Arizona Law Students Getting to Bar Early Recently, the Arizona Supreme Court amended its Rule 34 allowing law students to sit for the Arizona uniform bar examination in their third year at law school on an experimental basis, effective from January 1, 2013 until December 31, 2015. This experimental step is being hailed as an extremely constructive and positive step taken in favor of law students by all three law... (4 views)
Don't Get Overwhelmed by Negative Media Reports Since you are already in law school (I guess you wouldn’t be reading this article unless you were) let’s get something straight – your entire career is going to be affected if you allow yourself to be overwhelmed by negative reports about law schools or the market for jobs. It is expected that the media is going to highlight negative reports more often than positive... (4 views)
Lawyer managed firms To illustrate lawyer managed firms, I offer two opposing essays from the ABA Journal on the question of whether huge law firms are bad news. One commentator, Peter Megargee Brown, titled his essay, "Yes: Greed Is the Bottom Line." Against him, two legal consultants named Jack Kaufman and Bradford W. Hildebrandt wrote an essay entitled, "No: Big Clients Need Big Firms." My... (4 views)
Swinging the case of disposal of solid waste by Justice Anthony Kennedy As May began, the Supreme Court had decided only 36 of the 88 cases it has heard since its term began last October. In terms of the Kentucky Derby, the court has almost five full furlongs still to go. A few observations: (4 views)
June 18 2007 Legal Blog Roundup Hi, again, folks. A June 7 post on Overlawyered shows why it's good to be on fee-deciding committees. The post, titled ''Update: Judge unseals shell case fee carve-up,'' points out that out of 32 law firms and 79 lawyers in a class action suit, the five lawyers on the committee determining lawyer's fees managed to divert almost half of the $6.6 million at stake to their... (4 views)
The Language barrier of filing suits and preference to English Language Immigration has undoubtedly been a hot topic in the United States recently, and it seems there are no signs of the subject becoming any less controversial in the near future. As Congress continues to struggle over immigration reform, lawsuits filed by immigrants alleging violations of the EEOC continue to rise. (4 views)
What do you need to know if you are planning a move to the West Coast? What do you need to know if you are planning a move to the West Coast? (4 views)
August 13 2007 Legal Blog Roundup Hi, folks. On August 1, Ann Althouse blogged on the Minneapolis bridge collapse. She wrote that watching the coverage on Fox News made her think ''there must be a news policy not to talk about terrorism except as fed information from the Department of Homeland Security.'' However, homeland security does not rely only upon the department; it is the duty of every lawyer to... (4 views)
Health Insurance and Retirement Retirement from the daily grind is something we all look forward to. However, experts have found that the savings accumulated for retirement by most individuals are grossly inadequate, especially considering the rising cost of healthcare. (4 views)
The Fire Fighting Case over closure of Fire Department Let me venture a truism: Some of the most interesting cases at the Supreme Court are cases the court declines to hear. So it is with the lost cause of Kidwell v. City of Union. The question it presented is sure to rise again. (4 views)
Drama Heightens Over Next Chief Justice for Louisiana Supreme Court On Thursday, the lawyers for Bernette Johnson, the first African-American on the bench of the Louisiana Supreme Court, argued that she was entitled to become the next chief justice as she has served longer than other sitting justices have on the high court. Under ordinary circumstances, the question of who should be the next Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court... (4 views)
Unconstitutional or Not? According to both sides of the Supreme Court, New York's system allowing political bosses to pick trial judges ''does not appear to violate the Constitution,'' says an article on Law.com. (4 views)
Debating the CHIP Program One of the most important (and increasingly problematic) issues surrounding the modern state of American healthcare is family coverage. President Bush's recent veto of the CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) bill highlighted the difficulties and political conflicts complicating what should be an issue lawmakers and insurance companies are actively working to... (4 views)
The Purging of Justice Thomas Two questions arise: Why did Anita Hill do what she did then? And why, with the publication of ''My Grandfather's Son,'' has Clarence Thomas done what he has done now? (4 views)
October 29 2007 Legal Blog Roundup Well, despite all the bad news across the world these days, here's something to cheer about: it turns out that the sweltering mass of American legal professionals are, in fact, not more depressed than those in other professions — this according to a recent report published by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which ranks professions according to their numbers... (4 views)
