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Law books are heavy. Carrying more than a few, plus a laptop, plus other stuff, makes law school more than a mental challenge, but also a physical one. While getting a rolling bag can be helpful, those things still are not easy (on the eyes or) to lug around when packed with a stack of law books. So how can you get through law school without throwing out your back or causing serious long term damage to that fragile constitution of yours (after all, your destiny is now one relegated to a desk and courtroom, rather than a shovel and a ditch)?...

For a young attorney, working with a legal secretary may be one of the most challenging parts of your job. The days of ordering your secretary to get you coffee or wait at your beck and call are mostly long gone (unless you’re a senior partner). While you may believe that you are higher up in the pecking order given your JD, your secretary who has 30 years with the firm and has seen plenty of green associates come and go may peg you as being a little further down (i....

Along with the increasing trend of employers using an employee’s biometrics to secure data, employers are facing more lawsuits as a result of running afoul of state laws imposing restrictions, and penalties, relating to their employees’ rights to biometric privacy. For example, in Illinois, the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) not only regulates the disclosure, retention, and protection of biometric data, the act contains a private right of action and statutory damages....

Trial court’s issuance of restraining order against the defendant to stay at least 100 yards away from his ex-wife and her adult son is reversed where: 1) it was reversible error not to rule on defendant’s request for accommodation for his neurological disabilities; and 2) it was an error to award the condominium as the ex-wife’s separate property as the judgment of dissolution against the defendant was by default, and as such, a default judgment may not award more relief than a complaint requests without violating due process....

Twitter has some new members: @ButtiTortoise and @BronxZoosCobra In an odd turn of events, the two reptiles–Butti the Tortoise of Colorado Springs’ Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the lame-named Bronx Zoo Cobra–are both missing. Within a day of one another. If you think this is a nefarious plan on the part of our future reptilian overlords, think again. Butti the Tortoise is believed to have been stolen. On Saturday, the deadly, black Bronx Zoo Cobra went missing, forcing the zoo to close down its reptile house....

While there are no hard and fast rules to joyriding, there are some general parameters. The first is that is should involve something stolen; preferably the ride itself, but we’ll also accept stolen cargo like a stuffed alligator or live great horned owl. Second, there should be some amount of freedom to the ride, i.e., you can go wherever you want. That freedom is part of what puts the “joy” in joyriding....

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals released a panel decision on Friday regarding an old civil rights law created to protect minority voters in certain regions where there was a history of racial discrimination. The lawsuit was brought by Shelby County, Alabama. The county argued that the law in question was an impermissible federal encroachment over state’s rights. The county also argued that the law was no longer needed. In a 2-1 decision, the D....

In an action against a county claiming violations of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), denial of county’s motion to dismiss is reversed as, construing section 21167.4 as a whole, a request for a hearing in an action alleging noncompliance with the CEQA must be made in a writing filed with the court to avoid dismissal, and here, the plaintiff failed to file a written hearing request within the time allowed....

People v. Vasquez, B218802, concerned a challenge to the trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to have his restitution obligation to a young girl who had been severely mauled by defendant’s pit bull satisfied, in a prosecution of defendant for failure to control a mischievous animal that caused serious bodily injury. People v. Polk, A117633, concerned a challenge to a conviction of defendant for second degree murder of her husband. In affirming in part, the court held that, because defendant did not raise the issue of the substantive adequacy of the Miranda warnings in the trial court, defendant has forfeited this issue on appeal....

I knew before I finished law school that I didn’t want to practice law. Actually, I knew that before I started law school. But I was really good at mock trial in high school, and my parents thought I was throwing away all that talent if I didn’t go to law school. So I went. It was a bad choice, but it is what it is. I knew he was right....

Colorado legalized it, to a degree. It might be legal to consume marijuana and even grow a little of your own. Trading four pounds of “homegrown black market” weed for a sheriff’s SUV on Craigslist? Not so much. “I was really surprised and I thought at first, ‘Maybe this is a joke,’” Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell told The Gazette. Mikesell had listed his SUV for sale on Craigslist, and was approached by a potential buyer who offered to pay for it in weed....

An allegedly drunken man on horseback literally hoofed it when he led police on a slow-speed chase through the streets (and lawns) of a Florida town. But the Paul Revere wannabe didn’t make it very far. Charles Cowart’s gallant attempt to gallop away to freedom has instead rustled up a fistful of criminal charges, the Associated Press reports. Cowart, 29, of Bushnell, Fla., told police he’d hopped onto a horse to ride to his grandmother’s house....

A 76-year old man protested a law prohibiting him from feeding feral cats by spending nine days in jail. David Parton has been feeding stray cats in Gainesville, Texas, for the last 10 years. Because a city code makes feeding a stray animal a public nuisance, Parton received several fines adding up to $900. Believing that the law was wrong, Parton refused to pay the fine, opting to spend the nine days in jail instead....

One of the misconceptions concerning the First Amendment is that its free speech protections protect any speech at all. Not quite. There are all kinds of restrictions on speech and expression, from bans on nudity and obscenity to prohibitions on hate speech and incitement of violence. And, in many cases, advocating or instigating illegal behavior is illegal as well. Federal statute 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) makes it a felony for anyone who “encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law....

This weekend we lost one of the most influential musicians of modern history – Lou Reed. His lifelong collaborations with other artists – the likes of Andy Warhol, Nico, John Cale, and David Bowie – are a testament to surrounding yourself with talented, interesting people. As we remember his music and his contribution to pop culture history, we came up with five lessons that young lawyers can take away from Reed’s colorful life....

Ask a seasoned court reporter to tell you a wild deposition story, and you’ll hear an unbelievable tale. But unlike people who tell a fish-that-got-away story, court reporters have transcripts to prove it. That’s why the case of the gun-toting lawyer is a real classic. Las Vegas attorney James Pengilly says he didn’t use a gun in a deposition to intimidate a witness. Based on the deposition transcript, however, disciplinary authorities didn’t buy his story....

Flag burning is legal. The Supreme Court said so. Our right to burn the American flag, the Stars and Stripes, the Red, White and Blue, the very Star-Spangled Banner, is protected by the First Amendment. But some states still have anti-flag burning statutes on the books, and, regardless of what the High Court says on the matter, many, many people don’t like it when you burn the flag. Which leads us to the curious case of Bryton Mellott of Urbana, Illinois, who decided to torch Old Glory on Independence Day, take photos, and post those photos to Facebook....

Novo Nordisk A/S v. Caraco Pharm. Labs., Ltd., No. 10-1001 concerned an action brought under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (Hatch-Waxman Act), arising from Novo Nordisk’s patent infringement action against a generic drug manufacturer involving the drug repaglinide under the brand name Prandine. The Hatch-Waxman Act authorizes a counterclaim by a generic manufacturer only if the listed patent does not claim any approved methods of using the listed drug, and the terms of the counterclaim provision do not authorize an order compelling the patent holder to change its use code narrative....

An Atlanta judge describes Allen Iverson as an unfit parent with a drinking problem in the former NBA star’s divorce decree. Iverson was married to his wife, Tawanna Iverson, for 11 years and the couple had five children together, TMZ reports. However, in recent years, Iverson lost his professional playing career and faced a variety of legal troubles. So what exactly did the ex-basketball star do for a family court judge to call him an “unfit parent”?...

Don’t be alarmed, but your legal resume will hold you back if it’s not presented a certain way. Sure, there are other crucial musts, like always having a business card handy and wearing a flawless suit at networking events. But, your resume is ultimately going to be you on a piece of (most often digital) paper in your job search. So let’s see if you can make your resume an even better one with these don’ts:...