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Multiple female speedskaters have accused a member of the sport’s Hall of Fame of sexual abuse during the 1990s. Bridie Farrell and Nikki Meyer allege Andy Gabel, who was in his 30s at the time, had inappropriate sexual relationships with them when both girls were just 15-years-old. Gabel admitted to “inappropriate” conduct, but any criminal prosecution or civil lawsuit may be barred by statutes of limitation, which define the time limit to bring a legal claim....

A topless woman’s lawsuit against the NYPD is making the Big Apple’s po-pos look like a bunch of boobs when it comes to melons. Jessica Krigsman, a 24-year-old burlesque dancer, was sunbathing topless in a park when two officers ordered her to put her shirt back on. Krigsman refused, asserted her legal rights, and was arrested – but the police got the law wrong in a big, busty way. “I just like the way the sun feels against my skin,” Krigsman said to the New York Post....

The State of Texas is considering legislation to impose criminal penalties against individuals who falsely claim their pets are service animals. While this is a tragically common occurrence, the Texas law is nothing new. Under federal law, and many other states’ laws, it is a crime to falsely claim a pet as a service animal. Essentially, by claiming a pet is a service animal, a person is faking a disability to get the benefits that a disabled person is entitled to....

It’s well past New Year’s Day – except in China and other southeast Asian countries – but it’s not too late to make resolutions for 2017. In fact, if you work in-house for a multi-national or a company aspiring to grow into the international market, this may be the perfect time to make some goals. With cyber criminals hacking away at internet services around the world, company attorneys must work strategically with technical professionals to avert future disasters....

With all the news of police shootings, many of which involve innocent or unarmed civilians and are caught on video, we might find it easy to rush to judgment of law enforcement officers after a firearm incident. But who among us has not attempted a backflip in bar around 1 a.m., had their handgun fall from their waistband, and then accidentally fired it into the crowd, striking a bystander in the leg?...

For lawyers looking to cut back on the grind, reduce hours, and/or escape the stress of associate life or running a solo/small practice, freelancing might be a viable option. Emphasis on the might. Sure, the money may not be as good if you decide to pack it all in and start freelancing, but the tradeoff for the freedom you might find could make it worthwhile. On the other hand, if you’re overworked, you can consider hiring a freelance attorney to help shoulder some of that load, as needed....

John K. Bush, a nominee to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, probably never expected his blogs to get him much attention because he wrote under a pseudonymn. He wrote more than 400 blog posts from 2007 to 2016 about a wide range of political issues, largely from a conservative perspective. His wife Bridget Bush, also an attorney and blogger, founded their blog, Elephants in the Bluegrass. While the blog has a mere 27 followers, now the entire Senate Judiciary Committee is reading Bush’s articles....

For the past several years, the median starting salary at Big Law has been at the storied $160,000 mark. But for the first time since 2009, less than half of Big Law (firms with more than 700 lawyers) actually gave out these $160,000 paychecks. Instead, the median starting salary at these firms is now $145,000 for starting associates, according to a NALP survey. The $145,000 median starting salary matches the median five years ago in 2007....

A New York woman, Shirley Draper, was charged with criminal mischief for tearing down a picture of fake testicles from her neighbor’s property. You may be wondering just why Draper’s neighbors had a picture of fake testicles on their property in the first place. Well, that’s because Draper first hung a pair of fake testicles in her backyard just where the neighbors could see them in an apparent to annoy them....

Good call, Mr. Weissmann, though we totally beat you to it. Now is a good time to go to law school, as shrunken demand and class sizes, along with a recovering job market, mean that you aren’t tying an anvil of debt around your neck and diving into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But that doesn’t mean you should go to your nearest school and pay full sticker price – as with all legal rulings, there are caveats and fine points....

