News & Media
First Recorded SLAPP Sighting in Greece
Systemgraph, an Apple-authorized service company in Greece, has sued one of its customers for complaining. Natch, there’s a twitter tag devoted to mocking the company.
Captain Honors Update
A reader wrote this persuasive comment to my post on Captain Honors: The XO of a US aircraft carrier needs to be more than a sphynx, he must be an absolute, unquestionable authority at all times. The XO is going to be the guy who gives the order to seal the hatch on flooding compartment which will guarantee your buddies
Only the ABA….
The ABA has finally acknowledged that the legal profession is in a tailspin by publishing The Value Proposition of Attending Law School. The document essentially just says that law school is really expensive, salaries are not as high as prospective law students think, and that most people who go to law school will graduate into a lifetime of being screwed.
The hazards of citing to Wikipedia
By J. DeVoy This should be obvious, but the TTAB has commented on the matter in a surprisingly important case. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision in General Motors LLC v. Sweeney, gave GM a dangerous warning that the Corvette brand is not to be taken for granted. GM’s counsel submitted a sparse evidentiary record in opposing the registration
Good News; Racism Solved
by Jason Fischer Regular readers of the LS know how we feel about thought control through the implementation of Newspeak. (We think it is retarded). Apparently, there are at least a few out there who have a hard-on for eradicating crimethink. In their latest effort, a newly sanitized edition of Mark Twain’s classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, will be
Your homeland security dollars at work
The Center for Investigative Reporting gives us this glimpse into our war on terror: Soon after hijackers obliterated the World Trade Center towers eight years ago, Marin County received more than $100,000 in surveillance equipment to keep its water treatment system safe from a terrorist attack. But four years after the funds were awarded, state authorities found more than $67,000
Honor Captan Honors – and piss on the crybabies who have a problem with him
Navy Captain Owen Honors was, until today, in command of the U.S.S. Enterprise. He made a series of raunchy videos three or four years ago. He was relieved of command today because of them. (source) But despite the official condemnation from Navy leadership, the sailors who served under Honors on the “Big E” are coming to his defense on the
Vermont Supreme Court declines to disbar attorney who caused motorcycle accident, fled scene, lied in investigation, and got his wife to lie for him.
Vermont (suspended) Attorney Melvin Neisner Jr. is a piece of trash. Here is part one of what he did. The operative facts in this case are largely uncontested and are laid out below with additional facts following in the body of the opinion.[1] Defendant, a lawyer in Rutland County, was driving to his office alone one Saturday evening in September
Latest Filing from Wolk Connects the Dots Between Incest and Banking Policy
by Jason Fischer For anyone who has been following the story of Arthur Allan Wolk, Esquire, it will come as no surprise that Attorney Wolk’s opposition to Amici, Eugene Volokh, Glenn Reynolds, Edward Whelen, and Marc Randazza, reads like a paranoid diatribe. It seems that a massive blogger conspiracy, with ties to incest, pedophilia, bestiality, and opposition to banking regulations,
Have two free hours?
By J. DeVoy Check out this review of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Yes, it is a 110-minute-long review of the crappiest Star Wars prequel, evinced by the merely 90-minute review of Episode II: The Clone Wars and 70-minute dissection of Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
WTF Wisconsin?
by Jason Fischer The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled this week that committing a sex crime is not necessarily a prerequisite for ordering a convict to register as a sex offender (source). I tried reading the opinion to figure this nonsense out, but my head nearly exploded when I read the excerpted sentence below, and I had to stop. In the
Improve your blogging in 2011
By J. DeVoy Here’s the guide I’ve been using, created by Roosh a few years ago. It’s time-tested and ABA Journal approved. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS-Oq2YbiNE&fs=1&hl=en_US] But Roosh is a man of many fratboy humor-related talents. Here he is displaying his basement-level D.C. apartment in a mashup of Tim & Eric Awesome Shoe Great Job and MTV’s Cribs. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubMNBQwvV0I&fs=1&hl=en_US] And Roosh is a traveler.
Practice Pointer: If you don't have a law license….
If you don’t have a law license, then you probably should not practice law. If you decide to practice law anyway, and the court orders you to stop, you should probably stop. If both of those things happen, and you don’t stop, you really shouldn’t sue your client for $845,000 in unpaid legal fees. Strangely enough, that is how far
DUI laws and the Constitution
by Charles Platt Florida has joined the growing list of states that are raising revenue by stopping drivers at random (not with probable cause) and forcing everyone to be breathalyzed–on the understanding that if anyone refuses, a judge on-site will issue a warrant authorizing the cops to take a blood sample by force, if necessary. Naturally Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Rest in Slack, Brother
In honor of Cliff Heller, who merged with the infinite on this day in 2006, the Legal Satyricon flag is lowered to half mast and there will be no posts today. If you happen to find yourself with a bottle of tequila nearby, I would like to invite you to take a shot in his honor.
Germany requires copyright license for children's songs
By J. DeVoy Kindergartens across Germany are receiving notice that they must pay for licenses to reproduce a number of songs, the rights to which are held by GEMA (Germany’s music licensing agency). Slashdot has the story here. Leave it to the Germans to find a way to make children useful.
Student speech codes: A year+ in review
By J. DeVoy Greg Lukianoff and Azhar Majeed of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) recently compiled two years’ worth of academic publications mad possible through FIRE’s Jackson Legal Fellowship. If you’re in a position to make end-of-year donations, you may do so here. FIRE is on the list of Satyriconista charities. [N.B., the following article descriptions were
Being a douche nozzle is no way to keep clients
by Jason Fischer Of course the headline here seems like common sense, but what’s surprising is that many attorneys have trouble with this bit of wisdom. As surprising as it may be, understanding why practicing attorneys have trouble controlling their aggressive tendencies is not difficult when you think about it. The problem is, when you have to spend 80% of
Practice Pointer
Siouxsie digs up a great pwning from the 1970s here. For more of the same, check out Jackass Letters.
The NFL and Socialism
In an article that isn’t really about politics or economics, the sports page brings a little insight to both: How many people had the moxie a few months ago to predict that not only would the Kansas City Chiefs win the AFC West but that the San Diego Chargers would also not even make the playoffs? Well, at least one
