Law Firms in the News

Eugene Criminal Defense - MJM Law Office, P.C.

2012-01-30T13:25:00.001-08:00

MJM Law Office, P.C. was founded to provide clients with quality representation in criminal defense and family law, including matters such as DUI offenses, drug crimes, divorce, and child custody.

Mr. Mizejewski understands that effectively working through the legal system is a challenging process. MJM Law Office, P.C. works closely with clients to understand and resolve their issues, taking the time to listen to and understand each client's unique situation, and explain the available options.

Located in the heart of downtown Eugene, Oregon, MJM Law Office, P.C. focuses on serving clients in Lane County, Oregon. We are in the Lane County Circuit Court on a near daily basis, and are very familiar with the individual judges, district attorneys and court staff.

http://www.mjmlawoffice.com/criminal-law

Iowa mom pleads not guilty in newborn twins' death

2012-01-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

A Huxley woman accused of killing her newborn twin daughters and hiding their bodies in the trunk of her car has pleaded not guilty.

Jackie Burkle is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. She is being held on $1 million bond.

Her attorney entered a written plea of not guilty on her behalf Monday morning in Story County District Court in Nevada.

Police found the infants' bodies in the trunk of Burkle's car on Jan. 7 after receiving a call to check on her.

Court records show Burkle appeared pregnant at work at a Huxley convenience store Jan. 5. She no longer looked pregnant two days later, prompting a co-worker to call police.

Police have not released a cause of death or why Burkle gave birth at home.

Law Firm Website Design Companies: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2012-01-17T13:05:00.002-08:00

At our law firm's most recent staff meeting, I was assigned the task of finding a law firm website design company for creation of a website for our firm. I've had previous experience researching companies online and I thought it would be simple to turn to Google and find the right website design company in a flash. As simple as it sounded, the task was not as easy as I thought it would be. In fact, I felt defeated after a few hours searching online.

While conducting an extensive research on law firm website design companies, it was brought to my attention that all website vendors will try to claim the title of being the "best". What exactly does that mean? I searched, I called, and I spoke with a wide variety of the "best" website design companies, only to have them set me back one step. For one, I was extremely confused when I asked one of the more important questions: PRICING. Many companies provided me a quote varying in range with monthly service fees and charges for unnecessary features. In my opinion, a website design should be a one time contract work. This means you own the website and the website development is paid for at once, not over a year or longer.

I found some law firm website design companies willing to charge you a whopping $10,000 in addition to a one year website contract that required a monthly fee. This fee covered their client's access to using their website's unnecessary bells and whistles. Cool? Sure! Well, that's if your boss doesn't have a problem with burning through your firm's budget. Some other law firm website design companies I ran into offered a "cheap" and more budget-friendly price around a few hundred dollars to develop a website. The only problem was that, well, we get what we pay for-- a cheap looking website. Their portfolio showed their client's website and immediately turned me away. Their design and development skills were far from something worth showcasing and reflected a mediocre and unprofessional look.To my disappointment, finding a good and reputable law firm website design company proved to be more than a few clicks away. I knew it would take a lot more time to find something that would appease my boss' standards. Initially, I was too shy to ask for a longer time period to finish this seemingly easy task. But after two weeks, I had sufficient time (just barely!) to gather all the information I needed to determine what features a good law firm website design company should possess.To save some of you in the same position a little time and grief, I would like to share some important components I felt were necessary in finding a good law firm website design agency.

The Good:

All good law firm website design companies should:

- Have specialized and skilled website designers in house. Experience is key in understanding the professional look needed for attorneys and their law firms.
- Have a user-friendly and reliable content management system (CMS) to update the website.
- Be familiar with all the latest Search Engine Optimization techniques in order to gain maximum potential for your website to rank at the top of search results.
- Offer a robust web-hosting and maintenance plan. Law firms are busy as it is and having the website design company not only host, but maintain the website is an absolute plus.
- Not charge for any unnecessary bells and whistles.
- Have reliable testimonials that can prove real client satisfaction.
- Provide good customer support service. Exceptional customer service should be all about the customer satisfaction. They should be able to answer all inquiries in a swift and thorough manner and reduce the technical website design jargon to a level anyone could understand.
- Charge you by project base (a straight forward, one time website design cost instead of monthly payments).

I know the pressing question on every one's mind is, well, how do you know? Spending extra money doesn't necessarily mean better. There were quite a few law firm website design agencies in this category, asking for a pricier sum and delivering decent products, however; there are reasonably priced website design companies who deliver even better websites. Of course, my opinion is mine. But if you want your investment in a website design company to be worthwhile, just heed my advice. Remember, I had to ask for an extension on my task in order to really understand what separates the good from the bad.

The Bad:

Just like there is yin to yang, black to white, and hot to cold, there unfortunately has to be the good law firm website design companies to the bad law firm website design companies. I don't know about you, but doing the research alone to complete my task took a lot of time. You know how that saying goes, "Time is money and money is time"? Well sure, this is one of the big differences from the good website design companies versus the bad website design companies.The bad law firm website design company:- Includes a contract that obligates you to pay an overpriced rate for a law firm website design or a technology license fee on a monthly basis. I personally don't like contracts. I mean, it binds me and limits my flexibility if I'm unhappy with a company's services. This can pose a problem later if you decide your business and law firm needs a change and want to part ways.

- Has many over-priced service fees. They will milk you with all kinds of unnecessary website features that you weren’t even aware of.
- Is able to deliver a decent website design layout but seem to get lost in their cookie cutter design elements. Every client's website may look clean and professional but lacks the uniqueness and branding of why clients should choose THEIR law firm instead of the firm across the street (whose website looks and repeats the exact same information as yours by the way).
- Shows poor SEO track records that give you a slim to none chance to rank at the highest position on top search engines like Google, Yahoo!, AOL and Bing.

Let's get down to the nitty-gritty and do a little math here:For the purposes of this article, we will be purchasing a website for a small firm with 20 attorneys and 2 offices. And if we break down the website design costs from the good and the bad, you can immediately see the major downfalls of the bad.The Good Law Firm Web Design Company: 1-time website design cost averaging $5,000 - from a reputable GOOD law firm website design company. And you get to own it!

