Deaths
-
Bail, Crime, Deaths, Education / Schools, Law Schools, Murder, Video games, Violence, Weirdness
Living With A Future Murder Defendant: Stephen McDaniel's College Roommate Tells All
What is it like to live with someone who later ends up being accused of murder? A former roommate of Stephen McDaniel describes the experience. -
Crime, Deaths, Jury Duty, Kids, Media and Journalism, Nancy Grace, Television, Trials
Trials and Error: The Casey Anthony Case
So what was that Casey Anthony case all about anyway? Here's a short primer. - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
California, Cars, Crime, Deaths, Small Law Firms
Bay Area Attorney Arrested In Fatal Hit-and-Run Accident
This San Francisco-area attorney is in hot water for his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run accident that led to a bicyclist's death.
-
California, Cars, Deaths, Drugs, Facebook, In-House Counsel, Non-Sequiturs, Sexism
Non-Sequiturs: 05.18.12
* This NYU Law professor’s apparent hypocrisy makes me want to chew on gravel. Seems like he has earned the digital tar and feathering he’s getting. [Inside the Law School Scam] * So, Facebook went public today. The life of Facebook’s GC is about to change in big, big ways. [Corporate Counsel] * The city […] -
Crime, Death Penalty, Deaths, Law Schools, Murder, Texas, Violence
Did These Columbia Law Students and Their Professor Prove That Texas Executed An Innocent Man?
An exhaustive new report from Columbia Law School persuasively argues that Texas executed an innocent man. We talked with one of the student authors about how the project shaped her law school experience. -
California, Canada, Cars, Copyright, Deaths, Food, Job Searches, Morning Docket, Music, Religion, Trials
Morning Docket: 05.10.12
* Not even 1-800-REALITY can save you now. Joe Amendola wants to postpone Jerry Sandusky’s trial because he claims that he’ll be “unable to effectively and adequately” represent his client without more time to prepare. [CNN]
* Unlicensed to ill: Trouble Funk sure picked a crappy time to sue the Beastie Boys for copyright infringement over some samples from the 80s. Adam Yauch died the day after members of the hip hop group were served. [TIME]
* It’s not just a #firstworldproblem in the U.S. anymore, because law school grads can’t even find jobs in Canada. A lack of articling positions is sending recent grads to the bread maple syrup line. [CBC News]
* Remember Heather Peters, the former lawyer who beat Honda in small claims court? Yep, that was reversed in Superior Court earlier this week. Not so eager to reactivate your law license now, are you? [Reuters]
* Animal rights groups are suing the USDA because they claim that foie gras is made from “diseased bird organs.” Oh, come on, you know that they’re just pissed off because they can’t pronounce it. [Huffington Post]
* A woman claims that she was fired from her job after her employer discovered that she was “living in sin” with her boyfriend. They teach a whole lot of tolerance at Colorado Christian University. [KMGH Denver]
* Nicholas Katzenbach, legal adviser to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, RIP. [New York Times]
-
9th Circuit, Alex Kozinski, Deaths, Federal Judges, Feeder Judges, Law School Deans, Law Schools
The Passing of Two Federal Judicial Giants
Two distinguished federal judges recently passed away, after many years of dedicated service. -
American Bar Association / ABA, Animal Law, Deaths, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Pro Bono, Real Estate, Trendspotting
Morning Docket: 05.02.12
* Starting next year, if you want to be a lawyer in New York, you’re going to have to work for free. Because nothing says “we care” like indentured servitude. Thank God for law school clinic hours… maybe. [New York Times]
* Mo’ law schools, mo’ problems? That’s what Dean Wu thinks. Here’s a new trend to watch: UC Hastings will be joining forces with lower ranked law schools in an effort to reduce its incoming class sizes. [USA Today]
* MOAR TRANSPARENCY! Support has been shown for the ABA’s proposed changes to law school disclosure requirements. All the better for those “sophisticated consumers,” eh, Judge Schweitzer? [ABA Journal]
* “Dogs are always happy to see you, no matter how you do on your Evidence exam.” Only real bitches would throw shade. Emory has joined the therapy dog pack for finals. [11 Alive News]
* In trying to dismiss a $50M suit against billionaire George Soros, his lawyer claimed that his ex would have had to suffer an “unconscionable injury.” Dude, she did. She banged an octogenarian. [New York Daily News]
