Posts

Former World Series MVP Manny Ramirez was arrested for domestic battery in suburban Fort Lauderdale Monday evening, police say. The former Boston Red Sox’s wife Juliana Ramirez told police she and her husband were both on the couple’s bed when he struck her with an open hand during an escalated domestic dispute, according to a police report by Weston Police officer Jose Campos. Juliana Ramirez told police the blow caused her to hit her head on the headboard of their bed and, fearing the situation would escalate, she promptly called police, NBC Miami reports....

Once upon a time, companies may have winked at the ethical lapses of their chief executives. But we’re not in Kansas anymore. According to a new study of the world’s largest 2,500 public companies, employers are canning their CEOs for improper conduct more than ever. In the past ten years, the firings have increased 36 percent. So why are companies kicking their top dogs somewhere over the rainbow? Here’s what the study says:...

In a consumer class action against defendant AT&T Wireless Services (AT&T) based on its marketing and sale of premium cell phones that operated on a wireless network that AT&T allegedly modified in a manner that rendered those premium cell phones essentially useless, trial court’s ruling against plaintiffs is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) trial court erred by sustaining AT&T’s demurrer to plaintiffs’ cause of action as there are sufficient facts alleged to show both a violation of the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and plaintiffs have standing to bring this claim; 2) trial court did not err by sustaining the demurrer to the False Advertising Law (FAL) cause of action as plaintiffs failed to establish that they lost money or property as a result of AT&T’s offer; 3) trial court erred by sustaining the demurrer for failure to comply the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) notice requirements; and 4) plaintiffs alleged their fraud claim with sufficient specificity....

Today’s lesson: don’t volunteer to get drunk – especially if you’re a cop. If Joseph Gaeta of the Midland Park police had been aware of this rule, he may not have been busted for driving under the influence. He volunteered to get drunk during a DWI class at the Bergen County Police Academy so fellow officers could see how he responded to sobriety tests. When he hit a .13 blood alcohol level, class ended and a fellow officer drove him home....

You can’t bill prostitutes, hotel rooms, porn and limos to your clients – unless they were there, too. Unaware of this little caveat, James Hazen charged $21,000 in “personal services” to his corporate credit card. He then tried to bill his clients at New York’s Hill Betts & Nash. He claimed he was bipolar. They fired him anyway. In typical lawyer fashion, Hazen sued the firm for discrimination. An administrative law judge with the State Division of Human Rights found in his favor, awarding him $600,000....

A New York City dentist was accused of trading services for methamphetamines, possessing child porn, and hosting sex parties where he tried to spread HIV. The dentist had a reputation for being an upstanding citizen, the Huffington Post reports . A meth dealer that the dentist traded services with agreed to become an informant after he was arrested last March. He led police to Dr. John Wolf, who was discovered to have child porn after police searched his home and found drugs and a flash drive with hundreds of illegal files....

Golfer Phil Mickelson has announced that he is cooperating with a federal probe regarding allegations of possible insider trading. Mickelson and Las Vegas gambler William Walters are being questioned in connection with trading activity that federal authorities believe may be linked to billionaire hedge-fund manager Carl Icahn’s 2011 bid to purchase consumer products-maker Clorox. But as Mickelson prepares to play in this month’s U.S. Open, what will authorities be looking for and why might it be hard to make any possible insider trading charge against Mickelson stick?...

Fortune: Follow Your Instincts This Week and You Will Become a Nationwide Laughingstock A Texas woman on Monday called 911 to complain about the amount of shrimp she received in a fried rice dish at a Fort Worth restaurant. According to the Associated Press, on a tape of the 911 call the customer can be heard asking the operator, “to get a police officer up here, what has to happen?” Well, let’s see....

Your fancy microbrew and imported Pouilly-Fuisse aren’t just something to sip on, they’re part of one of the most heavily regulated industries around, the beer, wine, and spirits industry. Thankfully, those regulations mean plenty of jobs for attorneys with a taste for fine drinking – and an ability to navigate a wide range of regulatory bodies and laws. So raise your glass to a future in beer and wine law. As part of our affiliate partnership with Indeed, we’re bringing you this week’s top three cool, boozy legal jobs....

Richard Rizal McGee, a 3L attending Whittier Law School was tragically shot to death last week in Las Vegas after accidentally banging on the wrong door too early in the morning. This tragic incident should serve as a reminder for law students to be careful during winter break, and to watch their drinking. “Tragic Misunderstanding” According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, McGee entered his friend’s apartment complex very early in the morning after a night of very heavy drinking and started pounding and banging on a door that turned out not to be his friend’s but a terrified neighbor’s....

Get your bleach and sanitary wipes! A serial pooper, aka the “Bowel Movement Bandit,” is on the loose in Akron, Ohio. In a crime spree stretching back to 2012, a man has been defecating on cars over 19 times. Somebody get this guy a porta-potty! One of his victims, who did not want to be identified for fear of poopy retribution, got fed up after his daughter’s car was pooped on seven times....

The bar exam is finally over (for now, but let’s not be Debbie Downers too soon). So, what now? You’ve devoted the last 3, maybe 4 years of your life to pursuing your legal degree, and then more recently, the last 2-3 grueling, hellish months to the grueling, hellish process that is bar-study. First things, first – congratulations! There is, indeed, much to celebrate. Now go ahead and enjoy with many, many libations....

There is no class on delegation in law school. The closest thing is a lecture on the non-delegation doctrine, which teaches that Congress cannot delegate certain duties to administrative agencies. So what is an attorney to do when it comes to knowing how to delegate legal tasks? Because developing delegation skills is not part of legal education, corporate counsel need to learn from other disciplines and mentors in the workplace. Charles A....

Dear Law School Applicants, We’ve been a bit contradictory around here lately. We’ve talked about how the plummeting demand and low application rates make now a great time to “buy low” on law school. Then again, we’ve constantly lamented the never-improving job market. If you are in the process of applying to law school, it may be wise to reconsider. Here are a few reasons that may make you not want to go to law school:...

We made a list and we checked it twice. It turns out Santa can be a little naughty himself from time to time. From Santas accused of taking gifts rather than giving them, to a Scottish Santa who eschewed reindeer in favor of riding atop the Duke of Wellington statute in Glasgow’s Royal Exchange Square, this year has had no shortage of Santas behaving badly. Here are five of 2014’s most notorious bad Santas:...

It’s somewhat ironic that the California Supreme Court heard oral arguments about the legality of city-wide medical marijuana dispensary (MMD) bans in San Francisco, of all places. Tuesday, judges from the state’s highest court held a special outreach session at the University of San Francisco School of Law, within a mile of the city’s famous Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. The first case on the docket for the day: Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient’s Health and Wellness Center....

In McCann v. Foster Wheeler, LLC, No. S162435, the Court dealt with the choice-of-law issue arising in plaintiff’s lawsuit against a manufacturer of large boilers, alleging that exposure to asbestos during a two week period in 1957 caused his mesothelioma. In concluding that the Court of Appeals erred in holding that California law applies to the case rather than Oklahoma law, the Court explained: “In the event [defendant] were to be denied the protection afforded by the Oklahoma statute of repose and be subjected to the extended timeliness rule embodied in California law, the subordination of Oklahoma’s interest in the application of its law would rest solely upon the circumstance that after defendant engaged in the allegedly tortious conduct in Oklahoma, plaintiff happened to move to a jurisdiction whose law provides more favorable treatment to plaintiff than that available under Oklahoma law....

Twitter booted a white nationalist from its platform, and a state appeals court added good riddance. Jared Taylor sued the social media company for suspending his account, alleging it violated unfair competition laws and other claims. A trial judge ruled for Twitter on two of three claims, but California’s First District Court of Appeal vacated the ruling and made it three-for-three. The appeals court said Twitter is protected from liability by the Communications Decency Act....

Riverside Sheriffs’ Ass’n v. Bd. of Admin. of the California Pub. Employees’ Ret. Sys., No. C061168, concerned a plaintiffs’ petition for administrative mandate seeking to overturn a decision of the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System refusing to change the status of the deputy coroners from “miscellaneous” to “local safety members,” a classification that would have substantially enhanced their retirement benefits. In denying the petition, the Third District affirmed the trial court’s decision as the principal duties and functions of the deputy coroners do not “clearly” fall within the scope of “active law enforcement” as that term is used in Gov....

A woman in New York discovered she has a body brewery after facing drunken driving charges, according to the Associated Press. Her charge was dismissed based on the defense that she has a rare condition: her body converts carbohydrates to alcohol. The condition is documented and has been used in DUI defenses before. But it is rare and dismissal of criminal charges is not based on a mere assertion. Her lawyer, Joseph Marusak, explained to reporters this week how she came to discover the condition and how he convinced the court....