PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008 - (Page 23)

NATIoNAL NEWS San Diego Lawyers Win Suit Against Individuals Accused of Defrauding Elderly Clients WHAT oUR CLIENTS SAy ABoUT US M att Dart and Noah Katsell (both San Diego) achieved an extraordinary trial victory in Young v. Comyns, a case against a predatory trustee with a long history of befriending elderly victims and convincing them to sign over their property and valuable assets upon their death. This suit, the second case in which DLA Piper litigated against this trustee, sought relief for the trustee’s insider transactions, self-dealing, breach of fiduciary duty and other fraudulent activity. The firm had previously prosecuted a suit on behalf of a 93-yearold woman who was coerced by the same defendant into granting an option on her home at a strike price. During the case, the team discovered at least three other instances of similar behavior by the trustee dating back to the mid-1970s and, over strenuous objection from the defense, had evidence of those previous bad acts admitted into evidence. The case was difficult to present because many of the events had occurred years before and some potentially helpful witnesses were deceased or incapacitated. Matt and Noah nonetheless proved their case primarily through use of adverse witness testimony—including from the trustee, her fiancé and their real estate and legal advisors. Following their win in the trial court, Matt and Noah are negotiating what they hope will be a favorable settlement. Andrea Yao recently sent the following note of appreciation to Troy Zander (San Diego), who serves as General Counsel to Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest), about the work of San Diego associate Jason Radford. Original Message From: Andrea Yao Sent: Fri, August 22, 2008 12:33 PM To: Zander, Troy Subject: Jason Radford Troy, I know associates rarely get enough credit from clients and I refuse to be one of those types. Jason has been absolutely terrific. He knows his stuff, he’s incredibly responsive and he’s been a huge asset while we find our way through the name change. He has been a pleasure to work with. Andi Andrea Yao Legal Counsel America’s Second Harvest 35 East Wacker Drive Suite 2000 Chicago, IL 60601 312-641-6511 (T) 312-263-5626 (F) ayao@secondharvest.org Matt Dart and Noah Katsell WINTER 2008 | 23

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008

PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008 Contents Cover Story: Digging Deep: DLA Piper’s Signature Project Model CSR Report Feature Story: DLA Piper Assists with German Ghetto Work Payment Program Clinics National News Mapping Impact An Interview With Jeff Coopersmith FourThought New Perimeter Update Awards and Recognition

PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008

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