Florida
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Bar Exams
Recent Bar Exam Results: Open ThreadFlorida, Indiana, Utah -- any others?
It’s that time of year again: bar exam results season! Which states have already released their results? -
Lawyer of the Day, Sex, Sexual Harassment
Naked Attorney Gets Tased
Attorney accused of prowling and being a creeper. - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Crime, Guns / Firearms, Murder
Florida Continues Its Descent Into A Redneck State Of Nature
These Labor Day killings would certainly be punished in some states, but they happened in Florida, so who knows.
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Attorney Misconduct, Biglaw, California, Celebrities, Chadbourne & Parke, General Counsel, Holland & Knight, International Law, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Murder, Partner Issues, State Judges, Trials, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 08.27.13
* If Biglaw firms wants to get back into a financial sweet spot like in their days of yore, they had better get in on these billion-dollar international arbitrations while the getting is good. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Women lawyers, please take note: your future depends on it. Apparently the key to making partner in Biglaw is to the get the backing of general counsel at big money corporate clients as a gender. [Corporate Counsel]
* ¡Ay dios mío! ¡Escándalo! Holland & Knight yoinked 10 attorneys, including three partners, right out from under Chadbourne & Parke’s nose to open up its new Mexico City office. [South Florida Business Journal]
* “If we actually got another million dollars going forward to spend on something, is the highest and best use to produce attorneys?” Even in a flyover state like Idaho, the answer to that question is a resounding yes when it comes to law school expansion. [Spokesman-Review]
* “A jurisprudence of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ does not properly safeguard [a defendant’s rights].” California Justice Goodwin Liu is raging against policies on race-based peremptory jury challenges. [The Recorder]
* “I’ve been doing Paula Deen in a strongly metaphorical sense.” The magnate of marmalade’s case may be settled, but that doesn’t mean sanctions have been taken off the table. [Courthouse News Service]
* The hefty price of killing? Following his acquittal in the death of Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman is now asking Florida to pay for his legal expenses, to the tune of $200,000 – $300,000. [Orlando Sentinel]
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Drinking, Sex, State Attorneys General
Why Do Prosecutors Think Their Badges Should Get Them Into Clubs?
Does being a lawyer give you a lot of street cred in Miami? -
4th Circuit, Bar Exams, Biglaw, Deaths, Divorce Train Wrecks, General Counsel, In-House Counsel, Law Schools, Martin Lipton, Money, Morning Docket, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 07.18.13
* It’s Alito time, bitch! If you were wondering about any of the cases in which the justice recused himself last year, his latest financial disclosure report is quite telling. [Blog of Legal Times]
* Yet another appellate court has ruled that Obama’s recess appointments to the NLRB were unconstitutional. Alright, we get it, just wait for the Supreme Court to rule. [TPM LiveWire]
* Hey baby, nice package: With stock awards soaring, general counsel at some of the world’s largest companies had a great year in 2012 in terms of compensation. [Corporate Counsel]
* NYU Law professors want Martin Lipton of Wachtell Lipton to swallow a poison pill and step down from the school’s board of trustees over his ties to the University’s unpopular president. [Am Law Daily]
* Now that they’ve stopped acting like the doll they were arguing about in court, MGA has put aside its differences with Orrick to amicably settle a fee dispute in the Bratz case. [National Law Journal]
* Who needs to go on a post-bar vacation when you can take a vacation while you’re studying for the bar? This is apparently a trend right now among recent law school graduates. Lucky! [New York Times]
* A man puts assets into his pin-up wife’s name on advice of counsel, she files for divorce, and the firm allegedly takes her as a client. This obviously happened in Florida. [Daily Business Review (sub. req.)]
* David Schubert, the deputy DA who prosecuted Paris Hilton and Bruno Mars, RIP. [Las Vegas Sun]
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Guns / Firearms
Florida's Next 'Black Kid Killed By White Gunman' Case Is Already Here!
Angela Corey's next high profile case looks... a whole lot like her last high profile case. -
Crime, Minority Issues, Racism, Violence
Florida Lawmaker Stands His Ground Against Me Over 'Stand Your Ground' Law
I stand my ground for the maligned duty to retreat. - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Crime, Jury Duty, Minority Issues, O.J. Simpson, Racism, Trials, Violence
Will George Zimmerman Join O.J. Simpson In The Hunt For Real Killers?
As George Zimmerman walks free, who is happy about it? -
Crime, Jury Duty, Minority Issues, Racism, Trials, Violence
George Zimmerman: NOT GUILTY
George Zimmerman has been found not guilty. UPDATE (10:16 p.m.): Here are more details and commentary on the Zimmerman trial verdict. -
Crime, Minority Issues, Racism, Trials, Violence
The Zimmerman Trial: What Legal Ground Are We Standing On?
What will the Zimmerman jury actually be trying to decide? -
iPhone, Movies, Technology
Lawyer Suing Apple Is Banking On Millions of People Being As Stupid As He Was
This class action lawsuit rests on the theory that iTunes is too difficult to figure out. -
Abortion, Alan Dershowitz, Blogging, Constitutional Law, Football, Guns / Firearms, Law Schools, Layoffs, Media and Journalism, SCOTUS, Sports, Supreme Court
Five Stories That Made This an Exhausting Week of Legal News
My this was a busy week. Here's a list of the big-ticket stories that struck my fancy this week.
