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Making it to law school is an achievement in and of itself. However, once you’re there, you’ll soon realize that your peers are your competition. Not only are classes graded on a curve, but, even in the largest cities, there are only so many paying jobs that offer law students any real working experience. As such, it can often pay, literally, to stand out from the crowd. However, be warned, there’s an old saying that’s as true today as it ever was: the nail that sticks out gets hammered down....

Trial court judgment awarding defendant attorney’s fees is affirmed where the present action between the parties was on the contract under Civil Code sec. 1717 for purposes of an award of attorney fees, and even if plaintiff prevails on some or all of his claims in the course of arbitration in the other action between the parties, it would not be in derogation of defendants’ independent right to attorney’s fees in the present action....

Two “filmmakers” who try to earn their fame through viral homemade videos on YouTube got their just desserts for a Russian hitman prank gone horribly wrong. In the video, one of the filmmakers approaches a random man on the streets and tells him that he has a bomb in a suitcase. With 60 seconds to run to safety, the camera operator catches the prankster and victim running for their lives....

There should really be 2 certificates given at commencement to commemorate the J.D. experience. Your law school diploma. And the bill. For those contemplating the J.D. leap or those who are taking it, law school loan debt is often an inevitable reality. And while you probably can’t avoid it completely, you can definitely take measures to manage and minimize it. And the penny saved in law school, will be one less yanked from your wallet when you leave....

In Part I, we discussed Jacob Marley and the Ghost of Christmas Past. Now without further ado, let us pick up where we left of, with the next legally challenged ghost to visit Scrooge, the Ghost of Christmas present. Ghost No. 2 made himself at home, transforming Scrooge’s mean quarters into an altar of Christmas joy without so much as a by your leave from the frightened homeowner. Dickens describes holly, ivy, and mistletoe lit by a roaring fire....

Standing issue in patent infringement suit Abraxis Bioscience, Inc. v. Navinta LLC., 09-1539, concerned a plaintiff’s suit for infringement of its patents related to methods of using low concentrations of ropivacaine hydrochloride to treat pain. In vacating the district court’s finding that defendant’s Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) product would directly infringe and contribute and induce infringement of certain claims of plaintiff’s patents, the court remanded the matter in concluding that the district court erred in failing to dismiss plaintiff’s action for lack of standing because, without the transfer of legal title of the patents, plaintiff had no standing to bring this infringement action....

Malpractice insurance. It’s something most law firm attorneys don’t have to think about. They’re already covered under their employer’s policy. But contract attorneys don’t always have the protection of an employer’s malpractice insurance policy. As a contract attorney, do you need your own malpractice insurance? Cue the lawyerly answer: Maybe. In Most States, Not Required by Law In most states, attorneys are not required by law to have malpractice insurance; Oregon is currently the only state where attorney malpractice insurance is required, according to the ABA....

A Florida lawmaker’s far-flung idea to repeal an anti dwarf-tossing law has itself been tossed, thanks to heightened awareness from little people across America. As this blog explained last fall, Florida State Rep. Ritch Workman proposed a bill to repeal the state’s ban on dwarf-tossing, in effect since 1989. The repeal would have (ostensibly) created jobs for little people who were (supposedly) willing to be picked up and thrown through the air – or through a door, or a glass window, or down a well – with adequate protection, of course....

Sometimes, you just have to lie – like when a wide-eyed child asks, “Is the Easter Bunny hiding eggs?” Alex Van Der Zwaan, however, picked the worst time to lie. He lied about his communications during the biggest investigation to hit the White House since Watergate. Van Der Zwaan is the first person to be sentenced in the Russia affair. But why did it have to be a lawyer? And what do Easter eggs have to do with anything?...

If you aren’t at least partly motivated by greed, you may need to spend a little time reflecting on what does motivate you. After all, for lawyers, greed might actually be a good quality that clients may actually want you to possess. Sure, wanting to do well for yourself, and your clients, on its own, isn’t really greedy. But in the legal services industry, especially if you’re expected to negotiate at arm’s length with clients over your fees, some of those clients can certainly make you feel that way just for getting your regular rate....

