MLM Counties News. Notices. Need-to-know Information.

The U.S. has the unique challenge of trying to run secret intelligence in an open democracy. It has to do so under the law.

Tagged with: Eric Holder Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Fourth Amendment National Security Agency U.S. Justice Department

As the U.S. population ages, and with the effects of the financial crisis promising to linger for some time, economic growth will be lower than we would like. This is why the federal government needs to do more to help Americans earn college degrees.

Can the Defense Department overrule the U.S. Supreme Court? Can the Boy Scouts of America? The short answer is: Of course not. But a full response turns out to be more complicated, and it offers a lesson for thinking about the relationship between constitutional law and the evolving nature of rights.

Most attorneys don’t believe that writing style matters. They might concede that writing in plain English can be aesthetically pleasing to the reader, but they also say that it’s not worth the time to learn how to do it because there’s no evidence that writing in plain English saves time or money.

Statistical analysis can be a practical tool to help any lawyer measure personal and firm performance against objective standards.

Whatever else Manti Te’o manages to accomplish in his interview with Katie Couric, the humiliated Notre Dame linebacker will at least be proving Karl Marx right: All historical events really do occur twice, first as tragedy, then as farce.

Many veteran court-watchers believe that the Supreme Court now is, and has long been, almost equally divided between “conservatives” and “liberals.” Skeptical journalists treat judges as little more than politicians in black robes.

With the recent “legalization” of marijuana use in several states, most discussion has centered on the taxes that will be raised, the health issues, and whether it’s a morally good idea. Strangely, nobody seems to be focusing on the fact that state government is literally giving the proverbial finger to federal law.

Lawyers usually hate jury selection. Not only does voir dire provide limited time and information to identify jurors who will decide the fate of their clients, but it directly confronts attorneys with a problem they have in communicating complex cases to today’s demanding and skeptical juror: that jurors and attorneys think and communicate in completely different ways.

Practice needs should always be met first, and personal needs should be the minimum expense necessary to maintain a standard of living. If you are a partner in an existing firm, you are personally responsible for the debts and liabilities, in addition to having put in your own capital.

Upheaval is the “new normal” for law firms of all size, and many observers wonder if the solo and small-firm practitioners will survive this kind of current and future turmoil.