Fun with Avvo
July 16, 2008
The attorney-rating site Avvo.com now includes Maryland lawyers, a development I wrote about in today’s paper. I spent yesterday reporting the story, which included a fair bit of noodling around on the site. Here are a few things I noticed:
Peter Angelos, with a rating of 6.7 out of 10, is a merely “good” lawyer. Fellow toxic tort giant Peter T. Nicholl doesn’t even get a number rating.
Warren Brown? Margaret Mead? Billy Murphy? Gerry Martin? Ken Ravenell? These crimlaw big shots are rated “no concern,” meaning Avvo doesn’t have enough info on them to put together a numerical rating.
To be fair, at this point, less than 11 percent of the more than 32,000 Maryland lawyers listed on the site have been given a number rating.
Another observation: it looks like Avvo may be listing some big-firm types who do predominantly defense-side product liability litigation as “defective/dangerous products” lawyers, which to me would imply that they do plaintiff-side work.
All right, you’ve finished reading this blog post. Now go check your own rating. I know you’re going to do it, if you haven’t already.
CARYN TAMBER, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentHow does your judge stack up?
July 8, 2008
Ever wanted to publicly, but anonymously, praise or shred Maryland’s judges?
Move over sites like RateMyProfessors.com (and the professors’ response, rateyourstudents.blogspot.com) — The Robing Room has come to Maryland.
The 2-year-old site, which began as a venue for attorneys to rate federal judges, is now soliciting ratings of state judges. Since its inception, the site has logged 10,000 posts critiquing the nation’s roughly 1,100 federal judges, according to founder Nicholas G. Kaizer, a Manhattan litigator.
Kaizer, vice president of North Law Publishers Inc., of which the Web site is an affiliate, said he started with the big states, like California and New York. As a result of certain technical considerations, Maryland happens to be one of eight states — along with the District of Columbia — currently on the site.
The Robing Room will eventually have a site for each state’s judges and possibly a site for international judges as well, Kaizer said.
While most of Maryland’s federal judges have been rated and commented on — the district’s Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul W. Grimm has been rated the best judge in the country — the state judges’ rating page is empty.
Also, I wonder if the president in charge of filling U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte’s seat will take note of comments that call Grimm “the best man I know” and say he “deserves to be elevated.”
BRENDAN KEARNEY, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentA bug in the best-interest standard
June 27, 2008
The New York Times has a piece today about how tough it is to transfer children removed from their homes in one state to relatives who live in another state.
The story is datelined Hyattsville and features five kids from Washington whose Maryland grandparents and aunt and uncle want to take them in. Because of the bureaucratic hurdles that accompany interstate transfers, the kids are in foster care, “where they could remain for months while their relatives wait for Washington and Maryland to make formal requests, home inspections and approvals,” the Times’ Erik Eckholm writes.
“From the kids’ point of view, it’s like they’re being punished,” the aunt, Mia Johnson, told the Times.
CARYN TAMBER, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentWhat’s the biggest threat to your safety on the road?
June 13, 2008
Have a concern about driving safety in your neighborhood?
If so, the University of Maryland has set up a free, web-based anonymous survey that lets Marylanders highlight what concerns them the most about traffic safety in the state (i.e. speeding, drunk driving, and cell phone usage).
The survey, which more than 4,100 people filled out last year, helps local task forces identify the needs and issues of their county.
The survey takes less than 10 minutes to fill out, and can be found here. It will be available starting Monday through August 10.
RICHARD SIMON, Multimedia Reporter
Sphere: Related ContentThis week in Maryland Lawyer
June 9, 2008
- Mandatory retirement ages for lawyers have lost favor with the ABA and many law firms, but as Danny Jacobs writes, performance-based retirement can bring its own set of problems. In a related story, the lawyer for a retired founder says his suit against his former partners is “just business,” but it feels personal to one of the men he mentored.
- Kathy Kelly Howard, lobbyist for property-owners’ rights, will be sworn in this week as president of the 23,000-member Maryland State Bar Association. Find out how she plans to use her year.
- The Court of Appeals heard argument Friday in two cases we’ve been following: A disciplinary matter against Lemon Law firm Kimmel & Silverman, and a zoning dispute between Loyola College in Maryland and North Baltimore County residents over the college’s plans for a retreat center in Parkton.
- A Frederick lawyer wins a round in his defamation suit over a blog post; and, in Verdicts & Settlements, a woman is ordered to repay $190,000 to her stepmother after her father dies.
- Leadership in Law honoree Mark Thomas, now a judge, talks about how being on the bench has literally given him a new perspective; Rommel Loria talks about the “low bono” green-card case he took for a Peruvian man after taking a class at Catholic Charities.
- The Editorial Advisory Board calls for more changes to Maryland’s foreclosure process; Wilhelm Joseph calls for more money for Legal Aid; and the woman at the center of a controversial child support ruling tells her side of the story in a letter to the editor.
Also, find legal briefs, “movers,” case digests, and summaries of the U.S. Supreme Court, the 4th Circuit and the Office of Administrative Hearings opinions here.
As always, you can comment on any of these stories by responding to this blog. Or, if you’re in Ocean City for the MSBA’s annual meeting, stop by our booth and leave me a message!
