http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/index.jsp Updated daily en-us 11/20/2009 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 Two former Luzerne County judges who face federal criminal charges have been granted partial judicial immunity in a civil suit brought by a class of juveniles who claim in the wake of the Luzerne County judicial scandal their rights were violated. 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 A class can't be decertified unless there are substantial changes to the facts of a case, nor can it be decertified once a partial ruling has been made as to the merits of the case, an attorney for a class suing over the off-label marketing of epilepsy and neuralgia drug Neurontin argued before the Pennsylvania Superior Court in Philadelphia Wednesday. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435656296&rss=pa A deeply divided state Supreme Court has allowed a Luzerne County man serving time on a drug conviction to proceed with his suit seeking the removal of several county police officers from their positions under the Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435678841&rss=pa A Philadelphia jury awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a baby with multiple congenital defects who died while hospitalized at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 2006. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435677866&rss=pa A high-profile Allentown lawyer accused of hiding $500,000 in income by steering it through several charities has been convicted of money laundering and mail fraud. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435703793&rss=pa Federal attorneys want a judge to declare that Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famer Mel Blount owes more than $631,000 in back taxes, interest and penalties. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435703746&rss=pa More than a dozen families have filed suit against one of the nation's largest natural gas drillers after the company polluted their water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435703611&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 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) ? A former smoker who just won a $300 million verdict in Florida against Philip Morris USA has pulled out of a news conference about the case. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435703838&rss=pa TULSA, Okla. (AP) ? A federal judge has ordered a meeting between Cintas Corp. and the widow of a former employee who is suing the company to try to settle her 2007 wrongful death lawsuit. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435703761&rss=pa BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) ? A Brandeis University professor who rose to national prominence during the 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas has been named to the board of trustees of Southern Vermont College in Bennington. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435704001&rss=pa Strong mentoring is essential to associate development. Successful mentoring relationships are crucial to the development and retention of diverse associates. We have heard it repeated over recent years: Without challenging work assignments, good counsel and sponsorship from a partner, associates can become lost in the law firm environment. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435677901&rss=pa Adequate notice, both in terms of its substantive content and its provision of appropriate time to take action in response, is one of the linchpins of an effective bankruptcy system. http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435678804&rss=pa http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435567790&rss=pa http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435556279&rss=pa http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435617750&rss=pa http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435555260&rss=pa http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202435568151&rss=pa