Tales from the Tomb: Skull and Bones, a secret society at Yale University, is facing a lawsuit in federal court in D.C. brought by the descendants of Geronimo, who claim S & B members plundered his grave in 1918 and have kept his skull on display in a glass case since then, The New York Times reports. The lawsuit was filed on the same day marking the 100th anniversary of Geronimo's death. The heirs want to collect all of Geronimo's remains—wherever they are.
The Big Freeze: The Recorder is reporting that Morrison & Foerster has frozen associate salaries for 2009 and reconfigured its associate discretionary bonuses to as low as $6,000 for 2008. Firm chairman Keith Wetmore said in a memo that while all 2008 bonuses will be paid on Feb. 27, "evaluation-based bonuses" are being altered, The Recorder reports. In other news, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman confirmed imminent reductions after a tipster reported to Above the Law hearing a firm partner talk about layoffs on a train to New York.
Going Home: A Guantanamo detainee who alleged he was tortured is expected to be flown home to England next week, according to a report in The Washington Post, marking the first transfer of a detainee under the Obama administration. Ethiopian native Binyam Mohammed could be released Monday, the same day Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. is set to visit the base with the Justice Department team that is reviewing the cases of the 245 detainees who are still being held there.
At the Top: The BLT reports that Ernst & Young has tapped a former Arnold & Porter partner as the accounting firm's next general counsel, replacing Kathryn "Kay" Oberly, who was confirmed last year as a judge on the D.C. Court of Appeals. Taking over for Oberly is Michael Solender, who joins E&Y after a brief stint as executive vice president and chief legal officer at Seattle-based Washington Mutual. Solender served as general counsel and senior managing director with The Bear Stearns Companies from 2004 until 2008, and worked at Arnold & Porter, in D.C., in the 1990s.
Knocking It Out of Court: A federal judge in California has tossed key evidence in the perjury case against former Giants slugger Barry Bonds, accused of lying to a grand jury about steroid use, The New York Times reports. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said documents tied to Bonds' positive drug tests cannot be used without testimony from Bonds' former trainer, who is refusing to cooperate with the government.
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