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Finally, a sensible response by law schools – cutting class size. For the past decade or so, the legal job market has been terrible for new grads. And yet law schools kept on admitting more and more students, creating a glut of highly qualified, overly educated, unemployed people. Accused of running diploma mills, and only caring about tuition and money, law schools have even been sued by current and former students who accused the schools of providing misleading and overly optimistic data about starting salaries and employment....

It’s been a bad month for the NFL and its concussion problem. Earlier in the month, the NFL’s senior vice president for health and safety admitted that there was “certainly” a link between playing football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Then last week The New York Times exposed the NFL’s already flawed concussion research as being even worse than previously believed. Now, a new lawsuit (filed by an old plaintiff) is citing this new evidence as the basis for new litigation....

As of this week, the NFL lockout is back on. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, extended the lockout until it can rule on the merits of the underlying appeal challenging the injunction issued last month by Judge Susan Nelson. That date is set for June 3, but if the court’s order is any indication, the NFL lockout isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. One of the league’s major contentions thus far has been that the federal courts do not have original jurisdiction over the current dispute....

Silvers v. State Bd. of Equalization, B221229, involved a suit for declaratory relief against a surplus line insurer and others, claiming that the insurer had failed to pay Section 28 taxes. In affirming the judgment, the court held that the the trial court correctly ruled that surplus line insurance premiums are not subject to a double tax because the non-admitted insurance company issuing the insurance policy is prohibited from “doing business” in California....

In plaintiff-taxpayer’s multi-count petition for writ of mandate challenging the District Board of Trustee’s actions in approving a settlement between the District and a former president and superintendent of the District and a community college, judgment of the trial court is reversed and remanded where: 1) plaintiff was entitled to summary adjudication of illegal expenditure of public funds and unjust enrichment claims on grounds that District’s payments to the former president in connection with the termination of her contract exceed the cash and noncash limitations contained in section 53260 and 53261; 2) defendants are not entitled to summary judgment on the claims alleging an unconstitutional gift of public funds; and 3) trial court erred in sustaining defendant’s demurrers to plaintiff’s claim of violation of section 54956....

Everybody loves vacation time, so what possibly could be the downside of unlimited vacation? Actually, it’s not quite so simple. Employers need workers to do their jobs and they can’t do it on vacation. So with unlimited vacation time, everybody has to work together or it won’t work. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Pros: Production, Accountability Research shows that employees who take vacations are happier, more productive, and more engaged in their jobs....

The Tea Party movement is under fire these days, and not just due to the breaking news about its front-woman, Sarah Palin, allegedly demanding bendy straws and first class air travel from cash-strapped Cal State Stanislaus where she was hired to speak. No, this is a hit from friendly fire. On April 14, a U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Florida, saw papers filed from more than one faction of the fractious movement each claiming the intellectual property rights to the name “Tea Party....

Filling in for current NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue upheld the findings that several members of the New Orleans Saints engaged in a bounty program contrary to league rules. Yet at the same time, the former commissioner vacated the suspensions of the players involved. In a complicated decision, Tagliabue said that Goodell’s findings that Saints players Jonathan Vilma, Anthony Hargrove, Scott Fujita and Will Smith engaged in the bounty was “factually accurate,” reports CBS Sports....

Judge Valerie Turner, on temporary disability, was glad to turn over her duties to another judge. Rhonda Crawford was a great replacement; she had served well in the courtroom. Problem was, Turner apparently forgot that Crawford was her law clerk. Turner, 60, was forced to retire because she has Alzheimer’s. It’s a problem for an aging judiciary, and some believe it’s time to test judges for mental decline. Judicial Dementia Judicial dementia is not a diagnosis; it’s a problem....

Stauffer v. Brooks Bros. Inc., 09-1428, concerned a challenge to the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s claim for lack of standing and denial of government’s motion to intervene, in plaintiff’s qui tam action against Brooks Brothers under 35 U.S.C. section 292, claiming that defendants falsely marked its bow ties. In reversing the decision, the court held that plaintiff had standing as he has sufficiently alleged (i) an injury in fact to the United States that (ii) is caused by Brooks Brothers’ alleged conduct, attaching the markings to its bow ties, and (iii) is likely to be redressed, with a statutory fine, by a favorable decision....

