(From The Idaho Business Review)

Hawley Troxell partner Merlyn Clark is featured in the March/April 2011 edition of The Advocate, the official publication of the Idaho State Bar.
The article, written by managing editor Dan Black, is titled “Portrait of a Litigator” and describes Clark as “a consummate storyteller.” It details Clark’s journey from being raised in Wallace as the son of a Star Mine mechanic to taking high profile cases as an attorney, among other highlights of his life and career.

(By Brian Murphy of The Idaho Statesman)

Idaho will pay reimburse Idaho Republican Party attorneys $100,000 for the party’s closed-primary lawsuit. The state lost the case.

The attorney fees were $143,900, but they will accept $100,000.

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved the move Monday morning by a vote of 14-6.

“This is kind of a darned if you do, darned if you don’t, because you’re taking money from the general fund for this,” said Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum. “I think you just have to plug your nose and vote for this,”

Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, responded, “I think you’re right.”

“Four years ago we did try to avoid this lawsuit, and we were unfortunately unable to do that in this body, so we’re just going to have to kinda pay the price,” Rep. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, said.

The six “no” votes came from Sens. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint; Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle; Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise; and Diane Bilyeu, D-Pocatello; and Reps. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, and Jaquet.

Meanwhile, a bill Monday was introduced to allow political parties to close their primaries.

ANGIE’S LIST: OPPORTUNITY

Attorneys interested in marketing opportunities may consider unlikely places like Angie’s List as a competitive avenue. Co-founder Angie Hicks, now the Chief Marketing Officer, started the company in 1995 in Columbus, Ohio. Angie’s List offers reports and reviews about service companies in geographic areas across the U.S. to consumers who pay a membership fee. Recently I checked www.angieslist.com <http://www.angieslist.com>  to see what attorneys were listed, in which location, and for what practice area. Although a number of service practitioner categories were named (e.g., accountants, cardiologists, pediatrics, psychiatry), there were no listings for attorneys, lawyers, or law firms.

Angie’s List could be an entry for those attorneys who serve matrimonial clients, bankruptcy clients, and other consumers.

To contact Merilee directly click here.

(From KTVB)

BOISE — An effort to get the Idaho Legislature to stop consulting the state attorney general’s office and get its own lawyers has failed in the 2011 session.

Republican Rep. Vito Barbieri, of Dalton Gardens, wanted the Legislature to hire two attorneys for a new “Office of Legislative Counsel.” But the House State Affairs Committee dumped the bill Wednesday — at Barbieri’s request — amid lawmaker concerns.

While Priest Lake Republican Rep. Eric Anderson called the bill “a very bad piece of legislation,” but committee chairman Tom Loertscher countered it wasn’t appropriate to condemn the motives of another lawmaker.

Barbieri was irked with the attorney general’s office over an opinion on a previous bill he sponsored to nullify the federal health care overhaul. His latest measure would have paid for the new attorneys by shifting money from the attorney general’s budget.

(From Idaho Women Lawyers)

Please join us for Idaho Women Lawyer’s Annual meeting on Wednesday April 6, 2011 at 5:00-7:30 p.m at Cafe Ole Restaurant in BoDo (404 S. 8th Street).  IWL’s annual meeting is open to everyone and we encourage all members and future members to join us. We’ll have a cocktail hour, followed by a buffet-style dinner and presentation.  Also during our annual meeting, IWL is looking forward to honoring Wendy Jaquet with the 2011 Kate Feltham Award.  Feel free to bring a friend or two!  The cost to attend the annual meeting and dinner is $20.00 (pay at the event).   RSVP to Nicole Hancock at nchancock@stoel.com.

The annual meeting is also the time to join or renew your IWL membership.   For private sector attorneys dues are $30 and for public attorneys dues are $20.

AMERICAN INNS OF COURT: INSPIRATION

In response to last week’s tip about Hawley Troxell’s Merlyn Clark, Bill Dryden of Elam Burke wrote, “Merlyn is indeed a credit to the legal profession not only in Idaho but in the United States.”

He continued, “At our Inns of Court monthly meeting, each team is named after an Idaho litigator (deceased—usually) of note. The team is charged with presenting a short bio of the person. It is not unusual for friends and colleagues to be invited to share stories as well. It is also not unusual for the surviving spouse to attend and be honored. These legal leaders in Idaho serve as the true inspiration of our Inns of Court chapter.”

Visit www.innsofcourt.org <http://www.innsofcourt.org>  for inspiration about American Inns of Court.

To contact Merilee directly click here.

(From KTVB.com)

BOISE — A northern Idaho lawmaker irked that a bill he sponsored to nullify the federal health insurance overhaul failed says the Legislature should stop consulting the Idaho Attorney General’s office and get its own lawyers.

Republican Rep. Vito Barbieri of Dalton Gardens introduced a bill on Tuesday that calls for the Legislature to hire two attorneys for a new “Office of Legislative Counsel.”

Barbieri’s bill to nullify the health insurance overhaul died in a Senate committee last month. The attorney general’s office advised lawmakers that approving such a law would violate the U.S. and Idaho constitutions as well as lawmakers’ oath of office.

The Spokesman-Review reports that Barbieri’s bill would pay for the two-lawyer office by shifting money from the attorney general’s budget.

(From the Idaho Business Review)

Internet law expert new Zarian Midgley associate

Kennedy Luvai has joined Zarian, Midgley and Johnson PLLC (Zarian Midgley) as the firm’s newest associate. Luvai has significant experience in matters involving Internet law, patents, trademarks and defamation. His practice at Zarian Midgley will focus primarily on intellectual property litigation and commercial litigation.
Luvai is a registered patent attorney who is also licensed to practice law in the states of Oregon and Washington. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, with a minor in mathematics, from Brigham Young University. He earned his law degree at the University of Oregon. Prior to joining Zarian Midgley, he was associated with the law firm of Lindsay Hart Neil and Weigler in Portland.

MERLYN CLARK: PORTRAIT OF A LITIGATOR

In the March/April 2011 edition of The Advocate, the official publication of the Idaho State Bar, Managing Editor Dan Black paints a colorful and compelling picture of Hawley Troxell’s Merlyn Clark in the six-page article “Portrait of a Litigator.” Black, who describes Clark as “a consummate storyteller,” takes readers on Clark’s journey from being raised in Wallace as the son of a Star Mine mechanic to taking high profile cases as an attorney.

Merlyn Clark is a hero in the law firm of Hawley Troxell. After reading Dan Black’s article, the reasons for that admiration are understandable. To see the article, visit page 30 of the link: http://isb.idaho.gov/pdf/advocate/issues/adv11marapr.pdf <http://isb.idaho.gov/pdf/advocate/issues/adv11marapr.pdf> .

How do you share the good stories of your attorneys?

To contact Merilee directly click here.