Writing on his "Lowering the Bar" blog, Kevin Underhill brings us news of the latest effort to make life difficult for personal injury lawyers. On the heels of its ill-fated effort to control stabbings by banning knives that have a point on the end, the British government is now seeking a new design for pint [...]

A new video site wants to play matchmaker for lawyers and clients. The idea behind LegalTube is to help potential clients find the right lawyer by letting them view videos of the lawyers discussing themselves and their areas of practice. "LegalTube is the only legal directory where finding a lawyer or the answers to your [...]

Ultimately, it was the box of Mucinex-D that Sally Harpold purchased for her daughter in March 2009 at a Clinton, Indiana, drugstore that got her thrown in jail. Because it came on the heels of a purchase of a box of Zyrtec-D cold medicine that she had already dared to pick up for her husband [...]

The South Dakota Supreme Court has ruled that a judge was justified in throwing out a defense verdict and ordering a new trial in a wrongful death case because of a juror’s Google searches. In a Sept. 16 opinion, Russo v. Takata Corporation, the court affirmed the order of a new trial in a case [...]

First off, let me just say that I know this won’t be easy. My prolific predecessor, Carolyn Elefant, cultivated a very loyal following over her three-and-a-half years writing Legal Blog Watch. Indeed, Carolyn did such a great job during her time here that lawyers from different continents penned poems in her honor when she announced [...]

Standing before a Boston ballroom packed with hundreds of judges and lawyers, Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer last night urged them to continue their efforts to educate the public about the role of the judiciary and to engage them in the judicial process. "We have to explain why this institution is worth supporting," he [...]

In a post today on Legal Technology called "Where to Focus With Social Networking," Larry Bodine argues that while the number of online social networks continues to grow quickly, the good news is that marketers and lawyers can ignore most of them. At the top of his list of "time-wasters" that can be ignored is [...]

I’m a fan of Twitter, and have been using the service since early this year both personally (@brucecarton) and as a news feed for securities litigation news (@SecuritiesD). I’m also interested in its use and value to lawyers, particularly to lawyers in the "BigLaw" world. Looking at it through this BigLaw lens, I have been [...]

A key concept in copyright law is that of commercial use. It is a factor in analyzing fair use. And the Creative Commons licensing scheme includes a noncommercial license, by which copyright owners allow others to use their work provided it is for noncommercial purposes. But what is noncommercial? Do the creators and users of [...]

A veteran New York tax lawyer has lost his legal battle to claim tax deductions for more than $100,000 he spent on prostitutes and pornography. But, hey, you can’t blame a guy for trying. William G. Halby, a tax lawyer first admitted to practice in New York in 1956, claimed the deductions as medical expenses. [...]

What are we to make of the complaint by Connecticut lawyer Zenas Zelotes against Chicago-based Total Attorneys and its lawyer-founder Kevin Chern? Zelotes has filed versions of his 303-page complaint against more than 500 lawyers in 47 states. He alleges that these lawyers are obtaining referrals through and sharing fees with Total Attorneys in violation [...]

Richard L. Trumka, the former coal miner expected to be elected president of the AFL-CIO, America’s largest labor federation, at its convention in Pittsburgh next week, is a lawyer who got his start in the labor movement as a staff attorney for the United Mine Workers of America. Trumka, 60, has been AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer since [...]

Brooklyn man meets his match in lawsuit against Match.com: Sean McGinn, a Brooklyn man who filed a $5 million class-action suit against Match.com over unanswered emails has dropped the suit due to the extreme amount of ridicule he endured from media coverage. [New York Post] Fantasy lawyer job settling fantasy football disputes: Are you a [...]

Michael Untermeyer, a Republican candidate for district attorney in Philadelphia, believes the city could save millions of dollars by moving nonviolent defendants out of prison and keeping track of them by way of electronic monitoring bracelets. To underscore his point, Untermeyer is demonstrating the effectiveness of GPS ankle bracelets — by slapping one on himself. [...]

Those of you who enjoy anteing up for a barroom game of poker might want to check out recent court actions involving gamblers. That line between the friendly game of cards and the kind that can get you arrested seems to be getting thinner. DeeDee Correll at the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday on a [...]

The Wisconsin Law Journal reports that law firms are beginning to develop guidelines for social media, to ensure that social media activities by the firm’s individual lawyers remain consistent with the law firm’s image. Unfortunately, some of the contemplated policies seem a bit draconian. For example, at Boyle Fredrickson, a law firm now developing social [...]

If love means never having to say you’re sorry, a medical mistake means never daring to say it. Fear of a lawsuit keeps doctors and other medical professionals from ever admitting they messed up. But as Associated Press writer David N. Goodman reports, a Michigan hospital is defying the conventional wisdom, admitting mistakes and offering [...]

It seems that new tort reform legislation in Oklahoma, which takes effect Nov. 1, is having the opposite of its intended effect — at least in the short term. As The Oklahoman reports, Oklahoma City-based law firm Merritt & Associates recently circulated an e-mail to other law firms in the state, warning: "Danger! Tort reform [...]

Being a law professor always struck me as a good gig. Sure, it doesn’t always pay as well as the private sector. But you get summers off and all the torts you can eat. Best of all, the rat race of the billable hour is replaced with the slower pace of study and scholarship. So [...]