Demonstrators picketed their Greenwich Village home. Bullets came in the mail. Their father opened packages in the basement lest they contained explosives. It was all part of growing up for the daughters of charismatic defense attorney William Kunstler, who became a magnet for protesters after he successfully represented El-Sayyid Nosair for the 1990 assassination of Israeli extremist politician Meir Kahane. Kunstler’s wife, Margaret Ratner Kunstler, had begged him to turn down the case, to no avail. “We thought he was going to be killed,” remembers daughter Emily. Nosair wasn’t Kunstler’s only unpopular client. He also took on near-universally reviled characters…

Andrea Goldman, Leanna Hamill and Fred Bauerlein are alone, but they’re not unique. Like thousands of their colleagues across the country, they are solo practitioners struggling to make ends meet. Bauerlein’s criminal defense practice and Goldman’s construction law specialty took huge hits from the economy, and by the late summer of 2009 their efforts to rebuild hadn’t borne fruit. Hamill, who specializes in estate planning and elder law, hadn’t been able to comprehend her practice’s month-to-month battle for profitability. To help these solos understand where they’ve gone astray and get their practices on track, we asked practice management consultants Jerry…

Almost every week, from the late 1980s until his death from thyroid cancer in 2005, U.S. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist was in touch with Herman J. Obermayer, a former editor and publisher of the Northern Virginia Sun daily newspaper. Late in their lives, after a chance encounter on a tennis court, the two became the best of friends. This unlikely association between the journalist and the justice gave Obermayer a unique window into a very private man. Bill Rehnquist’s public demeanor and appearance were best described as unexceptional. Good-looking but not movie-star handsome, he stood out in a crowd…

The Federal Trade Commission says it will appeal a federal judge's decision upholding the American Bar Association's position that the so-called Red Flags Rule doesn't apply to lawyers. The FTC filed a notice of appeal yesterday in the District of Columbia case, reports the Blog of Legal Times. The case is of import not only because it would require law firms, if the FTC prevails, to implement anti-fraud measures imposed on all "creditors" but because it would expand federal power to regulate lawyers. In a written statement, ABA President Carolyn B. Lamm says: "We are disappointed that the Federal Trade…

Although a U.S. Department of Justice report last week recommended no sanctions be pursued against two lawyers who authored controversial terrorism memos, that doesn't appear to be the final answer as far as a number of federal lawmakers are concerned. Senior Democrats are joining with Republicans in calling for further inquiry into e-mails and other information related to the legal ethics case against John Yoo and Jay Bybee say, according to the Washington Post. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today, the chairman, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), asked that Yoo's e-mails be examined, reports the Blog of Legal Times. Meanwhile…

A New York University law professor who refused to remove a critical book review from a website is facing accusations of libel in a French criminal court. Law professor Joseph Weiler says he’s confident he will be acquitted, but he’s appealing for “moral and material assistance” to help fight the case, Times Higher Education reports. Weiler is editor-in-chief of the European Journal of International Law. The review of the book about the International Criminal Court appeared in 2007 on a website he edits that is associated with EJIL. The review written by the law dean at the University of Cologne…

In a developing series of new investigations related to the prior conduct of a biology professor accused of shooting three colleagues to death and wounding three others at a faculty meeting at the University of Alabama at Huntsville earlier this month, at least three unrelated probes are now being conducted in which Amy Bishop's conduct reportedly may play a role. In addition to the shootings this month, in which Bishop has been charged with capital murder and attempted murder, the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston is also conducting a "thorough review" of a 1993 incident. It involved two unexploded bombs…

A former BigLaw partner who now works as a legal recruiter is reflecting on what he’s learned about law practice now that he has reached his 50th birthday. Among his lessons: Don’t hold happiness hostage. Writing for the Legal Intelligencer, Frank Michael D’Amore says he often asks lawyers whether they are happy in what they are doing. He is increasingly getting this type of answer: I’ll be happier when I make partner. I’ll be happy if I get this new client. I’ll be happier when I make more money. I’ll be happy when this trial is over. These lawyers are…

A former Air Force intelligence officer thought something was amiss when the Federal Express package delivered to his door was wrapped in Styrofoam, foam insulation, duct tape, plastic wrap and coffee grounds. Eric Anderson, now a faculty member at the National Intelligence University, unwrapped the package anyway. He discovered 33 pounds of marijuana with a street value of about $120,000, the Washington Post reports. His wife, Melanie Sloan, also at home at the time, is a former federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia. She is currently director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics. Both live in Washington, D.C. Narcotics…