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• Death penalty sentences drop to lowest point since 1976, report finds
• Kessler Topaz, Milbank Face Off over $428 Million Fee Request in Grupo Mexico Derivative Suit
• Hearings for Curley, Schultz May Test Key Penn State Scandal Witness
• Computer-Crime Statute Gets Ninth Circuit Workout
• Much Ado About Mergers, But Closures Also A Part of 2011
• How to Earn My GC Business
• John Green on Improving the User Experience
• Recorder Roundtable: Employment Law
• Janet Day on Law Firm IT 'Nirvana'
• Judge Chides Prosecutors in FCPA Case Over Secret Notes
• SEC decides to appeal judge's decision that rejected proposed settlement with Citigroup
• Holland & Knight Lobby Shop Drops Billable Hours
• En Banc Circuit Grapples With Closed Court During Jury Selection in Lawyer's Trial
• FHFA Wants Suit against JPMorgan to be Test Case in Mortgage-Backed Securities Litigation
• Batten Down the Hatches! New Litigation Storm Brewing Over America's Cup
• Van Ness Feldman, GordonDerr Announce Merger
• Deal to Limit Boys' Contact With Offender Stays in Place
• Risk of Future Injury Not Enough for Standing in Suit Over Hacker Attack
• Howrey Bankruptcy to Bring in Local Counsel

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Death penalty sentences drop to lowest point since 1976, report finds	Top
The number of death penalty sentences in the U.S. has dropped to the lowest point since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976, according to a new report from the Death Penalty Information Center. Seventy-eight capital punishment verdicts were handed down this year compared to 112 last year. In related findings, a Gallup poll done this year found that 61 percent of Americans approve of the death penalty -- the lowest rating since 1972.Related information: See "The Death Penalty in 2011: Year End Report [pdf]," by the Death Penalty Information Center.
Kessler Topaz, Milbank Face Off over $428 Million Fee Request in Grupo Mexico Derivative Suit	Top
The Delaware Chancery Court is scheduled to hear arguments Monday over a $428 million fee request by plaintiffs lawyers for their work winning a record $1.26 billion ruling in the Grupo Mexico shareholder derivative suit. Grupo Mexico's lawyers claim such an award is an "impermissible windfall."
Hearings for Curley, Schultz May Test Key Penn State Scandal Witness	Top
For two former high-ranking officials implicated in the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal, a preliminary hearing set for Friday will likely mark the beginning of a probe into just how much a key state witness knew and just how much that witness did in response.
Computer-Crime Statute Gets Ninth Circuit Workout	Top
At oral arguments Thursday, 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski repeatedly challenged the Justice Department's position on the scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act -- a position that could lead to the criminalization of seemingly innocuous computer activity that runs afoul of employer policies or terms of use agreements.
Much Ado About Mergers, But Closures Also A Part of 2011	Top
It's easy to think of 2011 as yet another chapter in a long trend of regional law firm consolidation. While that may be true, the year has also seen its share of law firm failures. This week alone, two firms announced they would dissolve.
How to Earn My GC Business	Top
Four in-house counsel discuss how firms can get their business and what they expect from outside attorneys.
John Green on Improving the User Experience	Top
John Green, CIO of Baker Donelson, speaks at ILTA with LTN's editor in chief, Monica Bay, about an initiative to improve the user experience at his firm by tracking and mapping every application in use using the Aternity Frontline Performance Intelligence software.
Recorder Roundtable: Employment Law	Top
Four experts discussed recent developments in employment law at a Recorder Roundtable on Nov. 9 in San Francisco.
Janet Day on Law Firm IT 'Nirvana'	Top
LTN reporter Evan Koblentz speaks with Berwin Leighton Paisner CIO Janet Day about her "concept of nirvana," in which the consumerization of IT in law firms -- where lawyers use and maintain their favorite devices for work -- makes the help desk unnecessary. Koblentz and Day also discuss Hewlett-Packard's move to become more consumer-focused as Apple potentially becomes more business-focused.
Judge Chides Prosecutors in FCPA Case Over Secret Notes	Top
Saying the government "effectively snookered" the defense, a D.C. federal judge on Thursday criticized prosecutors for litigation tactics in a foreign bribery case that kept defense lawyers in the dark about key notes that belong to a government witness.
SEC decides to appeal judge's decision that rejected proposed settlement with Citigroup	Top
Calling the court's decision "incorrect" and in "legal error," SEC Enforcement Division head Robert Khuzami has announced that the agency is appealing a decision by Manhattan federal Judge Jed Rakoff, who last month rejected the SEC's proposed $285 million settlement with Citigroup Global Markets.
Holland & Knight Lobby Shop Drops Billable Hours	Top
After more than a year of research and testing, Holland & Knight has announced that its public policy and regulation group will part ways with billable hours for fixed-fee clients on Jan. 1, in a move designed to attract more lobbyists and business.
En Banc Circuit Grapples With Closed Court During Jury Selection in Lawyer's Trial	Top
The 2nd Circuit on Wednesday grappled with the issue of whether any closing of a courtroom during jury selection constitutes a "structural" flaw in the proceedings requiring a new trial for a convicted defendant or whether there remains a subset of closings that do not violate the right to a public trial.
FHFA Wants Suit against JPMorgan to be Test Case in Mortgage-Backed Securities Litigation	Top
The Federal Housing Finance Agency has asked Manhattan federal district Judge Denise Cote, who is hearing most of the suits against banks that sold $200 billion in allegedly flawed mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to put its case against JPMorgan Chase on the fast track.
Batten Down the Hatches! New Litigation Storm Brewing Over America's Cup	Top
In the run-up to the last edition of the America's Cup sailing race, contestants seemed to spend more time in court than on the water. Now there's new trouble on the high seas. A new lawsuit accuses the defending champion and current race organizer of favoritism and self-dealing.
Van Ness Feldman, GordonDerr Announce Merger	Top
Washington, D.C.-based law firm Van Ness Feldman and Seattle-based GordonDerr announced Wednesday that the two firms will merge next year. The combined entity, to be known as Van Ness Feldman, will have a total of 98 lawyers.
Deal to Limit Boys' Contact With Offender Stays in Place	Top
A New York judge has effectively blocked the marriage of a divorced mother of two boys to a convicted Level I sex offender by refusing to dissolve a stipulation forbidding the boys from ever being left alone with their mother's boyfriend.
Risk of Future Injury Not Enough for Standing in Suit Over Hacker Attack	Top
Two law firm employees whose financial data was hacked have no standing to sue the payroll-processing company that allowed the breach, the 3rd Circuit has held in a precedential opinion, finding the alleged injuries to be too speculative given the lack of evidence that the compromised information has been or will be used.
Howrey Bankruptcy to Bring in Local Counsel	Top
With collections slowing and contingency fee cases back East not showing much immediate promise, Howrey's trustee is pushing to set San Francisco collections litigator Joel Adler loose in the case. Adler earned high marks recently for bringing $6 million into the Heller estate.

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