Drones: they’re not just for delivering beer or the latest Fifty Shades of Grey book. As with just about every man-made invention, they’re also for battling. That great human impulse to see who can outlast the other in the ring of combat has led to Game of Drones, a drone sales and fighting league that’s taking aim at the NFL and others. So how does one-on-one drone combat work, and when will we be seeing it on ESPN?...
Going paperless can be infuriating. Just ask a Charlotte man who went on a hotel vandalism rampage after he ran out of toilet paper in his room. The alleged destruction took place between 10 p.m. and 2:30 a.m., the police report says. That’s when the man apparently learned he was out of luck in the loo – and decided his No. 1 goal was to get even. The man stormed out of his room and found a vacant one that was being renovated, CBS Charlotte reports....
While prospective law students are likely to watch Buzzfeed’s recent Law School Horror Stories video, as most lawyers will tell you, those stories are significantly lacking in horror. Frankly, the tales told are just not that bad (excepting the Texas moot court discriminatory comment). No one was brought up to the front of class, nicknamed “fruit salad” by their prof, and told to stand up and spin around in circles because they’re “all mixed up....
Maybe what we have here is a case of difficulty getting the kids to school on time. Pulling this off everyday can be rough, in a Desperate Housewives kind of way. So rough in fact, possibly this one woman decided she just couldn’t face the daily drop-off without out a little liquid refreshment – even if it is summer vacation. But why hit the Scotch when there is something else available and in a conveniently small bottle?...
Just when you thought the world couldn’t get any worse, it does. Blame Joseph Bartorillo, the second man to admit that he put semen in yogurt before feeding it to innocent bystanders. The Larksville, Penn. resident has pleaded guilty to federal charges of tampering with a consumer product. Over a 20-month period, he injected his semen into yogurt containers belonging to two female co-workers. He admitted to doing this thirteen times....
Taco Bell big wigs must have been pleased when the lawsuit accusing them of hawking fake meat tacos was dropped. Pleased, perhaps; but apparently not satisfied. No, Taco Bell took the unusual step of taking out full-page ads in national newspapers to call out the law firm that doubted their taco meat. That’s right, Taco Bell is demanding a public mea culpa from the Alabama firm Beasley Allen. The Taco Bell beef lawsuit originally filed by Beasley Allen alleged that the company falsely advertised its taco meat as beef, when in fact it barely met federal “beef” naming standards....
It’s rare that deaths by natural causes make the headlines, but one Miami man’s death recently garnered some attention. Jacob Morpeau, aged 62, died of natural causes while parked in his car a few blocks from the county courthouse. What makes his death legally weird is that for four days, city parking officials continued to issue citations to Morpeau’s vehicle, presumably with him dead inside, sometimes two tickets at a time....
Hollywood lawyers – those characters created for movies and television – represent both truths and falsehoods about lawyers in real life. Bold or brash? Smart or smart-aleck? Self-assured or self-centered? Criminal attorney or redundancy? Seriously, the line between fact and fiction sometimes can be quite thin. After all, everyone has seen one real-life lawyer like Vinny Gambini from “My Cousin Vinny” or at least one with a really bad suit....
Roden v. Amerisourcebergen Corp., G041990,concerned a dispute concerning plaintiff-former CEO’s entitlements arising out of his employment termination. In reversing in part and remanding, the court held that the portion of the trial court’s order overturning the review official’s award and awarding plaintiff a $14,432,141.74 change in control benefit was improper as the review official properly followed actuarial principles, methods and assumptions found to be appropriate by the plan actuary. The court affirmed portion of the judgment in holding that trial court was correct in affirming the decision of the review official to the effect the plaintiff is not, at this time, entitled to any payment with respect to potential excise tax liability, and that the trial court was correct in affirming the decision of the review official as to the application of prejudgment interest at the federal bank discount rate....
“Serial” is the hot new podcast that’s taking the nation by storm. A spin-off of “This American Life,” “Serial” is the story of Adnan Syed, a kid from a Baltimore suburb who was convicted of the murder of his ex-girlfriend in 1999. The show’s creator, “TAL” producer Sarah Koenig, was clued into the story by Rabia Chaudry, a lawyer, journalist, and friend of Adnan’s family. The show unfolds in a serial format (hence the name), with a new episode each week focusing on a different aspect of the case....
It seems like a perfect fit: Only 57 percent of the Class of 2013 found full-time, long-term lawyer gigs. And in rural areas of America, there are a whole lot of people (20 percent of the population) and not a lot of lawyers (2 percent). What’s more, many of those lawyers are retiring, leaving entire counties without any counsel. One year later, how are those programs working out? And how are debt-laden grads surviving in the rural areas?...
The long fight over A-Rod’s suspension may not be over yet. His lawyers filed suit in federal court Monday to try to get an arbitrator’s decision overturned. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz ruled Saturday that Yankees player Alex Rodriguez will be suspended for the 2014 season for his use of performance enhancing drugs. Horowitz actually reduced Rodriguez’s suspension, from 211 games to 162 games. Challenging an arbitrator’s decision, however, can be difficult. What exactly is A-Rod alleging, and will his challenge succeed?...
Young lawyers under the age of 36 listen up! You have one more day to apply for the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division Scholarship. Just like your taxes, the scholarship application is due tomorrow. Designed to encourage participation by minority attorneys, or attorneys in the private sector, military service, solo/small firm, or government in the Young Lawyers Division of the ABA, the YLD scholarship program gives priority to applications with a desire to be actively involved in the Young Lawyers Division, and who require financial assistance....
Some law firms finally got the memo: stop serving alcohol at firm events. It’s not like Prohibition; we know how that turned out. But law firms are learning that drinking alcohol is not a good idea at work. Maybe alcohol-free zones – like smoke-free zones – will become the norm someday. In the meantime, major law firms have decided it’s about time. Abstain from Alcohol According to reports, Goodwin Procter as well as Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe will abstain from alcohol at summer associate events....
General Elec. Co. v. Jackson, No. 09-5092, involved an action challenging the constitutionality of a statutory scheme that authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to issue orders, known as unilateral administrative orders (UAOs), directing companies and others to clean up hazardous waste for which they were responsible. The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for defendants, holding that, to the extent the UAO regime implicated constitutionally protected property interests by imposing compliance costs and threatening fines and punitive damages, it satisfied due process because UAO recipients could obtain a pre-deprivation hearing by refusing to comply and forcing EPA to sue in federal court....
The company is being accused of wrongdoing. Charges of sexual harassment, regulatory noncompliance, or unfair trade practices have been levied. Litigation has started, or is on the horizon. Should you turn to a private investigator to help prepare? A private dick can help you find out key facts, Sam Spade style. But they can also land companies in hot water, as a recent lawsuit against Uber illustrates. Uber’s private eye-inspired headache came after the company was accused of violating antitrust laws....
You know how things sometimes go from bad to worse? Well, there’s a rule about that: don’t go there. Like, don’t go from the frying pan to the fire. Anyway, Jason Lee Van Dyke didn’t learn that rule in law school. He apparently jumped bail, and it looks like he’s a lawyer-on-the-lam. Proud Boys Van Dyke has been in trouble for a while, at least since he took over an extremist/hate group called “Proud Boys....
It’s the second biggest game in the world, and this year it’s being played deep in the heart of tech. Silicon Valley’s Levi’s Stadium boasts some of the most advanced stadium tech in the world, and will play host to Sunday’s Super Bowl. While this has those lucky enough to score a ticket giddy with the possibility of staying connected to friends, the Internet, and even the snack bar during the game, it also has cybersecurity experts worried....
The first Afghan Taliban member to be tried in a U.S. federal court won a partial victory in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals this week, McClatchy reports. While the appellate court upheld Khan Mohammed’s narcoterrorism conviction on the merits, it remanded his case to the district court for an evidentiary hearing on his ineffective counsel argument. Mohammed claimed that his trial counsel was ineffective because he failed to adequately explore the possibility that evidence was available that would have significantly strengthened Mohammed’s defense....
What began as a minor DUI crash in Orlando, Florida, morphed into a bizarre scene à la “Footloose.” Only the guy cutting loose was naked and allegedly high. Upon entering Felix Lockett’s vehicle, three law-enforcement officers fell sick from formaldehyde exposure. Lockett allegedly told investigators he’d been mixing formaldehyde with marijuana and smoking it, the Orlando Sentinel reports. After he crashed into a wall, Lockett proceeded to strip off his clothes and dance in the middle of the street....
