Asked: Our weekly question to the In-House community

It’s all about the money and, this week, in-house counsels have advice on how to save those dollar bills in class action lawsuits.

According to Inside Counsel, legal executives recommended alternative fee arrangements to cut costs in class-action lawsuits. They also advised in-house departments to spend more time on these matters rather than giving the work to outside counsel. Finally, general counsels said to conduct early case assessments in order to have more time to map out a strategy.

So here’s our question for you:

What are ways you think would cut costs in class-action lawsuits?

Leave a comment below or email me.

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Welcome to Monday and the start of a three-game home series against that team from New York. Here are some news items to get your week started.

– Did a town board in Greece (New York, again) violate the First Amendment with its pre-session prayer?

– Obama administration’s search for leakers reaches new high (or low).

– Evanston, Ill., residents hope their Chicago suburb becomes a no drone zone.

– Civil rights challenge to New York Police Department’s stop, question and frisk tactic nears conclusion.

Asked: Our weekly question to the In-House community

The former general counsel of USAir is speaking out against corporate crime.

Lawrence Stentzel, who now works at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in Washington, D.C., has written a paper, “Federal Regulation is Not an Effective Deterrent to Corporate Malfeasance.”

Stentzel says in the paper that regulators have failed to be stringent enough and properly punish corporate wrongdoing. He says sanctions are rarely imposed and when they are, they are so minimal it does not discourage future corporate crime.

He recommends the government create a database of corporate wrongdoing.

When Corporate Crime Reporter asked if he knew more corporate lawyers speaking out, Stentzel responded: “I do know them. But they are pessimistic about the future and believe that greed has overtaken everything else.”

So here’s our question for you:

Do you agree with Stentzel that more corporate lawyers should speak out? As a GC, do you share his bleak view of the future of corporate crime?

Leave a comment below or email me.

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Earlier this month in this space, we noted how the bar exam results had been released. At the time, all that was available was a four-digit ID number.

Now, however, we have the full list of 462 names from the State Board of Law Examiners, which was also published in Tuesday’s paper.

Congratulations to Maryland’s newest lawyers!

Welcome to Monday and a reminder to reserve your infield spot for Saturday. Here are some news items to get your week started.

– Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg criticizes Roe v. Wade.

– The family of NHL player sues National Hockey League for wrongful death.

– Male lawyers will don stilettos to make a point.

– The family behind the Bananas Foster fights over its New Orleans restaurant.

Here’s another argument for cameras in the Supreme Court — it would make the judges more trustworthy.

That’s my conclusion after reading about Readers’ Digest’s list of the 100 most trusted Americans.

Among all members of the bench, Judge Judy had the highest score, of 51 percent. Next was Judge Joe Brown at 48 percent.

In between the two television judges was Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who ranked 36th on the list, according to the ABA Journal. Justice Stephen G. Breyer was 43rd, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was 44th and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was 49th.

The rest of the justices: Sonia Sotomayor (53); Elena Kagan (62); Samuel A. Alito Jr. (60); Antonin Scalia (66); and Clarence Thomas (88).

Tom Hanks tops the list, with 65 percent of those surveyed finding him trustworthy, followed by Sandra Bullock and Denzel Washington.

Asked: Our weekly question to the In-House community

The state of Washington is pondering new rules for in-house counsel.

The proposal would require in-house counsel to register with the state bar, even if they are already bar members in other states.

The Association of Corporate Counsel is taking issue with the proposal, arguing it is just a way to collect more money in extra registration fees and there is no evidence of in-house counsel ethics problems in the state.

The organization also argues that if a company hires general counsels from out of state without state supervision and if the attorney does not perform, the company simply can fire that person.

The proposed rule permits lawyers from other states to waive into Washington state’s bar but would require in-house lawyers to pass the part of the bar exam devoted to Washington law.

So here’s our question for you:

Should in-house counsel who are bar members in other states have to register with another state bar when they move to a new company?

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Welcome to Monday, the 98th anniversary of Baltimore native Babe Ruth’s first major league home run. Here are some news items to get your week started.

– The West, Texas, fertilizer plant was woefully under insured.

– Is there “a fundamental right … to engage in intimate contact“?

– A new book on The Roberts Court will hit stores this week.

– Businesses speak well of the aforementioned court.

If this blog post is the first time you learned that the results from February’s bar exam have been posted, I’m guessing you probably didn’t take the bar exam in February. Either way, here they are.

(This also gives me a chance to link to one of my favorite videos, “Law students reflect on the bar exam.”)

Congratulations to all who passed!

Madison Grimm, age 6, is the artist behind the painting of a canvasback duck you see here. Madison submitted it to the 2013 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest, and last month she became the youngest winner in the competition’s history.

But then questions were raised about the “painting’s authenticity” and poor Madison was disqualified.

Madison’s dad is a wildlife artist and her painting was based on an unpublished photo her father took. The Grimms’ hometown Argus (S.D.) Leader picks up the story:

She also used a technique called a graphite transfer, where an artist applies a pencil lead to a print of the photo to create an outline for a painting. Both are legal, and both are accepted and common among artists…

Madison’s dad hired a Washington, D.C., lawyer to help reinstate his daughter as the winner, according to the Leader. The legal questions abound — was Madison’s technique legal? Did she violate any copyright or fair use laws by using the photo as the basis of her painting? Could the duck file its own suit alleging his (or her) image was used for commercial purposes without her consent?

Alas, we’ll never know all of the answers — the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced it reinstated Madison and her painting as the winner after “careful consideration.”

So congratulations to Madison and thanks for inspiring me to try to find my inner-artist.

It’s just too bad I’m too old to take a quack at this contest.