* Ann Richardson, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the UDC School of Law, RIP. [Washington Post]
- Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Biglaw, Deaths, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Fashion, Fashion Is Fun, Food, John Edwards, Law Schools, Morning Docket, New Jersey, Shoes, Trademarks, Trials
Morning Docket: 05.01.12
* Dewey really need to keep coming up with punny headlines about D&L’s painful probe? Pass the lube, ’cause you better believe we dew! Steven Davis, the firm’s former chairman, has hired Barry Bohrer, a white-collar criminal lawyer. [WSJ Law Blog]
* “Of course all of that money for my baby mama is legal. I… uh… checked with my lawyers. Um, yeah. Just get the money in.” Cheri Young gave some pretty damning testimony yesterday during the John Edwards campaign-finance violations trial. [CNN]
* As if you didn’t have enough to worry about during finals, Law School Transparency has come out with a new clearinghouse that includes employment outcomes, salaries, and student debt loads. [National Law Journal]
* “I do not own a color. I own a specific color in a specific place.” Christian Louboutin was seeing red when he responded to interview questions over his trademark infringement suit against Yves Saint Laurent. [Fox News]
* Remember that Nutella class action suit? Ferrero settled, and you can cash in if you bought their delicious hazelnut crack during the relevant time period. Needless to say, they owe me $20. [American Thinker]
* Richard Bellman, the lawyer behind New Jersey’s “Mount Laurel doctrine,” RIP. [New York Times]
-
Bail, Bar Exams, Biglaw, California, Crowell & Moring, Deaths, Football, Kids, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Sexual Harassment
Morning Docket: 04.30.12
* He may not have authoritah to respect! George Zimmerman received more than $200K in donations for his legal defense fund, but Judge Lester isn’t going to increase his bail just yet. [New York Times]
* Is Joe Amendola’s client, Jerry Sandusky, rubbing off on him? First he advises people to call a gay sex hotline, and now he’s spilling loads (of info) on boys all across Pennsylvania. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
* Thanks to an inquiry by the New York Post, Columbia Law has changed how it reports its post-grad employment statistics. Perhaps more publications should get their b*tch-slappers out. [New York Post]
* If every day were filled with science experiments, laser demonstrations, and art projects at Crowell & Moring, then maybe lawyers would think twice about allegedly embezzling millions. [Washington Post]
* Lawyers need to know how to be lawyers before they can be lawyers? “Way too meta, dudes,” say law school deans in California. Maybe next time, bar examiners, maybe next time. [National Law Journal]
* “With these grades, you could be a stripper.” That’s quite the report card! Guys Teachers in my high school used to allegedly sexually harass former students all the time, it was no big deal. [Connecticut Post]
* Walter L. Gordon Jr., a groundbreaking lawyer in the era of segregation, RIP. [Los Angeles Times]
-
Deaths, Jury Duty, Labor / Employment, Lexis-Nexis, LexisNexis / Lexis-Nexis, Non-Sequiturs, Paul Clement, Sexual Harassment, Suicide, Twittering, Videos
Non-Sequiturs: 04.26.12
* Paul Clement is a beast, is basically what it comes down to. [The Daily Beast] * This is probably the grossest, most pornographic employment discrimination/sexual harassment/defamation lawsuit I’ve seen. Maybe fans of 50 Shades of Grey (affiliate link) might find it compelling. The writing in the lawsuit is probably better… [Courthouse News] * Predictive coding is good. Now it’s bad. Now it’s good. Make up your mind! [Law Technology News] * A touching obituary about a first-year Reed Smith associate who recently took his own life. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] * Elie was on Fox News late last night (video embed after the jump). He brought the funny. The hosts of the show… not so much. They did bring the racist, though. [Red Eye] * If you ever get in trouble for tweeting or blogging about jury duty, Davis Oscar Markus is the guy to call. [Miami Herald] * LexisNexis recently unveiled its new, ginormous legal e-book library. It’s just like a normal law library, except you don’t have to ask the pesky law librarian for help. [LexisNexis] (Embedded Elie, after the jump.) -
2nd Circuit, Deaths, ERISA, Insurance, Masturbation, Sex
A Self-Abuse of Discretion?(Or: The most interesting ERISA opinion ever.)
