Celebrities

Afternoon Briefs: Open-industry legal platform tested; panel considers future of California bar exam

Tech platform pioneered by 3 law firms will synchronize legal projects Three law firms have pioneered a new open-industry platform called Lupl to collaborate with corporate clients on complex legal matters. The law firms—Cooley, CMS and Rajah & Tann Asia—invested more than $10 million in the project, with input from…

May 15, 2020 4:19 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Hackers want $21M from showbiz lawyer; videos of clothed women not a crime

Hackers demand $21M from showbiz lawyer Hackers are threatening to reveal personal information about the celebrity clients of lawyer Allen Grubman unless he pays them a ransom of $21 million. Grubman’s law firm says it has hired leading experts to address the hack. (Page Six, Variety) Law doesn’t bar taking…

May 14, 2020 4:15 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Sen. Ted Cruz supports salon owner released from jail; LegalMatch defeats TRO bid

Salon owner wins release after she is jailed for defying TRO A Dallas salon owner jailed for contempt after she ignored a temporary restraining owner to close her business was released Thursday, thanks to the Texas Supreme Court. Shelley Luther obtained emergency relief from the court where her petition for…

May 8, 2020 4:39 PM CDT

What Netflix’s ‘Tiger King’ says about gun culture in America

With Tiger King, Netflix promises “murder, mayhem and madness,” and the seven-part series delivers. “Video games, the news and Hollywood have inured the public to the idea of violence while camouflaging the grisly consequences,” writes the ABA Journal’s Liane Jackson.

May 4, 2020 8:30 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Employer COVID-19 tests OK, EEOC says; Pitbull trademarks signature shout

EEOC: Employers can test for COVID-19 without violating ADA Employers can require COVID-19 tests before allowing workers to enter the workplace, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The tests don’t violate the Americans With Disabilities Act if they are accurate and reliable, and they are job-related and consistent with…

Apr 27, 2020 4:10 PM CDT

Insurance company’s suit says it has no duty to cover Geragos firm’s COVID-19 business losses

Travelers Casualty Insurance Co. of America has filed a lawsuit against Geragos & Geragos that contends that it has no duty to cover the high-profile law firm’s COVID-19-related business losses.

Apr 22, 2020 1:02 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Michael Cohen will be released from prison; environmental lawyer gets celebs’ support

Ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen will be released from prison because of COVID-19 concerns President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, will be released from prison to home confinement. He is among several prisoners being released from a minimum security prison camp in New York because of concerns about COVID-19. He…

Apr 17, 2020 3:08 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer threatened jail time for people with unpaid 911 bills; R. Kelly indicted on new charges

Lawyer threatened jail to people with unpaid 911 responder bills After a debt collection attorney allegedly threatened more than 800 people with imprisonment for not paying money owed to Trinity EMS in the Massachusetts, the medical emergency services provider has canceled their debt, which amounts of $1.6 million. The agreement…

Mar 13, 2020 3:36 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: RBG outpaces colleagues for written opinions; DOJ lawyer who wrote risky footnote dies

DOJ lawyer who risked his career over a footnote dies at 88 A former deputy solicitor general who served under eight presidents, Lawrence Wallace, has died at age 88. Wallace argued more cases in the U.S. Supreme Court than any other lawyer in the modern era. Wallace is known for…

Feb 27, 2020 3:40 PM CST

Netflix docuseries on former NFL player Aaron Hernandez misses opportunity to separate from the pack

Oklahoma lawyer Adam Banner dissects Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez. “The documentary series is definitely worth watching for those fans of the genre who are more interested in the sensational nature of high-profile cases,” he writes.

Feb 18, 2020 9:23 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Donor says law school not honoring wishes; Justice Thomas says judges aren’t ‘mass media icons’

Attorney disputes his University of Michigan Law School gift Lance J. Johnson, a Minnesota lawyer who had donated $150,000 to the University of Michigan Law School and had planned to leave it $2 million more in his estate, now claims that the school is not honoring his wishes. Johnson, who…

Feb 12, 2020 3:17 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Censure recommended for judge’s ‘knucklehead’ remarks; Kesha loses round in Dr. Luke suit

Censure recommended for judge’s remarks on racy photos The New Jersey Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct is recommending censure for a judge who commented on a “knucklehead” husband and the girlfriend who was asking the man’s wife for return of her suggestive photos. Judge Alberto Rivas told the…

Feb 7, 2020 4:40 PM CST

Getting real: What happens when clients go on reality TV

In this new episode of Asked and Answered, ABA Journal Senior Writer Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with two lawyers and a TV showrunner, who are all involved in the world of reality television.

Jan 27, 2020 2:20 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Teen blogger denied murder case evidence; Aerosmith drummer loses comeback case

Judge denies 16-year-old aspiring lawyer’s request for murder evidence A 16-year-old aspiring lawyer and true crime blogger lost a bid Thursday to access evidence in the Texas murder case that that put Darlie Routier on death row. Ryan Kester thinks Routier is innocent in the killings of her two children.…

Jan 24, 2020 3:48 PM CST

Lawyer Jose Baez sues ex-client Rose McGowan over her claims of plea pressure, Weinstein ‘shadiness’

Updated: Lawyer Jose Baez has filed a defamation suit against a former client—actress and Harvey Weinstein accuser Rose McGowan—over her claims that Baez pressured her into a plea deal in a cocaine case and was involved in Weinstein “shadiness.”

Jan 23, 2020 2:20 PM CST