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Biglaw, Crime, Football, Murder, O.J. Simpson, Sports
Law and Order Foxborough: Cue Music, Lights Up On The Ropes & Gray Bike Messenger
What did Ropes & Gray say to Aaron Hernandez? -
Biglaw, Money, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
Not A Popular Policy: Withholding 20 Percent of Partner Pay
Which firm is withholding the partner pay, and why? -
Biglaw, Books, Clarence Thomas, Deaths, Google / Search Engines, Immigration, Labor / Employment, Morning Docket, Murder, Partner Issues, Partner Profits, Pro Bono, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 06.19.13
* You think you know Justice Clarence Thomas, but you have no idea. Here are several myths about the silent Supreme Court star that he was capable of busting in just this term alone. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]
* According to the CBO, the immigration reform bill being considered in the Senate would allow eight million immigrants to gain legal status and lower the deficit by billions. But alas, dey still terk er jerbs! [NPR]
* Google is doing its best to try not to be evil by asking the FISA court to ease up on gag orders preventing the internet giant from telling the world about what it’s required to give to the government. [Washington Post]
* Florida firm Becker & Poliakoff will withhold 20% of equity partners’ pay, a move that made some lawyers cry. The firm is apparently planning to save the cash for a rainy day. [Daily Business Review]
* Paul Mannina, an attorney with the Labor Department charged with sexually assaulting a coworker, was found in his cell with his throat slashed. Police are investigating the death. [Washington Post]
* FYI, your aspirational pro bono hours — or complete and utter lack thereof — will now be public record in New York, and you must report them on your biannual registration forms. [New York Law Journal]
* Coming soon to a law school near you: really old books from the 13th century that’ll probably turn into dust if you dare try to read them. You can find this nerdgasm over at Yale Law. [National Law Journal]
* The family of Lauren Giddings, the slain Mercer Law graduate, has filed a $5 million wrongful death suit in federal court against accused killer Stephen McDaniel in the hopes of finding her remains. [Telegraph]
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Books, Gay Marriage, Guns / Firearms, Non-Sequiturs, Texas
Non-Sequiturs: 06.11.13
* Shakespeare’s “First thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,” has multiple meanings. Or so say lawyers trying to lawyer their way out of being reviled. [The Read Zone] * Embracing your identity is good advice for life and career. Just note that one of those identities is as a meaningless cog in the legal machine. [Ms. JD] * Florida attorney Marshall Dore Louis sought some phone records from the government that he claims might provide an alibi for his client. The government claimed it did not have the records. Judge Robin Rosenbaum politely called bulls**t, having recently read about the government having EVERYONE’S PHONE RECORDS. [Southern District of Florida Blog] * Lisa Linsky muses about the difficulty of waiting for universal recognition of same sex marriage. [Huffington Post] * Attorney Carolyn Barnes, who landed in hot water after shooting at a census worker, has been convicted. I wonder where she’ll be residing in 7 years? [KXAN] * Albany Law School is cutting enrollment and slashing faculty appears to be next. It sucks to lose your job, but at least you’ll be able to move out of Albany. Small miracles! [The Business Review] * A review of Run, Brother, Run: A Memoir of a Murder in My Family (affiliate link), a memoir from attorney David Berg covering his career and family from arguing before the Supreme Court, to serving as legal counsel to President Carter, to the killing of his brother at the hands of Woody Harrelson’s father. [NY Times] * Three SUNY-Buffalo Law Students have a band and their cover of Icona Pop’s I Love It is trending. The Spin Wires turn the electro house number into an Offspring like rock song. Video after the jump… [BroBible] -
Celebrities, Football, Judicial Divas, Quote of the Day, Rudeness, Sports, State Judges
How Much Jail Time Will You Get For Slapping a Lawyer's Ass?
This isn't the first time something like this has happened, either. -
5th Circuit, Barack Obama, Crime, D.C. Circuit, Edith Jones, Intellectual Property, Judicial Divas, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Murder, New Jersey, Patents, Prostitution
Morning Docket: 06.05.13
* Meow! An ethics complaint has been filed against Judge Edith Jones, the judicial diva herself, over insensitive comments about race and the death penalty that she made at Penn Law. [San Antonio Express-News]
* In the pissing contest over judicial confirmations, it’s fair to say that Obama’s recent nominees to the D.C. Circuit won’t receive a hearing, much less be confirmed, any time soon. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]
* Nobody likes patent trolls, not even the president. Obama went on the offensive yesterday, promising to curb unwarranted intellectual property litigation filed by pesky profiteers. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* Speaking of patents, there’s a new exchange being formed for public trading rights. Please welcome the Intellectual Property Exchange International, the first exchange platform of its kind. IP: so hot right now. [DealBook / New York Times]
* After a review of evidence that Colorado movie theater shooting suspect James Holmes was whacked out of his mind at the time of the shooting, he was allowed to enter an insanity plea. [Bloomberg]
* The judge in the Oscar Pistorius case has adjourned the track star’s legal proceedings until August on account of a “trial by media.” We’ll probably continue to speculate about it until then. [New York Times]
* A woman is suing because she got her ass kicked by a gang of hookers at a Florida hotel. She claims the prostitutes thought she was infringing on their territory. Nope — she’s just a Jersey girl. [Fox News]
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Courthouses
Monsoon Inside Florida Courthouse
The government doesn't plan to fix this soggy courthouse until after hurricane season.