A recent Second Circuit opinion raises a salacious legal issue.... -
California, Crime, Deaths, Murder, Violence
How Many Trials Does It Take to Get a Murder Conviction? The World May Never Three.
The man who gunned down an attorney who opposed him in court faces justice…
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
-
Bail, Crime, Deaths, Law Schools, Murder, Violence
Bail Set for Stephen McDaniel in the Lauren Giddings Murder Case
Bail has been set for Stephen McDaniel in the Lauren Giddings murder case. How high is his bond? -
Attorney Misconduct, Biglaw, Deaths, Football, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Rudeness
Morning Docket: 04.11.12
* Well, at least somebody’s getting a spring bonus. A Biglaw firm has folded against the EEOC’s will on the de-equitization of partners. And all of the underpaid old farts at Kelley Drye & Warren rejoiced! [Bloomberg]
* Jets fans, are you ready for some football? That’s too bad, because no amount of Tebowing could have saved Reebok from settling this Nike suit. You’re going to have to wait for your damn jerseys. [WSJ Law Blog]
* George Zimmerman’s lawyers, Craig Sonner and Hal Uhrig, have dumped him as a client. They’re probably just pissed that the “defense fund” he set up wasn’t linked to their PayPal account. [Miami Herald]
* Marrying a terminally ill client who’s as old as dirt may seem like a great way to make some quick cash, but it’s more likely that you’ll just be disbarred. [San Francisco Chronicle]
* When you’ve been late to court so many times that a judge calls your behavior “premeditated, blatant and willful,” you better be ready to open your wallet. That’ll be $500; at least pay on time. [New York Law Journal]
* If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again — but only after a few years, banking on the off chance that the bar admissions people have forgotten about all the bad sh*t you did in law school. [National Law Journal]
* Frank Strickler, Watergate defense lawyer to two of President Nixon’s top aides, RIP. [New York Times]
-
Bail, Crime, Death Penalty, Deaths, Murder, Pranks, Violence
Was the Shocking McDaniel Internet Post Unveiled Last Week a Fake?
Did alleged killer Stephen McDaniel really write the lurid internet post prosecutors say he did? Some people aren't so sure… -
Bail, Crime, Death Penalty, Deaths, Law Schools, Murder, Violence
A Creepy New Claim About Stephen McDaniel in the Lauren Giddings Murder Case
The prosecution claims it has new evidence against Stephen McDaniel, the Mercer Law School graduate accused of killing a former classmate, Lauren Giddings. It is lurid stuff; reader discretion is advised. -
Deaths, Intellectual Property, Minority Issues, Racism, Trademarks, Violence
Trayvon Trademark? An ATL Debate
A Trayvon trademark? Your Above the Law editors debate. -
Bloomberg, Crime, Deaths, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Fashion, Football, Guns / Firearms, Labor / Employment, Non-Sequiturs, Pornography, Privacy, Sports, Videos, Violence, YouTube
Non-Sequiturs: 03.27.12
* Alexander Wang says that he wasn’t running a sweatshop and that the former employee making the allegations was actually mean to all the other indentured servants workers. [Fashionista] * We’re well into the phase of the Trayvon Martin investigation where people are trying to blame the victim, but until they show me a guy […] -
Cars, Deaths, Drinking, DUI / DWI
Northwestern Law Student Killed in Hit-and-Run Accident
Over the weekend, a Northwestern 3L was hit and killed by an allegedly drunk driver in downtown Chicago. This is not the kind of story we like to write here at Above the Law...