May 16 (Reuters) - For Dewey & LeBoeuf, the time may have come for last rites. It has laid off hundreds of employees, been hit with lawsuits for not paying its bills and continued to shed partners, including on Wednesday the last member of its top management team.As late as Wednesday afternoon, however, a spokesman for Dewey insisted the "firm is not formally closed."The defection of Washington, D.C., lobbyist L. Charles Landgraf for Arnold & Porter means there are no partners remaining in Dewey's office of the chairman, a five-lawyer group assembled in March to govern the firm in the face of mounting problems.Stephen Horvath III, Dewey's executive partner in charge of day-to-day operations, appears to now be the top manager of what remains of ... Continue reading →

By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON | Tue May 15, 2012 12:53pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A well-funded U.S. non-profit group using the Internet to find a centrist candidate to run for president said on Tuesday it had failed to generate enough interest in any one nominee. The group, Americans Elect, was creating a third party in which voters were to choose someone challenge Democratic President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the November election.The group qualified to get its candidates onto the ballot in 27 states in November and raised millions of dollars, prompting concern among some Republicans and Democrats that it could affect the outcome in what is expected to be a close election.Americans Elect Chief Executive Kahlil Byrd said no candidate ... Continue reading →

BY BRENT KENDALL In an unusual showdown over government ethics, the Justice Department is challenging former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal over his bid to represent an electronics executive convicted of price fixing. The department says a 1978 ethics law bars Mr. Katyal, who is now in private practice, from representing the former executive of AU Optronics Corp. because his office took part in the case when he was the Obama administration's top lawyer before the Supreme Court. "Mr. Katyal wants to switch from being part of the prosecution team to being part of the defense team," the Justice Department says in a ...BY BRENT KENDALL In an unusual showdown over government ethics, the Justice Department is challenging former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal over ... Continue reading →

The Boston Red Sox had a lousy April, but so far, May has been even worse. They’ve won just once in nine games. They are last in their division and third-worst in baseball, behind even the Chicago Cubs, who have openly embarked on a low-expectations rebuilding season under former Sox general manager Theo Epstein. A handful of Boston’s highest-played players are on the disabled list, and many of their able-bodied ones look like they could use a break, too. But that’s just the bad news on the field. Off it, the last two weeks have brought a mix of tragedy, controversy, and embarrassment. On Wednesday, the team’s public-address announcer, Carl Beane, known for his tradition-marking opening line (“Good evening ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, ... Continue reading →

We'll meet again … a group shot taken for the last time the programme was broadcast, 49 Up, in 2006. A long-lost subject of the classic ITV documentary series that began as 7 Up is returning after a 28-year absence. Peter Davies has gone back to the series after his last appearance in 28 Up when he was a young leftwing schoolteacher and caused a press furore over his criticism of the Thatcher government's education policy. His reason for returning? To promote his new band.You might be forgiven for being a bit depressed about that (and the band's rather ironic name, The Good Intentions). You might think that this classic documentary series, regarded as the first reality show, was above the monomania and self-promotion that ... Continue reading →

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Former Sen. John Edwards aggressively lobbied to become Barack Obama’s vice presidential nominee in 2008 after his own campaign foundered, a Democratic Party stalwart testified Thursday.New York businessman Leo Hindery, Jr., said that Edwards made reaching out to Obama his first priority after losing in the Iowa caucuses — before he even spoke to disappointed supporters. Edwards, Hindery told jurors, asked him to contact the Obama campaign immediately about “joining the ticket with Obama as his vice president.” Continue Reading Hindery, a senior policy adviser on Edwards’s 2008 bid, testified that the ex-senator was essentially willing to trade his endorsement for such a commitment and was eager to do so immediately, before the New Hampshire primary. Edwards’s political ambitions after his 2008 ... Continue reading →

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Callers heaped insults on leading lobbyist Howard Marlowe when he sat in a television studio on Tuesday taking questions during a call-in program."I kind of think that you all are like money-launderers," said one caller to the C-SPAN network identified as "Bob" in Petersburg, Virginia."You are the person between us and politicians. You stand between us and a voice," said "Mike" in Houston.Dressed in a gray suit, tie and a white shirt, Marlowe told the callers in a calm voice they would find they were represented by lobbyists, too, if they knew where to look.The tense exchanges were a rare bridge between the U.S. public and the professionals who are paid to influence officials in Washington. Lobbyists push ideas as diverse as ... Continue reading →

>>> the trial of former presidential candidate john edwards enters its third week today. the attorney for the heiress whose money is at the heart of the case will be back on the stand this morning for cross examination by the defense team. trial watchers are wondering whether edwards ' former mistress rielle hunter will be taking the stand and if she does will it be for the prosecution or for the defense? joined now by jack abramoff author of "capital punishment" and a client of edwards ' attorney and also joined this morning by katherine ross dunham a law professor at elam university. good morning to you both. katherine, i'll start with you. the trial ended friday with a cliff hanger for jurors to ... Continue reading →