Morning Wrap

No Pay As You Go: A New York attorney was referred to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit after he refused to act on his client’s appeal because the client had not paid his fees in full. The New York Law Journal reports via Law.com that Senior Judge Jon Newman called attorney Douglas Rosenthal’s actions “unacceptable” after he learned that Rosenthal, a solo practitioner in New York City, took an initial retainer fee from an aspiring U.S. citizen and then stopped working when the client fell behind on his payments.

Writing What You Know: The California Supreme Court issued a pair of rulings Monday that will make it easier for prosecutors to draw upon their professional experiences when writing novels or working with screenwriters. The New York Times reports that the court issued one decision that reversed an appeals court ruling that disqualified a prosecutor who opened his files in a pending case to the filmmakers of “Alpha Dog.” The second decision reversed a similar ruling against a prosecutor who had written a novel that closely resembled a second pending case.

Influence Spending: The Center for Political Accountability has slowly convinced several major companies to disclose how much they spend in influencing the government, The Washington Post reports. Companies including Chevron, Aetna, and Hewlett-Packard have revealed a little more about where they send their lobbying money. Shareholder pressure has led some corporations to break their traditional silence regarding their connections to powerful lobbies.

Partner Defections: The managing partner at the San Diego office of Heller Ehrman left the firm to join DLA Piper as a partner. The Recorder reports via Law.com that Craig Andrews, a former attorney with Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, is the fifth former Brobeck partner to leave Heller Ehrman’s San Diego office since April. At least three of the four who left last month reportedly had conflicts with Stephen Ferruolo, who was replaced by Andrews as head of the office's corporate practice, in 2006. Ferruolo now heads Goodwin Proctor’s San Diego office.