The Bad Law Firm Web Design Company: An annual 1-year license cost averaging well over $6,000 that you must continuously keep paying on a year to year basis. If you do the math here, you can say you're wasting an incredible amount of money that can go to other marketing resources to help further your business. Since your website will end up costing you too much, you will have a limited budget for marketing campaigns through organic SEM or PPC.With that said, generally "bad" website design companies are hard to distinguish because they will deliver a decent product but in turn try to take advantage of prices. In this case, everyone should be cautious and careful. This especially may be a slippery slope for new start-up firms who believe that only the best law firm websites will be delivered by paying a huge amount of money. The Bad more than likely will result in a poor return on investment. To prevent getting stuck with the bad law firm website design company there is a golden rule to remember: just because it's out there, doesn't mean it's the best! Don't get sucked into paying for overpriced fees for a law firm website design that may not even be the best.

The Ugly

And (finally!) we get to talk about the law firm website design company that has every aspect of just plain ugly. No matter how much you end up paying for it - or even if it's completely free - don't be a victim of building a law firm website that will make your firm look "unsophisticated", "inexperienced", and "out-dated". Yes, these words usually do a good job of scaring off potential clients who come to visit your website. Many potential clients will walk away and go to other law firms that they see as better competitors. However, it's surprising to see how many law firms still go along with ugly law firm website design companies. Some think having any website would benefit their business, but little do they know... it is doing quite the opposite.Business is all about status and if you have a law firm website that costs your business because it's ugly?...well, that is literally just UGLY.

Most people are always on the go, have minimal time to fit everything in their schedule and are not patient. Web users form first impressions of web pages in a matter of 50 milliseconds, according to researchers. Human beings are very visual creatures, so in a blink of an eye, we will make an instantaneous judgment of a websites "visual appeal". We like things that are aesthetically appealing and through the "halo effect", first impressions can color subsequent judgments of perceived credibility, usability, and professionalism. Ultimately these factors influence a web user's purchasing decisions and whether we want to use your law firm to represent our needs.First impressions count immensely in the legal industry and should be considered in law firm website design. If the website design is difficult to read, intrusive, or poorly signposted, your visitors will go elsewhere. We've all experienced trying to navigate through a less-than-friendly website and reading a screen that strains your eyes versus printed paper. We get impatient quick- it's because we're only human!Remember, law firm websites are all about providing information and services, not for over-the-top advertisement!

Below are what some typical ugly website designs for law firm websites would consist of:

- Excess usage of generic graphics; basically this constitutes anything you can find in clip art like Lady Justice, the gavel or scales of justice.
- Text that is too small to read
- Multiple items that blink or animate - this causes too much distraction!
- Text crowding against the left edge
- Text that is stretched all the way across the page
- Multiple frame scroll bars in the middle of a page
- Unclear and overly complex navigation
- Poor color combination of text and background that make the text hard to read
- Orphan pages - where given links do not link back to where they came from and give no identification
- Any website design look that is extremely out-dated and looks as if it were dug up from a late nineties time capsule

A clean, professional look is a MUST for law firm websites - don't get sucked into the ugly website category that will cost your business (even if it's FREE!), I like to view ugly websites comparable to that of a parasite, where the website design company benefits at the expense of your law firm and business. In this case, your law firm is being harmed. Some elements make a law firm website design good, some make them bad, and some make them ugly.

The great line between these elements can determine whether your website is:

- Interesting or boring
- A good design or bad design
- Has good color or bad color
- Has a good layout or bad layout
- Is imaginative or unimaginative

Though my research was fairly time-consuming, I did my due diligence and have found one particular law firm website design company that stood out from the competitors. “Law Promo" impressed me with their eye-pleasing design skills, SEO capabilities, customer service and overall pricing, and was the agency that I recommended to my firm.

I urge you to do your own research and wish you the best of luck on your law firm website design company search and here I leave you with my two cents on what separates The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in the world of law firm website design.

Business Development Manager
Jessica S. Murray

Court rejects appeals in student speech cases

2012-01-17T13:05:00.001-08:00

The U.S. Supreme Court has passed up a pair of cases for the online age — whether schools may censor students who are at home when they create online attacks against school officials and other students.

The justices on Tuesday rejected appeals from Pennsylvania and West Virginia involving questions about the limits on criticism from students and where the authority of school officials ends.

The high court decision left standing lower court rulings that two Pennsylvania students cannot be disciplined at school for parodies of their principals that they created on home computers and posted online.

In the West Virginia case, an appeals court upheld the suspension of a student who created a web page that suggested another student had a sexually transmitted disease, and invited classmates to comment.

Lawyers on both sides were disappointed the high court chose not to step into the fray over student speech posted online, as federal court judges have issued a broad range of opinions on the subject.

2 charged with insider trading involving law firms

2011-04-06T09:19:00.002-07:00

Federal authorities have charged two men with running an insider trading scheme that netted more than $30 million with information stolen from law firms.

Garrett Bauer is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J., on Wednesday afternoon. Matthew Kluger will make his first appearance in federal court in Alexandria, Va.

They're accused of trading on inside information stolen from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a law firm with offices in Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco and Hong Kong.

Authorities also allege the decades-long scheme used information stolen from prominent New York law firms Cravath Swaine & Moore and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Louisiana to get $12M in Health Net case

2011-04-06T09:19:00.001-07:00

The Louisiana Supreme Court has ordered Health Net Inc., a major health maintenance organization, to cover more than $180 million in claims by consumers, health care providers and creditors in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon told The Advocate that Louisiana will get the smallest portion of the payout.

"We have about $12 million coming to us to policyholders, providers and general creditors, meaning companies who sold them supplies or that rented them space," Donelon said.

Donelon said the unanimous ruling, issued Friday, will reimburse all of AmCare Louisiana HMO's members, providers, and creditors for any losses caused by Health Net's conduct.

Health Net sold health plans in the three states to AmCareco Inc. in 1999. In 2002, the troubled health plans were placed under state supervision. Each of the state's insurance departments sued AmCareco and Health Net, alleging fraud, negligence, conspiracy and breach of fiduciary duty.

