An attorney sees a court's opinion upholding e-mail privacy as potentially groundbreaking and possibly helpful to his client, the founder of a company that sold male enhancement pills.

Lawyer Martin Weinberg said Wednesday that e-mail evidence should have been excluded from the government's case against Steven Warshak, who was convicted of fraud and other crimes related to his Ohio company. It sold products including Enzyte pills, known for their "Smiling Bob" commercials.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati threw out Warshak's 25-year sentence Tuesday. The court also said Warshak's rights were violated when investigators obtained his e-mails without warrants, but it upheld his convictions.

Gov. Chris Christie approved a law firm with expertise in federal transit issues to help challenge a $271 million tab the federal government says the state owes for a canceled rail tunnel.

Christie's office said the governor had signed off Thursday on the selection of the Washington, D.C., firm of Patton Boggs. Rodney Slater, who served as U.S. transportation secretary under President Bill Clinton, and former Republican U.S. Sen. Trent Lott are among the partners.

"We're delighted to have been engaged by the state," said Stuart Pape, the firm's managing partner. The firm, which has an office in Newark, is assessing its strategy, Pape said.

Christie killed the $8.7 billion tunnel from New Jersey to New York City on Oct. 27, citing potential cost overruns that he said could add $2 billion to $5 billion or more to the price.

The federal government and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey each contributed $3 billion to the project, while New Jersey's share was $2.7 billion. The state and Port Authority were responsible for overruns.

Christie is fighting a bill for the return of federal money already spent on engineering and construction of the tunnel. The Nov. 24 bill from the Federal Transit Authority seeks payment within 30 days.

"It's not surprising that the same federal transit agency that had no clear way to pay for cost overruns of a project already hurt by poor planning and inequitable cost sharing is relying on bureaucratic power plays to wring even more money out of New Jerseyans," Christie said in a statement Thursday.

The law firm of Cunningham, Mitchell & Rocconi welcomes two attorneys, Elizabeth "Sissy" Rankin and Roman Hankins.

Rankin returns to the firm after serving as a General Sessions and Juvenile Court judge in Montgomery County.
Hankins returns to his hometown after graduating from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville with a bachelor of business administration degree and a doctor of jurisprudence.

"We are very honored to have both Sissy and Roman join us," said Jack Mitchell, senior partner of the firm, in a news release. "Sissy's experience as a judge brings additional value to the litigation practices of our firm, and we are excited about Roman's potential after graduating UT with honors."

Larry Rocconi, another partner of the firm, sees additional opportunities for growth with the new hires. "We have been very fortunate in this economy to have an active practice and loyal clients. By getting Sissy back and bringing Roman on board, we can continue to provide existing and new clients with a high level of service in a timely fashion."

Rankin and Hankins said they share in the enthusiasm at Cunningham, Mitchell & Rocconi. "When my term as General Sessions judge ended, I knew that I wanted to come back to a strong law firm with a great reputation, both among lawyers and the community as a whole. I'm proud to be back with these gentlemen."

The Securities Law Firm of Menzer & Hill, P.A., www.suemyadvisor.com, announced today it filed an arbitration claim against NEXT Financial Group (“NEXT”), for its failure to supervise one of its financial advisors who engaged in unauthorized and excessive trading within an investor’s account.

Consistent with the arbitration claim this Firm just filed, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (“FINRA”) BrokerCheck website, on November 10, 2010, states that NEXT “did not have a reasonable system for reviewing the transactions of its registered representatives for excessive trading.”

Gary Menzer, co-founder and managing partner of Menzer & Hill, P.A., says “the $400K fine and regulatory action FINRA assessed against NEXT is not surprising considering the activity we uncovered in the account of one of our clients and customer of NEXT.”  Investors are encouraged to contact Menzer & Hill, P.A. if they believe their accounts are being excessively traded by their brokers or are subject to other abuses.

The attorneys at the Securities Law Firm of Menzer & Hill, P.A. are dedicated to pursuing claims on behalf of investors who have suffered investment losses. 

For a free case evaluation or to discuss this matter, please contact the Securities Law Firm of Menzer & Hill, P.A., at 888-923-9223, or visit us on the web at www.suemyadvisor.com

The Securities Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes ("K&T"), www.nasd-law.com, announced today that it filed a securities arbitration claim against Securities America on behalf of a 69 year old retiree from Arizona, seeking to recover $230,000 which was invested in Medical Capital Notes.

In August of this year, Montana's Commissioner of Securities filed a Notice of Proposed Agency Disciplinary Action against Securities America relating to its sales of Medical Capital Notes. According to the Notice, Securities America "withheld material information regarding heightened risks" from its registered representatives and their clients concerning Medical Capital Notes. Montana's Commissioner of Securities also alleged that Securities America "concealed these risks" from its brokers and their clients. Additionally, in 2009, Massachusetts' Securities Division filed a Complaint against Securities America relating to its sales of Medical Capital Notes. Massachusetts alleged that Securities America ignored their own due diligence analysts and sold Medical Capital Notes to unsophisticated investors without telling them about the risks involved.

While a class action lawsuit regarding Medical Capital Notes has been filed, K&T reminds investors of the benefits of filing an individual securities arbitration claim, as opposed to participating in a class action lawsuit. By participating in a class action lawsuit, an investor may only recover a nominal amount. However, if one has experienced significant losses in Medical Capital Notes, it may be more beneficial for them to file an individual securities arbitration claim. In 2003, K&T conducted a detailed study of securities arbitration versus class action. The study concluded that investors who file a securities arbitration claim traditionally obtain an overall higher rate of recovery as opposed to participating in a class action lawsuit. To view the full results of the comparison, please visit our web-site: http://www.nasd-law.com/documents/classvr.pdf

Investors who purchased Medical Capital securities from a full-service brokerage firm and sustained significant losses can contact K&T to explore their legal rights and options. The attorneys at K&T are dedicated to pursuing claims on behalf of investors who have suffered investment losses. K&T, an experienced, qualified and nationally recognized securities litigation law firm, practices exclusively in the field of securities arbitration and litigation. It continues its representation of investors throughout the world in securities arbitration and litigation matters against major Wall Street brokerage firms.

If you have information relating to this announcement or have investment losses of $100,000 or more in Medical Capital Notes, please contact Steven D. Toskes, Esquire or Jahan K. Manasseh, Esquire of Klayman & Toskes, P.A., at 888-997-9956 or visit us on the web at http://www.nasd-law.com.