Category: News Feeds

Down on the Georgia-Alabama border there was an election this week that brought an end to an amazing string of events. Local elections don’t get national attention all that often, but if any race could pique national interest, it would be the one for District Attorney in the Columbus, Georgia, in the shadow of currently Confederate-named Fort Benning.

Daniel Nichanian of The Appeal (sign up to get his newsletter for more local DA election news too) broke down the whole election on Twitter.

The video from Jawga Boi is a pretty straightforward campaign ad — name the candidate, explain a couple of his positions, tell people to vote.

But it does have a car doing donuts in an empty parking lot. This shot that lasts only a few seconds of the video kicked off a whole lot of controversy.

Mark Jones himself was also arrested on felony charges of creating a danger to the public… in an empty parking lot. The ad did not have a permit to film in the lot which is certainly an infraction, but to turn it into a felony took some prosecutorial chutzpah. The government claimed that it would take $306,000 to repair. In other words, it’s very good to be own a powerwasher in Columbus, Georgia because the city is willing to accept ANY quote you give them.

Jones turned himself in pursuant to the arrest warrant.

If this seems like the sort of injustice that fuels a defense attorney’s campaign for DA, you’d be right.

“So [Incumbent Julia] Slater proved the point that I was trying to make all along, which is that they are wasting our time prosecuting frivolous cases, particularly against minorities in Columbus, and that’s true,” Jones told about 75 supporters gathered outside his First Avenue law office. Jones is white, but the other two suspects are black.

“Don’t think for a minute that she didn’t have some sort of knowledge or involvement in this,” he added. “She’s the district attorney, and if she didn’t, what does that say about her, if she didn’t know what’s going on?”

In the three weeks since the video was shot, Jones has kept busy representing the peaceful protesters that were arrested in the area. It was a fitting run to the end for a guy who made his campaign about fighting overcriminalization and unwittingly became a personal example of the office’s overzealousness. But he was facing an incumbent politician while he had a felony charge hanging over his head.

A comfortable win when all said and done.

But the felony charges unfortunately remain and for obvious ethical reasons, even the changing of the DA guard isn’t going to make them go away (Slater’s office — soon to be the Jones office — already recused itself). The underdog victory was quite the climax, hopefully the denouement will prove just as happy.

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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

The tragic, inexcusable killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis has sparked two weeks and counting of largely peaceful protest, community building, and dialogue. It’s also restarted a national conversation about systemic racism. While rooted in terrible violence and loss, these past few weeks seem to be leading to a long-overdue awakening in parts of the public.

I’ve been heartened to see how many businesses have been out front and vocal in their support of Black Lives Matter in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. Millions have been donated to charities pushing the cause of social and racial justice. Only a month ago, tagging a corporate post #BLM would have been “too controversial” for most PR departments to sign off on. Now, billion-dollar companies are issuing press statements and filling our Twitter feeds with full-throated endorsements of Black Lives Matter. Even Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner who previously sided against Colin Kaepernick and banned his players from taking a knee in protest of a system they see as stacked against black people, has admitted publicly that Black Lives Matter.

 Why Is This So Hard For Biglaw To Say?

Yet, for all the many national companies and voices pledging to listen and act better, our own segment of the market remains problematically quiet. Above The Law has been tracking and compiling the statements and actions of Biglaw firms in support of Black Lives Matter. As of this writing, they’ve compiled around 60 statements, many coupled with concrete pledges of action or resources.

While 60 Biglaw allies are better than none, it still means roughly 70% of the Am Law 200 has evidently remained publicly silent in this moment — not even acknowledging what’s happening in the country or speaking out against racism.

Law firms get a lot of flak for being behind the curve. We’ve historically lagged on issues like technology adoption, management practice, embracing distributed workplaces, and other topics where the price of falling behind isn’t ultimately that huge. We leave money on the table and cede market share to our competitors at our peril, but that’s one of the challenges of an industry centered around people trained in risk aversion and issue spotting. Lawyers tend to have a professionally instilled preference for stability and calm.