In 2005, a state district court jury awarded the Texas plaintiffs around $100 million in damages. In 2005, a state judge in Baton Rouge issued similar verdicts against Health Net and awarded $30 million to the Louisiana and Oklahoma plaintiffs.

Louisiana to get $12M in Health Net case

2011-04-06T09:15:00.001-07:00

Texas death row inmate gets reprieve

2011-04-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the first scheduled execution of a Texas death row inmate using a new drug cocktail on Tuesday, although the proposed lethal mix was not mentioned in the court's decision to reconsider the merits of the condemned man's appeal.

Cleve Foster was to have been executed hours later for the 2002 slaying of a Sudanese woman in Fort Worth — the first Texas execution since the state switched to pentobarbital in its three-drug mixture. The sedative has already been used for executions in Oklahoma and Ohio.

On Tuesday morning, the high court agreed to reconsider its January order denying Foster's appeal that raised claims of innocence and poor legal help during his trial and early stages of his appeals.

Foster's lawyers also have argued that Texas prison officials violated administrative procedures last month when they announced the switch to pentobarbital from sodium thiopental, which is in short supply nationwide. Foster's lawyers contend that the rules change in Texas required more time for public comment and review. Lower courts have rejected their appeals and attorneys had planned to take their case to the Texas Supreme Court.

Fixodent The Subject Of Class Action Lawsuit

2011-02-14T23:16:00.002-08:00

A class action lawsuit is alleging that Fixodent denture cream may have caused serious problems.

ABC News reported that lawyers for two former denture cream users are accusing Proctor & Gamble of manufacturing a product that made their clients extremely ill.

Mark Jacoby, a 41-year-old construction worker who wore dentures for 20 years, told ABC News that he believes his debilitating neurological illness is due to the high zinc content in his Fixodent.

"I started getting tingling in my fingertips. And then it started happening in my toes," he told ABC News' 20/20 anchor Chris Cuomo, who is the Chief of the Law & Justice Unit. "I started getting weaker and, you know, I couldn't walk right, off balance and I'm at this point now."

He said his doctors searched for years for the cause of his debilitating neurological illness that robbed him of his independence.

IRS agents testify in Pa. judge corruption case

2011-02-14T23:16:00.001-08:00

Federal prosecutors have rested in the corruption trial of a former northeastern Pennsylvania judge charged with taking part in a $2.8 million kickback scheme involving privately-owned juvenile detention centers.

Two IRS agents testified Monday morning in the trial of ex-Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella. Prosecutors say Ciavarella and another judge disguised extortion payments as rent on a condo in Florida.

IRS agent Ray Eppley testified that the judges failed to pay nearly $500,000 in taxes on illicit income.

The state Supreme Court threw out thousands of juvenile convictions issued by Ciavarella, saying he disregarded the constitutional rights of the defendants. He has denied breaking any laws.

The second judge pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and awaits sentencing
.

Class Action Lawsuit Filed by Eagan Avenatti, LLP

2011-02-14T23:13:00.001-08:00

Eagan Avenatti, LLP, a law firm specializing in consumer rights, filed a class action lawsuit earlier today in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division (Case No. 3:11-cv-00248-M), alleging breach of contract, fraud and deceptive sales practices by Jerry Jones, the National Football League, the Dallas Cowboys Football Club and related defendants in connection with Super Bowl XLV held last Sunday in Arlington, Texas.

The complaint, which seeks compensatory damages of over $5 Million, claims that the unlawful acts of Jones, the NFL and the Cowboys resulted in approximately 400 fans who purchased tickets and traveled to the game being denied a seat, despite having spent thousands of dollars in tickets and travel expenses to attend the Super Bowl. The complaint also alleges that Jones and the Cowboys deceived Cowboys season ticket holders known as the “Founders” into paying $1,200 a seat for Super Bowl tickets that turned out to be temporary seats with obstructed views.

The “Founders,” who collectively account for over $100 Million in personal seat licenses sold to help fund construction of the stadium, each paid at least $100,000 per seat for their seat license, which the Cowboys and Jones promised would entitle them to the “best sightlines in the stadium” and the right to purchase a ticket to Sunday’s Super Bowl at face value. Instead, they arrived at the stadium Sunday to discover that they had been assigned to sit in obstructed view, temporary metal seats, which had only recently been installed in an effort to meet Jones’ goal of breaking NFL Super Bowl attendance records.

Eugene, Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyer

2010-05-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

Max believes in taking the time to understand each clients unique situation and specific needs. Max represents clients in criminal prosecutions, administrative hearings, dissolution of marriage, custody matters and appeals. Max's tenacious attitude and strategic mindset make him the right advocate to have on your side.

Mr. Mizejewski believes everyone's rights should be protected, and everyone deserves the best possible defense. If you have been charged with a criminal offense, you need to know your rights. We can defend you against your criminal charges, including the following:

Drunk Driving (DUII, DUI, DWI) - including underage drinking and driving, refusing a breathalyzer test, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and other drug or alcohol related driving offenses

Dallas EEOC sues Charleston, Raleigh companies in employment harassment case

2009-08-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Employment discrimination charges must be investigated by the EEOC before employees can take their complaints to court. Typically, the EEOC will determine whether there is reasonable evidence for the claim. But no matter what the finding, the employee can proceed to court after the EEOC rules.

In relatively few cases, the EEOC will take on a case and sue on the employee’s behalf, said Weinberg Law Firm, Employment Lawyer Dallas.

Los Angeles Wrong Way DUI – Who Should We Believe?

2009-08-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES - Then there’s the Schuler’s insurance policy, as well as the policies of the other drivers. Without knowing specifics, it’s difficult to tell what the victims will receive from the policies, but it will surely be grossly inadequate, said Michael Bialys, California DUI lawyer.

The dram shop act in NY may apply if new facts are revealed, but at this time it doesn’t seem likely it will be brought up (I talk about TN’s dram shop act in an earlier post here). Most likely, the civil litigation is going to revolve around the investigations ongoing: What role did Mr. Schuler really have in his wife’s addiction?

Military Criticized in Report on Soldier Electrocution in New York

2009-08-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

The inspector general said in the findings that “multiple systems and organizations” failed and exposed Sergeant Maseth to “unacceptable risk.”