Every year people try to make a quick buck off counterfeit Super Bowl tickets, and every year someone gets busted. This year it was Damon Daniels, 43, of New York City, and Eugene Fladger, 32, of Philadelphia, who were caught as part of a Super Bowl ticket sting operation targeting the pair’s alleged counterfeiting operation, NYC’s 1010 WINS radio reports. What’s in store for these accused Super Bowl charlatans? Daniels and Fladger were busted Monday after New York police caught them allegedly selling their counterfeit merchandise in Queens....

The long arm of the law is now yanking on the leash of an aggressive pooch in the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. As if the Chattanooga Police didn’t have enough to deal with on March 14, they had to fend off an attack by pit bull mix Winston, who took a powerful dislike to several local cop cruisers, resulting in a few flat tires and a missing bumper or two. No actual police persons were harmed in the onslaught....

In a patent infringement suit involving a patent directed to electrochemical sensors for measuring glucose levels in blood, district court’s entry of judgment that certain claims of plaintiff’s ‘890 patent are infringed but are invalid is affirmed where: 1) although the district court’s instruction on the law of anticipation was legally erroneous, the jury could not have returned a different verdict as the asserted claims would have been obvious as a matter of law; and 2) defendant’s cross-appeal is dismissed, as there is no basis for a cross-appeal as to claims of noninfringement where the district court has entered a judgment of invalidity as to all of the asserted claims....

A dry market has been afflicting the American law school model for years now. It’s no secret that even under the most rosy of characterizations, the domestic JD is going though a bit of a bear market. At least one of America’s law schools has decided to take a more pro-active, international approach to address this issue. The University of Arizona’s Law School has partnered with China’s Ocean University in Qingdao to create an LLB program for undergraduates seeking a law school education, all from the comfort of their own homes....

Law firms are hiring again but the new hires for many BigLaw offices aren’t only new associates. What most firms are looking for is a pricing director. If you don’t recognize the title, you aren’t alone. Pricing directors are a new thing for many firms that are realizing the need for better billing analytics. The pressure to cut costs and justify high fees isn’t going anywhere so this new executive position is meant to directly address that....

The National Labor Relations Board ruled this week that football players for Northwestern University do not have the right to unionize. The players, arguing that they were employees of the university, were campaigning for guaranteed scholarships, improved medical protections for players, and a fund that would allow players to continue to pursue their educations after their athletic eligibility expired. This ruling overturns a previous decision from an NLRB regional office in Chicago which had originally granted the players, under the banner of the College Athletes Players Association, the right to form a union....

Flores v. Enter. Rent-A-Car Co., B215105, involved plaintiffs’ suit for wrongful death, negligent entrustment, and punitive damages against a car rental company for their son’s death, caused by one of defendant’s renters (who allegedly had prior DUI convictions in the last 48 months), In affirming the judgment of the trial court, the court held that rental car companies have no duty to conduct an electronic search of the driving records of their customers before entrusting a vehicle to them, and as a matter of law, a rental car agency is not liable for negligent entrustment where the agency has fully complied with the requirements of Vehicle Code sections 14604 and 14608, and the customer does not appear impaired or otherwise unfit to drive at the time of rental....

A woman who brought a pig on board a commercial airliner as an “emotional support animal” was asked to deplane after the pig reportedly defecated. The woman was allowed to bring the animal on board the U.S. Airways flight out of Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport after claiming it was for her emotional health, reports The Washington Post. U.S Department of Transportation rules generally allow for support animals on commercial flights, in addition to service animals....

Those of us in the San Francisco area know exactly why the Seattle Seachickens refused to sell tickets to people in California – the team was afraid of a little competition. And though many 49ers fans were irked by the move, and it made scandalous headlines, none of those disgruntled fans would be angry enough to sue, would they? They would, apparently. John Williams III, a decades-long fan of the team who now resides in Nevada, has filed a lawsuit against the Seattle Seahawks, the National Football League, and the State of Washington over the restrictive ticketing practices, reports The Associated Press....

The highly anticipated defamation case against John Oliver and HBO brought by Robert Murray and his corporate coal conglomerate has been making headlines since its filing shortly after Oliver aired his segment on the coal baron. Although Oliver was warned that airing the segment would lead to litigation, his team was confident enough in the First Amendment to proceed. However, while Oliver’s segment may have been hilarious, an amicus curiae brief filed by the ACLU of West Virginia in the case may actually be the funniest piece of legal writing in human history....