In the news

Update: February 2, 2010 (see below)

A recent New York Times article concerns a potential conflict in the city council speaker's office. But what is most interesting about the article is the bigger question it raises about differentiating between businesses and unions in pay-to-play laws.

Once again, a local government official's attempt to use a charity to get around campaign finance laws has blown up in his face. According to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, an Atlanta council member was fined $25,000 by a state court for failing to register a foundation (named after himself) and failing to maintain financial records for it.

Update: October 16, 2009 (see below)
In his New York Times legal affairs column today, Adam Liptak focused on what is known as "honest services fraud," which is actually part of a definition of "scheme or artifice to defraud" in the federal mail and wire fraud statute (before reading on, please read my earlier blog post...

"I'm following my own path."

--Jean Sarkozy, 23-year-old son of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The young Sarkozy, who is studying law (he does not have a college degree yet) is the main candidate for chair of EPAD, a quasi-governmental agency that manages the La Defense financial district on the western outskirts of Paris. His father held the same position early in his career.

The young Sarkozy...

Should elected officials be held to a higher standard than ordinary people? And if so, who should decide?

These questions are central to a dispute that has been simmering for two years in El Paso. According to an article in the El Paso Times yesterday, the local district attorney would not allow a council member charged with a misdemeanor to participate in a diversion program for first-time...

How can a lawyer responsibly deal with the following situation? A former city attorney, he has been general counsel to the city's sports authority, which oversees three major sports with three stadiums (and there's talk of a fourth, which the lawyer has publicly supported). The lawyer is also special counsel to the city's transit and port...