Waiting Game

No new securities class action decisions came out over the past two days, so I’m just waiting on one. I’m also waiting on Ernesto, so if there’s no posts later this week it’s because there’s no power where I live in Boca Raton, South Florida. Looks like it’s going to be a (relatively) small storm, but you never know. Believe me, I’m certain that the power poles here in Florida are made of solid Gingerbread.

Death in the Family

The Nugget will be back full-speed soon, as I plan on starting back up this Monday August 28, so don’t worry. In the meantime, I have some awful news. Last week, attorney Craig Rieders (pictured) died suddenly and unexpectedly. He was only 46 years old.

For those of you who didn’t know him, Craig served as one of the lead bankruptcy counsel in the Enron securities class action, and many other cases in our field. Craig also served as bankruptcy counsel in several of my cases, and was a tremendously talented and street-smart attorney. I mediated a case with him last year with his assistance, and as anyone knows you can really get to know someone if you are in a room together for 12 hours. I can only imagine how devastated his family, friends, and colleagues must be, and I send my deepest sympathies to each of them. Whenever I saw Craig, he always had a new story or joke to tell, and he was always laughing and in a great mood. What a terrible terrible tragedy. I will miss him.

Nugget Lite

Well, I took the plunge and resigned my partnership with my current firm. So Nugget posts are probably going to decrease a little in frequency as I have joined Saxena White, P.A., where I will be heading up the litigation department alongside my long-time friends and colleagues, Maya Saxena and Joe White. In the firm’s first two months in operation, we’ve already been appointed lead and/or co-lead counsel in several securities class actions, so we’ll have plenty to do.

O.K., O.K., the shameless plugging is over (for today only though), I know what’s really on your mind — you’re thinking, who gives a crap about Jones’ career, without my Nugget, I’m going to have to read some of these new opinions myself — oh, the sheer horror! But never fear, I’ll try to post about twice a week, and in a couple months, I intend to return to full posting level.

Anyway, thanks again to all you loyal Nugget subscribers and readers — the site should reach 50,000 total hits this week — you make all the work that goes into this blog worthwhile.

Welcome, and Where are the Female Law Bloggers?

Let’s all give a warm welcome to two new securities related blogs. The first is Lies, Damn Lies, & Forward Looking Statements, from Adam T. Savett, which actually has been around for about four months, and I must say is quite amazing for the depth of its analysis and quality of its links. The other is D&O Diary, brought to you by Kevin LaCroix. The Diary, which is brand spankin’ new, also looks like it’s going to be a big hit. Let’s hope it’s around longer than the totally lame D&O Insurance Blog by some guy named Dorenberg who cranked out a bakers’ dozen posts over two months before fizzling out in August 2005.

Boy, am I going to feel like an ass if something bad happened to Dorenberg. My sincere apologies if that’s the case. And now that I think about it, the site only lists a last name, so it could be a woman. Sorry about that, I assumed it’s a guy, as word on the blogging street is that legal blogs are overwhelmingly written by male lawyers, and if anyone knows the reason(s) please enlighten us. I mean, just look at our area, securities law — about eight major blogs, all by men. I checked around the web, and found this post called Women & Blogging, which might just explain why. Thoughts anyone? (You can click the comment link below, and yes you can be anonymous if you want, and no registration is required).

Nugget from June 6, 2006 American Lawyer article: “To be sure, legal bloggers are still working through their growing pains. Debate rages among them about whether law review articles are relevant anymore, whether blogging counts as real scholarship, whether junior faculty should avoid blogging until they gain tenure, why women tend to eschew legal blogs, what counts as a legal blog, and so on.”

Club Fed is Dead

Turns out trying to beat the rap is only half the battle if you are convicted on securities fraud charges. You see, once the jury has sealed your fate, the real game begins — where to serve your 20 year stint. That’s because our friends over at the BOP let you request where you’ll go. Of course, like most things in prison, you had better ask nicely as BOP can send your wimpy butt pretty much anywhere they want. So if you’d like to see Forbes’ take on the best places to go to prison, click here (check out the slide show too).

P.S. Don’t panic everyone, the Nugget will be back tomorrow with another new securities class action opinion. There weren’t any new ones today anyway.

Nugget: “The days of ‘Club Fed’–think golf courses and lobster bakes–are long gone.”

Happy Birthday Nugget

Well, it seems like just yesterday that I started this site, but the Nugget turns one year old today. And there’s going to be some changes around here. Did you know I have never used the words “I” or “me” on the Nugget. It’s true, and actually I’m not really sure why. But enough is enough.

Don’t worry (as if you would), the Nugget is still going to be your source for emerging securities class action law, but I’d like to branch out a little more. So be sure to email me any juicy or interesting securities class action happenings, because I might just write about it. Anyway, thank you all for your loyal readership, it’s both exciting and humbling that over 250 of you have signed up for daily email updates from the Nugget. And I guess nearly 50,000 hits in 12 months isn’t too shabby either. So again, thank you and come back again soon. Nugget 2.0 is just gettin’ started, and it’s sure to offend someone near you soon, so don’t miss it.

Wilma Imposes Temporary Break on Nugget

She is about to speak, and power is likely to be cut soon in South Florida. When it goes (and it always does) the Nugget will be on temporary leave. But fear not, the Nugget shall return as soon as FPL decides it’s time. By the way, in last Friday’s article (October 21, 2005, Get Your Snake Oil Here), the Nugget made reference to Telly Savalas (Kojak ring a bell?) in relation to the Diner’s Club card. An astute reader has pointed out that it was the Player’s Club (scroll down) instead. While who among us doesn’t recall with fondess Telly’s scene-stealing performance as villian Ronald ‘Foots’ Pulardos in 1963’s The Man from the Diner’s Club, the Nugget stands corrected. Player’s Club it was. Sure hope Ed Fishman doesn’t find out, he’s not going to be happy.

Nugget to Use FeedBlitz for E-mail Updates

Thanks to Bruce Carton for pointing out a superior service to Bloglet for generating the e-mail updates. From now on, all 110 of you (and growing) will receive your Daily Nugget through a service called FeedBlitz instead of Bloglet. This e-mail is automatically sent out shortly after midnight each day. Please be aware that some company and firm’s spam filters are aggressive and may block e-mails from FeedBlitz. Do not panic, as this is simple to resolve. If you fail to receive e-mail updates, please ask your IT Department to add FeedBlitz@mail.feedblitz.com as an approved sender for your company or firm. If you fail to receive the e-mails to your personal address, please be sure your junk mail filters are not set to block e-mails from this address. Please be assured FeedBlitz does not engage in spam of any type.

Again, thanks for tuning in, and hope you continue to keep updated on the latest reported securities cases with the Nugget. If you are not signed up, please enter your e-mail address at the top of this page, and click the “Subscribe” button. It’s that simple, and you can unsubscribe at the click of a button anytime you want. Nugget out.