The report said that Sergeant Maseth, 24, was electrocuted while showering when he came in contact with water pipes that had become energized because of the failure of a water pump that had not been grounded. It says that the military contractor KBR, based in Houston, installed the pump and adjacent water tanks, said John Q. Kelly, New York electrocution attorney.

The Criminal Defense Lawyer as a Hero

2009-08-05T09:38:00.000-07:00

''We hope that everyone sort of believes in the moral integrity of each character.''

That is certainly the fervent hope of ABC, which is giving ''The Practice'' a six-week trial run in the plum 10 P.M. time slot usually occupied by ''NYPD Blue'' (That show will be on hiatus until April 15).

''Dylan McDermott will be a TV star. The supporting cast is excellent,'' says Orange County criminal defense lawyer, president of ABC Entertaiment, who declares herself ''1,000 percent,'' behind the show -- which was developed before her move from NBC to ABC last year.

Adds Ms. Tarses: ''And nobody writes legal ethical issues better than David Kelley.''

Indeed, ABC's commitment to ''The Practice'' is, if anything, an expression of faith in Mr. Kelley, who notwithstanding his early excursion into law practice seems to have been destined to write 47-minute dramas.

Born in Maine, Mr. Kelley grew up outside Boston and graduated from Princeton and Boston University School of Law. As a beginning civil litigant he often found himself spending hours in courthouses waiting for his cases to be called.

Families of passengers on downed Chicago chopper 'voluntarily discontinue' lawsuit

2009-08-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

By Michael Tutton (CP) – 4 hours ago

The issue of the aircraft's ability to operate without lubricating oil for the gearbox was a key allegation in the 113-page statement of complaint.

Chicago aviation lawyer argued the pilots believed the aircraft met U.S. Federal Aviation Administration regulations that certified the aircraft could operate for 30 minutes after losing oil.

They alleged the pilots kept flying the aircraft towards land on that basis, rather than rapidly landing it on the water.

13 arrested at Shaler DUI checkpoint

2009-08-04T13:47:00.001-07:00

Saturday, June 27, 2009
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Thirteen people were arrested on charges of driving under the influence during an overnight sobriety check point conducted in Shaler by the North Hills DUI Task Force along with the City of Pittsburgh.

One of those arrested on DUI charges was the result of an evaluation by the drug recognition expert, according to the news release.

Other arrests included one for possession of a prohibited offensive weapon, one for an outstanding warrant and three for underage drinking. Thirteen citations and/or warnings were issued for various vehicle code violations. Five warnings were given for seatbelt violations.

DWI lawyer pittsburgh

Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyers Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP

2009-07-31T14:11:00.001-07:00

California accident attorneys Ringler Kearney Alavarez LLP have established themselves as a premier law firm by providing clients with consistently excellent service. They pride themselves on their intellect, creativity and tenacity.

These Los Angeles railroad injury lawyers have achieved victories in over 100 trials with total verdicts in excess of $250 million.

Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP achieves their verdicts by utilizing their substantial financial resources to obtain the best result possible for each of their clients. This LA train accident specialist law firm fights tirelessly for their clients, no matter the cost and no matter the foe.

AG pick earns $4.6 million from law firm

2008-12-18T15:35:00.003-08:00

Eric Holder, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for attorney general, will earn $4.6 million from his law firm this year and next, including deferred compensation and a separation payment.

In a financial statement provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee and made public Wednesday, Holder said he will earn $2.1 million in partnership compensation this year from the law firm of Covington & Burling. He will receive another $2.5 million next year in deferred compensation, partnership earnings for work performed this year and a separation payment.

Holder's total assets are $5.7 million. He listed no liabilities.

He has $1.4 million in cash and in banks, $1.9 million in real estate and $1.3 million in pension-and-retirement savings plans.

Holder may be Obama's most controversial Cabinet nominee because of his actions as deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton, particularly his role in the pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich.

Judiciary Committee Republicans are seeking a large amount of information from the Justice Department and Clinton's presidential library, a sign that the confirmation hearing beginning Jan. 15 will be contentious and have political overtones.

Prominent NY law firm to seek bankruptcy

2008-12-18T15:35:00.001-08:00

A prominent Manhattan law firm scandalized by charges that its founder masterminded a massive fraud will seek bankruptcy protection, according to a receiver appointed to run the firm.

In a letter to a federal judge, the receiver also predicted founder Marc Dreier will soon seek protection too.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has been notified "of my intention to seek bankruptcy protection, and I believe Mr. Dreier will file a personal petition for bankruptcy in the future," the receiver, Mark Pomerantz, said in the letter dated Dec. 11.

The mid-size firm, Dreier LLP, has represented celebrities including retired football star Michael Strahan and former News Corp. publishing executive Judith Regan.

Dreier's lawyer has said his client would cooperate fully with the court-appointed receiver overseeing his assets.

The 58-year-old defendant was jailed without bail last week after being charged in a criminal complaint and by the SEC in the alleged sale of fraudulent promissory notes.

Prosecutors accused Dreier of posing as if he were peddling heavily discounted investments in a New York City real estate development company because original investors, damaged by the world's financial crisis, were backing out.

Testimony doesn't link US soldier to 4 dead Iraqis

2008-12-18T15:34:00.001-08:00

A defense lawyer told a military court Thursday that witnesses had provided insufficient evidence to support charges that a U.S. Army sergeant was involved in killing four Iraqi men found bound, blindfolded, shot and dumped in a Baghdad canal.

Sgt. Joseph P. Mayo is alleged to have taken part in shooting the detainees.

The Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury, began Wednesday to assess the charges against Mayo and decide whether to refer him for a court-martial. A decision is not expected this week.

The first witness to testify Thursday, Joshua Hartson, was a former soldier in Mayo's unit. He was asked whether Mayo had said anything to him regarding the shootings, or told him anything about covering up the incident.

"No," Hartson told the court by telephone from Victorville, California, where he lives after leaving the military on a medical discharge.

An investigator in the case currently in Iraq, Special Agent Brad McCarthy, testified he had no physical evidence "like bodies or guns" to implicate Mayo and didn't know if there was any.

