Missouri Lawyers Media Missouri legal news and public notices

Whatever else Manti Te’o manages to accomplish in his interview with Katie Couric, the humiliated Notre Dame linebacker will at least be proving Karl Marx right: All historical events really do occur twice, first as tragedy, then as farce.

An attorney’s fee lien had priority over a state agency’s lien on a workers’ compensation award, according to the Missouri Court of Appeals.

The only open question at the moment appears to be whether the veto-proof majority will use its historic numbers to pass legislation to dramatically amend the MHRA, or whether the veto-proof majority will work with Gov. Nixon to pass legislation to make more modest reforms to the MHRA.

Many veteran court-watchers believe that the Supreme Court now is, and has long been, almost equally divided between “conservatives” and “liberals.” Skeptical journalists treat judges as little more than politicians in black robes.

With the recent “legalization” of marijuana use in several states, most discussion has centered on the taxes that will be raised, the health issues, and whether it’s a morally good idea. Strangely, nobody seems to be focusing on the fact that state government is literally giving the proverbial finger to federal law.

The rise of the Second Amendment as a serious obstacle to U.S. gun control legislation is astonishingly recent.

Lawyers usually hate jury selection. Not only does voir dire provide limited time and information to identify jurors who will decide the fate of their clients, but it directly confronts attorneys with a problem they have in communicating complex cases to today’s demanding and skeptical juror: that jurors and attorneys think and communicate in completely different ways.

Practice needs should always be met first, and personal needs should be the minimum expense necessary to maintain a standard of living. If you are a partner in an existing firm, you are personally responsible for the debts and liabilities, in addition to having put in your own capital.

An employee who was raped by a co-worker and suffered psychiatric injuries will receive the maximum average weekly wage because her employer submitted a late response to her claim, the Missouri Court of Appeals decided in a case of first impression.

Upheaval is the “new normal” for law firms of all size, and many observers wonder if the solo and small-firm practitioners will survive this kind of current and future turmoil.

A class action lawsuit against gas station operators has been revived by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision.