Maryland Lawyer Blog

The Senate Judiciary Committee just approved by a 16-3 vote Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to U.S. Supreme Court, setting up confirmation vote by the full U.S. Senate. This is beyond a done deal. You can read the CNN article here.

This is a funny story (via Overlawyered, via the AP). A Portland, Oregon lawyer blamed his BMW 535xi for a speeding ticket, claiming that he couldn’t know that he was speeding. C. Akin Blitz said he was just trying to get ahead of a line of cars following a motorhome…

Tricia Bishop has an article in the Baltimore Sun on how lawyers stereotype jurors in Maryland. The title of the article is “Stereotypes Confound Jury Selection” and the subtitle is “Bias assumptions seldom right; juror’s experiences called the best indicator.” I disagree with the subtitle. I don’t think assumptions are…

The Maryland House of Delegates voted to allow speed monitoring cameras in Maryland near schools and highway work zones. The Maryland Senate already approved this bill, and Governor O’Malley’s signature is a formality. A few years ago, the Maryland legislature passed similar legislation designed to prevent pedestrian auto accidents but…

Big Vanilla has agreed to pay $161,000 to settle a lawsuit the government filed against Big Vanilla for sexual harassment, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to EEOC’s suit, the Big Vanilla violated federal law by sexually harassing several female employees at Big Vanilla in Pasadena and…

The Maryland Daily Record has an article in its Maryland Lawyer section today underscoring what I think we already know: it is a tough legal market in 2009. This article focuses on the lack of associates making partner in Baltimore law firms. Interesting, if you look at the numbers which…

The Maryland Daily Record reports DLA Piper is eliminating its two-tiered partnership structure in favor of a new arrangement where all partners are equity owners of the law firm with 18 tiers on the equity partner ladder. According to joint CEO Frank Burch, DLA Piper says it made theexternall decision…

The Maryland Daily Record reports that the Maryland Court of Appeals will hear a challenge to Maryland’s statutory cap on non-economic damages involving a lead paint case in Baltimore City. I think it is interesting the Maryland high court granted cert in this case. I’m not optimistic. But boy would…

A West Virginia man sued a Frederick, Maryland doctor, alleging that he stapled his rectum shut during an operation leaving the 64-year-old man with permanent bowel problems. The Plaintiff now experiences rectal discharge and needs to wipe himself between 12 and 15 times a day. This is a damages case…

Maryland workers’ compensation claims have been growing rapidly but Maryland’s comp system is still an efficient system compared to other states, according to two new studies by the Workers Compensation Research Institute, a non-profit that looks a workers’ compensation issues. The major driver was the rapid growth in average medical…