What would we do without lawyers? The worst thing about sending them all off to outer space is that we would deprive ourselves of belly laughs they give us daily.
1. Conn. Lawyer Sentenced to 5 Years for Running Child Porn Web Site
The Connecticut Law Tribune
A Connecticut lawyer has been sentenced to 5 1/2 years in federal prison for operating a child pornography Web site. Prosecutors say solo practitioner Eric Gaynor ran the site for two years and that he offered to sell or rent videos of young boys who were naked, partially clothed or engaged in sexual activity. Gaynor still has his license to practice law, but faces sanctions from state disciplinary officials, according to his lawyer.
2. High Court Turns Down Challenge to Jury’s Use of Bible
The Associated Press
The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a challenge from a Texas death row inmate who claimed his constitutional rights were violated by jurors who consulted a Bible. In the appeal, Khristian Oliver’s defense said jurors reviewed a biblical passage stating that a murderer who used an iron object to kill “shall surely be put to death.” The 5th Circuit ruled that the jurors wrongly used the Bible but said there wasn’t enough evidence to show they were prejudiced when they decided to send Oliver to death row.
3. Reports of High-Risk Sex Justify Temporary Closure of N.Y. Club, Says Judge
New York Law Journal
Citing the testimony of three undercover inspectors who witnessed more than “150 incidents of prohibited sexual activity,” a New York judge has granted a motion for a preliminary injunction temporarily closing Casbar, a Brooklyn sex club. Despite the club’s billing as “New York’s newest and cleanest swing club,” the judge held that proof of the club’s repeated violations of the state’s Sanitary Code was sufficient to grant relief without considering the standard three-prong test for preliminary injunctions. [Would someone explain to me why the inspectors had to make 150 trips to watch?]
4. Law Firm Managers Face Possible Sanctions From Arizona State Bar
The Associated Press
The managers of Phoenix firm Phillips & Associates may be facing sanctions from the Arizona State Bar, which has recommended that the firm managers be temporarily suspended from practicing law. Complaints against the firm range from a potentially misleading ad to the firm’s reluctance to refund money to dissatisfied clients. A hearing officer ruled that firm founder Jeffrey Phillips and an associate were responsible for the lapses because they have oversight over the firm’s legal and nonlegal employees. [Reluctance to refund? Can you imagine that?]
5. Companies Predict Bailout-Related Increase in Whistleblower Lawsuits
The National Law Journal
The Obama administration is asking too much of corporate America in terms of transparency, setting it up for more whistleblower lawsuits and more regulation, according to a poll of more than 1,500 executives. More than half the respondents claimed that it’s impossible to meet the transparency demands required in exchange for federal bailout funds. Released on Monday, the poll was conducted during a March webcast sponsored by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services. [Corporate CEOs don't want to spill the beans. Why, I am deeply shocked.]
6. Australian lawyers now spend their time playing Dungeons and Dragons.
The worst of it all is that they may actually come up with a plan to save the profession. God help us.
To test the viability of the large law firm model, an Indiana University law professor and the lead risk manager for the Australian lawyers insurance operation organized a role-playing game, a sort of Dungeons and Dragons for lawyers. FutureFirm is a case study of a hypothetical Am Law 200 firm in trouble. Law firm partners, clients, law students and consultants spent a weekend devising strategies to help the firm survive another decade. What emerged from the exercise was a model of what big firms might look like.