But on the topic of racism, we have no excuse for remaining behind the times. Justice is literally our business. We are too well trained in reviewing evidence and weighing equities not to see what is right in front of us. We swear an oath to serve justice as a condition of our admission to the bar. This kind of issue is right in our wheelhouse. We have no excuse to not be on the cutting edge.

The fear, of course, is that taking a side on an issue can be bad for business. Like it or not, Biglaw serves powerful, wealthy clients, some of whom may have differing views on the issues the country is facing. A diminishing — but still distressing — percentage of Americans remain steadfastly opposed to acknowledging systemic oppression or discrimination. For fear of driving away that business, of losing some of our livelihood, many choose to remain silent.

Yet people are dying. How can we be advocates for justice and not speak out?

Our Profession’s Mutual Client

The story of Atticus Finch is built into the foundation of American lawyerdom. To Kill A Mockingbird, both the 1960 novel and the 1962 film, contain some of the most heroic depictions of the American attorney in literature or film. In it, Finch argues eloquently and compassionately for a higher form of justice than his small Southern town is ultimately willing to give. Though he unjustly loses the case, his integrity and fair-mindedness have been an inspiration to legions of real-life attorneys who have cited him as the model for their own careers.

What’s often forgotten in the story of Atticus Finch, however, is the man he defended. Tom Robinson, a black man, is wrongfully accused of raping a white woman. He is railroaded by an unjust legal system and convicted by a jury that could only have been motivated by racism. While in prison awaiting his appeal, Tom Robinson dies in a hail of gunfire. The law enforcement officers on the scene claim Robinson — who had only one functional arm — was trying to escape when they shot him 17 times. Whether that actually happened as reported is left ambiguous; since the officers were left standing while the black man at the scene died, there is no one left to say otherwise. This is the story we’ve built the ideals of our profession on for half a century.

If we as attorneys want to claim the mantle of Atticus Finch, we need to recognize that Finch’s story is the story of Tom Robinson, and Tom Robinson’s story is the story of George Floyd, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, and too many others to count. The plea to end violent systemic oppression that we currently call Black Lives Matter is not new. Black Americans have been screaming for justice for generations. Lawyers, more than most, have a responsibility to listen to and amplify those voices. We need to live up to our own founding myth. We need to be better.

For my part, I and my colleagues unequivocally agree that Black Lives Matter. We pledge to be better, to listen to the voices and stories of those affected by racism and inequality, and to take whatever steps forward we can toward a more just world. To those of my profession who have yet to speak out, it’s not too late. Our industry, our communities, and our country need your help.

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James Goodnow is an attorney, commentator, and Above the Law columnist. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and is the managing partner of NLJ 250 firm Fennemore Craig. He is the co-author of Motivating Millennials, which hit number one on Amazon in the business management new release category. As a practitioner, he and his colleagues created a tech-based plaintiffs’ practice and business model. You can connect with James on Twitter (@JamesGoodnow) or by emailing him at James@JamesGoodnow.com.

Hertz went bankrupt for a reason. Actually, the car-rental agency went bankrupt for many reasons: a fleet of cars no one wanted to rent, nearly $20 billion in debt, buying Dollar Thrifty, an ill-conceived challenge to Avis Budget and Enterprise, the rise of ride-sharing, losing most of its staff in a move from New Jersey to Florida, Carl Icahn’s advice. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic finished it off, Leon Black knew that Hertz was screwed, and the near-total halt in travel made it so.

And yet, in spite of Jim Cramer’s warnings, Icahn’s capitulation and the absolute lack of any reasonable grounds for hope for the company, over the past week Hertz shares inexplicably soared from around 40 cents to as much as $6.25, possibly due to day trader boredom. Since Hertz isn’t Tesla and there’s no good reason for said rally—the company is bankrupt and shareholders and probably gonna be wiped out—it could not last. And it did not, thanks to the folks at the New York Stock Exchange.

