The legal profession is populated by some colorful characters -- like our latest Lawyer of the Day, Jack Tuckner. From the New York Post:

A leading lower Manhattan women's-rights lawyer watched porn at his desk, discussed his "pierced genitalia" and wears a "slave" collar at work as part of a sadomasochistic relationship with his girlfriend, a shocking sex- harassment suit alleges.

Jack Tuckner, 50, whose law firm says it's "dedicated to the empowerment of women in the workplace," is a "self-described 'testosterone-poisoned' attorney with a penchant for bondage . . . who demeaned all of the women who worked for him," says the suit.

It was filed yesterday in Manhattan Supreme Court by former office manager Lisa Brockington.

But if the slave-collar-wearing Tuckner is the "sub" in the S&M setup, doesn't that make it okay? Isn't he the one being demeaned, rather than the one doing the demeaning?

More after the jump.

Here's news of a prominent professor's move, plus an interesting pattern of legal academic defections. From the BLT:

Ronald Rotunda, former George Mason University law professor and an expert on legal ethics and constitutional law, has signed on to join the Chapman University School of Law's faculty as a tenured professor on Aug. 1. Rotunda will be joined by his wife, Kyndra Rotunda, an expert on military personnel and disability law.

The Rotundas' move to Chapman, located in Orange, California, marks the third major defection to the university from GMU in the past year.

Chapman is fast becoming the West Coast outpost of GMU. What's behind the Rotundas' move?

Rotunda said his decision to leave GMU was in part because "sadly, the university has some problems." Rotunda couldn't elaborate further because he was boarding a plane to Istanbul.

We think we have a guess about the "problems" -- and we can understand why Professor Rotunda wasn't eager to chat with the Legal Times about them.

Read more, after the jump.

Marc Dann is Ohio's attorney general... for now. But he won't be Case Western Reserve University's law school commencement speaker, per an e-mail from the dean this morning.

Dann was an ATL lawyer of the day honoree last month for running a dysfunctional office with staff accused of sexual harassment, DUIs, and ethics law violations. Oh, but there's more.

On Friday, Dann held a press conference where he revealed his affair with a staffer. Two of his staff were fired and two resigned last week, including the 28-year-old scheduler with whom Dann had the affair. If sleeping with the boss doesn't get you a raise and a promotion, what's the point? From the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:

Dann announced the affair at a news conference Friday morning, after investigators released a report on the sexual harassment investigation. The former state senator who once worked in a small Youngstown law firm blamed his inexperience and said he was not equipped to take over a state agency with more than 1,400 employees, including 400 lawyers.

"I don't know how many people here expected me to win the election, but I certainly was not among them. It was a surprise that I won," he said.

Saying that you didn't think you would actually win is the worst defense ever (and seems off-topic). Despite that, Dann says he plans to stay in office and clean up the mess. Good luck with that.

Five Ohio newspapers are calling for his head resignation. For ponderings on whether sex scandal politicians should resign, see Law and More and Vanity Fair. Case Western law prof Jonathan Adler wonders if Dann could save his career with a really good apology -- in song.

Dann had been slated to be Case Western Law School's commencement speaker on May 18, but the dean e-mailed the school this morning to announce Dann's withdrawal. Too bad. His speech could have been fun: "Hey kids, you too can use your Case Western degree to be a total f*#k-up, reward your friends with jobs, sleep with your scheduler, and tap state resources for personal use!"

Dann-related links, collected below. Dean Simson's email, after the jump.

Editorial Consensus: Dann Must Go [Volokh Conspiracy]
The Trials of Marc Dann [Volokh Conspiracy]
Dann should resign/be forced out if he's a lousy AG for OH, not because of That Woman et al. [Law and More]
Gov. Strickland on Attorney General scandal [Cleveland Plain Dealer Blog]
Dann draws more outrage [Dayton Daily News]
It's the Adultery, Stupid! [Vanity Fair]

Marc Dann has had a rough tenure as Ohio's attorney general. When the media start crafting timelines of your troubles, the end may well be nigh. One of Dann's biggest problems seems to be judgment calls. Such as when choosing staff members. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a write-up on this stellar Dann staffer:

One of Attorney General Marc Dann's top managers, who is accused of sexual harassment, has a history of problems with cars and alcohol, including a drunken driving arrest months before he was hired and a smashed state car after.

Dann knew about the arrest because, according to State Highway Patrol records, he was the one who picked Anthony Gutierrez up at 2:30 in the morning at the Canfield post after Gutierrez blew a .149 on a blood-alcohol test nearly twice the legal limit.

Aren't staffers supposed to be the ones picking their drunk bosses up, and not the other way around?

Reflecting another poor hiring decision, Dann had to discipline his communications director for sending a "profane, abusive e-mail to a co-worker." His COMMUNICATIONS director.

The list of poor staffing choices goes on.

Dann's staff is not entirely to blame for his troubles. From the timeline:

June 2007: Dann, standing on a street in an upper-middle class neighborhood, spots a reporter who had written a story he didn't like. Dann says, "Hey Steve, write this down: Go (expletive) yourself!"

Maybe Dann's communications director suggested that.

Dann picked up his aide after DUI arrest [The Cleveland Plain Dealer]
Timeline of Marc Dann's troubles [Dayton Daily News]

Some of you may recall the strange tale of Jeremy Pitcock, a successful IP litigator in New York. As we previously reported, he recently left Kasowitz Benson, where he headed the intellectual property practice, for Morgan & Finnegan. That's par for the course, in this age of increased lateral partner movement. The weird part was that Kasowitz issued a statement, apparently in response to Morgan's trying to tout Pitcock's move as a hiring coup, in which Kasowitz said they fired Pitcock for "extremely inappropriate personal conduct."

The plot thickens. A source informed us that Jeremy Pitcock is no longer at Morgan & Finnegan, which we have confirmed. His bio is no longer on the firm website, which has also been scrubbed of the press release touting his hire. If you try emailing him at his Morgan & Finnegan email address, which is the one provided in his LinkedIn profile, as we did, your message will bounce back to you.

We tried calling Jeremy Pitcock at the Morgan & Finnegan phone number listed in his profile. The nervous-sounding woman who answered the phone told us that he's no longer with the firm, that she didn't have forwarding information for him, and that his last day in the office was "last week."

Did Morgan & Finnegan get rid of Pitcock after investigating the alleged "inappropriate personal conduct"? One source said it would be surprising. First, Pitcock is a superstar IP lawyer. Rumor has it that "when he left Simpson, he had a $6 million book of business, as a 6th or 7th year associate. He decided he wanted to be a partner [immediately, rather than waiting a few years,] and Kasowitz took him up on that."

Second, some claim Morgan & Finnegan has a reputation for tolerating a certain degree of inappropriate personal conduct. One source tells us that "they aren't known for being friendly to women -- or in some cases, they're known for being too friendly. There were partners who asked female associates on dates repeatedly and others who referred to female associates as 'pretty young girls.' Still others simply refused to work with women."

We contacted the firm's spokesperson to inquire about Pitcock's departure; she wasn't in, so we left a message. We haven't heard back from her yet, but if we do, we'll let you know.

If you have the 411, feel free to email us. Thanks.

Update (2:30 PM): We just heard back from the Morgan & Finnegan spokesperson. She stated that the firm generally does not comment on internal firm matters.

Update (6/6/08): Jeremy Pitcock has filed a $90 million defamation lawsuit against Kasowitz Benson. See here.

Earlier: Musical Chairs: Kasowitz Attributes IP Head's Departure to 'Extremely Inappropriate Personal Conduct'

Ah, to be a federal judge. Life tenure means never having to say you're sorry (unlike those state judges, like the hat-hating Holly Hollenbeck).

