Fishtown Chili Cook-Off Smashing Success, Despite Lack Of Guatemalan Insanity Pepper

Fishtown Chili Cook-Off Smashing Success, Despite Lack Of Guatemalan Insanity Pepper

The Fishtown Neighbor’s Association 3rd Annual Chili Cookoff was a rousing success. And while our spicy three-bean & seitan vegan Occupy Chili didn’t win this year, we had a great time. Kudos to FNA for another job well done.

Plus Jordan had an excuse to wear his cheesesteak hat.

Read more at Phoodie.

Free Legal Advice of the Day — STOP TALKING ON AVVO.

Today’s legal pro-tip: If you are a criminal defendant, or a potential criminal defendant — SHUT UP.

Don’t talk on the internet, even if you get “free advice” from professionals on the internet. Guess what? DAs read Avvo.com too.

So if you’re a criminal defendant, or a potential criminal defendant, do the following:

1. Shut up.
2. Don’t post on about your case on the internet. This means Avvo, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Instagram, Grindr — WHATEVER.
3. Call an attorney immediately.
4. Did I mention SHUT UP?

Talking on the internet cannot help you. It can, and will, only hurt your case.

You hire a lawyer, you get someone who’ll be the only person between you and a prosecutor gunning for your head.

In the meantime SHUT UP. Free legal advice on the internet is worth what you pay for it. Except this advice. This advice might just save your ass.

h/t Charles Thomas for the link to the Avvo question that inspired this post.

Occupy Chili

The 3rd Annual Fishtown Neighbors Association Chili Cookoff is this Sunday, March 24 at 2424 Studios in Fishtown.

Be there, or eat less chili and drink less beer than your friends will that day.

Buy your tickets here.

Stop and Frisk in Philadelphia is Bullshit.

I was listening to my local NPR outlet this morning when a particular news story piqued my interest — the ACLU and Kairys Rudovsky Messing & Feinberg had just filed their Third Report to the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania regarding the monitoring of stop and frisk practices. I said to myself: “I need to get a copy of this report right away.”

Which I did. And I read it. And I got furious.

A Mentorship Moment

In which I mentor Leo on the benefits of maturity and professionalism…

Occupy 14 Refuses to Accept Unjust Punishment Like the District Attorney Said They Should Have, Found Not Guilty by a Jury. #WFTrial

The First Amendment proudly marches on in the City of Brotherly Love

My partner Leo Mulvihill, along with Larry Krasner, Jon Feinberg, Mike Lee, Paul Hetznecker, Michael Coard, and Marni Snyder defended 12 Wells Fargo protesters accused of “defiant trespass.” (Side note: Paul Hetznecker is one of the best criminal defense attorneys in Philadelphia but he doesn’t have a website. Take note, marketeers.)

For whatever reason, the District Attorney’s Office decided to waste our tax dollars protect us from crime by pursuing this case. Of course, this is not the first time the District Attorney’s office has decided to pursue stupid criminal charges that were ultimately dismissed when put before a jury.

Last year the protesters were found guilty by a municipal court judge for staging a demonstration in a Wells Fargo Bank. The protesters were accused of enteringthe bank, which is a public place, and then refusing to leave. The protesters appealed their conviction and asked for a jury trial.

This is a video of the demonstration:

Day in the Life of the Fishtown Lawyers: A YouTube Series

HA! HA! I’M MAKING MAGIC MOVING PICTURES ON MY PHONE! POWERS LIKE THAT OF A GOD! LAWYER MARKETEERS HAVE NOW FILLED MY PRACTICE WITH AWESOME!

(warning – use of bad words)

 

Of Murse and Men: A Look at the Saddleback Classic Briefcase for Trial Lawyers

This is a trial bag for men.

Admit it. You’ve seen the Saddleback Classic Leather Briefcase and thought to yourself “That is the coolest briefcase ever.” You want it, but you don’t know if you should shell out $600+ for it.

Well, I finally bit the bullet and got one a few months ago. Here are my musings, followed by the first YouTube video I’ve ever done for Philly Law Blog.

Why Saddleback: I am vicious on everything I own, Suits, ties, electronics, you name it. Anything I own I will destroy. Briefcases and bags in particular. I found myself buying a new bag every year because my old one was beat up so badly that it looked terrible. I wanted a bag that would age well, and that I could beat up without it looking stupid. I also wanted a bag big enough to carry my lawyer stuff if need be, like client files, etc. I was sick of buying new bags, because they are like $70 a piece and don’t look good after six months.

And let’s be honest – Saddleback bags look awesome. They combine rugged durability and style without even trying.

Selecting a Size: The medium bag is too small for a trial lawyer, in my opinion. I initially ordered the medium since I am about the height of an average hobbit. But when I received it, I was a bit disappointed. The proportions seemed off, and it didn’t look like the big rugged bag of awesome I was expecting. My wife remarked “That’s a lot going on for a small bag…”

Then, while out at dinner, my buddy looked at me and said “Dude… nice murse.”

At that point, I knew the medium was going back.

Prenda Law, John Steele, and Paul Duffy file suit against Alan Cooper, his lawyer Paul Godfread, and anonymous John Does

I am reserving commentary since I haven’t had a chance to look at the pleadings in depth. The answer to most of your questions is “I don’t know.” Are they suing the blogs? Commenters? I dunno.

So, without further ado, here are the pleadings. To use a lawyer phrase, they speak for themselves:

Paul Duffy v. Godfread, at. al.

Prenda Law v. Godfread, at. al.

Steele v. Godfread, et. al.

Dockets are found here:

Duffy v. Godfread docket

Prenda v. Godfread docket

Steele v. Godfread docket

Prenda and Paul Duffy filed in Illinois. Steele filed in Florida. Again, I don’t know why. Procedurally, these appear to be state court actions that were removed into federal court.

The named defendants in Illinois are represented by Erin Russell and Jason Sweet. It looks like Paul Duffy is representing himself and Prenda is represented by counsel. (I can’t make out the name in the pleading). In the Florida action, Brad Patrick is representing the named defendants, and John Steele is representing himself.

Get your popcorn, because this is going to get interesting…