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Do you remember Thomas Jefferson School of Law? It had been the unfortunate subject of less than flattering allegations of puffing up employment figures. Guess what? Now it and another school have landed on the DOE’s financial monitoring hit-list because of those questionable practices. We opined and responded to two stories of previous Thomas Jefferson School of Law Grads – Clark Moffat and Nikki Nguyen – who decided to bring legal action against the Alma Mater because they were led to believe that being a Victoria Secret sales clerk was actually legal employment....

The Lance Armstrong doping scandal was one of those things that shook the entire sports world. Armstrong was world-renowned as one of the best bicyclists of all time – until it was discovered that nearly all of his accolades were the product of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), commonly referred to as steroids, or doping. From 2001 to 2004, the United States Postal Service gave over $30 million to Lance Armstrong’s professional cycling team under a sponsorship agreement....

In a petition for review of a Medical Board order disciplining petitioner-physician, the petition is denied where, although Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code section 2239 requires a nexus between the physician’s use of alcoholic beverages and his or her fitness to practice medicine, such nexus was established by the Legislature in all cases where a licensed physician used alcoholic beverages to the extent, or in such a manner, as to pose a danger to himself or others....

It’s Friday @FindLawLP and we got perhaps the most random question we could’ve imagined, regarding the use of private detectives in legal practice. In other oddities, with less than a week until the bar exam, we’ve had a flood of panic-stricken test takers flooding to our site. Bar exam and private dicks. That’s what’s on tap for #DearFindLaw, our weekly advice column for young attorneys, procrastinating bar examinees, and apparently, private detectives....

Public shaming rises to a new level as a project called TWIT Spotting aims to post pictures of texting drivers on billboards throughout San Francisco. Launched by Brian Singer, a graphic artist, TWIT Spotting’s goal is to “freak some people out” and make them think twice before texting while driving, according to The Huffington Post. It’s obvious that texting while driving is a traffic no-no, but is it legal to publicly shame drivers by photographing them without their permission?...

You remember those naive days, don’t you? Pre-law job fairs where schools touted “average starting salary in the private sector - 160k!” But you’re a dreamer. You’re listening to the theme song from Flashdance while perusing craigslist in a separate browser window right now. But if you’re looking for a BigLaw job on craigslist, you’re doing it wrong. Here are three ways to increase your chances of landing that 80-hour work week:...

A friend of a friend just failed the bar … again. This concerned friend asked: what do you say to this person? Nothing. If anything, offer a brief “if you need anything, let me know” condolence. Otherwise, they’ve got a lot of thinking and eventually studying to do, and nothing you can say will help. In fact, we can think of way more things that you really shouldn’t say, even if your heart is in the right place....

An early leak of Gov. Brown’s budget proposal led to a sooner-than-expected unveiling of the plan. As with most political events, no one is happy. Were you hoping for more funding for our beleaguered court system, either to reduce court crowding, or to add more prosecutor and public defender positions? The modest increase in the budget likely won’t help. The budget also addressed two other issues that have made their way through California courts this year: the state’s ill-fated High Speed Rail project, and the prison overcrowding issue that has yet to be resolved....

Wells Fargo stock ticked up another percent after the U.S. Supreme Court handed a significant win to the bank at the close of the summer session. The decision, along with other recent developments at the company, pushed the bank slowly upward since its fall from grace several years ago. Shares climbed a modest three percent in the past twelve months, holding its spot as the nation’s third largest bank. Wells Fargo has survived the Wild West since 1852, but can the company really bounce back from an expose that has cost the bank billions?...

According to Eva Wisnik, president of Wisnik Career Enterprises in New York City, more than half of lawyers are actually introverts. Surprised? In fact, there’s good evidence to indicate most adults are extroverts, but that lawyers tend to favor the more reserved and staid. It looks like flamboyant and booming litigators have set the tone for the rest of us. It is, at first glance, sobering news for a world that has idolized the extroverted....

Though it’s been a few years since Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) forced Congress to consider the plight of college football and the Bowl Championship Series, his crusade is finally getting some real legal backing. The Department of Justice announced Wednesday afternoon that it has opened an official inquiry into whether the BCS violates federal antitrust laws. In a letter sent to Mark Emmert, current NCAA president, the head of the DOJ’s Antitrust Section questioned whether the BCS is in the best interests of college football, and asked why football is the only major NCAA sport without a playoff system....

Biofuel producers may not be burning so bright after the D.C. Circuit Court’s recent ruling, a decision which confirmed the ethanol fuel industry will be subject to carbon emission regulations. In its decision in Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA, the Court ruled that “[t]here is no statutory basis for exempting biogenic carbon dioxide,” a source based distinction many biofuel companies use to support their “carbon neutral” claims, reports Reuters....

Are you interested in becoming a California Appellate Specialist? You’re in luck. The California Appellate Specialist exam is only offered in odd years, and the next exam will be offered on October 25, 2011. To qualify for the exam, an applicant must demonstrate that she has been substantially involved in the practice of appellate law in the five years immediately preceding her written application. Substantial involvement includes, but is not limited to:...

With the advent of electronic signatures, and signatures on electronic devices that in no way resemble what was intended, one has to wonder how much signatures even matter. Does it need to resemble my name? And can I legally sign with just an “X”? The answer is yes, but that’s not recommended unless absolutely necessary. Though there are some generally accepted principles of contract law, it is ultimately governed by state law....

U.S. Congressman Bob Goodlatte is on a campaign against lawyer ads, calling out attorneys who are ‘fearmongering’ by advertising the dangers of certain medications to get clients. The congressman has written a letter to bar associations in every state and some lawyers, warning them about the “far more dangerous” repercussions of the personal injury ads. Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, quoted a resolution from the American Medical Association:...

Derek Antonio Johnson was waiting in his cell for trial when he was beaten – by himself. A guard said he was “head-butting” the ground, and slapping and punching himself at the same time. Bleeding from his eyebrow, his eye socket swollen and lacerated, Johnson did not make it to trial that day. Johnson’s attorney said the man had a history of psychiatric problems, but the trial judge didn’t buy it....

It’s down to the Final Four: Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the East, Federal Circuit in the South, Indiana Supreme Court in the Midwest, and California Supreme Court in the West. Who will take home the coveted … bragging rights? While we lauded the Federal Circuit for its simplicity – just a photo of the courtroom on a black background, with menus on top and bottom – we were always afraid it might be too simple....

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proxy access rule on Friday, marking the first judicial casualty of the Dodd-Frank Act. At issue was whether a company must pay to distribute proxy statements about shareholder-nominated candidates for the company’s board of directors. Traditionally, a company selected its own board members and sent ballots with information about the nominees to the shareholders in proxy statements; shareholders who wished to make their own nominations were responsible for disseminating their own proxy statements....

A recent story in the ABA Journal about a Dr. Phil episode raises some rather interesting questions about just what “Dr.” Phil is doing on his daytime TV talk show. It seems he may have ventured off the usual entertainment-therapy route and started to get into dissecting the veracity of live allegations of child sexual abuse. However, as pointed out in the ABA Journal piece, Dr. Phil does a much better job than you might expect (as a prosecutor, that is), which probably shatters some expectations....

In a story that’s too strange to not be true, one South Carolina inmate escaped from prison with a little help from a drone. Fortunately, the inmate is back behind bars, but authorities found him, literally asleep in a Texas motel, with nearly $50,000 in cash, along with a couple guns, and multiple cell phones, just a few days after his escape. Jimmy Causey, who was sentenced to life for kidnapping, allegedly received wire cutters and a cell phone from a drone....