Law in Popular Culture

Attorney Avatars Create Virtual Bar, Virtual Law & Virtual CLE Courses

In many ways, it looked like a standard bar association meeting. But the woman clad in an orange tutu and thigh-high black stockings offered one clue that the attorneys attending the Oct. 20, 2007 meeting in the Second Life Bar Association’s conference room were actually avatars—animated characters created to represent…

Jan 8, 2008 8:29 PM CST

Md. 3L Produces Net Hit: ‘Law School Musical’ (Video)

Now a third-year law student at the University of Maryland, Owen Jarvis faced a “drastic” shift in expectations when he first entered law school. But instead of dropping out, Jarvis channeled his frustrations into his computer, writing a song and producing an illustrated YouTube video titled “Law School Musical,” the…

Jan 3, 2008 12:01 AM CST

Full Court Coverage

What happens when defense counsel and ordinary citizens blog about high-profile trials?

Jan 1, 2008 8:04 PM CST

Newsmakers of the Year 2007 and 2008

Editor’s Note: When this article was posted online on December 12, 2007, it was titled “Lawyers of the Year 2007 and 2008.” The article defined that term as the year’s biggest legal newsmaker, identifying former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as the major newsmaker of 2007. The Journal regrets that…

Jan 1, 2008 3:49 PM CST

Julia Roberts Character Doesn’t Cuss So Much, Thanks to Houston Lawyer

Houston lawyer Dick DeGuerin had a hand in making some script changes in the movie Charlie Wilson’s War—and was a guest at the premiere. The movie (video), which opens in theaters Dec. 21, is based on the true story of a Texas congressman who helped secure funds for the mujahedeen…

Dec 18, 2007 7:07 PM CST

Law Firm Plans Real-Life Practice at Virtual ‘Second Life’ Office

Bridging the gap between a fictional 3D world on the Internet known as “Second Life” and real life, a United Kingdom law firm reportedly has opened an office there not simply to play at law practice or recruit clients but to perform real-life legal functions. “Many of our clients have…

Nov 6, 2007 11:37 PM CST

It’s Game On For Family Lawyers

Web Extra: Clips from Earthquake in Zipland

Nov 1, 2007 8:08 PM CDT

Real-Life Prosecutor Comments on Movie Portrayal

A film to be released this Friday called American Gangster features Denzel Washington as a drug kingpin and Russell Crowe as the prosecutor who put him behind bars. In real life, the people they portray are convicted drug dealer Frank Lucas and former Essex County, N.Y., prosecutor Richard Roberts, the…

Nov 1, 2007 3:45 PM CDT

George Clooney at Dewey Ballantine

The new George Clooney film Michael Clayton—set in the world of big Manhattan law firms—was filmed in part in the New York offices of Dewey Ballantine. Clooney plays a lawyer who has been with the corporate megafirm Kenner, Bach & Ledeen for 15 years, but never made partner. He serves…

Oct 4, 2007 10:45 AM CDT

Lawyers Lex

Now that summer’s really over—and so is Harry Potter—it’s time to move away from that top 10 list of best-sellers and curl up with these equally engaging titles. And because every author’s also a J.D., each book is brimming with insider elements only a lawyer could love:

Oct 1, 2007 8:41 PM CDT

Money-Making Game: ‘Second Life’ First?

A Canadian law firm claims to be the first to establish an office on Second Life, a 3D virtual community that has attracted millions of participants from all over the world. Davis LLP is staffing its Second Life office with lawyers from the firm’s Video Game law & Interactive Entertainment…

Sep 25, 2007 10:10 PM CDT

Ex-Prostitute Leaves Law to Write Movie Script

Lawyer Cupcake Brown, once a prostitute and a drug user, is leaving Bingham McCutchen to write the movie script for her best-selling memoir A Piece of Cake. A four-day crack binge nearly killed Brown, who turned her life around and graduated from law school in 2001, the Recorder reports in…

Sep 25, 2007 1:42 PM CDT

Thrillers Pave Unlikely Path to Success

For most attorneys, planning to write a best-seller and have at least the option of retiring from law practice is about as realistic as high school players’ dreams of NBA or NFL stardom. But a fortunate few actually do achieve such goals, and among the elite cadre of lawyers whose…

Sep 18, 2007 3:24 PM CDT

Law Firm Gets TV Show Mentions

A Massachusetts plaintiffs law firm that started running personal injury commercials as early as the 1970s has found a new way to promote itself: product placements on TV shows. The goal is to establish the Law Offices of James Sokolove as a national consumer law firm, Jim Sokolove told the…

Sep 17, 2007 12:35 PM CDT

Potential Profit for ‘Second Life’ Lawyers

Second Life is a fantasy cyberworld where people are represented by “avatars” with unusual names. Lawyers who join the online community can write constitutions, establish court systems and debate legal issues. But the virtual world also holds some profit potential. Washington, D.C., lawyer Stevan Lieberman is learning that lesson, Legal…

Jul 31, 2007 7:01 PM CDT