Brooklyn DA under Pressure to Testify on Past Alleged Misconduct Last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Levy in Brooklyn ruled that the lawyers for a complainant can depose Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes on allegations that his office had failed to discipline assistants who may have acted improperly in the case of the complainant. (2 views)
“Whitey” Bulger Gets New Judge Assigned to His Trial On Friday, the federal court in Boston assigned a new judge to hear the federal government’s case against James “Whitey” Bulger following the objections of Bulger’s lawyer about the judge in the case. Bulger objected to the work of Judge Richard Stearns citing possibility of bias and conflict of interest as the previous judge used to work for the U.S. Attorney’s... (2 views)
Connecticut Joins High-Capacity Gun Magazine Ban On Thursday, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed a law restricting the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips used in the Newtown school massacre. The new gun law signed by the Connecticut Governor also makes background checks mandatory for all gun purchases, and increases the number of gun types covered by Connecticut’s assault-weapons ban. The law also creates a... (2 views)
NY Upstate Town Justice Removed for Helping Friend In a divided decision taken on May 4 and released this Thursday, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct recommended that Glen George, an upstate town justice, should be removed from the bench for dismissing a seatbelt ticket for his former employer. Glen George had also received a warning previously for presiding over cases of personal friends and failing to... (2 views)
Judge Gets Tough over FDA’s “Morning after Pill” Policy On Friday, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn denied FDA’s bid to obtain a stay on an order over “morning after” pills. In the order, Korman criticized FDA’s policy of restricting access to emergency contraceptive pills according to age limits and ruled “morning after pills” should be made available to women of all ages, across the counter, and... (2 views)
How Studying Law Can Be the End of the Fantasy When you finally understand what you're studying in law school, you sometimes can't help rebelling against it. (2 views)
The Law School Years! "First-year exams." Even now, those words can send a shudder up the spine of any licensed attorney. Although some schools have finals after each semester, all except one of the first-year final exams might be in the spring and covered a year's worth of material. Even midterm exams controlled only a small percentage of the year's final grades. (2 views)
Preparing for Law School For anyone planning to go to law school, regardless of their background, it is important to master the English language. Writing well and understanding what you read are part of the lawyer's craft. For this reason, law schools emphasize these skills in the application process as well as in course work. The bar exams also place tremendous importance on writing and reading... (2 views)
Studying Law Studying law not only provides a means of entering the legal profession, but is also a stimulating and rewarding academic exercise. The development of logical thought and methodical preparation of argument is something that is of value in any career that you may choose to follow. (2 views)
Applying for Degree Courses It is often assumed that all applicants automatically apply only for university places. This is not so. Everyone is different, not only in their attitudes towards higher education but also in the subjects they wish to study, where they wish to study and what their ultimate career targets may be. (2 views)
A Career as a Barrister Although changes are now taking place within the legal profession, barristers have traditionally been regarded as 'specialists' who work through solicitors in the same way that medical consultants work through general practitioners. In this way the solicitor consults barristers on aspects of the law in the case of complex legal issues and the latter will appear in court on... (2 views)
Law Courses in the UK First degree courses in law all follow a similar pattern and consist of both compulsory and optional subjects. Compulsory subjects cover legal principles, e.g. Contract, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Land Law, Tort and Equity. Optional subjects, however, cover a very wide field and, for example, at Newcastle University include Civil Liberties, Consumer Protection,... (2 views)
Practice in the European Community The European Commission in late eighties suggested a major new approach to tackle restrictions imposed on the harmonization of the legal and other professions which in effect allows those concerned to practice their profession freely within the community. It put forward a draft directive on higher education diplomas, under which the qualifications necessary to pursue a... (2 views)
Training for Barristers in England and Wales The academic stage usually consists of either a law degree or a degree in another subject supplemented by a one-year 'conversion course'. This could take the form of the Common Professional Examination (CPE) or a diploma in law. You will normally need to have a minimum of a 2.2, whether your degree is in law or not. (2 views)
