A federal appeals court in Washington on Thursday morning granted a temporary stay of a judge's controversial ruling blocking funding for human embryonic stem cell research.

The Justice Department asked for the stay Wednesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, noting in court papers that a stay is necessary "to avoid immediate loss of ongoing medical research aimed at curing the most devastating illnesses afflicting Americans."

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has given new life to one of the allegations in former Covington & Burling staff attorney Yolanda Young's racial discrimination suit against the firm. In an opinion handed down Thursday, Judge Reggie Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted part of Young's motion to reconsider a previous order that dismissed several of Young's allegations.

A Delaware Chancery Court judge has ruled in favor of eBay in a shareholder suit against Craigslist and majority shareholders Jim Buckmaster and Craig Newmark.

The ruling rescinds a measure adopted by Craigslist's board that would have blocked a potential hostile takeover by San Jose, Calif.-based eBay Inc. But in a split ruling, the decision also left in place Craigslist's staggered board provisions, which were passed in an effort to remove eBay's board seat.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to reconsider en banc its holding that the antitrust laws are not violated when drug patent holders pay manufacturers of generic alternatives to keep competing products off the market.

The active members of the circuit issued a brief ruling Tuesday saying they had voted to deny rehearing en banc the case of Arkansas Carpenters Health and Welfare Fund v. Bayer AG, 05-2851-cv, in which a three-judge panel in April affirmed summary judgment for Bayer AG on a Sherman Act challenge concerning a so-called "pay-for-delay" agreement involving the antibiotic drug Cipro.

Associate salaries stagnated last year at large law firms, according to data released on Thursday by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP).

NALP said that while $160,000 remained the prevailing starting salary at large firms in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles, a higher percentage of associates last year started with salaries of between $130,000 and $145,000.

A Kansas man convicted of child molestation will get a new trial because of misconduct by the judge and the prosecutor. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled on Sept. 3 that they each crossed the line during the trial of Luther Kemble, who in 2008 was sentenced to 25 years to life for fondling an 8-year-old girl.

The court found that Sedgwick County, Kan., District Court Judge Rebecca Pilshaw improperly questioned and encouraged the girl while she was testifying. The court also found that a Sedgwick County prosecutor violated Kemble's right to remain silent in statements made during closing arguments.

A federal judge has told attorneys with Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal there is no way the firm can represent both an alleged tax fraud conspirator and a cooperating witness for the government.

Southern District of New York Judge William Pauley said that a "clear conflict of interest" exists where one Sonnenschein attorney represents former BDO Seidman partner and now cooperator Adrian Dicker and another represents former BDO Seidman CEO Denis Field.

Field is facing a February trial for an illegal tax shelter conspiracy and is being defended by Robert Fink and Caroline Rule of Kostelanetz & Fink. But Field also hired Sonnenschein partner Mark Flessner to represent him on a single issue -- whether the government interfered with his right-to-counsel during its illegal tax shelter investigation by pressuring BDO Seidman to stop paying his legal fees in 2004.

The former general counsel of D.C.-Baltimore investment bank Ferris, Baker Watts Inc. appears to be off the hook after a Securities & Exchange Commission administrative law judge ruled Wednesday that he did not fail to reasonably supervise a rogue broker.

In a 57-page initial decision that may be reviewed by the SEC commissioners, Administrative Law Judge Brenda Murray found that as general counsel, Theodore Urban "performed his responsibilities in a cautious, objective, thorough, and reasonable manner."

Nearly two years after the arrest of Marc S. Dreier for fraud, the trustee appointed to liquidate Dreier LLP has requested permission to auction off more than 80 artworks formerly owned by the defunct 250-attorney firm (See Motion and List of Items).

The impressive collection boasts three works by Henri Matisse, two prints by Damien Hirst and several pieces by minimalist painter Ellsworth Kelly.

There are also three works by Frank Stella, three lithographs by David Hockney, a Willem de Kooning and a number of pieces by unknown artists, including a photo of Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro from the 1995 movie "Heat."

U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas of Houston has denied a motion for contempt that R. Allen Stanford filed in his insurance coverage case. On Aug. 19, Stanford filed the motion seeking a contempt finding against Stanford Financial Group's insurance companies on the ground they allegedly failed to meet a court-ordered reimbursement schedule for his criminal defense costs. Details of the motion are unavailable because it was filed under seal.