Overlawyered » lawyers

Great moments in law firm management?

Walter Olson — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:11:17 +0000

According to the Sun-Sentinel, managers at the Deerfield Beach, Fla. real estate law firm of Elizabeth Wellborn fired 14 employees on Friday for wearing orange clothing. According to the report, an executive had been informed that the workers were wearing orange as a protest, but several employees told the newspaper that they knew of no protest and that they customarily wore orange on paydays so that they would appear as a group at a happy hour after work.

If the story checks out as reported — the law firm was recorded as having declined comment — expect to hear rumblings about how it refutes the American legal principle of “employment at will,” though it doesn’t actually refute that principle any more than the tale of a wastrel heir refutes the principle of inheritance.

Tags: employment at will, Florida, lawyers

Great moments in law firm management? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

No one caught on

Walter Olson — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 05:51:32 +0000

A Newburyport, Mass. attorney formerly with the big personal injury firm of Kreindler and Kreindler has been suspended from practice for two years “after Suffolk County judges ruled she falsely claimed she was also a medical doctor.” The firm reportedly was unaware of the imposture (no one checked, then? ) and cited her nonexistent credential in its promotional materials. [Newburyport News]

Tags: lawyers, Massachusetts, medical

No one caught on is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Dickens bicentenary

Walter Olson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:36:46 +0000

Kevin at Lowering the Bar recounts Jarndyce v. Jarndyce.

Tags: lawyers

Dickens bicentenary is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Wisconsin lawyer: I won’t represent GOPers since they voted to limit fees

Walter Olson — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:32:24 +0000

“A Milwaukee lawyer who calls himself the ‘lemon law king’ is vowing to never take on a Republican client because of a new law limiting attorney fees in Wisconsin. … In a statement issued on Monday, [Vince] Megna compared Wisconsin to North Korea.” [ABA Journal]

Tags: lawyers, politics, Wisconsin

Wisconsin lawyer: I won’t represent GOPers since they voted to limit fees is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Lawyer’s suit: this breakfast’s no good

Walter Olson — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 05:24:46 +0000

The complimentary breakfast provided with membership in the expensive Setai Club & Spa Wall Street used to be really good, according to injury attorney Richard Katz. Then they replaced it with just a cold buffet. The club said it offered Katz a prorated refund of his remaining membership after he complained, but he’s suing for $730,000, including a claim that he was defamed. [Gawker, Above the Law ]

Tags: contracts, lawyers, NYC

Lawyer’s suit: this breakfast’s no good is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

By reader acclaim: Divorced man sues wedding photographer

Walter Olson — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 05:06:34 +0000

“Although the marriage did not last, plaintiff’s fury over the quality of the photos and video continued on.” The photographer defendant thinks the demand for $48,000 to re-stage the wedding is a bit much, especially given that the former bride has thought to have returned to her native Latvia. [New York Times; Above the Law (groom's father is partner in big law firm)]

Tags: contracts, lawyers

By reader acclaim: Divorced man sues wedding photographer is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Lawprof: D.C.’s 1:12 lawyer-resident ratio “not nearly enough”

Walter Olson — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:15:33 +0000

One in twelve residents of the District of Columbia is an attorney, but if you think that seems ample, there are those who disagree:

“It sounds like a lot of lawyers, but it’s not nearly enough,” said Matthew Fraidin, a law professor at the University of the District of Columbia. “There are just an immense number of people who go unrepresented every year. The need for legal service attorneys has increased and the funding for them has decreased.”

I’m quoted in the piece too. [Brian Hughes, Washington Examiner]

Tags: law schools, lawyers, Washington D.C.

Lawprof: D.C.’s 1:12 lawyer-resident ratio “not nearly enough” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Clifford Winston in NYT on deregulating lawyers

Walter Olson — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:18:16 +0000

The Brookings scholar has an op-ed outlining his idea of deregulating entry to the legal profession, and I have a brief response up at Cato, drawing on my longer symposium response last month. Carolyn Elefant and Elie Mystal have somewhat different objections to Winston’s argument.

Tags: lawyers

Clifford Winston in NYT on deregulating lawyers is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Before hiring a criminal defense lawyer…

Walter Olson — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:16:50 +0000

…consider this cautionary tale [Brian Tannebaum].

Tags: defense lawyers, ethics, feeing frenzy, Florida, lawyers

Before hiring a criminal defense lawyer… is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Deregulating lawyers? Law schools?

Walter Olson — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:34:40 +0000

Truth on the Market has a star-studded symposium on Clifford Winston’s and Robert Crandall’s proposals to deregulate access to the legal profession and legal training. I have decidedly mixed feelings about the former, while cheering the latter. Don’t miss the many other interesting contributions as well.

Tags: law schools, lawyers

Deregulating lawyers? Law schools? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system