Court Filings, Decisions and Legal Articles : JD Supra : Cases, Briefs, Documents, Forms

We are pleased to announce (for those of you who may have missed it) that The New York Times covered JD Supra and our contributors in an article entitled "Lawyers Open Their File Cabinets for a Web Resource" in the Business section of yesterday's paper.

The article featured a great picture of JD Supra contributor Mitchell Matorin, as well as comments about the site and its benefits from Mitchell, Marc Stern, and Elena Garella. It brought lots of new visitors to the site, many of whom joined our growing community of contributors, sharing court filings, decisions, and articles on diverse subjects of use to all of us. (Keep an eye out for an upcoming roundup of new contributors and documents). 

As the Times article noted, JD Supra:

• helps people who want more background on a legal issue, or who would like to find and contact lawyers with expertise in a particular area;
  
• provides a resource of lawyers (who can search the database for work by other legal professionals involved in similar cases).

And, not surprisingly, yesterday many more visitors searched the JD Supra documents and profiles for information about the law and the people behind it. Not surprisingly, the contributors who have shared the most documents received the most exposure.

We are keenly aware that JD Supra is only as good as the lawyers who participate and the content they share. The many visitors who emailed us over the past 48 hours, clearly found the site useful and the content compelling.

For example, a company seeking a class action firm to file suit relating to the mortgage crises wrote:

"Thanks for setting up this service. It will certainly help all who need access to legal expertise and opinions"

Another, who was seeking an attorney for advice on changing his estate plan wrote:

"I want to find an attorney with a specialty in estate planning, but one I can first research on your database. Thank you."

And yet another wrote:

"This is very close to the best thing that can be done for the public and for clients and lawyers in the US."

So, from the entire team at JD Supra, please accept our most sincere THANK YOU to all of you who have crafted such professional profiles and shared your high quality work!

When Seattle Center implemented rules prohibiting park performers from engaging in free speech activities without first obtaining a permit, and limiting the locations in which they could perform,  sole practitioner and JD Supra contributor Elena Garella stepped in. The District Court agreed with Elena and local performer, Magic Mike, that these rules violated the First Amendment on their face, but the 9th Circuit reversed.  Elena has now petitioned for rehearing en banc, and is hopeful the Court will grant her petition as it almost immediately requested that the City file a response.

This case, posted as a JD Supra Scoop, caught my attention. I was intrigued by the contrast between this decision (which involved a physical public forum and the right of individuals to avoid speech activities by others) and the ruling in the WikLeak's case, also posted in the Scoop (which involved the virtual public forum of the Internet and the right of individuals to have access to speech).

But, as I looked at the brief something else caught my eye: the significance of a sole practitioner embroiled in a multi-year constitutional case for a client with limited resources, and the presence of Davis Wright Tremaine attorneys on Elena's petition. I telephoned Elena to learn more.  She explained that First Amendment cases give her a lot of satisfaction - she takes them when she is moved by a client's story. Her complete discretion to take these kind of cases is one of the things she cherishes most about her solo practice. Nevertheless, such cases can be taxing. 

So, when the 9th Circuit reversed the district court's ruling, and an attorney at Davis Wright Tremaine contacted Elena and offered the assistance of their First Amendment experts, pro bono, Elena gladly accepted. The collaboration, according to Elena, has been a very positive experience.

Kudos to Elena for pursuing her passion, and to Davis Wright Tremaine for sharing their expertise  pro bono in support of a cause in which they believe.