Rhode Island lawmakers are considering whether to enact a first-in-the-nation bill of rights for the homeless. The bill would prohibit certain groups of people (mainly police officers, landlords, employers and medical workers) from discriminating against the homeless.

Just about every year there are bills proposed in the Maryland General Assembly to help protect the homeless. In fact, Maryland is a leader in legislation protecting the homeless and in 2009 became the first state to pass a law classifying crimes against the homeless as hate crimes. (Other states, including Rhode Island, soon passed their own versions of the bill.)

But Maryland still has its struggles with this issue. Just recently Baltimore City faced a controversy when it shut off the power supply to a homeless shelter after the shelter allegedly didn’t pay its bills. The shelter alleges that the city owes the shelter money; hopefully the sides will reach a resolution so this vulnerable population isn’t left without a safe haven.

(For more about the homeless in Baltimore, check out this blog. It’s written by a formerly homeless man living in Baltimore. It hasn’t been updated recently but the posts are personal and informative.)

Statistics on the number of attacks on homeless people are extremely sad — 1,184 cases of violence since 1999, according to one report. And these are only the cases that we know about. It’s likely that there are many more incidents that go unreported.

The homeless already have such a small voice in our society; I can’t imagine what it must be like to face discrimination from the people that you need help from. It’s enough of a struggle for them to try and to survive and get their lives together. (Check out the comments in the story about the Rhode Island law to see some of the hatred that exists.) Although this Rhode Island bill may be difficult to enforce, I believe it is an important step in protecting the homeless.

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Denise Whiting, owner of Café Hon in Baltimore, announced this week she would abandon her trademark claim on the word “Hon.” Personally, I thought the trademark claim was a bad business decision and somewhat of an affront to the Hon culture.

As a transplant from the D.C. suburbs, I have taken to Baltimore because of its blue-collar work ethic, eclectic personality and this weird appeal of the “City that Reads” you can truly appreciate only if you live here. To me, “Hon” is Baltimore, something that could not be trademarked or owned.

(I also thought, however, that I would rather eat at nearby Golden West Cafe, so my boycott of Café Hon was largely a culinary decision and not one of true protest.)

As an attorney, however, I wanted to know the actual law on the issue instead of relying on news reports. Fortunately for me, the answer was within easy reach.

I walked down the hall at my office recently to go straight to The Source — or, in this case, The Sources: Kimberly Grimsley and Pamela Riewerts, two trademark lawyers in our Intellectual Property Department at Bowie & Jensen.  Here are the pertinent parts of our conversation:

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As a Baltimore-based recruiter, I see people all the time who want to make the transition here from Washington. They’re either tired of the commute or want a different quality of life.

And while both cities offer great opportunities for legal professionals, there are definite differences between the two legal markets.

For some people, Baltimore just isn’t going to cut it.  When I was a tour guide at the University of Maryland School of Law, there was more than one prospective student who said that they applied thinking the school was in College Park. These students weren’t sold on the idea of going to school in Baltimore.

Despite my love of Charm City, I do see their point. Washington has more large firms to offer, and D.C. is often viewed as more metropolitan; there’s more to do, you can rely completely on public transportation and the city draws transplants from all over the county.

But the transition from D.C. to Baltimore can be really difficult to make. Washington has thriving practice areas Baltimore really doesn’t have: immigration, intellectual property and defense contracting. There are also more opportunities to work with the government and nonprofits in the D.C. area. Not to mention salaries in Washington can be up to 20 percent higher than in Baltimore, although the cost of living in Baltimore is much lower. Baltimore law firms could be hesitant to hire someone if they think they are really set on D.C.

For new law school graduates, it’s important to think about where you want to live, what you want to practice and how those two things are going to meld together. Law schools offer lots of opportunities to work in different cities and practice areas while in still in school through internships, externships and law clerk positions. This is a great way to figure out what you want to do without the commitment.

