Law in Popular Culture

‘Lilyhill’ Dies of Stroke, ‘Bright Star in Twitterverse’

A paralegal in Philadelphia who was a pioneering commenter on the law on Twitter is being mourned by dozens of followers who feel as though they have lost a close friend. Roberta “Ro” Frazier, best-known by her screen name of “Lilyhill,” died suddenly after experiencing a massive stroke, according to…

May 26, 2009 5:09 PM CDT

Katie Price Hits Nuclear Button, Retains ‘Fearsome’ Fiona Shackleton for Divorce

Supermodel Katie Price has hit the “nuclear button” in her ongoing divorce. She has retained as her counsel “fearsome legal eagle Fiona Shackleton—dubbed the Steel Magnolia—to help protect her 45-million-pound fortune,” reports the Daily Star, a British tabloid. Shackleton, 52, has also represented Madonna, Prince Charles and Paul McCartney in…

May 22, 2009 11:55 PM CDT

Who Will Replace Souter? Today’s News: Obama Interviews Judge Diane Wood

Above the Law: “Pick Your Poison: A Conservative Ranks SCOTUS Possibilities” CBS News: “Obama’s Supreme Court Pick And Conservatives’ Activist Myths” Associated Press: “Supreme Stats: 106 White Males Among 110 Justices “ Wall Street Journal (sub. req.): “Obama Begins Interviewing Potential Supreme Court Picks” Associated Press: “AP source: Obama meeting…

May 20, 2009 11:03 PM CDT

Justice Breyer Makes Chicago Acting Debut as Ghost in Hamlet

Justice Stephen G. Breyer makes his acting debut this weekend as the ghost in Hamlet. A Shakespeare and the Law conference is the backdrop for the justice’s acting debut and includes a paper presentation by an appeals judge rumored to be a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee, the Chicago Tribune…

May 15, 2009 12:58 PM CDT

Planned Side Door to Justice at Nation’s Top Court is ‘Under Review’

As part of a $122 million renovation and security-enhancement project launched in 2003 at the U.S. Supreme Court, members of the public will someday no longer be allowed to enter as they do now: Straight up the flight of marble steps, between the massive Corinthian columns, directly below the “Equal…

May 13, 2009 8:04 PM CDT

Farrah Fawcett ‘Sting’ Put Spotlight on National Enquirer

It wasn’t just dozens of high-profile medical files that a rogue worker at UCLA Medical Center peeped into between 2003 and 2007. It was nearly 1,000, reports the Los Angeles Times in a lengthy article today that focuses on one of the victims of the illegal invasion of privacy, actress…

May 12, 2009 12:19 AM CDT

‘Civil Action’ Lawyer Claims Tolls are ‘Illegal Tax’

Jan R. Schlichtmann, the lawyer made famous by the book and movie A Civil Action, has taken on a new foe: the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. Schlictmann, whose on-screen character was played by actor John Travolta, filed a class action seeking a refund for drivers who maintain their tolls are an…

May 11, 2009 2:44 PM CDT

Vroom! Biker Barristers Rev Up for Motorcycle Cases

Getting laid off from a general-practice position redirected attorney Sy Nazif into what turned out to be a dream job. Although he keeps a suit in his Southern California law office, he’s likely to walk in wearing a leather biker jacket. And standard work hours don’t begin much before noon…

May 5, 2009 6:44 PM CDT

Actor-Turned-Lawyer’s Screenplay Among Silver Gavel Winners

A 30-minute screenplay that imagines the deliberations of three military judges deciding the fate of a Guantanamo Bay detainee is one of the winners of the 2009 Silver Gavel Awards sponsored by the American Bar Association. The screenplay, The Response, was written by actor-turned-lawyer Sig Libowitz, who played a Jewish…

May 5, 2009 6:21 PM CDT

Look at This, ‘Annoying Law Firm’—Our Competing Billboard, Outside Your Office

Ordinarily, Traverse Legal doesn’t advertise locally, says the founding partner of the Michigan law firm. But Enrico Schaefer says he made an exception to this policy in order to get back at an unidentified Traverse City, Mich., competitor he refers to as “annoying law firm” in a post on his…

Apr 30, 2009 7:47 PM CDT

New Online Legal Magazine Is Launched By Big-Name Law Reviews

A new legal publication is being launched today by a group of influential law reviews. But, unlike traditional law reviews, the Legal Workshop isn’t intended to speak only to a small circle of academics. “We think this project will significantly help bridge the gap between the legal world and the…

Apr 22, 2009 12:36 AM CDT

And the ‘Peeps in Law’ ‘09 Winner Is ...

After a reader poll, the winner of “Peeps in Law” ‘09 is “1L Peeps Study Group” by the staff of the Ross-Blakley Law Library at Arizona State University. The detailed marshmallowy interpretation of law students taking a break from studying received 1,685 votes. Their prize is bragging rights and our…

Apr 21, 2009 3:12 PM CDT

Yale, Harvard Top US News Rankings, Bloggers Claim

With the expected publication date of the latest law school rankings by U.S. News & World Report looming, some bloggers are jumping the gun by claiming to have advance word of this year’s sure-to-be-controversial list. And, to back up their claims, they are providing photocopied pages of the 2010 law…

Apr 20, 2009 10:33 PM CDT

1st Circuit Nixes Webcast of RIAA Hearing

Ruling on a writ of mandamus seeking to quash a federal judge’s plan to allow a gavel-to-gavel webcast of a hearing in a hard-fought case over music downloading, the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held today that a webcast falls squarely within an existing ban on cameras in…

Apr 16, 2009 9:16 PM CDT

Justice Thomas Talks About Life & Work

Justice Clarence Thomas hasn’t asked a question on the U.S. Supreme Court bench since 2006. But in an unusual question-and-answer session with essay-winning high school students recently, he opened up considerably, reports the New York Times in a column today by Adam Liptak. The event, which was held in Washington,…

Apr 13, 2009 7:37 PM CDT