Facebook’s lawyers have been looking for a rumble over the company’s responsibility to turn over user account information in legal cases. Now they’ve got one, thanks to a California juror and his grandstanding defense attorney.
The case stems from a gang violence criminal trial. Members of the Killa Mobb were being tried for a 2008 attack on a San Francisco man at a gas station. One of the 12 angry apathetic men in the jury box, Arturo Ramirez, posted to Facebook during the course of the trial that it was “boring.” Now the Killa Mobb’s defense attorneys want to get a hold of those postings, and any responses from Ramirez’s friends, to prove that he may have been biased — so the Mobb members can get a new trial.
Facebook refused to turn over Ramirez’s information, citing a 1986 law that protects Americans’ electronic communications. Ramirez originally told the Sacramento Bee that he was willing to turn the status messages over, but that was before he linked up with his own defense attorney, Ken Rosenfeld, who looks like he might like a little media attention. Rosenfeld’s now planning to fight tooth and nail to keep his client’s Facebook privacy settings high…
Continue reading at The Not-So Private Parts….
The economy seems to be on the mend. Corporate profits are strong, and the Dow is north of 12,000. In the legal world, layoffs are down, bonuses are up, and hiring is way up.
But governments — federal, state, and local — are staggering under mountains of debt. State and local governments have borrowed $2.4 trillion as of mid-2010, and they’ve promised another $3 trillion in retirement benefits.
There is tons of talk out there about a possible wave of municipal bankruptcies. And even if the talk might be overblown, the possibility of default by multiple local governments or even state governments — which might someday get the ability to declare bankruptcy — can’t be ruled out.
If municipal bankruptcies start popping up all over the place, Dewey & LeBoeuf will be ready. The firm just picked up a leading expert in the area….
Continue reading “Musical Chairs: Dewey Deepens Its Bankruptcy Bench”
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann.
It’s time for the other side of the coin.
Sitting here in the catbird’s seat, it’s easy to criticize things that outside counsel do. (It’s not just easy; my hope is that it’s also worthwhile. When I was in private practice, I paid close attention when I learned about things that annoyed clients.) But we’re equal opportunity critics here at ATL. It’s time to turn my sights on myself: What do inside counsel do that works to our own detriment?
I haven’t heard much from my outside counsel on this score, perhaps because I’m the client, and outside counsel are reluctant to criticize me (to my face). And I don’t innately sense all the things that I’m doing that are grossly stupid. But I do remember a fair number of silly things that inside counsel inflicted on me when I was at a law firm, and I can work backwards from there.
What are the sins of inside counsel?
Continue reading “Inside Straight: The Sins Of Inside Counsel”
* Of shaken babies and unsure verdicts. This long piece in the Times Magazine, by Emily Bazelon, is well worth your time. For those who require a funny take on shaking, there’s always this totally NSFW Chris Rock bit. [New York Times Magazine]
* What do willful violations of antitrust law and not being admitted to the Super Bowl with a valid ticket have in common? Treble damages. [SI.com]
* David Stern got it turned around on him, like a guy who was the foreclosure king and won’t have any need for a strap-on where he’s going. [ABC News]
* Let us celebrate the Green Bay Packers win last night by remembering a more innocent time — a year ago, when viewers of the Super Bowl weren’t eye-raped by the Black Eyed Peas and, instead, eye-caressed by sweet sweet porn. [New York Daily News]
* Speaking of innocent Super Bowl revelry… child prostitution! [Time]
* Raquel Balsam paid too much for her SUNY education and now she says “I pretty much felt cheated on.” Like it got turned around on her… yeah, I’m using that twice. [New York Times]
* Yale law professor Akhil Amar shows Judge Vinson his pimp hand is way strong. [Los Angeles Times]
* AOL has purchased The Huffington Post. AOL, like Radio Shack, refuses to die. [Reuters]
Tonight America comes together to celebrate its most important holiday. Whether you’re Christian or other, tonight you will plop down on the couch, crack a beer, wait with bated breath for the first commercial break, likely have a heart attack, and definitely beat all holy hell out of your wife.
