On the Record

Welcome to this Monday’s law blog roundup. It may be late, but it still makes for good reading.

• The British are coming! The British are coming!
• Dan Goldstein wins another case for a blind law grad looking to take the bar exam on her own terms.
• Hundreds attend funeral for slain law student from Maryland.
• Penn National Gaming is loading up on lobbyists in Annapolis.
• What? You’re removing Latin Jazz as a category from the Grammys? We’ll see you in court, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
• The cost of pretrial procedures could put trial-by-jury in danger.
• Throwing the book at someone? One blogger says judges should be consistent — sentencing guidelines are there for a reason.
• A Korean woman is claiming a monk’s family enslaved her for a dozen years after smuggling her from Canada t0 the U.S.

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Dean Phillip Closius’ ouster from the top job at the University of Baltimore School of Law has some crying foul. For more, read on.

• The law firm Miller & Zois was so dismayed at the dean’s resignation/firing that the firm has offered to pony up $10,000 if Closius returns as dean. They’re looking for other supporters to step up with donations, too. Anyone?
• Job offers to summer associates were down by a third in 2010.
• In her spare time, Judge Mary Ellen Barbera also officiates weddings.
• Paul Mark Sandler explores historical approaches to advocacy.
• Betting on the bar exam.
• How fair are mandatory minimums?
• Even lawyers get writer’s block.

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Ah, the dreaded bar exam. After three years of hard labor, several (hundred) thousand dollars and a few months of sheer terror punctuated by MBE flash cards and Jameson on the rocks, it comes down to this. Twelve hours — or 18, even 21.5, in some states — of pouring out the contents of your brain onto paper (or a computer screen) in hopes that it’s all been enough.

At 4:30 p.m. today, you’ll be a free woman or man. No more studying, no more nightmares about fruits of the poisonous tree or the Rule Against Perpetuities. Of course, you will be waiting for your results, and for some of us, the waiting is the worst part.

I have two pieces of advice for you while you’re playing the waiting game. One: go on a big, blowout trip. It might be your last chance for a long time to backpack through Thailand or lie on the beaches of Croatia.

I know there’ll be a lot of backlash on this one — I have to pay back my loans, I need to start networking, etc. — but I promise you, being a lawyer doesn’t come with a lot of free time. Reward yourself for once; you deserve it.

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Adding a little more sizzle to last week’s sweltering heat,  Baltimore attorney Barry Glazer, famed for his audacious commercials, got some attention from Above the Law. See below for more of what’s heating up the legal world.

• Attorneys suit up.
• Thomas Jefferson School of Law is testing the “I’m rubber, you’re glue…” theory in the class action case against it.
• The guv’s announcement last week that he would sponsor a same-sex marriage bill next year has activists’ and opponents’ tongues wagging.
• Hungry for some seafood? Check out Bereano’s Corner.
• Anita Hill back practicing in Washington.
• Encouraging words for Maryland Bar takers.
• The pain of collecting a malpractice award.

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The reverberations from Jack Johnson’s witness- and evidence-tampering charges continued to be felt this week, both in Maryland and in the ranking of the top 5 most-read law stories at The Daily Record’s website. And in some good news, congrats to the 1,088 who passed the bar exam!

1. Tapes will complicate P.G. County exec. Johnsons’ defense

The defense attorneys representing Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson have their work cut out for them, say defense attorneys observing the case.

2. Md. board recommends 1,088 for admission to Bar

Their admittance is subject to approval of their character and fitness qualifications.

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• You can stop googling — the results of the Maryland bar exam aren’t out yet.
• The writer of last week’s City Paper piece on Willie Featherstone, a former law clerk, was fired last year for speaking to the media about the mistaken release of an inmate who impersonated another inmate.
• Mexico is eagerly watching California’s marijuana law vote.
• Sandra Day O’Connor wants to keep campaign cash out of courtrooms.
• Be careful what you put in those liner notes. Just ask the band Cheap Trick.
• When a photo-op causes a slipped disk, it’s probably a bad idea.

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I have an article in today’s paper about one blind person’s galling experience of taking last week’s Maryland Bar Exam. To wit: human readers who weren’t strong readers and a major computer malfunction, in addition to other imperfect conditions faced by all test-takers (e.g., the background drone of construction).

Today’s story was a follow-up to an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit filed by three blind law school graduates in June which was basically mooted last month when a federal judge denied their motion for a preliminary injunction. (Things might heat up again in November when the test results come back…)

I wasn’t able to speak to the third plaintiff, Tim Elder, before my deadline on Friday, but I did receive a voicemail message from him over the weekend.

“I got through the exam,” he reported. “Everything with the laptop worked fabulous.”

So far, so good. Especially since co-plaintiff Anne Blackfield had software compatibility problems with the JAWS (Job Access With Speech) program, which is what Elder also used. But as with Blackfield and Michael Witwer, there was more to the story.

“However the reader, despite being an incredibly nice person, and incredibly helpful and willing to be helpful, I think, was less than qualified to be a reader for a law exam and may have even had some trouble just in being qualified for reading in general. I think the reader was probably just a standard proctor that had been asked to read,” said Elder, who is slated to work for the plaintiffs’ lead law firm this fall. (That’s Elder on the right in the photo above, along with Witwer).

I’m just a reporter, not a federal judge or licensing exam administator, but this doesn’t seem right. Am I missing something or is some re-evaluation of protocol in order here?

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Uh oh, sounds like somebody’s got a case of the Mondays!!! Hopefully our law links provide the antidote. (Note: Loyal readers recall Caryn Tamber writing last week that Danielle Ulman would take over the blog round-up. Danielle will, but today she is getting situated in her new business-of-law chair, so you’re stuck with me.)

“Is there a legal angle to the WikiLeaks story?” The Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog asks — and answers that it’s unlikely the government can successfully prosecute anyone connected to the leak.

• Who knew pomegranate juice had so much bite? A D.C. judge prevents the National Law Journal from publishing details from documents it legally obtained in a lawsuit involving Hogan Lovells and POM Wonderful.  (HT: ABA Law Journal)
• Above the Law wishes good luck to everyone taking the Bar Exam this week. (As do we. But really, shouldn’t you be studying?)
• Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the best ways to recruit clients, and here’s a study that proves it. (HT: LawMarketing Blog)
• First Mel Gibson. Now Oliver Stone? Oy!

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Happy Monday! Here are a few law links to start your gonna-be-another-hot-one week.

On a personal note, this will be my last blog round-up, since I will be wrapping up five great years at The Daily Record this Friday. The round-up will be taken over by Danielle Ulman, who will also be moving from covering finance, energy and biotech to covering the business of law. She’ll do a great job!

• “One part charisma, one part skill and a dash of improvisation is the recipe for success,” “Be careful who you smack with a steel chair, because he will probably be your tag-team partner next week,” and other law career lessons from pro wrestling. HT: ABA Journal.
• Would you tell another lawyer that she looks inappropriate?
• Could soldiers who believe homosexuality is wrong seek conscientious objector status as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ends?
• With Justice Stevens’ departure, Justice Breyer looks ready to lead the opposition, former Daily Record-ite Lawrence Hurley writes.
• There’s never been so much riding on passing the bar exam, argues a bar review teacher.
• But she’s so darn sassy!

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Congratulations to 67.6 percent of the people who took the Maryland bar exam. As for the other 32.4 percent, well, better luck next time.

The “unofficial” results from the February test came in Friday afternoon and were posted on the State Board of Law Examiners’ website. Of the 679 people who took the test, 459 passed and 220 failed.

No names are given on the website — just the test taker’s seat number and grade.

The board says “official” notification will be mailed to all who took the test.

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