A lot has changed since attorney Bentley Kassal began working long ago in New York City. Computers? Forget about it. The ball point pen hadn’t been invented yet. Not only did women not practice law, they didn’t even have the right to vote when Kassal was born. “I am enjoying every bit of it because every day I get a new challenge and I like being challenged – whether it be in the law or whether it be on the sports field,” he said....
At Cornell Law, the school and community are celebrating the election of the first all-female Cornell Law Review executive board. The all-female board is being heralded as the first ever all-female law review board at a top 14 law school. And the board has their work cut out for them, as the Cornell Law Review receives hundreds of submissions each month from scholars at all levels. Even Justice Ginsburg published an article in it....
Earlier this month, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals came down with a ruling that would greatly affect the way several patent cases come out of the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The court held that joinder will not be allowed in multi-defendant patent infringement cases, where the cases allege that the defendants violated the same patent. Why does this affect the District Court in Texas, though? Because a large number of patent troll cases come out of Texas....
On appeal, the D.C. Circuit Court vacated the conviction of Ezra Griffith, who was found guilty of possessing a firearm as a felon. In doing so, the court, in U.S.A. v. Ezra Griffith, clarified what information is necessary in an affidavit to support a search for a cell phone or other electronic storage devices. The key issue on appeal was whether the Griffith’s motion to suppress the evidence gathered during a search of his home was properly denied....
V.C. v. Superior Court, H035602, concerned a father’s petition for a writ of mandate challenging the juvenile court’s order terminating reunification services for him and setting the matter for a permanency planning hearing. In denying the petition, the court held that substantial evidence supports the juvenile court’s finding that the father failed to make substantive progress in court-ordered treatment programs for substance abuse, and there was no substantial probability that the child could be returned to the father within six months....
Electronic Arts’ iconic Madden NFL franchise is probably the most popular football video game in history. The game debuted in 1988 and since the 90’s has used actual players and teams from the NFL. By all accounts, it is the most realistic depiction of professional football in a video game. And therein lies its problem. Former NFL players sued EA for using their likenesses without permission, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed....
In response to California’s continuing drought, Governor Jerry Brown will be instituting unprecedented restrictions on water usage with the hopes of reducing urban water consumption, Brown announced yesterday. The move comes as California faces one of its most severe droughts on record. The new water restrictions, expected to last through February, 2016, direct the State Water Resources Control Board to impose restrictions to reduce urban water consumption by 25 percent. The new restrictions could result not just shorter showers and less lawn sprinklers, but increased inspections and enforcement actions by the state....
Tough day at the office for ESPN NFL analyst Jeremy Green, son of former NFL coach Dennis Green. Jeremy Green was arrested on drug and child pornography charges in Connecticut. Bristol Police served Green, 38, with an arrest warrant at a Hartford area hotel, where he was apparently living. He has been taken into custody and it is unknown whether he plans to make bail. The Hartford Courant is reporting that Green was charged with first-degree possession of child pornography, possession of narcotics and possession of drug paraphernalia....
There are many considerations to take into account when deciding whether or not to sue someone. But, one of the most important considerations is the deadline – called “statute of limitations” – for filing such a lawsuit. Just ask the NFL players who had their lawsuit dismissed because it was past the deadline for filing such a suit. Overview of Statutes of Limitations Statutes of limitations are in place to balance the need for justice with the need to ensure a fair trial for all parties involved....
When in Rome, do as the Romans. But what to wear if you’re the emperor? No, you don’t put on a toga and laurels. That might work at a frat party in 1978, but we’re talking about dressing for a law department in 2017. When it’s business casual for most workers, the boss has to stand apart. For general counsel, sometimes it comes down to a tie. Tie or No Tie If you are the boss, you can pretty much wear whatever you want – like a gorilla can sit where it wants....
There are a lot of new faces on the appeals court bench. We’ve already noted that Gov. Brown will have two vacancies to fill on the California Supreme Court alone. Late last month, he also addressed a number of vacancies on the state’s appeals bench, with six nominees. All six are expected to be confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The Commission is headed by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. The two other votes belong to Atty....
