Neuroscientist Jim Fallon was already studying the brains and DNA samples from seven family members, as a personal project to determine relatives' risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. So unexpected news from his mother that multiple possible killers were in his family tree was a bonanza of potential behavioral research, reports the Wall Street Journal in a lengthy page-one article. Among those to whom the University of California faculty member is related is Lizzie Borden, a distant cousin who was famously acquitted in the 1890s of the ax murders of her father and stepmother. Opportunities to study known violent criminals are…

Although he pleaded guilty in 1992 to misdemeanor cocaine use two years earlier, Terry Nolan didn't realize he had a substance abuse problem. He stopped drinking, for good, in 1998, the Michigan defense attorney tells the Muskegon Chronicle. But, fueled with the funds brought in by his successful law practice, he kept using cocaine intermittently. His 17-year marriage ended in 2001 with a divorce. A felony drug charge in 2002 eventually led to the suspension of his law license, Chapter 7 bankruptcy and a six-month jail term for probation violation. In 2003, he was virtually living out of his car.…

At least one well-known institution has reportedly found a way to cut the cost of law school for graduates who pursue public interest careers, and another is going to follow suit. In a plan that dovetails with a new federal program that allows public interest lawyers to pay only 10 percent of their income toward their student loans, Georgetown University Law Center has agreed to cover that 10 percent, reports WAMU. After 10 years, under the federal program, the student loan debt is forgiven. Philip Schrag, a law professor who created Georgetown's program, says the University of California's Berkeley School…

Citing a new federal law that allows the government to withhold photographs of detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq reportedly being abused by their United States captors, the nation's top court has overturned an appellate court ruling agreeing with the American Civil Liberties Union that the Pentagon must make the images public. In a brief order issued today, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded the case to the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and told it to reconsider the release of the photos under the Freedom of Information Act in light of the new law, according to the…

Last year, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz promoted six attorneys to partner. This year, despite being the most profitable firm in the country, it named only two new partners this month. And it's far from alone in reducing its ownership ranks. Many BigLaw firms are promoting fewer associates to partner this year, in response to the economic downturn, reports the New York Law Journal. Among those taking a more cautious approach, promotions are down 25 percent at Latham & Watkins, which named 23 new partners this year, and Ropes & Gray, with eight, cut its new partners by one-third, compared…

A New York judge has wiped out $525,000 in mortgage debt for a couple, saying the bank misled him about the amount at stake and refused to work with the homeowners to modify the loan. The judge, Jeffrey Spinner, canceled the mortgage, interest and penalties after finding that the actions of the bank and its mortgage servicer were "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive,” according to the New York Post, Newsday (sub. req.) and CNN. The couple had represented themselves. The judge’s ruling leaves Diane Yano-Horoski and her husband, Greg Horoski, without any debt on their interest-only mortgage. Spinner’s “scathing” ruling…

A news report on the bleak job market for law grads is filled with numbers illustrating the problems. The law school at the University of Texas at Austin reported a 45 percent drop in on-campus interviews, ABC News reports. At Harvard, the percentage of employers participating in law student recruitment is down by 20 percent. At New York University, Georgetown and Northwestern law schools, on-campus interviews have dropped by a third to a half. Meanwhile, law firms have cut summer associate programs by as much as 30 percent to 50 percent, according to the National Association of Law Placement. Deferred…

The couple that crashed a state dinner at the White House had an elaborate wedding with a well-known guest speaker: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. The Washington Post reports that Kennedy was a wedding speaker, but the website TPMMuckraker says it has been unable to confirm the couple’s claim that Kennedy was there. Tareq and Michaele Salahi had 1,800 guests at their wedding, and are known as a fun-loving couple who like to seek the spotlight, according to the Washington Post. But they have also been embroiled in a number of civil suits alleging nonpayment for services and…

A law graduate denied bar admission because of unpaid student loans saw another setback earlier this month, when a New York appeals court refused to reconsider its decision in the case. On Nov. 19, the court refused Robert Bowman’s motion for reconsideration, the New York Times reports. Bowman’s student debt, including penalties and fees, now stands at $480,000, according to an opinion (PDF) explaining the decision. “His application demonstrates a course of action amounting to neglect of financial responsibilities with respect to the student loans he has accumulated since 1983,” the decision says. “His recalcitrance in dealing with the lenders…

A legal group advocating traditional family values has filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission over Adam Lambert’s provocative performance at the televised American Music Awards. The complaint (PDF) by Liberty Counsel says Lambert’s Nov. 22 performance included simulated sex, “suggestive crotch grabbing” and “homosexual open-mouth kissing,” according to a press release. The group says the performance was obscene and indecent, and the FCC should take action against ABC for broadcasting it. In an appearance last week on The Early Show on CBS, Liberty counsel founder Mat Staver criticized ABC for airing the segment, according to a law school…