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A Pennsylvania woman convicted in a sex-for-Phillies-tickets sting operation has scored big-time in court. An appeals court overturned her conviction in a prostitution case that drew worldwide notoriety. Susan Finkelstein, 45, admits she tried to use her flirtatious nature to score tickets to a Phillies-Yankees World Series game in 2009, USA Today reports. Finkelstein posted a classified ad on Craigslist, calling herself a “gorgeous tall buxom blonde” and adding, “Price negotiable....

We often talk about lawyers who do strange things with (or in spite of) their legal education: spirit healers, musicians, and startup titans are just some of the roads less traveled. But a beauty pageant contestant? Laura Puleo is the first we’ve heard of, and of course, she goes to the greatest law school in America – Washington and Lee, where this blogger also went to school. I emailed 20 questions to Puleo – who’s set up a page on GoFundMe (after all, student loan payments don’t leave a lot of leftover cash for pageant gowns and the like) – about her two paths: aspiring lawyer and Miss Virginia contestant....

Nobody really wants to take more classes in law school, but wouldn’t it be better if law schools had more classes on real law practice? Like, how about a class on surviving law firm politics or billing more hours in less time? Actually, that could be one class – law practice ethics. Seriously, there are some things you don’t learn until you start practicing. But more seriously, don’t you wish law school had less theoretical and more practical instruction?...

Your early law firm experience usually boils down to luck – and the type of law partner you’re assigned to. If you get a partner who is pleasant to work with, you may be one of those lucky few associates who has a long and fruitful career. Get stuck with a screamer? You may end up becoming a blogger by year’s end. Law partner types vary from firm to firm, and the disparity among partner types is often evident....

I’ve never been the type to appreciate “we need to do something” speeches. Yes, the first step is to admit you have a problem, but the most important step is finding a way to fix the problem. We have too many law graduates. We have little to no access to the justice system for low income and rural residents. Both are massive problems, and the new ABA President, James R. Silkenat, has twice in two months mentioned the problem....

SCA Hygiene Products (SCA) holds a patent on “adult incontinence products” – that is, adult diapers. The company sued First Quality Baby Products for infringing on its patent for a disposable diaper that can be taken on and off like underwear – think Pull-Ups, but for adults. A Long Waiting Period Back in 2003, SCA sent a letter to First Quality saying something along the lines of, “Hey, we think one of your products infringes on our patent....

Attitudes towards freelance lawyers have been changing over the years. Such changes were an almost predictable outcome of the 2008 crash that left many professionals without a job. Suddenly, attorneys who had previously been labeled “substandard losers who couldn’t get a job” are now an industry regular. That “loser” terminology are the words of Donna Seyle, founder of Law Practice Strategy. She writes that some of the perks that come with freelance lawyering are enough to make at least some lawyers consider this “loser” route....

Worried that the singularity will hit soon and the human race will be enslaved by an army of hyper-intelligent robots? Or, worse, that artificial intelligence programs will replace lawyers? Don’t worry, we’re not there yet. Most artificial intelligence programs are still too rudimentary to do more than rote legal work, and a Cylon-style insurrection is at least a few years off. But, AI has gotten better at thinking like a lawyer, with a new report showing that artificial intelligence can accurately predict case outcomes 79 percent of the time....

Kraft-Heinz made a $143 billion bid to takeover Unilever last week. The potential merger would have brought iconic U.S. brands like Jell-O and Velveeta together with Unilever best-sellers like Ben & Jerry’s and Knorr’s instant pea soup, creating a packaged food powerhouse to rival the world’s current biggest food company, Nestle. The takeover didn’t work out, with Kraft withdrawing the offer over the weekend. But, it could be a sign that more food industry mergers are likely in the future....

The aunt of a troubled Alabama teenager got more than she bargained for when she created a fake Facebook account to teach her niece a lesson about online safety. AL.com reports that just days after the aunt began chatting with her niece Marissa Williams via a fake Facebook account, posing as a man named “Tre ‘Topdog’ Ellis,” Williams allegedly asked Ellis to kill her aunt, her aunt’s fiance, her cousin, and even the family dog....

In BigLaw, prosecutors mean Big Business. Though the majority of firms have been cutting back on overall partner compensation, it appears as though they are still willing to shell out the big bucks just to capture top-notch prosecutors looking to jump sides. With paychecks in the millions, these prosecutors-turned-partners sometimes make 10 times more their colleagues. The so-called revolving door between government and the private sector is not new. In fact, it’s often encouraged, with ethics rules specifically taking into account the unique position of government lawyers....

When it comes to winning at trial, attorneys should never underestimate the power of a strong opening statement and an even stronger closing argument. The right opening can set the tone for the entire trial and a solid closing can tie your whole case together in neat little knot. Bad openings and closing can sink your case from the get-go. From setting up the jury’s expectations to explaining what in the world just happened over the past several days, these are two of the most critical components of any trial....

Team doctors and sports trainers don’t have it easy. From broken bones and torn ligaments to dehydration and concussions, there are myriad possible injuries athletes can suffer. And for almost every one, early diagnosis is essential for player safety and recovery. So, of course, there’s no an app for that. Sideline Guidelines is an app designed to help medical professionals quickly identify, diagnose, and treat sports injuries both on the field and off....

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is considering a request to release previously sealed juror voir dire questionnaires from the Chandra Levy trial. Ingmar Guandique, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala with a criminal history, was charged in Levy’s murder in 2009. As part of the voir dire process in Guandique’s murder trial, jurors were asked to complete an 11-page, 55-question questionnaire. The jurors’ responses were never released to the public. Instead, D....

Photocure ASA v. Kappos, No. 09-1393, concerned a challenge to the district court’s holding that the PTO’s denial of petitioner’s request for a term extension of a drug product having as its active ingredient the chemical compound, MAL hydrochloride, was not in accordance with law and that the patent on MAL hydrochloride is subject to term extension. In affirming the judgment the court held that the district court correctly applied 35 U....

It must be handy to have a local politician in your pocket at your beck and call. In Chelsea, Oklahoma, about two hours north of Oklahoma City, a local politician meddled in a DUI arrest. Now the entire police force has resigned en masse? What happened? Chelsea is a small town of only about 2,000 people. It’s police force consists of the police chief, an assistant chief, a captain, a patrol officer, and two part-time patrolmen....

A Sicilian drug dealer was arrested in the U.K. after he was spotted in some unusual pictures. Michele Grosso, 27, took photos with a wax President Obama figure. The figure is known to be located at Madame Tussauds in London. Grosso had been on the run for quite some time. In 2008, he fled his hometown of Taormina in an effort to evade arrest. Police, however, kept track of his Facebook page....

Remember back when you were in middle school and you really wanted to a ride to the mall and your mom was all like, “No way, I don’t have time to chauffeur you all around town,” and you were all like, “But Mom, Jenny (your best friend) is going through a really bad breakup right now and she really needs me to meet her at the Cinnabon,” but really you just wanted to see if Chad was there and ask him what was up with his friend Ryan and if he really, really liked you or just kinda liked you?...

General counsel from 25 major companies are sharing data about their law firms, including billing rates, practice areas, and other business information. The companies include Mastercard, Panasonic, Paypal, and others across the corporate spectrum. They are looking for more efficient legal services, and sending a message to outside counsel that times are changing. Corporate clients have increasingly kept more matters in-house and outsourced work to legal service providers in recent years, and now they want to communicate about the changes....

According to the scholars over at the Harvard Business Review, despite what most American’s may think, over the past 25 years, not much has changed when it comes to hiring discrimination for black Americans. Shocked? You’re not alone. It’s safe to say that most people would have expected there to have been a drastic change particularly given that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed over 50 years ago. But a recent analysis has shown that a white applicant is more than 36 percent more likely to get a call back for an interview than a black candidate with equivalent credentials....