Judge Samuel Kent (S.D. Tex.), who has lawyered up in response to being charged with sexual misconduct by a court employee, is speaking out -- sort of. In an interview published earlier this week in the Houston Chronicle, he tried to win some sympathy from the public.

Judge Kent discussed his struggles with alcohol (like Justice Thomas in his recent memoir), his diabetes, and the death of his first wife from brain cancer. But he did not address the substance of the allegations made against him:

"As with every human controversy, there are absolutely two sides to this one, and I will vigorously present mine at the appropriate time," he told the Houston Chronicle. "It has been extremely frustrating for me, my family and my staff not to be able to speak in my defense."...

He declined to address specifics of the misconduct allegations against him, citing federal laws that make judicial investigations secret.

So according to Judge Kent, there is another side of the story. As for what exactly it is, stay tuned.

After the jump, selected comments on the story from Houston Chronicle readers.

Kent talks of personal struggles [Houston Chronicle]
U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent Hires Dick DeGuerin, Meets With FBI [Texas Lawyer]

Okay, she didn't quite say that. But, for the record, the woman accused of groping Santa Clause denies the allegations, claiming that she never ever sat on his lap:

"I don't know what's going on. I don't know if he was confused, it was a false report," Sandrama Lamy, 33, said this morning.

Lamy said she was window shopping at the mall Saturday with a friend when she decided to get a picture with a man playing Santa Claus.

A woman -- apparently working with the mall Santa -- made a comment after the picture was snapped, Lamy said.

"I did not sit on his lap. A woman there said 'Be careful, that's my husband.' I said 'What does that have to do with the picture?'" Lamy said. "That's all I said, and I left."...

"Why would I do this? There were so many people there. If he (Santa) needed a few extra bucks I would have given it to him," Lamy said. "I've never been involved in a crime or anything. This is shocking to me."

Selected amusing comments from readers of the Danbury News-Times, after the jump.

What kind of sick society do we live in? From the Danbury News-Times (via Drudge):

A 33-year-old woman was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault Saturday after allegedly groping a man playing Santa Claus at the Danbury Fair mall.

Sandrama Lamy, 33, of Danbury, is charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, according to Danbury Detective Lt. Thomas Michael.

She sounds like a total.... ho ho ho.

Details leading up to the alleged fondling are sketchy. "I don't know what the deal was. It was just bizarre," the mall Santa told a reporter...

The mall Santa told police that Lamy touched him inappropriately while sitting on his lap. "The security officer at the mall said Santa Claus has been sexually assaulted," Michael said.

Put Ms. Lamy on the "naughty" side of the ledger.

2007 has not been a great year for mall Santas. Earlier this month in Missoula, Mont., a mall Santa was assaulted with a pumpkin pie. Meanwhile, a department store Santa in Australia claims he lost his job earlier this month because he said "Ho, ho, ho." (His bosses had asked him to say "Hi, hi, hi.")

"Santa Tim" Connaghan is the president of RealSantas.com and teaches hundreds of people a year how to be Santas. He said the Danbury Fair mall incident, if true, is one of kind. Santas usually have to worry about kids tugging beards and teens throwing pennies from the mall rafters.

"I've had some very nice ladies sit on my lap," Connaghan said.

Over at the Connecticut Employment Law Blog, Daniel Schwartz offers an analysis of potential employer liability under this fact pattern.

Sexual Harassment of Santa Claus - What's An Employer To Do? [Connecticut Employment Law Blog]
Police say woman groped Santa [Danbury News-Times]

* So what are your legal remedies if she cheats on you anyway? [copyranter]

* While we're visiting copyranter: another day, another animal kingdom law firm ad. [copyranter]

* Did the Fifth Circuit go easy on Judge Kent? There may be more here than meets the eye. [How Appealing]

* Eric Turkewitz delivers a New York City marathon-themed Blawg Review. Very cool! [New York Personal Injury Blog via Blawg Review]

P.S. Speaking of the NYC marathon, thanks to the many ATL readers who supported our efforts to raise funds for cancer research. Our fundraising goal was $2,500; thanks to you, we easily exceeded that goal. Our fundraising page will remain up through the end of the year, and your donations are still welcome. If you're looking for more tax deductions after getting that big bonus check, just click here.

