Former Santa Clara law professor Murdaugh Stuart Madden, Jr. is facing federal child pornography charges. The San Jose Mercury News reports: A former visiting Santa Clara University Law School instructor faces felony child pornography charges, federal prosecutors said today. Murdaugh Stuart Madden Jr., could face 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines if he […]
And now she’s disbarred. Convicted in 2005 for conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists, Lynne Stewart was disbarred by the New York Bar yesterday. Her request to voluntarily resign was rejected. From AP via Boston.com: The appellate panel said Stewart became subject to losing her law license immediately upon being convicted of a felony. […]
Law firms and legal departments are writing the future of the profession in separate rooms. What happens when they actually work together?
In an homage to the start of the NHL conference semifinals today, the Lawyer of the Day is James Creighton. Creighton, a Canadian lawyer in the late 1800s, helped found and popularize modern ice hockey while he was a law student at McGill University in Montreal. Here is his stub bio from Wikipedia: James George […]
I’m sure Lat will have more to say about this, but I just wanted to report the facts. The vote was 32-6 (2/3 was needed). A separate vote to authorize a subpoena for Goodling passed by voice vote. This from AP via Yahoo!: The votes instruct a House lawyer to seek an immunity grant from […]
And now back to a more contentious subject: the death penalty. In three opinions issued today, the Supreme Court reversed the convictions of Texas death row inmates. Each of the cases involved a problem with the lower appellate courts’ application of prior SCOTUS rulings on special jury instructions in death penalty cases. All three decisions […]
It’s a little too early for a full-blown abortion debate, so let’s move on to more pedestrian matters, like partner poaching. A few weeks after Mayer Brown decided it needed to fire or demote 45 partners to drive up its stock price, Gary Friedman, who chaired Mayer’s employment practice, has decided he’s got to get […]
Explore the mindset, cultural shifts, and training strategies that define the AI‑savvy lawyer, revealing why human judgment, standardized competence, and integrated learning—not technology alone—will shape the future of the profession.
In what appears to be the first response by a state legislature to last week’s Supreme Court decision upholding the partial-birth abortion ban, North Dakota has passed a bill making abortion illegal if and when the Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade. (The N.D. Senate Majority leader claims that the bill was not influenced by […]
* Alaskan attorney survives icy spill. [CNN] * “Scream” thieves sentenced in Norway court. [MSNBC] * ABA hosts legal technology expo. [ABA] * Supreme Court hears arguments in high school sports recruitment case. [Washington Post] * Timetable of VOIP litigation. [WSJ Law Blog]
* There was a time when a TV writer strike meant something, but if recently, you’ve found yourself watching the Pussycat Dolls reality show, you too might welcome a return to more scripted programs. [Los Angeles Times] * I’d pay for license plates that read “God is Dead”–Nietzsche (front) and “Nietzsche is Dead”–God (back). [Indy […]
No one has been quite sure why Justice Clarence Thomas has been recusing himself from Wachovia cases. The mystery is apparently solved; Thomas’s son works at Wachovia Securities. From The Blog of Legal Times: For the last two years, Justice Clarence Thomas has consistently recused himself in cases in which Wachovia Bank is a party […]
Legal work isn’t slowing down, and the firms that win won’t be the ones working harder — they’ll be the ones working smarter.
Oh, we long for the days before products liability suits took away our lawn darts and all the rest of our fun. Professor Bill Childs, professor at Western New England School of Law and author of TortsProf Blog, has this post, about receiving as a gift from a student a “Golfing Gizmo.” [It’s a] device […]
Apparently the one guy that counts was satisfied with Alberto Gonzales’ testimony before Congress last week. From the New York Times: President Bush said Monday that the Congressional testimony of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales last week, roundly panned by members of both parties, had “increased my confidence in his ability to do the job.” […]
It appears that the salary wars have made their way to London. With London salaries rising into the neighborhood of £65,000, and with the current exchange rate over two $/£, the gap between New York and London salaries is narrowing considerably. This from the London Times Online: City sources said newly-qualified lawyers at A&O would […]
Time for another installment in ATL’s ongoing obsession with law students/lawyers posing nude for Playboy. This time it’s Kristine Lefebvre, a loser from The Apprentice: Los Angeles. From AP via CNN: Lefebvre will appear on the cover of the June issue of the magazine and is featured in nude photographs inside, her publicist, Howard Bragman, […]
What’s that you say? You’re a major international political figure, and you’re embroiled in a scandal that could cost your job? What should you do? Why, hire a rock star lawyer of course! Paul Wolfowitz has done just that, hiring Robert Bennett to represent him in his fight to save his job as president of […]