Featured Articles

What Makes Judges Popular with Lawyers: Effort

Philip Thomas
April 14, 2011 13:11

Being a judge has one thing in common with legal blogging: you can't always make everyone happy. But despite the fact that every time judges rule they are ruling against one side or the other, some judges are more popular than others.  Why is that? I think that the main factor that...

Book Review: All the Justice Money Can Buy: Corporate Greed on Trial, by Snigdha Prakash

Philip Thomas
August 22, 2011 11:00

All the Justice Money Can Buy is Snigdha Prakash's book about a Mark Lanier trial in the Vioxx litigation against Merck. I stumbled across the book on Amazon and decided to give it a read. Lanier is a high-profile trial lawyer from Texas who has a very successful record. The book contains a...

American Greed, A&O Life Style, Results in Lengthy Prison Sentences

Philip Thomas
July 25, 2011 14:01

On Friday the hammer fell for five men who pleaded guilty in the A&O Life life insurance fraud scheme. Here is a good A.P. article on the sentencing as printed in the Houston Chronicle. The article describes the scam: "The impact of this massive fraud on many of A&O's investor...

My Thoughts on HBO's 'Hot Coffee' Documentary about Tort Reform

Philip Thomas
June 29, 2011 14:22

I watched the HBO documentary Hot Coffee on Monday night. Here are a few random thoughts. The Mississippians in the documentary were superb. Former Miss. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz, Jackson attorney Rob McDuff, former Miss. Supreme Court Justice Chuck McRae and author...

My Take on the Prosecution's Wild Pitch in the Roger Clemens Perjury Trial

Philip Thomas
July 18, 2011 11:00

The mistrial in the Roger Clemens perjury trial last week was stunning. The cause of the mistrial was that the prosecution played video tape of Congressional testimony that contained hearsay and had already been ruled inadmissible. Here is a link to a Washington Post article discussing...

Where Will Bottom be for Law School Graduate Hiring Rates?

Philip Thomas
July 12, 2011 11:00

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal contained this article about law schools changing course offerings in an effort to help students get jobs after graduating. The article states: Law schools are responding by infusing a practical focus into their curricula that, in many cases, have not changed in...

What Counts as a Job in Law School Graduate Job Statistics?

Philip Thomas
May 18, 2011 11:00

Saturday's Clarion-Ledger had this article about all the law school graduates with no jobs. MC Law Dean Jim Rosenblatt had this circumspect quote in the article: “This economy makes for a tougher job market, but our students work very hard," MC Law Dean Jim Rosenblatt said. The article...

Mississippi Should Consider Jury Reforms Similar to Those Adopted in Michigan

Philip Thomas
July 21, 2011 11:00

A few weeks ago the Wall Street Journal Law Blog wrote about jury reforms adopted by the State of Michigan. Here is the article.  Here is a link to the actual reforms that the Michigan Supreme Court adopted. Key provisions in the Michigan reforms include: before evidence is...

Book Review: You Can't Teach Hungry- Creating the Multimillion Dollar Law Firm, by John Morgan

Philip Thomas
July 05, 2011 13:00

You Can't Teach Hungry is John Morgan's self-described how-to guide for building the multi-million dollar law firm. Morgan is the founder of the Morgan & Morgan personal injury law firm that has developed a national footprint. The firm lists eleven lawyers in its Jackson office, which...

Lawsuit Against Law Schools Would Look Something Like.....This Case

Philip Thomas
May 31, 2011 11:00

When I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago I could not locate a recently filed lawsuit against a law school based on deceptive marketing of graduates' job prospects. But last week the ABA Journal reported on a case filed by a former student against the Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Here is a...