Some say football is America’s national religion. And if that’s so, A.J. Daulerio is its… sorry, I didn’t really think this metaphor through. Perhaps you already know who A.J. Daulerio is. Perhaps you read the profile of him in GQ or read the article last fall in the Times. Or, if you’re anything like me, you have Deadspin bookmarked. If it’s that last one, you probably already know what this is about.
This is about what happens when lawyers stop being polite… and start getting real. Oh, and it’s about The Sanchize, Mark Sanchez, or El Sucio Sanchez if you’re not into the whole brevity thing…
Continue reading “Lawyers Are Just Hype Men”
Yesterday we passed along a rumor that Barbara Werther and some of her colleagues in government contracts were leaving Howrey. We have since received additional confirmation of this report. According to one source, Werther informed Howrey partners of her departure on Thursday, and her office was cleaned out on Friday.
As we previously mentioned, a meeting with associates and firm chairman Robert Ruyak was also scheduled for yesterday. What happened on that conference call?
Continue reading “Howrey Holding Up This Weekend? Some Updates”
Disclosure: I'm pals with Judge Kozinski.
Given my prior stewardship of Underneath Their Robes, it should come as no surprise that I like my judges to exhibit some humanity. My favorite judges are those with personality, spunk, and a sense of humor, not the judicial automatons who just crank out dry opinions.
Sometimes judges can be, well, all too human. They might make mistakes — such as, for example, letting their lovers take nude photos of them in compromising positions, which then wind up on the internet. But that’s okay — the photos might be embarrassing, but they don’t call into question judicial impartiality or otherwise prevent the judge from serving.
(All the photos might show is that judges like sex — and is there anything wrong with that? As Elie quipped to me this morning, with regard to the Justice Lori Douglas photos, “I’m not worried about the judges who like having sex. I’m worried about the ones who don’t like having sex.”)
Earlier this week, the Honorable Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, reminded us that judges are people too — people who still enjoy free speech rights, despite their judicial offices….
Continue reading “Chief Judge Alex Kozinski Defends Free Speech for Judges”
Mayor Luther Campbell?
* A Valentine’s Day deportation that separates a loving couple sounds exactly like something that would make Jesus happy. Oh wait a minute, that’s not right at all. [Stop the Deportations: The DOMA Project]
* Virginia Thomas, Clarence Thomas’s wife, is now a lobbyist. Well, one of them has to talk, I guess. [Politico]
* Ann Althouse doesn’t just marry commenters, she talks like them too. [Althouse]
* I understand why people are annoyed when somebody edits your work and takes all the “color and attitude” out of it. But I have a solution: start a blog! That way, instead of begging the New York Times to publish your unedited thoughts, you can just publish your unedited thoughts. All hail the 21st Century. [The Volokh Conspiracy via ABA Journal]
* Being a female lawyer is a bitch, might as well own it. [Lawyerist]
* Luther Campbell (of 2 Live Crew fame) is running for mayor of Miami. You can be a white professional wrestler and be governor; let’s see if you can be a black rapper and be mayor. [Miami New Times]
* This isn’t legal, but it’s certainly the most interested I’ve ever been in garbage in Austin. And you will be too. [City of Austin Community Forum]
Look at all that green - isn't it pretty?
Let’s say you’re an associate at Skadden — or Davis Polk, Weil Gotshal, Debevoise & Plimpton, or any other top law firm that has not yet joined in the springtime bonus fun.
On Friday afternoon, a favored time for spring bonus news, you get an email from someone in recruiting / human resources. The email subject line — carefully crafted, no doubt — reads: “Money.”
You open it eagerly….
Continue reading “WHERE ARE THE SPRING BONUSES?”
In a letter just released to students and alumni of Villanova University School of Law, Dean John Y. Gotanda admits that Villanova Law knowingly reported inaccurate admissions information to the American Bar Association, for years prior to 2010.
The school has conducted an internal investigation and has been independently audited by Ropes & Gray. In response to the investigation and audit findings, the school will reorganize its admissions reporting process, with the goal of implementing “a reporting system which is above reproach.” In addition, according to Dean Gotanda’s letter, “the University will hold those responsible accountable for their actions.”
Sadly, this is not the first scandal that has rocked the law school in recent years….
Continue reading “Villanova Law ‘Knowingly Reported’ Inaccurate Information to the ABA”
We’re hearing rumors about a few additional departures from Howrey….
Continue reading “Musical Chairs: More Howrey Departures”
Mr. Met gives me bad touches every summer.
I’ve been avoiding writing about Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of getting money for the victims of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, and his lawsuit against New York Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz. It’s too painful. It’s like being close enough to see Oliver Perez’s face just as you know things are going to completely unravel but still hoping against hope that he’ll throw a strike. It’s like wondering if David Wright spends his nights crying softly while Mike Piazza texts him weekly updates on how many days he has until he’s an unrestricted free agent. I know what’s happening; I just don’t like to talk about it.
But, as we mentioned in Morning Docket, Picard’s massive complaint was made public today. He says Wilpon and Katz made $300 million in fictitious profits from business dealings with Madoff.
As you read through the allegations, try to remember how poorly the Wilpons make decisions about whom to hire, whom to fire, and how much to play baseball players — and then tell me if you are at all surprised by anything here…
Continue reading “Nothing About the Madoff Thing Surprises Any Mets Fans”
This would not be happening if Leo McGarry were still alive.
When Charlie Sheen heard the news that Charlie Sheen was found naked and coked out of his mind in a trashed suite at the Plaza with a porn star hooker locked in the bathroom, Charlie Sheen knew he had to do something drastic – something epic – to top himself.
Last week, the Two and a Half Men whacktor reasoned that the best way to supercharge the party was simply to multiply the coke, hookers and party duration by a factor of three. Here are the allegations, from TMZ:
Charlie Sheen had a “briefcase full of cocaine” delivered to his home — and was using large amounts of the drug during the 36-hour bender that landed him in the hospital … this according to a source inside the house….
We’re told Sheen had several people inside his home during the 36-hour span that started Tuesday night — including 2 porn stars, a business associate, and several other women….
Sheen was eventually hospitalized early Thursday morning for “severe abdominal pain.”
Charlie was released from celebrity hospital Ceders-Sinai last Thursday and is now spending his time rehabbing… his job, by writing public apologies to CBS and Warner Bros, and promising them he’ll be healed and back to work by the end of February. A number of sites have wondered how the 16 million blind and deaf fans who rely on Charlie, a fat, zitty teenager and some other talentless hack to make them laugh every week are going to survive while the show is on production hiatus. But I have an idea. Kill yourself…
Continue reading “Fame Brief: Martin Sheen to Seek Conservatorship Over Charlie? (Or: Not Another Charlie Sheen Post)”
This Job of the Week is for an attorney who is looking to switch gears and join a newly formed marketing compliance group at a top bank. This is one of many in-house positions throughout the country that Lateral Link is working on, so if you are interested in making a lateral move in-house or to another firm, contact your Lateral Link recruiter.
Position: Compliance/Marketing Material Review Officer
Location: New York, NY
Description: Top investment bank seeks a corporate attorney with at least 4 years experience to work in their newly created marketing materials compliance group. The purpose of this group is to provide consistent review of written communications, including trade ideas, original detailed analysis, research summaries, branded and other written materials regarding financial products. MBA is a plus, as well as language skills (particularly German and Portuguese).
For more information about this position, please view Position #7746 on Lateral Link; current Members may contact their personal search consultant for this or other corporate opportunities. Non-members may contact T.J. Duane regarding this opening at tjduane@laterallink.com.
John Taylor Skilling, the son of former Enron executive Jeff Skilling, was found dead in his apartment in California. The Associated Press says that a bottle of medication was found next to John Skilling, and they report that he had been distraught over a recent breakup with his girlfriend.
His father, Jeffrey Skilling, served as president of Enron. In 2006, Jeff Skilling was convicted after a jury trial of multiple charges arising out of Enron’s collapse, and was sentenced to 24 years in prison. He appealed to the Supreme Court, which vacated part of his conviction in a major ruling on the “honest services” fraud statute, and sent the case back for resentencing.
Continue reading “John Taylor Skilling Found Dead”
Recent law grads already know this, but humor me for a moment while I bring the law students up to speed.
