Recently in People and Events Category

Back in January, President Obama capitalized on the Senate’s generous recess allowance and placed two Democrats and one Republican on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The NLRB supervises union elections and resolves disputes between private-sector employers and employees, but it can’t operate without a quorum. The recess appointments preserved the quorum, The Wall Street Journal reports.

It was also a strategic move. The Journal explains that by making the appointments when he did, “Obama doubled to two years the length of time the appointees can serve. That’s because a recess appointment expires at the end of the Senate’s next session — in this case at the end of 2013 — or when the appointee or someone else is nominated, confirmed or permanently appointed, whichever occurs first.”

We’re in the final months of the presidential campaign season, so we all know that the outstanding judicial nominees for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals - Caitlin Halligan and Sri Srinivasan - will not see a confirmation hearing this year.

If Srinivasan were to get a hearing, he would probably be approved. He is currently serving as Deputy Solicitor General in the Obama administration, and his conservative credentials include clerkships with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III. Srinivasan has bipartisan appeal

Halligan is a slightly tougher sell.

Note to practitioners before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals: Limit your use of acronyms.

It really ticks off Judge Laurence Silberman.

Above the Law showcased its “Quote of the Day,” with a mention of Judge Silberman’s annoyance at the overuse of abbreviations in the recent case of National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners v. United States Department of Energy.

Today, we’re taking a break from appellate opinions to look at one of the judges who issues those opinions. Here’s a quick biography on D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals judge Karen LeCraft Henderson.

Judge Henderson has served on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals since July 1990, when she was appointed by President George H.W. Bush.

The deadline for committee vacancies at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is approaching fast.

The Court of Appeals has announced that it will be filling vacancies on several of its committees. The vacancies are for three-year terms that start on July 1, 2012. If you’re looking for a chance to get involved with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, this could be you chance to get in on the action.

On April 11, 2012, The Historical Society for the District of Columbia Circuit and the Litigation Section of the District of Columbia Bar are hosting an event that may serve to trigger the memories of many DC Circuit lawyers. The event, “Madness or Badness: Duran and the Evolution of the Insanity Defense in the D.C. Circuit”, will discuss a notorious case that took place in the 1990’s, during the Clinton era.

Francisco Duran was convicted of attempting to assassinate President Bill Clinton, after a two-week long trial. During his trial, the insanity defense was invoked. The defense was rejected by the court.

Chief Judge Harry T. Edwards of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was honored at the 44th Convention of the National Black Law Students' Association in March, states the NYU School of Law on their site.

Judge Edwards was given the A. Leon Higginbotham award is given annually at the conference. The award is named after a former federal judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

With the widely-publicized block of D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Caitlin Halligan, opposition to President Barack Obama’s judicial picks have come under scrutiny. Looking at his confirmation rate over the past three years, a recent report released from the Brookings Institute reveals that there may be more similarities in his circuit court confirmation rates than dramatic differences, compared to his predecessors.

The judicial nomination of Caitlin Halligan for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was blocked by Senate Republicans on Tuesday, reports the Associated Press.

On one side of the aisle, Democrats praised Halligan's outstanding qualifications for the seat left vacant by Chief Justice John Roberts. Halligan, a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, was a clerk for D.C. Circuit of Appeals Judge Patricia M. Wald and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. After her prestigious clerkships, she worked both in the private sector (most recently as a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges) and the public sector (she currently serves as general counsel in the Manhattan district attorney's office).

Here at FindLaw, we understand the pressures of being a legal professional - most of us are recovering lawyers - so we want to help by tossing you that preferred life preserver of the legal profession, the short list.

Today's offering: Top Five Reasons to do Pro Bono work.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has deprived us of opinions as of late and it's the American Bar Association's Pro Bono Week; what better time to discuss pro bono work?