Donald Sterling is an unrepentant slumlord and serial sexual harasser. But it was only when a racist rant (one of many) was leaked to the media that the NBA banned Sterling and forced him to sell his L.A. Clippers. Sterling had been battling the sale, and appealed a probate ruling that allowed his wife to sell the time. Only he appealed it very badly, and a California court affirmed the ruling....
Litigation that has been ongoing for twelve-years is finally over (unless the loser appeals to the Supreme Court), with the Federal Circuit resolving a case involving streaming video system technology, reports Globe Newswire. While the technology in dispute may be difficult to comprehend, the Federal Circuit was clear in clarifying its previous en banc decision in TiVo Inc. v. EchoStar Corp. nCube Corp. (now “Arris”) owns patent No. 5,805,804 ("‘804") “which disclosesand claims a media server capable of transmitting multimedia information over any network configuration in real time to a client that has requested the information....
Have you always wanted to compare different ABA-accredited law schools’ numbers? Do you have a strange affinity for Excel? Well, now you can put both of your odd hobbies together! The American Bar Association has made available its “509 disclosures” – all the self-reported numbers that ABA-accredited schools have to provide every year – online and in Excel spreadsheet format. You can get 509 sheets for each of the 202 ABA-accredited law schools in the United States, or – and this is where we had some fun – you can get spreadsheets on a variety of different metrics (like undergraduate GPA, cost of attendance, and attrition), compare schools to each other, and discover trends....
Got a couch? We call the next six months of your life “limbo.” You can probably find a job as a barista or bartender, but as an attorney? Think about it: if you were a small firm, would you bank a job, salary, and benefits on someone who might not pass the bar? During bar study, you’ll likely be unemployed, or at most, working a part-time job. You’re going to need to cut expenses....
I get it. I get Professor Ben Edelmen was frustrated. He ordered $53.35 worth of Chinese food from Sichuan Garden, a local restaurant. He was charged $57.35. Apparently, an out-of-date website was to blame. Like I said, I get it. I tried to buy a keg of Pabst Blue Ribbon a few months back from a mom-and-pop liquor store up on the corner. Their website said $50. When I got there, they wanted $70 and refused to honor the price on their website, which the lady said that she didn’t know how to update....
Environmental Challenge to Utility Licensing Impact on Trout Fishery In Hoopa Valley Tribe v. FERC, No. 09-1134, a petition for review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s decision declining to impose conditions on a utility’s annual licenses so as to preserve the Klamath River’s trout fishery, the court denied the petition where 1) the Commission quite plainly articulated and applied a standard in rejecting the Tribe’s claims; and 2) the Commission’s determination that the utility was not causing “unanticipated, serious impacts” had sufficient factual support in the record....
For law students, mental health is very important. With all the stress of keeping up, cold calling, outlining, and exams, not to mention all the requirements that lead up to the bar exam and admission into the bar, if law students aren’t careful, their mental health can really suffer. Fortunately, thanks to the modern world we live in, there’s tech that can help you cope (apart from massaging chairs). Below, you can read about three not so new, and actually pretty-obvious, tech innovations to help you stay grounded during law school....
What is art? An exhibit by Chinese artist Cal Guo-Qiang planned for this weekend’s opening of the new Aspen Art Museum that features tortoises with iPads mounted to the animals’ shells is being called animal abuse by some. More than 2,000 people having already signed an online petition objecting to the exhibit, reports the The Denver Post. Is the exhibit art, or is it animal abuse? The museum is countering criticism of the exhibit by noting that it has been working with a local veterinarian to ensure that the animals, which were rescued from a breeder, are not harmed by their roles in the exhibit....
Proposition 19, the California proposition on whether the Golden State will legalize marijuana, is finding support from law students nationwide, according to Forbes. If passed Prop 19, officially known as the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, would allow California cities and counties to adopt their own laws regarding the sale and manufacturing of marijuana. Now enter the law students. Members of Georgetown University’s Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) have spent the week calling across the country to urge California voters to pass the highly-publicized proposition....
