Latest news with #lawyer
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Buffalo Can Be Hard to Love. For These Former Residents, It Was Harder to Stay Away.
In March, Buffalo, N.Y., native Kyle Roche bought a roughly 8,700-square-foot home for $3.5 million in the city's Elmwood Village neighborhood, setting a new home-sale record. 'When I left Buffalo, I was like, 'If I do well for myself, I have to come back and sort of bring part of that to Buffalo, almost out of this sense of moral duty, because Buffalo made me who I am,'' said Roche, 37, a lawyer who spent around two decades living away from his hometown before deciding to put down roots there again.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Melbourne lawyer allegedly told junior solicitor to ‘make up' a story in court
A Melbourne lawyer allegedly told her boss she would 'give my little sob story' before lying to a magistrate in the hopes of securing an adjournment, a court has been told. ZD legal principal lawyer Zoe Davis and Rachelle Badour-Taha appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday where they were committed to stand trial in the County Court. The pair each pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice and using a false document. The court was told Ms Davis sent her junior solicitor Ms Badour-Taha instructions to 'make up a story' to lie to the magistrate to try and have a warrant recalled after their client didn't appear in court. Ms Badour-Taha then allegedly claimed their client Alana Digby had been involved in a car accident after she failed to appear at Frankston Magistrates Court on August 7, 2023. The magistrate refused to recall the warrant without Ms Digby present in court. The court was told Ms Davis was complicit in the attempt as she had allegedly instructed her 'very junior' colleague to 'make up a story'. 'She was seeking instructions from her principal, she was told by her principal to make up a reason,' Magistrate Leon Fluxman said. 'Ms Davis was well aware of what was happening at court and Ms Badour-Taha was acting at her principal's behest.' Ms Badour-Taha allegedly sent a text to Ms Davis saying their client would not be present in court because she was at work and would 'go back in and give my little sob story and hope he gives the f--king adjournment'. Ms Davis is also accused of altering a Northpark Private Hospital letter in September, which Ms Badour-Taha allegedly emailed to the court to explain their client's absence. Ms Davis and Ms Badour-Taha were both charged with perverting the course of justice, attempting to pervert the course of justice, and using a false document. The pair pleaded not guilty to charges relating to attempting to pervert the course of justice and using false documents. The charges of perverting the course of justice were discharged after Mr Fluxman said he was not convinced there was evidence of sufficient weight their alleged actions had perverted the course of justice. The pair's bail was extended and they are expected to stand trial on August 26.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
Lawyer censured for slapping one colleague's bottom, touching another's back
By Al Williams, Open Justice reporter of File photo. Photo: 123rf A lawyer who slapped a junior male colleague on the bottom and touched a female colleague's lower back during a social function has been censured. The lawyer, a partner at an unnamed firm, urged a New Zealand Law Society standards committee to consider his behaviour in context, stating that more freedom should be allowed for conduct at an out-of-office social function than during the usual working day. However, the committee found his conduct was disrespectful and discourteous towards the employees, who were both junior to him. According to a recently released decision, the behaviour occurred in the context of socialising by some staff members after a team function arranged by their firm. The partner generally accepted that some of his behaviour was inappropriate, that he had blurred professional boundaries, and had consumed excess alcohol that night. However, he did not see that as a breach of professional standards or an abuse of power towards either colleague. According to the standards committee's decision, the lawyer submitted that slapping the male employee on the bottom was "paying [him] respect" and "blokey", and that he was behaving as a friend rather than a partner in the firm. "The committee sees absolutely no circumstance in which physical contact of this type towards any colleague could be described as respectful behaviour. "The committee also considers this behaviour risks perpetuating a workplace culture that the profession is at pains to transform in relation to interactions between colleagues." The lawyer accepted that he placed his hand on the female employee's lower back as she passed through a door. In his view, doing so was "an innocuous courtesy", and he intended "nothing sexual or sinister" by it. The committee did not ascribe any sexual intent to the lawyer's actions, but found it was clear that the female employee was uncomfortable at the time and afterwards. The committee considered that physical touch on the lower back carried an element of intimacy and overfamiliarity that may reasonably have been interpreted as inappropriate by her or a reasonable observer. While there were some contexts in which this would be acceptable to both parties involved, it was likely to be perceived as flirtatious and inappropriate in others, the decision said. The lawyer's evidence was that she approached him to show him a team photograph on her phone, and he assumed her reason for doing so was for him to comment on it. Referring to the photo, the lawyer commented that the woman was "beautiful" and said that, in that context, it was not intended to be disrespectful or discourteous. The committee accepted that the woman was anticipating a comment on the group photo, but not that she was inviting a comment on her own appearance to the exclusion of others (when there was nothing to draw attention to her over any other team member in the photo). The lawyer's contention that his comment was respectful and courteous in the context was not accepted. The committee considered it was more likely than not that the lawyer's judgement about what was appropriate was impaired. "When coupled with his admitted blurring of professional boundaries, his consumption of alcohol meant he was not well placed to exercise the judgement required of him." While the committee did not identify a specific abuse of any power imbalance, it said that didn't mean an imbalance did not exist "by virtue of their roles as partner and junior members of staff". The committee considered that the team's social function, including ongoing socialising that occurred after the formal portion of the function, was a professional, collegial occasion. It found that the lawyer's conduct across the three incidents demonstrated conduct towards both employees that was disrespectful and discourteous. It was generally conduct "that would be regarded by lawyers of good standing as being unacceptable and unprofessional". Due to mitigating factors present in the case, the committee said it did not consider it necessary to impose any penalty. This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
NHL Says Five Players In Hockey Canada Trial Can't Return For Now As Lawyers For E.M. And Accused React To Verdict
The complainant in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial is disappointed with the not-guilty verdicts for all five of the accused but extends her gratitude for the support she's received, her lawyer told reporters Thursday afternoon.
CBC
7 days ago
- CBC
What it's like inside Ontario court as judge recounts evidence in world juniors trial
Sam Puchala, a lawyer not involved in the trial, has been in a media room at the London courthouse where the judge is weighing in on the evidence before handing down her decisions in the sexual assault trial for five ex-Hockey Canada world junior players.
