ATL Idol, Lawyer of the Day

ATL Idol: The Head-to-Head Round (Part 1)

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Welcome to the first half of what we’re calling the “head-to-head” round of ATL Idol, the reality-TV-style talent search for Above the Law’s new editor. The second half will published later this afternoon.
To refresh your recollection, here’s how this round will work:

We’ll publish the contestants’ different takes on the same story (actually, a pair of comparable stories — the contestants can choose). The head-to-head round is designed to show how the bloggers all tackle the same or similar stories, to eliminate any advantage one might derive from an extra-juicy set of facts.

This is also the round that will be reviewed by ATL’s panel of celebrity judges: Ann Althouse, Tom Goldstein, and Dahlia Lithwick.
Check out the first half of the head-to-head round, in which ALEX and EXLEY write about the same story, after the jump.


Here are the takes of ALEX and EXLEY on the same story, marked with each contestant’s avatar (at the top of each submission). We gave them these two links:

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/shepherd_to_apologize_after_la.html

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/shepherd_ordered_to_halfway_ho.html

And a length limit of 400 words. Here’s what they came up with (presentation order determined by coin flip):
LAWYER OF THE DAY: CELL MATES 4EVER
By EXLEY
Kash recently wrote a post about two Michigan law students who thought it was a good idea to include the law school list-serv in their fight over the custody of a cell phone.
How immature.

As lawyer (Loyola ’96) and Louisiana state senator Derrick Shepherd (pictured above) demonstrated this week, the grown-up way to get a cell phone from a woman just might be to:
1. Cause the woman to call 911 in the middle of the night reporting that you just broke into her home, punched her in the stomach, stole $100 and her cell phone.
2. Phone in hand, return to your mansion which is like, totally not your primary residence since it is six miles outside of your Senate district.
3. Get two ladies into a room with you. Um, why not have one give you a lap dance.
4. When police come to your home to arrest you, try to sneak out the back door. Don’t forget to bring the ladies.
5. Stay frosty when the police catch you escaping, when they find the cell phone in your unprimary residence, and even when you get sent to a halfway house for a couple of hours.
6. Have your people spread the word to all media covering the event that you will issue a public apology. Um, on second thought scratch that. After all, once you apologize, you can’t take it back.
7. Instead, set-up a meeting with the woman whose phone she says you took. Have her drop all charges and blame herself for being a jealous lover.
Ta-da! You might have been under a federal indictment for money laundering, you might have violated your bond, heck you might have even passed yourself off as a district attorney during your law school internship.
But as long as you follow these seven steps, you will emerge from the debacle without going to jail or totally embarrassing yourself on some TTT (whatever that means) law school list-serv.
Lapdance photo by mylittleheart.
LAWYER OF THE DAY: DERRICK SHEPHERD
By ALEX
Lawyer and Louisiana State Senator Derrick Shepherd was indicted last April in connection with a scheme to launder $2 million for a construction bond business. He was out on bond and awaiting trial in October when he managed to get himself arrested again last weekend:

Shepherd spent Saturday night at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Facility after ex-girlfriend Thaise Ashford, 29, filed a police report about him barging into her house early that morning and starting a fight in which she was punched in the stomach.

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He punched her in the stomach? Hey, Sen. Shepherd, try that on a lady who can defend herself.
Sen. Shepherd claims he was protecting his mother and sister. Unclear why his “defense of others” required stealing Ms. Ashford’s Blackberry Pearl and $100 cash.
Wait, hold on. None of that’s true.
Ms. Ashford recanted her story yesterday afternoon at the bond revocation hearing that was initiated after Sen. Shepherd’s weekend arrest. Apparently, there was no break in or punch in the stomach. Oh, and Sen. Shepherd only had Ms. Ashford’s Blackberry because the couple had exchanged phones to check each other’s calls. See? Totally healthy relationship. No bond revocation.
I guess he dodged that one; doubtful whether his lovers’ quarrel with the feds is going to end so amicably. Given Sen. Shepherd’s talent for misunderstandings, maybe it’s time to get a fake passport and a pair of running shoes.

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