Posts tagged as:

defense lawyers

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…consider this cautionary tale [Brian Tannebaum].

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September 21 roundup

by Walter Olson on September 21, 2011

June 7 roundup

by Walter Olson on June 7, 2011

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Great moments in criminal defense, as revealed at a murder trial in Washington, D.C. [WaPo] Eric Turkewitz has many more links on the story, and also is put in mind of a lawyer advertising angle.

A disciplinary committee said it lacked probable cause to charge a court-appointed criminal defense lawyer from Jacksonville, though it described his billing standards as “not consistent with the high standards of our profession.” [ABA Journal, Florida Times-Union]

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October 11 roundup

by Walter Olson on October 11, 2010

  • “Feds seek to halt inmate’s frequent lawsuits” [AP; J.L. Riches]
  • “SeaWorld Blasts ‘Improper’ Suit Over Trainer’s Death” [OnPoint News, earlier]
  • Does new NY law serve as road map for charities that wish to defy donor intent? [CultureGrrl]
  • Cruise ship case an example of tensions that arise when defense lawyers jump fence to join plaintiffs’ side [Julie Kay, DBR]
  • More on Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal’s “my lawsuits create jobs” stance [Bainbridge; related, New York Times Magazine (opponent MacMahon: "His business is suing people.")]
  • Australia: “Autistic student sues over test” [The Age]
  • “The most conservative court? Hardly” [Jacoby, Globe] And Justice Breyer, for one, has “rejected the notion that the U.S. Supreme Court has a pro-business slant and said the court doesn’t rule in favor of companies any more frequently than it has historically.” [Bloomberg via Adler, Volokh]
  • “Abducted by aliens? Call now for compensation” [four years ago on Overlawyered; Germany]

October 9 roundup

by Walter Olson on October 9, 2010

  • Update: “Tax Panel Rejects Lawyer’s Bid to Deduct Spending for Sex” [NYLJ, William Barrett/Forbes, earlier] And: “Musings on laws affecting adult entertainment, alcoholic beverages and other ‘vice’ industries” [Meeting the Sin Laws blog]
  • Mississippi: judge jails lawyer for not saying Pledge of Allegiance [Freeland]
  • More on much-written-about Israeli “rape by fraud” case [Volokh, more, earlier here and here]
  • “Tribune bankruptcy talks complicated by emergence of pugnacious hedge fund” [Romenesko; earlier on involvement of hedge funds in bankruptcies]
  • More disturbing tales from Connecticut probate court [Rick Green, Hartford Courant, earlier]
  • Marc Williams of the Defense Research Institute responds to Ted Frank’s criticism of many defense lawyers [PoL]
  • Advice for Australians: to fix your litigation system, look to Germany’s success [Ackland, Sydney Morning Herald]
  • Rep. John Hall (D-N.Y.) & ’70s band Orleans threaten suit against GOP remix ["Orleans Reunion Tour"]

September 7 roundup

by Walter Olson on September 7, 2010

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Whether or not these are the very creepiest, Cracked has found some instances where law firms might want to rethink the artwork or slogans on their sites. Not included, mercifully, is the Texas law firm that yanked several tasteless stock photos from its website last year after setting off a blogosphere furor.

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Jack Litman, 1943-2010

by Walter Olson on January 25, 2010

I met the noted criminal defense lawyer once when we appeared on the same talk show. Somehow I didn’t realize he was the one who defended Oliver Jovanovic, target of a dubious (to say the least) sex-crime prosecution in the 1990s. [Gillers, Legal Ethics Forum]

“Peter Q. ‘P’Ta Mon’ John, who advertises himself as ‘The Thugs Lawyer,’ was indicted Thursday on charges that he conspired to have attempted murder charges against two local rap music executives dropped.” [Baton Rouge Advocate via Above the Law] Earlier coverage of John here and here (his advertised $500 “Expungement Special”).

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“‘He was singing like a canary, then we charged him in civilian proceedings, he got a lawyer and shut up,’ [former Senator] Slade Gorton, a member of the 9/11 Commission that investigated the Sept 2001 terror attacks on the US, told The Sunday Telegraph” of 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, charged in the Christmas Day attempted bombing of an airliner over Detroit.

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One way is to leave onlookers reeling at your ads’ tastelessness, as happened with one Texas criminal defense law firm. [Above the Law, A Public Defender, Mark Bennett, Scott Greenfield] Update: followup at Above the Law.

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Don’t

by Walter Olson on November 24, 2009

A bright-line rule in legal ethics: don’t order that witnesses be killed [Philadelphia Inquirer, WSJ Law Blog on prosecutors' allegations in a case against New Jersey criminal defense lawyer Paul Bergrin]

Cliches of lawyerspeak

by Walter Olson on November 17, 2009

The phrase “looks forward to his day in court”, notes Christopher Fountain, yields 74,500 Google hits [For What It's Worth]

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A Texas DWI lawyer speaks incautiously to the press, and fun ensues [Houston Press, Above the Law, Defending People and more]

October 30 roundup

by Walter Olson on October 30, 2009

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