Labor & Employment

Keep job protections for law school faculty, ABA committee recommends

An ABA committee has voted to recommend that the law school accreditation standards be amended to require that law schools provide some form of security of position short of tenure to all full-time faculty members. But the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar’s standards review committee, which…

Jul 15, 2013 6:35 PM CDT

Facing fallout over N-word admission, Paula Deen replaces her lawyers

Celebrity chef Paula Deen has hired new lawyers to defend her in an employment bias suit filed by a former manager at a restaurant owned by Deen and her brother. Deen will be represented by lawyers at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, including Washington, D.C., managing partner Grace Speights, according to…

Jul 15, 2013 4:31 PM CDT

Zimmerman prosecutor fires IT director who testified about missing exculpatory material

The prosecutor in the George Zimmerman case has fired an information technology director who testified he was concerned that the office had failed to give exculpatory materials to defense lawyers. IT director Ben Kruidbos learned about his dismissal in a letter dispatched by the managing director of the office overseen…

Jul 15, 2013 1:52 PM CDT

Iowa court again OKs firing of woman whose boss found her too irresistible

After a national outcry over its decision upholding the firing of a dental assistant who was fired because her boss found her too attractive, the Iowa Supreme Court agreed last month to reconsider. Today the court opined again, and again found that it was legal for her boss to terminate…

Jul 12, 2013 6:40 PM CDT

Did Saudi princess hold US worker captive, or is this a wage dispute? Judge sets $5M bail

A Saudi princess has been arrested in California and charged with human trafficking, after a Kenyan woman flagged down a bus and, with the help of a female passenger, told authorities she was being held captive and forced to put in long hours for little pay as a domestic worker…

Jul 11, 2013 1:45 PM CDT

Mediation ordered between NFL and players in head-injury dispute

A federal judge has ordered the National Football League and players into mediation to try to resolve litigation over head injuries. U.S. District Judge Anita Brody in Philadelphia appointed a retired judge, Layn Phillips, to mediate the case, which involves a claim from more than 4,000 football players who allege…

Jul 10, 2013 6:19 PM CDT

Law prof files discrimination charge, alleges ‘stark inequality’ in pay for men and women

A law professor has filed a federal administrative complaint against the University of Denver, contending that she has been a victim of gender discrimination and is paid less than comparable male faculty. Lucy Marsh alleges in her Tuesday complaint that the university’s Sturm College of Law pays full professors who…

Jul 10, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

Clinical law profs solicit ABA legal ed council to require 15 credit hours in practice-based courses

The governing council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has been asked to amend the law school accreditation standards to require students to receive at least 15 credit hours of practical skills training. A petition (PDF) to that effect was formally submitted to the…

Jul 2, 2013 8:56 PM CDT

As private employers face surge in intern suits, DOJ puts more unpaid lawyers to work

Assistant U.S. attorneys working for the Department of Justice start at salaries of at least $44,581. But in a practice that has been fueled by the federal budget cuts known as the sequester, the DOJ is also using a number of unpaid lawyers to do essentially the same work, Pro…

Jul 1, 2013 5:11 PM CDT

Is it macho for lawyers to put in long hours? ‘Too soon to tell’ about W&L curriculum, prof says

Last week, at the Careerist, Vivia Chen took notes a survey noted by Hastings College of Law professor Joan Williams at Harvard Business Review Blog finding that while 9 percent of mothers work more than 50 hours per week, 29 percent of fathers do. “Why the sizable gap? Williams suggests…

Jun 28, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

New England Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez charged with murder and axed from team

Authorities in Massachusetts have charged now-former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a semi-pro football player who was also reportedly a friend. Hernandez was cut by the Patriots within two hours of his Wednesday arrest in the slaying of semi-pro football…

Jun 26, 2013 9:51 PM CDT

Iowa supremes to issue new ruling in case of woman fired for being too irresistible

The Iowa Supreme Court has withdrawn a controversial opinion that found a dental assistant did not suffer unlawful sex discrimination when her boss fired her because he considered her an irresistible attraction. The decision tossing the case by dental assistant Melissa Nelson had provoked outrage among columnists. The blog On…

Jun 26, 2013 12:38 PM CDT

Lawyer defends tweet about ‘doing Paula Deen in a strongly metaphorical sense’

One of the lawyers suing Paula Deen and her brother is defending a tweet in which he said he is “doing Paula Deen in a strongly metaphorical sense.” Lawyers for the defendants are appealing a magistrate judge’s refusal to disqualify the tweeting lawyer, Matthew Billips of Atlanta, report WSBTV.com and…

Jun 26, 2013 12:17 PM CDT

SCOTUS rules for employers in bias and retaliation cases; Ginsburg says ball is in Congress’ court

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says it’s up to Congress to overturn two rulings on Monday that favor employers in cases alleging bias and retaliation. “Both decisions dilute the strength of Title VII in ways Congress could not have intended,” Ginsburg said in a bench statement reported by SCOTUSblog. “Today, the…

Jun 24, 2013 5:10 PM CDT

Lawyer in Paula Deen case says white plaintiff had no standing to pursue race claims

A rule 11 motion filed by a lawyer in the Paula Deen case raises standing issues that suggest the celebrity chef’s controversial deposition in which she admitted having used the N-word may have delved into a subject that should have been off limits. The motion (PDF) by lawyer Tom Withers…

Jun 24, 2013 1:11 PM CDT