A Michigan Chuck E. Cheese assault has created headlines. A 50-year-old grandmother was allegedly attacked in the kid-friendly establishment. Why, you may wonder? Well, the grandmother was apparently displeased with some of the foul language used by several other patrons. She was so fed up with it that she went over to tell them to control their swearing. And she did it rather diplomatically. She is believed to have said this (fairly polite) sentence: “Please don’t use that language with children....
For a pair of former military contractors, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals may have finally cut through all the red tape to let their case get up to the summary judgment stage. The contractors filed claims of for retaliatory discharge and breach of contract. Notably, although only one was injured on the job, both contractors were abruptly terminated, after a work comp claim was filed, despite their contract requiring an ample notice period for terminations without, or with curable, cause....
Thrill-seekers looking for a naked haunted house will have to keep on dreaming, because Pennsylvania’s “Shocktoberfest” has decided to require underwear for its somewhat controversial “Naked and Scared Challenge.” According to NBC’s “Today,” attendees of the haunted house in the borough of Sinking Spring will no longer be plunging into a ghastly hellscape bearing their naked nethers. The haunted house’s president says he wants the business to be a “good neighbor” to affected municipalities....
June’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International struck a blow to software patents – or at least the ones that didn’t make any sense in the first place. To briefly recap: The Court invalidated a patent for a very generic, unpatentable abstraction whose only claim to patentability was that the abstract concept had been reduced to a computer program. The Court unanimously declared that merely attaching the words “on a computer” doesn’t transform an unpatentable idea into a patentable one....
Welcome to Constitution Week at FindLaw! Why this week, of all weeks? Because during this week in 1787 (on September 17, to be exact), the U.S. Constitution was signed by attendees of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Of course, the original draft had a few imperfections – no Bill of Rights, the three-fifths compromise, and slavery, for example – but the foundation was solid. That being said, we’re glad the Constitution has a built-in editing function....
Like books? Like the law? Worried about the crushing debt of a J.D. or the soul-sucking hours of a young associate? Maybe it’s time to consider being a law librarian. Even as physical law libraries are becoming less common (no one needs those stacks of reporters when it’s all digital), the law librarian still plays an important role in the legal industry. Is a career as a law librarian in your future?...
Sri Srinivasan was sworn in Monday afternoon as the newest judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, reports The Blog of Legal Times. The U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Merrick Garland administered the oath in a small ceremony in Garland’s chambers in the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in downtown Washington D.C. Srinivasan is officially the first person of Indian descent to sit on the D....
In short, to make the most of the weekend, you would do well to brush up on your presidential knowledge (#3), log on to a lawyer dating site (#2) and use said newly-acquired knowledge to impress one lucky golden tiger or tigress (#1). 10 Funny Tees for Law Students in 2010 (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates) In Case You Don’t Have a Law Halloween Costume Yet… (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates) F-Bombs and Rap Vernacular: Spicing Up Legalese (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates) Divorce Court - The Music Video (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates) How Associates Can Adapt to Cube Culture (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates)A Rap About LRAP (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates)Passing the Bar - the Board Game (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates) You Don’t Have To Solve This on Your Own – Get a Lawyer’s Help Civil Rights Block on Trump’s Asylum Ban Upheld by Supreme Court...
An unidentified male opened fire on a crowd of zombies in downtown Fort Myers, Florida last weekend. Only this wasn’t the apocalypse – it was ZombiCon, a walking dead-themed street festival – and the real-life shooting took one real life and left five others injured. Police are still hunting for the man who opened fire on the zombie crowd, as well as a motive for the shooting. Night of the Dead Living The shooting claimed the life of 20-year-old Expavious Tyrell Taylor, a college football player, and wounded five others....
It’s not enough to merely go to the office and do what you’re supposed to. In a law firm, young associates have to do a little bit extra and impress their bosses – senior associates and/or partners. After all, anyone can do what they’re told, but if you want to really succeed at a law firm, you’ve got to go above and beyond the call of duty. 1. Are You Asking Questions?...
The Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law – the new name of the law school at the University of Alabama – doesn’t exactly roll off your tongue. It will take a while to get used to, but that’s what you get when you donate $26.5 million to an educational institution – you get naming rights. Culverhouse, a Florida attorney and developer, has delivered $11.5 million so far to the law school....
