The company that owns the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig argued in federal court Tuesday that plaintiffs should not begin collecting evidence and testimony on the Gulf oil spill until the November deadline for claimants to file suit.

Transocean Ltd. made its arguments in Houston after the federal court there accepted the company's petition to limit its liability in the oil spill to less than $27 million, the amount the company says the sunken rig is worth.

U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison made no rulings Tuesday. He scheduled two more court dates for early June, noting he wants to focus on whether the suit should remain in Texas or move elsewhere and whether depositions should begin immediately.

Ellison indicated he didn't want to wait.

"Is that a luxury we have in this case? Isn't that an awful long delay?" he asked the Transocean attorneys who argued to wait until all the lawsuits have been filed.

Transocean owned the rig that blew up April 20, killing 11 workers and causing one of the worst U.S. oil spills in decades.

The liability limit set by Ellison's court is based on a 19th century federal maritime law. Lawsuits have been filed in numerous states, and Transocean has said it filed its petition under the 1851 Shipowner's Limitation of Liability Act to get all the lawsuits aggregated in one court.

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP and London-based Denton Wilde Sapte LLP have agreed to merge, pending a partnership vote June 9.

Chicago-based Sonnenschein is one of the largest law firms in St. Louis with 750 lawyers, including more than 40 locally.

The merger won’t affect the firm’s operations in St. Louis, according to a Sonnenschein spokesman.

Following the partnership vote, the combined firm will be rebranded SNR Denton, effective Sept. 30. SNR Denton will have about 1,400 attorneys working out of 33 offices in 18 countries. Its two largest offices will be London and New York.

Sonnenschein Chairman Elliott Portnoy will serve as co-CEO of the merged firm alongside Denton’s Chief Executive Howard Morris.

Denton specializes in financial legal advising and represents banks, funds and financial institutions, along with clients in energy and transportation, real estate, technology, media and telecommunications.

Sonnenschein specializes in capital markets, energy, public policy and government regulations, real estate and hospitality, and political intelligence.

A suburban mother once at the center of a national abduction hoax stole more than $700,000 from clients and colleagues at the law office where she worked and posed as her boss before fleeing to Disney World, a grand jury charged Thursday.

Bonnie Sweeten was accused in a 23-count indictment of offenses including fraud, money laundering and identity theft between 2005 and 2009.

Sweeten, a paralegal and office manager from Feasterville, diverted money from clients' legal settlements and other accounts to spend on clothing, jewelry, tanning salons, gym usage, electronics and mortgage payments, prosecutors said. She also fabricated and forged documents including a court order, a driver's license, a passport and mortgage paperwork, an indictment said.

A telephone message left with an attorney for Sweeten was not immediately returned Thursday.

Sweeten, 39, is serving a nine- to 23-month sentence at the Bucks County prison after pleading guilty to identity theft and filing a false police report in connection with last year's hoax.

Sweeten abandoned her car in Philadelphia and called 911 to say she and her daughter had been kidnapped, but she actually fled to Orlando, Fla., and Disney World.

A Charleston accounting firm is suing a Charleston law firm for helping them avoid a visit from the tax man.

Grigoraci, Paterno and Associates filed suit on April 30 against the Law Offices of John R. Mitchell Jr. In their complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court, GPA alleges Mitchell owes them nearly $20,000 for helping prepare the firm's federal, state and local taxes from 2005 to 2007.

In its suit, GPA says it prepared Mitchell's 2005 and 2006 federal and state corporate income tax returns. The work they performed included filing extensions.

For the 2005 calendar year, GPA says it prepared for Mitchell "Forms W-2, W-3, 1099s and other business and payroll tax returns."

Also, during the 18-month period from Jan. 16, 2006, to July 31, 2007, GPA says it performed a variety of accounting services for Mitchell, a former state Senator. Those included quarter tax returns and reports, bookkeeping and unspecified consulting services.

Furthermore, GPA prepared both Mitchell's corporate business license return and Kanawha County property tax return for the 2006-2007 fiscal year. In April 2007, GPA says it also aided Mitchell in complying with an audit performed by BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company.

Since then, GPA alleges Mitchell made payments for the services provided. However, they allege Mitchell still owes $18,900 for which it has "failed and wrongfully refused to pay."

GPA seeks judgment against Mitchell for the outstanding balance of $18,900 plus a one percent late payment charge, attorneys fees, court costs and interest. They are represented by Donald L. Stennett with the Charleston law firm of Robinson and McElwee.

As a scholar, poet and abolitionist, George B. Vashon broke barriers in the 1800s: he was the first black to graduate from Oberlin College, the first black lawyer in New York state and the first black professor at Howard University.

But in his home state of Pennsylvania, where Vashon grew up and studied law, he was twice rejected from practicing law because he was black.

On Tuesday, more than 160 years after Vashon applied to be admitted to the Allegheny County bar, the state Supreme Court ordered that he be posthumously admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania. Vashon's relatives and a Pittsburgh attorney who heard about Vashon's story had asked the court earlier this year to do just that.

"I think it's very important not just as a family matter, it goes far beyond family," said Nolan N. Atkinson Jr., Vashon's great grandson and a lawyer in Philadelphia. "It's very important for all lawyers who are entering this profession to know that there were significant achievements made by African Americans in the 19th century."

Vashon was born in Carlisle in 1824, and his family later moved to Pittsburgh, where he grew up. At 16, he was admitted to Oberlin College and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1844.

Law firm Wolf Popper, LLP announced Monday it has filed a class action lawsuit against investment bank Goldman Sachs on behalf of investors who purchased securities, options or common stock between August 2009 and April 2010. The suit claims Goldman Sachs did not disclose to shareholders that it was under investigation by the Securities Exchange Commission.

The SEC began investigating Goldman in 2008 for its role in the sale of a package of mortgage-related securities that were allegedly constructed and sold with the knowledge it would perform poorly. More recently, the SEC filed formal charges of fraud against the bank and one of its officials.

When the news of the SEC’s suit went public in mid-April, Goldman stock fell 13% in one day. Two weeks later, Goldman’s stock fell more than 9% in a single day.

According to Wolf Popper, Goldman never disclosed to its shareholders the SEC investigation, and knowingly misled investors to think Goldman was committed to its clients’ best interests.

The Wolf Popper press release did not specify a court date or contain any additional information on the suit.