Rupert Plucks ‘Journal’ From Its Home and Carries It Back to His LairMEDIA
• Like a bird of prey with a juicy morsel in its claws, Rupert Murdoch is moving the Journal back to his midtown News Corp. nest to feast on its carcass. New plans include more entertainment coverage and a sports page! [NYT]
• A mouse was spotted at the Times building! And as all apartment dwellers know, for every mouse you see, there are seven you don’t see. [Gawker]
• The Writers Guild has struck a deal that allows them to write for the Grammys. Good thing, because improvised speaking never really sounds as good as improvised music. [USAT, Vulture]
company town
Burt Neuborne Still Fighting for FeesLAW
• Holocaust survivors continue to dispute Burt Neuborne’s millions in legal fees, despite a judge’s call for a truce. [New York Law Journal]
• When you sue your law firm for giving you bad advice, the attorney-client privilege is gone, ruled a Manhattan appeals court in a 4-1 decision. [New York Law Journal]
• The future of Diet Coke is at stake! The Equal v. Splenda trial starts on Monday. [NYT]
the follow-up
Holocaust-Reparations Lawyer Will Likely Get Paid Back in October, Joel Siegel’s feature in New York told the story of Burt Neuborne, an NYU law professor who took on the monumental task of extracting Holocaust reparations from Swiss banks. In the eyes of some survivors, Neuborne went from hero to villain the moment he submitted his bill: $4,760,000 for 8,178 hours spent working on the case over eight years, or roughly $582 an hour. Prominent Jews registered their disgust with Neuborne, calling his request for payment “a moral disgrace.” A federal judge suggested on Thursday that Neuborne receive $3 million, an amount that will have to be approved by a federal district judge. Neuborne said he had “no quarrel” with the proposed fee, and Magistrate Judge James Orenstein asked the litigants to agree on an amount: “I appeal to each individual participant in this litigation to find a way to continue to help redress the evil the Nazis began so long ago rather than let it continue to spread rancor among its victims.”
$3 Million Fee Suggested for Neuborne for Work on Holocaust Survivor Issues [Law.com]
Getting His Due [NYM]