Robin Sax - Inside the World of a Sex Crimes DA.

2008-12-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

Robin Sax, Deputy District Attorney for the County of Los Angeles, and Sergeant Dan Scott of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department are featured in an exciting, exclusive, in-depth and inside interview with celebrated TV host and producer Steve Murphy, discussing

For over fifteen years Robin Sax has prosecuted some of the most despicable defendants who have committed the most heinous crimes. For the last seven years, she is the prosecuting attorney for the Los Angeles County Child Sexual Assault crime. Robin sits on a multi-disciplinary team at UCLA's Rape Treatment with Department of Children and Family Services, law enforcement, victim advocates, and social workers. Robin conducts forensic interviews of children victims of abuse and structures investigation plans to maximize the chances of successful prosecution and disposition. Prosecutor Sax is an instructor for the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, California District Attorney's Association, an adjunct professor at Cal State Los Angeles and a lecturer in UCLA's Paralegal Program. Other college courses Robin teaches include Constitutional Law and Multi-Cultural Diversity. She is a sought after speaker on child sexual assault, family violence, Internet safety, and parenting/disciplining children.

Robin, as the founding director of STAAFF (Stop the Abuse Against Families Foundation), created the highly successful Kids Safe Day. Kids Safe Day is a free program targeted at specific communities where kids, members of the public, and law enforcement get together to help educate parents and children about safety. At Kids Safe Day children get fingerprinted and photographed so that parents are equipped with their child's personal data. STAAFF coordinates information booths regarding child abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, an opportunity to meet law enforcement and public safety personnel, food, and entertainment. Robin Sax wrote the information booklet that includes safety tips as well as space for fingerprints, current photos, and vital information about the child.

Robin Sax is the author of "A D.A.'s Guide To Parenting... In The Best Interest of the Children", a prosecutor's perspective to raising school age children, is writing "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Criminal Justice System." She has received many community awards for her work to protect children of sexual abuse and victims of domestic abuse.

You can contact Robin Sax at 213-974-1611, or email robin@robinsax.com

Robin Sax

Legal News Links

2008-12-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

America's Premier Lawyers

Law Firm Web Design News

Click The Law

Daily Bar News

Legal News Journal

Legal News Post

Crisis Legal Media

Khouri Law

Roth Law Group

Mcdermott and Mcdermott

Immigration Lawyer

Chicago Litigation Lawyer

Sexual Harassment Lawyer

Train Accident Lawyers

Internet Legal Marketing

Trailer Truck Nightmare Accidents

2008-12-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

On June 13, 2006, Elizabeth Libby Kellum, a 22-year-old Austin College graduate, was driving on U.S. Highway 75 when she was recklessly run over by an 80,000 lb. tractor-trailer driven by an unqualified driver. Libby miraculously survived. This is her story from near death to her amazing medical recovery and how her lawyers, Joel Fineberg and Dean Gresham, took on Big Business and their insurance companies to fight for her justice in the case of Kellum v. Allied Van Lines et al.

When Libby took evasive action to avoid a collision with a tractor-trailer that swerved into her lane, she was struck by another tractor-trailer. The collision left her on the brink of death. As a result of the accident, she now suffers permanent brain injury. Libby's parents, individually and on her behalf, sued the two drivers and their respective employers, alleging, among other claims, that the employers failed to perform appropriate background checks of the drivers-which would have revealed numerous citations for driving under the influence, reckless driving, and speeding-failed to have appropriate policies, procedures, and screening for the hiring and retention of truck drivers; and allowed unfit drivers to operate commercial tracks. The drivers also allegedly failed to maintain a proper lookout and failed to obey local, state, and federal laws involving the operation of a motor vehicle.

Joel M. Fineberg has built a recognized national practice representing plaintiffs in sophisticated commercial contingency and patent infringement litigation as well as class actions, catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases resulting from work place, aircraft and truck accidents. Recovering multi-million dollar verdicts for his corporate and individual clients, Joel has built an unparalleled reputation as a dedicated advocate on behalf of his clients' rights. Recognized for his talent and dedication, Joel was named one of Texas' best lawyers and a Texas Super Lawyer for four years in a row by various legal and consumer magazines such as Texas Monthly, Texas Super Lawyers and D Magazine. Joel also serves as a director of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and is a member of both the Texas and Dallas Bar Associations, the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He is a graduate of Emory University and Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.

Dean Gresham is a talented lawyer that brings unique insight and a creative approach to high-stakes commercial, class action, and personal injury litigation. Dean's dedication to his clients as well as his attention to detail and an innovative approach to legal analysis has resulted in significant multi-million dollar recoveries for his clients. His keen ability to analyze complicated legal issues and provide unique, creative solutions to legal problems that other lawyers consider to be unsolvable is the reason Dean is considered one of the top lawyers in Texas. After the horrific attack on our Country on September 11, 2001, Dean joined forces with other trial lawyers across the country in what has been described as ¡°the largest pro bono project in our nation's history.¡± Through the Trial Lawyers Care program, he provided free legal representation to victims and their families of the September 11 tragedy. Dean was one of the few lawyers who provided legal representation to over 1,700 victims and their families---over $200 million in legal services provided absolutely free of charge. A native Texan, Dean earned his law degree, cum laude, from South Texas College of Law where he was awarded the American Jurisprudence award for outstanding achievement in the study of Conflict of Laws and Legal Research & Writing.

Fineberg/Gresham handles sophisticated commercial, intellectual property, and class-action litigation on a contingent fee basis. From time to time and when the facts are egregious enough, Fineberg/Gresham will accept catastrophic injury and death cases arising out of workplace injuries, truck wrecks and defective products. The attorneys at Fineberg/Gresham have a single goal: the relentless pursuit of justice. The firm approaches cases with an unmatched aggressiveness, tenacity, preparation and creativity, which accounts for the exceptional results they often obtain with unprecedented speed. The firm represents companies and individuals in a wide variety of areas and has obtained significant, multimillion-dollar recoveries over the years.

