Legally Speaking - Legal Recruiter Blog

On December 8, 2008, the new Uniform Municipal Deed Registration Act took effect in Pennsylvania, providing a more timely process for recording deeds in counties and also for registering deeds in local municipalities.

Its purpose is to counteract land fraud by requiring prompt public recording of land transfer documents and by allowing municipalities to set additional local requirements in a uniform manner.

The PA UMDRA was signed into law on October 9, 2008 as Act 110 of 2008 (formerly H.B. 1634, P.N. 4003). It establishes uniform procedures for a local municipality to provide a registry for deeds or conveyances in addition to the recording of documents with a county recorder of deeds. A municipality cannot require a county to effect a parallel municipal registration of such documents, but a municipality and a county’s recorder of deeds may enter into an agreement whereby the county will share information regarding conveyances of property.

The Intelligencer (Philadelphia, PA) published an article on December 24, 2008, entitled “New law helps limit deed fraud” by Amanda Cregan, who quoted the Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds as to the new law’s effect:

Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds Nancy J. Becker says the new law not only streamlines the process among municipalities and counties, but also protects the new homeowner.

“We’re really delighted because, if for any reason, if there is a delay in recording a deed, the possibility of fraud being committed against that property increases,” said Becker, in her fifth year in office. “If people aren’t paying attention and deeds aren’t being recorded in a timely fashion, then things can happen.”

In the gap between when a homeowner purchases a home and when the deed is recorded, a thief can obtain a copy of that deed and have it transferred fraudulently. * * *

Land fraud, based on bogus conveyancing documents, can occur. See: “Scam Alert: Bad Deeds” by Sid Kirchheimer, published in the AARP Bulletin (Dec., 2008), as reposted online by the Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds Office.

Retransfer of The Empire State Building, in New York City, took only ninety minutes, as reported by The New York Daily News in “It took 90 minutes for Daily News to ’steal’ the Empire State Building” (12/02/08) by William Sherman.

In one of the biggest heists in American history, the Daily News “stole” the $2 billion Empire State Building.

And it wasn’t that hard.

The News swiped the 102-story Art Deco skyscraper by drawing up a batch of bogus documents, making a fake notary stamp and filing paperwork with the city to transfer the deed to the property. * * *

The massive ripoff illustrates a gaping loophole in the city’s system for recording deeds, mortgages and other transactions.

The loophole: The system — run by the office of the city register — doesn’t require clerks to verify the information. * * *

“Crooks go where the money is. That’s why Willie Sutton robbed banks, and this is the new bank robbery,” said Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Richard Farrell, who is prosecuting several deed fraud cases. * * *

One Pennsylvania city, Philadelphia, experienced so many land fraud cases, its Council and Mayor acted to curb abuse. According to “Philadelphia City Council Amends Deed Recording Standards ” (08/08/08) posted by the PA Notary Blog, hosted by the Pennsylvania Association of Notaries, “as of April 2008, Philadelphia had received 454 reports of suspected land fraud since 2000.”

Philadelphia City Council unanimously passed a bill that amends Title 2 of the Philadelphia Code.

The amendment adds a new chapter providing that prior to the recording of any deed, a check of record ownership must be conducted by the Department of Records.

Appropriate documentation must be submitted to the Department with certain deeds for the delivery of deeds to the Department of Records must meet certain requirements. Finally, the record owner must be notified prior to the recording of any deed. * * *

Mayor Michael Nutter signed the bill on Aug. 14, and the ordinance will go into effect on Nov. 3 [, 2008]. * * *

See also: “Philadelphia Changes Deed Recording Requirements” (11/04/08) posted on the notaries’ blog.

PA’s new Act was noted by The Home Equity Theft Reporter in a posting on December 28, 2008, entitled “New Pennsylvania Law To Make It Tougher For Deed Theft Scammers To Heist Homes.”

For consumers or fiduciaries, however, the new law should be transparent in effect, according to The Intelligencer’s article:

Homeowners shouldn’t worry about the new changes, said Bucks County Recorder of Deeds Edward R. Gudknecht.

“Most of the time your title companies and the attorneys that deal in real estate will make sure this is followed through,” he said.

Neil E. Hendershot, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a practicing & teaching lawyer, who works daily in the legal areas covered by the PA EE&F Law

The economy may be slowing, but billing rates continued to rise, according to information provided by 127 law firms that responded to billing questions submitted as part of the NLJ 250, The National Law Journal’s annual survey of the nation’s largest law firms.

Billings climbed by an average of 4.3%, 70.6% of firms increased billings this year, and one firm broke the $1200 an hour mark.

The average of the average firmwide billing rate for 2008 was $363 per hour, compared with $348 in 2007. The average of the median firmwide rate this year was $350 per hour, compared with $347 per hour last year.

More Here…

Conventional wisdom has it that in an economic downturn large law firms fare better than small boutique firms because of their diversified practice areas – when one area Is not doing so well, structured finance or real estate for example, complimentary areas of practice, bankruptcy for example, will help balance things out.

