A Canadian plaintiff’s lawyer credits them with reducing defendants’ propensity to file obstructive motions [AmLaw Daily, interviewing class action attorney Andrew Morganti — last paragraph]
“Stuck in legal”
Matt Blumberg of Return Path, Inc. struck a nerve with a business readership with this recent post on hassles with the legal department, and this followup.
Update: Brandon v. Wizeman
The South Carolina blog-libel case we covered in April, which resulted in a $1.8 million verdict, has now concluded in a settlement between the parties, per Citizen Media Law.
Ban blonde jokes in workplace, but allow lawyer jokes
At least that’s the advice one lawyer gave in a speech to the annual convention of SHRM, the human resources managers’ group. [HR Daily Advisor citing Jonathan Segal of Duane Morris, via Hyman]
“Obama plan creates ‘Public Option’ malpractice law firm”
Calm down, it’s just a satire [Scott Ott/Scrappleface in D.C. Examiner]
Rise and fall of an ethically challenged attorney
“In Minnesota legal circles, a newspaper once wrote of him, David Moskal was ‘known for several remarkable achievements, including the fastest disbarment in the state’s history.'” Not content with making more than $1 million a year through his injury practice, Moskal also stole millions from clients. Even after his disgrace, he passed himself off as an attorney while working as a client liaison at a spine-injury center. [Legal Blog Watch, MinnLawyer, WestWord (which also has an interesting background article on the relations between lawyers and injury-treatment clinics in Denver)]
“Patent reformer becomes troll, sues defunct OSS company”
And did a small defendant wind up being added to the list of those sued in an intellectual-property suit just in order to secure venue in the plaintiff-beloved Eastern District of Texas? [Ars Technica]
CPSIA: miscellaneous reading
Commentaries from various quarters on the dreadful child-safety law:
- “Hope and change — and children’s books” [Michael Barone, D.C. Examiner; note however that the law at present does not allow for general enforcement by private lawyers] More on kids’ books: Morton Goldberg, “Inoculated”; Books Bikes Boomsticks (“I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite the quiver of rage I felt” on learning of book angle); Deputy Headmistress (reacting to that post); Grad Student Madness (waiting for the black market to spring up in vintage kids’ books). Esther at Reader’s Loft has drawn up some decision flow charts that may help in determining whether a particular kids’ book needs expensive testing under the law. And “If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay” — that’s the title of a new book offering child health advice, not a CPSIA critique [ER Stories]
- “Lead-footed safety issues” [Carter Wood, Washington Times] And let’s hope Washington Post editors take the time to read their own paper [same at ShopFloor]
- Lenore Skenazy, “The risk of avoiding all risk” [The Post Chronicle; see also Rick Woldenberg]. Related: “More toys from our youth that’d be illegal today” [Doug Ross] And you just know this one’s European, not U.S. [Berg Toys “Moov”]
- Suppose Congress had never passed CPSIA — what would be the actual risk that your child would suffer lead poisoning from his dirtbike or other playthings? Essentially zero, as Rick Woldenberg explains in a post from this spring somehow unlinked before now. Indeed, ordinary dirt, which kids have been known to get on their hands and faces from time to time, contains higher concentrations of naturally occurring lead than many of the products whose makers have been hard hit by the law. Likewise, Deputy Headmistress explodes a few myths of CPSIA proponents. And what’s this about infinitesimal residues in children’s vitamins being (no doubt correctly) deemed safe by the federal government?
- Finally, the valuable site What Is the CPSIA, which is organized as a sort of FAQ to answer common questions about the law, has added substantially to its content in recent weeks and well repays a repeat visit.
PUBLIC DOMAIN IMAGES from Leslie Brooke, illustrator, Oranges and Lemons: A Nursery Rhyme Picture Book (1913), courtesy ChildrensLibrary.org.
Hold that thought — comments off this week
I expect to take this week off from editing the blog. I’ve prepared some posts to auto-post through the week, but comments will either be turned off or held automatically in the moderation queue (where they may not be reviewed for several days). If you’ve got something you want to say and find that comments are closed, hold the thought and check back next week.
“The California Coastal Commission vs. Its Critics”
Brian Doherty at Reason on a rather powerful environmental regulator. More: Coyote.