George Carlin, who died a week ago, taught us the “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.” If you were paying attention, the counterculture comic also taught us how to be great speakers. He did three things that we can all learn from, says consultant Joey Asher: He took strong positions, spoke with passion and practiced a lot. Carlin left a wonderful legacy of anti-establishment comedy, and regardless of whether you agreed with him, attorneys can all learn from how he held an audience.
The Canadian and American bars have more than language in common. They share some of the same problems, such as how to keep women from fleeing firms. In an effort to stop women from leaving private practice, a number of initiatives will be rolled out in Ontario as part of a program officials hope will serve as a model for other Canadian jurisdictions. The program — which has different requirements and options for large and small firms — has already piqued the interest of U.S. firms as well.
Two software companies have sued mortgage-lending law firm McGlinchey Stafford and Youngblood & Bendalin and one of its partners, alleging they misappropriated a database of legal documents to make “millions” in profits in residential loan transactions. The firm is a branch of McGlinchey Stafford, also named as a defendant. The suit alleges that agents of the firm used plaintiffs’ intellectual property after obtaining a fully operational version of certain software, rather than “read only” access.
Heller Ehrman, rumored to be in merger talks with Baker & McKenzie, was cagey when confronted with the speculation on Friday. Heller’s director of communications, Patrick Bustamante, said the firm “is not considering” a merger with Baker. Asked later to clarify whether “not considering” meant the firm was not in current talks with Baker to explore the possibility of a merger, Bustamante was less clear. “I don’t know that I can go into that kind of detail or comment at all,” he said.
Headline-grabbing Supreme Court opinions came fast and furious in June: Gitmo Detainees Get Habeas! No Death Penalty for Child Rapists! Exxon Valdez Punis Slashed! An Individual Right to Bear Arms! All produced sharp splits, with conservatives and liberals winning two apiece. But the justices leave for the summer in a better frame of mind than last term, when the Court seemed ready to break out in fistfights. Like a family that hits a rough patch, did the justices decide this term not to sweat the small stuff?
AP - The Supreme Court agreed Friday to step into an environmental dispute over a gold mining operation near Juneau, Alaska and a California criminal case in which a convicted killer was granted a new trial.
Bloomberg - June 27 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Supreme Court ended its term
with a clear reminder: Justice Anthony Kennedy is in charge.
The Christian Science Monitor - The US Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the so-called “millionaire’s amendment” of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, saying it violated free-speech protections.
Jackson Lewis has opened an office in Memphis, Tenn., making it the sixth new location for the labor and employment law firm this year. So far in 2008, Jackson Lewis has opened offices in Albuquerque, N.M.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Portsmouth, N.H.; Las Vegas and Detroit. The law firm, with about 420 attorneys, focuses exclusively on management workplace issues.
A federal appeals court has rejected a class action suit brought by uninsured hospital patients who claimed that the practice of charging them significantly higher rates than those for insured patients or people covered under Medicare and Medicaid is discriminatory and violates consumer protection laws. In its 21-page opinion in , a unanimous three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took the rare step of adopting the lower court’s opinion as its own.