If you are not among the fortunate few, it could be discouraging to see BigLaw firms paying $190,000 salaries to new attorneys. After all, only a handful of law firms offer mega bucks to the newbies. And unless you are at the top of your graduating class, statistically speaking, it’s not going to happen. Of course, that is not an optimistic view of the world. In the bigger picture, your lawyerly chances at $190,000 a year are better than everybody in the National Basketball Association....

If you were looking to join Bluto, D-Day, Otter, and Boon this semester by pledging Delta Tau Chi, we’ve got some bad news for you. It looks like Dean Wormer has finally had the last laugh and banned our favorite frat from Farber College. No, wait – it was actually Alpha Delta, a real life frat that inspired the Animal House writers, that was banned from Dartmouth’s campus. And there won’t be a homecoming parade this time around....

Looking to spend your Spring Break with your good friend Mary Jane? Well, we don’t mean to harsh your mellow, but there might be some pesky pot laws you need to keep in mind – even in the two states where it’s now legal (under state law, anyway). Pot tourists, don’t leave for your green Spring Break without reading these five legal tips: As news outlets like The Washington Post have noted, Colorado is now open to pot tourism....

New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez allegedly admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs during a meeting with the Drug Enforcement Agency earlier this year. The admission is contained in DEA documents provided to defense attorneys for former University of Miami pitching coach Lazaro “Laser” Collazo, reports ESPN. Collazo and Rodriguez were both implicated in the wide-ranging investigation into Florida’s Biogenesis of American clinic, which allegedly supplied performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to a number of Major League Baseball players, including Rodriguez....

Social media has become such an important platform for connection and communication that the Supreme Court is currently considering whether there’s a Constitutional right to Facebook. (Seriously.) More than 2.5 billion people use social media, including the president, the Kardashians, and every tween alive, spending an average of just under two hours on social media every day. (Nine, if you’re a teen.) There’s no question then why more and more companies are turning to social media as an advertising platform, whether it’s Wendy’s on Twitter or Home Depot on Snapchat....

Mail theft gets under many Americans’ skins, but one man took to his kayak in order to stop a suspected mail thief. A pair of alleged mail thieves were acting a bit Grinchy on the morning of Christmas Eve, reportedly going through mailboxes in the town of Sammamish, Washington. According to Seattle’s KCPQ-TV, sheriff’s deputies responded to multiple calls of suspected mail theft, but the two suspects fled on foot when officers arrived....

While many lawyers might find inspiration in the antics and high-profile style of Michael Avenatti, none are likely to envy his status after today. The lawyer turned TV sensation was taken into custody, allegedly related to serious domestic violence charges. However, it’s worth noting that any of the early reports should be considered cautiously as TMZ has already misreported, and other agencies re-reported, that Avenatti’s recently estranged wife was involved, when in fact, she was not....

An employee at a Michigan bakery was arrested after allegedly throwing metal nuts and bolts into a granola bar mix. According to a police affidavit, Ruben Gramajo, a 22-year-old baker at Hearthside Foods in Kentwood, Michigan, was caught on camera dumping a handful of metal objects into the granola, reports The Grand Rapids Press. In a written confession to police, Gramajo allegedly said he threw the objects in the granola in order to get a break from work....

Decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board that plaintiff is ineligible to make a deposit in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) is affirmed as plaintiff is not within the class of persons permitted to make a deposit pursuant to section 8334(c). Read Dela Rosa v. Office of Pers. Mgmt., No. 09-3121 Appeal from: Merit Systems Protection Board Decided September 22, 2009 Judges Before Michel, Chief Judge, Newman and Prost, Circuit JudgesOpinion by Newman, Circuit Judge....

Decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board affirming the Office of Personnel Management’s decision to terminate a former US Postal Service employee’s disability retirement annuity on the basis that he had been restored to earning capacity is vacated and remanded as, although petitioner’s award of back pay constitutes income under the provisions of 5 C.F.R. section 831.1209, the Board did not explicitly determine for which year(s) the award should be considered income for purposed of determining earning capacity under 5 U....