Greg Massing comments on SCOTUSblog

Greg examined Smith v. U.S. in “Argument recap: If it walks like a rabbit-duck”   — to read more, go here.

Topics: Criminal Law; Constitutional Law; News & Events

Career Development’s Betsy Armour Interviewed by Boston Business Journal

Director of Employer Relations, Betsy Armour was interviewed for the Boston Business Journal’s article entitled “Law Schools: Flexibility Key in Current Job Market” that was published on Friday, January 21, 2011.  To read the full article, go here.

Topics: Legal Education; Legal Profession; News & Events

 

Mass bill would OK pet trust funds

A bill on Governor Deval Patrick’s desk would permit Massachusetts residents to write pets into their wills, leaving behind trust funds for their care that would be upheld and enforced by a court.  For more details see this January4, 2011 Boston Globe article.

Topics:  Massachusetts Law; Animal Law; News & Events

Mass House & Senate Agree on Driving Distraction Legislation – Includes Crack Down on Texting, Cell phone Use and New Requiements for Older Drivers

The Massachusetts House and Senate have agreed on a crackdown on distracted driving that includes a ban on texting while driving and a ban on cellphone use for drivers under age 18.

The bill will also include new requirements for older drivers. It would require them to renew their licenses in person and take an eye test when they turn 75 and every five years thereafter, the official said.

The details of the distracted driving proposal will be announced Tuesday afternoon, June 22, 2010 in a State House news conference.

For more details, go here.

Topics: Massachusetts Law; News & Events

Legislative Action Required to Achieve Managerial Excellence in the Trial Courts – A Report of the Massachusetts Court Management Advisory Board (CMAB)

The Massachusetts Court Management Advisory Board (CMAB) released a report calling on “the Governor’s office and the state Legislature to enact broad changes to the Administrative structure of the state’s Judiciary, focusing primarily on the Trial Courts and its seven departments.”  To read the full 24 page report, go here.

Topics: Massachusetts Law; News & Events

NYU Law Professor Faces Libel Lawsuit in France for Refusing to Purge Negative Book Review

Joseph Weiler, law professor at NYU and editor in chief of the European Journal of International Law, faces trial in a French criminal court in June on libel charges, after refusing to purge an academic book review.  Weiler is being sued by Karin Calvo-Goller, a senior lecturer at the Academic Centre of Law and Business in Israel, for a review of her book, The Trial Proceedings of the International Criminal Court, that was published on the Web site in 2007.  For more details see this Chronicle of Higher Education article that was published on February 25, 2010 and this blog entry.

Topics: News & Events; Criminal Law

UMass Law School Plan Given Greenlight

Today the Massachusetts Board of Education approved plans for the creation of Massachusetts’ first public law school.  For more details, go here, here & here.

Topics: Legal Education; News & Events

GLAD Lawsuit Challenges Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

On March 3, 2009, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Boston challenging the denial of federal benefits to married same-sex couples (Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management et al., case number: 1:2009cv10309). The lawsuit targets Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). For more details go here & here. Also, take a look at GLAD’s case overview.

Topics: Gender & Sexuality Law; News & Events

Massachusetts Law Firm Layoffs

For more details about the recent layoffs that have effected many local firms check out the following articles:

Goodwin/Proctor

McDermott Will & Emery

Nixon Peabody

Ropes and Gray

For a running tally of Massachusetts law firm layoffs check out Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly‘s news blog.

Topics: Legal Education; News & Events

Study Ranks State High Courts

For more details, read the Choi (NYU), Gulati (Duke) & Posner (UChicago) article that was recently posted to SSRN: Which States Have the Best and Worst High Courts?

Topics: News & Events