Minnesota Lawyer Blog

A couple of strange-but-true recent news items:

Duluth native Howard O. Kieffer, who has been accused of impersonating a lawyer in federal courts in at least 10 states, pleaded not guilty in Bismarck, N.D., to two felony charges, mail fraud and making false statements. Among other clients he quasi-represented, Kieffer defended former St. Louis Blues hockey player Michael Danton, who was charged four years ago with plotting to kill his agent. That didn't work out too well: Danton pleaded guilty and is serving a 7 1/2-year sentence at a minimum-security federal prison in Sandstone, Minn.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Schwartz, a Denver personal-injury lawyer, says he was drugged and robbed of $50,000 in cash, clothing and jewelry (including a $30,000 watch) during the Republican National Convention. Unlike the rest of the Colorado delegation, which stayed at the $130-a-night Four Points Sheraton in St. Paul, Schwartz stayed at the Hotel Ivy in Minneapolis, where rooms range from $300-$3,000. That's where he says he was ripped off by a woman he picked up in a bar. Interviewed during the convention, Schwartz was asked what change he would like to see in a McCain presidency. His response: “Less taxes and more war. Bomb Iran!”

Some people are pretend lawyers, and some people you sort of wish were pretend lawyers.