John Cord

According to the American Bar Association, 46 states/territories require mandatory CLE. Maryland is not one of them.

Our New Jersey neighbors have just taken the plunge, and mandated continuing legal education for their lawyers. The New Jersey Supreme Court approved Rule 1:42 (Continuing Legal Education), which requires attorneys to take 24 hours of CLE every two years, including a minimum of four hours on ethics and/or professionalism.

The Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) electronically polled members, and found that responders overwhelmingly (70%) oppose mandatory CLE. 4,312 members responded, out of over 20,000 members.

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The Maryland Judicial Commission on Professionalism is considering whether compulsory education is a logical next step—one subcommittee, the MCLE Committee, supports such a requirement, and the full Commission is set to hear the proposal this month.

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My biggest concern is: what happens to our existing CLE providers when compulsory CLE comes to Maryland? If compulsory CLE is approved in Maryland, will out-of-state CLE providers come in and really hurt local CLE providers, who know the lay of the land, who are in touch with knowledgeable speakers, and who can put together top-notch programs addressing the needs of the bar? Will this hurt the quality of all CLE in Maryland?

WMAR reports that a woman who is apparently the girlfriend of Ravens’ player Terrell Suggs has gotten a restraining order against the linebacker:

Details of the incident are not known. City police say they do not have an arrest record for Suggs, meaning his girlfriend could have gone straight to the court commissioner for the restraining order.

According to court records, the order was filed on Friday during a hearing that took place at 2:00 Friday afternoon.

The order dictates that Suggs shall not abuse, contact, enter the woman’s home.

The next hearing date is scheduled for 1:30pm Friday.

The WMAR story quotes a Ravens press release on the matter saying they are “looking into” the situation, but as of right now that statement is not on the team website. Instead, they have a story on the team monitoring Suggs’ status as it relates to an ankle injury.

UPDATE

Here’s information on the order from the judicial case search website (click on the image for a larger version):

Suggs also has 3 moving violations still listed as active going back to 2003. They include speeding (77 in a 55) and failure to yield right of way on a left turn in Carroll County. He was also charged in Bel Air with speeding (82 in a 65.)

A civil suit filed against Suggs in Baltimore County by the McDonogh Oaks Homeowners Association was dismissed.

Caryn Tamber:

Baltimore attorney Paul W. Gardner II, who has made headlines as counsel for alleged White House party-crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi, has now himself retained a lawyer.

The lawyer, Mark R. Dycio of Fairfax, Virginia, tells me that when the Salahis told the Today show that Gardner had invited them to a Congressional Black Caucus dinner in September–another event they were accused of crashing–Gardner became a witness in their case. As such, Gardner no longer represents the Salahis, Dycio said.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Sarah Fait, Communications Manager, (202) 778-8439, sfait@zuckerman.com

A. PAUL PINEAU JOINS ZUCKERMAN SPAEDER LLP

Baltimore, MD—Zuckerman Spaeder LLP announced today that A. Paul Pineau has joined the firm as an associate. In this position, Pineau will represent individual and institutional clients involved in criminal and civil litigation.

Prior to joining Zuckerman Spaeder, Pineau served as a law clerk for the Honorable Maryanne Trump Barry, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Newark, New Jersey and the Honorable J. Frederick Motz, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Pineau received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Davidson College in 2004 and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2007. While in law school, he served as executive director of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, where he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the student-run legal services organization, including coordinating the caseloads and assignments for more than 50 participating students, staff and attorneys. He also was senior editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. Additionally, Pineau served as a legal intern for the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, Criminal Enforcement Section.

Pineau is admitted to practice in Maryland, as well as in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2009

CONTACT: Pamela Navarro-Watson, Chief Marketing Officer, (202) 778-1992, pnwatson@zuckerman.com

ZUCKERMAN SPAEDER NAMED HIGHLY RECOMMENDED LITIGATION FIRM IN BENCHMARK LITIGATION

Baltimore, MD—Zuckerman Spaeder LLP is pleased to announce that five attorneys from its Baltimore office were named “Local Litigation Stars” and “Future Stars” in Benchmark Litigation. Zuckerman Spaeder also was recognized as a “Highly Recommended Local Litigation Firm” in Baltimore as well as in the state of Maryland.  In addition to these honors received by the firm’s Baltimore office, nine attorneys from the firm’s four other offices were also recognized in the publication.

Between February and June, 2009, Benchmark Litigation conducted hundreds of face-to-face and telephone interviews with the nation’s leading private practice lawyers and in-house counsel. Zuckerman Spaeder’s local and future litigation stars were selected based on consistent stellar client and peer recommendations and an earned reputation for success.

“Following our recognition of as one of the top litigation boutiques in the nation, it’s gratifying to see the firm’s Baltimore office and so many of our individual attorneys get well-earned attention for their work,” said Graeme W. Bush, chairman of the Zuckerman Spaeder Executive Committee. “These attorneys are very deserving of this accolade and we are proud to have them as part of the incredibly talented team of people who have made our firm successful.”

The following Zuckerman Spaeder attorneys were recognized as “Local Litigation Stars” in the state of Maryland:
Gregg L. Bernstein
Herbert Better
Martin S. Himeles Jr.
Cyril V. Smith

The following Zuckerman Spaeder attorney was recognized as a “Future Star” in the state of Maryland:
P. Andrew Torrez

Benchmark Litigation is one of the leading guides to America’s premier litigation firms and attorneys and the only publication on the market to focus exclusively on litigation in the U.S.

For more information please visit www.BenchmarkLitigation.com.

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About Zuckerman Spaeder
Founded in 1975, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP’s attorneys practice in the areas of complex commercial, civil and criminal litigation, as well as in appellate, bankruptcy, food and drug law, government ethics, insurance, legal profession and ethics, public clients, real estate, securities, tax and white collar. The firm is “AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has offices in Washington, DC; New York; Tampa; Baltimore; and Wilmington, DE. In 2009, the firm was named a finalist for “Litigation Boutique of the Year” by The American Lawyer. For more information about the firm, visit its web site atwww.zuckerman.com.