You never really know about someone else

A friend of mine sent me an article this morning about an attorney from New Jersey who recently pleaded guilty to defrauding his clients out of more than a million dollars--well, specifically, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.  The friend sent me this article to "tweak me" and poke fun at the state where I lived for 18 years.  What the friend didn't know is that I actually knew the attorney, who is potentially facing a long jail sentence and/or a huge criminal fine.  In fact, I worked with him for a few years, before he left my old firm suddenly.  The article on him is pretty damning, reading in pertinent part (names redacted):

"XXXXXXXXXXXX, of XXXXXXXXXXXX, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge XXXXXXXX in federal court to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud. During the proceeding, XXXXXXXXXXX admitted that he fraudulently inserted the names of his former law firm’s clients into legitimately filed XXXXXXXXX suits and charged the clients more than $1 million in attorney’s fees, costs and settlements to defend them.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Specifically, XXXXXXXXX admitted, he obtained copies of legitimately filed XXXXXXXX complaints and fraudulently altered them by deleting a named defendant and inserting the name of one or more of his firm’s clients. XXXXXXXXX admitted that, unbeknownst to anyone else at the firm, he forwarded those fraudulently altered complaints by email, fax and otherwise to the firm’s clients, their representatives and insurance companies.

After notifying the firm’s clients of the suits, XXXXXXXXXXXXX – and others at the firm who were not involved in the scheme – undertook the representation of the clients, by attending depositions, answering discovery and even settling claims. It is estimated that XXXXXXXXXXX inserted his firm’s clients’ names into more than 100 lawsuits, resulting in the generation of more than $1 million in fraudulent fees, costs and settlements. XXXXXXXXXXXX personally benefitted from the scheme through bonuses and increased compensation."

The conduct to which this attorney pleaded guilty took place long after he had left my old firm.  When I worked with him, he never seemed like the kind of guy who would do anything like this.  He was diligent, worked hard and well-liked by the powers that be at that firm.  I personally really liked him and was disappointed when he left that firm.  I guess that it goes to show that you never really know someone.............

An offensive lawsuit

One of the big local stories over the last week or so has been the fact that criminal charges have been filed against the Philadelphia Department of Health Services representatives who allowed a 14-year old girl who was suffering from cerebral palsy to essentially waste away to her death in 2006. However, also facing charges are the parents of the girl, whose neglect of their daughter goes beyond criminal no matter how you look at it.

Well, in one of the most egregiously frivolous lawsuits I have ever seen, those same parents are now suing the city of Philadelphia for the neglect of their daughter: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/26901549.html. At the risk of trashing my own profession, the lawyers who brought this suit should be ashamed of themselves.

I will defy the law

The United States Supreme Court has just invalidated a Louisiana law which allowed the state to execute individuals who were convicted of raping a child: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080625/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_rdp;_ylt=Al35xjPxop1lTuTvI7Ho2eME1vAI. I have a rhetorical question about this: If executing a pedophile rapist violates the accused's Eighth Amendment right against "cruel and unusual punishment", as the Supreme Court just held, how would the Court characterize the act of raping a child? Does it get any more "cruel and unusual" than that?

Here's my promise: If anyone were to ever touch one of the little BHG's, I would promise the person who did it that they would experience an entirely new form of "cruel and unusual" punishment............

Not a good precedent

In a major defeat for the Bush 43 Administration, the United States Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision struck down the law that allowed the government to try the Guantanamo Bay detainees in front of military tribunals: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080612/ts_nm/guantanamo_court_dc_6. I'll ignore the gleeful, one-sided reporting in the article, and concentrate on the facts. What this will do is allow the detainees to petition federal courts for trials there, and one of them, Osama Bin Laden's former driver, has already filed just such an application. Of course, once they are in the federal court system, you can be sure that there will be one ruling after another in their favour by Clinton-era appointed judges.

What the Supreme Court just did is wrong, plain and simple. Think that the Supreme Court can't be wrong? Try the Dred Scott case.

I shudder to think what would have happened had these justices been around when Lincoln was fighting the Civil War..................

UPDATE (5:44 p.m.): The entire opinion can be found here: http://supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/06-1195.pdf. Justice Scalia's dissent is as withering as it is brilliant.

My life to a "T"

As readers of this blog (I know that there must be SOME of you out there) are aware, by profession I am an attorney. I kind of fell into it by default. I wasn't looking to be a lawyer, but given that I liked to talk alot and that becoming a history professor seemed to be an even more miserable career choice (the "publish or perish" routine seemed entirely not to my liking), I ended up in law school, and I have now been a practicing attorney for about 14 years.

Those who know me also know that I'm absolutely miserable doing what I do. Well, it turns out that I'm not alone. In fact, far from it: http://www.nd.edu/~ndmag/legl2f99.htm. Lawyers in general are miserable, and as the cliche goes, most would turn back the hands of time and pick something else to do if the could. Lord knows, I think that on a daily basis (many times a day, in fact), and I often lecture others who are preparing to march down the same path to nowhere that I took.

My message to anyone who reads this? DON'T GO TO LAW SCHOOL. If you do, go into a career field other than practicing law. It's simply not worth the price attorneys are asked to pay on a daily basis (and that's not even counting the daily public scorn that we receive). By the way, this is no way meant to be a pity play. Rather, I would just like to see some people not make the mistake of pursuing a career choice that does not reward those who follow it sufficiently to make the sacrifices worthwhile.

When the legal system fails

Stories like this one pop up all the time, but as an attorney, I find them extremely disheartening: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22731947/. How can a man who presents a clear and imminent danger to his ex-spouse get released from custody so easily? How does the system fail like this?

Regardless of the answers to these questions, the sad end to this story is that a woman who committed no sin other than to marry a violent criminal is now dead.