MLM Counties News. Notices. Need-to-know Information.

It’s remarkable enough to earn a law degree from Columbia Law School, let alone have it become almost a footnote in one’s epic life story. But that was the case for Paul Robeson, barrier-smashing actor, athlete, political activist and, briefly, attorney.

Joplin hospital system Freeman Health System agreed to pay $9.3 million over allegations it gave doctors incentive pay for Medicare referrals in violation of federal law, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Jim Wirken, a former president of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, formally lost his law license of 42 years on Friday. In an order, the Missouri Supreme Court accepted his offer to “voluntarily surrender his license to practice law in this state.”

Stuart Taylor has co-written, with Richard H. Sander, a professor of law at UCLA, an influential book highly critical of affirmative action. I am hesitant to write about it, first, because he is a friend (who I’d like to keep), and second, because the book is intimidating, both in its statistics and in its evident good will.

As the hurricane barreled toward the nation’s Mid-Atlantic region Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court was the only government office open in Washington as the justices considered a copyright case that could have thunderous repercussions.

Merck & Co. has agreed to pay at least $39 million into a fund to settle a Missouri class-action lawsuit over the marketing of anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx, according to a tentative settlement agreement.

When a man’s house has burned down and there’s a dispute over who’s at fault, discovery is a time to ask the crucial questions that will get to heart of the matter — questions like whether the homeowner was having an affair with his interior decorator.

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens wants four words added to the Constitution — a move he said would better allow the federal government to respond in times of crisis.

Ron Schlechta, who recently bought a couple of packs of cigarettes at Discount Smoke Shop near his home in St. Charles, said that even if a major cigarette tax hike passes on Tuesday, he probably will continue to light up.

Russ Welsh, the longtime chairman & CEO of Polsinelli Shughart, is the new chair of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Welsh succeeds outgoing chair Frank Ellis, chairman & CEO of Swope Community Enterprises.

The U.S. Supreme Court debated what limits should apply to the use of police dogs trained to sniff out illegal drugs, as the justices sought to balance privacy interests against the needs of law enforcement agencies.