Lara Croft, a female version of Indiana Jones, is powering a new movie and video game. Played by Alicia Vikander in the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot, the movie is set for release in early 2018. No telling how much the enterprise will make, but the first game made about $30 million in 48 hours. So what does that have to do with law school? For one enterprising law student, it’s about a prize and a dream....
Anyone care to help a brotha out with some free or cheap MCLEs? For us Californians with N-Z monikers, we have less than two weeks to stuff in 25 MCLE credits (less if you were admitted after 2/1/11 or inactive), which basically means we have another week before we’ll actually get started on our CLE binging. If you’re like me, you (a) haven’t started and (b) are not looking forward to paying hundreds of dollars in dues, plus student loan payments, plus the cost of MCLES....
As hackers continue to attack companies everywhere, Microsoft has appointed a privacy lawyer to lead the company in the battle against cybercrime. Julie Brill, a former Federal Trade Commissioner, will oversee privacy and regulatory affairs for the company. She will have other responsibilities, including telecommunications regulations, corporate standards, and internet governance, but her appointment highlights Microsoft’s emphasis on cybersecurity. “As a company, the problem that perhaps concerns us the most in the cybersecurity space is the growing rise of nation state attacks,” said Brad Smith, president and chief legal officer, during a recent speech in Brussels....
Many law firms are still feeling the pinch of declining billable hours, and for some the solution may be to cut partners. Underutilized partners are one of the biggest issues the legal industry is dealing with as the country struggles to climb out of the recession. That’s according to a new survey by Wells Fargo Private Bank which examined the finances of 115 firms. The number of billed hours is down overall, but this time around it’s not associates who are getting the ax....
It’s been a long strange piss for San Francisco’s first open-air public urinal, also known as a pissoir. Installed earlier this year as Dolores Park was undergoing renovations, the concrete circle, complete with drain and semicircular concrete splash guard, attracted quite a few visitors and quite a bit of media attention. It also garnered one lawsuit that claimed “[t]he open-air urination hole violates the privacy of those who need to use the restroom but would be required to expose their bodies and suffer the shame and degradation of urinating in public view....
A flag-stealing squirrel is to blame for the recent disappearances of small flags at the Toledo Police Memorial Garden in Ohio. Officers had been noticing that flags were disappearing from the memorial for days, reports the Toledo Blade. No suspects were spotted, and no clues were found. Until now. The furry and elusive flag-stealing squirrel was spotted by police officers James Brown and Mark King Wednesday morning, the Toledo Blade reports....
In Neuman, Georgia, it isn’t just fluoride and proper brushing that are competing with dentist Dr. Artie Ricaud for his money. This Neuman dentist almost lost the hard-earned tooth cash to a thief, one who tossed a bag containing thousands in cash in the trashcan after helping himself to the contents of Ricaud’s wallet. Maybe it’s true that you don’t know what you’ve got, til it’s gone … or until the theft charges hit....
One little piggy is going to be able to continue crying “wee wee wee” all the way to its Houston home. A Texas judge has ruled that the pig is a pet, the San Antonio Express-News reports. The battle over Wilbur the pig began when Alex Sardo gave his wife, Missy, the then-7-week-old Vietnamese pot-bellied pig. But when the couple’s homeowners association found out, they wanted the piglet out. Cypresswood Community Improvement Association sent a letter to the Sardo family stating they had 30 days to get rid of it or face a lawsuit....
Sharif Mobley, a U.S. citizen, has been detained in Yemen for five years – for reasons unclear to him, his lawyers, or the D.C. Circuit. Mobley claims he was plucked from the streets by armed men, shot, interrogated by the FBI and other federal agencies, and has remained in custody ever since. Mobley sued to uncover the reasons behind his detention and other “proxy detentions” in Yemen. That information won’t be forthcoming anytime soon, though, after the D....
Dr. Strangelove has nothing on West Point law professor William Bradford. Unlike Stanley Kubrick’s crazed doctor, or even the unhinged General Buck Turgidson, Prof. Bradford doesn’t want to just kill America’s supposed enemies abroad, he wants to take out the traitors here at home as well. That means killing pretty much everyone who dares question the war on terror. Don’t worry though, it’s all legal! At least that’s the argument he made in his absolutely nutballs 180-page manifesto which an even nuttier editorial board at George Mason’s National Security Law Journal decided to publish in full....
