Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Archive for 2010

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Backs propeller boat into victim, manufacturer liable

Jacob Brochtrup jumped into the water to retrieve a tow rope, and was gravely injured when the boat’s driver, who didn’t know he was there, backed the boat up. A Texas federal jury has now found the Brunswick Corp. partly to blame and told it to pay $3.8 million. His attorney argued that “manufacturers could make boats and motors safer by installing guards on propellers and placing a shield over the back,” something that current boat designs do not do. [Austin American-Statesman via Continuous Wave] Related: March 19 (tablesaw design not adopted by industry). More: Abnormal Use.

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Las Vegas lawyer’s radio ad “grossly misstated the law”

The ten-second commercial for Anthony “Tony the Tiger” Lopez Jr. on Spanish-language radio told listeners: “If you have had an auto accident, by law you have the right to receive at least $15,000 for your case.” The Nevada Supreme Court reprimanded Lopez, upholding the findings of a bar disciplinary panel that said his marketing had “harmed the public by fostering unnecessary and unwarranted litigation by people who were not necessarily entitled to any recovery.” [Las Vegas Review Journal via ABA Journal]

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Do as we say dept.: EPA and lead

The Environmental Protection Agency — currently rolling out new regulations expected to substantially boost the cost of home renovation projects and drive many smaller, less formal repair providers from the market, all in the name of lead reduction — turns out to have lead exposures at its own headquarters exceeding the relevant federal standards in one case by 92,500 percent [Daily Caller] Can it fine itself?

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Money, tenure, and the future of legal education

Elie Mystal at Above the Law reports from a panel discussion on nontraditional models of law schooling:

… The educators had great things to say about their programs, but not one of them were focused on the cost to students. …

When the panel opened up for questions, I thought the audience would slam the panel for their incremental changes and full price demands. I totally misread the room on that one. There was only one thing an audience of professors cared about when assessing new educational models.

Tenure.

Can you get tenure doing this? Will you be up for tenure more quickly doing that? Will tenure requirements be softened for professors that teach over the summer? How do I get tenure?

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