Dear 3Ls, if you graduate with no job, your school will start telling you about how your law school’s career services will still be available for you after you graduate. It’s February, so expect to have this conversation in a couple of months.
Okay, are we all on the same page? So Lewis & Clark Law School has a job posting board, and alumni of the school are allowed to access it. To keep the valuable Lewis & Clark leads within the Lewis & Clark community, the school periodically changes the password needed to access the board.
The password for this cycle hit a little bit too close to home…
Continue reading “Lewis & Clark Law School Subtly Insults Its Alumni”
* The Cooch has demanded immediate Supreme Court review for Obamacare. Is this just “grandstanding by Ken Kookynutty”? [Virginia Politics / Washington Post]
* Holy benchslap, Obama! Judge Feldman basically spanked Barack’s entire administration and told them all to go to their rooms over some offshore drilling shenanigans. [Bloomberg]
* Only in Alabama is it kosher for a judge pull his own gun on a defendant in court. Actually, there’s probably nothing kosher in Alabama, but you know what I mean. [Montgomery Advertiser]
* Man, stop being such a narc. Let people in Oakland have their little pot farms – you know, if they ever remember to get around to it. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
* Rich white people in New York are killing Roberta Flack and her dog softly with their racist elevator rules. [Reuters]
* Logic fail for New York. Judges are behaving badly, but the state bar association wants to make it harder to remove them. [New York Times]
* J.P. Morgan and Bernie Madoff were apparently licking each other’s popsicles and drinking each other’s Ponzi “cult” Kool-Aid. [Wall Street Journal]
* Director Steven Soderbergh is probably hoping for a Maury moment right about now. Seriously, what kind of a person names their kid Pearl Button? [New York Daily News]
Madam Justice A. Lori Douglas - with her clothes ON.
We’ve been covering the salacious tale of Madam Justice A. Lori Douglas, a Canadian judge, for several months now. Justice Douglas — associate chief justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba, and a member of the Canadian Judicial Council — is currently the subject of an ethics investigation. As mentioned earlier, “naked photographs of [Justice Douglas] engaging in bondage, playing with sex toys and performing oral sex were previously posted on the internet.”
Our stories on Justice Douglas, collected here, have been quite popular. They have generated strong traffic. But some readers had the predictable reaction of TTIWWOP — “This Thread Is Worthless Without Pictures.”
Well, now we have the pictures….
Continue reading “Madam Justice Lori Douglas: Underneath Her Robe”
Mubarak, I have something I think you should see.
* Foreign journalists risking their lives to cover the story in Egypt should remind everybody why we have to pay for reporters. [Huffington Post]
* The California Supreme Court will soon decide whether or not it wants to decide anything on Prop 8. [Poliglot / Metro Weekly]
* A tipster has the credited blurb: “When J. Crew has made [a shirt saying 'Lower East Side'], has the Lower East Side jumped the shark? Further side note: if you buy said shirt from J. Crew, a shark should jump you.” [Bowery Boogie]
* If you are an allegedly greedy Wall Street banker, is the only jury of your peers composed of 12 other potentially greedy Wall Street bankers? [WSJ Law Blog]
* Syracuse Law calls off its blog inquisition. [Wired Campus / Chronicle of Higher Education]
* Is it really necessary for lawyers to remove their hats in court? Is that rule of etiquette serving any purpose whatsoever? [Underdog]
* The government can have all the land in Queens it wants, as far as I’m concerned. [NY1]
The color of spring: GREEN.
In Tuesday’s survey, we asked whether you left your firm after collecting your 2010 year-end bonus (paid in December for 43% of respondents).
About 14% of respondents reported jumping ship after their bonus checks cleared, while another 8% were in such a hurry to leave that they couldn’t bother waiting around for their bonus money.
That means the vast majority of respondents, 77%, are staying put — at least for now. About 9% are sticking around a little longer in the hope that their firms up the ante with a spring bonus payment. Another 18% say they aren’t leaving, but sure wish they could. Finally, 50% of all respondents report that they are staying at their firms because they are actually quite content at the moment.
Which class years and practice groups are most likely to see post-bonus departures?
Continue reading “Career Center Survey Results: Get Your Bonus … And Stay”
