On the Record

Memo to managing partner: You know that clause in the employment contract that bars your associates from notifying clients when they leave the firm? And then imposes a 43.56 percent lien on any fee for work the lawyer performs for your former clients? If only it were ethical. Or at least, enforceable…

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What did you do during breakfast this morning? If you’re like most people, you skimmed the local paper, grumbled at the weather report, checked your e-mail or tried to keep your kids from ripping each others’ hair out.

Well, my Thursday started much differently than it usually does. Over coffee and a bagel, I discussed abortion, homosexuality, HIV and religion with some of the world’s foremost feminist thinkers.

I had the pleasure and the privilege to start my day at University of Baltimore School of Law’s Feminist Legal Theory Conference. Before the program had even begun, lively chatter broke out among a number of presenters sitting at my table. Though the discourse changed as I slowly drained my cup, the underlying concern on everyone’s mind was apparent: How can we improve the lives of women around the world through legal practice and policy?

The event, in its fourth year, featured guest speaker Toni Morrison (above) – whom, I’m sorry to say, I missed because tickets went like hotcakes — as well as panels on reproductive health, socio-economics, women in combat and feminist activism.

Though I won’t bore you with my own opinions on these pressing global issues,  I will implore you — when this conference comes around again next year, sign up.

I only wish I could start my day the feminist way every morning.

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In the days since the reveal of the AOL/Huffington Post union, much analysis and speculation has swirled around the $315 million price HuffPo is fetching, and whether AOL overpaid.

Or vastly overpaid.

A good multiple, after all, is in the eye of the beholder, and since HuffPo is privately held most of the speculation has been exactly that, speculation lacking in solid numbers.

Still, as a journalist trying to peer in from the outside I’ve always been intrigued by the Texas Hold ‘Em aspect to valuations eventually agreed upon in deals like this. It reminded me of “A Good Start,” a recent post by the Epicurean Dealmaker, my favorite pseudonymous Wall Street investment banker.

“A Good Start” is offered as a counterpoint to “6 Ways Bankers Drive Lawyers Nuts,” a post on Wall Street Journal’s DealBlog by Ronald Barusch. In it, those six ways are balanced by counter-arguments from the investment banker’s side of the boardroom table.

“Never get between a banker and his fee,” Barusch writes, for example. “Are you serious? This is a gripe?,” Epicurean Dealmaker replies. “You might as well complain that sharks like to eat things. Counterpoint: Never come between a lawyer and a billable hour.”

Ouch.

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The best videos on America’s Funniest Home Videos are also the worst ones. That is, some guy is getting hit in the groin. They’re the best because they never fail to make me laugh—and because it’s happening to someone else.

But they’re the worst because of the level of empathy involved in watching a dad trying to teach his son how to hit a wiffle ball off a tee and getting a plastic bat to the babymaker for his troubles. No matter how much hilarity ensues, all guys flinch at the moment of impact. The shared sense of pain can be strong.

Which brings me to a lawsuit settled last month in Baltimore County involving a bikini wax gone awry.

Kelly Tucker sued About Faces Day Spa & Salon last February after she developed folliculitis following a bikini wax. Tucker warned the spa employee she had sensitive skin, but the wax used “was extremely hot” and the procedure caused her “to suffer an abnormal amount of pain,” according to the lawsuit. Tucker broke out in welts and bumps soon after her appointment.

Now, I could only guess that a bad bikini wax is painful. But it wasn’t until I saw the looks on the faces of several women in my office when I showed them the lawsuit. It was the same look I get during a groin shot clip.

My point is, maybe men and women aren’t that different after all. And while Tom Bergeron does an admirable job as host of AFV, no one will ever top Bob Saget and his voices.

And the greatest clip ever of a man getting hit in the groin, incidentally, is the only one that doesn’t make you squirm.

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Keith Merryman

While Baltimore City Solicitor George A. Nilson and Steven Kupferberg, the attorney for mistakenly arrested violinist Yakov Shapiro, still differ as to the origin of the confidentiality of their settlement, allow me to offer a few updates related to the case.

There’s been a strong reader reaction to the story of Shapiro’s travail — which started when a detective investigating claims of child molestation by Yisroel Shapiro posted a warrant for Yakov Shapiro — and the city’s efforts to keep it quiet. While many Baltimore elected officials have kept to themselves about the questions the case raises about government transparency and training at the police department, a few city council members have spoken up:

• Baltimore City Councilwoman Belinda Conaway, who has taken an interest in the costs of police negligence, said last summer she understood the need for such a confidential settlement “under extraordinary circumstances, once in a blue moon.” But, she said, “this should not happen again anytime soon.” Last week, after finally hearing the details of the Shapiro case, her first reaction was “Oh my God.”

“It’s a terrible, terrible thing to happen and I would hope the necessary steps are taken so something like this doesn’t happen again,” she said. “A settlement is nice but there’s no way that that settlement can undo the damage that was done.”

• Conaway’s colleague to the North, Bill Henry,  who had his own bout with transparency earlier this year, suggested a policy change. (City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke had the same idea this summer when asked about the settlement of the Shapiro case, which was then still shrouded in secrecy.)

“If we could all walk away from this with one lesson learned, I would hope that it would be a shared recognition of the importance of transparency in government proceedings,” Henry wrote in an e-mail Wednesday evening. “Perhaps the Board of Estimates needs to develop a better policy of how to deal with confidentiality concerns when allocating City funds. Perhaps we should be trying to record and broadcast not only the actual Board of Estimates proceedings, but the mini-meetings ahead of time when more detailed briefings are given for many of the issues before the Board.

