Hulk Hogan claims in a lawsuit that a character named “Hulk Boulder” in a cartoon commercial for Cocoa Pebbles is a misappropriation of his likeness. In the commercial, a blond Hulk Boulder with a mustache takes on Flintstones characters in a wrestling match, according to stories in the Hollywood Reporter, the Tampa Tribune and the New York Times blog Arts Beat. He makes short shrift of Fred and Barney, but is no match for Bam-Bam. According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Tampa, the commercial ends as Hulk "is shown humiliated and cracked into pieces with broken teeth,…

The American Bar Association is opposing a provision in a House defense bill that authorizes the Pentagon inspector general to investigate lawyers for Guantanamo detainees for suspected misconduct that interferes with operations there. The measure requires an investigation of military or civilian lawyers when there is a reasonable suspicion that a lawyer violated Pentagon policy, generated a “material risk” to a service member, violated a law within the inspector general’s jurisdiction, or “interfered with the operations” of the military prison at Guantanamo, according to the New York Times and the National Law Journal. Under the provision, investigators would have to…

Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal has notified the U.S. Supreme Court that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons supplied incorrect information about six juvenile prisoners that was cited in a recent landmark decision on juvenile sentencing. The Supreme Court ruled on May 17 in Graham v. Florida that a sentence of life in prison without parole is cruel and unusual punishment for juveniles who have not been charged with murder. The majority opinion by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy cited this statistic: "There are six convicts in the federal prison system serving life without parole sentences for [juvenile] non-homicide crimes.” Not true,…

A New York lawyer has filed a $100,000 lawsuit against a pricey matchmaker over what he says were unsuitable pairings. John Friedland, 51, says in his suit that dating service Amy Laurent International refused to return his $10,000 fee when he complained about his matches, the New York Daily News reports. The article describes Friedland as a “lovelorn lawyer” and Laurent as a “love guru” whose website features photos of beautiful women in sexy poses. According to the story, Friedland alleged that his matches were already involved with other men, weren't "suitable" to his goals or wouldn't consider “someone of…

An adviser to Hollywood actors and Court TV founder Steven Brill has been accused of using investment money to live lavishly, while diverting control of some of the funds to a partner in a prominent law firm and a national political official. Manhattan moneyman Kenneth I. Starr—no relation to the independent counsel-turned-law- and college dean—was hiding in a closet when federal agents arrested him on Thursday in the alleged $30 million Ponzi scheme, according to stories in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and Reuters. He was charged in a criminal complaint filed by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney…

The culture is changing at Cravath, Swaine & Moore as partners in their 30s and 40s are handling high-profile work that once would have gone to older lawyers. The older generation of lawyers was on board with the “sea change,” the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports, partly because their pay wasn’t cut when work went to the younger partners. “Founded in 1819 and home to about 500 lawyers, Cravath for years was content serving its blue-chip client base, including the likes of CBS Corp. and International Business Machines Corp.,” the story says. “An old joke about Cravath said business…

A Nashville songwriter declared mentally disabled in October 2007 and committed to a psychiatric ward has regained legal control of his affairs after an expensive battle. Songwriter Danny Tate didn’t have a lawyer and he wasn’t in court when Judge Randy Kennedy first found him disabled because of his drug addiction in an emergency hearing, the Associated Press reports. Kennedy ruled for Tate on Monday after seeing proof that he had been drug-free for nine months. Tate admits he was addicted to crack cocaine but says he still was able to manage his affairs, the story says. His brother David,…

You can get the Supreme Court’s top constitutional law cases at your fingertips with a new iPhone app called PocketJustice. The free version has abstracts of the court’s top 100 constitutional decisions, while the version that costs $4.99 has information on more than 600 cases, according to Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites. The cases argued or decided since October 1955 also include links to the oral argument audio. A press release on the free app says features also include access to the text opinions, visual representations of the justices’ votes, searches across data fields, and auto updating of cases and case data.…

A memo issued last week by attorney general Eric Holder to prosecutors issued new guidelines giving prosecutors more flexibility in charging decisions and sentencing recommendations, saying that "equal justice depends on individualized justice." The memo (PDF provided by Sentencing Law and Policy) was submitted to the U.S. Sentencing Commission for its Washington hearing today, the Blog of Legal Times reported. Prior memos from past attorneys general in the Bush administration required prosecutors to advocate sentences within the advisory guidelines and charge the most serious offenses; Holder's memo gives prosecutors some leeway and urges them to be mindful that race, gender…

Morris Manning & Martin’s summer associates should expect a full load of substantive work this summer. But extravagant social events are a thing of the past. That's according to the Atlanta-based firm's managing partner Louise Wells, who tells the ABA Journal that the newest recruits were also cautioned that permanent positions won’t be a sure-thing. Indeed, they've been advised that these last-minute summer positions at the firm are more akin to legal-training opportunities and potential resume-boosters, rather than a track to full-time employment. At least for now. The firm, which announced it offered positions to nine law students this week…