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Earlier this month, I attended the Red Mass of the St. Thomas More Society at St. Thomas More Church in Baltimore. The ceremony began with Maryland judges processing down the aisle in their robes, followed by clergymen, including the archbishop, several bishops, monsignors, priests and deacons.

The Mass is held to bestow a special blessing upon judges, lawyers and other leaders in the administration of justice.

Although I am Catholic and actually grew up attending St. Thomas More Church, I must admit that I know very little about Sir Thomas More. As I read through the program, I learned that More was a lawyer, judge and a diplomat executed in 1535 for refusing to recognize the Act of Succession.

Most striking to me was the prayer of St. Thomas More that I read the following day:

Pray that, for the glory of God and in the pursuit of His justice, I may be trustworthy with confidences, keen in study, accurate in analysis, correct in conclusion, able in argument, loyal to clients, honest with all, courteous to adversaries, ever attentive to conscience. Sit with me at my desk and listen with me to my clients’ tales. Read with me in my library and stand always beside me so that today I shall not, to win a point, lose my soul.

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Every Thursday evening around 4:30 p.m. a group of teenagers meet on the corner of North Avenue and Harford Road to settle a dispute.

The Baltimore City Teen Court, a program organized by the Citizenship Law Related Education Program, provides a voluntary alternative to the juvenile justice system. A youth offender between the ages of 11-17 and who has been charged with a minor crime will be held accountable for his or her actions but without the stigma of a criminal record. Student volunteers act as baliffs, clerks, jurors and attorneys during the teen court sessions.

As an attorney, the entire experience is fascinating. Every participant takes each facet of the proceedings seriously. The youth offender does admit his or her guilt and is willing to be accountable for his or her actions. Further, the determination by the volunteer teen jury is both thoughtful and practical, as the youth offender will suffer actual consequences.

All in all, this program builds a better community. But the program cannot run without the help of lawyer volunteers. Adult lawyers are needed to serve as judges, calling balls and strikes. Adult lawyers are needed to coach the student volunteers as they prepare for the hearings. Adult lawyers are just plan needed.

I was recently in an interesting discussion with some colleagues regarding attorneys and volunteering. We started with two basic premises: 1) that any attorney only has a finite amount of time to volunteer, and 2) attorneys have a unique set of skills from other professionals or people. The issue was whether an attorney that does volunteer work should spend his or her time performing tasks that only they can perform (i.e. pro bono work) or whether an attorney, much like any other person, should volunteer his or her time to any organization.

My opinion is the latter, as a volunteer will likely continue to commit time and resources to an organization or activity that he or she is interested in. In this case (for me), however, Baltimore City Teen Court seems to fit both criteria.  Finding the right place to give time and resources (usually at the detriment of other things – there are only 24 hours in the day) is a difficult decision. It is a juggling act and requires commitment. As with anything that is important, though, time can be made.

So, if you are interested in spending time assisting teens resolve disputes, then teen court may be for you. If you have other interests, there is a organization that will surely be happy for the help. It’s just a matter of making the time. In the end, however, it will be worth it.

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Edgar Allan Poe was like a 19th century Ricky Gervais: he basked in genius, needled the pompous, and didn’t care what you thought of him.

Ironically, Poe’s life was so wrought with tragedy and misfortune it’s amazing he survived the 40 years he did, much less that he evolved into one of America’s most respected writers/poets.

Most know the basics: Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. His parents were actors, but his father bailed on the family not too long after Edgar was born. His mother died shortly thereafter, leaving him an orphan.

From there, John and Frances Allan raised him, primarily in Richmond, Virginia and London, England. John Allan was a relatively wealthy merchant and put Edgar in good schools.

Eventually, Poe was disowned by Allan, left the University of Virginia after an accumulation of gambling debts, and joined the Army.

Along the way, though, Poe kept writing and, as author James Lee Burke has said, “remained true to the gift.”

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