole guardian, took a pivotal turn in February when Ross was indicted on two counts of tax evasion and two counts of filing a false federal income-tax report.
Land Use and Planning
High Court Upholds Jury Award to Bucks Co. Landowners
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
The state Supreme Court has upheld a jury verdict of more than $5.8 million for the owners of a 166-acre Bucks County farm that Lower Makefield Township tried to turn into a golf course.
Torts
Judge Clears Employer From Liability in Sidewalk Collapse
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
A Lackawanna County judge has released the employer of a man who was crushed under a 1,000-pound slab of concrete from a lawsuit the employee filed, ruling that the indemnity provision between the employer and the general contractor that hired it lacked the specificity required for the employer to waive its immunity from tort claims.
Administrative Law
Justices Take Up Case of Charter School Enrollment Cap
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case on whether an enrollment cap imposed by a Philadelphia charter school was valid before state law on the issue changed, but not afterward, as the Commonwealth Court has held.
People in the News
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Alan W. Flenner of High Swartz was elected to serve as chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's municipal law section.
Verdicts & Settlements
Jury Finds Intoxicated Man, Father Negligent In Car Accident
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
A Luzerne County jury has awarded more than $500,000, including punitive damages, to a man who suffered serious neck and back injuries in a car wreck where the plaintiff claimed the driver was under the influence of heroin and that his father allowed him use of the car, despite the son's spotty driving record and history of drug and alcohol abuse.
Verdicts & Settlements
Phila. Jury Awards Man Injured in Motor Vehicle Collision
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
A Philadelphia jury has awarded $85,000 in a limited tort motor vehicle case where the plaintiff claimed he suffered a disc herniation in his lower back.
Capitol Report
Recent Action
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Following is a listing of legislative action for the week of June 10. Members of the General Assembly were set to return to session June 17.
Capitol Report
Benchmark Report on Juvenile Recidivism Released
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
A report two years in the making that will serve as a benchmark to measure the effectiveness of new practices aimed at reducing recidivism has been released, the Juvenile Court Judges Commission announced.
Capitol Report
Blighted Properties Rehabilitation Law Clears House
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
The timetable for nonprofit organizations to rehabilitate and sell abandoned blighted properties would be cut in half under legislation, HB 1363, approved by the state House of Representatives.
Ethics
Questions & Answers on Professional Responsibility
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
I practice in a county where there are part-time masters and conciliators in family court. Sometimes, while having cases before the master or conciliator, I am also litigating against that person in unrelated family court cases. Is that permissible?
Workers' Compensation
Permanent Mandatory Injunctions to Require Environmental Compliance
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
My individual practice has caused me to focus on mandatory injunctions under the environmental laws for a while now, as in United States v. NCR, No. 1:10-cv-910-WCG (E.D. Wis. May 1, 2013).
Workers' Compensation
Uncovering Hidden Potential in Your Existing Client Inventory
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
All attorneys, regardless of their level of experience, should realize the importance of cultivating and fostering relationships with other attorneys. This holds especially true when it comes to referral relationships. Learning to understand the hidden potential that exists in your own inventory is one key to developing a flourishing network of long-term referrals.
Energy and Natutal Resources
Horizontal Drilling Presents Unique Leasing Issues
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
The modern oil and gas lease is a sophisticated and complex legal instrument that has evolved over the last several decades. This evolution, however, has generally occurred within the "vertical well" context. Recent technological advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have resulted in unprecedented leasing activity throughout Pennsylvania.
Torts
Superior Court Upholds Immunity for Owner of Artificial Lake
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
The state Superior Court has ruled that the owner and operator of a man-made Pennsylvania lake is not liable in a boating accident in which two men were injured and their vessel was damaged.
Capitol Report
High Court Decision May Boost DNA Collection Bill
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court's June 3 decision allowing DNA collections of those arrested for but not yet convicted of serious crimes gives new life to legislation, SB 150, that requires such DNA collections in Pennsylvania, according to Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, the bill's sponsor.
