Personal Lives

DUI Prosecutor’s Drunk Driving Death a Hard Lesson for Profession

The recent drunk driving death of a renowned Chicago area prosecutor is a hard lesson for the legal profession – and a number of those who could learn from it haven’t necessarily done so. Too often, those in charge of enforcing the law against others don’t apply it to themselves.…

Jun 4, 2007 11:15 PM CDT

The EZ J.D.

With the price of a law school education pushing into the six figures, aspiring lawyers may think twice before taking the plunge.

Jun 2, 2007 12:32 AM CDT

Celebrity Lawyer Chauffeurs Lohan to Rehab

Law practice for a well-known celebrity lawyer in Los Angeles recently required a stint behind the wheel as a celebrity chauffeur. Celebrity criminal defense lawyer Blair Berk was spotted behind the wheel Monday motoring movie star Lindsay Lohan to rehab at what sources describe as ” ‘a serious medical treatment…

May 29, 2007 11:53 PM CDT

Dad & Daughter Among Law School’s First Grads

After Sydney Jones decided to go to law school, so did her father, Sidney. In fact, the two both wound up in the same class at Charleston Law School in South Carolina, and are to graduate together over the weekend, in the law school’s first graduating class. Although the two…

May 14, 2007 11:01 AM CDT

From Law Office to Principal’s Office: He Loves It

After a 139-hour week working as a contract lawyer for a New York firm, Todd H. Gazda had had enough. Too tired to go back to the office, he got a hotel room. Then he called his father and told him he was moving back home. That non-traditional career decision…

May 7, 2007 11:04 AM CDT

Chicago Lawyer Dies After Florida Triathalon

A 48-year-old partner at a well-known Chicago law firm died this week after being discovered unconscious during the swimming portion of a Florida triathalon on Sunday. An autopsy is being performed, but local police in St. Petersburg said the death of Juli Wilson Marshall is likely to be classified as…

May 4, 2007 6:54 PM CDT

Low-Paid Fla. Prosecutors, Defenders Are Quitting

Prosecutors and public defenders in Florida are leaving their low-paying jobs at alarming rates, according to the offices that employ them. The Miami Herald cites statistics from the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office. It lost 126 out of 291 attorneys in 2005 and 2006. The public defender’s office there lost 63…

May 2, 2007 6:33 PM CDT

The Play Reigns Supreme

New York lawyer jay Harris knows a good play when he sees one–and he’s got the brass to back it up, including a Tony Award for his production of Side Man. So when Harris says he’s found the next big hit, it’s a little hard to question his instincts. Even…

May 1, 2007 7:39 PM CDT

One L of a Read

Law schools are all about diversity these days, yet when it comes to reading about the law school experience, all the authors seem to be white guys from Harvard. Like Scott Turow, author of the classic One L, and Richard D. Kahlenberg, who wrote Broken Contract.

May 1, 2007 7:35 PM CDT

Paradise Lawst

Brian T. Dougan, a litigator at Boston based Gibson & Behman, has become the ultimate island hopper. This spring, Dougan starts splitting his time between offices in Rhode Island and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

May 1, 2007 7:23 PM CDT

LA Lawyer Credits Yoga for Tension Relief

A Los Angeles lawyer says his yoga classes have helped him get in shape and combat stress on the job. John Shaeffer brought in yoga instructors to teach lawyers at his previous law firm, the Wall Street Journal reports. But at his current firm, Spillane Shaeffer Aronoff Bandlow, his penchant…

May 1, 2007 3:41 PM CDT

Vacation Base Camp

This Illinois lawyer seeks a vacation spot where he can stay connected to his office

May 1, 2007 10:31 AM CDT

Today in Legal History: Guillotine First Used, Vt. Civil Unions First in U.S.

On this day in 1792, the guillotine reportedly was first used in France to execute a highwayman, Nicolas-Jacques Pelletier. At the time, despite its subsequent notoriety as a means of killing some 15,000 during the French Revolution, the guillotine was considered a swift, certain and more humane way of putting…

Apr 26, 2007 5:08 PM CDT

Ex-Lawyer Flops in Effort to Sell Everything

The ex-lawyer who tried to see all her belongings on eBay didn’t get her asking price, so she’s trying a new approach. Bidding reached $880 dollars in the final auction, well below Lisa Perry’s minimum asking price of $2,000, the Star-Tribune reports. So Perry is breaking up her sale into…

Apr 23, 2007 8:33 PM CDT

Lawyer Retirements Loom

Forced retirement of hundreds of thousands of baby boomer lawyers in coming years could affect their mental health as well as their pocketbooks, according to a story in the National Law Journal. “The No. 1 driver for what attracts lawyers to their profession is mental stimulation,” Larry Richard, a psychologist…

Apr 19, 2007 1:03 PM CDT