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Cambridge Economics Group Announces Medmal Express
Legal Marketing |
2008/01/09 01:57
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West Des Moines, Iowa, January 4, 2008: Cambridge Economics Group today announced a new service for attorneys and their clients who are involved in medical malpractice cases. The service, MedMal ExpressTM, is provided through the company's Internet site, www.medmalreports.com. Users can sign up for a 2-week free trial, after which the service is $95 per month.
"The innovation of MedMal ExpressTM is that it lets users see expected settlements in up to 20 cases or case scenarios in real time," said Dr. David M. Frankel, Founder and Chief Economist of CEG. "Our predictions are tailored to the lawsuit's location as well as other key case parameters."
"MedMal ExpressTM is intended for attorneys and clients on both sides of a lawsuit," Dr. Frankel added. The company suggests the following potential uses for its new service: •Advising insurance companies how much money to reserve in a case.
•Evaluating potential case strategies. For instance:
- adding or dropping a defendant;
- choosing which accusations to stress. •Testing different case scenarios. For example:
- If the case against one or more defendants is dismissed;
- If the plaintiff's medical outcome changes. MedMal ExpressTM uses CEG's proprietary predictive model, which is derived from patterns of payments in the National Practitioners Data Bank, a repository of essentially all malpractice payments made in the U.S. The model considers the following key features of a case: •The trial location (U.S. state)
•The age, gender, and medical outcome of the patient
•The number of defendants
•The defendants' ages and job descriptions
•The accusations made against each defendant "But our model goes one step further," Dr. Frankel stated. "It also considers important interactions between these features. For instance, some states have caps on pain and suffering that reduce payments for certain outcomes (such as purely emotional injuries) more than others. This means that the effect of medical outcome on payments depends on the state. By taking account of this and other important interactions, we can generate very realistic predictions of the expected settlement in a case." Note to Journalists Journalists and other opinion leaders who wish to try MedMal Express without entering credit card information are asked to set up a user account on the site, medmalreports.com, and then to send their user name to CEG using the General Inquiry button on the medmalreports.com home page. A MedMal Express trial subscription will be set up for you. About Cambridge Economics Group Cambridge Economics Group was founded in 2004 to provide economic and statistical analysis in complex litigation settings, including antitrust, intellectual property, regulation, and personal injury. Its offices are located in West Des Moines, Iowa. Dr. David M. Frankel is a tenured economics professor at Iowa State University and has been a visiting professor at Cornell and Stanford. His research has appeared in leading economics journals such as Econometrica and the Quarterly Journal of Economics. Dr. Frankel received his Ph.D. in economics from M.I.T. in 1993. He has an M.S. in Sociology from Oxford, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and an A.B. in Mathematics from Harvard (Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude). Prior to joining the faculty at Iowa State, Dr. Frankel taught for eight years at Tel Aviv University in Israel.
http://www.medmalreports.com |
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Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll Announces Class Action Lawsuit
Legal Marketing |
2007/12/26 12:03
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| The law firm Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on behalf of its client and on behalf of other similarly situated purchasers of WSB Financial Group, Inc. ("WSB Financial" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: WSFG) common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's December 13, 2006 Initial Public Offering (the "IPO") from between November 3, 2005 and May 10, 2007, inclusive (the "Class Period"). WSB Financial is the holding company for Westsound Bank, a Bremerton, Washington based financial institution that serves the Puget Sound area. The complaint charges WSB Financial and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"). The complaint also alleges that D.A. Davidson - who acted as acted as "Lead Underwriter" of the IPO - violated the Securities Act. Specifically, the complaint alleges that, in connection with the IPO, defendants issued numerous materially false and misleading statements which caused WSB Financial's securities to trade at artificially inflated prices. As alleged in the complaint, the Company's registration statement for the IPO failed to disclose that the Company had been violating certain banking laws and regulations relating to the origination, administration and monitoring of construction and mortgage loans. Due to the Company's misleading statements, WSB Financial's stock hit an intra-day high of $21 per share during the Class Period.
According to the complaint, beginning in September 2007, a series of announcements and investigations into the Company's lending practices caused WSB Financial's stock to plummet. For example, in late September, the Company announced that due to the reduced demand of mortgage loans, the Company was eliminating thirty-three jobs in its mortgage division. Moreover, the Company announced that its Executive Vice President of Sales and Lending at Westsound Bank had been terminated. The complaint alleges that as a result of these announcements, the Company's stock fell from $15.30 per share to $12.40 per share. Then, the Company announced that state and federal regulators were looking into possible fraud and misconduct in its real estate lending practices. Within two days of this announcement the Company's stock dropped nearly 60 percent, from $11.20 on October 24, 2007 to $4.73 on October 25, 2007. If you are a member of the class, you may, no later than January 2, 2007, request that the Court appoint you as Lead Plaintiff of the class. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serveas Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their choice or may choose to remain an absent class member. Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has significant experience in prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving securities fraud. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and London, and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the nation. You may visit the firm's website at www.cmht.com. |
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Court TV, R.I.P.
Legal Marketing |
2007/12/26 11:43
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The network that burst into public consciousness with the O.J. Simpson trial and other big-name courtroom dramas in the 1990s becomes part of television history Tuesday, renamed truTV to emphasize its prime-time action programming. Besides the name, there won't be many immediate changes to what Court TV has become. The six remaining hours of legal-oriented material during the day will remain, labeled ''In Session.'' The Tuesday premiere of ''Ocean Force Huntington Beach O.C.'' typifies the network's direction. The series follows lifeguards on a busy California beach, emphasizing heart-pounding rescues rather than hours spent ogling hot bodies. That's about as far from swearing in a witness as you can get, but Court TV's viewers are used to the disconnect. Court TV prime-time has emphasized non-fiction series like the long-running ''Forensic Files'' and newer shows like ''The Real Hustle,'' which interviews pickpockets about tricks of the trade; the upcoming ''Black Gold,'' about oil prospectors; and ''Speeders,'' which shows tapes of people trying to talk their way out of speeding tickets. That's part of an intensely competitive television world; ''Black Gold'' taps into the same fascination with grueling jobs as ''Deadliest Catch'' on Discovery and ''Ice Road Truckers'' on The History Channel, for example. Now the network takes the risk of shedding an established brand for the unknown. ''It's a big concern,'' conceded Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, which includes the soon-to-become truTV. ''Court TV is a very well-defined programming entity. Unfortunately, it's not as broad and doesn't offer the growth opportunities, we believe, as starting anew.'' Koonin oversaw the successful brandings of TNT and TBS. Those networks established clear identities -- TNT is for drama, TBS does comedy -- while keeping names that are essentially meaningless. TruTV's identity will be fast-moving programming that tells real stories about real people. There's such a glut of reality programming with a wide range of styles that truTV is making an explicit point of rejecting the term. TruTV isn't reality, its new slogan states. It's actuality. ''Reality has a connotation of not being real, of being phony,'' said Marc Juris, executive vice president and general manager of truTV. ''We felt that because [our programming] was real, we couldn't call it reality.'' |
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Weston Hurd snaps up Beachwood law firm
Legal Marketing |
2007/12/23 01:50
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Cleveland law firm Weston Hurd LLP has acquired Persky, Shapiro & Arnoff Co. L.P.A. of Beachwood for undisclosed terms.
Persky Shapiro employs seven attorneys, and the acquisition will bring Weston Hurd’s headcount to about 60 attorneys.
Weston Hurd managing partner Carolyn Cappel said the acquisition was attractive in part because it has added a tax practice group to her firm. |
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Attorney becomes partner in law firm
Legal Marketing |
2007/12/19 01:17
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Matthew P. Mastrogiacomo, has become a partner in the law firm of Isaacson & Raymond, 75 Park St. He joined the firm in 2001 as a litigator, and concentrates his practice in civil, criminal and landlord/tenant matters, as well as domestic and family law.
Mastrogiacomo is a graduate of the University of Maine at Machias and received his law degree from the University of Maine School of Law, cum laude, where he was named a prize arguer in the moot court program. He is a member of the family law and new lawyers sections of the Maine State Bar Association, Maine Trial Lawyers Association, and has been admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court. He is also vice chairman of the board of directors for Androscoggin County Head Start and Child Care, and a member of the Auburn-Lewiston Rotary Club. He lives in Lewiston with his wife. |
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Attorney readies for class action lawsuit following fire
Legal Marketing |
2007/12/16 03:24
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Latigo Canyon lawyer Jay Devitt has placed an advertisement in both local newspapers and is speaking to members of the community about putting together a class action lawsuit against the state and possibly other entities regarding alleged faults that led to last month's Corral Fire, which destroyed 53 homes and damaged another 33.
"We're going to sue anyone and everyone who is responsible, like a good attorney is supposed to do," Devitt said.
