Attorney Loses Round One in Battle for First Amendment Right to Wear Hats
Prediction: He will also lose round two.
Legal Profession
Sex Fees Not Deductible Medical Expenses, Tax Court Rules
Therapeutic? Probably. Deductible? No. So ruled the U.S. Tax Court yesterday in the case of William Halby, a New York tax attorney who claimed that the amounts he spent on, let's call them personal-gratification-related books and materials, and also numerous professional intimate-therapy service providers,…
Man Who Posed As Lawyer “Seemed To Know What He Was Talking About,” Say Colleagues
Howard Kieffer practiced law for years in at least ten different states, specializing in federal criminal defense. That seems like an impressive number of states until you learn that he did not all get bogged down in taking the bar…
Weapons Conviction Thrown Out Due to Counsel’s Napping, Magazine Reading
On June 15, a New York judge set aside a conviction on the grounds that the defendant's attorney had provided ineffective assistance of counsel. For future reference, your lawyer may be providing ineffective assistance if he or she is sleeping…
Well, It Sounded Like “Rodent” to Me
From the archives, here’s an appellate ruling on a claim of error by the defendant, Mr. Roden: "Appellant asserts that the prosecutor referred to him as ‘Mr. Rodent’ on at least three occasions. This claim is unsupported by the record."…
Attorney Who Bartered With Stripper Client is Suspended
In October, Illinois attorney Scott Erwin will begin a 15-month suspension that was imposed by the state bar for alleged misconduct involving a client. A female client who worked as an exotic dancer charged that Erwin had touched her inappropriately…
Court Affirms Verdict Against Lawyer for Affair With Client’s Wife
Somewhere in the top half of the long list of Bad Ideas is this one: have an affair with a client. Much closer to the top of that list is this one: have an affair with a client who is…
WHEREAS, You Acted Like a Jerk In Court
WHEREAS, on the dates set out below, in the presence of Judge Thomas Mountjoy of the Court of Greene County, Missouri, attorney Carlos Dupree Romious, aka D. Carlos Romious, did do the following stupid things, among others: On June 16,…
Lexis/Nexis Used to Screen Out DOJ Candidates on Political Grounds
Greg Mitchell of Legal Pad has had some time to scan the 140-page report on the DOJ investigation into whether the White House illegally used political criteria to disqualify candidates for career positions at Justice. (It’s not against the law…
“Lawyer Who Wouldn’t Stop Talking” Talks His Way to Suspension
Some of you probably think the phrase "lawyer who wouldn’t stop talking" is redundant, but it isn’t quite. There is a time for talking, and a time for not talking; and one good time for not talking is just after…