Court refuses to block Okla. execution

The Supreme Court has refused to halt the execution of an Oklahoma inmate who claims he is mentally incompetent and ineligible for the death penalty.

The justices said in an order Tuesday that they will not grant a stay of execution to 56-year-old Garry Thomas Allen, who is set to die by lethal injection Tuesday evening at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

Allen was convicted in the shooting death of his fiancée outside a children's day care in Oklahoma City in 1986.

Allen's attorneys had argued that he was incompetent when he entered a guilty plea in the case and that his mental condition has continued to deteriorate. Appellate courts have rejected those claims.

New Jersey Toxic Tort Lawyer

In a toxic tort case, a person or person's estate may seek compensation for injuries caused by exposure to a toxic substance. Toxic substances can seep unknowingly and individuals may be at harm without their knowledge. Exposure can result in serious outcomes and consequences, whether the results are immediate or can appear in the future. Some instances may include birth defects, cancer, mesothelioma, and even death.  Lesser symptoms may include chronic colds, infections, shortness of breath, attention deficit disorder, and hyperactive disorder in children.

If you believe you have been injured due to exposure to a toxic substance, it is vital that you get competent legal representation from an experienced New Jersey / New York toxic tort lawyer who can build your case for a claim or litigation.  The Reinartz Law Firm represents clients who have suffered injuries in a variety of toxic tort cases involving:

    Asbestos related disease, including mesothelioma
    Benzene
    Mold
    Beryllium
    Lead
    Pesticides
    Herbicides
    Improper toxic waste disposal
    Silica
    Manganese
    Dioxin/Agent Orange
    PCBs

The law limits the time in which you may bring a toxic tort claim.  Contact a Bayonne personal injury attorney at the Reinartz Law Firm if you have been critically injured and need to take legal action. Discuss your case with an experienced toxic tort lawyer for the best outcome and compensation for your injuries. To learn more about our services, visit us at http://www.reinartzlaw.com/practice-areas/toxic-torts

Ga. court ruling could tighten foreclosure rules

A court ruling in Georgia could force those foreclosing on homes to disclose who actually owns the loan.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the July 12 ruling by the Georgia Court of Appeals applies mostly to foreclosures that happened from 2008 to 2011. It could leave banks vulnerable to lawsuits filed by those who lost their homes. It could also have consequences for ongoing foreclosures.

The ruling last month said that the name of the owner of a mortgage must appear in foreclosure filings and notices sent to delinquent borrowers. The notice must also reflect whether it was sent by the secured creditor or someone acting on the creditor's behalf.

Many lenders sell their loans to mortgage services that handle paperwork but don't own the loans.

Houston Truck Accident Law Firm - The Salazar Law Firm, PLLC.

Accidents involving 18 wheeler trucks can often result in serious injuries and, at times, even death.  If you are involved in an accident with an 18 wheeler or other commercial vehicle, contact our office immediately.  Failing to seek legal help from an attorney will result in many possible pitfalls that the insurance company is counting on. With trucking traffic increasing on major Texas roadways, accidents involving commercial trucks and 18 wheelers are on the rise.  Our firm helps seriously injured individuals as well as the families of those who have been injured or killed in these devastating accidents.

The Salazar Law Firm has expertise in successfully handling serious personal injury and wrongful death claims involving semi trucks and commercial vehicles. They understand the devastating effects for families after these serious accidents and are here to support you. Their attorneys devote time to achieve favorable results for accident victims and their families through a quick trial period. Learn more at http://www.hurtinhouston.com.

Eugene Family Law Firm - MJM Law Office, P.C.

MJM Law Office, P.C. represents men and women throughout Lane County and surrounding areas in family law cases. Mr. Mizejewski understands the emotional turmoil that can accompany a change in your family dynamics, and he strives to protect your interests. Working in the Eugene, Oregon area, MJM Law Office represents most family law matters including: divorce, child custody, parenting time, child/spousal support, domestic violence, and juvenile dependency and delinquency. Oregon’s divorce laws are codified in Chapter 107 of the Oregon Revised Statutes. Oregon is a no-fault divorce state, which means that the only legal reason required to file a divorce is that you and your spouse cannot get along, and you see no way of settling your problems. The legal term for this is "irreconcilable differences." No evidence of fault or misconduct is required or involved, unless there has been misconduct relating to child custody.

MJM Law Office is an experienced family law firm located in Eugene, Oregon and consistently fight hard for the rights of the victims of family matters and cases. Their attorneys are able to ease one of the most emotionally draining and difficult experiences and ensure that your rights are protected. Let them help you prepare for the future and move on with your life. Visit mjmlawoffice.com for more information.

