Halloween Costumes

Use this time wisely to create a spectacular costume. We can't wait to see it!

A lawyerly Halloween fail that'll make you LOL.

The beach patrol officers reportedly played the 'Halloween' movie theme song.

* Even Jordan Weissmann of Slate, who is relatively pro-law school, accepts that there are some people who shouldn’t bother going. [Slate]

* Yet another prosecutor with a temper: sorry he whipped out a gun at the office, but “Assistant Prosecutor Chris White is really [really, really] afraid of spiders.” [Charleston Gazette-Mail]

* Moot Court: the movie! Unleash your inner gunner and check out this documentary next month. [DOC NYC]

* Roadkill: it’s what’s for dinner (and apparently there’s no law or regulation against this). [Grub Street / New York Magazine]

* Professor Michael Koehler on “The Uncomfortable Truths and Double Standards of Bribery Enforcement” (beyond the FCPA). [FCPA Professor]

* Nationwide Layoff Watch: sports bloggers. Grantland, RIP. [Bloomberg]

* ICYMI, here’s your chance to be a D.C. judge (Superior Court, not D.D.C. or D.C. Cir.). [D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission]

* Elsewhere in interesting employment opportunities, Practical Law / Thomson Reuters is looking for an experienced IP lawyer to join its Intellectual Property & Technology Service. [Glassdoor]

* We wish all our readers a happy (and safe) Halloween — and remind you to submit legally themed costumes in our annual competition. [Above the Law]

* Folks may argue over whether the Iran deal is a good idea, but one “citizen-lawyer” has taken to court to prove it is unconstitutional… but does that argument hold any weight? [Constitution Center]

* An Arkansas law firm is offering to represent Anna Duggar — pro bono — should she ever decide to divorce her husband, Josh Duggar, after his very public cheating scandal. Which is good, since you know Jim Bob is never going to let Anna see any of that rapidly vanishing TV money. [THV11]

* What are the 5 best Halloween costumes for law students/lawyers? The real key to nailing number 5 is the bangs. [Law and More]

* At last, some cold hard evidence that the nation’s fever dream — the one where Donald Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination — might be ending. [New York Times]

* How do you deal when you’re assigned to work with a real prick who always has to be right? [Attorney at Work]

* You guys, the intellectual property regime in this country is definitely broken, but at least it isn’t so bad that a man can copyright a chicken sandwich. [Washington Post]

* In unsurprising news, George Zimmerman had some pretty disgusting things to say about the deaths of Alison Parker and Adam Ward. [Salon]

* Thanks to Wonkette for pointing out that we were on this whole Ruth Baby Ginsburg thing last year. [Wonkette] * Speaking of our legally themed Halloween costume contest, please send us your nominations. [Above the Law] * Salacious allegations about a high-flying investment banker invite comparisons to The Wolf of Wall Street. [Dealbreaker] * The Second Circuit puts a stop to a legal challenge to the stop-and-frisk settlement. [How Appealing] * You’d expect a former lawmaker to have a better understanding of… the law. [Lexington Herald-Leader] * The Wall Street Journal reviews Paul Barrett’s new book (affiliate link) about the never-ending Chevron/Ecuador litigation. [Wall Street Journal] * Speaking of the Chevron/Ecuador matter, here’s more about the Canadian Bar Association’s controversial involvement, which Canada columnist Steve Dykstra covered earlier. [rabble.ca] * Some thoughts from Jonathan Mermin on something lawyers see every day: bad arguments. [Green Bag] * Here’s a great new resource for our fellow aficionados of appellate arguments. [Free Law Project]

Law students can get carried away with racially insensitive costumes.

Who was the lucky winner of this year's competition?

Who wore the best legally themed Halloween costume this year? It's all up to you!

* Law firm Halloween party advice. I disagree with some of this — my “Sexy John Marshall” costume was always a hit. [Greedy Associates / FindLaw] * The Supreme Court is expected to review a 10th Circuit decision holding that corporations are people and can exercise religious rights. Hopefully the Supreme Court stops this madness before my cable company has the right to bear arms. [Constitutional Accountability Center] * Governor Chris Christie has dropped his appeal of the New Jersey court decision authorizing same-sex marriage. He finally worked out that his own homophobia wasn’t worth being on the wrong side of 61 percent of Jersey voters. [Politico] * Let’s go get some Molly! [Law and More] * California is tightening up its Workers’ Comp rules for former professional athletes. From now on, injured ex-jocks need to prove a more significant tie to the state to collect compensation. This presents a problem for a lot of former football players who now have to admit they played for the Raiders. [The Legal Blitz] * Judge Smith of the New York Court of Appeals gets a scathing open letter. It’s fun when lawyers go “Flame On!” toward judges they might eventually be in front of. [New York Personal Injury Law Blog] * Governor Rick Snyder is asking a judge to drop her request to see unredacted copies of internal emails about the search for the Detroit emergency manager. Because nothing seemed sketchy about employing a law that had been specifically repealed by Michigan voters to overturn the democratically elected leadership of a major metropolis to install a partner from a firm that just so happens to get chosen as bankruptcy counsel, earning a ton of fees from the whole affair. Nothing at all. [Detroit News] * Guy sues Apple because he hates iOS 7. Not the dumbest suit ever brought against Apple. [BGR] * Entertainment lawyer Harry M. Brittenham moonlights as the author of graphic novels. A lawyer writing comic books may sound like a guy living in his mom’s basement, but he’s actually married to Heather Thomas from The Fall Guy. [New York Times] * Not everyone thinks law reviews are awful. [The Volokh Conspiracy]

Our costume contest winner is...

Who won our newest Caption Contest? It's quite delicious....

Pick your favorite legally themed Halloween costume...

* So you want to be the next top legal scholar? Step 1: find some better friends. [lawprofblawg] * Clean your room! Otherwise you might not get into Harvard Law School. Seriously. [Greedy Associates / FindLaw] * What’s the absolute worst-case bank-robbery scenario, from the robber’s perspective? The teller who says, “Oh hello, Ms Robinson. Would you like to make a deposit today?” [Consumerist] * Apple unveiled a new mini-iSomethingOrOther today. I wonder who they’re gonna sue next? [Bits / New York Times] * Back in the day, David beat Goliath with a slingshot. In modern times, underdogs use Twitter. [IT-Lex] * I hated Moby Dick, but historical legal and literary documents are always cool. [Lowering the Bar] * If you’re planning on attending a law school — or heck, law firm — Halloween party, here are some costume dos and don’ts. [Legal Blog Watch]

The voting for the best legally themed Halloween costume was close this year. Very close. The contest pitted a group against a couple. It pitted NYU Law against the University of Minnesota Law School — Big City v. Heartland. And when all the votes were counted, the final margin was seven votes, out of over […]

ATL editor emeritus Kashmir Hill might be getting rogered-but-good by her landlord. Since ATL readers have been so helpful with Elie's landlord/tenant issues, he thought our readers might be able to provide Kash with some unsolicited advice....

I again want to sincerely apologize for the inappropriate costumes worn by some of our employees at our Halloween Party in 2010. It was in extremely poor taste and I take full responsibility. I know people were extremely offended and people have every right to be upset with me and my firm. — Steven J. […]

Over the weekend, you might have seen the Times story on the Stephen J. Baum law firm. As the largest so-called "foreclosure mill" in New York state, they represent banks that kick people out of their homes. Every year the Baum firm hosts a huge Halloween party. Last year, employees reportedly dressed up like the some of the people who lose their homes during the course of Baum's foreclosure business. Some people are outraged that foreclosure lawyers don't have "compassion" for their adversaries....