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In a final round of questions, Alan Schnurman reveals what maybe his own children did not know. With the help of the famous interviewer Bernard Pivot and his questionnaire, Alan answers the tough questions, like his favorite sound or alternative profession considerations. To see Alan's other interviews and courses go to Lawline.com and The Legal Beat.

ABC had its debut this past week of the The Deep End,  a new television series about first year associates at Sterling Law, a top Los Angeles Law Firm. That’s about all the time I’m going to take delving into the shallow depths of its plot. Instead, I’m just going to list off reasons why if you missed the first episode, you should consider yourself lucky.

1. Everybody is sexy. Apparently the law schools these first-years recently graduated from based their enrollments on aesthetic qualities and time spent at the gym.

2. Everybody is witty. Every character says the perfect line, with perfect diction, and with no delay. It makes me feel like hiding behind my computer, writing blog posts complaining about my inferiorities, and wishing I could accomplish such a feat.

3. I did not hear one piece of legal knowledge in the episode. The most legal term was “pro-bono.”

4. The group of first-years takes “victory shots” after a good day at work.

5. I heard the word “totally” more than any other word. Was this an episode of Dawson’s Creek? It totally could have been.

6. These characters went to top-ranked law schools and passed the California Bar. Really? Totally.

7. Everybody is sexy AND they eat very large cupcakes at work. Combine this with victory shots and the character's wittiness, and now I really just want to hide in a corner.

Billy Zane does star in the show as a competitive head-honcho at the law firm, and his dealing with young the attorneys is at least a comic relief, so that is one plus to the show. However, it doesn’t make up for the rest of the over-dramatization and unrealistic realm presented as an actual daily life in a competitive law firm. The only thing I see coming out of this series is a wave of high school and college graduates applying to law school, only to realize that books are actually involved somewhere in the process.
 

From Aha! Jokes

Whereas, on an occasion immediately preceding the Nativity festival,throughout a dwelling unit, quiet descended, in which could be heard no disturbance, not even the sound emitted by a diminutive rodent related to, and in form resembling, a rat; and

Whereas, the offspring of the occupants had affixed their tubular, closely knit coverings for the nether limbs to the flue of the fireplace in expectation that a personage known as St.Nicholas would arrive; and

Whereas, said offspring had become somnolent, and were entertaining re: saccharine-flavored fruit; and

Whereas, the adult male of the family, et ux, attired in proper headgear, had also become quiescent in anticipation of nocturnal inertia; and

Whereas, a distraction on the snowy acreage outside aroused the owner to investigate; and

Whereas, he perceived in a most unbelieving manner a vehicle propelled by eight domesticated quadrupeds of a species found in arctic regions; and

Whereas, a most odd rotund gentleman was entreating the aforesaid animals by their appellations, as follows:

"Your immediate co-operation is requested. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen; and collective action by you will be much appreciated, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen"; and

Whereas, subsequent to the above, there occurred a swift descent to the hearth by the aforementioned gentleman, where he proceeded to deposit gratuities in the aforementioned tubular coverings.

Now, therefore, be ye advised: that upon completion of these acts, and upon his return to his original point of departure, he proclaimed a felicitation of the type prevalent and suitable to these occasions, i.e.:
 

The above was provided by Aha! Jokes and can be found at http://www.ahajokes.com/acmas.html

Ringtones, popular among music lovers of all sorts, are everywhere.  Just walking down the street, I hear snatches of songs emanating from cell phones everywhere. As the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) would have it, I am being treated to a concert every time I hear a ringtone.

On Wednesday, October 14^th, a federal judge ruled on a case brought against Verizon and AT&T by ASCAP, seeking to collect performance rights for the playing of a ringtone. ASCAP’s argument was founded on the basis that copyright infringement begins when others can hear a song played in public; therefore the download fees already paid by cell phone providers is not sufficient.

This argument was rejected by US District Judge Denise Cote, who ruled that: “ASCAP has failed to raise a question of fact that the downloading of a ringtone from Verizon to a customer’s cellular telephone is a public performance of a musical work”. The case, while legally a long shot, establishes an important precedent: that playing music in public, without any commercial purpose, does not infringe copyright, a standard that will protect consumers in the future.

     The king of pop may have passed away, but his legacies will continue to live on.  His music will forever keep people of all ages, from teenagers to great grandmothers, on the dance floor.  Young performers will always attempt to imitate the ground-breaking dance moves that caused Michael to revolutionize pop music.  He is the Elvis of our generation, and like Elvis, his legacy will resonate with generations to come.  It’s hard, however, to separate Michael from his second legacy, which will also continue to live on, his legal troubles.   In the past decade these troubles overshadowed his talent and tainted his image as an entertainer.
   
