Deadspin has posted about a boy who has filed a lawsuit over injuries suffered while on the bleachers of a dodgeball middle school.
Apparently, the boy was in a car accident and had dental work done. The ball broke his new bridgework.
First, I think Deadspin completely screws up by naming the boy. I cannot imagine what the point would be.
The American Lawyer has an article on whether a “cheap” law school can help you land a big firm job.
I really don’t think it matters where you go to law school. It is absolutely true better law schools statistically produce better lawyers. People at lower-ranked law schools argue this point all the time, but it is silly to suggest that Timbuktu Law School graduates are as successful as those from Harvard. But if you take those same Harvard law students and put them at Timbuktu, eventually the difference in success with Harvard law students would be negligible. It will be, however, harder for those same students to get a job at the beginning of their careers.
One thing I’m sure of is that law school students are stressed these days about their job prospects. They are awful. The good news is that in the long run of history, everything will work out. I remember classmates of mine that were waiting on tables after they passed the bar because they could not find a job. Some of those same lawyers are among the most successful lawyers in my class. If you are a lawyer that can’t find a job, you have to get some solace from this.
I think this guy is completely insane. I think you want associates that are completely dedicated to your firm. I just don’t think the best associates are Patty Hearst brainwashed. But the article is full of the great advice you could not think up on your own. “Associates should always strive to provide the partner with perfect work.” Groundbreaking stuff.
This blogger agrees with me. Yet I really don’t agree with his post, either.
There’s less risk involved in not sticking to the conventional MO at the firm. After all, it’s unlikely you will last long there. It’s even more unlikely you will become partner. What is likely if you are a shrewd player is that you will learn about practicing law and career strategy/tactics to make it just about anywhere in law. That could range from a solo practice to a top government position.
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 over a mountain pass on U.S. Highway 26 — that he had no idea his BMW 535xi was going 76 mph in a 55 mph zone because of its handling characteristics.
Funny, right? But the funnier part is that he made a PowerPoint presentation and offered expert testimony from a mechanic. Now that is funny. Just the same, the judge found him guilty and ordered him to pay a fine.
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 “seldom right” but “usually right.” But usually, it is not 99%, it is more like 60%.
The bigger point that the article misses is that while juror experiences are the best indicator, Maryland has what is probably the least probative voir dire in the country, according to retired Howard County Judge Dennis M. Sweeney. So Maryland personal injury lawyers picking a jury have very limited means to determine juror experiences which leaves most Maryland lawyers making assumptions based on stereotypes that have varying degrees of accuracy depending on the stereotype. Of course, lawyers on both sides of the v are equally handicapped by this minimalist voir dire approach.
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 then-Governor Ehrlich vetoed the bill.
What does it mean? Maryland drivers pictured going over 11 miles an hour over the speed limit would get a $40 ticket. That’s it.
The opposition to this bill is Big Brother. Here’s my question: what is more of an imposition, getting pulled over, or having someone take your picture? It seems to me speed cameras are just the opposite of an invasion of privacy.
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 Arnold, Maryland, the two locations the health club has in Anne Arundel County. The EEOC said four women were subjected to repeated and unwanted sexually offensive remarks and sexual advances and that three of the women were fired in retaliation for their complaints about the discrimination.
The EEOC also announced that besides the money Big Vanilla agreed to pay in the settlement, Big Vanilla Pasadena and Big Vanilla Athletic Club also agree to refrain from engaging in harassment on the basis of sex and from retaliating against employees who complain about it.
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 Daily Record provides with a cool chart, the number of people making partner has not gone down that dramatically. But what you don’t know is the number of these partners that are non-equity partners, which means you are an associate with the firm and you have been here a while, so we will call you partner, but you are not an actual shareholder in the firm. The non-equity partner trend has been huge over the last 10 years as big law firms join the rest of the world in running their business like a business. Of course, it also does not include the number of lawyers who made equity partner, but the firm is so under budget they would have made more as an associate.
Another thing in this article that really stood out to me: only ten lawyers in Piper DLA’s Baltimore office have made partner in the last four years. Over this same time period, the firm has added 237 partners to the firm. Yeah, Piper & Marbury came from Baltimore, but I guess Piper is long past its Maryland roots.
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 to reduce Piper’s outside borrowing and give income partners an ownership interest in the firm. “From now on, you’re a partner, or you’re not a partner,” Burch said.
Burch said DLA Piper did not make the change because it has financial problems or having trouble obtaining credit. “The firm has excellent, excellent relationships with our banks and a very, very favorable credit facility, almost too favorable,” Burch said. No explanation was given as to what “almost too favorable” means.
