On a Sunday afternoon in October in New York City, a crowd is filing into the McNally Amphitheatre at Fordham University’s law school. There’s the expected assortment of law students and attorneys in attendance. But the 500 or so people in line also include media executives, retirees, 20-something computer programmers and—most strikingly—three women dressed in Mennonite outfits. All are there for the same reason: The chance to view Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men, along with an even rarer chance to hear U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor talk about the movie, its effect on her decision to become a…

When financial industry representatives initially talked about creating a national electronic system for registering who owned mortgages 16 years ago, the plan was to have a central depository of paper documents. But the Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems that was adopted left lenders responsible for safeguarding original deeds and notes. Similarly, the transparency that was central to the traditional system of recording mortgages at bricks-and-mortar county offices throughout the country was also eliminated, as MERS allowed lenders to save money—and avoid recording fees—by simply registering the transaction electronically when a mortgage was transferred to a new owner, the Washington Post explains…

With a new year about to begin, law firms throughout the country are participating in "safe ride" programs intended to help protect not only those who have celebrated a little too much but potential victims of drunk-driving accidents. Dozens are apparently doing so, including J. Colbert Injury Lawyers, in Oklahoma City. Partner John Colbert says the firm also has a St. Patrick's Day safe ride program. However, there is some lawyerly fine print in the offer, reports the Oklahoman. Among the caveats: Participants have to use the ride to go home, rather than to another bar. And while efforts will…

In what a prosecutor called a "badge of honor for Israeli democracy," a former president of the country has been convicted of rape by a three-judge panel of a Tel Aviv court and faces a likely prison term. Convicted of raping an employee in the 1990s while serving as minister of tourism in Israel and sexually harassing and abusing two others while subsequently serving as the country's president, Moshe Katsav is scheduled to be sentenced in January, reports the New York Times. Katsav looked shaken and made no comment as he left court today, but a son says his family…

Tried on ethics charges in an attorney disciplinary case because they allegedly didn't act quickly enough to investigate a then-partner's theft of some $300,000 from clients and the firm and notify Maine authorities in 2007, six Verrill Dana lawyers have been cleared. The lawyers, who were targeted for discipline because they were in charge of the law firm's operations, acted reasonably and in good faith based on what they then knew, said Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Donald Alexander in an opinion (PDF) yesterday, reports the Portland Press Herald. “When the true extent of [John] Duncan’s misconduct was revealed, they…

A Florida appeals court has given the green light to a class action against an embattled foreclosure king and his Plantation law firm alleging that it charged at least 2,000 homeowners excessive reinstatement fees. The 4th District Court of Appeal agreed with a state circuit court judge that the homeowners' complaints were best addressed in one lawsuit because their circumstances were so similar, reports the Palm Beach Post. "When I started the case in 2007, David Stern was the most powerful attorney representing lenders in state," says plaintiff's attorney Louis Silber. "People told me you will never get anywhere, this…

An English-language magazine published on the Internet by al-Qaida allegedly provided encouragement and bomb-making instructions that helped inspire nine men arrested on terrorism charges in the United Kingdom last week. Its first issue, in July, featured the article "Making a bomb in the kitchen of your mom," the Washington Post reports. Unlike the Arabic-language religious screeds featured by other jihadist websites, the magazine, called Inspire, is worrisome because it is designed to appeal to a broad global audience likely to understand English, according to terrorism specialist Mathieu Guidere of the University of Geneva. That the Bangladeshi suspects in the British…

Two law professors and a political science professor have created a new website to encourage those they see as having benefited unduly from recent tax legislation to give the extra money to charity. That is to say, the rich, reports the Wall Street Journal. The website, giveitbackforjobs.org, is intended both to make it easy for those with extra moolah to donate and to send a political message that they are doing so. Calling the tax cuts included in the legislation "unconscionable," professor Daniel Markovits of Yale Law School joined with a Yale University political science professor and a Cornell Law…

Majoring in Victorian poetry at Wesleyan University prepared him to do absolutely nothing, Evan Flaschen likes to joke. Until now. The Bracewell & Giuliani financial restructuring group chair agreed to oversee a firm-related law blog, but only if it could be unusual, reports the Connecticut Law Tribune in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.). The result was Basis Points, which, in addition to bankruptcy law posts, posts a new poem every week—either a haiku or other short poem—related to negotiations and lawyering. As one, entitled M&A, puts it: Insulting offerNasty press releases flyNew offer, deal done. "We…

A Pennsylvania lawyer who cooperated with federal authorities in a criminal case against a former state-court judge reportedly won't face any criminal charges himself. But Harry Cardoni has been temporarily suspended from law practice by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court based on his admission that he provided "certain items of value" to then-judge Michael Toole, reports the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader. Cardoni self-reported the conduct and jointly petitioned the supreme court with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, the article says. Toole is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in November to corruptly receiving a reward for official action and unrelated tax evasion. Earlier coverage:…