Overlawyered » don’t

World’s grumpiest patent lawyer goes for Round Two

Walter Olson — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:15:49 +0000

It started with an insult-filled letter to a patent examiner that quickly made the rounds in the legal blogosphere (“Are you drunk? No, seriously … are you drinking scotch and whiskey with a side of crack cocaine while you ‘examine’ patent applications?”) In Round Two, the incensed attorney goes after patent-law blogger Dennis Crouch of Patently-O, who brought the letter to the web’s attention. [Above the Law]

Tags: don't, patent law

World’s grumpiest patent lawyer goes for Round Two is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Manhattan attorney admits “addiction to lying”

Walter Olson — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:27:50 +0000

A judicial panel has given Nathaniel Weisel a nine-month suspension for his sins. Perhaps because it is too clear that not all addictions go away in nine months, Weisel (besides the suspension) was ordered to take the ethics portion of the bar exam and ‘appropriately address his pathological behavior’ prior to his reinstatement.” [Andrew Keshner, New York Law Journal; Jessica Dye, Reuters] The pathological behavior, as described by NYLJ, included the following:

In September 2009, a client of Weisel asked him to start a civil action, which he did not do. To assure the client the matter was being addressed, Weisel created a fraudulent settlement agreement, fictional index number, caption and settlement amount. He randomly chose an opposing counsel and forged his signature on the document. The fabrication was not filed in court. Before the client discovered the settlement had been fabricated, Weisel filed a valid Small Claims action. After the purportedly opposing counsel learned his signature had been forged, Weisel wrote him an apology and said he acted to give himself more time to properly file the action.

Tags: discipline, don't

Manhattan attorney admits “addiction to lying” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Our wayward bench and bar

Walter Olson — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:05:54 +0000

Please don’t do these [in some cases alleged] things:

Calif.: “Judge accused of stealing elderly neighbor’s $1.6M life savings resigns from bench” [ABA Journal]
Stan Chesley joins a rogue’s gallery of disgraced litigators [Paul Barrett/Business Week, earlier here, etc.]
San Francisco’s Alioto firm: “Attorney and law firm must pay $67K …for ‘vexatious’ suit challenging airline merger” [ABA Journal, Andrew Longstreth/Reuters (Joseph Alioto: "badge of honor"), Ted Frank/PoL (sanctions are small change compared with enormous fees obtainable through merger challenges]
N.J.: “Lawyer takes state plea, will pay $1M to widow’s estate” [ABA Journal]
Texas: “State Rep. Reynolds charged with 7 others in barratry scheme” [SETR]
“Paul Bergrin, ‘The Baddest Lawyer in the History of Jersey,’ Convicted at Last” [David Lat/Above the Law, earlier]
“Attorney’s mug shot winds up next to his law firm’s ad, in marketing effort gone awry” [Martha Neil, ABA Journal]
Once the American legal profession reformed itself, but that was long ago [John Steele Gordon]

Tags: don't, judges, New Jersey, San Francisco, Texas, wills and trusts

Our wayward bench and bar is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Lawyers roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:56:49 +0000

Feds investigating prominent Texas attorney and many-time Overlawyered mentionee Mikal Watts [MySanAntonio via PoL]
Florida high court: lawyers not privileged to defame parties during informal witness questioning [Delmonico v. Traynor]
Client’s story: not only did attorney try to kill me, he also gave me bad advice [Lowering the Bar]
Some lawyers for city of Cleveland seek union representation, following municipal attorneys in S.F., D.C. and Houston [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
Watch what you say about lawyers, part CLXXVI [NYLJ, "shakedown"]
Former ATLA president Barry Nace fights disciplinary proceeding in W.V. [Chamber-backed WV Record]
Minnesota lawyer who billed client for time he spent having sex with her won’t be allowed to practice for more than a year [TheLawNet, earlier on this candidate for "ultimate Overlawyered story"]
Should she take the job offer from an apparently unethical attorney? If she has to ask… [Elie Mystal, Above the Law]

Tags: Cleveland, discipline, don't, ethics, lawyers, libel slander and defamation, Mikal Watts

Lawyers roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Don’t

Walter Olson — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:59:25 +0000

If you’re high-ranking figures in a federal prosecutor’s office, don’t resort to pseudonymous rants on comment boards to settle scores, especially not if it means commenting on open cases that your office is handling [three now-resigned officials from the U.S. Attorney's office in New Orleans; WWL, Gambit, Daily Mail]

Tags: don't, New Orleans, prosecution

Don’t is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Don’t

Walter Olson — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:57:49 +0000

If you’re a lawyer who specializes in defending DWIs (or even if you’re not) it’s probably a poor idea to charge your clients extra for getting their court records backdated [Charlotte Observer; ABA Journal; James Crouch, Wake County, N.C., takes plea and gives up law license]

Tags: alcohol, don't, North Carolina

Don’t is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Don’t

Walter Olson — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:52:40 +0000

Errant West Virginia attorney: “Mr. Robinson committed a criminal offense by beating Mr. Gump, his client, with a baseball bat” [Charleston Gazette]

Tags: don't, West Virginia

Don’t is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

July 23 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:05:09 +0000

Oh, ABC: “America’s Wrongest Reporter” Brian Ross achieves another feat of wrongness [Hans Bader] “Don’t turn Aurora killer into celebrity” [David Kopel, USA Today] For the media: five tips on how not to misreport the gun angle [Robert VerBruggen, NRO]
Ed Brayton of Dispatches from the Culture Wars challenges me on the War For Roberts’ Vote, and I respond;
The “contains peanuts” warning on a peanut jar [Point of Law]
“California Stats Show Elected Judges Disciplined More Often than Appointed Judges” [ABA Journal] New Federalist Society guide on state judicial selection procedures;
“Science Quotas for Women–A White House Goal” [Charlotte Allen, Minding the Campus; Hans Bader] More: Heritage. “Title IX swings wildly at invisible enemy” [Neal McCluskey]
So that’s what his business card meant when it said he practiced at Loeb and Wachs [AP: "Hawaii attorney convicted in ear licking case"]
Rare occasion in which defendant is allowed to strike back: California appeals court says software executive can pursue malicious prosecution case against class action lawyers [NLJ]

Tags: California, don't, guns, John Roberts, judicial elections, loser pays, overwarning, science and scientists, Title IX

July 23 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Don’t

Walter Olson — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:34:11 +0000

The Texas Supreme Court has sent back for further adjudication a controversy in which two newspapers had failed to win a summary judgment motion in a libel case filed against them. It took judicial notice that the trial judge in the case had taken a plea bargain on racketeering charges that included having accepted a $8,000 bribe to rule against the newspapers on the motion [ABA Journal]

Tags: don't, judges, libel slander and defamation, newspapers, Texas

Don’t is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Don’t

Walter Olson — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 13:25:21 +0000

…break and enter into the house of your client’s husband to retrieve her possessions [Albuquerque lawyer Raymond Van Arnam, fined, sentenced to weekend jail time and ordered to pay restitution, but not deprived of his law license, on charges of misdemeanor criminal trespass and misdemeanor larceny; Above the Law]

Tags: divorce, don't, New Mexico

Don’t is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system