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By now, whether you are a student of law or not, you have probably heard. First, about the hunger strike for law school transparency. And now, about the revelation of the true identity of the hunger striker. It turns out that the few details that were set forth by UnemployedJD blogger “Ethan Haines” provided a rather modest modicum of transparency themselves. For example “Ethan” is actually Zenovia. And she is not an entirely unemployed J....

Panic hit in the upper crust over the weekend after 11 million documents were leaked from the secretive Panama law firm of Mossack Fonseca. The documents revealed just how some of the world’s most influential people launder their assets away from prying governmental eyes. World governments, for their part, have reacted with predictable urgency. Will this revelation mark the beginning of the end of legal tax-loopholes? Unlikely. The Rich and the Powerful The leaked papers (dubbed “The Panana Papers”) included the names of very well placed persons including 12 heads of state and approximately 60 persons somehow linked to heads of state....

When law students need to draft or brush up their resume for the springtime job hunt, often one of the big issues students encounter is making their resume stand out from their peers. Unless you’re in the top 10 percent or quarter of your class, or have earned yourself some academic distinctions or other awards, it’s pretty much up to you to set yourself apart. And if you’re confused on how to go about doing that in your resume, read on below for three useful tips, but be prepared to work, because each requires you to actually do something....

Dressing unprofessionally is a concern many attorneys have (or should have). When professionals strut too much of their stuff or commit other fashion no-nos, it can detract from the work and give clients the wrong impression. Here are the top ten signs that you dress unprofessionally: White socks. In fact, ditch the black athletic socks during the daytime, too. If you wear dress shoes, wear dress socks. The color of your dress socks should go with your pants, not by the shade of your shoes....

So, you think you want to go to law school and become a lawyer? Before making such a big decision, and potentially take on a lot of student debt, it’s a good idea to do some research. And, what better way to do research than to watch movies? The quintessential law school movie, The Paper Chase depicts the tough contracts professor that most law schools boast. You’ll see the Socratic Method at work and learn the importance of an outline....

Like so many things, becoming a diplomat is easier said than done. Well, that’s true for most people. If you were born a Kennedy, it might be that easy. For the rest of us, it’s sometimes a tricky political path. But if you go to law school, you are on your way. Lawyer/Politicians Lawyers dominate in the U.S. Congress. They make up nearly 38 percent of the House of Representatives, and 55 percent of the Senate....

Under the Lanham Act, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can’t register “scandalous, immoral, or disparaging marks.” That provision has been used to strike down the trademark for the Washington Redskins and to deny trademark protection to the all-Asian “Chinatown dance rock” band (and nutrition bar sponsors) The Slants. The court upheld the USPTO’s denial of trademark protection to The Slants in April, but reversed course on Tuesday, ruling en banc that the Lanham Act’s “disparaging marks” prohibition is unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination....

Young associates work a lot. They’re asked to do this, they’re asked to do that – and they feel like they need to say “yes” to everything in order to continue earning the boss’ favor (that’s the law firm partners, in this case). But good relationship management involves establishing early on what each party expects from the other. This means learning the fine art of saying “no.” By letting the partners know early on in the relationship that you’ll push back if you have a really good reason, you let them know that you’re not a pushover and, while you’ll gladly take on additional work if you can, you’ll be assertive about when you can’t anymore....

Americans aren’t too keen on mystery meat, and thankfully, the U.S.D.A. is backing us up on that. On the second go around, the D.C. Circuit upheld a country-of-origin labeling rule for meat products, finding that the rule did not compel meat producers to speak. With only one option left, we’ll have to wait and see if the plaintiff will seek redress from the U.S. Supreme Court. Until then, let’s look at the legal backdrop....

Are California courts ready for another Kim Kardashian lawsuit? As we discussed on this blog in July, Kim Kardashian is suing Old Navy in a right of publicity claim, alleging that the company intentionally hired a Kardashian-kopy to promote its products in a television commercial. But that’s not the only litigation Kim’s involved in; the most famous Kardashian is facing mounting legal battles, both as a plaintiff and a defendant....

Util. Consumers’ Action Network v. Pub. Util. Comm’n of the State of California, D055666, involved a plaintiff’s petition for a writ of review challenging Public Utilities Commission of the State of California (Commission) decision granting San Diego Gas and Electric Company’s (SDG&E) application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct a transmission project. Rivera v. First Databank, Inc., G042377, concerned a challenge to the trial court’s denial of defendant’s anti-SLAPP motion, in plaintiffs’ suit for negligence and breach of contract against a publisher of medication information, referred to as “monographs”, claiming that defendant was negligent in preparing the Paxil monograph given to plaintiff-decedent (who committed suicide shortly after he began to use the medication for stress), because it should have included the so-called “black box” suicide warning issued by the FDA....

In a surprising move, the defense in the Barry Bonds perjury trial rested today without calling any witnesses. Not even Bonds himself. While we may never know why Barry Bonds’ witnesses did not testify, it was most likely a strategic move made to shelter Bonds and keep the jury’s focus on the prosecution’s shortcomings. Yesterday, Judge Illston first barred prosecutors from presenting recorded evidence provided by a key witness, and then called one of the five remaining charges “vague....

There is a sleepless night in every lawyer’s career. For Donald J. McNeil, that night has probably lasted a long time. McNeil and company took the brunt of a heavy-handed slap in federal court. If the lawyers weren’t awake during the trial and appeal, they should be now. The appeals court blamed them for a $340,000 loss and sanctioned their client with opposing counsel’s fees, too. Nightmare Case The nightmare started almost ten years ago, when three workers sued Master Hand Contractors for unpaid wages....

An elderly D.C. woman will finally be able to have her case heard in court after the D.C. Circuit Court determined that a reasonable jury could have determined that officers were unreasonable in shooting the plaintiff’s dog while executing a search warrant for drugs. This is the second qualified immunity case recently reviewed by a circuit that also involved dogs within the facts. The Robinsons and “Wrinkles” In 2010, DC police began executing a search warrant on the Robinson residence based on the belief that Mrs....

The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (“OSGATA”) are not giving up. They may have lost the latest round of litigation, with Monsanto Technology, LLC (“Monsanto”), earlier this summer but that’s not stopping them. Last week, the group consisting of 73 farmers petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, according to AgriMarketing. On June 10, 2013, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision finding the case or controversy requirement was not met....

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a business method was patentable. Alice Corporation, a company partly owned by National Australia Bank Ltd., devised four methods which essentially reduced the risks involved with exchanging financial obligations over a designated computerized system. Alice Corporation was sued by a company called CLS Bank International, which argued that the methods were not patentable, since they were abstract ideas, reports Reuters....

Flying? Blood? Snakes and spiders? None of them keep lawyers up at night. When it comes to lawyerly fears, classic phobias are nowhere to be found. Instead, attorneys stay up all night with severe performance anxiety. According to the ABA Journal’s list of lawyers’ most common fears, attorneys are worried about courts, colleagues, and even “seeming ’too nice.'” Take a Klonopin, lawyers. You seem stressed out. John Lande, a law professor at the University of Missouri, surveyed attorneys on their most common fears, which the ABA Journal turned into a 32-point listicle....

Ah, law school finals. There are few people who dread the month of December more than law students – for most of us, it means the holiday season, a time for food, family, and festivities. For law students, it means a grueling month of exam period that may or may not dictate how the rest of their career will pan out (not to be dramatic or anything, but those of you aspiring to go into BigLaw know what we’re referring to)....

Harvard law Professor Noah Feldman recently put forth the suggestion that it’s not up to law school admissions to baby law school applicants out of applying for schools; its up to students to make their own decisions. Although there is nothing particularly earth shattering about this statement, it strikes some people as being outrageous, given that bar passage rates have been plummeting. But the professor remains adamant in his position. Although, Harvard JDs probably don’t have too hard a time with the bar exam, do they?...

Fans of racing and/or “Dancing With The Stars” may be happy to hear that a champion in both arenas, Helio Castroneves, was acquitted in his criminal tax evasion case today. The jury did hang on one count of conspiracy, but Castroneves was acquitted on the rest (6) of the charges of tax evasion. This is great news for Castroneves racing fans as he had been “temporarily replaced on Team Penske by Australian Will Power pending the outcome of the case....