Not only can she, but it seems she does. [Austin American-Statesman]
Posts Tagged ‘lawyers’
George Mason conference, “Unlocking the Law”
Last week the George Mason U. School of Law in Virginia held its second annual Henry G. Manne Law and Economics Conference, on the theme “Unlocking the Law: Building on the Work of Larry E. Ribstein,” in honor of the late University of Illinois legal scholar (and friend). Among the panelists and moderators were Henry Manne, dean emeritus of the school; John McGinnis of Northwestern; Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the D.C. Circuit; William Henderson of Indiana; and Benjamin Barton of Tennessee. I live-tweeted a few of the many interesting papers. Some highlights, in downward chronological order rather than the Twitter-standard reverse:
At George Mason U. Law & Econ conference in honor of late Larry Ribstein #GMULaw First panel’s on legal education
— overlawyered (@overlawyered) November 9, 2012
John McGinnis paper proposes undergrad option for legal education, common in other countries but banned here #GMUlaw
— overlawyered (@overlawyered) November 9, 2012
Henry Manne observes existing law school profs would fight tooth/nail against undergrad alternative. McGinnis: “well aware” of that #GMUlaw
— overlawyered (@overlawyered) November 9, 2012
Doug Ginsburg, moderating: Milton Friedman’s writing on medical licensing prefigured a lot of this discussion #GMUlaw
— overlawyered (@overlawyered) November 9, 2012
Henry Manne cites @catoinstitute study on how there are really no “nonprofit” universities, faculty captures the residuals #GMUlaw
— overlawyered (@overlawyered) November 9, 2012
McGinnis: worst waste in 7-year law training (4 undergrad + 3 law school) is not tuition but opportunity cost of students’ time #GMUlaw
— overlawyered (@overlawyered) November 9, 2012
William Henderson speaking on economic trends in BigLaw. Total law firm employment peaked in 2004, down 5% #GMUlaw
— overlawyered (@overlawyered) November 9, 2012
Henderson: meanwhile, employment in “All Other Legal Services” category growing very fast. These are firms owned by non lawyers. #GMUlaw
— overlawyered (@overlawyered) November 9, 2012
Henderson: Until crisis most laterals moved “up” to more highly ranked firms, now most move “down.” “It’s like the Hunger Games.” #GMUlaw
— overlawyered (@overlawyered) November 9, 2012
Ben Barton on disruption of law firm biz model: “20% of new LLCs in Calif. in 2011 were LegalZoom-based” (automated form provider) #GMUlaw
— overlawyered (@overlawyered) November 9, 2012
Barton: by 10 years from now, will firms like LegalZoom succeed in automating pro se litigation? If so, revolutionary #GMUlaw
— overlawyered (@overlawyered) November 9, 2012
“New Labor Dept. Rule Would Require Employers To Out Their Own Lawyers”
Confidentiality rules vs. union ambitions: “A new rule that the Obama administration is trying to enact in Washington would require employers to report all contracts with lawyers or consulting firms involved in labor relations — including how much they’re being paid — regardless of what kind of work they’re doing for a particular client.” [Daniel Fisher, Forbes]
July 25 roundup
- Town of Gold Bar, Wash. (pop. 2,100) brought to brink of bankruptcy by multiple lawsuits following political feuds; “We are going broke winning lawsuits,” says mayor [Monroe Monitor via ABA Journal]
- “No one in Youngstown Ohio has a Swiss bank account…except maybe that big new Swiss employer in town?” [Matt Welch, earlier] William McGurn: FATCA and the IRS’s reach abroad [WSJ via TaxProf, earlier here, here] Politicians and lawyers demand “improvements” to IRS bounty-paid-informant program, but what if anything they improve may depend on your point of view [TaxProf, earlier]
- A human rights professor endorses a new model of residential facility that comes with names like “Freedom Place.” But what’s that on the door — could it be a lock to prevent escape? [Maggie McNeill] Romney spokesman says he’ll smite smut, Gov. Gary Johnson takes a more libertarian view [Daily Caller]
- New Mark Herrmann book on in-house lawyering [Victoria Pynchon, Scott Greenfield, Paul Karlsgodt]
- Mortgage eminent-domain seizure plan raises serious constitutional concerns [Andrew Grossman, earlier here, here]
- Central casting? Send over one “business basher,” please: Sidney Wolfe says $3 billion Glaxo settlement too lenient [CL&P, earlier]
- Ted Frank pre-vets the possibilities for Romney VP [PoL] Romney’s law and legal policy team [Brian Baxter, AmLaw Daily]
American lawyers: a disintegrating guild?
Yes, lawyers are organized as a guild, but I’m not convinced that arrangement is disintegrating or on the way to doing so. I explain why in a new piece at Liberty and Law that’s a response to an essay-in-chief by Jim Chen of Louisville Law School arguing that competition and technological advance are fast eroding lawyers’ guild privileges. The other response-essay is by Brian Tamanaha of Washington U. in St. Louis, whose new book Failing Law Schools has been getting widespread acclaim [NLJ, Garnett]
and whose recent essays in the NYT and Daily Beast have stirred widespread discussion. (& Instapundit, Paul Caron/TaxProf, Scott Greenfield).
“Lawyer: Suspend murder trial so I can compete in Hemingway look-alike contest”
Attorney Frank Louderback, representing murder defendant Jerry Bottorff, asked the judge to suspend his client’s scheduled trial on July 20.
Why?
He’s entered the annual Ernest Hemingway Look-a-Like Contest at Sloppy Joe’s in Key West and doesn’t want to miss it. The winner will be crowned on July 21.
A judge turned down the request, pointing out that the trial date had been announced long previously, and wished Louderback the best of luck in next year’s look-alike contest. [Miami Herald, MSNBC]
California Bar: illegal immigrant should be admitted to practice
Among the trip-ups are that lawyers are sworn by oath to uphold the laws of the land; that federal law bars the granting of state professional licenses to illegals; that federal law makes it unlawful to offer employment to them; and that clients might find themselves in a pickle were their attorneys whisked away on zero notice to face deporation. Nonetheless, the California Bar is pressing ahead with its recommendation of Sergio C. Garcia, 35, of Chico. [ABA Journal, Howard Bashman roundup, Bookworm Room]
Great moments in law firm management?
According to the Sun-Sentinel, managers at the Deerfield Beach, Fla. real estate law firm of Elizabeth Wellborn fired 14 employees on Friday for wearing orange clothing. According to the report, an executive had been informed that the workers were wearing orange as a protest, but several employees told the newspaper that they knew of no protest and that they customarily wore orange on paydays so that they would appear as a group at a happy hour after work.
If the story checks out as reported — the law firm was recorded as having declined comment — expect to hear rumblings about how it refutes the American legal principle of “employment at will,” though it doesn’t actually refute that principle any more than the tale of a wastrel heir refutes the principle of inheritance.
No one caught on
A Newburyport, Mass. attorney formerly with the big personal injury firm of Kreindler and Kreindler has been suspended from practice for two years “after Suffolk County judges ruled she falsely claimed she was also a medical doctor.” The firm reportedly was unaware of the imposture (no one checked, then? ) and cited her nonexistent credential in its promotional materials. [Newburyport News]
Dickens bicentenary
Kevin at Lowering the Bar recounts Jarndyce v. Jarndyce.