Year-End Lists: Legal Hellholes and Devilish Lawyers

It is that most wonderful time of year, when we make our lists and check them twice — not holiday lists but those perennial best-of and worst-of year-enders. We have three for you today. First up, the American Tort Reform Association’s annual ranking of Judicial Hellholes, its picks of the most unfair jurisdictions in which to be sued. Its top pick this year is South Florida, "known for its medical malpractice claims, never-ending tobacco lawsuits and generous verdicts." West Virginia, its top pick last year and in 2006, moved to second place. ATRA describes it as a place where local plaintiffs have a "home court advantage provided by locally elected judges." The four other jurisdictions making the list are Cook County, Ill., Atlantic County, N.J., New Mexico’s appellate courts, and New York City. From legal hellholes, we go to devilish lawyers. The Avvo Blog yesterday published its picks of the Top Lawyers Behaving Badly of 2009. Topping its list is Brian Schroeder, the fresh-from-Harvard lawyer who got drunk on Halloween and burned down a New York City chapel that housed the remains of unidentified 9/11 victims, causing his imminent employer, Sidley Austin, to rescind its job offer. Another of Avvo’s…
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