By: Christina Doran
ON THE COVER: The next question — Maryland, already ahead of the Confrontation Clause curve in DUI cases, wonders just how far the high court will go next time.
Chief judge reaches out to lawyers, again.
In Breaking News, McCrary seeks millions from Bank of America and the 4th Circuit upholds a win for McGuire Woods.
In Verdicts & Settlements, poultry workers’ damages set at $460,000; out-of-state retailer owes $350,000 for unpaid rent; and Mensa and a pharma-testing firm settle after verdict.
Read about a different sort of foreign exchange in Pro Bono.
James M. Kramon writes about what Sotomayor should have said in his commentary On the Supreme Court.
Stay up-to-date with our Legal Briefs and Law Digest, with cases from the Maryland Court of Appeals, U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. District Court, Maryland.
By: Christina Doran
ON THE COVER: Beyond PowerPoint — The evolution of courtroom technology is under way, and it will be computerized.
For Venable partner, alleged conduct could bring criminal, civil or AGC sanctions.
In Breaking News, panel tackles ‘ethical minefields’ and diversity talk draws a small crowd at the ABA annual meeting; Top court declines to consider whether state and Indian laws require same reunificiation efforts; and a disbarred attorney is jailed for contempt.
Read about a jury’s award of $1.85 million to the parents of a baby who died three days after his birth in Verdicts & Settlements.
In My First, Stanley Needleman talks about his first office cat, Spike.
Andrew H. Baida ponders whether to report or not to report in The Art of Appellate Advocacy.
In Of Service, Joe Surkiewicz writes about how federal restrictions on Legal Aid hurt foster children in Baltimore.
Stay up-to-date with our Legal Briefs and Law Digest, with cases from the Maryland Court of Appeals, Maryland Court of Special Appeals, U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. District Court, Maryland.
By: Christina Doran
ON THE COVER: Dealing with slow-paying clients — Lawyers see a rise in the percentage of past-due accounts.
University of Baltimore School of Law gets $500,000 in federal funds to expand its Truancy Court Program.
In Breaking News, a challenge to an Attorney Grievance Commission subpoena fails; a Bethesda family law firm breaks up; the Court of Appeals revives a $13 million verdict; and the top court says that a DNA testing law applies retroactively.
Read about a $64,000 damage award to a man who lost his house in a foreclosure rescue scheme and an Army captain who took $1.25 milion for car-crash injuries in Verdicts & Settlements.
Jack L.B. Gohn writes about “advice of counsel” in The Big Picture.
Read about whether lawyers think Judge Sotomayor should become Justice Sotomayor in this week’s Interrogatory.
Stay up-to-date with our Legal Briefs and Law Digest, with cases from the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. District Court, Maryland.
By: Christina Doran
ON THE COVER: The off season – When the General Assembly session ends, lawyer/lawmakers return to their legal careers in earnest.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals finds that Maryland’s liquor-pricing system violates the Sherman Antitrust Act.
In Breaking News, the Court of Special Appeals holds that a confession by the MySpace killer is public record; a geneticist loses her job-bias appeal; a former 1st Mariner Area worker says his firing was racially biased; and a federal judge denies a request to unseal more court documents in the Bromwell cases.
In this week’s Verdicts & Settlements, a jury finds that an Elkton police officer did not improperly use his Taser during a 2005 arrest, and a blinded SSA employee agrees to a $300,000 settlement.
Read about Hodes, Pessin & Katz’s Pirate Day in Unbillable Hours.
Judge Dennis M. Sweeney writes about avoiding and dealing with inconsistent jury verdicts in his column Judge on the Jury.
Stay up-to-date with our Legal Briefs and Law Digest, with cases from the Maryland Court of Special Appeals and U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
By: Christina Doran
ON THE COVER: Into South Africa — Maryland lawyers volunteer for an international project to train their counterparts in commercial law.
Rite Aid’s former general counsel is suing founder Alex Grass and a prominent Baltimore law firm, along with two of its partners.
In Breaking News, CSX Transportation Inc. sues over $5 million cleanup; the Court of Special Appeals says inheritance tax is due on doctor’s gifts; and a split intermediate court holds that a lower court should have required a police officer to reveal his covert position.
Read about a $1.37 million jury award for a vascular injury in Verdicts & Settlements.
The D.C. Circuit affirms a $4.1 million award in nightclub beating.
In Unbillable Hours, Bill Klumpp discusses how work at Sunday school led him to write books for young teens.
Stay up-to-date with our Law Digest, with cases from the Maryland Court of Appeals, Maryland Court of Special Appeals, U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. District Court, Maryland.