As for our performance in the marathon, we finished in 4:43:27 (good enough for inclusion in the New York Times marathon results supplement, which includes everyone who finishes in under five hours -- sorry, Katie Holmes). We were slower this time around than when we ran it in 2005. But considering that we actually trained in 2005 -- unlike this year, when the longest run we did before the marathon was a 10-mile run back in April -- we were pleased.

Judge Samuel B. Kent (S.D. Texas) joins Judge Elizabeth Halverson and Chief Judge Edward Nottingham in our Judge of the Day Hall of Fame. He will no longer be eligible for recognition as a Judge of the Day, having transcended this award.

Why is Judge Kent deserving of induction? In the Houston Chronicle, Lise Olsen offers a detailed report of the allegations against Judge Kent (which we previously discussed here and here). The money quote:

[Case manager Cathy] McBroom was summoned to the judge's chambers on Friday, March 23, at about 3 p.m.

Her hands were full of legal papers when the judge — a former high school athlete who is more than 6 inches taller and at least 100 pounds heavier — asked for a hug.

She told him she didn't think that was appropriate, but reluctantly approached.

The judge grabbed Mc-Broom, pulled up her blouse and her bra and put his mouth on her breast. Then, Kent forced her head down toward his crotch.

As McBroom struggled, Kent kept telling the married mother of three what he wanted to do to her in words too graphic to publish. The papers fell to the floor. The pet bulldog Kent kept in his chambers began to bark.

The incident was interrupted by the sound of footsteps from another staff member in the corridor, and the judge loosened his grip. As she left, the judge said McBroom was a good case manager and then made suggestions about engaging in a sexual act.

McBroom ran out crying.

Review additional allegations, including a claim by a different ex-employee that Judge Kent once told her he could "service me when my husband was being treated for prostate cancer," by clicking here.

How far did this federal judge go? [Houston Chronicle]

Sexual harassment comes in all shapes and sizes. From the Connecticut Employment Law Blog:

I enjoy my work as an employment lawyer for the simple fact that each case is different and "you can't make this stuff up."

An article in today's The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, proves that theory correct. [It's] about a female town of Stamford employee who was disciplined for allegedly harassing a male supervisor, [and] contains the sorts of details that you really can't make up.

According to the article, the alleged harassment by the female employee included sending an e-mail with lyrics from a Barenaked Ladies song.

Considering the weirdness of this incident, of course it happened in a law office. The victim of the purported harassment was Stamford's Director of Legal Affairs.

The lyric that got the employee in trouble -- "I knew you before the fall of Rome," from the song "It's All Been Done" -- is surprising. But this case, involving a female employee allegedly harassing her male supervisor, is not your run-of-the-mill harassment incident.

It would be much more probable for a male supervisor to harass a female subordinate -- with a song lyric like, for example, "Hike up your skirt a little more, and show your world to me" (Dave Matthews Band, "Crash").

Report: Female Employee Uses "Barenaked Ladies" to Harass Male Supervisor [Connecticut Employment Law Blog]
City disciplines female employee for harassing male supervisor [Stamford Advocate]

Last week we honored Judge Samuel B. Kent with our prestigious Judge of the Day award, based on his alleged sexual harassment of a court employee. Now the Fifth Circuit Judicial Council has also recognized Judge Kent. From Texas Lawyer:

The Judicial Council of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals [on Friday] issued an order reprimanding and admonishing U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent of Galveston. The order relates to a complaint of judicial misconduct lodged against the judge on May 21 alleging sexual harassment toward an employee of the federal judicial system.