Funding the Bridge Training The cost of undertaking the LPC may vary from institution to institution. Limited funding might be available from local authorities and a few large firms provide sponsorship to those whom it has agreed to offer a training contract. Obviously if firms are to provide sponsorship then you must already have been known to them and recruited by them. Hopefully, you begin to see... (2 views)
How to Study for Class Some law schools send their students casebook reading assignment schedules several weeks before classes start; in others, they are usually posted in the library, outside lecture halls, or are available at the faculty office. You are expected to be ready to discuss the assigned cases at the first lecture period. Obtain your lists as early as possible. Then set yourself a... (2 views)
Preparing for the Semester You should set aside as much time as possible before school starts to prepare for your classes. Used properly, this period could be one of the most productive of the entire semester. You will be able to come to the first lecture with a good lead on most of your fellow students and you will have time available right from the beginning to handle not only the mandatory... (2 views)
Justice sans Juries When we hear the word "trial," most of us imagine a courtroom with a judge sitting on the bench and twelve jurors sitting in the box deciding who will win the case. (2 views)
I am looking to go to another firm. Should I reach out to my contacts at other firms to see if the firms are interested? I am looking to go to another firm. Should I reach out to my contacts at other firms to see if the firms are interested? (2 views)
NJ State Comptroller Looking Hard into Lawyer Payments by Local Authorities The New Jersey State Comptroller’s office released a report on Tuesday that underscored curious payments made to lawyers by local authorities. At least in one case, that of the town of North Bergen paying a lawyer for more than 20 years without anyone being sure of his duties, the comptroller may be launching a criminal probe. Tips from sources led the NJ comptroller’s... (2 views)
Advice on how to survive intense and time consuming court battles With the addition of Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, Supreme Court arguments have become more energetic happenings. The two newest justices have shown themselves to be even more involved and outspoken than their active predecessors. (2 views)
Tips To Follow Throughout the Semester of Your Law School READ YOUR ASSIGNMENTS REGULARLY. Make no mistake, law classes require a lot of reading. Sometimes first-semester students are deceived when they see reading assignments of 20 to 30 pages per class. They might be tempted to believe that if they fall a little behind, they will be able to catch up at a later date. The reason that they have been deceived is that they may not... (2 views)
Guidelines for Making Legal Choices 1. CHOOSE BY PROFESSOR, NOT TITLE. Teachers make (or break) law school classes. Tax can be Chinese torture or dim sum-it all depends on the professor. (2 views)
Beyond The Classroom of Law Schools The title of this article will undoubtedly make many future first-year law students laugh. Extracurricular activities? Who has time for that when you're eating, sleeping, and breathing Civil Procedure? Moot court competitions? Who has time for them when you're practically dating the Criminal Law textbook? The truth, however, is that extracurricular activities are an... (2 views)
The Stafford Loan: Your Friend Possibly the greatest source of financial aid is Stafford loans. If you're asking, "Man, does it take an act of Congress to get financial aid around here?" the answer is yes. Stafford loans are kissed with presidential and congressional seals of approval. Relatively low-interest loans for students that are guaranteed by the government, Staffords are around to make... (2 views)
All about Legislative Branch Like courts, legislatures play an important role in creating law. Legislative and judicial lawmaking differ in crucial respects) however. Courts make law on a case-by-case basis. The court determines the legality of events that already have occurred, and the court's holding binds only the parties to the case. Laws enacted by a legislature, on the other hand, usually apply... (2 views)
Common Errors While Taking Legal Exams Unfortunately, failing to take notes is only one type of error that commonly occurs in the process of reading the exam questions. You also should be careful to avoid the following pitfalls. (2 views)
5 Easy Ways to Spruce Up Your Yard for the Summer Summary: Make your yard look amazing this summer with these 5 easy tips. (2 views)
What You Can Learn from Catalogs The screening documents provide thumbnail sketches of many law schools arranged for easy, if superficial, comparison. But how do you get details about the offerings of any one law school? (2 views)
Screening Publications for Researching Law Schools and Formal Classes Since there are over 176 schools to be researched, you'll find it handy to have a single source that provides thumbnail sketches of each of them and is arranged to make comparison easy. The best single browsing source is The Official Guide to U. S. Law Schools, which is put out annually by Law Services itself "in cooperation with the American Bar Association and the... (2 views)