With all the excitement about innovation, sometimes it leaves companies and even industries behind like dead bodies in unmarked graves. Pandora, the first radio music service online, has fallen victim to innovations by Apple and Spotify. The rumors of its demise are exaggerated, but Pandora may soon be taken over by another company or be forced to borrow more money to survive. The company reportedly is “confident” that it will be sold in the next 30 days, even as it announced an agreement to take a $150 million investment from a private equity firm....
Nope, it wasn’t a planned hit. In fact, we’d venture a guess that Ryan Johnson didn’t intend for anyone to get hurt, especially not one of the two men he sent, armed, to carry out a home invasion robbery. Still, under the “provocative act doctrine,” even an absentee co-conspirator can be held accountable when things don’t go according to plan. Indeed, things really didn’t go to plan. Johnson sent two accomplices to carry out a robbery of a rival marijuana dealer’s home....
In a Winstar-related case, judgment by the court of federal claims holding that the government’s enactment of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) breached the government’s contractual promise to allow favorable accounting treatment of supervisory goodwill is reversed and remanded as the government lacked the requisite intent to enter into a contract with plaintiff regarding treatment of goodwill to be generated by plaintiff’s conversion, no contract was formed, and thus, there was no breach....
Two lawyers from the nonprofit criminal defense organization The Bronx Defenders resigned last week after they briefly appeared in an online music video. The song is called “Hands Up,” which contains some anti-police lyrics and the suggestion that black men aggrieved by racial injustice should kill police officers. File this one under either “It seemed like a good idea at the time” or “We should have demanded to see the lyrics first....
October 3rd is just around the corner and it looks like the latest SAT is set to ruin the lives of a fresh legion of college hopefuls. Whether you’re gearing up for the SAT, LSAT, or bar exam, there are a few universal tricks to help you excel. 1. Know Your Weaknesses Ryan’s first piece of advice is to know your strengths and weaknesses. “It’s like the old Clash Song ‘Should I stay or Should I Go,’” he told Business Insider....
In plaintiffs’ Contract Disputes Act (CDA) claims against the Indian Health Service (IHS), the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals’ dismissal of several of plaintiffs’ contract claims is affirmed in part and reversed in part as the six-year presentment period is subject to equitable tolling under section 605(a) of the CDA, but the class action tolling does not apply to the claims at issue. Read Arctic Slope Native Ass’n, Ltd. v. Sebelius, No....
While the thought of an injury occurring to a person practicing yoga may seem improbable, it is more common than one might expect. Among the most common injuries include joint and muscle injuries, and injuries related to falls. Often, yoga injuries, unlike CrossFit injuries, do not immediately manifest, but occur over time. However, sometimes, the injury can be the result of a yogi pushing their student too far or too hard....
Hey, law students! We know you’re into free things due to your outrageous debt (meaning you’re wandering around school, lurking in any lecture or meeting that offers free pizza), so here’s your chance to snag an ABA membership for free! Right now, everyone’s favorite nationwide bar association is offering students at ABA-accredited law schools free membership, leading to a wonderland of rental car discounts and more magazines than you could possibly read in a month....
Joy to the World, the bonuses have come. Really, if you are part of BigLaw, you have your own bonus memo to look forward to. If you are toiling outside the gushing font of hours and moolah that is BigLaw, you might care, or you might not. In any case, the Recording Angel, otherwise known as Cravath, Swaine & Moore, has set forth its associate bonus levels for this year....
Unless its Halloween, it’s probably not a good idea to dress up as a police officer. A Glendale, California man was arrested recently for allegedly impersonating a Los Angeles Police Department Officer. Witnesses called Ventura police after they saw four suspicious men standing around a police car. When officers arrived, they found Oliver James dressed in full LAPD uniform with a badge, name plate, a patrol duty belt, and gun. The police car James was standing next to turned out to be sold by the LAPD three years ago and is currently unregistered....