* GrubHub is facing a lawsuit filed by the company that owns KFC. GrubHub should know they don’t want to piss off the Colonel… [Fox Business]

* A Texas immigration law firm is suing a former attorney at the firm for allegedly trying to take clients with him after he resigned. [Texas Lawyer]

* A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a member of a Satanic temple which argued that Missouri’s abortion law violated religious rights. [Minnesota Lawyer]

* A woman has dropped a lawsuit against a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino which alleged that she had an allergic reaction to jalapeno peppers. Kind of reminiscent of a scene from Mrs. Doubtfire. [Sioux City Journal]

* An opera singer accused of crashing into Mar-a-Lago security checkpoint is using an insanity defense. Maybe she thought she had a “magic flute”? [AP]

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Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

The organization is also concerned that persons with albinism are at increased risk of attacks for their body parts during the lockdowns because they are locked down in insecure homes and communities with suspected perpetrators.

“Governments across Southern Africa must pay special attention to persons with albinism who are being left further behind in the wake of lockdown measures to curb the virus,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa.

“We know marginalized groups have greater difficulty exercising their human rights, including accessing healthcare and livelihoods in normal times. They are so much more vulnerable during a pandemic.”

Governments across the region have introduced a number of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, including lockdowns and curfews. While these lockdown measures are being relaxed in some countries, they remain tight in other countries making it difficult for people to move around freely. Shops have been shut, public transport reduced, and specialized health services cut off in many places.

As a result, persons with albinism are struggling to access healthcare facilities for skin cancer testing and treatment, get treatment for visual impairments or buy sunscreen lotion, which is not always readily available particularly in rural areas.

Albinism is an inherited genetic condition that prevents the body from making enough colour, or melanin, to protect the skin from the sun. Due to their skin sensitivity to light and sun exposure, persons with albinism are likely to suffer from sunburn leading to skin cancer and other skin-related conditions. Therefore, they require sunscreen and other remedies to protect them, something those living in poverty cannot afford without government assistance.

Governments have provided food aid and stimulus packages to help people cope with the pandemic. However, Amnesty International has found that persons with albinism are often excluded from accessing state aid, such as social grants, in some countries due to access criterion that does not view their condition as a disability.

For example, in Malawi, the organization has found that persons with albinism were often excluded from registering for government poverty alleviation programmes simply because of their condition.

One woman told Amnesty International that when she tried to register for the Social Cash Transfer programme, she was told by traditional leaders charged with registering people for the programme that persons with albinism were ineligible.  The woman should have been registered like others to receive social support.

“Authorities must ensure that measures to respond to COVID-19 are inclusive of the specific needs of persons with albinism, including provision of sunscreen lotions, enabling access to information, increasing community policing and improving access to social protection in order to maintain their health, safety, dignity, and independence during and post the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Tigere Chagutah.

Background

 

Persons with Albinism endure structural and systematic discrimination across southern Africa. They continue to live in fear for their lives, as they are actively hunted and killed for their body parts in many countries across the region. Graves of those that have died are often tampered with and their remains stolen.

Approximately 151 persons with albinism have been killed in countries such as Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia since 2014 for their body parts.

The latest murder was the brutal killing of a 43-year-old carpenter and father of three, Emmanuel Phiri in Zambia on 25 March.

Post published in: Featured

Flatten the Research Curve

Flatten the Research Curve

Wolters Kluwer

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day!

According to data compiled by preLaw magazine, which law school had the greatest improvement in first-time test takers passing the bar from the class of 2018 to the class of 2019?

Hint: Bar passage for first time test takers went up an impressive 24.3 percent for the class of 2019 over the previous year.

See the answer on the next page.

In spite of some well-earned skepticism, Chewy.com has not precisely charted the course of its predecessors, infamous Internet bubble disaster Pets.com. A year after its initial public offering, Pets.com had been dead for three months, its very name sold off to the same company that went on to create Chewy, PetSmart. A year after its initial public offering, Chewy has more than doubled in value and is rolling in revenue from all of those people who thought adopting a pet in the middle of a pandemic was a good idea.

Technology

The program was the first in the United States to license paraprofessionals to give legal advice without the supervision of a lawyer.

By https://www.lawsitesblog.com/2020/06/washington-state-that-pioneered-licensed-legal-technicians-cancels-the-program.html

at 4:46 PM

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