“Lock the law school doors”

There are too many lawyers entering practice already, argues former litigator Dan Slater in the NYT’s “DealBook”. “The American Bar Association, which continues to approve law schools with impunity and with no end in sight, bears complicity in creating this mess. …. many law schools appear to profit from what may charitably be called an inefficient distribution of market information.” Profs. Bainbridge and Ribstein react.

“Woman’s Death Blamed on Hotel Exec’s ‘Hedonism'”

OnPoint News: “Taking employment law into uncharted waters, a $645 million lawsuit alleges the operator of the Hard Rock resort in Las Vegas is liable for the death of its former CEO’s girlfriend because it consented to his ‘hedonistic lifestyle.’” Family members of the 23-year-old woman, who overdosed on drugs in the former CEO’s suite, say the hotel should be responsible because it knowingly cultivated an image of high living, drug use and promiscuity, which made his conduct with respect to her something “within the course and scope of his employment”. The former CEO has already settled a wrongful-death suit brought by the woman’s father.

New review: David Giacalone on BabyBarista and the Art of War

Here’s something we’ve never tried at Overlawyered: a full-length, original book review by an outside contributor. Blogger David Giacalone, whose now-inactive EthicalEsq. (later f/k/a) is fondly remembered and has often been linked in this space, has kindly offered to let us publish his newly written review of BabyBarista and the Art of War, a new novel based on Tim Kevan’s popular BabyBarista column for the U.K.’s Times (a paper to which I’ve contributed as an online columnist in the past). The novel has been hailed as a “Hogarthian romp” and a “satire with edge”; David says it displays its subjects, British lawyers,

acting very much like the worst segments of the American bar: taking huge fees for little work, entering settlements at their clients’ expense (to assure a fee, or to get to a golf course or an early lunch), exploiting underlings, disrespecting a “litigant in person” (pro se) party, making it dangerous to raise sexual harassment charges, etc. It was heartening to hear BabyB warn clients about the risks of no-win-no-fee (contingency) arrangements, and enlightening to see how personal injury claims are fabricated. For the entire 266 pages, the Bar’s foibles and vices are laid bare, but with a light (if exaggerated) touch rather than a heavy hand.

The review is longer than our usual blog post, so we’ve published it on a separate page here.

Ohio: Turning the table on a serial ADA plaintiff

Cleveland federal judge Donald Nugent has dismissed a disabled-access lawsuit by Bonnie Kramer against a real estate management company and allowed a counterclaim to go forward against Kramer and her lawyers “alleging abuse of process, fraud, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, spoliation and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations violations”. Kramer, a self-styled “tester”, has been plaintiff in more than 100 actions under the ADA. [Andrew Longstreth, American Lawyer] More on “Disabled Patriots of America” group: Charlie Deitch, Pittsburgh City Paper.

WordPress upgrade

I’ve upgraded the site to the latest version of WordPress in response to reports of a serious attack on older versions (if you’re running any version earlier than the new 2.8.4, go read about it immediately).

Every time I upgrade, there are user problems for a while, which for readers with some browsers take the form of a front page frozen in time at the last post just before upgrade (in this case, “NYC: tobacco shops can’t give away coffee“). I’ve tried to avert this problem with more careful attention to the cache file, but if you notice this problem (or any other) with the site, please email me at editor – at – thisdomainname – dot- com.

NYC: tobacco shops can’t give away coffee

The Barclay Rex smoking shop must seek a permit as a “food establishment” even if it gives away the brew for free, the city says [Sullum, Reason “Hit and Run”] Readers wonder (h/t Jeff Stier) whether the city is also going to start picking on car dealerships, bookshops and even police stations that offer free coffee, a question to which I think we know the answer.

“Jury awards dad $50K for teen’s suicide”

Frank Eisler kept an assortment of guns in his home, and in particular had “kept at least one gun in an unlocked drawer of his water bed — separate, but not far, from its clip.” Eisler’s stepson, 16-year-old Brian Montes, used one of the guns to commit suicide on April 11, 2005 and Brian’s father, Joseph Montes, sued Eisler for negligence in the death. [Maryland Daily Record]