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Senator John McCain discovered his love for the United States when he was suffering as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. That experience left him physically disabled for life, but that love empowered a lifetime of service to his country. After his military service, he spent the rest of his career as a representative for Arizona in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. McCain didn’t talk a lot about the five and a half years he spent in prison, but he lived by the lessons he learned while being beaten, tortured, and left to die....

You’ve heard the gloom and doom and law-school-ruined-my-life talk, but what good does that do you if you’re already in law school? Or if you’ve already graduated? Spring is here, the sun is out, and I had a lot of caffeine this morning: It’s time to look at the bright side of law school. In the spirit of Barbara Ann Kipfer’s “14,000 Things to Be Happy About” – which, incidentally, I received from a friend after finishing law school – here are 33 reasons to be happy you went to law school:...

If you’re like us, you’ve been yearning for a sequel to Anchorman, which like a fine wine, gets better with age. And with the recent release of Anchorman 2, our prayers have been answered. Ron Burgundy is back, and better than ever. And, as far as role models go, what’s not to love? Sure, he’s sexist, slightly stupid, and horrible at his job, but we still can learn a lot from a man like him....

The legal industry isn’t winning any awards for diversity. After all, law is one of the whitest, malest professions in America. And the industry has been stubbornly slow to evolve. The number of women and minorities in the law has barely changed over the past 15 years, for example. That’s probably why law firms have the worst reputation in the country for commitment to diversity, according to a recent survey....

In law school, professors typically teach causation as part of torts in the first year. It’s not an especially difficult concept – compared to the law against perpetuities – but it can trip up even seasoned litigators. Sometimes the light only goes on after a third amended complaint when a case is dismissed. A former professor and a student at Charlotte School of Law should know something about causation, and so they have sued the American Bar Association for their problems at the law school....

Most people interested in law school are at least a bit familiar with the idea of “accommodation” given to those with disabilities in academic and employment situations. Accommodations in situations like test taking can be requested per the Americans with Disabilities Act, which just celebrated its twentieth year. What many may not be aware of is that, at least regarding those taking the LSAT, accommodation comes with a price tag: when sitting for the LSAT, any ADA accommodations given are followed up by a practice called flagging....

The long running patent battle between Apple and Samsung (now in year four) won’t be ending anytime soon. Though a federal court had found that Samsung violated Apple’s “slide to unlock” and auto-linking patents, it also refused to enjoin Samsung from selling those patent infringing products. According to the court, Apple simply couldn’t show that Samsung’s patent infringing features were harming its sales. That was the wrong standard, the Federal Circuit ruled....

In a very bizarre lawsuit filed in Manhattan, 50-year-old Robin Corrente of Long Island is claiming that three years ago, she suffered from bikini burns. The alleged culprit? The underwire of her black Coral Reef bikini, which she says heated up to dangerous temperatures, searing her flesh. Who knew this was even possible? According to Robin Corrente, she wore her bikini out in 90 degree heat during the summer of 2008, reports the New York Post....

In an earlier post, we talked about the limited enforceability of non-compete clauses in California employment agreements, when we discussed Marissa Mayer’s move from Google to Yahoo. Now, a California Court of Appeals has decided a case involving arbitration clauses in employment agreements. The court invalidated such a clause in a Neiman Marcus employment agreement. The case involved a salesperson who was terminated and brought suit under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, alleging a variety of discrimination claims....

Police Chief Tim Lentz, of the Covington, LA police department issued a warning to the clowns in his town to stop clowning around. This warning was in response to a disturbing new trend of creepy clowns just showing up and creeping people out in public places. At present, creepy clowns sightings have been reported in 28 states. Due to the large response the clowns have received on social media, it is likely the trend will continue....

The now-infamous Clifford Chance memo entitled “Presentation Tips for Women,” shared by Above the Law, has had the Internet goin’ nuts for the past few days. And for good reason. One quick glimpse at the memo, and there are some examples of sexism at its ripest. The problem? The memo was drafted and released by the firm’s Women’s Committee only to women attorneys at the firm. As Madeleine Albright said, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women....

