So You Want to Be a Judge

polHigh status, fascinating issues, great money and perks, no practice-management headaches – what lawyer wouldn’t want to be a judge? What lawyer indeed, which is why it isn’t an easy gig to get. Supreme court justices and others tell how to improve your odds of donning the robe.

Is becoming a judge a lifelong dream of yours? Or are you thinking, now that you’ve gotten your law degree or have been out in practice for a while, that you might like to throw your hat in the ring, either by applying

for appointment to a vacant associate or circuit position or by running in a partisan election for state circuit, appellate, or supreme court?

If your answer is “Yes!” you have plenty of company. That’s not hard to understand. As Sheila Murphy, formerly a circuit judge for Cook County, says, “If you’re a trial lawyer or litigator, you naturally start thinking at some point, ‘I could do that!'”

By all accounts, being a judge is a great job. Says Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, “Every day is a challenge and something to love if you’re a lawyer. Even more, every day

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What Does It Take to Become a Successful Corporate Attorney

What-does-it-take-to-become-a-successful-corporate-attorneyMy law school certainly did not offer a course on the subject of how to become a corporate attorney. On my first day in the Corporate Department at my former law firm, no one handed me a guidebook on how to morph myself from a clueless first-year associate into an attorney worthy of following in Marty Lipton’s footsteps. Look, obviously I don’t have anywhere near all the answers on this subject. But being a former corporate lawyer, as well as a business person in charge of hiring corporate lawyers and now running a national legal recruiting firm, I feel like I have learned a few things about what it takes to succeed as a lawyer in top corporate law firms that would have been worthwhile knowing upfront–things that law firms generally don’t emphasize with their associates until it’s too late (for the associate that is.)

My goal here is to offer up my experiences, for what they are worth, to others embarking on the same corporate law firm path I started on. First, I will take a stab at answering the pertinent questions

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How to Be a Successful Lawyer

1. Knowing the Law

lawKnow your information. Keep yourself up-to-date on your area of law. Be aware of new developments, as laws and rules often change and new cases are being decided every day. States introduce new legislation that affect your area of law practice every day. Federal laws also regularly change.

Conduct research when needed. If you have a non-routine case involving issues that you have not dealt with before, take the time to do the legal research and find the answers. Don’t assume that you know everything, even if you have practiced in the same area of the law for several years. New issues and cases arise every day, and you have to do the research to find the solution to your case.

  • Legal research methods have changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Ensure that you are familiar with the most up-to-date electronic research methods. If you have a subscription to Lexis-Nexis or Westlaw, which are the two most well-known online legal research companies, then you also can get extensive training in using their applications.

Attend continuing legal education (CLE) seminars. Not only

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What Research About Lawyers Can Teach You

Your Options When Offered a Small Personal Injury Compensation

After you and your personal injury lawyer have gone through all the documents pertaining to your medical expenses and other damages information, you will most likely be in a better position to come up with a settlement amount as compensation for your claim. Your attorney can help you determine the right amount of compensation to demand, and will also write and send a demand letter to the other party.

When you send a demand letter, the insurance company is likely to respond with a different offer. After examining all the evidence of your personal injury claim, they may feel that the amount you are asking for is too high and may offer to settle with a much lower amount. If this happens, do not panic, or feel pressured to give in. Most personal injury lawyers will tell you that this is a ploy commonly used by insurance companies to get you to accept the lower settlement. This is what you should do instead of accepting the counter offer:

i) Calm down and analyze the offer
The way your case will progress will depend on how you respond to the offer

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The Path To Finding Better Attorneys

Military Leave and the Law

The nuances of the law take years to master and navigate. Service members are often at a disadvantage in legal situations due to their commitments to our nation that require them to leave civilian life for months at a time. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) is a national level law that ensures you are protected against discrimination by your employer if you are a member of the military and your civilian career is protected upon your return.

According to the law, employers are required to grant you military leave, and then ensure your reemployment upon your return. USERRA also governs the position that you are entitled to upon your return. USERRA prevents discrimination from your employer or coworkers when you return from your military service, and it also prevents your employer from firing you without cause for up to one year after your return. Veterans that are injured because of their military service are protected from discrimination in the workplace, and it ensures your employer accommodates your disability within reason. The law ensures your equal treatment when you return from military service.

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Shortlist Certified San Antonio Car Accident Lawyers To Deal With The Case

If there is any accident cases found, then these problems should be attended immediately by the expert attorney’s. This can turn to be a serious one if not dealt properly and lead to several other kinds of legal problems. A person has to be very careful and be vigilant when met with an accident.

If timely assistance from a lawyer is not taken then they have to undergo severe losses in terms of damage to the person and the property. In such a scenario, it is essential to seek the help of the professionals because they can guide you on what steps have to be taken in order to claim for the insurance money and also in order to take the compensation from the person who is responsible for the accident.

Why To Take The Help Of The Professionals For The Accident Cases

The main reason to hire one of them is that they have the expertise to deal with such cases. As there are many lawyers to do the job, it is easier to find one of the best San Antonio car accident lawyers. Make sure to

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Get The Aid You’ll Need In Order To Get A More Substantial Settlement

Whenever a person is in a car wreck, they often times contact their insurance provider in order to obtain compensation for their particular injuries. Nonetheless, there are occassions when the insurance provider will either provide an amount that may be too low or they are going to refuse to pay out a claim at all. In these instances, an individual is going to want to consult with a car accident lawyer wa to enable them to receive the legal aid they require to acquire a settlement which will take care of all their accident related costs.

Someone who has been in an auto accident will have various bills that they’re going to need to cover. They’re going to have to handle their medical bills, car repair charges, as well as perhaps lost wages in case they were in the medical recuperating for a tremendous amount of time. The insurance provider is likely not going to be willing to pay all of these expenditures, in case they’re ready to give a settlement. At these times, the individual should not take the settlement offer they’re presented. As an alternative, they should speak to a lawyer as quickly as possible to be able

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The Best Advice on Professionals I’ve found

When Do You Need a Car Accident Lawyer? An accident is one of the most troubling situations one could get involved and if he/she doesn’t have the right legal help during these hours of despair, it becomes even worse. The situation may have been your fault or not, either way, you would still need to hire a professional who can help you with legal matters in the best possible way. What are the essential details you need to consider when hiring a car accident lawyer? You will be thoroughly educated on your rights when you hire reputable lawyers who can give you all these benefits and more. When you have these professionals around then you would definitely be able to handle court proceedings in the ideal way. There are times when you are caught in a tough situation concerning these events but the right lawyer will surely get you out of it without any trouble.
A Beginners Guide To Professionals
When you had nothing to do with the accident but were still involved in it, you have to hire these professionals all the more for proper compensation of damages. There students and professionals who become

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Protect Yourself Against a Mistake

You made one simple mistake, and you do not deserve to go into the courtroom on your own. Drink driving lawyers are trained and dedicated to your protection against such a serious charge, and you can rest easy in the knowledge you are less likely to be judged harshly. Still, many men and women ask what a lawyer can do for them in such a case and why they should hire one. In any legal situation you are faced with, it is important to bring a trained professional onto your side of the courtroom in order to make the proceedings move along quickly. An experienced lawyer will ensure the case is handled fairly in all stages, and you will find yourself better able to face whatever may be ahead. Here are the reasons you should arm yourself with a drink driving lawyer.

A DUI Is Serious

Drink driving lawyers in Sydney have studied and gathered experience for years with the express desire to help you in mind. Unlike a company with a product to sell, lawyers build their careers around the protection service. They see their success reflected in yours, and thus, it is their

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The Dos and Don’ts of a DUI

No matter how coherent you think you are, driving while intoxicated is not a good idea. It could result in serious injury to yourself or another person. Sometimes, though, it simply ends with an arrest and a criminal charge. If this has happened to you, you could be facing a felony. This is why it’s so important to contact attorneys in Baytown, TX, to help you through the process. However, there is more that you can do to better the situation:

  1. Don’t try to resist arrest. A DUI charge is pretty serious. However, if you try to resist the arrest, you could end up with an even more serious charge. Don’t add insult to injury. While you might be intoxicated, try your best to remain calm during the ordeal.
  2. Do call a lawyer. Once you have been booked, you’ll be given the opportunity to call an attorney or a family member. Make sure that you have legal representation lined up, or that a family member can reach out to someone for you. Being properly represented from the beginning is extremely important.
  3. Do be respectful during your hearings. Your first hearing will most likely
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Qualities to Look for in Criminal Defense Attorneys

Being charged with a crime is a scary situation for anyone to be in. Fortunately, there are things you can do to make the situation easier while giving you the best chance at a positive outcome. The first and most important thing you can do is find a highly qualified lawyer who can work as your advocate and help you navigate your next steps. There are some qualities to look for in attorneys in Baytown, Texas to make sure you hire a truly great one to represent you. Here are some of those key characteristics.

Responsive

Work with a lawyer who is responsive when you have questions. You will have an easier time despite your difficult circumstances if you have someone you can go to with questions or to resolve your concerns.

Understanding

While you are probably going through this hard situation for the first time, your lawyer should not be. You are likely feeling a lot of stress and other difficult emotions. Work with a lawyer who can give you some peace of mind and make the process easier to bear.

Proactive and Works Hard

Criminal defense

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Falsely Accused of a DUI

If you have been arrested and charged with a DUI, chances are you’re wondering if you need to hire a top DUI attorney in Baytown, TX. It is not always necessary to have a lawyer for a DUI. You can go through your own arraignment, research sobriety tests, obtain a copy of your police report, and give a blood sample or take a breath test all without a lawyer. However, if you have been charged with a DUI and are not guilty, you will want to seriously consider hiring an attorney to work your case because you will most likely end up going to trial.

Being accused of drunk driving happens to more innocent people than many realize. If this has happened to you or someone you care about, do not hesitate to contact a lawyer regarding the arrest. You will want to hire someone who is experienced in handling drunk driving cases and who understands the traffic laws of your state. You need the advice and expertise of someone who has defended innocent people like yourself. Even if you know you are innocent, you and your lawyer will need to prove to the prosecution

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5 reasons why you should hire a phoenix workers comp attorney

Have you been injured on your job? If yes, then workers’ compensation laws may help you and entitle you to certain benefits. And these benefits include many things like payment of medical bills, vocational rehabilitationand compensation while you are not in a condition to work, total disability benefits, or permanent partial disability benefits. The bad news is this that there is no guarantee you will be fully compensated for the lost wages, medical expenses, and for the suffering and pain caused by the accident at work. Keeping this in mind, it is crucial to educate yourself on some of the basic reasons you might decide to hire a Phoenix workers compensation attorney.

You are No Longer Working

Many times severe occupational accidents prevent you from working and may result in a permanent disability. Usually, insurance companies that offer workers’ compensation coverage do not want to cut huge settlement checks unless they are forced to. This is the time when you need the assistance of experienced Phoenix workers comp attorney to handle the negotiations on your behalf.

Employer does not Have Insurance

Many deceitful employers do not take workers’ comp insurance because it

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Law and Morality

In general view morality is the quality of being in accord with standards of right or wrong conduct. Morality, speaks of a system of behavior in regards to standards of right or wrong. The word carries the concepts of: (1) moral standards, with regard to behavior; (2) moral responsibility, referring to our conscience; and (3) a moral identity, or one who is capable of right or wrong action. Morality has become a complicated issue in the multi-cultural world we live in today. Timeless wisdom explains that there cannot be a complete law unless there lays the effect and inclusion of morality. My Project explores what is Moore’s concept of morality and how he explains its affects on our behavior, our conscience, our society, and our ultimate destiny.

Law and morality are too vague to understand. It must be added here that the notions of law and justice can’t be captured and presented before us within a few sentences. These notions are too vast that even words are not sufficient to define them. Many jurists from the ancient Greek period to the modern and even the post-modern era have attempted numerously to define these concepts, but have failed. One of the reasons

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Theory of Justice by John Rawls its criticism by Martha C. Nussbaum and Amartya Sen

John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice – an introduction
The Theory of Justice as propounded by John Rawls in his book ‘A Theory of Justice’ (1971) presented a conception of justice which generalised as to what is justice and tied to carry it to higher level of abstraction rather than in defining in concrete form.

According to John Rawls, there are some principles of justice which are running as an undercurrent in the building of a society which is well organised and working in a particular fashion. These are such principles which would be adopted by ‘free and rational’ persons to further their own interest in an initial position of equality. This is ‘the equality’ which is fundamental to their association. And it is this principle which regulates their further agreements. By agreements here, he meant the laws which will be passed at later stages will be working on this very principle. So this is what he regarded as ‘justice as fairness’.

He explains as to how by logical ordering of principles of justice, it is possible to answer questions like how should society be structured, how should basic rights and duties be assigned to individuals, and how should social

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Tribunalization of Justice

This article proceeds to analyze the position and outcome of justice with regard to the tribunal system in India.

“Tribunal means a set or a bench upon which judge or judges sit and decide controversies between the parties and exercises judicial powers as distinguished from purely administrative functions.”

The word “Tribunal” has not been defined in the constitution or in any other law.

But the word has been defined by courts in the following cases:
In Durga Shankar Mehta v/s Raghuraj Singh The Supreme Court defined tribunal in the following words:

The expressional Tribunal as used in Article 136 does not mean the same thing as ‘Court’ but includes, within its ambit, all adjudicating bodies, provided they are constituted by the state and are vested with judicial functions as distinguished from administrative or executive functions.

In the words of M P Jain, with regard to the functioning of a tribunal, tribunals do not have to follow any uniform procedure as laid down under the Civil Procedure Code and under the India Evidence Act of 1872 but they have to follow the principles of Natural Justice.

In Bharat Bank Ltd v/s Employees Bharat Bank Ltd. The court stated that the tribunals are adjudicating bodies which

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Theory of Relationship between Law and Morality

Ever since the revival of the scientific study of jurisprudence the connection of law and morality has much discussed, but the question is not yet, and perhaps never will be settled. Every variety of opinion has been entertained, from the extreme doctrine held by Austin that for the purpose of the jurist, law is absolutely independent of morality, almost to the opposite positions, held by every Oriental cadi, that morality and law are one. The question is an important one, and upon the answer which is given to it depends upon the answer which is consequences. The problem is an intensely practical one.

The popular conception of the connection between law and morality is that in some way the law exists to promote morality, to preserve those conditions which make the moral life possible, and than to enable men to lead sober and industrious lives. The average man regards law as justice systematized, and justice itself as a somewhat chaotic mass of moral principles. On this view, the positive law is conceived of as a code of rules, corresponding to the code of moral laws, deriving its authority from the obligatory character of those moral laws, and being just or unjust

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Lost in translation

In December 2013, Justine Sacco, a senior director of corporate communications at US based media and internet company IAC, decided to send out a tweet while at Heathrow Airport awaiting to board a flight to Cape Town. Her tweet read: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding, I’m white!”

Sometime during the 11-hour flight the tweet caught the attention of Sam Biddle, a Gawker Media reporter who retweeted it and later posted it on Gawker’s media tech blog Valleywag, under the headline, “And Now, a Funny Holiday Joke from IAC’s P.R Boss”.

The tweet sparked outrage online and later became the basis for multiple articles about how professionals should approach social media platforms, including an article by Bernadette Giacomazzo titled, “Top 10 Social Media Rules for Professionals (Hint: Don’t Be Like Justine Sacco)”.

In the course of 11-hours, IAC had found it in their best interests to release multiple statements distancing themselves from the words of their employee in order to protect their brand. In a more direct effort to protect their reputation, IAC dismissed Justine, removed her name from their website, and advertised her position, all before Justine had landed.

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Active Avoidance The Modern Supreme Court and Legal Change

The full text of this Article may be found by clicking the PDF link below.

The Supreme Court in the last few years has resolved some of the most divisive and consequential cases before it by employing the same maneuver: construing statutes to avoid constitutional difficulty. Although the Court generally justifies the avoidance canon as a form of judicial restraint, these recent decisions have used the canon to camouflage acts of judicial aggression in both the statutory and constitutional spheres. In particular, the Court has adopted dubious readings of federal statutes that would have been unthinkable in the canon’s absence.  We call this move the “rewriting power.”  The canon has also been used to articulate new constitutional norms and significant breaks from settled doctrine.  We call this move “generative avoidance.”  Both practices are facets of the broader phenomenon of “active avoidance,” which is the use of the avoidance canon to usher in legal change.

This Article defines and critiques active avoidance by analyzing in detail two recent instances — Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. One v. Holder and National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (NFIB) — as well as providing a briefer analysis of Bond v. United States.  In Northwest

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Legal Risks of Naming Specific Persons Online

Given the proliferation of online material, the risks of misusing a person’s name or other information online have increased. Even obscure blogs have thousands or millions of readers. Using a person’s name or other information may subject publishers to very serious legal liability.

The types of legal exposure that a publisher may be subjected to can vary, based on the type of information that is being shared and the method utilized to share this information. Publishers can take steps to minimize their potential legal risks.

Defamation or False Light

One serious form of potential legal liability is being pursued because of defamation or false light. Defamation is a type of legal liability arises when a person files a lawsuit because his or her reputation was damaged because of false statements of fact. A false light claim is similar to a defamation claim. However, one difference is that a false light claim may not rise to the effect of defamation in which the subject of publication is scorned or ridiculed. Instead, the subject may suffer emotional distress.

A defamation claim requires publication. This means that the statement must have been told to one other person besides the subject of the

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Colorado Felony DUI

In August of 2015 the Colorado’s felony DUI law went into effect. Colorado joined 45 other states in the United States in enacting a law which makes certain classes of DUI’s a felony offense.

Prior to the passage of this law, any DUI in the state was a misdemeanor traffic offense, punishable by up to 1 year in the county jail. The only situation in which a defendant was exposed to a felony was if their impaired driving was the proximate cause of serious bodily injury or death. Things changed dramatically with the passage of Colorado’s Felony DUI law.

How Can Someone Be Charged?
Under the new law, if you have 3 prior alcohol or drug related driving offenses in this state or any other, you can be charged with Felony DUI. For the purposes of this charge, it is irrelevant when the prior offenses occurred. For example, this means that if you had a very bad stretch 40 years a

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go and were convicted of 3 DUI or DWAIs, you are at risk of a Felony DUI upon any future alcohol related driving charge

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Kazakhstan Business Code What’s New

On 30 October 2015, the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan (“RK”) signed the Business Code (“BC”). BC is a consolidated code that embodies basic legal acts on regulations of enterprise. The adoption of BC renders some regulatory legal acts invalid.

The main intents of BC are improvement and development of the legislation of the RK as part of the cooperation of business entities and the government, including government control and business support, emendation of gaps and contradictions in the legal regulation of business activity as well as systematization of legal, economic and social conditions and warranties for freedom of enterprise in the RK.

BC consolidated the main legal acts which regulate the different aspects of business activity in the RK. In addition to the consolidation of current legal acts, BC also includes a variety of changes and amendments.

Also, BC extends certain aspects of regulation of business activity.
Our analysis of BC revealed the following basic changes and amendments:

1. Promotion of the status of business ombudsman
2. Modifications related to investment enterprise
3. Improvement of cooperation of business and state entities
4. Specification of the types of PPP
5. Development of the antimonopoly legislation
6. Others

Although BC

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French Data Protection Authority Clamps Down on Facebook’s Privacy Violations

On Monday, the 8th of January 2016, the French data protection authority, Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertes (CNIL), issued a formal notice to Facebook for it to comply with the French Data Protection Act. This follows a decision issued by the CNIL on the 26th January 2016, which gave Facebook 3 months within which to fall in line with all the necessary requirements.

CNIL revealed several failures which occurred on the part of Facebook. The following violations were discovered:

• No legal basis for the processing of data – although users of the website have the option of disabling targeted advertising, and stopping this function from being applied to them, the users cannot stop their personal data from being compiled;

• A lack of compliance with the obligation to ensure the adequacy, relevance and non-excessive nature of the data collected – Facebook asks its users to submit proof of identity in various different forms, including through medical records. CNIL held that this type of documentation includes information which couldinfringe up

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on the privacy of the individuals in question;

  • A lack of compliance with the obligation to acquire
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