Santa Claus must be ahead of schedule this holiday season as he helped effect a raid on a drug cartel in Lima, Peru this week. Normally, those on Santa’s naughty list either don’t get any presents at all, or maybe get a lump of coal. However, this Santa had a different plan. Video shows an undercover officer dressed as Santa wielding a sledge-hammer to bash in a front door and make several arrests....

Across the country, high school football practice two-a-days are underway. The grueling practices are being held amid a record heat wave. And the football deaths are mounting of late. In the last two weeks, the high school football community across the South has suffered from at least four such incidents, losing three players and an assistant coach. Who’s responsible? And what can be done? The aforementioned deaths included Georgia’s Forrest Jones of Locust Grove High School and Donteria Searcy of Fitzgerald High School; Tyquan Brantley from Lamar High in South Carolina; and assistant coach Wade McLain from Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas....

In a patent application dispute involving tampon design, Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences judgment is reversed where: 1) plaintiff’s appeal is timely; 2) the Board’s rejection of claim 1 of the patent as anticipated, because another unexamined application discloses a tampon with the characteristics claimed by plaintiff, lacks substantial evidentiary support. Read In re McNeil-PPC, Inc., No. 08-1546 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences....

In plaintiff’s suit against defendants to recover $620,000 deposit after he unilaterally canceled escrow, arising from an agreement to purchase defendants’ beach residence for $14 million, trial court’s judgment in favor of defendants is reversed and remanded where: 1) in a rising market, the seller of real property is limited to the recovery of consequential damages and interest against the buyer who breached the purchase agreement; 2) defendants’ retention of plaintiff’s deposit in the circumstance of a rising market, presented here, constituted an invalid forfeiture under Freeman v....

A Wisconsin man with a jazzy name, Beezow Doo-doo Zopittybop-bop-bop, has been arrested for marijuana possession – again. The 32-year-old man formerly known as Jeffrey Wilschke legally changed his name in 2011, which undoubtedly gave police in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a good laugh when they pulled Zopittybop-bop-bop over for erratic driving in his turquoise minivan and allegedly found him in possession of half an ounce of marijuana, reports Yahoo! News....

Is spending 30 years in prison too long for giving someone a wedgie? Brad Lee Davis was just sentenced to 30 years in prison after he pled guilty to first degree manslaughter for killing his stepfather with an atomic wedgie. Two years ago, Brad Davis and his stepfather, Denver Lee St. Clair, were drinking beer when they got into a drunken argument. St. Clair had insulted his wife and Davis’ mother, calling her worthless....

This week, the federal district court in the District of Columbia awarded the parents of Otto Warmbier half-a-billion dollars for the death of their son at the hands of North Korean officials. It is alleged that Otto was severely tortured for a minor offense and returned to the U.S. in a coma, and he later succumbed to his injuries. Otto was alleged to have removed a propaganda poster, and the evidence clearly shows that he was subjected to horrific acts of torture....

A man likely suffering from late-night munchies tried to pay for his meal at a Denny’s restaurant with a $1 bill and a bag of marijuana, police say. Alas, the pothead’s impromptu plan didn’t pan out. The incident happened about 2 a.m. Saturday in Niagara Falls, N.Y., The Buffalo News reports. The man placed a to-go order for a burger and fries, which rang up to $9.91. When it came time to pay, the man came up short – but then had a pothead epiphany....

It is always nice to report on a crime which, after investigation, turns out not to be a crime. A man was investigated by the secret service on October 11, for throwing a book at President Obama. The president was in Philadelphia for a rally and attracted a few stunts, as well as thousands of supporters. Although the book thrower was cleared of criminal wrongdoing; the streaker was not so lucky....

A man who claims he lost his dentures after being attacked and beaten unconscious in 2011 is getting a new set on the State of Ohio’s dime. The decision, reached yesterday by the Court of Claims of Ohio, came after Ohio’s attorney general rejected Jeffrey Childers’ original claim for reparations, citing lack of documentation reports The Plain Dealer. How did Childers manage to finally get his “teeth” back? Reparations for Victims of Crime In Ohio, victims of violent crime are able to apply for reparations for losses suffered as a result of that crime....