“The Administration has claimed to be supportive of this initiative of the Council President’s (recording and broadcasting B/E meetings, Liquor Board hearings, and BMZA hearings),” Henry continued, “but also claims to be unable to come up with the operating funds needed – less than $50K – leading to the reasonable suspicion that they must be sufficiently comfortable with the status quo.”

Mr. Kupferberg has shielded Yakov Shapiro from press inquiries but he described his client’s reaction to the stories published in yesterday’s paper.

“Yakov was in here today, and I asked him if he wanted to speak to you and he started to cry,” Kupferberg said by phone from his office. “I showed him the story, and he just teared up.”

One detail I wasn’t able to determine before we published Tuesday evening was the identity of the judge who presided over Shapiro’s bail review that November morning three years ago. Well, it seems the voice on the recording was that of C. Yvonne Holt-Stone. According to an e-mail from Baltimore City District Court Administrative Judge John R. Hargrove Jr., Judge Holt-Stone was on the schedule for that morning at Central Booking, where Hargrove says Shapiro’s bail review took place. Holt-Stone, who has been on the city district court bench since 1991 is on leave through the end of the year and could not be reached to confirm her part in the case.

The other person I’ve yet to hear from is Baltimore City Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III. He was at the White House yesterday and is out of the office through Christmas, according to his spokesman.

I’m less optimistic about ever hearing from Detective Keith Merryman (who posted the warrant for Yakov Shapiro instead of the real offender, Yisroel Shapiro) or police lawyer Neal M. Janey Jr., who negotiated the settlement, but stay tuned on those fronts.

Artist's court sketch of Yisroel Shapiro (left, with glasses and Kippah)

Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about Yisroel Shapiro and how his misdeeds came to light in the generally close-knit and tight-lipped Orthodox Jewish community, have a look at Standing Silent, a documentary that will premier at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival in February. Phil Jacobs, the executive editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times who has covered the topic extensively, stars in the film.

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

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Good morning! Here are some law links for your pre-Solstice perusal:

• Judge drops thousands of John Doe porn sharers from industry copyright infringement case.
• In court, come dressed to impress, but remain who you are.
• A Post editorial says the problems in Prince George’s County stem from residents’ “apathy.”
• Tweens fight for their right to show their support for breast cancer research — but school officials say their “I [heart] boobies” bracelets are vulgar.
• A pro cyclist says she was disqualified from racing for taking a supplement that contained a banned substance, but it wasn’t on the label.
• TSA officer used scanners to find and lift travelers’ valuables.
• Security sells.

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Short work weeks make Mondays that much more bearable. Get a little more enjoyment out of your Monday with some law links below:

• Maryland’s top court is studying whether the court can alter the contributory negligence standard through a rule or whether it would need to do it through a judicial order. See our story on the study here.
• The Paycheck Fairness Act fails to get a vote in the Senate.
• Actor Wesley Snipes was ordered to begin serving his three-year prison sentence Friday. But no money train is going to save this guy from doing time for federal tax evasion.
• Should terror suspects be tried in civilian courts or military courts? The debate rages on after Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was acquitted of 284 of 285 counts last week in civilian court.
• Mega insider trading case on the way?
• Manila could give India a run for its money in legal outsourcing.
• Work-life balance advocates may have hurt women in the recession.
• Superheroes band together against the LAPD.

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When I heard last night that Baltimore City Circuit Chief Judge John N. Prevas had died from a heart attack apparently suffered while at the downtown courthouse, I thought, among other things, of a passage in a recent City Paper cover story written by one of Prevas’ former law clerks.

Hal Riedl’s story was about a repeat violent offender Prevas had sentenced in 1987, who recently went away again for a sex offense. In bringing the reader into the present day after recounting the history, Riedl wrote these unfortunately prescient lines about his former boss:

“His health has been poor for years, and I’m trying to persuade him to retire. I know very well that won’t happen — one day he’ll simply keel over in court.”

I’m working on Prevas’ obituary today and I hope to speak to Riedl, who I first met while we watched the Sheila Dixon trial together and most recently saw at Gregg Bernstein’s post-election press conference. Others with memories of Judge Prevas are welcome to call me at 443-524-8156 or leave them in the comments section of this blog.

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As the The Daily Record’s city courts reporter, I’m quite familiar with the rigors (and failings) of courthouse security. I’ve had to empty my pockets and remove my belt countless times and, occasionally, I’ve had to run back to the office or to my car to drop off whatever prohibited electronic device I happened to be carrying. So I understand the hassle. But hassle isn’t usually grounds for a successful federal civil rights lawsuit, as a federal judge reminded an aggrieved Prince Frederick man earlier this month.

According to Harold Hodge Jr.’s suit, the trouble began on April 9 when he attempted to enter the Calvert County government building that hosts the district court. A guard manning the metal detector told Hodge to remove his belt and leave his cell phone outside. Hodge protested, citing the 1968 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Terry v. Ohio, but eventually complied with both requests. A similar series of events played out on several other occasions at the district court building and at the circuit court nearby before Hodge eventually filed suit on Aug. 30.

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A little over a month ago, I wrote a blog post about an anti-loitering device mounted at the top of a Gallery Place Metro station exit in Washington, D.C. The Mosquito was installed in August, funded by local business owners who hoped the high-pitched beeping sound emitted by the machine would drive away teens who have made the 7th Street corridor their hangout.

But the noise is no more. A representative from the National Youth Rights Association filed a complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights, alleging that the use of the device amounts to age discrimination. The city requested that the Mosquito be voluntarily removed pending an investigation into NYRA’s allegations. According to the Washington Post, the device has been taken down and there are no plans for re-installation.

Which brings us back to the original issue: What’s to be done about the increasing property crime and violence in Chinatown? It seemed obvious to me that a beeping box was not the answer to such a serious and growing problem, but what, then, is?

Watch the video below to see what people thought about the beeping when the device was in use:

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