http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/index.jsp Updated daily en-us 11/23/2009 Copyright 2008 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.law.com/service/terms_conditions.shtml http://www.law.com/img/pa/alert/pa_rss.gif http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/index.jsp The past year was unprecedented for the legal industry when it came to the spike in tough decisions law firms had to make, but there could be light at the end of the tunnel. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435713284&rss=pa Two former Luzerne County judges who are facing federal criminal charges have been granted partial immunity in a civil suit brought by a class of juveniles who claim their rights were violated in the wake of the Luzerne County judicial scandal. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435723913&rss=pa Dealing another major setback to the IRS in the ongoing litigation over how it handled a massive $8 billion refund for a now-abandoned telephone excise tax, a federal judge in Harrisburg has refused to dismiss a nationwide class action suit that says the agency's public notices about the availability of the refund violated due process. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435718513&rss=pa The New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to hear an unusual dispute between avowed owners of beachfront property who want to build on it and a town that claims it acquired the land by inverse condemnation almost half a century ago. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435741034&rss=pa Click the headline above to view the December's events. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435740726&rss=pa http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435753998&rss=pa Click here to view the complete contents of PaLAW 2009: The State of the Profession, the annual report which chronicles the law in Pennsylvania for the last year. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=900005495893&rss=pa I pumped my fist in the air at the news federal prosecutors gave notice they wanted to appeal the powder puff sentence U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter gave to convicted former state Sen. Vincent Fumo. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202433037475&rss=pa Alan Kessler's Senate confirmation hearing today may not be as closely followed or contentious as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's, but the board he's trying to keep a seat on is facing substantial, national challenges that will keep the Duane Morris partner's docket quite busy. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435662570&rss=pa The combination of continued low interest rates, a struggling economy and uncertainty about taxes makes planning important right now. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435600886&rss=pa Judge Diane Welsh shared some strategies for success at 2009 Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession Annual Retreat. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435555260&rss=pa Click here for a collection of articles on the corruption scandal in Luzerne County Court. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202428035822&rss=pa The winners of this year's Lawyers on the Fast Track awards were recently honored at a dinner and reception. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435247418&rss=pa Click the headline above for more about this month's stories. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202429042098&rss=pa WASHINGTON (AP) ? The federal courts and military tribunals that will prosecute suspected terrorists vary sharply in their independence, public stature and use of evidence. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435753117&rss=pa LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) ? Virginia Military Institute is defending itself against a lengthy investigation into accusations that the school's policies are sexist and hostile toward female cadets, a dozen years after women won the right to enroll. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435753160&rss=pa BOSTON (AP) ? A convicted killer who is seeking a taxpayer-funded sex-change operation is again asking a judge to approve electrolysis treatments. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435753073&rss=pa In more than 40 states, adult protective service, or APS, systems have authority to investigate and offer protective services to individuals with disabilities who are subject to abuse, neglect, or exploitation. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435740607&rss=pa During this economic downturn, it is more important than ever before to review your firm's "checks and balances" with respect to internal procedures. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435740995&rss=pa http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435713284&rss=pa http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435753998&rss=pa http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435703793&rss=pa http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435723913&rss=pa http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202428035822&rss=pa