Ohio man found guilty in septic tank body case

A jury has convicted a man of aggravated murder and other charges in the death of his estranged wife, who was found strangled in a septic tank in southeast Ohio last year.
Hocking County jurors in Logan deliberated for about four hours before returning a verdict Tuesday in the trial of 27-year-old William Inman II. He could face the death penalty when he's sentenced.
His parents also are charged. They are being tried separately in the slaying of his 25-year-old wife, Summer.
Authorities say she was abducted in Logan, strangled with a zip tie and dumped in an underground septic tank behind a church in March of last year.
Inman's parents have pleaded not guilty. They'll be tried later this year.

Court to decide if deportation ruling retroactive

The Supreme Court will decide whether to apply retroactively its 2010 decision that immigrants have a right to be told that a guilty plea could lead to their deportation.

The high court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from Roselva Chaidez, who was in the process of being deported when the court made that March 2010 decision.

Chaidez pleaded guilty to fraud in 2004 after falsely claiming to be a passenger in a car wreck. Authorities started deportation procedures while she was applying for U.S. citizenship in 2007.

Her lawyer never told her that her fraud conviction may lead to her deportation. Chaidez says she should be able to take advantage of the Supreme Court decision that cemented that principle.

Law Firm Marketing - Why do law firms need a good SEO?

Most lawyers who are freshly introduced to the idea of internet marketing will build their website with a design company and then think visitors will start flowing in automatically after the website's initial launch. No matter how professional and aesthetically appealing your website may be, in the web environment today, visitors will never "automatically" attract and roll in. This is why law firms need good SEO and more importantly, why SEO matters if you want your business to be successful.

So what exactly is SEO you say? Surely, you must have heard talk about this recent buzz. And if you haven't, I am here to provide the 411 on everything you need to know about good SEO.

SEO is the acronym given for "search engine optimization" and choosing to invest in good SEO will be the huge factor in improving your law firm website and will also save time and money on other marketing strategies.  There is, however, a possibility at risking damage to your law firm's reputation and website if you do not do your research in advance and end up in the hand's of a careless SEO company. Good SEOs will provide useful services for law firm website owners, including but not limited to:

- content development
- keyword research
- expertise in marketing techniques
- review of your website's structure and content
- advice on technical aspects of website development

In short, SEO-friendly websites allow online robots to analyze the codes and contents of your site. Major search engines like Google and Yahoo then look specifically for keywords, phrases, and web coding in order to rank your website amongst the other competiting webpages. Organic search results is the better resort over Pay Per Click (PCC) advertisement by increasing indexability and because of it's history. Pay Per Click services can cost a hefty sum and may not even produce effective results.

Why should you take my word for it? If I have still yet to convince you on why your law firm needs a good SEO, I'll dissect into all the benefits. A great search optimization company will do more than just generate leads for your website.  Creating a website without incorporating good SEO can pretty much equate to throwing money away. The money invested in building a great website alone will not cut it AND you might even be spending more on other marketing strategies like advertising through other avenues of media.

US justice rejects death penalty law he wrote

As a young state senator 30 years ago, Paul Pfeifer helped write Ohio's death penalty law. Today, as the senior member of the state Supreme Court, he's trying to eliminate it.

It's not uncommon for sitting judges to change their mind on the death penalty — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun famously said in 1994 he would no longer "tinker with the machinery of death" — but Pfeifer may be the only one to argue so ardently against a capital punishment law he himself created, and yet continue to rule on death penalty cases.

"I have concluded that the death sentence makes no sense to me at this point when you can have life without the possibility of parole," Pfeifer said in his most recent public comments, testifying in December in favor a bill to abolish Ohio's law. "I don't see what society gains from that.

After the U.S. Supreme Court declared capital punishment unconstitutional in 1972, states spent several years rewriting their laws. Ohio's first attempt, in 1974, was found unconstitutional, but the second try, when Pfeifer was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was enacted in 1981 and has never been successfully challenged. Lawmakers pledged at the time to draft a law reserved for the most heinous murders.

Ex-head of Nigerian state admits financial crime

A former governor of Nigeria's oil-rich Delta state pleaded guilty in a British court Monday to charges of money-laundering, conspiring to defraud and obtaining a money transfer by fraud, officials said.

James Ibori, 49, entered his plea at Southwark Crown Court. He is to be sentenced on April 16.

Paul Whatmore of the Metropolitan Police Proceeds of Corruption Unit said Ibori's guilty pleas capped an inquiry which began in association with Nigerian anti-corruption investigators in 2005. Ibori was immune from prosecution in Nigeria between 1999 and 2007 when he was serving as governor of Bayelsa state, police said.

"We will now be actively seeking the confiscation of all of his stolen assets so they can be repatriated for the benefit of the people of Delta state," Whatmore said.

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Files Class Action Suit

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of Veolia Environnement S.A. American Depositary Shares during the period between April 27, 2007 and August 4, 2011.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Samuel H. Rudman or David A. Rosenfeld of Robbins Geller at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@rgrdlaw.com. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/veolia/. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint charges Veolia and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Veolia operates utility and public transportation businesses. The Company supplies drinking water, provides waste management services, manages and maintains heating and air conditioning systems, and operates rail and road passenger transportation systems.

