Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Dodd-Frank “conflicts minerals” provision devastates Congolese

David Aronson, New York Times:

The “Loi Obama” or Obama Law — as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform act of 2010 has become known in the [central African] region — includes an obscure provision that requires public companies to indicate what measures they are taking to ensure that minerals in their supply chain don’t benefit warlords in conflict-ravaged Congo. The provision came about in no small part because of the work of high-profile advocacy groups like the Enough Project and Global Witness, which have been working for an end to what they call “conflict minerals.”

Unfortunately, the Dodd-Frank law has had unintended and devastating consequences, as I saw firsthand on a trip to eastern Congo this summer. …

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Demand for sign language translator at nudist camp

When it needs to be said with hands: a Rochester man has filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department alleging that Empire Haven Nudist Park of Moravia, N.Y., as well as a festival held there, denied his right under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) to a sign language interpreter. Tom Willard “offered to pay for his own interpreter if the nudist camp would discount or waive his park entry and workshop registration fees,” a better deal than in many ADA cases in which complainants demand that the business or service provider alone shoulder the full cost of an interpreter. [Syracuse Post-Standard]

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“Foreclosure relief” and its temptations

The St. Petersburg Times explores the ethical issues raised by the practice of a Florida lawyer who “flies his six-seat Piper Malibu around Florida championing the cause of the little guy. His target: the big, bad banks.” The plan: charging upfront fees of up to $5,000, plus a contingency, for the privilege of enrolling in “mass joinder” suits demanding foreclosure relief.

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Message board liability threats, cont’d

Paul Alan Levy reports on the doings of one Florida lawyer who “touts his past presidency of the ‘First Amendment Lawyers Association'” but “is apparently not so keen on the free speech rights of others.” And, also via Levy, a court has vacated the troubling order discussed earlier adopting a weak standard for subpoenas identifying anonymous comments, in a case involving the Façonnable clothing concern.

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Law schools roundup

  • Law profs (some of them, anyway) bristle at “impractical scholarship” critique from Chief Justice Roberts [Ifill, ConcurOp; Adler; Chiang, Prawfs; Markel]
  • Noisy exit by University of Baltimore law dean calls attention to law schools’ role as cash cows for universities [Caron]
  • There’ll always be a legal academia: redefining banks as public nuisances [Lind via CL&P] “Disability as a Social Construct” [Areheart, Yale Law and Policy Review] North Dakota’s fiscal health? Nothing to do with shale boom or budget prudence, it’s that they’ve got a state-owned bank [Pasquale/Canova]
  • “Why Does Pedigree Drive Law Faculty Hiring?” [Paul Caron] Using the accreditation process to mandate more tenure for lawprofs? [same] “ABA to Continue as Law School Accrediter, Despite Noncompliance With 17 Regs” [same]
  • “Have Law Schools Violated Consumer Protection Laws?” [Jeff Sovern, CL&P] Villanova keeps mum after embarrassing revelations [Inquirer]

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