SBM Blog

City Limits: Hamtramck and the Boundaries of Fiscal Austerity

The New York Times today profiles Hamtramck as a possible harbinger of urban bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, in case you're wondering why this is a lawyers' story, the WSJ Blog has posted "Cities in Distress: Calling All Bankruptcy Lawyers".

Read: "In Michigan, A City Pleads for a Bankruptcy Option". Read the City of Hamtramck Financial Report 2009 (pdf).

For IOLTA Account Holders, Comfort and Joy

For those of you who were worried that IOLTA insurance coverage was about to expire, worry no more.  On the last possible of the 111th Congress, legislators finally voted to extend the unlimited FDIC insurance protection to IOLTA trust accounts that was set to expire December 31. Their action extended the unlimited deposit insurance coverage of IOLTA accounts that has been in effect since November 2008 when the FDIC announced the coverage as part of a program to boost liquidity in credit markets.

The possible lapse in unlimited coverage was an oversight. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law in July extended the 2008 law for two more years, beginning Jan. 1, 2011, but inadvertently did not extend unlimited FDIC coverage to IOLTA accounts.

Steve Martin Tweeting During Jury Service

Don't know if the jury service is for real, but the humor sure sounds like the real thing. (A spokeswoman for Martin told Reuters in a New York Times story that Martin was a prospective juror but that his jokes "weren’t factual".) The ABA Journal reported the following tweets:

"REPORT FROM JURY DUTY: defendant looks like a murderer.”  “GUILTY. Waiting for opening remarks."

"REPORT FROM JURY DUTY: guy I thought was up for murder turns out to be defense attorney. I bet he murdered someone anyway."

"REPORT FROM JURY DUTY: Prosecuting attorney. Don't like his accent. Serbian? Going with INNOCENT. We're five minutes in."

“REPORT FROM JURY DUTY: Attorneys presenting ‘evidence.’ Since when are security photos, DNA, and testimony evidence? Trusting intuition.”

“REPORT FROM JURY DUTY: Now forcing my autograph on other jurors. Also starting whisper campaign of innocence based on Magic 8 Ball,” he wrote.

See You in 2011

 

SBM Blog will be attempting to take a holiday break. Warm wishes for a joy-filled end of 2010.  See you all in 2011.

Amazing New, Free Digital Tool

Attention, word-lovers. Google Labs has released a powerful new analytical tool, Ngram Viewer, based on their Google Books digitized library.  When you enter phrases or words into the viewer, it creates a graph displaying how those words have occurred in books over time.  This article from the Wall Street Journal provides a good overview of the recently released Viewer.  You can skip the article and go directly to Google Labs for a test drive or check the additional resources provided by Google to help you learn more about  Ngram Viewer.   While Ngram Viewer may not increase your legal proficiency, it will demonstrate the power of digitized documents.

Warning: playing with this can be a real time-suck.  In other words, it's really fun and addictive.

Every week, the Practice Management Resource Center posts a new Tip of the Week.  View current and archived "Tips."  To reach a practice management advisor, call PMRC Helpline at (800) 341-9715 or e-mail questions to [email protected].

 

Net Neutrality: Now Are You Interested?

So the FCC has finally made its move on net neutrality.  Now are you interested?  For a legal scholar's view on why you should be read The First Amendment Issue of Our Time. And here's a link to the Yale Law and Policy Review symposium on net neutrality.

Trial Lawyer Smoking on Window Ledge Sues Police Who "Rescued" Him

"If I was going to commit suicide, this would be a pretty dumb place to do it," the lawyer, whose name just happens to be Moody, told New York Post. "If I jumped from here, I'd just sprain my ankle."

Police took Moody to a psych ward, where, he says, a hospital psychiatrist quickly apologized and released him. Moody's lawsuit asks for $400,000 in damages.

Could the officers perhaps have seen "And Justice for All" one too many times?

ABA Journal

Last Minute Holiday Gift Idea for Lawyers

Okay, it's certainly not for everyone, but surely this new book, which is getting rave reviews from some discerning folks, will appeal to many lawyers who are enthralled by our Constitution.   Stanford's Jack Rakove praises the book as one that "finally enlarges and completes our understanding of how Americans adopted the Constitution".

HT: Legal History Blog

Class Action Lawyers -- Endangered Class?

In Forbes’s Full Disclosure post, "Class-Action Foes Have Trifecta Before Supreme Court," Daniel Fisher says that Justice Ginsburg may tip the balance. The three big class-action cases lined up for decision this Term, Smith v. Bayer Corp., Wal-Mart v. Dukes, and AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, have led some to speculate that the death of large scale class action litigation may be at hand.  Fisher points out that “the typical 5-4 split between conservative and liberal justices may not rule the day” because “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a former civil procedure professor, is a class-action skeptic who has previously voted to rein in cases on behalf of asbestos claimants and insurance customers.”

Granholm Makes Three Judicial Appointments

Wayne County Probate Court: Terrance Keith of Detroit has been appointed to succeed Judge David Szymanski, who resigned, for a term expiring January 1, 2013.

Tuscola Probate Court: Amanda Roggenbuck of Unionville has been appointed to succeed Judge W. Wallace Kent, who is resigning, for a term expiring January 1, 2013. 

54-A District Court: Hugh Clarke Jr. of Lansing has been appointed to succeed Judge Amy Krause, who was appointed to the Court of Appeals. According to Gongwer News, the appointment did not specify the term.