I am delighted that at today’s 2021 Annual Meeting, the Atlantic Legal Foundation’s Board of Directors elevated me to the position of Executive Vice President & General Counsel. During the past 8 months it has been a professional and personal pleasure to conduct the Foundation’s long-renowned amicus curiae program, as well as continuing my independent […]
In light of recent Supreme Court precedent, there is a substantial question about whether administrative enforcement proceedings prosecuted by independent regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) before their own removal-for-cause-only administrative law judges (ALJs) violate the separation of powers, and thus are unconstitutional. Federal courts of
Amicus Brief Argues That Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied Read More »
Gears of War continues to be among the most popular Xbox “shooter” video game franchises. One of game’s original and recurring characters is Augustus “Cole Train” Cole, a brutal interplanetary “Delta Squad” warrior whose realistic face, voice, and physique closely resemble Lenwood Hamilton, a former professional wrestler. Hamilton filed suit in a Pennsylvania federal district
Why is flat-fee billing better for handling appeals and drafting amicus curiae briefs? Click here to find out why.
Flat-Fee Billing Is Better For Clients & Their Lawyers Read More »
On January 19, 2021 the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in BP v. Baltimore, a case in which the Atlantic Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief arguing that climate-change damages suits belong – if anywhere – in federal, not state, courts. The case involves a procedural issue which has significant implications regarding whether climate-change suits filed
Larry Ebner Quoted About Importance of Supreme Court Climate-Change Case Read More »
The City of Bainbridge Island, Washington, has adopted a state-approved Shoreline Management Program (“SMP”), which requires property owners to set aside vegetation buffers and conservation easements to protect Puget Sound shoreline from the supposed ecological impacts of residential construction, landscaping, and recreational activities. Following an unsuccessful administrative appeal to the state Growth Management Hearings Board,
I was pleased to assist Dan Fisk, Chairman & President of the Atlantic Legal Foundation, with preparation of a request to the Supreme Court of California for “depublication” of a state Court of Appeal opinion holding, in litigation brought by the American Chemistry Council, that the State’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (“OEHHA”) did not abuse its discretion
During the past several years, state and local governments around the United States have filed at least 19 state-court suits seeking to hold fossil fuel energy companies liable under state common law (such as public nuisance law) for allegedly contributing to climate change and its harmful effects. The defendant energy companies have been largely unsuccessful
The following article, written by Katherine Snow Smith for The Legal Examiner (Nov. 5, 2020), quotes me on the importance of amicus briefs, and my view that clients should be charged a flat fee for their preparation. As an attorney, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was known for writing an artful amicus brief. Her submissions are credited
What Is an Amicus Brief, Exactly? Read More »
In Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2017), the Supreme Court held that for a state court to assert “specific personal jurisdiction” over the claims of out-of-state plaintiffs in a “mass-action” suit, there must be a substantial connection between the nonresident plaintiffs’ claims and the conduct of the defendant
Amicus Brief Urges Supreme Court To Limit Nationwide Class Actions Read More »