You can contact Mr. Fineberg 214-219-8828,

or www.fineberglaw.com

http://insiderexclusive.com/Americas_Finest_Trial_Lawyer.htm

Fund manager in scandal once boasted about profits

2008-12-17T14:29:00.000-08:00

The money manager accused of duping investors in one of Wall Street's biggest Ponzi schemes once boasted to the Securities and Exchange Commission about how much money he earned and formally advised the U.S. government on ways to protect investors from scam artists.
Now Bernard Madoff stands accused of being one.

The 70-year-old Madoff (MAY-doff), well respected in the investment community after serving as chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market, was arrested last week in what prosecutors say was a $50 billion scheme to defraud investors, including the world's big banks, the rich and the famous.

Alleged victims include the family charitable foundation for Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.; a trust tied to real estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman; and a charity of movie director Steven Spielberg. The Wall Street Journal reported that the foundation of Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel also took a hit.

As the scale of the alleged scheme was realized, attention turned quickly to Madoff's connections to Washington regulators responsible for monitoring investment funds like the one Madoff operated. He knew everyone, former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt said in an interview with The Associated Press. Levitt said he did not invest any money with Madoff.

Jerome Ringler Interviewed on FOX 11

2008-09-18T13:48:00.001-07:00

Train Accident Attorneys

Train Accident Lawyer Jerry Ringler - Message for Chatsworth Train Accident Victims

2008-09-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Special Message for Victims of Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster

On September 12, 2008, an unprecedented tragedy occurred in Chatsworth, California when Metrolink Train #111 struck a Union Pacific freight train which was traveling on the same tracks. Our hearts go out to the victims. But this tragedy should not have happened. It happened because of human error on the part of Metrolink employees. Unfortunately, as the lawyers of RKA know well, human error by railroad engineers is not at all unique as a cause of commuter rail disasters.

Jerome L. Ringler has greater experience in representing victims of commuter rail and freight train disasters than any other lawyer in the State of California, if not the country. He has served as lead counsel in every one of the largest commuter rail disasters which have occurred in Southern California in the past 10 years.

In the Placentia Commuter Rail Disaster of 2003, Mr. Ringler was appointed by the Court as lead counsel for all of the Plaintiffs. He was requested by all of the lawyers representing individuals injured or killed in that incident to try the first case. That case resulted in the largest verdict for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ever rendered by a jury in the United States. That verdict, which was for $9 million, is detailed below in the multimedia section.

In the Burbank Commuter Rail Disaster, which also occurred in 2003, Mr. Ringler was again appointed by the Court to serve as lead counsel. In that capacity he was given the responsibility to try the entire liability (i.e., fault) case for all of the victims. In other words, every one of the dozens of lawyers who represented individual victims in that disaster trusted Mr. Ringler to try the liability phase for them, knowing that their clients would only recover if Mr. Ringler was successful. He was. In fact, Mr. Ringler not only obtained a favorable verdict for all of the plaintiffs, he obtained a $12 million verdict for his own client as well. This verdict was the largest in the State of California for a person with the type of injuries Mr. Ringler's client had suffered. This verdict is detailed below in the multimedia section.

Mr. Ringler is currently lead counsel for all plaintiffs in the Glendale Metrolink Derailment Disaster of 2005. This incident was, before September 12, 2008, the largest Metrolink disaster in history. Interestingly, in that case (which involves 11 deaths and dozens of serious injuries), Mr. Ringler has, against all odds, developed testimony proving that, even though a mentally-ill person placed a jeep across the tracks that the Metrolink train was traveling upon, human error on the part of the Metrolink engineer prevented him from stopping the train before hitting the jeep, which caused the train to derail. In other words, while the jeep certainly never should have been on the tracks, the Metrolink engineer would have been able to stop the train before ever striking the jeep had he only been paying proper attention. That case is scheduled to go to trial on June 8, 2009, with Mr. Ringler as lead counsel.

The verdicts detailed on this page all relate to railroad litigation. However, Mr. Ringler has achieved enormous, record-breaking monetary awards across California in a variety of complex areas. Those accomplishments are detailed elsewhere in this website. To see them, click here.

If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death as a result of the horrific Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster, we are available to discuss your rights with you confidentially and at no charge.

Please feel free to contact us at your convenience. Ask for Mr. Ringler,or any of his partners, at (213) 473-1900.

Train Accident Attorneys

RKA LLP - JEROME L. RINGLER

2008-09-12T09:40:00.001-07:00

Name partner Jerome L. Ringler is regarded as one of the premier trial attorneys in California, having tried over 75 cases to verdict with phenomenal success. He has achieved the rank of Diplomate, the highest level of achievement in the American Board of Trial Advocates and a rank attained by only a small fraction of lawyers in the United States. He is also a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an elite organization of courtroom attorneys which selects its members from the top of the crust of the trial bar. Indeed, membership is limited to 500 lawyers from the United States judged to possess, to an exceptional degree, superior skill and recognized ability in trial and appellate practice, and to be of excellent character and absolute integrity. Mr. Ringler has also been awarded "best of" recognitions by various media and legal associations such as Super Lawyer magazine, Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, California Trial Lawyers Association, and Los Angeles County Bar Association.

http://www.rkallp.com/jerome_ringler.html

The Roth Law Group LLC

2008-09-12T09:38:00.002-07:00

The Roth Law Group serves the legal needs of businesses in a variety of matters including general legal counsel, commercial litigation, contract disputes, civil litigation, and other legal matters.

have used several companies including a major legal research company to design past sites and do SEO. You accomplished in a matter of just over two months what they couldn’t get done in almost four years. Not only do we have a professional custom website, we finally are showing up on Google in the organic search results. Law Promo has solved my internet marketing problems and provided us with the exposure we need to succeed in a highly competitive legal market. I enthusiastically recommend your company to any firm looking to increase its presence on the web.

