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Saturday, March 31, 2007

Justice Texas style?

There is an interesting case going on in Texas involving a man who killed his wife's lover. The twist is that the wife is the one that the grand jury has charged in the incident. It seems that the woman cried "Rape!" when the husband came upon them having sex. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the husband had a gun with him. He shot the man, believing he was protecting his wife from a rapist. The wife's story fell apart when it was learned that she had sent a romantic text message to the man killed shortly before the incident asking him to come over so she could feel his "warm embrace." The grand jury declined to charge the husband.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Less bitter, more better?

The Star Tribune ran an editorial today on Hennepin County's Early Neutral Evaluation Program ("A different divorce.") The piece is mostly high on the program, although it does mention at one point:
"Not everyone is enamored of these new efforts. Some lawyers and judges, according to Remington and others, say the approach can cause couples to be rushed, depriving them of sufficient time to process important changes, and causing them to make financial and practical decisions they later regret."

It seems with 65 percent of the cases resolving on the first meeting, this might be a real danger. Any family lawyers have any thoughts on this?

The article also cites the pioneering efforts of local attorney Stuart Webb in the collaborative law arena. Lawyers USA is about to do a story on the collaborative law model that I think raises some interesting concerns. More on that next week.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

The controversy continues ...

From today's Strib:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and President Bush's former counsel approved the firings of eight federal prosecutors, Gonzales' one-time chief of staff told the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday. Click here for more.

Any thoughts?

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Up-and-Comings coming up

Minnesota Lawyer next week will unveil the names of its 2007 Up-and-Coming Attorneys. This year we have selected 20 newer lawyers from a very impressive group of nominees. We have just nailed down a date and a venue for the luncheon celebrations at which they will receive their awards. Details will soon be forthcoming.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Laurence Tribe on iTunes?


For any of you who missed it, Leonard Street and Deinard in Minneapolis has joined the world of podcasting. We ran a story on it this week. (Password required.)

“I think it’s a good opportunity to communicate with clients in a different way — to give them access to information that they can use on their own time and in their own ways,” Leonard Street attorney Daniel Oberdorfer, the host of the firm’s first podcast, told Minnesota Lawyer's Michelle Lore.

Firms are also putting CLE-style info on podcasts. Hmmm. Now you can keep up-to-date on electronic discovery while you work out at the gym. You've gotta' love technology.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Two 'Sammys' in Phoenix


I am back from the Dolan Media summit in Phoenix and am pleased to report that the efforts of Minnesota Lawyer staff were recognized with two awards from our corporate parent. Associate editor Barbara L. Jones (on left) won the awards, which are called "Sammys" (named after the retired former head of the Dolan newspaper group, Sam Spencer.) The awards recognize her excellent work on two seperate news stories. All of the papers in the Dolan Media chain (more than 20 markets, I believe) compete for these awards -- so it is no easy task to win them. Way to go Barb!


BTW -- The Grand Canyon was great. I highly recommend it for anyone who has not visited!
On my way back from my Arizona trip, I shared a flight with a bunch of Bowman and Brooke attorneys who were coming back from a partnership meeting in Phoenix. Word is that they stayed in the plush Ritz Carlton (Guess B&B did OK this year.) I tried to wrangle some info about the partnership meeting out of B&B partner George Soule, but he had no juicy details for me. I can report that B&B attorney Chris Fowlkes was sitting in an exit row -- all 6'4 of him.