Monday, July 21, 2003 at 8:48AM I had a great time with Jonas yesterday morning just before heading off to the airport. His tag line now reads like a Swiss Army millenium edition promo: "Rambles from a guy wielding a gun, a motion to suppress, and a compiler."
Monday, July 21, 2003 at 7:59AM Michael Hiltzik writes about lawyer abuse of California's unfair business practices law in the Business Section of today's Los Angeles Times ("Consumer-Protection Law Abused in Legal Shakedown"):
One thing on which both sides agree is that Section 17200 is unique in the nation. It allows any Californian to sue a business for wrongdoing on behalf of the general public even if no one, including the plaintiff, has been personally injured. All that is necessary to state a 17200 claim is an assertion of unfair or deceptive business practices....
[T]here's no guarantee that any particular reform will cure some lawyers of the impulse to "take advantage of their education to intimidate unsophisticated people," in the words of Michael Nisperos, the State Bar's chief prosecutor, who handled the case against the Trevor attorneys. "I don't know if there's a real cure for greed and stupidity, and that's what you really need."
New on my law firm's site is a "special topic" on Section 17200 litigation and our specialists in the defense of these claims.
*Bonus points for General Disarray's real name. (Answer here.)
Monday, July 21, 2003 at 7:31AM C.E. Petit sends up a thought balloon: "Send copyright matters to the Federal Circuit, too."
Sunday, July 20, 2003 at 10:13AM Good to see that the Pixar parking lot is (almost) deserted early on a sunny Sunday.
Saturday, July 19, 2003 at 3:32PM Wow! The Woodfin Suite Hotel in Emeryville is convenient to Berkeley, Oakland and S.F., priced at from $130-$200/night for new, clean, spacious, attractive, suite-style rooms (ask for one facing the Bay), and the price includes:
During the week (M-Th) the place also has happy hour 5-7 in its Big Sur room on the first floor, with complimentary drinks and hors d'oevres. My meeting earlier today was at the Claremont where I'm suddenly glad not to be staying; a Bay Area landmark to be sure, but dial-up only at well over twice the price.
