Is Honesty Always the Best Policy? Illinois Appellate Court Holds Attorney's Ethical Obligations Trump Professional Liability Policy Term [Professional Liability Alert]

Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance

In a case of first impression, the Illinois Appellate Court considered whether a professional liability insurer can deny a defense to its insured, an attorney who admits he erred in providing legal services. Ill. State Bar Assoc. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Greenfield & Assocs., P.C., No. 1-11-0337, 2012 Ill. App. LEXIS 921 (Ill. Ct. App. Nov. 9, 2012). The court held the insurer had a duty to defend its insured against a legal malpractice claim. The court rejected the insurer’s reliance on the prohibition against admitting liability in its Voluntary Payments condition.

The Supreme Court Revisits the Takings Clause [The Legal Intelligencer]

Publication - Appellate

The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari this term on two issues concerning the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause. The justices heard oral arguments January 15 on a case focused on the conditions that a land-use agency may attach when issuing a development permit.

Below-Limits Settlements and the Coverage Obligations of Excess Insurers-The Diminshed Reach of Zeig [Professionals', Officers' and Directors' Liability Committee Newsletter]

Publication - Insurance Coverage, Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Insurance

Title VII: Protecting Veganism and Other Sincerely Held Ethical and Moral Beliefs [The Legal Intelligencer]

Publication

Chenzira v. Cincinnati Children’s Hosp. Med. Ctr., No. 1:11-cv-00917 (S.D. Ohio Dec. 27, 2012), highlights a rarely litigated issue in Title VII cases: what constitutes a religious practice or belief. In Chenzira, a customer service representative who worked at an Ohio hospital for more than 10 years was discharged from employment for refusing a flu shot.

Cozen O’Connor Team Secures Motion for Nonsuit

News

Jeffrey Weil, Dexter Hamilton and a team of Cozen O’Connor litigators successfully defended a mid-sized, regional law firm and one of its senior corporate partners in a legal malpractice case brought in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. The case involved an underlying business transaction that went bad. Our law firm clients had represented a closely held corporation whose stock was sold to a publicly traded company.

Australia International Law Digest [International Digest]

Publication - Subrogation & Recovery

International Law Digest containing the limitation periods in general, funding actions in Australia, privilege, bringing court proceedings, the role of experts, interim remedies, disclosure and costs.

Michael Heller Interview in Of Counsel Management Report

News

In an interview titled, "Newly Elected CEO Guides Cozen O'Connor Toward Practice Diversity and Market Expansion," Michael Heller speaks with author Steve Taylor on a variety of topics.

Germany International Law Digest [International Digest]

Publication - Subrogation & Recovery

International Law Digest containing the limitation periods in general, funding actions in Germany, privilege, bringing court proceedings, the role of experts, interim remedies, disclosure and costs.

Canada International Law Digest [International Digest]

Publication - Subrogation & Recovery

International Law Digest containing the limitation periods in general, funding actions in Canada, privilege, bringing court proceedings, the role of experts, interim remedies, disclosure and costs.

Barry Boss Quoted in Bloomberg News

News

In an article titled, ''Ex-Jefferies Arrest Shows Market Lacking Transparency,'' Barry Boss, co-chair of Cozen O'Connor's Criminal Defense & Internal Investigations Practice Group, comments on the arrest of Jesse Litvak, a former Jefferies & Co. mortgage-bond trader, and the likelihood that similar arrests will follow. ''He's the first, but won't be the last,'' said Barry.

Cozen O’Connor Announces New Chair of the Global Insurance Group

Press Release - Insurance Coverage

Joseph Ziemianski, former co-chair of the 125-attorney group, has been appointed to the role of chair of the firm’s Global Insurance Group.

American Diabetes Association Honors Michael Heller as a 2013 Father of the Year

News - Business

Michael will be honored along with Jeffrey Brown, founder, president & CEO of Brown's Super Stores, and renowned NFL Head Coach Dick Vermeil.

Implementing the Affordable Care Act: Countdown to 2014 (Tax Implications) [ACA Alert]

Publication - Health Care & Life Sciences - Health Care & Life Sciences

Under the Affordable Care Act, a number of significant tax increases go into effect in 2013 and other tax provisions will be implemented during the next several years.

Circuit Court Ruling that NLRB Recess Appointments were Constitutionally Invalid Calls into Question Enforceability of 2012 NLRB Decisions [Labor & Employment Alert]

Publication - Labor & Employment, Labor Relations & Disputes

On Friday, January 25, 2013, in Noel Canning v. NLRB, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that President Barack Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) were constitutionally invalid, throwing into question the enforceability of all NLRB decisions issued by the Board since January 2012. The petitioner in the case argued that a February 8, 2012 NLRB order was invalid because three members of the five-member Board (Sharon Block, Terence F. Flynn and Richard F. Griffin) were improperly appointed as recess appointments.

Michael Schmidt Quoted in Inside Counsel

News - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment

Michael Schmidt, a member of Cozen O'Connor's Labor & Employment Department, discusses leave-related issues and medical conditions in an article titled ''Medical Information Not Confidential If Disclosed in Response to General Inquiry.''

Preventing Claims Spillover: Oil Pipeline Failures and the Environment [Property Casualty 360]

Publication - Insurance Coverage - Insurance

Yearly, many oil pipelines fail, spill crude oil, and cause significant health and environmental damage all across the continental United States, leading to hefty financial implications for the oil companies, landowners, government, and insurers.

Packing Heat in the Workplace [Houston Business Journal]

Publication - Labor & Employment

The devastating shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., beg the question: “What should employers do to protect the workplace?”

Joe Rich Appointed to HAP 2013 Advisory Board

News - Subrogation & Recovery - Insurance

Marsha Cohen, executive director of The Homeless Advocacy Project recently announced that Joe Rich has been appointed to the HAP 2013 Advisory Board. With a legal staff of 13 and a corps of 400 volunteer lawyers, paralegals, and law students, HAP engages in direct outreach to homeless individuals in need of legal services. HAP collaborates with shelter providers, homeless advocates, community service providers and the legal community to provide homeless clients with legal representation and to connect them with other social services.

Supreme Court Rules Floating Home Not a Vessel Under Federal Maritime Law [Maritime Alert]

Publication - Insurance Coverage, Transportation & Trade - Insurance

On January 15, 2013, the Supreme Court, in a majority decision with two justices dissenting, ruled that a so-called “floating home” which did not have self-propulsion and essentially consisted of a house-like plywood structure with French doors floating on an empty bilge space, did not come within the definition of a vessel under 1 U.S.C. § 3 and therefore was not subject to maritime law. Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, docket 11-626, 568 US ___ (1/15/2013).

Michael Schmidt Quoted in Human Resource Executive Online

News - Employment Litigation, Labor & Employment

Michael Schmidt, a member in the firm’s Labor & Employment group, was quoted in an article published in the Human Resource Executive Online titled “Breaking Down the EEOC's Plan.”