Careers

Percentage of Part-Time Lawyers Trails Rate of Other Professionals

The percentage of lawyers working part-time at major law firms has risen from 2.4 percent in 1994 to 6.4 percent in 2010, but the rate is still lower than that of other professionals. The percentage of part-time professionals in specialties such as engineering, architecture and medicine was 13.5 percent in…

Jan 6, 2011 3:16 PM CST

Law Grad in ‘Severe Financial Distress’ Seeks $200K for Law Degree on eBay

A disenchanted law grad hopes to pay for the cost of her education by selling her law degree on eBay. The person known as “Resumé Goddess” has put the starting bid at $200,000 for her law degree at John Marshall in Chicago, CNBC.com reports. The posting begins: “Wish you had…

Jan 6, 2011 1:09 PM CST

Paralegal Is Better Job than Lawyer, Ranking Says

A paralegal job outranks lawyer in a new rating of 200 jobs by a career website. The job of paralegal assistant is in 13th place, while the job of attorney is in 82nd place on the list by CareerCast.com. The ranking is based on five criteria: physical demands, work environment,…

Jan 6, 2011 12:20 PM CST

Toyota Proclaims Victory, Says Arbitrator Ruled Ex-Counsel Must Pay $2.6M for Whistle-Blowing

A former in-house lawyer for Toyota Motor Corp. has been ordered by an arbitrator to pay the automaker $2.5 million plus $100,000 in punitive damages for publicly revealing confidential information, according to a company press release. Although attorney Dimitrios Biller portrayed himself as a whistle-blower informing the public about his…

Jan 5, 2011 9:59 PM CST

As 6 Partners Leave Fla. Trial Firm, Ex-Associates Get Top Billing

The sudden departure of six Lytal & Reiter partners last year has opened a door to a new opportunity for four former associates of the venerable West Palm Beach personal injury firm. Stepping in initially, along with the Florida firm’s retired founder, to help handle the unexpectedly heavy workload after…

Jan 5, 2011 8:21 PM CST

Partner of Bankrupt Rothstein Law Firm Faces Pay Clawback Trial Next Month

Russell Adler and his lawyers say he did nothing wrong and never even saw a financial statement for his now-shuttered former firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler. But Adler, who apparently wasn’t a partner there, even though he was listed in the firm’s name and served as RRA’s vice president, is facing…

Jan 5, 2011 5:45 PM CST

Would-Be Ind. Lawyers Who Sued over Mental Health Questions Protected in Discovery

A judge has prohibited Indiana bar examiners from conducting further discovery about the mental health of would-be lawyers who filed a class-action suit over treatment questions in applications for a law license. U.S. District Judge Tanya Pratt upheld a magistrate’s order barring the line of discovery, the National Law Journal…

Jan 5, 2011 5:40 PM CST

9th Circuit Rules Blind Law Grad Can Use Computer Aids, Despite Hacking Fears

A blind UCLA law grad should able to take the California bar exam using computer equipment that gives her the best chance of passing, a federal appeals court has ruled. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Stephanie Enyart should be able to use special equipment that…

Jan 5, 2011 2:57 PM CST

Arlen Specter Has New Gig as Adjunct Law Prof

Arlen Specter is moving from the U.S. Senate to the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Specter lost the primary election last spring, 13 months after switching to the Democratic Party. He had served on the Senate Judiciary Committee since 1981 and was its chairman from 2005 to 2007. Specter, a…

Jan 4, 2011 4:59 PM CST

Police Search for Clues, Seek Public’s Help, in Slaying of Ex-GOP Official and Yale Law Grad

Police are searching for clues and seeking the public’s help in the slaying of a Yale Law School graduate who served in the administrations of three Republican presidents. After a spotter assigned to prevent illegal material from being dumped at a Delaware landfill saw the body of John Wheeler III…

Jan 4, 2011 4:48 PM CST

Lawyers: Make Finding Your Mojo Your 2011 New Year’s Resolution

Editor’s note: The New Normal is an ongoing discussion between Paul Lippe, the CEO of Legal OnRamp, and Patrick Lamb, founding member of Valorem Law Group. Paul and Pat spend a lot of time thinking, writing and speaking about the changes occurring in the delivery of legal services. We hope…

Jan 4, 2011 2:29 PM CST

Lawyer Creates Special Underwear for Modest Airline Passengers

A Northern Kentucky lawyer has turned underwear salesman with the goal of offering a solution for modest airline passengers. Lawyer Marc Carey’s T-shirts, undies and briefs contain strategically placed emblems designed to blur a person’s private parts in airport scanners, report Cincinnati.com and Fox19.com. The prices start at $14.99. The…

Jan 4, 2011 12:34 PM CST

Blind Lawyer Tests New Technology that Projects Images on Tongue

A Pennsylvania lawyer who lost her eyesight during her final year of law school is helping test new technology that uses low-volt impulses to transmit images to her tongue. Natalie Ruschell, 51, usually uses a cane or guide dog to get around, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Recently, she navigated…

Jan 4, 2011 12:00 PM CST

Small Firm Offers Pay-As-You-Go, A La Carte Legal Services

Paying an attorney on an a la carte basis, only for the specific legal services that you can afford, may not be ideal for a client. But it’s better than going without representation altogether because you can’t afford standard legal fees of nearly $300 per hour, say two young lawyers…

Jan 4, 2011 12:20 AM CST

Body of Murdered Ex-GOP Official, a Yale Law Grad, Is Found in Del. Landfill

Updated: A former military officer who served in three Republican presidential administrations was found murdered in a Delaware landfill on New Year’s Eve after a worker spotted his body falling off a dump truck. John Wheeler III, 66, was a graduate of Yale Law School who lived in New Castle,…

Jan 3, 2011 9:12 PM CST