Penner Law Firm is pleased to announce that its principal real estate attorney, Scott Penner, is now licensed to provide legal services in Massachusetts. Since 2006, Penner Law Firm has performed real estate closings in Massachusetts through its associate relationships with real estate attorneys. Penner Law Firm will continue to utilize its associate real estate attorney relationships to handle title and real estate transactions on behalf of individuals and lenders. In addition to Massachusetts, Penner Law Firm also employs attorneys licensed to practice in Connecticut, New York, Delaware, Georgia and South Carolina.

Mr. Penner believes that becoming licensed in Massachusetts will enable the firm to provide legal services more efficiently. It will also open up the practice to include probate law, estate administration, will preparation and title insurance services. "Although we have had great success utilizing our Massachusetts real estate attorney relationships for the past few years, it is my belief that by conducting our business entirely in-house we will be able to streamline our current operations so that everything from contract negotiations to the actual real estate settlement will be as smooth as possible."

The desire to maintain an "exceptional level of client service" is also a number one priority for Mr. Penner. "Due to the complex and delicate nature of certain legal matters such as drafting wills, probate administration, and representing executors and other fiduciaries in estate matters, our customers are looking for a firm they can trust and work closely with. Now that we can operate independently in Massachusetts, Penner Law Firm will have complete accountability and our clients will be better served as a result."

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on Thursday that Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury did not violate the constitutional rights of voters who signed a petition to hold a referendum on a state law establishing same-sex domestic partnerships. Bradbury struck over 200 signatures from the petition after officials found that many of the signatures did not match those on voter registration cards. He then announced that the petition was approximately 100 signatures short of the required number. Voters were not permitted to contest the decision by introducing extrinsic evidence, and so signators brought suit, alleging violations of due process and equal protection guarantees. The Ninth Circuit held that any burden placed on the plaintiffs' fundamental right to vote was minimal and held that there had been no constitutional violations:

The Secretary’s procedures already allow chief petitioners and members of the public to observe the signature verification process and challenge decisions by county elections officials. The value of additional procedural safeguards therefore is negligible, and the burden on plaintiffs’ interests from the state’s failure to adopt their proposed procedures is slight at most.

Plaintiffs had unsuccessfully asserted that Oregon was required to provide them with an opportunity to "rehabilitate" the stricken signatures, and also argued that the lack of uniform statewide rules for verifying referendum signatures violated Bush v. Gore.

The US District Court for the District of Oregon ruled in February that the domestic partnership law should be allowed to take effect after it was suspended last December. Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed the bill into law last May after it was passed by the Oregon House and the Oregon Senate. The law would have taken effect on January 1 of this year had there been no lawsuit.