Word: legalism
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Although a lower-court jury cleared Publisher Larry Flynt of libel because the statements were so ridiculous that no one took them as fact, it awarded Falwell $200,000 for his "emotional distress." Despite Hustler's sleazy nature, other publications have joined in support of the appeal. Reason: the legal concept of "emotional distress" might allow public figures to sue the authors of any critical commentary based on their hurt feelings rather than the press's wrongdoing. A ruling is expected by next July...
...committee, designed to review the bill for typographical and legal errors, includes two other members, State Sen. Robert C. Buell (R-Boxford) and State Sen. Anna P. Buckley (D-Brockton), both opponents of the Gay Rights proposal...
Even so, a more competitive environment has other firms adopting similar methods. Major banks and corporations once sent most of their lucrative legal work to a single outside firm. In the 1970s, many began shifting basic chores to in-house legal staffs. When they do go outside these days, they often shop around, using firms on a deal-to-deal basis. After a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the right of lawyers to advertise, once reticent partnerships became increasingly willing to toot their own horns. In the unaccustomed clangor of competition, the bonds of collegiality that held a firm...
...offering a package of six partners from another firm with a promise of $10 million of business," says Chairman Alex Forger of Manhattan's Milbank, Tweed. Meanwhile, by publicizing balance sheets and pay scales throughout the profession, aggressive trade publications like the American Lawyer, the National Law Journal and Legal Times have awakened ambitious attorneys to the greener pastures they might enter by jumping to a rival firm. Says Jonathan Spivak, who heads a Washington legal search firm: "It's like baseball. You go where the money...
Those high starting salaries, along with big premiums for the rainmakers, are adding to the tab for clients. Ward Bower of the legal consulting firm Altman & Weil reports that rates have been soaring, to as much as $350 an hour this year for a full partner (up from about $300 last year) and as much as $100 for work done by the newest associates. To control costs, some firms have | created a new second-tier position, sometimes called staff attorney. Often recruited from less prestigious schools and hired at bargain salaries, these lawyers handle the grunt tasks. Unlike regular associates...