   From the molestation charges to his recent bankruptcy problems, Jackson made the news more often for legal issues than for anything else.  It is estimated that he died with a debt of $400 million dollars.  This is sure to raise issues for whoever actually inherits the assets that he did hold onto–such as publishing rights to over 250 songs from the Beatles catalog, and music compositions from his own catalog.  The Wall Street Journal reports that Michael also had outstanding litigation from former concert promoters, managers, and auction houses.

     The “Bitter Lawyer” has listed the Top Ten Lawyers that have represented Michael Jackson.  Third on the list is Lawline.com faculty member, Benjamin Brafman.  Brafman appeared on CNN the day after Michael’s death where he recounted his experience with Michael.   The AM Law Daily reports that, “The singer’s ‘naivete’ about the legal process shocked Brafman, who told Cooper he was even more surprised when Jackson collapsed onto his shoulder and began “sobbing hysterically” after the blunt New York lawyer informed him of the seriousness of the molestation charges. When Brafman put his hand on Jackson’s back to console him, all he felt was bones.”  

           Brafman also said that after interacting with Michael, he had a sense that “he was not going to live to be an old man.”  He later went on, “He was so thin that you had to believe that the pain was real and you could see in the -- in his speech pattern. Sometimes they were halting that there was a pain that enveloped him. Whether it was real, whether it was psychological, I don't know. I'm not trained in that regard but I worried about Michael Jackson a lot.”  To read a transcript of Brafman’s appearance go here.

       Since his unfortunate death last week, his image as a performer has been revitalized.  Radio playlists and charts are saturated with his songs, MTV and VH1 have been playing marathons of his music videos, and millions of people have been streaming his performances on YouTube.  It is clear that his legacy as an entertainer will survive.   His legal troubles, however, will also continue to surface, and will probably become even messier.

Here at Lawline.com we are in the CLE business.  And around the legal community, we know that CLE stands for Continuing Legal Education.  But, just like any other acronym, it can be fun to think about what else CLE could stand for.

Inspired by a post to Twitter by a lawyer who clearly did not like his most recent CLE course, we decided to make the acronym the focus of this week’s Twitter contest.  Come up with the most unique, interesting, funny, etc. phrase that CLE could stand for.  Then, to enter the contest, post it to Twitter with the hash tag #Lawline.  You can only win if you use that hash tag.

Example: CLE is Critical Legal Endorsements #Lawline

At the end of the week, we will pick our favorite one and that person will win a free year of CLE with us.  Enter as many times as you want.

Good luck.

Here is a fun fact…Venues, such as bars, concert halls, dance clubs, and lounges that broadcast are required to pay licensing fees to performing rights organizations.   That's right; the song can't be played simply because the DJ owns the album.  The venue needs licensing rights.  The performing rights organizations generally give a blanket license to venues which gives them the legal right to broadcast almost any relevant song. 

It's no surprise that the general public isn't aware of this, but it becomes a problem when a venue owner is unacquainted with this fact.  The blog from the Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark is reporting that a Providence bar is facing charges for failing to pay for any of the music it broadcast over the course of sixteen years.

The owner of the bar says he wasn't aware that he had to pay to license the recordings to avoid the copyright charges.  The organization bringing charges is the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, otherwise known as ASCAP.  ASCAP provides the licensing to venues for a certain fee (decided depending upon particular venue) and then award the copyright holders (usually the writers or composers) based upon their statistics of how often their copyrighted material was played. 

In today's age, it is normal for a popular music album to be "leaked" onto the internet a couple of weeks early.  The common vibe from the music industry is angst towards the pre-release leak, but some speculate that, in reality, the record companies are usually the ones who initiate the leak in hopes of receiving feedback.

You never really hear of music artists complaining about leaks because if there is a strong demand, it proves there is a desire from consumers, and the record usually sells anyway.  However this past summer, when Kevin Cogill posted nine songs from the latest Guns N' Roses album, "Chinese Democracy,"  on his blog, they were not happy.  The FBI soon arrested the blogger who at one point faced up to three years in prison under the young Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005.  After gaining support from the online music community, Cogill was able to afford his own attorney, David Kaloyanides.  This week, Kaloyanides succeeded in getting Cogill to face only a year of probation with a plea bargain that's due to take place next month.