A former case manager for Kent, Cathy McBroom, confirms she filed a complaint against the judge. She declines further comment. McBroom currently works in the clerk's office in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas.

You can access the order here (PDF). But as a tipster notes, "All the juicy stuff will 'not be disclosed.' No fun at all."

Fear not, judicial gossip aficionados. The Houston Chronicle has more details:

Kent is accused of harassing and inappropriately touching his 49-year-old case manager in his chambers in March....

On the day of the incident, other employees saw McBroom crying and visibly upset, according to interviews. A few weeks later, McBroom transferred to another federal court job in Houston. McBroom was so shaken by the encounter, "She (was) a basket case," an acquaintance said.

McBroom has retained Houston attorney Rusty Hardin, who would not comment for now on the particulars of the case.

Not good news for Judge Kent. Hardin is one of Houston's top trial lawyers.

And this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Additional allegations against Judge Kent, after the jump.

We previously wrote about the mysterious leave of absence taken by Judge Samuel B. Kent (S.D. Tex.). It now appears that part of the mystery has been revealed. From the Galveston Daily News:

In the months before U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent was temporarily relieved of his duties, an employee of the court filed a sexual harassment complaint against him, sources have told The Daily News. The sources refused to be identified in speaking about a complaint that court officials have ordered to be kept confidential.

A sexual harassment complaint? You know what that means: elevation. Hello, Justice Thomas!

If you have any details about the allegations against Judge Kent, please email us. Thanks.

Sources: Judge took leave after complaint [Galveston Daily News]

Earlier: Musical Chairs: Federal Judges Fleeing the Bench?

We were rightfully ribbed for having so few details in yesterday's post about the O'Melveny Mystery Man (hereinafter "Mystery"). Now we have more information about him, gleaned from multiple sources.

One source, who interacted with Mystery at lunches and over coffee, said that he "seemed very quiet." But maybe he acts differently in a party context (i.e., after he's had a few drinks). A second source, who spent time with Mystery on the notorious night of the firm retreat, described him as "obnoxious" and "a true frat guy."

As for the alleged conduct on the evening in question, here's what we've heard:

1. "[O]ne of the summer associates is a lesbian, but I don't think most of us knew until this weekend since she brought her girlfriend. Everyone was at the hospitality suite on Saturday night, and the summer kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. [Mystery] yells out, "Whoa, what was that?!" and makes a totally un-PC scene, [making] both girls uncomfortable."

2. "[O]ne of the first year associates had her fiance there, and he was drinking white wine. [Mystery] says: 'Why are you drinking white wine? Are you a fag?'

3. "[Mystery] kept doing the 'wink and point' thing at a 3rd or 4th year female associate, telling her that she would be his drinking buddy for the night. She was creeped out."

No, that's not all. More misconduct alleged, after the jump.

Last week we told you about a fellow at Katten Muchin Rosenman in Chicago, who managed to achieve the impossible feat: he got fired from a summer associate gig. This is even more impressive than merely getting "no-offered" at the end of the summer. We wrote:

1. A summer associate in the Chicago office of Katten was fired earlier this month (believed to be the week of July 9, 2007).

2. His employment was terminated because (a) he allegedly engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with female summer associates, variously described as "repeatedly smack[ing] the asses of female summers" or "playing grab ass with female summers," and (b) he allegedly made racially insensitive jokes, in front of multiple attorneys.

In the wake of this story, a reader sent us this message:

Apparently, the WSJ Law Blog "Rules of Etiquette" for summer associates need minor revision. Here are my suggested changes.

You can check out the new and improved etiquette handbook, after the jump.

Yesterday we wrote about a former summer associate in the Chicago office of Katten Muchin Rosenman. He was fired earlier this month, after he allegedly (1) made racially insensitive remarks and (2) engaged in inappropriate physical contact with female summer associates.

