Have you ever worried about how you were going make that next payment on your house or apartment? Now think about how it must have been in 2008, when the nation’s largest mortgage lenders were about $200 billion short. It was a mortgage crisis that triggered the Great Recession, America’s biggest economic meltdown in almost a century. It may feel like those days are behind us, but they aren’t for everybody....
Long before Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, his potential replacement was already in the political hot seat. Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a former Kennedy clerk appointed to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in 2006, had a tough time getting there. His confirmation was delayed for three years as opponents took aim at him. Still, Kavanaugh is considered the frontrunner for Kennedy’s spot. It makes sense, even though he may be going into a Senatorial lion’s den....
There’s car insurance, home insurance, and now, Loch Ness monster insurance. A cruise company that tours the world-famous loch purchased £1 million in Loch Ness monster insurance, The Scottish Sun reports. That’s about US$1.55 million. But in the apocalyptic unlikely event that “Nessie” (aka the Loch Ness monster) strikes, would you even need insurance? Or could such a beastly encounter fall under basic contract provisions as an “act of God”?...
Golden Hour Data Sys., Inc. v. Emscharts, Inc., 09-1306, involved a plaintiff’s suit for patent infringement, involving a patent directed to computerized systems and methods for information management services in connection with emergency medical transport. Although, the court affirmed the district court’s finding that the information in the brochure not produced to the PTO was highly material, the court vacated the district court’s inequitable conduct determination and remanded the matter to make additional fact findings with respect to the intent prong....
Professional surfer Alex Gray flew into Los Angeles from Hawaii, over the weekend, and like most professional surfers, he brought a few boards along with him. Unfortunately, of the five surfboards he brought, only one made it through the American Airlines flight without being completely destroyed. One of the five boards was broken in half, right down the middle, while the others had tips broken and severe fin damage. To make matters worse, Gray has not been compensated by American Airlines for the damage to the boards....
In an action for misappropriation of trade secrets, trial court orders are affirmed where: 1) the court properly granted plaintiff’s anti-SLAPP motion as plaintiff met its burden of demonstrating the acts underlying the cross-complaint arose from protected activity and defendant failed to show a probability of prevailing on the cross-claim; and 2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in the amount of attorney’s fees awarded as the fees incurred were reasonable and not manifestly excessive....
Police received a report of a woman who appeared to have been shot in her car early Thursday morning but the story ended with cops putting a zombie under arrest for DUI. When police arrived at the scene is certainly looked like something had gone terribly wrong. They found an SUV stopped at an intersection in Birmingham, Alabama with a woman covered in blood slumped behind the wheel. Upon further inspection the blood was fake, part of the woman’s costume as a pregnant zombie, and she wasn’t dead, just passed out....
Whether or not you watched, listened, or read President Obama’s address to Congress this week, even the bubble of law school can’t completely shield you from the current state of the Union. In sum, the economy. It was what was for dinner at the 2010 annual address by the nation’s Chief Executive. Parsing out the address more carefully, there are a few quotes that may resonate with law students. Here are 3 to know, and why they matter to you, aspiring J....
Uh, yeah, you read that right: tenure is unconstitutional, and shocks the conscience. Or, to be a bit more clear, the effects of tenure are unconstitutional, says Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu. How? It’s simple: when you give someone a lifetime contract, sometimes that person begins to let their job performance suffer. And guess where terrible tenured teachers end up? The places nobody else wants to go – schools in poorer neighborhoods....
A Utah teenager was found not guilty of disorderly conduct after his “Fastfood Freestyle” rap at a McDonald’s drive-thru. Spenser Dauwalder, 18, attempted to place his order by rapping into the speaker a McDonald’s drive-thru and was cited with an infraction for imitating a popular YouTube video “I need a double cheeseburger and hold the lettuce,” the Associated Press reports. Attorneys presented evidence of Dauwalder including surveillance footage at the restaurant....
