To our loyal readers, posts will crawl to a minimum now that I am studying for finals.  Enjoy the NBA playoffs.

Please remember that the information in this blog is NOT LEGAL ADVICE. It is provided for EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY. If you need legal advice regarding a criminal matter, please contact a licensed attorney.

Duke won the national championship last night, but similar to the Baylor game, this one was not without a late-game, controversial offensive foul.  I have been looking for the video online but cannot find it.  Late in the game (I think there were a little over a minute left),  Gordon Hayward (who I am surprised he does not play for Duke since he is white and good) drove to the basket and was undercut by one of the Duke guys (Singler or Scheyer).  Hayward ended up making the shot for the and 1, but the refs ruled it was a charge…even though the defenders legs were still moving and even though he was directly under the basket.  Those two, if not three points (Hayward had not missed a free-throw all night) would have been the difference in the game.

While you cannot file this one under the TV ratings conspiracy theory, this may fall under the conspiracy theory involving the NCAA wanting BCS teams to win national championships.  However, that is even pretty far out there for me to buy into.  Maybe, as a life-long tar heels fan, I really did not want to see Duke win.  However, they had a great team and hats off to them and Coach K.

I stumbled upon this while looking for the Hayward charge video.  It is “One Shining Moment” sans Jennifer Hudson.  Someone who could not win American Idol should not be singing the best montage in sports.  Take it away Luther Vandross:

Call it a wild conspiracy theory, but I believe the charge called on Acey was a “David Stern”-like ploy to get ratings happy Duke into the Final Four.

“The selection committee knew the NCAA is in the process of deciding whether to opt out of the final three years (2011-13) of its 11-year, $6 billion contract with CBS. If the contract is put on the open market, it is smart (TV) business to attempt to maximize – big-time – the 2010 tourney’s ratings.”  NY Daily News (commenting on why Duke was given the easiest regional bracket).

Clearly Zoubek did not have position and Baylor was posed to take over before the “and 1″ was taken away.

You make the call:

d. Attorney Conference

The attorney conference should take about 5 minutes. It takes place after the client has left. It gives the attorneys a chance to talk about the issues without the client present.

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c. Ending

The ending of the client consultation is where you need to cross your t’s and dot your i’s. Unlike the middle of the round, here the attorneys should be doing most of the talking. Attorneys should be making sure that anything the client wanted addressed in their consolation is addressed.

i.  Catering to the client’s needs

After an attorney has “looped” a clients narrative back to them, it is time to make sure the client is satisfied with the meeting. This can be accomplished by asking questions like “based on our conversation today, do you have any other questions for us?”. Or “Is there any question you have that we have not addressed?”. These questions make sure you satisfy the client by directly asking them if they are satisfied, instead of just guessing. Continue reading »

Some background on the case:

Facts: The General Allotment Act of 1887 gave each male Sioux head of household 320 acres of land and most other individuals 160 acres. Act provided that the allotted land would be held in trust by the US. Rather than farm the land, the Sioux leased the land to white farmers and lived off of the rentals. But, over time, there was a great fractionation of interests on land; therefore, a small piece of land was owned by hundreds of people. This made a bookkeeping nightmare when distributing rents to the owner. With § 207 of the Land Consolidation Act, Congress tried to say than no fractional interest of less than 2% could pass by intestacy or devise; but instead escheat to the tribe.

Issue: Does the “escheat” provision of the Indian Land Consolidation Act affect a taking of property without just compensation?

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For those of you that have been following, I have been very busy the past week writing my 90 page legal comment for my law journal. It will be done tomorrow and then I will be posting like mad. Thanks for the patience.

A little G&R to get you through your day

Thanks to a car commercial, Major Tom by Peter Schilling has been appearing on the radio more than usual lately.  What I didn’t know is that that the song was originally recorded in German.  The song became an international hit after it was translated into English .  This video is great for so many reasons: intense Germans, weird space suits, and ET even makes a cameo.  Man I wish I was alive for more of the 80’s. Enjoy:

crazy German

crazy crossover

b.  The Middle

The middle of the interview is actually the longest segment. It is also the portion where the client will do the most talking. Although, as an attorney, you are going to need to ask follow up questions and explain the law to the client, you really want them telling you everything they can. The more the client talks, the more information you have to work with to make informed decisions.

i.  “Seven Second Rule”

When I worked as an LSAT teacher at Kaplan, they taught us something called the seven second rule. This is where you ask Continue reading »