With respect to the first allegation, it's claimed that he first made a racist comment to another summer associate. When she got angry, he supposedly told her he liked "angry black women."

(Hmm... What's he doing for the rest of the summer? We hear that Shanetta Cutlar is hiring.)

With respect to the second allegation, it's claimed that the ex-SA "repeatedly smack[ed] the asses of female summers" or "play[ed] grab ass with female summers." What was he thinking? This is obviously unacceptable.

(Silly summer. Ass-grabbing is for partners!)

Read the rest, after the jump.

Hey kids, guess what? It IS possible to get fired from your cushy summer associate gig!

You need to try hard -- really hard. It's even harder than passing the bar exam.

But it's not impossible. This summer has already claimed at least one victim. Multiple sources advise that a summer associate in the Chicago office of Katten Muchin Rosenman was recently canned.

Read the dirty details, after the jump.

What do you get when you put the three smartest judges on the Seventh Circuit -- Frank Easterbrook, Richard Posner, and Diane Wood -- on the same panel?

In this case, something weird. Very weird. It's amusing to imagine this trio of legal geniuses wrapping their minds around such a bizarre fact pattern.

Questions Presented:

(1) How can you tell when a gay co-worker is cruising you at the urinals?

(2) Is he checking you out -- or does he just have a lazy eye?

For more details, check out Keeping Up With Jonas.

Gay Guy Harasses Straight Co-Worker at Urinal? [Keeping Up With Jonas]
Bernier v. Morningstar, Inc. [Keeping Up With Jonas (PDF)]

We have been pointed to an opinion from the District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in a sexual harassment case filed against the subject our earlier post, Douglas County District Attorney David McDade, back in 1999. (See Lewis et. al. v. McDade, 54 F.Supp.2d 1332 (1999)). The descriptions of the allegedly harassing behavior in the opinion are classic. Here a few choice samples:

Defendant McDade would tell a woman employee to walk down the hall so that he could watch her walk from behind. ... On occasion, he made comments about Plaintiff Lewis' legs and that her dress was a “turn-on.” ... Defendant McDade also shot rubber bands at the breasts and buttocks of the female employees. ... Defendant McDade lifted the suit jacket of Plaintiff Gerstenberger and looked and pointed at her buttocks. ... On an occasion when a man was being prosecuted who had obtained a penile implant, Defendant McDade carried the implant around the office proclaiming he was larger than the implant.

For those too lazy to look up the citation, there are more samples after the jump.

As an aside, we also found this funny:

[As an initial matter, the Court denies Defendant McDade's Motion to Exceed Page Limit. Defendant McDade has had three prior opportunities to brief the issues in the motion for summary judgment. Defendant filed a brief of 50 pages in support of the motion for summary judgment [84-1], a brief of 25 pages in reply to Plaintiffs' responsive brief [92-1], and a brief of 22 pages in support of his objections to the Report and Recommendation [109-1]. Defendant McDade now requests permission to file a 67 page brief in response to Plaintiffs' objections to the Report and Recommendation [115-1]. A review of the proposed brief shows that substantial portions of it are simply restatements of arguments presented in prior briefs. It is the filing of briefs such as the one submitted by Defendant McDade which the Local Rule is intended to prevent. Therefore, Defendant McDade's Motion to Exceed Page Limit [116-1] is DENIED. The Court will not consider the brief for purposes of this Order.

He never quite gets tired of making his point.

Make that EX-judges of the day, since they've both resigned from the bench -- one after being arrested on drug charges, and the other after allegedly making inappropriate comments to a female prosecutor.

What is up with state court judges in South Florida?

(Remember this guy?)

Judge accused in pot-smoking case resigns [Daily Business Review]
Courts: Judge abruptly exits [Daily Business Review]
Resignation of Judge Klein [Rumpole via Southern District of Florida Blog]

Earlier: Bong Hits 4 Anna Nicole Smith Judge?