In January, the D.C. Circuit gave the proverbial bench-slap to President Barack Obama and the National Labor Relations Board, holding that Obama’s appointments to the NLRB during a Senate recess were unconstitutional. Earlier this week, the D.C. Circuit did it again, invalidating a rule promulgated by the NLRB that required employers to post notices detailing workers’ rights regarding unions. The court issued an injunction in April 2012 after two lower courts came to differing conclusions about whether the rules exceeded the board’s authority....

Sexting a domestic abuse victim - whose abuser you are prosecuting - is probably not a good idea. Former Wisconsin District Attorney Ken Kratz is accused of doing just that, and may be facing a suspension. If you graduated from law school with the goal of becoming a prosecutor, you probably spent three years studying and learning about cases where women were abused and harassed. You might have even attended seminars about victims’ counseling....

No one goes to law school to become a doc review attorney, but plenty of lawyers end up with a doc review gig at some point, whether they’re BigLaw associates or low-paid contract workers. And while document review might not be the most enviable task, it does constitute the practice of law. That’s the ruling in a recent lawsuit which found that a contract doc review attorney at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan isn’t entitled to overtime pay because doc review required legal judgment....

What do $200 and a fake massage parlor inspector have to do with one another? Everything. In a story that brings new meaning to the term “rub down,” Edward Justin LaPorte, posing as a fake inspector, not only requested a happy ending, but demanded $200 for his time. Edward Justin LaPorte, an ex-Illinois police officer, popped into a Lake Forest, California massage parlor on January 31. He was wearing a police badge and carrying a gun when he informed the manager that he was there to investigate a complaint, reports The Washington Post....

In an action involving breach of contract and fraud claims, trial court’s judgment in favor of plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) the court properly instructed the jury that plaintiff’s interest in his consigned vehicles was superior to that of defendant-secured creditor if the secured creditor had actual knowledge that the used car retailer was substantially engaging in selling vehicles that belonged to others; 2) there is substantial evidence the secured creditor had such knowledge; 3) the court properly instructed the jury on the definition of possession, and there is substantial evidence to support the jury’s finding plaintiff had possession of the vehicles; and 4) whether the court erred in granting a directed verdict on plaintiff’s fraud and breach of contract claims need not be addressed as the jury’s verdict in favor of the plaintiff is upheld....

The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that FOIA’s deliberative process privilege allows the Department of Justice to deny a request for an Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) Opinion. The OLC Opinion requested by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) discusses the FBI’s authority to request phone records from service providers, but the request was denied after appealing to the D.C. Circuit. So, how does this case affect FOIA requests?...

School Law Clinics Face a Backlash. Law school clinics are becoming forces to be reckoned with. Loyola Law students get a GPA boost as the school revises its grading system. Law alums wondering, is this retroactive. You don’t have to go to law school to be a lawyer. Esq. sans J.D. 1/3 of Japan’s law schools below standard at one time. Factoid, Japan’s first law schools opened in 2004. Law school grads use deferred time to work at legal aid groups....

So you are thinking of going to law school? At one point a JD was a virtual guarantee to a great job. Now it is not a guarantee to any job, legal or non legal. To put it bluntly, going to law school used to be a sure thing. Not anymore. In all fairness, the same can be said for a lot of graduate degrees, but there is something more depressing about the struggles recent law school graduates have experienced in the work force....

Want to hire a fake lawyer? Well, of course you wouldn’t. But, unfortunately for some well-meaning consumers, they accidentally did. Arnold Newman, Jr. of Washington state is a homeless man who masqueraded as an attorney, soliciting clients via his website that advertised his services. Newman’s company was called “Parents Against Parental Alienation” or PAPA for short. He offered to help clients fight for their children in custody battles on his website, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer....