Prisons have vermin.

In case you were under the misapprehension that living with vermin is good for you, you should start reading this opinion around at page 6.

Some people really should know better.

If you google the phrase "computer forensics firms" google will give you about 2,540,000 results in .48 seconds. 

Some Pale Reflections of Jeffrey Toobin's Brilliance

Jeffrey Toobin, a noted Supreme Court expert and famed prognosticator, has an essay on the Obamacare case in the latest issue of The New Yorker. I have some thoughts in response to a few of his statements.

Sometimes the first thought is not the best thought.

If you ever find yourself accused of hitting, choking, and trying to gouge out the eyes of the child of your former law firm partner, you may wish to reconsider some of the decisions that got you to that point.  This is especially true when the best the lawyer defending you in the matter can say is that the encounter was a "huge misunderstanding." 

You know, because trying to gouge out a person's eyes is susceptible to more than one meaning.

Indiana attorneys should still not beat people up.

Back in December, we did a post on Olubunmi Okanlami, the Indiana attorney who was arrested and accused of beating up her boyfriend. Among the oddities of Ms. Okanlami's arrest was that she was wearing two bras at the time of her arrest and was carrying a switchblade in between the two bras.

Recently, Ms. Okanlami was found guilty of two felonies related to the incident (Indiana's online court records don't indicate whether Ms. Okanlami's case was actually tried or whether she entered into a plea agreement. Which ever the case, because Ms. Okanlami of the conviction, Ms. Okanlami will suspended from the practice of law effective in late October. The suspension will last until the Indiana Supreme Court decides on what further discipline, if any, is appropriate for Ms. Okanlami.

Under Rule 23(26) of the Indiana Rules for Admission to the Bar and Discipline of Attorneys, Ms. Okanlami must decline to undertake any new legal matters, notify her clients via certified mail of the suspension, find a new attorney for her clients during the suspension, and file an affidavit saying that she is complying with Rule 23(26). It cannot be any fun to have to do that. On the other hand I suppose her boyfriend didn't enjoy getting beaten up either.

Given the outcome, I think readers are well-advised to follow the advice in our initial post and not beat up their significant others.

Indiana attorneys should not beat people up.

One might think that one of the benefits of going to law school would be that law students learn the law and are thus able to avoid breaking it. Not everyone takes full advantage of that benefit. Take, for example, this former Kokomo, Indiana city attorney.

Effective Advocacy Doesn't Require You to be a Jackass.

Jason Brown recently wrote a post for JDs Rising, a blog for new lawyers in Minnesota, setting out why it pays to be courteous. While I don't agree with his contention that being a rebel or an outsider is synonymous with being a jerk, I do agree that there is no reason to be unpleasant to opposing counsel, their staff, or court staff. The last of these three categories cannot be stressed enough. There is no upside to being unpleasant to the court's support staff. Sometimes, that will get you sanctioned.