The lawsuit filed in Washington says Vienna, Va.-based Envision EMI promised middle, high school and college students across the country special access to the inauguration, parade and a black tie inaugural ball on Jan. 20.

But the lawsuit, filed by attorneys of two students, says once the students got to Washington, they had no tickets for the inauguration or parade. And the balls they attended were not official events connected to the inauguration.

Envision, a for-profit company that reportedly brought in $40 million from the inaugural sales, has said it would refund students $1 million. But the lawsuit says that would only reimburse each attendee about $65. The students were charged $2,380 to $2,620 and also had to pay for travel to Washington, formal wear for the ball and in some cases extra meals not included in the base cost.

"These kids took odd jobs and raised funds from family, friends and strangers in order to participate in the defendants' inaugural youth conference to eyewitness a truly historical event," said Bernard DiMuro of DiMuroGinsberg PC, which filed the lawsuit jointly with another law firm, Hausfeld LLP. "Instead all they saw was the inside of a bus or were dropped off near the Washington Monument to fend for themselves."

A decline in legal spending by large companies is about to be reversed, according to a new survey of Fortune 1000 companies.

The study by market research firm BTI Consulting says large companies will increase legal spending on outside counsel nearly 5 percent over the next six months, according to a press release. The top areas for growth in legal spending will be in the areas of regulatory compliance (up 5.8 percent), bankruptcy (up 2.6 percent), securities and finance (up 2.1 percent), and employment (up .7 percent), an executive summary says (PDF).

The projected increase in spending follows a significant drop in legal spending last year and in the first six months of 2009. When the expected increase is taken into account, overall legal spending is expected to decline just 1.4 percent for the year.

In a press release, Michael Rynowecer, president of BTI Consulting, calls the findings “a big ray of sunshine in what has been a very stormy environment.” He cautions, however, that some law firms won’t benefit from the increase in spending.

“Rather than a wholesale recovery, we are seeing a shift of resources to specific firms and practices that are well-positioned,” he said in the press release. “Large companies are sharing this renewed spending with a smaller group of law firms than just six months ago. Those firms caught unaware or unprepared for this shift will continue to face significant challenges and not reap the benefits of this increased spending.”

The study is based on 370 interviews with corporate counsel at Fortune 1000 companies that average $19.4 million in outside counsel spending.

The court's 5-4 decision puts new limits on the ability of police to search a vehicle immediately after the arrest of a suspect.

Justice John Paul Stevens said in the majority opinion that warrantless searches still may be conducted if a car's passenger compartment is within reach of a suspect who has been removed from the vehicle or there is reason to believe evidence of a crime will be found.

"When these justifications are absent, a search of an arrestee's vehicle will be unreasonable unless police obtain a warrant," Stevens said.

Justice Samuel Alito, in dissent, complained that the decision upsets police practice that has developed since the court first authorized warrantless searches immediately following an arrest.

"There are cases in which it is unclear whether an arrestee could retrieve a weapon or evidence," Alito said.