In the wake of Tekashi 69’s arrest and in accordance with hip-hop’s admittedly malleable “stop snitching” policy, one of 69’s earliest supporters, 50 Cent, changed his tune on his vocal support for the rainbow-haired troublemaker. Stopping by The Breakfast Club this morning for an interview, he denied speaking to the incarcerated viral star, saying he wouldn’t pick up if Tekashi called. However, while 50 Cent has apparently disavowed 69 in the media, Isaac Wright Jr., a lawyer associated with 50, disputes 50’s version of events, saying that the Queens rap vet initially tried to help Tekashi out of his sticky situation when the news of his arrest...
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Judge Andrew Napolitano weighs in on comments made by attorney Debra Katz that her client Christine Blasey Ford was motivated to come forward due to now-Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh's reputation on abortion. Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh, then a federal judge, of sexual assault after he was nominated for a seat on the Supreme Court. Katz said Blasey Ford feared Kavanaugh would take a "scapel" to Roe v. Wade if he was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Napolitano said Katz's remarks are something the Department of Justice may want to investigate. "Why would she be saying this now and do we care what the motivation was for her allegations against now-Justice Kavanaugh?"...
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This is the point in the conversation where I typically brace myself. A barrage of questions is about to come my way. It comes from a good place, though. People seem genuinely curious, but there is this shroud of mystery around the law. So, in the spirit of demystifying the profession, I put together a list of 10 questions. Some are questions I get asked all the time. Others get to the heart of what it’s like to be a lawyer. I reached out to a diverse group of lawyers for answers. I promised anonymity, for candid answers, and I chose responses that were succinct, insightful, or downright amusing. In other words, I created a hybrid of an AskReddit thread and the lawyers’ edition of Family...
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The role of lawyer continues to change and shift with technology having played a huge part in this change. With clients rightly demanding more efficiency and process from their law firms, it's forced a change in the profession to look at what's possible and how technology can automate processes, speed up delivery and ultimately add value. This month I am again handing the reins of my blog over, this time to Tom Hinton, a technology associate in the team – who has recently become the first Innovation and Legal Technology trainee to qualify. He talks about his role, the changes he's seen and how answering the question what is a lawyer, becomes more difficult as client and firm-wide...
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Every founder has heard of or even experienced a legal horror story: overpriced services; unanticipated fees; frustrating delays or an attorney that just doesn’t get it. But like it or not, lawyers are an indispensable part of almost every startup process, and it pays to understand what your lawyer is thinking, how they earn their fees, and what they should be doing on your behalf. Get it Right at the Start: Lawyers are typically a startup’s first outside adviser, arriving on the scene even before angel or venture capital investors. Most importantly, a good lawyer provides a founding team with the lay of the land: what types of investors may be interested in your idea; how will those...
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If a lawyer refuses to take your case in Malaysia, what can you do? The chances of you getting into a situation where you may have to sue someone can be quite low, but it’s not entirely impossible. Touch wood but, it’s possible you can get into a minor accident, get cheated in a contract, or have an annoying neighbour who won’t stop playing the drums at midnight. If you’re faced with such a situation, you’re probably gonna need a lawyer to advise you on your rights and worse comes to worst – help you navigate the intricacies of litigation (basically to sue them lah). If really die-die you can’t solve your problem and you must sue, the first thing you have to do is contact your lawyer or...
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Colour-coded Justice: What's a Black lawyer to do? Like many Black children who grew up in Canada in the mid-80s and early 90s, I was raised with the idea that making your parents proudest meant becoming a doctor or a lawyer. It didn’t matter if your family descended from 18th century Black Loyalists or 19th century African American Refugees, or if your parents had recently immigrated from the Caribbean or Africa to serve as working class labourers or foreign-trained professionals, or to find greater safety and security. For “bright” Black children, the best way to make your family and community proud was to gain entry into the legal profession. Whether or not we welcomed, actualized,...
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Lawyer is a generic term; solicitors and barristers are both lawyers. However, there are some very important differences between solicitors and barristers regarding their training, the work they do, how they work and how they are regulated. In England and Wales we have a split system with a division of labour between barristers and solicitors. In other countries such as the USA there is a fused system where all lawyers can potentially, do all things. It can be helpful to think of barristers as the “front of house” of the legal system (the Courts) and solicitors as making up the “back office”. However, there is no pecking order as such when it comes to solicitors...
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Six Fordham Law faculty members reflect on what it takes to be prepared in our wired, complex, 21st-century world. Just 15 years ago, smartphones weren’t all that smart, blockchain was a nonsense word, and legal research required hours of perusing guides and indices. But technology has fundamentally altered the world in which today’s law students will launch their careers, and the legal profession has changed along with it. To be ready, lawyers will need to solve old problems with new tools and apply established law in innovative ways. They may even find themselves practicing in areas that didn’t exist when they first arrived on campus. Given that a good lawyer is nothing without...
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The lawyer disciplinary process in North Carolina begins when a grievance is filed with the State Bar. A grievance is an allegation that the conduct of a lawyer licensed to practice law in North Carolina has violated one or more of the formal rules governing lawyer conduct. These rules are defined in the Rules of Professional Conduct. The State Bar's Grievance Committee evaluates grievances to determine whether a lawyer has violated those Rules and, if so, imposes appropriate discipline or refers the matter for a trial. The Rules of Professional Conduct can be found at the State Bar's website. The Grievance Committee opens approximately 1,300-1,500 files a year. Every grievance is assigned...
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