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The Roth Law Group LLC
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Law Firm Web Design + Internet Legal Marketing

FIRM OVERVIEW - RKA LLP

2008-09-12T09:38:00.001-07:00

Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP specializes in high value, highly sophisticated litigation in the areas of class actions, business torts and catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death matters.The firm deploys its well-honed trial abilities, in-depth legal knowledge, and vast investigative resources to provide tenacious and highly focused representation to every client. Each client is represented by a highly skilled legal team lead by experienced trial attorneys specializing in the specific legal issues surrounding the case. Our courtroom victories and proven results position the firm as leaders in the practice of trial law. The firm's areas of legal expertise and case achievements are detailed throughout this site. Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP looks forward to an opportunity to assist you or your business with its legal needs. Contact us to discuss your legal matter further.

http://www.rkallp.com/lawfirm.html

Law Promo Internet Legal Marketing

2008-09-03T11:13:00.003-07:00

With our combined experience and expertise, LawPromo.com can create an internet marketing strategy that effectively directs qualified potential clients to your firm. We can produce measurable search engine ranking results for your law firm or legal marketing site with the most proven methods available. Every day thousands of potential clients look for an attorney online - LawPromo.com can bring their attention to your site using our exclusive search engine marketing techniques.

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Los Angeles Immigration Court caseload soars

2008-07-21T11:12:00.000-07:00

The number of foreigners landing in Los Angeles Immigration Court has surged in recent years, while the number of judges has remained about the same, causing crushing caseloads and lengthy delays.Expanded immigration enforcement, including the ongoing search for illegal immigrants in county jails, is causing much of the rise, according to judges, attorneys and experts."I don't think it's possible for a court to implode from weight, but we may see," said former L.A. Immigration Judge Gilbert T. Gembacz, who retired last month after more than a decade on the bench.Los Angeles immigration judges heard 27,200 cases last fiscal year, up from about 17,800 in 2000. In the last fiscal year alone, the number of immigration cases rose nearly 40%.Immigration courts nationwide mirror the trend. Last fiscal year, judges heard 334,600 cases, up from 254,500 in 2000. During the same period, the number of judges increased to 220 from 207.

Stop Overpaying Your Taxes!

2006-12-28T23:55:00.000-08:00

http://progressivetaxgroup.com/services.html

We are dedicated to providing responsive, personalized legal service of the utmostquality to our clients in all areas of taxation law. Through our combined wealth of education and experience, we believe that we are able to offer our clients the most dynamic, sound legal advice unmatched by our peers

Progressive Tax Group News

2006-12-28T23:54:00.000-08:00

Are you carrying the stress of IRS debt on your shoulders?You are not alone. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans just like you, who need IRS debt help. Tax debt is incurred in many different ways including divorce, business losses, unexpected injuries or even a lost job.

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Tax Lawyer, Tax Lawfirm News Blogs

2006-12-28T23:53:00.000-08:00

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Click the link to view the news

The Breaking Legal News "Feaured law blog Award"

2006-11-10T00:51:00.000-08:00

The BreakingLegalNews "Feaured law blog Award" is awarded to the most exciting and useful law blogs on the internet. Each blog is determined to be worthy of recognition based on its value and contribution to the legal and professional community.

Accepting this award allows you to be feaured on BreakingLegalNews.com and submit one quality article per month as well.

BreakingLegalNews.com is a unique online hub, consisting of legal and business news, high profile lawyer commentaries, law firm news, updates and multimedia contents for today's high profile and emerging legal and business professionals. BreakingLegalNews.com is at the forefront of a new era of news and information delivery, bringing together news and press releases from lawyers and legal professionals around the nation. We offer this award only to exceptional blogs.

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“Elite Lawyer Award” - breaking legal news corp

2006-11-10T00:50:00.000-08:00

The Breaking Legal News “Elite Lawyer Award” awards recognizes a select group of lawyers who have obtained outstanding achievments in their practice. The lawyers offered this award represent a very small percentage of attorneys who have been able to accomplish excellent results for their clients and are highly recognizable figures in the legal profession.

Legal News - RSS keyword

2006-10-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

IRS Tax Immigration Vioxx Jerome Ringler Roger Clark Clark & Goldberg FBI Department of Justice Civil Rights North Korea Mark Lanier Lanier Law Firm conspiracy EPA Fraud Stuart D. Zimring Girardi & Keese Supreme Court

The Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit Monday, against the estate of former Enron chairman Ken Lay seeking $12.7 million "to recover property that constitutes proceeds of the fraud proven in the criminal case.Because of the Federal Judge's decision last week to vacate Lay's convictions of fraud and conspiracy charges, the government could not seize Lay's assets unless it filed a civil suit. The judge's decision to vacate the charges was based on the fact that the former Enron Executive died of a heart attack in July. Lay's lawyer cited "abatement" because Lay died while his appeal was still pending.

The government is trying to recover assets which incudes a $2.5 million condo and $10.2 million controlled by an investment firm. Lay's criminal trial attorney,Michael Ramsey told the Houston Chronicle that the government's lawsuit "is an attack, apparently, on his widow and children" and that only victims of the Enron scandal should be able to sue.

breaking legal news feature law firm

2006-09-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

Costell & Cornelius Law Corporation

The firm of Costell & Cornelius Law Corporation was originally formed by Jeffrey Lee Costell in January of 1993 and presently consists of six attorneys. The firm prides itself in being an established, full-service real estate law firm with a high-quality practice in the areas of real estate litigation, transactions, leasing, acquisitions, dispositions, finance, valuation, and development, as well as in the areas of bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, debtor/creditor rights and general commercial and business litigation and transactions.

The firm has significant experience in the representation of a wide-variety of real estate clients, including real estate owners, landlords, tenants, developers, investors, borrowers, lenders, financiers and other real estate-related companies. The firm also represents non-profit organizations, institutional entities, entrepreneurs, corporations, small businesses, partnerships and numerous mid-sized companies or entities involved in a variety of businesses.The firm has also represented foreign clients and governments, such as the State of Israel.

The firm's Chief Executive Officer and Senior Attorney, Jeffrey Lee Costell had several years of experience with large, national law firms, but then made a deliberate choice to grow his practice in a smaller firm environment in order to most efficiently serve his clients. The Firm continues to provide enhanced service to its clients by virtue of it's relationship-oriented approach to representation.