Lead guitarist, Slash has said he hopes "he rots in jail. It's going to affect the sales of the record, and it's not fair. The Internet is what it is, and you have to deal with it accordingly, but I think if someone goes and steals something, its theft."  While he appears infuriated, Guns N Roses also released a statement saying their main intent was to find out the source of the material that reached Cogill.  The lower sentencing probably has to do with the revealing of the source. 

The Roger Clemens steroid issue is one that is on the minds of people all over the country.  The only thing that is getting more coverage in the media these days are the primaries, so both baseball fans and non-fans alike are constantly bombarded with the latest information regarding his investigation.  One side that you rarely see is that of Clemens lawyers.  What are they going through?  What are their responsibilities to Roger Clemens?  What are their responsibilities to the law?

Recently, we filmed a new CLE course based on the Clemens investigation entitled, “Ethical Issues with Roger Clemens and other High Profile Clients.”  The course covers what the lawyers can and should do when presented with a client who wants to fight a very public, career damaging charge.  Speakers Joel Cohen, Gerald Shargel, Carol Zeigler, and Ivan Fisher cover the entire spectrum of the Roger Clemens matter in order to further explain the professional responsibilities of the criminal defense attorneys.

Below, please find a short clip from the presentation.  Watch for the course, “Ethical Issues with Roger Clemens and other High Profile Clients”, which is coming soon to the Lawline.com course catalog.

We are now officially more than halfway through the football season and the NFL playoffs are starting to take shape.  There has been some incredible action already and it is sure to continue down the stretch.  Here at Lawline.com, we like to take a look at everything from a lawyerly point of view.  In that regard, here is a special Friday Five look at some interesting football related cases.  Enjoy. 

TOP 5 NFL LAWSUITS THAT NEVER HAPPENED

1)      GUS FEROTTE V. THE WALL.  I am sorry to say that I was at this game.  The Giants were on the road taking on the Redskins.  Gus Ferotte was the quarterback in Washington at the time (don’t ask me why), and he miraculously found the endzone on a short scramble to the outside.  But somehow, he didn’t know it was time to stop running and he gave the back wall a head butt.  And this act of stupidity sidelined him for the rest of the game and the next couple of weeks with a pinched nerve.  Now that I think about it, a better lawsuit would have been the fans vs. the players in this game, which featured a 7-7 tie and the NFL record for most punts.

2)      BILL GRAMATICA V. GRAVITY.  One half of the Gramatica brothers is a kicker, the other half was a kicker.  Bill was famed for jumping up in the air like an idiot to celebrate every field goal try that went successfully through the posts.  And most of the time it was how stupid he looked that would draw attention.  But one infamous day, his landing did not go as planned and he tore his ACL, sidelining him for the rest of the season and basically costing him his career in the NFL.  Oops.

3)      JOE THEISMAN V. LAWRENCE TAYLOR.  This one is difficult to talk about because it makes me think about the brutal image of Theisman’s leg being snapped in half when LT landed on it.  And even though it ended Joe’s career, I think it is more important for this one to be settled out of court.  Just for the simple reason that an entire court room would have to watch video evidence of that play over and over again.  Besides, LT has been in enough legal trouble over the years.

4)      LEON LETT V. DON BEEBE.  This case is a little more serious than the others.  The charge here is Grand Theft Pigskin.  When Don Bebee miraculously caught Leon Lett and knocked the ball away as he was dancing his way into the endzone, he stole the football, a touchdown, Leon’s dignity and his manhood.  Nobody (besides Bill Gramatica) has ever looked so stupid on a football field.  And this one was in a Super Bowl, so practically the entire country saw it.  Though I do feel bad, many defensive linemen never get a chance to score a touchdown.  So, it’s tough to say better luck next time.

5)    **  ’72 DOLPHINS V. ’07 PATRIOTS.  I put an asterisk next to this one because it is based on future events turning out as I predict.  The Patriots will most likely go undefeated this year, making only the second time in the history of the league that a team has done that.  And if I am not mistaken, the 1972 Miami Dolphins trademarked 17-0.  So I smell an infringement case brewing.

Since this was a fictional look at some lawsuits that did not, and could not happen, we realize we had to leave out some real law related issues surrounding football.  We apologize to Mike Vick, Pacman Jones, Orlando Brown (the guy who got blinded by a penalty flag thrown in his eye), and everyone being investigated for steroids.  Hopefully they are not too upset about not making the list.  Game on!