Plus, Criminal, Administrative, Insurance, Property, and Tort Matters Serv. Employees Int’l Union v. Schwarzenegger, A126525, concerned a union’s action against Governor of California and the Director of the Department of Personnel Administration, challenging the mandatory imposition of furlough on State Fund employees for two days per month in accordance with the Governor’s executive order. The court affirmed the trial court’s judgment issuing a writ of mandate and a permanent injunction halting the furlough days and ordering the Controller to pay all State Fund employees their full salaries through back pay with legal interest in accordance with the reasoning of the Division Three opinion authored by Justice Pollak, with minor editorial changes where defendants’ claim that the award of back pay is defective procedurally, evidentially, and substantively is rejected....
In an appeal from a district court order striking plaintiff’s attorney as counsel of record and terminating his status as an appellant from a bankruptcy court order, the order is affirmed where: 1) counsel was not a licensed attorney; and 2) he lacked prudential standing to appeal from the bankruptcy court’s order. Read In the Matter of: Greater Southeast Cmty. Hosp. Found., Inc., No. 08-7089 Appellate Information Argued September 18, 2009...
Judge Guy Williams could be the poster boy for a judiciary gone wrong, except he is probably too old for that now. For many Americans today, the poster child is Judge Brett Kavanaugh for his beer-drinking and alleged womanizing college days. But compared to Williams, Kavanaugh is practically a choir boy. Williams has been reprimanded for grouping three women at a party and texting one of them, “nice body for a 70 year old....
Flags outside the courthouses of the United States District Court for the Central District of California will be flown at half staff in honor of Senior District Judge Robert J. Kelleher, who passed yesterday at the age of 99. Judge Kelleher was the oldest-serving federal judge, The Associated Press reports. District Court Chief Judge Audrey B. Collins described Judge Kelleher as “a great judge,” “a dear friend,” and “a fighter until the end, enjoying life and loving his family and this court....
Hot dogs are a big deal in this country, even if they only cost 99 cents. But try telling that to the jury in Cheney, Washington that has just acquitted a man who was accused of stealing a “bronze” German sausage from a local grocery store. He said he wasn’t a hot dog thief, and they believed him. In December, John Richardson was moseying through Mitchell’s IGA, picking up fixings for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, reports The Spokesman-Review....
Following up on the somewhat bizarre story of the alleged extortion attempt made on Rick Pitino, Louisville men’s basketball coach, the AP now reports that the purported wrongdoer is claiming she was “set up from the very beginning.” The whole matter had started as vague allegations against 49-year-old Karen Cunagin Sypher, the estranged wife of Pitino’s equipment manager, but later hardened into charges against her (though still somewhat vague charges). Well, the whole thing might be getting even more mixed up by her claims of a set up....
Back in March, if you walked past New American restaurants and boutique shops in downtown Austin, Texas, you might have spotted a sticker declaring that the establishment was ’exclusively for white people.’ When the stickers started popping up, they were condemned by Austin’s mayor and the NAACP. But don’t worry, it wasn’t the return of Jim Crow in Texas’s liberal capital city – it was just one of our favorite “lawyers behaving badly” stories of the year....
Allow me to rehash a few clothing-centric adages for a moment: dress for success, dress for the job you want, not the job you have, the suit makes the man, the pantsuit makes the presidential candidate, etc. You’ve heard them all before, but there’s some serious truth behind those platitudes. Clothes don’t just change how people look at you, but how you look at yourself. And there’s research to back it up....
California often leads the charge on social issues, but sometimes it’s ahead of its time; that may have been the case with the attempt to legalize marijuana. In November 2010, Proposition 19, a ballot measure to legalize marijuana was defeated by a slim margin of 53.5% of voters voting “no,” reports the San Jose Mercury News. Attempts to legalize marijuana in Colorado and Washington last year were successful, and these victories at the poll have renewed efforts in California to do the same....