For February bar exam takers, the test is now over, and many are likely thinking: Now what? After all, most bar takers have been in law school for so long, and been prepping for the bar so hard for the past couple months, that returning to regular living is just shocking, particularly if post-bar employment wasn’t lined up to start the week after the test. Seeing as how, at this point, there’s nothing anyone can do about their test results anyway, bar-takers should definitely make the time to at least do some of the many things they had abstained from during bar prep....
Congrats, law students. You’ve survived finals, most of the holidays, and still have a few days left before you have to drag yourself back to class. What should you do in the meantime? Work, of course! Sadly, your winter break isn’t really much of a break. Instead, it’s time to start scrambling for summer jobs. So, if you’re working on your JD, start updating your resume and polishing your cover letters....
When it comes to the qualifications of the President Donald Trump’s latest appointment, attorney William Barr for Attorney General, there’s very little doubt Barr has the right background. After all, not only is he a lawyer, he already served as the United States Attorney General from 1991 to 1993 under the first Bush administration. Notably, Barr is indeed still considered a conservative and Republican, which is clearly no surprise as he was nominated by President Trump....
It’s Better to Have High-Fived and Lost Than Never to Have High-Fived at All The high five is dated. Once the handshake’s cool younger brother, it’s now watching out the window from its room in the Home for the Aged Greetings & Celebratory Gestures, just down the hall from the doffed hat, as those whippersnappers the fist bump and the “bro hug” run rampant throughout most segments of society. The decline in the high five’s popularity may be due to the “putting yourself out there” vulnerability we’ve all felt, in those nervous seconds when the naked hand is raised and you’re praying the move won’t end in the High-Fiver’s Worst Nightmare: getting left hanging....
Cocaine Possession Conviction Affirmed In US v. Bailey, No. 07-3006, the court affirmed defendant’s conviction for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, holding that 1) upon stopping defendant, the officers had probable cause to search his car because, as he conceded, a package containing cocaine was in plain view on the passenger’s seat; and 2) defendant failed to show he was prejudiced by the government’s late disclosure during trial that it could not locate a traffic ticket allegedly written when defendant was stopped for running a stop sign....
Why You’re Glad You Took a Bar Exam in the U.S. : Becoming certified to practice law in the U.S. usually involves three years of rigorous study. Followed by a month of studying, sleepless nights, hyper-caffeination, and maybe even a little premature hair loss. And it all leads up to to a multi-hour or multi-day exam which tolls more of the same. And the initial reward for finishing? A three-month long wait....
The girls are going wild in middle school these days. Don’t fear – school authorities are on top of it, with their zero tolerance policies. They are cracking down on troublemakers and making sure that these mischief-makers are apprehended. Yes, they certainly showed that to Alexa Gonzalez, slapping handcuffs on her and hauling her away to the precinct. Let’s see if that twelve-year-old ever scrawls “I love my friends Abby and Faith” on her desk again!...
An Austrian “Pasatafarian,” Niko Alm, has the right to wear a pasta strainer in his driver’s license photo according to authorities. Alm claims that he’s a “Pastafarian,” and adheres to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is partially founded on the belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. And, that the monster is quite powerful, but forgiving, welcoming all into the loving embrace of “His Noodly Appendage....
Good ole fashioned investigative journalism out of Rhode Island has revealed that three of the state’s high-ranking lawyers did not have active licenses to practice law in the state. As a result, all three have since resigned their positions. For attorneys across the nation, there are a few important lessons to learn from each of these three attorneys’ resignations. And while their breaches were not as severe as those that often make it into the Greedy Associates blog, they each can teach us something important....
Want to get rich quick without really trying? Build an app and hope it takes off. Want to pay off your student loans and maybe buy a house or two someday? Focus on the practice areas that are in demand now and promise to keep growing into the future. These eight practice areas are not only bringing in the billable hours today, they have the potential to keep lawyers working and earning throughout their careers....
