Above the Law

Judges You’d Totally Want To Hang Out With This Weekend

Elie Mystal — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:34:00 GMT

Two judges accused of some bad judgment.

Follow Above the Law on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Tags: Cocaine, Cocaine / Crack, Drugs, Judge Joseph Christ, Judge Michael Cook, Judge Paul Pozonsky, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns

Non-Sequiturs: 05.24.13

Joe Patrice — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:00:14 GMT

Ed. note: Above the Law will not be publishing on Monday, May 27, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.

* Manhattan Justice Paul Wooten has ordered CBS to produce all emails between it and the Brooklyn DA’s office concerning “Brooklyn D.A.” and ordered a hearing this afternoon. CBS attorneys are irritated. Now they know how everyone feels when they have to watch Two and a Half Men. [WiseLaw NY]

* Lois Lerner, the embattled IRS supervisor at the heart of the recent scandal, invoked the Fifth Amendment in her congressional hearing, but in a way that may open the door to contempt. Ironically, maintaining innocence while invoking the Fifth opens one up to “heightened scrutiny.” As noted in Morning Docket, she’s been put on administrative leave. [Simple Justice]

* T.J. Duane of Lateral Link was named one of the 17 Stanford business students who is going to change the world. Duane is working on technology to “provid[e] solo and boutique attorneys the benefits without the drawbacks of big law.” That’s much better than my proposal to provide solo and boutique attorneys the drawbacks without the benefits of big law, which is just a device that passive-aggressively second-guesses every decision a lawyer makes. [Business Insider]

* The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has asked the Supreme Court to uphold the D.C. Circuit’s decision holding Obama’s NLRB recess appointments unconstitutional because the appointments caused “major confusion for both employers and employees alike.” They’ve got a point. Not having a quorum on the NLRB because the Senate refuses to confirm anyone and plays parliamentary games does provide certainty… the certainty that the NLRB cannot function and its a free-for-all against workers. [Free Enterprise]

* Law school applications are down, but not as drastically as expected. [Faculty Lounge]

* In any event, law schools are facing an economic reckoning dubbed “Peak Law School.” [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

* A new CBO report analyzes the impact of a carbon tax, in case you’re preparing to start papering cap-and-trade deals. [Breaking Energy]

* Do potential clients really care about social media? I “Like” this story. [Associate's Mind]

* Courtesy of the ABA Journal, you can check out the swag Chief Justice Roberts and Eric Holder got from foreign nations in 2010 after the jump…

Continue reading »

Follow Above the Law on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Tags: Biglaw, Brooklyn D.A., Carbon Tax, CBS, Charles Hynes, D.C. Circuit, Election Law, Environment / Environmental Law, Eric Holder, John Roberts, Labor / Employment, Law Schools, NLRB, Noel Canning v. NLRB, Non-Sequiturs, Paul Wooten, Recess Appointments, SCOTUS, Small Law Firms, Supreme Court, Technology

In Showing Undue Hardship, Court Is Not Allowed To Come Into Your House and Repurpose Your Wife

Elie Mystal — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:02:23 GMT

This guy succeed in discharging his student loan debts, and he didn’t have to pimp out his wife…

Continue reading »

Follow Above the Law on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Tags: 9th Circuit, Bankruptcy, Debt, Debtors, Debts, Derek Foran, Law School Debts, Loan Debt, Michael Hedlund, Morrison & Foerster, Ninth Circuit, Student Debt, Student Debts, Student Loan Debt, Student Loans, Undue Hardship, Yonatan Braude

Vermont Declares War On Patent Trolls; Passes New Law And Sues Notorious Patent Troll

Techdirt — Fri, 24 May 2013 17:15:42 GMT

It’s open season on patent trolls in Vermont.

Continue reading »

Follow Above the Law on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Tags: Anti-Patent Trolling Law, Intellectual Property, Patent Trolls, State Attorneys General, Technology, Vermont

From the Career Files: Summer Reading List — Tomorrow’s Lawyers

Alison Monahan — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:51:52 GMT

Whether you’re looking to join the legal profession or currently practicing law, you should read this book.

Continue reading »

Follow Above the Law on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Tags: Advice, Alison Monahan, ATL Career Center, Books, Career Advice, Career Center, Law Students, pre-law students, Prospective Law Students, Reading, Richard Susskind, Tomorrow's Lawyers

Bar Admission ‘Anniversary’ Plaques? Don’t Be That Guy

Joe Patrice — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:42:18 GMT

These plaques are just kind of embarrassing.

