Weekly Briefs: Fired reporter drops Dechert suit; Hunter Biden’s lawyer resigns

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Weekly Briefs: Fired reporter drops Dechert…

News Roundup Weekly Briefs: Fired reporter drops Dechert suit; Hunter Biden's lawyer resigns

By Debra Cassens Weiss

August 18, 2023, 2:39 pm CDT

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Fired reporter drops suit against Dechert

A reporter who said he was fired from the Wall Street Journal because of information released in a “hack-and-smear operation” has dropped his lawsuit accusing Dechert of participating in the scheme. Reporter Jonathan “Jay” Solomon did not indicate whether a settlement was reached. Suits by Solomon and one of his sources claimed that the hacking was intended to silence the source’s complaints about human rights abuses by a Dechert client. Leaked emails between Solomon and the source created an appearance of unethical dealings between the two, but they never happened, Solomon said. (Reuters, Law360)

Hunter Biden’s ex-lawyer will testify on his behalf

Christopher J. Clark has resigned as a lawyer for Hunter Biden, a son of President Joe Biden, so he can testify on the younger Biden’s behalf. Clark contends that a plea deal diversion agreement with an immunity provision is legally binding. The U.S. attorney in Delaware prosecuting the younger Biden, David C. Weiss, was appointed last week as special counsel in the case. (The New York Times, NBC News)

Judge suspended for funneling charity funds to court improvements

A judge in St. Joseph County, Indiana, has been suspended for 45 days without pay. Judge Jason A. Cichowicz of South Bend, Indiana, was accused of using his role as a charity trustee to donate funds for court improvements, some of which were performed by his father’s companies. Cichowicz hid the source of the funds from county officials. In a statement, Cichowicz said the money was used for court business and not for personal gain. He also said his father’s companies received the market rate for their work. (WVPE, WISHTV, the Indiana Lawyer, the Legal Profession Blog, the Indiana Supreme Court’s suspension decision)

2 Pennsylvania law schools will reunite

Pennsylvania State University’s plans to reunite its two law schools have been approved. The two schools are Penn State Dickinson Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Penn State Law at University Park. The new name of the combined schools will be Penn State Dickinson Law. The process to unite the schools is expected to take several years. (Law.com)

Orrick sued for data breach

A proposed class action lawsuit blames Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliff for a data breach that exposed the information of more than 152,000 people. Orrick has agreed to provide credit monitoring to data breach victims, but the suit said that’s not enough. The case is Werley v. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. (Reuters, Bloomberg Law)

UnitedLex faces suit for data hack

Alternative legal services provider UnitedLex is facing a lawsuit over an alleged data breach said to have exposed the information of more than 7,600 people. The case is Glusky v. UnitedLex. (Law.com)

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