States deal with religious and gay rights in the wake of same-sex marriage ruling

Sep 1, 2015 2:50 AM CDT

Georgia state bar to launch lawyer incubator program

The State Bar of Georgia has approved a new lawyer incubator program for recent law school graduates. The program, which is set to begin in January, will be open to recent graduates of Georgia’s five ABA-approved law schools who are interested in solo or small firm practice and committed to…

Aug 28, 2015 11:50 AM CDT

Former Ropes associate loses bias and retaliation appeal that cited information passed to blog

A former Ropes & Gray associate who claimed the law firm discriminated and retaliated against him has lost his federal appeal. In a decision (PDF) on Tuesday, the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against John Ray III, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. The court upheld…

Aug 27, 2015 9:19 AM CDT

Indiana county clerk banned from courthouse in dispute with judges

An Indiana county clerk has been banned from the courthouse in a dispute with the county’s judges. The judges have issued a temporary restraining order preventing Blackford County Clerk Derinda Shady from entering the courthouse grounds, the Muncie, Indiana, Star Press reports. The dispute apparently began in early August, according…

Aug 24, 2015 4:35 PM CDT

Texas judge sued by former employee for alleged sexual harassment

A Texas woman has accused a justice of the peace of firing her for refusing to perform oral sex on him. The accusation is contained in a graphic federal sexual harassment suit against Tarrant County and Justice of the Peace Russ Casey, Law.com reports The accuser, a 22-year county employee…

Aug 24, 2015 3:40 PM CDT

Man kills guard at federal building then commits suicide; may be linked to wrongful-termination suit

Late Friday afternoon, a gunman entered a federal building in Manhattan and fatally shot Idrissa Camara, 52, an armed private security guard there. He then went past a metal detector and approached another federal worker near an immigration court, before committing suicide, authorities said. In addition to the immigration court,…

Aug 24, 2015 11:51 AM CDT

ACLU seeks contact from Amazon workers after NY Times article describes demanding job environment

A lengthy New York Times (reg. req.) article last week about the competitive and demanding Amazon work culture apparently was read with considerable interest by at least one organization known for its civil rights litigation. In a full-page newspaper ad Friday in Amazon’s headquarters city, the American Civil Liberties Union…

Aug 24, 2015 7:15 AM CDT

After NLRB loss, attorney for would-be Northwestern football union points to lawsuit against NCAA

Although the National Labor Relations Board refused this week to oversee a union-organizing effort by Northwestern University football players, those on the losing side of the case haven’t lost hope of a bigger payday. Among other possible options, they are looking to an ongoing federal antitrust case against the National…

Aug 19, 2015 4:10 PM CDT

Widow who says her husband was worked to death is entitled to death benefits, court says

A Pennsylvania widow who claims her husband was worked to death is entitled to a death benefit, according to a Pennsylvania court. Robert Dietz was 48 years old and finishing up a 14-hour shift when he died of a heart attack in November 2007, report Reuters, PennLive and Lancaster Online.…

Aug 19, 2015 10:38 AM CDT

Is competitive BigLaw similar to Amazon’s survival-of-the-fittest system?

A New York Times story on the grueling workplace environment for Amazon workers has the newspaper reaching to BigLaw for comparisons. The Amazon story told how the retailer pushed white-collar employees beyond their limits in a drive for innovation. Company founder Jeff Bezos believes that harmony is often overvalued in…

Aug 18, 2015 8:19 AM CDT

NLRB nixes college football players union, declines to hear election petition

Putting an end, at least for now, to an effort to unionize college football players at Northwestern University, the National Labor Relations Board on Monday declined to assert jurisdiction over the group’s union election petition. In its unanimous ruling, the NLRB said that to do so would have implications far…

Aug 17, 2015 1:40 PM CDT

Allegedly fired after pointing to big legal bills, school administrator gets $300K settlement

A former California school administrator has settled a lawsuit that alleged she was made a scapegoat and fired after she pointed to big legal bills being racked up in litigation over a school district merger. Siegrid “Ziggy” Robeson was fired in 2012 as deputy superintendent of the Twin Rivers Unified…

Aug 17, 2015 11:45 AM CDT

Clerk’s office defies federal judge’s order to issue same-sex marriage licenses

Setting the stage for a showdown, a county clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, has apparently defied a federal judge’s Wednesday order to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite her personal religious objections. Clerk Kim Davis filed an appeal and plans to seek a stay of the trial court’s…

Aug 13, 2015 2:55 PM CDT

Unflattering courtroom sketch of Tom Brady in Deflategate hearing goes viral

At a federal court hearing on Wednesday in a case challenging Deflategate penalties imposed by the National Football League, it wasn’t the legal issues that ignited public interest. It was a sketch artist’s unflattering portrayal of New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady, seated amidst the Manhattan courtroom spectators. Featuring…

Aug 13, 2015 11:30 AM CDT

Judge lied about claimed toilet-lid attack outside courthouse, jury finds

A former municipal judge in the village of Waterloo, New York, lied when he said two thugs choked him and beat him with a toilet tank lid outside his courthouse in 2013, a jury has concluded. In a Friday verdict, the jury convicted Roger Barto, 54, of insurance fraud, making…

Aug 10, 2015 2:50 PM CDT