Some boutique firms are not faring well in this economy, but others are prospering.  Boutique firms generally have lower overhead costs than large firms, little to no major debt, more flexibility to accommodate clients looking to cut their legal costs and lower billing rates overall.

In what may be a first, the late actor Paul Newman noted in his will that his executors should prevent any “virtual performance or reanimation of any performance by me by the use of any technique, technology or medium now in existence or which may be known or created in the future anywhere in the universe.”

Dead celebrities have popped up in several commercials over the past few years including a Diet Coke in which Elton John performed for Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and Louis Armstrong, John Wayne shilling for Coors Light and, in perhaps the worst misuse of a dead celebrity, the Super Bowl ad featuring Fred Astaire dancing with a Dirt Devil Broom Vac and Ultra Hand Vac.

In what should be news to no one consultant Douglas Richardson writes in an Altman Weil publication that narcissists with big egos lead many law firms.  No, really?

I hope Altman Weill didn’t pay him too much for this stunning bit of research.

Story here…

Unlike most of their American cousins, some British law firms expect to do very well in the first half of fiscal 2008-2009 (November 08 to April 09).

Lovells, Norton Rose, Trowers & Hamlins and CMS Cameron McKenna are all expecting double-digit revenue growth for the first six months of the year.

Norton Rose expects to see an 11% increase in revenues over the first half of 2008-09, Cameron McKenna and Lovells both expect a 10% increase and Trowers may see revenues increase by as much as 15%.

Details here

The NLJ 250 is out. 

The National Law Journal’s annual survey of the country’s largest law firms shows (no surprise) that hiring slowed significantly in 2008.  Seven large firms announced layoffs this year and two major firms on the list, Heller Ehrman and Thelen, dissolved, affecting about 1200 attorneys.  DLA Piper stayed at the top of the list and K&L Gates climbed into the top ten firms

Among the findings:

Growth is down.  The top 250 firms increased attorney ranks by 4.3%, compared to 5.6% in 2007. 

16 firms entered or left the list with several firms from the south and east entering the list and several from the Midwest leaving.

K&L Gates grew significantly, becoming one of the ten largest firms for the first time through mergers and lateral hires.

The credit crisis led to layoffs at several large law firms.  Seven large firms announced layoffs totaling more than 200 attorneys.  Hundreds more lost jobs with the dissolution of Heller Ehrman and Thelen.

Former O’Hara, PA councilman and attorney Samuel Pontier was convicted of setting a house on fire with his bedridden daughter inside.

Pontier resigned from the state bar following his conviction in February of various crimes in connection with the Dec. 29, 2006, fire at his family’s home and his license was suspended in February of 2007.  

Mr. Pontier told investigators he started the fire because he was frustrated his estranged wife kept an untidy house.  His daughter, Kristin, 17, who has cerebral palsy and was unable to flee the blaze, suffered smoke inhalation and burns to her esophagus.

Pontier had been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, risking a catastrophe, criminal mischief, two counts of arson and three counts of reckless endangerment, but prosecutors withdrew the charge of attempted homicide when the suspect cooperated with the police investigation.  Pontier plead guilty to charges of aggravated assault and arson, and the other counts were withdrawn.  He was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison and a long probation on his release.

The disciplinary board of the Pennsylvania bar finally ordered him disbarred October 30, 2008.

It may come as a surprise to many to know that, in most states, disbarred attorneys are permitted to work as paralegals.  Only Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wisconsin have a total ban against disbarred and suspended attorneys working as paralegals.

A lot of the work that is performed by paralegals is also practiced by attorneys.  This means that there is a potential for disbarred and/or suspended attorneys to cross the line into the illegal practice of law.  Allowing disbarred and suspended attorneys to practice as paralegals condones unethical behavior, puts the public at risk and creates further negative perceptions of the legal profession.  Allowing disbarred and suspended attorneys to work as paralegals minimizes the severity of the act that caused their disbarment and/or suspension

Those in favor of allowing suspended attorneys to work as paralegals or law clerks argue that working in the legal profession will allow the attorney to maintain legal skills and competency while addressing the issues that caused his/her suspension or disbarment.  When someone applies for reinstatement, the testimony of an attorney employer can be persuasive.

The role of a paralegal has evolved over time from glorified secretary to quasi-lawyer.  Paralegal duties include drafting pleadings and discovery documents, conducting legal research, interacting with various courts and court personnel and heavy client contact.  A paralegal is placed in a role of trust both with the employer and the public.  That trust is jeopardized when the “paralegal” is a suspended or disbarred attorney.

Would you want a disbarred attorney working on your case in any capacity?

The latest litigation trends report is based on responses from 358 participating companies — including company officials who serve as general or deputy-general counsels for their firms. Of that pool, 251 respondents were U.S.-based firms.

The top ten areas most rip for lawsuits were labor and employment matters, contract disputes and personal injury cases, product liability, intellectual property/patents, insurance, environmental-toxic tort, regulatory, class actions and professional services.

A summary of some of the findings: