The Golden State is home to Hollywood, and if we can learn anything from celebrities, it’s that everyone’s got something they want to sell you. California lawyers are no different – well, sort of. Not quite selling things per se, as lawyers you’re selling services, but you need to know a thing or two about marketing. Legal marketing may not be high up on your “know how” or “to do” list, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important....
Working off a tip provided by a parole officer, an arrest was made over the weekend in the case of Bryan Stow - the Giants fan beating. The arrest brings to light questions about parolee rights and the Fourth Amendment. According to a statement made by the Los Angeles Police Department, SWAT officers served warrants on two locations in East Hollywood, arresting Giovanni Ramirez, who has now been arraigned on charges of assault with a deadly weapon....
In the wake of Facebook threats, which are becoming all the rage these days at the U.S. Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court had occasion to address the law of attempting to make a criminal threat. In People v. Chandler, the court – in an opinion by newish Justice Goodwin Liu – had to decide whether attempting to make a threat required only a subjective intent to threaten, or additionally required that the threat be objectively threatening to a reasonable person....
Gordon Caplan was on the fence: should he pay someone to take the college admission test for his daughter? He wanted his daughter to succeed, and he could handle the $75,000 fee. But, he told the government witness, it felt “a little weird.” It felt more weird when police arrested him in a $25 million bribery scheme that rocked colleges across the country. For Caplan, it also marked the likely end of his career at one of the nation’s premiere law firms....
In Jade Trading, LLC v. US, No. 08-5045, the Federal Circuit faced a challenge to the Court of Federal Claims’ denial of petitioners’ motion for readjustment of the partnership items of the company. As stated in the decision: “The economic substance doctrine requires disregarding, for tax purposes, transactions that comply with the literal terms of the tax code but lack economic reality. The doctrine, from its inception,…has been used to prevent taxpayers from subverting the legislative purpose of the tax code by engaging in transactions that are fictitious or lack economic reality simply to reap a tax benefit....
Don’t get between a lawyer and his free drinks. That doesn’t fly, as Southwest Airlines seems to have learned in a class-action lawsuit brought by thirsty attorney Adam Levitt over drink coupons. The Chicago lawyer sued Southwest over unused drink coupons that Southwest allegedly failed to honor. Levitt’s suit has landed in an out-of-court settlement worth between $29 million and $58 million, the ABA Journal reports. Given that the unused drink coupons are valued at $5 apiece, as many as 12 million drinks have been awarded to Levitt and other plaintiffs in the class....
Will cooler heads prevail? In the midst of the on-going melee that has surrounded the story of the break in, friendly visit, fact-finding mission (choose one), that was James O’Keefe’s trip to Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office, most of the facts are still up for interpretation. One thing that seems clear, however, is a bit of retrenchment regarding his methods by the strongly partisan O’Keefe. In a statement reported by TPMMuckraker, O’Keefe took one step back from the actions that caused him to step into the glare of the national spotlight....
In an action alleging that plaintiff’s supervisor at the Federal Aviation Administration discriminated against her on the basis of sex by reassigning her to an inferior position, judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) the magistrate judge correctly instructed the jury on the relevant legal theory; and 2) plaintiff did not identify any evidence peculiarly available to defendant that it did not produce and that would shed light on her claim....
Last month, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia struck down several provisions of President Trump’s Executive Orders issued in May of this year. The trio of EOs limited the power of federal employee unions, and as commentators explained, would make it easier to fire union employees. However, not pleased with the federal court ruling that several provisions could not be enforced, the Justice Department has filed their notice of appeal to the DC Circuit Court....
Introducing our Ex-Lawyer of the Week: Corwin Levi. Like many law students, Corwin Levi took meticulous notes by hand while attending the University of Virginia School of Law. But the complex doodles he sketched in the margins set Levi’s notes apart – and opened the door to a new career in visual arts. After about four years at a BigLaw firm, Levi left his full-time legal job and turned his law-school notes into a traveling art exhibit....
Whether you represent a corporation, or private or public entity, chances are you’ll need to get some board or council to approve any settlement offer or demand you make or receive. Typically, when you go to the board, you not only need to present the demand or offer, you also need to provide a recommendation. Although the entity client may have provided an acceptable range at the outset, rarely will settlement negotiations actually be in that range....
A pair of golfers apparently teed off the wrong man after an errant golf ball triggered a shooting, police say. The stray golf ball smashed the window of a home overlooking the Lakeridge Golf Course in Reno, Nev., Reuters reports. In retaliation, the home’s owner grabbed a shotgun and confronted the golfers. Then he opened fire. Homeowner Jeff Fleming, 53, shot one of the golfers in the legs and arm. After the golf ball shooting, police evacuated the golf course and surrounded Fleming’s house....
In In re Calderon, No. A125831, the First District dealt with a defendant’s petition for habeas relief, challenging the governor’s decision reversing the Parole Board’s determination finding defendant suitable for parole As stated in the decision: “Lawrence and Shaputis instruct that, in reviewing parole determinations by the Governor, ‘our deferential standard of review requires us to credit the Governor’s findings if they are supported by a modicum of evidence. This does not mean, however, that evidence suggesting a commitment offense was ’especially heinous’ or ‘particularly egregious’ will eternally provide adequate support for a decision that an inmate is unsuitable for parole....
Marijuana claims another victory just before the end of the year: a California appeals court ruled in favor of a woman who was growing marijuana for her own medical use. Since she needed the marijuana to treat her chronic pain, growing the marijuana was not a crime. This California case is just the latest chapter in what has been a tidal wave of national attitude change regarding pot. It looks like not everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, however....
Around 7 p.m. Sunday night, Sacramento State University campus police were alerted to an erratic driver on campus. At 7:33 p.m., according to Sonoma State spokesperson Paul Gullixson, a car struck a tree on campus. The driver of that car was Roseville High School cheer coach Gabriella Vega, whose blood alcohol level at the time was 0.25 – more than three times the legal limit. Also in the car with her was a 17-year-old student, who school district spokesperson John Becker said needed a ride back to the campus dorms because she wasn’t able to walk back....
June 10th is National Ballpoint Pen Day, the 72nd anniversary of the ballpoint pen’s invention. Dozens of people every year take the day to remember the contributions ballpoint pens have made to our lives. Sounds silly? Yes. The ballpoint remains the most common writing instrument in the world, even as paper notes become less and less ubiquitous. Which raises the question: for lawyers, is physical writing, as one does with a ballpoint, still relevant?...
Kentucky police have arrested a lawyer for allegedly stealing one client’s money. Police also apparently have evidence of more victims. Danny Butler, 70, is being held on $207,000 bail – the same amount he allegedly stole from his client. Wanda Brewer, who filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of her son Dana, said Butler was a respected lawyer in her small town. She expected he would be honest and dependable....
Public service: Some feel that it is their calling. They don’t seek the profits of private industry. They want to ask not what their country can do for them, but what they can do for their country. Those people would have gone into public service anyway. Considering the lawyer archetype (soulless, greedy, etc.), that’s probably one percent of graduates. Where do the rest of them go? A rare few head to BigLaw....
After the LSAT, the dozens of applications, the campus visits, the scholarship negotiation, and finally, matriculation, comes finals. But what comes after that? In a month or so, you’ll have your first semester 1L grades. Some schools consider transfers based on these grades alone, while other schools will take applications but hold off on making an offer until your entire 1L is in the books. Nonetheless, you need to be thinking about whether you want to transfer for 2L and 3L year....
The young woman thought her lawyer was coming over to discuss a case. Instead, they drank and he raped her while she lay unconscious. That was evil enough, resulting in felony rape and sexual assault convictions for Vincent A. Cirillo, Jr. The 57-year-old man, who awaits sentencing in a Pennsylvania courtroom, will probably spend the rest of his life in prison. “It’s unfortunate,” he said as he left the courtroom in handcuffs....