Continue reading »

Follow Above the Law on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Tags: Lexis-Nexis, LexisNexis / Lexis-Nexis, Martindale, Office Decoration, Plaques, Swag

Judge McCree Gets Off On Robbing Cradles

Joe Patrice — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:03:52 GMT

Heeeeeee’s baaaack. Everyone’s favorite Judge of the Day testified at his misconduct hearing.

Continue reading »

Follow Above the Law on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Tags: Abortion, Attorney Misconduct, Judge of the Day, Judge Wade H. McCree, Judge Wade Harper McCree, Judge Wade McCree, Judicial Misconduct, Legal Ethics, Michigan, Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission, Pregnancy / Paternity, Quote of the Day, Sixth Circuit, Wade H. McCree, Wade Harper McCree, Wade McCree

Nationwide Layoff Watch: Staff Attorneys Getting Shafted

David Lat — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:01:25 GMT

Staff attorneys are not immune to the layoffs sweeping the land. Here’s news of double-digit cuts at one firm.

Continue reading »

Follow Above the Law on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Tags: Biglaw, Layoffs, Staff Attorneys / Discovery Attorneys, Staff Layoffs, WilmerHale

Morning Docket: 05.24.13

Staci Zaretsky — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:03:02 GMT

* “Journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs.” Thanks Obama, but AG Eric Holder was the one who kind of signed off on the James Rosen search warrant. [Open Channel / NBC News]

* The chief judge of the D.C. Circuit apologized for a lack of transparency in the James Rosen probe, and this is one of the least embarrassing things that happened this week. [Washington Post]

* Despite having “done nothing wrong,” embattled tax official Lois Lerner announced she’s been placed on administrative leave in light of recent events. I salute you, fellow WNE grad. [National Review]

* Watch out, patent trolls, because this proposed bill might actually be — gasp! — helpful. If enacted, the Patent Abuse Reduction Act’s goal is to help keep discovery costs down. [Hillicon Valley / The Hill]

* It’s a hell of a drug: for some lawyers, the sequester won’t be such a bad thing after all, because Coast Guard and Navy forces won’t be available to intercept 38 tons of cocaine. [Breaking Defense]

* Proskauer Rose’s ex-CFO, Elly Rosenthal, has cut down her $10 million suit against the firm to just one allegation. She claims the firm fired her solely for her diagnosis of breast cancer. [Am Law Daily]

* A third perpetrator emerged in the Berkeley bird beheading case, and he was just sentenced to two days in jail. Can you listen to BARBRI in a jail cell? I guess he’ll find out. [San Francisco Chronicle]

* The Boy Scouts of America will now admit openly gay youths into their ranks for the first time in the history of ever. You should probably “be prepared” for a flurry of litigation over this. [New York Times]

* A mistrial was declared in the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias murder trial. Ugh, come on with this, the Lifetime movie is already in post-production! How on earth are they going to work this in? [CNN]

Continue reading »

Follow Above the Law on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Tags: Animal Law, Barack Obama, Beheading, Berkeley Law, Biglaw, Boalt Hall, Boy Scouts, Boy Scouts of America, Breast Cancer, Chief Judge Royce Lamberth, Cocaine, Cocaine / Crack, D.C. Circuit, Death Penalty, Drugs, Elly Rosenthal, Eric Holder, Federal Judges, Gay, Hazhir Kargaran, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Jail, James Rosen, Jodi A. Arias, Jodi Ann Arias, Jodi Arias, Lois Lerner, Media and Journalism, Morning Docket, Murder, Patent Abuse Reduction Act, Patent Trolls, Patents, Proskauer Rose, Royce C. Lamberth, Royce Lamberth, Sen. John Cornyn, Sequester, Sequestration, Tax Law, Trials

Paranoid Attorneys Ask Prudence For Advice

Elie Mystal — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:31:45 GMT

Two attorneys come up with fantastic problems and need some good advice to fix them.

Continue reading »

Follow Above the Law on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Tags: Advice, Associate Advice, Biglaw, Craigslist, Dear Prudence, Emily Yoffe, Kids, Parents, Slate, Work/life balance