Tully Rinckey PLLC is pleased to announce the addition of attorney David Myers as an Associate in its Washington, D.C. law office. Myers will focus his practice on federal sector labor and employment law as well as security clearance representation.

David’s practice will provide representation to government employees in all areas of employment law including discrimination claims relating to age, race, gender and sexual harassment. Prior to joining Tully Rinckey, David worked as a Law and Policy Analyst at the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security in Baltimore, Maryland. There, he researched and developed materials discussing tort liability of emergency responders and potential issues associated with emergency powers for Maryland courts.

David has previously served as a Clerk in the Consumer Protection Division & Department of Human Resources at the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. He also was a Law Clerk with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, collaborating with Administrative Judges and independently writing findings of fact and legal analyses for several published EEO opinions.  

David received his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore, MD and was a member of the Labor & Employment Law Trial Advocacy Team. David also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, VA.  He is admitted to practice in Maryland.

For more information about David Myers’ addition to Tully Rinckey PLLC or the firm’s federal labor and employment law practice, please contact Jessica Brociek at 202-787-1900 or via email at jbrociek@tullylegal.com.

A federal appeals court has handed the government a victory by temporarily blocking a judge's finding that Congress shouldn't have halted federal funding to the activist group ACORN.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued the order Wednesday, a day after the government lawyer argued the stay of the ruling was necessary.

The government had argued that it was necessary to block the ruling to ensure that federal agencies were not required to commit funds that have not been appropriated by Congress.

A lawyer for ACORN says it may appeal the decision to the Supreme Court because the cutoff of funds is crippling ACORN and jeopardizing housing for poor people.

A lawyer for a Dallas man trying to divorce the man he married in Massachusetts told a Texas appeals court Wednesday that his client is entitled to a divorce because he had a valid marriage.

But the Texas Attorney General's Office argued before the three-judge 5th Texas Court of Appeals panel that the marriage isn't recognized by Texas, so they cannot get a divorce. Jimmy Blacklock, an assistant Texas solicitor general, said the men's union can only be voided.

"The parties lack standing to file a divorce case because they're not married," he said.

The Dallas men wed in 2006 in Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal, and separated two years later.

Attorney General Greg Abbott appealed a Dallas state district judge's ruling in October that granted a divorce to the men and said the state's same-sex marriage ban violates equal rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Abbott is also appealing an Austin judge's ruling this spring that granted a divorce to two women married in Massachusetts.

Detroit law firm Bodman LLP has opened for business in Dallas by affiliating with Strong & Willcox LLP, a Dallas firm.

Two partners at Strong & Willcox have joined Bodman "of counsel" and will work on transactions requiring a presence in Texas. Staci Strong Heuvel and Misty Willcox will also continue working on non-Bodman work at their own firm.

Bodman, a 140-attorney business law firm based in Detroit, is opening shop in Dallas to follow its clients to Texas.

"Establishing a Texas office positions Bodman to handle more of their local legal needs," said Bodman Chairman Ralph E. McDowell.

McDowell didn't name any names, but Comerica Inc. moved from Detroit to Dallas in 2007.

In announcing the Texas expansion, McDowell said Bodman aims to keep its billing rates low.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor wants judges to report Sudan to the U.N. Security Council for refusing to hand over a government minister and a militia leader accused of atrocities in Darfur.

Luis Moreno Ocampo said in a written request to the court's judges publicized Thursday that Sudan is refusing to arrest Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Harun and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb.

The court ordered the men arrested in 2007 on 51 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

It is unclear what effect — if any — the request will have on Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. He also is wanted by the court for allegedly ordering atrocities in Darfur and has repeatedly refused any cooperation.

Moreno Ocampo said that Al-Bashir's regime "continues to commit crimes, promotes and protects the persons sought by the Court, and harasses all persons who are considered to be in favor of justice."

The Supreme Court Wednesday made it easier for consumers to sue debt collectors for sending erroneous collection notices.

The high court, in a 7-2 opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, ruled that debt collectors can't shield themselves from such lawsuits by arguing that they made a legal error when sending a collection notice.

"We have long recognized the common maxim, familiar to all minds, that ignorance of the law will not excuse any person, either civilly or criminally," Justice Sotomayor wrote in a 30-page opinion.

At issue were the actions of an Ohio law firm that initiated foreclosure proceedings on behalf of Countrywide Home Loans Inc.

The homeowner, Karen Jerman, disputed that the debt existed. Countrywide later acknowledged that Ms. Jerman had in fact paid the debt, and the law firm withdrew the foreclosure lawsuit.

Ms. Jerman then sued the law firm, arguing that it violated federal debt-collection law by stating in its foreclosure suit that Ms. Jerman's alleged debt would be assumed to be valid unless she contested in writing.

A lower court agreed with Ms. Jerman that the firm violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, but ruled that the law firm was shielded from liability because the violation wasn't intentional and was the result of a bona fide legal error.

Justice Sotomayor and the court disagreed, ruling that Congress hadn't explicitly provided a mistake-of-law defense to debt collectors.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, dissented, saying the court's ruling could allow abusive litigation by plaintiffs' lawyers.