Law in Popular Culture

Former Colleague’s ‘Unraveled’ Doc Film Focuses on Ex-Attorney Marc Dreier’s Spectacular Downfall

When Marc Dreier’s 250-attorney law firm collapsed at the end of 2008, as news began to come out that the powerful partner had been running a $400 million Ponzi scheme, his downfall was a personal tragedy for Marc H. Simon. Simon had worked at the firm, on Park Avenue in…

Mar 16, 2012 8:32 PM CDT

Screenwriter’s Inspiration for ‘My Cousin Vinny’: What If Your Lawyer Failed the Bar Five Times?

Editor’s note: Twenty years ago, the film My Cousin Vinny—a film in the ABA Journal’s 25 Greatest Legal Movies—premiered in theaters. Abnormal Use, a blog authored by lawyers at South Carolina’s Gallivan, White & Boyd, is devoting posts this week to this anniversary. Below is an excerpt from GWB associate…

Mar 14, 2012 6:55 PM CDT

See Peeps in Law Dioramas; Gallery Updated as Entries Submitted

Updated: It’s arrived, the moment many of you have been waiting for. We have begun welcoming your creative, crafty dioramas featuring marshmallowy Peeps depicted in law-related scenes! The first entries have arrived, and can be seen at left (Photo Gallery). One contestant submitted a two-part ballad, so we’re hoping you’ll…

Mar 13, 2012 6:52 PM CDT

Marking 20th Anniversary of ‘My Cousin Vinny,’ Firm’s Blog Interviews Director Jonathan Lynn

Editor’s note: Twenty years ago today, the film My Cousin Vinny—a film in the ABA Journal’s 25 Greatest Legal Movies—premiered in theaters. Abnormal Use, a blog authored by lawyers at South Carolina’s Gallivan, White & Boyd, is devoting a number of posts this week to this anniversary. Below is an…

Mar 13, 2012 6:50 PM CDT

Courtroom Questioning Reveals Upcoming Death of ‘Desperate Housewives’ Character

Audience members in a packed courtroom gasped and two female jurors put their hands to their mouths yesterday as a producer of the Desperate Housewives television program revealed in his testimony the unexpected death of a character in an episode scheduled to air this weekend. Executive producer George Perkins was…

Mar 10, 2012 1:11 AM CST

How Is Arent Fox Like Letterman and Regis Philbin? All are Honored in Deli Sandwich Names

A neighborhood deli near the New York office of Arent Fox has put the law firm in the same category as celebrities like David Letterman and Regis Philbin, who also work in the vicinity. The Hello Deli has named a sandwich after Arent Fox. Featuring hot ham or turkey and…

Mar 9, 2012 5:51 PM CST

Interviews with Soon to Be Executed Prisoners Are a Big Hit on Chinese TV

A television show that broadcasts interviews with inmates taped days or even minutes before their executions has turned into a big hit in China. The prime time show, Interviews Before Executions, is intended to warn citizens of the consequences of crime, the Daily Mail reports. Scenes from the show, which…

Mar 5, 2012 3:14 PM CST

Bashed by Rush Limbaugh, Law Student Gets Support from President Obama, Hundreds of Law Profs

Personally attacked by conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh for expressing her views about contraception in testimony in a Congressional hearing, a third-year law student at Georgetown University has been supported not only by hundreds of law professors but the Oval Office. In a phone call today, President Barack Obama told…

Mar 2, 2012 11:24 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Pinterest Business Card Fishbowl; Legal Foundation of ‘Downton Abbey’

Pin and Win Carolyn Elefant—Washington, D.C., solo and Pinterest member—has invited My Shingle readers to ” ‘drop’ your business card into the MyShingle Online Fishbowl at Pinterest.” Those who participate by Thursday, March 15, will be entered into a raffle for one of two Amazon gift cards. Several of those…

Mar 2, 2012 2:30 PM CST

Old Case, New Evidence: Attorney Unearths New Evidence in Book on Sacco-Vanzetti Affair

After more than 50 years in the law, Chicago lawyer Ted Grippo has returned to his childhood fascination with the 1920s-era double-murder trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. And in his new book on the pair, Grippo claims to have revealed fresh evidence showing the two were framed. Grippo…

Mar 1, 2012 10:10 AM CST

Greedy Gordon Gekko Stars in FBI Public Service Ad, Urges Viewers to Tip Feds re Insider Trading

Updated: Michael Douglas is reprising one of his most iconic roles, speaking out, in the persona of Gordon Gekko, on behalf of the FBI and warning, in a television public service ad, of the dangers of insider trading. “He’s talking about himself as Gordon Gekko and the role that he…

Feb 27, 2012 10:55 PM CST

Law at The Movies

Tonight, the eyes of movie fans will be trained on the red carpet as the Hollywood glitterati assemble for the 84th Annual Academy Awards. The event has us thinking about how the law, lawyers and lawyering have been portrayed on the silver screen over the years. In the above photo…

Feb 26, 2012 2:32 PM CST

4th Inquest Starts re 1980 Baby Death in Australia; Meryl Streep Movie Told Story of Unsolved Case

It now appears that Lindy Chamberlain was speaking the truth when she told authorities in 1980 that her 9-week-old baby had been taken, and presumably killed, by a wild Australian dog as her family was on a camping trip in the country’s outback. But at the time she was suspected…

Feb 24, 2012 9:20 PM CST

Can You Handle the Truth? Ten Best Movie Lines Named

If you have an opinion about the best legal-related movie line of all time, get ready to cast your vote. The editors of Bloomberg Law have picked the top 10 funniest, most moving or most inspiring movie lines, and they are taking a vote. The top 10 include these lines:…

Feb 21, 2012 2:56 PM CST

Being Abe Lincoln (Video)

It’s not easy looking like Abraham Lincoln, says Michael Krebs, and he has the beard to prove it. The Chicago man makes his living appearing as the country lawyer who went on to become the nation’s 16th president, and says that one of his most interesting jobs was appearing in…

Feb 16, 2012 9:46 PM CST