By: Christina Doran
Students admitted to the Class of 2012 at the University of Miami Law School just got a little taste of what it’s like to be an associate in today’s legal market.
If you thought having your start date at the firm delayed was bad, admittees to the Florida law school have been asked to “think hard” about their plans and decide if deferred enrollment might be right for them. Dean Designate Patricia D. White writes:
While I would like to believe that this year’s elevated acceptance rate reflects the great sense of excitement about the Law School and its future that led me to become its new Dean, I fear that some of it may be related to the shortage of jobs in the current economy. Perhaps many of you are looking to law school as a safe harbor in which you can wait out the current economic storm.
If this describes your motivation for going to law school I urge you to think hard about your plans and to consider deferring enrollment. Law school requires an enormous investment of work, energy, time, and money. It is very demanding intellectually and emotionally. Beyond this, in these uncertain and challenging times the nature of the legal profession is in great flux. It is very difficult to predict what the employment landscape for young lawyers will be in May 2012 and thereafter.
The law school is also offering some incentives for deferment, such as a $5,000 Public Interest Deferral Scholarship.
If given the option of deferral, what would you have done?
Hat tip: Above the Law.
By: Christina Doran
I’ll admit, what made me click on the link in this blog post was the line:”This reminds me of the brilliant Scooner [sic] Tuna solution at the end of Mr. Mom.”
My love of Mr. Mom aside, I was intrigued when I was directed to LexisNexis’s “Lend a Hand” program Web site. Recently laid-off attorneys — from firms with 50 or more lawyers — can sign up for the program and receive free six-month profiles on Lawyers.com and martindale.com along with six months of free access to Martindale-Hubbell Connected and the Martindale-Hubbell Career Center.
That’s almost as good a deal as receiving fifty cents off your can of tuna.
Hat tip: Above the Law.
By: Christina Doran
ON THE COVER: (Un)true Confessions — Payday lender’s illegal, but successful, use of confessed judgments leads to a call for change.
Baltimore police sergeant sees $2.5 million settlement as a catalysist for change.
In Breaking News: Second judge opts out of the race; CSA affirms a lawyers’ win in suit by client; 4th Circuit says inmate can’t sue individuals; and C. William Clark is ready for his role as BCBA president.
Read about how a part-time dancer settled her lawsuit over nude photos in Verdicts & Settlements.
In Profiles in Leadership, Legal Affairs Writer Danny Jacobs catches up with Alexander Gordon IV, author of Gordon on Maryland Foreclosures.
Andrew H. Baida writes about tricks appellate lawyers can learn from dogs in The Art of Appellate Advocacy.
In The Big Picture, Jack L.B. Gohn says that ‘just following orders’ has not been an excuse for war crimes since the Nuremberg trials.
Stay up-to-date with our Legal Briefs and Law Digest, with cases from the Maryland Court of Appeals and Maryland Court of Special Appeals.
By: Christina Doran
On the Cover: The Money Issue
Thomas Cardaro, the next president of the Maryland State Bar Association, says the current economic conditions will effect his year at the helm of the state bar “quite dramatically.”
In Breaking News, ex-Market House tenants seek millions; the Court of Special Appeals holds that grandparents have the burden in modification cases; and Geppi and Skayhan are sued for a loan default.
Read about how a pension plan error cost an MTA worker $135,000 in Verdicts and Settlements.
The Editorial Advisory Board writes about misconceptions in the Sotomayor discussion.
Joe Surkiewicz writes about addressing needs as rights in his column Of Service.
Stay up-to-date with our Legal Briefs and Law Digest, with cases from the Maryland Court of Appeals, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court, Maryland.
By: Christina Doran
On the Cover: Changing of the Guard — The Attorney Grievance Commission is about to get its first new leader in nearly 15 years.
In Breaking News, a Frederick County jury awards a boy with cerebral palsy close to $4 million; Residents and environmental groups want the Sparrows Point steel mill to clean up its pollution; and the Court of Special Appeals upholds the dismissal of a lawsuit against Funk & Bolton brought by a Kent County Board of Education member.
Read about how a Christmas Day arrest led to a $60,000 jury award in Verdicts & Settlements.
In this week’s My First, Evan Stolove discusses how he was prodded into precision during his clerkship with now-retired Court of Appeals Judge John C. Eldridge.
Judge Dennis M. Sweeney writes about recent developments on juror misconduct in his column Judge on the Jury.
Stay up-to-date with our Legal Briefs and Law Digest, with cases from the Maryland Court of Appeals, Maryland Court of Special Appeals, U.S. Supreme Court and 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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