BARBARA GRZINCIC, Managing Editor, Law
Sphere: Related ContentSustaining Maryland’s future
June 2, 2008
That’s the topic up for discussion today in Cambridge, where state economic developers are meeting at the Maryland Economic Development Association’s annual conference.
O.K., so the three-day meeting actually began yesterday, but Sunday’s activities were less daunting: a tour of the Blackwater wildlife refuge, downtown Cambridge, UMCES (the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science), and, of course, golf.
Among the attendees are eight members of Gov. O’Malley’s cabinet, Director of the BRAC Commission Anthony Principi and Perdue Farms chairman James Perdue and PRS Guitars CEO Paul Reed Smith, both of whom are scheduled to speak.
But back to the meeting’s mission: Sustaining Maryland’s future.
MEDA’s key concerns include the workforce, quality of life in Maryland, and the environment. What do you think is presenting the biggest challenge to Maryland’s economic sustainability?
Or, what has the biggest potential? One of the discussions on MEDA’s agenda (PDF) is arts and entertainment districts in the state, and the growth opportunities they present for jobs, tourism and business development.
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentMDA to investigate Westminster livestock house
May 8, 2008
Yesterday we blogged on a new Humane Society video that showed mistreatment of a “downed” cow at the Westminster livestock auction house.
Well, now the Maryland Department of Agriculture wants us to know they’re on the case.
Here’s Agriculture Secretary Roger Richardson (bottom left) on the incident:
“MDA will not tolerate violations of its animal welfare laws and regulations … The report at the Westminster livestock auction is under investigation and we expect to have a determination with proposed regulatory action within two weeks.”
The Westminster auction is regulated and licensed by the MDA, and an inspector is required to be on-site while an auction is taking place. The one on duty April 22, when the video was shot, “was advised that the animal was down but was not aware of any mistreatment” and got involved the next day, after a complaint from the Humane Society.
The MDA points out that House Bill 227, passed this year by the General Assembly, gives the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to penalize auction houses up to $10,000 when a regulation is broken.
And, according to the MDA:
Specifically in response to the Westminster Livestock Auction Market situation, MDA has reviewed and revised its protocols for inspectors at livestock auctions to include: reporting and tracking downed animals; officially informing the livestock auction management of action that must be taken; and following up the day after a sale to make sure that the appropriate disposition of any downed animals has taken place.
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentVideo: Mistreated cows at Maryland auction house
May 7, 2008
In a new video released by the Humane Society of the United States, the group shows graphic footage of the mistreatment of cows at livestock auctions and stockyards - including one in Maryland.
Over the last two months, HSUS investigators visited auctions in Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas and videotaped downer cows at each stop. “Downer” cows are those too frail to stand on their own — they’re dragged and prodded, increasing the threat of carrying and passing disease. Some are still slaughtered for consumption.
Here’s what they turned up in Westminster:
-
- HSUS investigators documented a downed cow abandoned outside of the auction barn, left to suffer through the night. HSUS investigators contacted agents with the Carroll County Humane Society. An officer quickly ended the cow’s suffering.
This HSUS investigation into downer cows follows the group’s January’s undercover video of animals being tortured at a plant in Chino, Calif. - a major supplier to the National School Lunch Program.
Sphere: Related ContentTaking comments on crabs
May 7, 2008
If you’re harboring a bone to pick about Maryland’s emergency limits on the blue crab harvest, you’ll have two chances to speak your mind.
The state’s Department of Natural Resources is holding two hearings on the issue, and the first takes place tonight in Cambridge.
The second (probably more relevant to those of you reading this blog) will be on Wednesday, June 4 in Annapolis.
So, if you’re a crabber opposed to the upcoming ban on recreational female crab catches, now’s your chance. Or maybe you’re a businessperson who disagrees with the reduction in the commercial harvest.
There’s always the chance that you agree with Sen. Mikulski, Sen. Cardin and Gov. O’Malley when they said that female crabs need “a breather” to boost their numbers. (Three years oughta do it, right?).
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentMaryland’s Hall of Fame
May 5, 2008
The Garden State may not have an actual Hall of Fame, but that didn’t stop it from inducting fifteen prominent New Jerseyans into one last night. The awards ceremony was aimed at improving the state’s reputation. (The honorees included Bruce Springsteen, Meryl Streep, Sen. Bill Bradley, Yogi Berra, Toni Morrison and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, if you’re interested).
Reading the story today got me thinking about contenders for Maryland’s Hall of Fame (no, we don’t have one, either).
The Daily Record has a couple of similar awards: Maryland’s Top 100 Women (past winners include Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Kendel Ehrlich), Influential Marylanders (this year’s honorees include Attorney Billy Murphy, Marlene & Stewart Greenebaum, Constellation’s Mayo Shattuck).
And, our Associate Editor Paul Samuel pointed out, Maryland’s Chamber of Commerce has a Business Hall of Fame, which this year inducted three: Lockheed Martin VP Linda Gooden, Karen Oertel, president of W.H. Harris Seafood Inc., and Afro-American newspapers Publisher John J. Oliver Jr. In total there are just about 25 members of the Business HOF, which has only been around for eight years. Who else do you think ought to be inducted into it?
What if you took away “Business” - who’d be a Marylander worthy of a statewide HOF? Cal Ripken? Ed Norton? Tom Clancy (lives in Anne Arundel Co.)? Annie Liebovitz (raised in Maryland)?
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
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