This approach is characterized by a global view of the engagement in the context of the client's overall business operations and extensive, prompt and ongoing communication with the client as to the direction of each matter. Costell & Cornelius founding principles are the creation of successful, long-term relationships with clients, and a dedication to the profession and to being good corporate citizens in the community where we live and work. http://www.costell-law.com

www.breakinglegalnews.com/category/Featured%20Law%20Firms

Aerial images solidify tax assessments

2006-09-02T00:46:00.000-07:00

There are about 300,000 row houses in Philadelphia, which means there are about 300,000 row house owners in Philadelphia who would like to see their tax assessments lowered.
Some of them contact the city's Board of Revision of Taxes. A caller may say, "Our house is in the worst condition of any on the block," said Barry Mescolotto, the board's assistant administrator.

These days, Mescolotto has a good answer: "I'll say, 'I'm looking at a photo of your house, and it looks to be about the same as all the others."'
"That usually ends the conversation," Mescolotto said.

Until recently, assessors had to accept homeowners' claims or visit the properties themselves. But in 2003, the city hired the Pictometry International Corp., a company in Rochester, N.Y., to provide images of every building in the city.

Once a year, Pictometry flies a Cessna 172 over Philadelphia, taking thousands of black-and-white photographs. The low-altitude shots, unlike satellite images, show buildings at about a 40-degree angle. Pictometry's computers organize the photos so they can be searched by address. Nearly 200 employees in Mescolotto's office have the software on their computers.

Pictometry isn't the only company offering aerial photos to assessors, but it has won adherents in more than 200 cities and counties, according to Dante Pennacchia, Pictometry's chief marketing officer. Its competitors include an Israeli company, Ofek International, working with Aerial Cartographics of America, based in Orlando, Fla.

Mescolotto said that the Pictometry system, which costs Philadelphia about $100,000 a year, "probably paid for itself within about two weeks."

"If you have a dog, or a locked fence, we may not be able to get into your back yard to see something you've built," Mescolotto said. But Pictometry flies over dogs and fences.
In addition to home improvements, the software has also helped his office pick up more than 100 cell phone antennas that have been erected on existing structures. Each tower, he said, "adds so much value that, taxwise, it's the equivalent of finding a new house."

Pictometry's software makes it possible for assessors not only to see buildings, but also to measure them, down to the hundredth of a foot. But trying to zoom in on people's faces causes the photos to dissolve into pixels. "It's not at the resolution where you can look in windows, or read license plates," said Kenneth M. Wilkinson, the property assessor of Lee County in Florida. "The system preserves privacy."

Wilkinson has made the Pictometry images available to the public over the Internet.
And that makes a few people unhappy. One of his employees, he said, received a telephone call from a retired New York City policeman, who didn't want people to see that he had two Cadillacs in his driveway.

Another time, he said, a woman complained that her garage door was open, and people could see a mess inside. "You can't make an appointment to have your picture taken," Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson says that Lee County's tax base has grown rapidly -- to about $180 billion today from about $4.5 billion in assessed valuation when he took office 25 years ago.

He said the county is dependent on Pictometry. The contract with the company, signed in 2001, came in particularly handy after Hurricane Charley made landfall in Lee County in August 2004.

By law, the county had until Jan. 1, 2005, to adjust the assessed valuation of every property affected by the hurricane. Without Pictometry, "there is no way we could have had it done in time," Wilkinson said.
In addition, Wilkinson said, petitions to lower assessments have declined since 2001, to about 500 a year from an average of 2,000 a year. "People are surprised how well we know their property," he said.

Recently, Wilkinson's office has been using Pictometry's "change detection" feature: After flying over the county, the company prepares a list of properties that appear to have been altered since the last fly-over.

"The software takes us right to those properties," Wilkinson said. "We can look, and see that you've added a pool."

Scott Yamamoto, the property appraiser for Geauga County, Ohio, which is east of Cleveland, also uses the change-detection feature. The computer, he said, is programmed to look for "something that wasn't there before, or something that was there before but isn't there now."

"We get a list, in spreadsheet form, of all the parcels where there was some type of change," he said.

Unfortunately, he said, there are a lot of false positives. A pile of sand, or snow on the ground, can trigger the change detector. "Or a boat parked close to a garage can look to the computer like the garage has been expanded," he said.

Qualcomm Lawsuit Dismissed

2006-09-02T00:45:00.000-07:00

Qualcomm Inc., the world's second-biggest maker of mobile phone chips, won dismissal Thursday of an antitrust suit claiming that it stifled competition.

U.S. District Judge Mary Cooper dismissed a complaint filed by Broadcom Corp., a maker of chips for TV set-top boxes. The suit claimed that Qualcomm wrongly used its patents to expand market share for chips used in so-called third-generation, or 3G, phones that allow users to download music and use the Internet.

"Qualcomm's alleged conduct does not support claims for monopolization or attempted monopolization," Cooper wrote in a decision filed in U.S. District Court in Trenton, N.J.
The suit was part of a wider effort by Irvine-based Broadcom and other competitors to prevent San Diego-based Qualcomm from dominating the 3G chip market.

Cooper said Broadcom could amend its claims and seek to refile the complaint. Qualcomm spokesman Jeremy James had no comment. Broadcom spokesman Bill Blanning didn't return a message seeking comment.

Qualcomm holds 90% of the market for so-called CDMA chips, used in the U.S. by wireless carriers such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp.

Law Firm Honored For Nap Perk

2006-09-02T00:41:00.000-07:00

A law firm that encourages its workers to take a nap if they are tired has won New Zealand's top award for helping employees to balance their work and personal lives.

The government's Equal Employment Opportunities Trust gave solicitors firm Meredith Connell it's "work-life balance" award for offering employees flexible work hours to take account of personal commitments.

One lawyer said she took advantage of the flexible hours to do sports training that required her to get out of bed at 4:30 a.m. each day and run, swim or cycle for three hours before going to the office.

"After a few weeks of that, it gets to the point where you are hitting the proverbial brick wall," Longdill was quoted as saying in the New Zealand Herald. "I recall more than one occasion when the boss said, 'you need to go home, you need to go and sleep.'"

Longdill, 25, said she still spent 50 hours or more a week working, making up the time by working at night from home via remote access to company computers.

Meredith Connell official government solicitors in the northern city of Auckland credited the scheme for helping cut its professional staff turnover by 5 percent in the past year.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press