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Friday Night Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Fri Feb 25, 2011 at 08:51:28 PM EST
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Prison officials won't let Phil Spector attend his civil trial against attorney Robert Shapiro. Spector wants a refund from the million dollar fee he paid Shapiro who represented him at the beginning of his criminal case and for the first year. Shapiro did manage to get him bond, but at issue is whether the fee was excessive.

He has battled Shapiro for years, contending the lawyer took advantage of him after he was arrested in 2003. Shapiro represented Spector for a year, securing his release on bail.

Shapiro's attorneys deny any wrongdoing and say the producer knew he was paying to have exclusive rights to the lawyer who also helped defend O.J. Simpson at his murder trial.

Shapiro says he turned down interview requests by Robert Blake and Scott Peterson to represent them in their murder trials because of his representation of Spector. He also says that Spector fully understood the fee agreement. The trial begins March 7.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Friday Night Open Thread | 15 comments (15 topical)

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    Gergiev/LSO/Mahler. Second (none / 0) (#1)
    by oculus on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 12:06:45 AM EST
    concert of three. Absolutely ethereal. Tomorrow: Geoffery Rush @ BAM in the company of kdog and ruffian (if all goes according to plan).  

    Currently sitting at a breakfast counter (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by ruffian on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 07:55:34 AM EST
    on Madison Ave!

    This outcome was doubtful at times yesterday as 1 flight got cancelled due to winds and I had to schlep over to National from Dulles to catch another flight, which was delayed but at least got me here eventually.

    It's already a great day, only getting better as I meet up with my chums!

    Parent

    I really do miss diners. (none / 0) (#8)
    by Capt Howdy on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 10:48:18 AM EST
    no place has diners exactly like NY

    Parent
    In honor... (none / 0) (#2)
    by kdog on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 07:23:59 AM EST
    of our honored guests, a taste of NY for breakfast, B-Boy Bouillabaisse.

    Hello Brooooklyn!

    New York, New York its a helluva town,
    ya know the Bronx is up and I'm Brooklyn down.
    Cuz they don't know my name,
    only know my initials,
    building bombs in the attic for elected officials.



    Parent
    Facts above show fee was excessive (none / 0) (#4)
    by Yes2Truth on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 09:32:46 AM EST

    Anyone who has ever felt they were taken advantage of by a lawyer can easily empathize with Specter's
    claims - which are very, very common.

    Shapiro's claims about turning down meetings with
    others is no justification for charging Specter
    a million dollar fee for essentially no work.

    Actually, Y2T, the fact that the lawyer (none / 0) (#12)
    by Peter G on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 03:52:52 PM EST
    was required to forego, and did forego, other potentially lucrative opportunities, because s/he had committed to handle an existing client's big case, and then was fired by that existing client without good cause, is one of the (few) ethical rationales for being allowed to keep a prepaid fee that is larger than would be deemed earned based on work actually performed.

    Parent
    Okay, Peter J. -- if we know ... (none / 0) (#13)
    by Yes2Truth on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 05:15:45 PM EST
     he was "let go" without good cause.  Thanks.

    Parent
    The purpose of the hearing, (none / 0) (#14)
    by Peter G on Sun Feb 27, 2011 at 10:56:12 AM EST
    to which the original story refers, is to determine the facts about what happened.  I agree; you can't take one side's version and jump to conclusions.

    Parent
    dogs (none / 0) (#5)
    by Capt Howdy on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 09:49:23 AM EST
    jeff I see your scabies and raise you  . .

    beautiful day here today.  high 30s low 40s perfect 2-3 inch blanket of snow.  a perfect day to put the dogs in the yard and forget them.  ground is frozen, they cant dig, no mud.  perfect.  so I do and sit down to make some phone calls. later, maybe two hours I am on with the insurance company and my phone beeps, I ignore it.  beeps again, two times. I ignore. an urgent knock at the door.  its my neighbors teenage son and he looks like he has just seen the Craken. three words.
    "dude, the dogs . . . "
    I "go" to the back door and omg.  they have killed another rabbit.  probably less than ten seconds after I closed the door two hours ago.  
    it looked like a rabbit had exploded in my yard.   no idea what my expression was but it caused my neighbor who was standing in her back yard with her cell phone start laughing hysterically.
    "that was you on the phone, huh?"
    "yep"
    "its a rabbit right?"
    pause
    "oh my god.  Matt have you seen Walter?"
    so I get to wade in to learn if its another rabbit or the fat old grey tomcat from the other neighbor that they almost got once before.
    but fortunately when I put the dogs in Walter showed up to see what all the excitement was about.
    it was a rabbit.  I found an ear. and two feet.  both front, I think.
    and when I opened the door Daisy had part of the skull (missing the lower jaw which was not found) in her mouth.
    quite a scene.  who knew a rabbit had that much blood.  of course every drop was visible because of the snow.
    so now my yard looks like a crime scene and the dogs have pink heads until I get them groomed.
     

    for the first time in months (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by Capt Howdy on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 10:01:06 AM EST
    I find myself hoping for snow

    Parent
    lol!~ (none / 0) (#10)
    by nycstray on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 12:54:45 PM EST
    you just reminded me of when The Dot had cracked the end of her tail and also nicked her ear. She got the zoomies and jumped on the bed and spun around a few times. My walls told quite a tale :P When I moved, I found specks of blood still on the walls :)

    Hope you get your snow, or a heavy duty thaw :D

    Parent

    Larcenous animals (none / 0) (#6)
    by Rojas on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 09:59:38 AM EST
    but I'm not sure you could call with that hand, much less raise.

    Parent
    Almost done with the scabies now, (none / 0) (#15)
    by jeffinalabama on Mon Feb 28, 2011 at 10:55:01 AM EST
    thank goodness. It has been a loooooooooooong two weeks. I think I'm clean, but we'll see. I love my dogs, and Jack the Poodle is hilarious. Cookie the pit-type will let Jack restle him to the ground and they'll play-fight. Cookie on his back, and skinny puppy jack over him.

    My guys are too sweet to do anything, thank goodness. The training I've been giving them has made them easier to control, too!

    Parent

    amazing (none / 0) (#9)
    by Capt Howdy on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 10:52:13 AM EST
    What It's Like to Work for Donald Rumsfeld

    The memo's tone is so casual about such complex and important topics that it prompted Technology Review editor Jason Pontin to ask me on Twitter, "Is this a parody?"

    But no, the memo is real. You can find find it yourself (and many other treasures I'm sure) on Rumsfeld's site.

    I dont think he got around to solving that "pakistan problem"

    Irish voters punish bankster policies (none / 0) (#11)
    by Politalkix on Sat Feb 26, 2011 at 02:50:30 PM EST
    link

    Friday Night Open Thread | 15 comments (15 topical)

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