The 86th annual Academy Awards are set for Sunday, but why should the movie industry have all the fun? For the best in real-life legal drama, we’d like to introduce you to FindLaw’s “Legal Oscars”! From the “Spaciest Legal Issue” to the “Classiest Cannabis Enthusiast,” get ready to cast your vote for the funniest, the funkiest, and the downright silliest of FindLaw’s legal blog posts. Without further ado, the nominees are:...
Are you a hungry law clerk or associate? Do you consistently perform beyond expectations? Do you know that you are a highly valued member of the team? Then what are you waiting for? If you want more money, all you have to do is ask, right? Below you can find three tips to help you ask for that raise. Prepare for a Conversation While the likelihood of there being negative repercussions if you ask for a raise in a professional manner are slim to none, if you’re not prepared, the chances are closer to the slim side of that scale....
In plaintiff’s suit against the defendant-Mobile Park for refusing to permit the installation of a new mobile home in its mobile home park to replace an older one that plaintiff had inherited, trial court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s suit is affirmed where: 1) the complaint fails to state a cause of action for statutory violation; 2) the complaint fails to state a tort cause of action for interference with contract; 3) the complaint fails to state a contract cause of action; and 4) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying leave to amend....
You graduated from law school when not a single firm was hiring. You’ve sent out hundreds of resumes but can’t get anyone to call you back. Or you’ve been stuck in a series of short-term, dead-end doc review and non-legal gigs. Our condolences. You’re part of the long-term unemployed, and you’re not alone. But long-term unemployment or under-employment doesn’t mean you have to give up on your legal dreams. It’s not easy, but you can recover from long-term unemployment....
Your ability to see snippets of sports highlights, or lowlights, on Twitter may be in danger. On Monday night, Twitter temporarily suspended accounts for Deadspin and SB Nation. Although Twitter hasn’t commented publicly about the suspensions, they were presumably in response to complaints from the NFL regarding the use of copyrighted game footage in GIF format. While Deadspin’s account was reinstated about an hour after the suspension, SB Nation’s highlight account, @SBNationGIF, remains suspended as of this posting....
Yes, we know, you went to law school to save the world. “Saving the world” is a dandy goal to have, and more likely achieved if you take baby steps getting there. Knowing what you want out of law school is important at the outset so you can hit the ground running to achieve those goals. So, keep the dreams of saving the world alive, and know that you’ll probably need to do some of the following to do just that....
Trial court’s order striking plaintiff’s complaint upon the granting of an anti-SLAPP motion, arising from plaintiff’s arrest on a bench warrant involving her alleged failure to appear as a subpoenaed witness in a murder trial, is affirmed as plaintiff’s tort claims against the defendants are barred by the Civil Code section 47(b) and she has failed to demonstrate she probably would prevail in the present action. Read Kemps v. Beshwate, No....
Attorney William Vilmont has gumption. Either that, or he simply doesn’t know when to cut his losses and repent. The Iowa attorney has earned himself a 30-day suspension and all because he decided to charge his client a $2,500 minimum fee. For your average criminal representation, this wouldn’t be an outlandish amount. However, Vilmont only spent 3.7 hours on the case – one hour of which was used to provide an accounting....
As lawyers, we tend to think we’re indispensable. Maybe the economy would grind to a halt if we went on vacation. Come on, let’s be serious. Yes, you’re special, but do you think it makes a difference to BigLaw partners which lowly associate is performing document review? The answer is no. We’re not saying don’t show up for work – but you should feel free to take the vacation you’ve earned....
Not only did the Oakland Raiders lose on the field last week (19-14 to the New York Jets), but they also admitted defeat in a legal battle with their own cheerleading squad. The Raiders agreed last week to settle a class action wage theft lawsuit filed on behalf of 90 current and former members of the Raiderettes, reports the Los Angeles Times. If approved by the court, the $1.25 million settlement will include a pay raise for current Raiderettes and thousands of dollars in back pay for those worked as cheerleaders over the last four seasons....
Trial court judgment dismissing the criminal case against defendant is affirmed where: 1) a search warrant failed the test of time as the trial court reasonably found that the affidavit information was stale after an 82 day delay between the date the alleged criminal activity occurred and the issuance of the warrant; and 2) the court properly determined that the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule did not apply as the officer’s reliance on the warrant was not objectively reasonable....
The Secret Sister Gift Exchange is not when you secretly exchange your sister for someone else. That would be human trafficking, which is definitely illegal. The Secret Sister Gift Exchange is an electronic chain letter that makes its way around the internet, either in the form of email or social media, during the holidays. The basic premise is that you send one person a gift, and then share the letter with six of your friends, and eventually you will receive 36 gifts....
When the Green Valley Ranch Home Owner’s Association calls itself “Green,” they really mean it. Lori Worthman was fined $200 by the HOA of the Denver subdivision for not keeping her grass green enough. Worthman reportedly had unsightly brown spots on her lawn. Worthman says she is dealing with the issue. She hired someone to fix her sprinkler, started watering more, and put new seed down. However, her efforts were to no avail given the Stage 1 drought and watering restrictions in the city, reports ABC....
In the latest Yelp lawsuit to make headlines, reviewers are claiming that they’ve been wronged as “unpaid writers,” even comparing Yelp to a “slave ship.” Let’s give them five stars for effort. But are their legal arguments valid? The class action lawsuit launched by a group of disgruntled Yelp reviewers claims that, as reviewers, they should be considered unpaid employees and deserve compensation, TechDirt reports. While prior Yelp lawsuits have centered on fake and even vindictive reviews, this likely is the first Yelp lawsuit to claim improper classification of (allegedly) unpaid “employees....
There are plenty of students and employees out there that will do anything for a day, or even an afternoon off school or work. Sadly, there appear to be plenty of teachers and employers out there that will do anything to spoil a good time, like asking for a doctor’s note and even calling the number to prove it’s legit. The market abhors a vacuum, so in steps BestFakeDoctorsNotes.net to the rescue....
While there is not actually a professional job as a tenant, James Regan and others like him have earned the moniker due to their ability to abuse eviction laws. Regan, a 62-year-old mustachioed man from Toronto, Canada, has been living in upscale Toronto apartments since 2014 without paying any rent. The Toronto resident is facing his third eviction since 2014 for not paying rent, and despite his best efforts to fire the hearing officer, it looks all but certain that the eviction will be upheld on appeal....
It’s either a case of both parties winning, or both parties losing. We’re feeling optimistic today, so we’ll say that everybody wins this week in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. On Wednesday, the Federal Circuit ruled that Boston Scientific did not “literally infringe” on a patent owned by Cordis, an interventional medical devices unit of Johnson & Johnson, but that Boston Scientific could not block the enforcement of Cordis’s two patents either....
A New Jersey man’s penis implant lawsuit cropped up after his alleged eight-month erection. Let’s call it the impending made-for TV movie “The Great Stick-Up: A Different Kind of Shootout.” (Spoiler alert: The remedy sought doesn’t involve Lorena Bobbitt). Daniel Metzgar, a trucker who fell on hard times from an allegedly faulty penile implant, is suing the doctor for medical malpractice, reports UPI. But things took a turn for the worse, and Metzgar was left with a permanent erection, his lawsuit asserts....
Family law is taking on a whole new meaning in Nevada, where a lawyer son is representing his father in a divorce case against his mother. This probably wasn’t what the mom, Marie Liapis, was expecting when her son Mark Liapis of Reno graduated from law school more than two decades ago. But Mark Liapis’ taking his father Theodore’s side in the divorce matter doesn’t create a conflict of interest, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled last week....
A drunk urinator has been denied workers’ compensation benefits for falling over a railing while taking a whizz. Longshoreman Gary Schwirse sustained an injury in 2006 from a drunken fall at his workplace in Portland, Oregon. He had apparently imbibed a half-pint of whiskey and at least nine beers, registering a blood-alcohol level of 0.25 percent. He also tested positive for marijuana use. Initially, Schwirse’s workers’ comp claim was successful, based on his assertion that he’d tripped over an orange traffic cone at a Marine Terminals Corp....