The complaint alleges that, during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business and prospects. Specifically, defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose the following adverse facts: (a) that Veolia was materially overstating its financial results by engaging in improper accounting practices; (b) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain its true financial condition; (c) that Veolia failed to timely record an impairment charge for its Transport business in Morocco, Environmental Services businesses in Egypt, Marine Services business in the United States, and for Southern Europe; (d) that the Company’s revenues were being hampered by the renewal of some of its major concession contracts; and (e) that, as a result of the foregoing, defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company and its prospects.

Robbins Geller, a 180-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Atlanta, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations.

http://www.rgrdlaw.com

Girard Gibbs LLP Announces Class Action Settlement

The law firm of Girard Gibbs LLP today announced that two years after bringing a class action case against Securities America, Inc., its corporate parent Securities America Financial Corporation and Ameriprise Financial, Inc., over 2,000 investors throughout the U.S. are receiving checks totaling $80 million. Investors will recover an average of over $30,000 per person.

The distribution represents the last chapter of a lawsuit filed by Securities America customers who purchased private placement investments in Medical Capital Notes and Provident Royalties, which were both revealed to be Ponzi schemes. Girard Gibbs and associated counsel represented the investors and won final approval of the $80 million settlement in Federal District Court in Dallas, Texas on July 25, 2011.

“We are pleased that our clients will recover a substantial percentage of their losses within two years of the date this litigation got underway,” said Daniel Girard, senior partner at Girard Gibbs. “We commend our adversaries for coming to the settlement table in good faith and negotiating a fair compromise with all the affected investors.”

For more information, please access the firm’s web site at www.GirardGibbs.com.

Sidley Austin LLP Expands Project Finance Practice

Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Timothy J. Moran will join the firm as a partner in the project finance practice in Washington, D.C. Mr. Moran's practice focuses on infrastructure project development and finance, where he represents lenders, project sponsors and developers in the development, financing, acquisition and sale of infrastructure projects located in North America, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Mr. Moran's projects include alternative energy (wind, solar and biomass), coal and natural gas-fired facilities, natural gas storage facilities, LNG projects and natural gas pipelines.

"Tim's level of experience in project finance will be instrumental as we continue to expand the firm's ability to represent clients on what are certainly going to be important undertakings in the global economy," said Carter G. Phillips, Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Sidley, and a member of the firm's Management Committee. "He has a highly respected and very dynamic project finance practice that fits perfectly with the firm's significant expansion of its energy practice, as well as our enhancement of project finance capabilities. Tim's practice will be a wonderful complement to our newly established Houston office."

"Sidley provides an ideal opportunity for me to grow my practice on an international platform that is already successful but very well equipped for new opportunities," said Mr. Moran. "I look forward to working with the project finance team in Washington, New York, Houston and Los Angeles, as well as Sidley's highly regarded energy and environmental lawyers in Washington and Houston."

Mr. Moran represents lenders in construction and term financings and equity investors in private placements and tax-based equity investments. Mr. Moran is currently representing both developers and lenders in the structuring and financing of wind, solar and mid-stream oil and gas projects, to be located in the U.S., Latin America and Canada.

With respect to developers, Mr. Moran has represented both large and small sponsors in the development and financing of infrastructure projects throughout North America, Central America, South America, China and numerous countries in Europe and Africa. He has also represented developers in connection with bids on more than 90 major power facilities, acquisitions of individual and portfolios of power facilities, and of gas storage facilities and pipelines. Mr. Moran has also represented developers and lenders in asset sales, as well as whole and partial sales of interests in energy-related companies.

www.rubenstein.com

Houston Auto Accident & Insurance Claims Law Firm

If you've been involved in an auto accident caused by speeding, drunk driving (DWI), unsafe lane changes, following too closely, running red lights & stop signs, reckless truck drivers, or any other cause, we ask you to keep the following in mind: Insurance companies are in the business of making money, not paying policies.  If the insurance company is giving you the run-around, call The Salazar Law Firm today.

If you've been injured in an accident, your claim may be significantly weakened if you don't take the right steps.  Get medical treatment for your pain and injuries as soon as possible.  Insurance companies pay close attention to “lapses in treatment” and whether or not you sought treatment immediately after the accident happened.

The Salazar Law Firm is a Houston based firm that has expertise in defending clients facing auto accidents and insurance claims. Their attorneys understand the physical, emotional, and financial burden an car accident or personal injury can be on an individual and their families. Their goal is to lessen the stress for their clients by managing the complex procedures with insurance companies, medical facilities, and opposing insurance defense lawyers. They have the experience you need and give the attention you deserve. Visit http://www.hurtinhouston.com for more information.