The main focus so far of the proposed litigation is the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Investigators say the fire started in or near a cave on State Parks land at the top of Corral Canyon known for late-night partying. Devitt said State Parks was negligible in not securing the area better.
"They had notice that this is a dangerous condition of public property with kids going up there," Devitt said.
A Corral Canyon resident who lost his home in the fire, Scott Palamar, had complained several times to State Parks officials about the partying, and the fire risk it created. He was not immediately available for comment for this story.
When asked why a private security guard was never hired by local homeowners to watch over the area, Devitt said it was not their job to do that.
Roy Stearns, spokesperson for State Parks, said he had heard nothing of the potential suit.
"We'll have to wait and see what it alleges, and go from there," Stearns said on Tuesday. "Our feeling is that with the shortage of rangers that we have, our people did all they could under the circumstances to address these issues."
Devitt said he would be hiring investigators to look into what else might have gone wrong during the fire. However, unlike what some Corral Canyon homeowners have alleged, Devitt said he did not see the city's reduction of the bottom of Corral Canyon Road to one lane as being a factor in the fire's outcome. Some homeowners said the reduction delayed the fire trucks.
Realtor Beverly Taki, who heads the Corral Canyon Safety Committee, said at a City Council meeting that the lane reduction hurt the fire response. She hinted at a possible lawsuit against the city in an interview last month with The Malibu Times. Taki said she is not involved with Devitt's lawsuit.
Devitt already has five homeowners who have joined the suit, but declined to mention their names. The attorney, who is the founder and former president of the Malibu Bar Association, only received minor smoke damage to his home. But he knows many people who suffered losses.
"My view of Latigo Canyon is completely black," he said. "Some of my neighbors did lose their homes."
Prior to any lawsuit, what is called a government claim must first be filed against the state about its alleged negligence. If the state fails to respond within 45 days, a lawsuit could be filed. The suit must be filed within six months after the fire.
"With more than 50 houses having burned down averaging a value of about $1.5 million, that's at least $75 million," Devitt said. "There is also emotional distress and some people had the inconvenience of having to pay hotel bills." |
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DNCC hires Denver law firm
Legal Marketing |
2007/12/14 02:45
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Politically connected Denver law and lobbying firm Isaacson Rosenbaum has been chosen as outside counsel for the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) as it prepares for next summer's event here. The firm and one of its top attorneys -- Mark Grueskin, a Democrat and onetime legal counsel and legislative aide to former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm -- will help the committee navigate federal election rules and local laws, working with the DNCC's on-staff general counsel, Susana Carbajal. "We're kind of a legal defensive secondary," Grueskin said. "We'll watch and see how things develop, and we'll help tackle whatever legal issues require more staffing or a different kind of expertise." He said Isaacson Rosenbaum has identified 10 areas where the DNCC may need its help before and during the Aug. 25-28 convention, from contract negotiation and employment law to campaign finance rules "and just plain political advice." One of the firm's key roles will be to help the DNCC comply with Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules covering convention operations, Carbajal said. "Because we receive federal funds, we do have to spend those funds according to the FEC and their regulations," she said. It's customary for a party to hire a local law firm in the convention host city to help with on-site legal work. The assignment is considered a plum for the chosen firm -- and a sign of close ties between the firm and the party. "We're awfully proud [to be chosen]," Grueskin said. "It's gratifying that ... they hired us because there are so many different kinds of things that our law firm can do that they might need." Carbajal -- an attorney for the Austin, Texas, firm of Brown McCarroll and a former aide to President Bill Clinton -- was named DNCC general counsel in April. She said she recommended Isaacson Rosenbaum to her committee after interviewing several local attorneys and firms. She said she wanted a firm with solid experience in election-finance and public-policy law as well as with good relations with local leaders, and Isaacson Rosenbaum offered both strengths. "One of the main reasons we chose [the firm] is because of Mark Grueskin. ... He was a driving force in our selection," she said. |
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Class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, at least the U.S. variant of it. In the United States federal courts, class actions are governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule. Since 1938, many states have adopted rules similar to the FRCP. However, some states like California have civil procedure systems which deviate significantly from the federal rules; the California Codes provide for four separate types of class actions. As a result, there are two separate treatises devoted solely to the complex topic of California class actions. Some states, such as Virginia, do not provide for any class actions, while others, such as New York, limit the types of claims that may be brought as class actions. They can construct your law firm a brand new website and help you redesign your existing law firm site to secure your place in the internet. |
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