Text Messages

Take the pros and cons of text messaging seriously when it comes to your law practice.

Teen convicted for texting someone to death.

* In case you haven’t been keeping score like we have, these are the firms that recently raised salaries: Kilpatrick Townsend, Sutherland, Norton Rose Fulbright, Morgan Lewis (additional details), Troutman Sanders. If you’re worried you’ve missed any of our coverage on pay raises, you can check out our omnibus 2016 salary chart where we collect these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law]

* “The plan was always to retire after this summer, retirement just came a little sooner than I’d hoped.” Olympic gold medalist Shannon Vreeland isn’t going to the Rio Olympics this summer; instead, she’ll be swimming in the completely the uncharted waters of law school at Vanderbilt. Will she be the new Aquagirl? [SwimSwam]

* Worried about Brexit? So are clients who have hired Mischon de Reya lawyers to make sure the British government doesn’t try to leave the EU without consulting parliament. “Everyone in Britain needs the government to apply the correct constitutional process and allow parliament to fulfill its democratic duty,” says a firm partner. [Bloomberg]

* Judge Richard Posner would like to sincerely apologize for saying that the Constitution isn’t worth the time judges have spent studying it. What he really meant to say was that he thinks the Constitution is so vague that judges are simply “do[ing] the best they can” to make the 17th century document applicable to our modern world. [WSJ Law Blog]

* “I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you’re ready, you just need to do it! You can’t think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don’t get why you aren’t.” Michelle Carter, the Massachusetts teen who walked her boyfriend through his suicide via text, will stand trial for involuntary manslaughter. [AP]

Sorry, but this lawyer doesn't have any free food for you.

* There is life after a failed bar exam. Here’s how to make it through. [The Anxious Lawyer]

* Get the full breakdown of the results of the California bar exam. [Bar Exam Stats]

* “Mayor of Roanoke not racist, says Mayor of Roanoke,” and really, do you need a better source than that? [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

* Ugh, the discovery of employee text messages — it’s gonna get messy. [Law and More]

* Get some *free* CLE credit for an online session on legal project management. [Practical Law]

* It sucks, but being too busy really does make you better at your job. [Daily Lawyer Tips]

n the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Judge Matthew F. Kennelly recently held that plaintiffs alleging price-fixing in the text messaging market were not entitled to an adverse inference after failing to prove that defendants T-Mobile and CTIA destroyed emails in bad faith. Judge Kennelly also granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, as plaintiffs were unable to meet the elevated pleading burden for collusion to fix prices for text messages in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The plaintiffs had filed suit on behalf of customers who used pay-per-text-message services from Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. The Wall Street Journal published an article in September 2008, titled “Text Messaging Rates Come under Scrutiny,” inspired primarily by the antitrust investigation of Senator Herbert Kohl.[1] The day the article was published, a T-Mobile employee allegedly sent the text of the article via e-mail to both Adrian Hurditch, the company’s former Vice President of Services and Strategic Pricing, and Lisa Roddy, the company’s former Director of Marketing Planning and Analysis. Hurditch and Roddy e-mailed each other about the article; however, that e-mail thread no longer exists.

This guy just got spanked for his bad behavior by an ethics committee.

Where do you draw the line with your clients when it comes to your availability?

Who were this year's recipients of AALDEF's Justice in Action Awards?

* Professor Ann Althouse’s analysis of today’s Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood arguments before SCOTUS. [Althouse] * Professor Nelson Tebbe’s take on the proceedings. [Balkinization] * Finally, a very Jezebel assessment: “Supreme Court Prepares to F**k Up This Birth Control Thing.” [Jezebel] * “JUDGE TO PORN TROLLS: IP Addresses Aren’t People.” [Instapundit] * YouTube videos and text messages surface in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial. [IT-Lex] * “Her” was an excellent movie — and it might contain lessons for lawyers and the legal profession, as John Hellerman argues. [Hellerman Baretz]

If people at the CIA can get away with banging would-be terrorists, why can't FBI agents send sext messages?

The Michigan judge who sent half-naked pictures of himself to a bailiff via text is now back in the news with some more scandalous (and sexy) allegations.

* “[T]here is only so far you can go when representing clients.” David Tamman, the ex-Nixon Peabody partner who was “thrown under the bus” by the firm, was found guilty of helping a client cover up a $20M Ponzi scheme. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]

* You surely must remember former UT Law dean Larry Sager and his controversial $500K forgivable loan. Well, as it turns out, the school is now condemning the practice as inappropriate, and calling for its permanent suspension. [Texas Tribune]

* Someone finally sued a power company over its horrendous response to Hurricane Sandy. Long Island Power Authority should’ve seen this lawsuit coming, but was woefully unprepared. Figures. [Bloomberg]

* I can haz copyright infringement? Internet memes are all the rage — we even had our own contest — but you may find yourself wading into dangerous intellectual property waters with improper use. [Corporate Counsel]

* Papa John’s is facing a $250M class-action lawsuit for spamming its customers with text messages advertising deals. With share prices dropping, it must suck to be Peyton Manning right now. [CNNMoney]

Small-firm columnist Brian Tannebaum offers some practice advice about how to charge clients and how to communicate with them.

As we know from our Courtship Connection service, the dating scene is pretty rough for lawyers in New York City — but it’s even worse if you’ve chosen a non-lawyer as your date....