New Man to Testify Against Simpson In the latest O.J. Simpson case, Michael McClinton has agreed to accept a plea deal and testify against Simpson, saying the former football player ''asked him to bring guns to a confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers,'' says the Associated Press. (4 views)
November 19 2007 Legal Blog Roundup With Thanksgiving a few days away, I've decided to be a little controversial this week and direct your attention to those things we're told never to discuss: religion, politics, and (oh, yes) the War on Reason. It might help counter that warm and gooey feeling that overcomes you as you reach for that third helping of stuffing... (4 views)
Following E-mail etiquettes at Law Firms With the invention of computers and email, communication became not only much easier but also much more confusing. The typical boundaries that existed in oral communication did not (and still do not) apply to the electronic realm. As a result, a lack of understanding of the true consequences of email is sending businesses and employees into a litigation tailspin as... (4 views)
Consider Your Attorney Job Search Options In order to help you establish the focus of your job search, lawyers in transition ought to decide whether they wish to consider opportunities in different practice settings or areas of practice. (4 views)
Listen to the Sound of Perfection The five senses — sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing — are all vital components of a person's neurological network that work in tandem in order to impact perception and alter experience. Thus, when any of these senses is enhanced or diminished, one’s experience can be drastically impacted for better or worse. (4 views)
No Peace in the Shire: Tolkien Estate Sues for Movie Money Like an oncoming wave of Orcs, New Line Cinema's blockbuster movie franchise The Lord of the Rings made a lot of money. Its earnings have allegedly totaled almost $6 billion so far — which will buy you a couple of nice swords, to say the least. You would think that the original author would receive some of that money, but now the Tolkien Trust, which is J.R.R. Tolkien's... (4 views)
Politics: A Blood Sport Politics is a dirty, dirty business sometimes, leading to rants and hard feelings. Sometimes, however, it can go just a tad too far. They say politics is not a subject to be discussed in polite company, along with religion, and this story is an example of why. (4 views)
Supremes Hear Gun Case On March 18, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court held its oral argument in the highly anticipated District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290), the landmark second amendment case. (4 views)
Here We Go Again Recall the dry-cleaning judge? The one who sued his dry cleaners for $54 million over a missing pair of pants? Well, understandably, he lost, to the sound of much rejoicing. After that kind of public humiliation, one would think he’d have learned his lesson. (4 views)
Stand for Your Rights, Be Evicted What do you do if you have had a relationship that has gone on for over 80 years but suddenly the other party demands you change? This question is one that the Boy Scouts have been facing for a long time now. (4 views)
Day of Reckoning is Here for Major Players in Housing Market Collapse It appears a long awaited day of reckoning - there most likely will be more to come - may have arrived for some of the major players in the housing market collapse that led to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. (4 views)
June 16 2008 Legal Blog Roundup The big news this past week was of course the Supreme Court's decision in Boumediene v. Bush. The Volokh Conspiracy has featured much of the early commentary. Slate's Convictions blog chimed in as well. (4 views)
Supremes Decide Americans Can Own Guns On Thursday the Supreme Court finished its term, and the ruling that got the big publicity was the long-awaited decision in Heller v. District of Columbia, the Second Amendment case. The court hadn't touched the Second Amendment for a long time, and this was the first decision on the meaning of the Second Amendment in Supreme Court history. (4 views)
Executive Director of SLDN Steps Down After Epic DADT Fight, Will Continue Fighting for LGBT The executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), Aubrey Sarvis, has announced he’ll be leaving in late spring or early summer. The move comes four plus years after he took charge of the LGBT that was a major voice in the off field military battle of 'don’t ask, don’t tell.' SLDN will use executive search firm McCormack and Associates of Palm... (4 views)
Judge Halverson Finally Loses Her Job Infamous Judge Elizabeth Halverson has finally lost her job via the ballot box. For those who don't know who Halverson is, she was, put simply, a Nevada District Judge, but that's just scratching the surface. (4 views)