Articles Posted in General Announcements

Internet For Lawyers is presenting Investigative Internet Research for the Legal Professional at the Real Estate Institute on Tuesday Apr 2, 2013, UBS Tower, One North Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL. Learn how to:

Power Your Practice with Free & Low Cost Research (Fastcase and Google Scholar) & Google “Cloud” Apps for Business More info: http://www.netforlawyers.com/page/live-mcle

Since 1999, Internet For Lawyers has provided law firms, corporations, and local and state Bar Associations around the country with professional and entertaining turn-key CLE programs. The company focuses on delivering information about free investigative and background research resources available on the Internet.

In Amendment to contingency fee contract expanding scope of work and scope of compensation held enforceable, legal fees expert witness James King writes:

In Rowe v. Law Offices of Ben C. Brodhead, PC., 735 S.E.2d 39 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012), a Georgia state appellate court upheld a jury verdict awarding a law firm $160,000 pursuant to an amendment to its contingent fee contract with its client. The amendment expanded its work to additional matters beyond that originally contemplated by the parties.

In W.D. Penn. Court reduces “Petition for Reasonable Attorneys Fees” to make requested hourly rates consistent with prevailing market rates for routine discovery disputes, rather than “overall trial victories.”, legal fees expert witness James King writes:

In Sandvik Intellectual Prop. AB v. Kennametal Inc., 02:10-CV-000654, 2013 WL 141193 (W.D. Pa. Jan. 11, 2013), the prevailing party in a discovery suit sought reimbursement for 264.20 hours which resulted in counsel fees of $98,384.01 for time expended by its attorneys as a direct result of Sandvik’s lengthy pattern of discovery delay, obfuscation, and misconduct. The District Court granted the petition for fees, but reduced it by 20% on the basis that the fee request cited prevailing market rates for attorneys performing “trial” litigation work as opposed to “discovery” litigation work. In support of its fee request, the Pittsburgh law firm Kilpatrick Townsend submitted to the court the published rates of Pittsburgh firms Reed Smith and K & L Gates. The Court reached its result as follows:

While the Court is fully cognizant of the vast experience and expertise of the Kilpatrick Townsend firm in the area of intellectual property, the Court cannot justify the rates advanced by Kilpatrick Townsend for this discovery dispute irrespective of its comparison to the published rates of Reed Smith and K & L Gates. Therefore, the Court will reduce the hourly rates sought by Kennametal across the board by twenty percent (20%), which the Court finds to be reasonable and fair and much more in line within the general billing rates of the Pittsburgh legal community for a discovery dispute.

Pesticide pollution expert witnesses may write reports and testify regarding pesticide contamination, pesticide products, and pesticide regulations. In December, the public health and environmental non-profit, Toxics Action Center, released a report surveying pesticide use on public school grounds across the state of Maine. The report, “A Call for Safer School Grounds: A Survey of Pesticide Use on K-12 Public School Grounds in Maine,” is based on a survey of 209 Maine public schools and shows that 51% of schools surveyed spray pesticides, many of which have been linked to human health impacts, including kidney disease and links to non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The report finds that the state’s Integrated Pest Management Policy (IPM) is inadequate in regulating pesticide application and informing the public on pesticide practices.

Aviation expert witnesses may write reports and opine on aerospace engineering, aircraft design, and aircraft operations. After electrical problems on the Boeing 787, the FAA press release of 1/11/13 states:

In light of a series of recent events, the FAA will conduct a comprehensive review of the Boeing 787 critical systems, including the design, manufacture and assembly. The purpose of the review is to validate the work conducted during the certification process and further ensure that the aircraft meets the FAA’s high level of safety….

A team of FAA and Boeing engineers and inspectors will conduct this joint review, with an emphasis on the aircraft’s electrical power and distribution system. The review will also examine how the electrical and mechanical systems interact with each other.

In Patent expert decodes U.S. reform bill, Reuters interviewed patent expert John Mancini, co-leader of the intellectual property practice at law firm Mayer Brown.

Read the article: http://www.reuters.com/article.

Liability insurance experts may consult on issues involving general liability insurance, umbrella policies, bodily injury coverage, and more. The property-casualty insurance trade organization, The American Insurance Association, urged safety and preparedness ahead of hurricane Sandy which included:

• Make an inventory list of your home’s contents. It is best to photograph or videotape your items.

• Examine your roof carefully, looking for worn, curled or missing shingles. If you cannot inspect your roof easily, look for moisture or surface discoloration in your attic.

The Paralegal Knowledge Institute is presenting Introduction To Construction Defect Litigation/Forensic Investigation on December 5th and 12th.

Construction defect litigation is rapidly growing. This two session online, interactive course takes you through the complex and often confusing pre-trial construction defect dispute – from researching plans, maps and permits through inspections, experts and testing.

Learn new skills or take a refresher course. Taught by an expert with years of experience who knows and understands the realistic nuances of a paper intensive, detail oriented, niche arena.

Patents expert witnesses may write reports on drug patents, patent prosecution, and patent infringement. In a recent post on www.becker-posner-blog.com, Professor Gary S. Becker, University of Chicago, Departments of Economics, Graduate School of Business, and Sociology, writes on Reforming the Patent System Toward a Minimalist System.

Read more: www.becker-posner-blog.com.

Invention patents expert witnesses may write reports and testify on software patents, patent infringement, computer patents, and related matters. In the news, the smartphone industry alone spent as much as $20 billion on patent litigation and patent purchases in the past two years.
Geekosystem.com notes that in 2011 Apple and Google spent more on patents than they did on research and development.