Month: April 2007

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First Year, Second Chance

For eleven stellar seasons, the CBS hit “The Jeffersons” told the hilarious story of George and Weezie, who had moved on up the socio-economic ladder to “a deluxe apartment in the sky.” [1]  In contemporary legal education, a growing phenomenon parallels George and Weezie’s desire to get a “piece of the pie.” [2] This article will examine the trend of the transfer law student in addition to the successes, complications, and possible prejudices experienced by transfer students in securing employment.

For many prospective law students, the application process ends in heartbreak. One’s entire life is broken down into discrete components by way of an LSAT score and GPA. Many cannot help but see their self-worth reflected, for better or worse, by such abstract enumerations. As these numbers are the primary considerations in law school admissions, poor scores can have the potential to bar applicants from admission to their ideal schools.

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Cuomo’s Code of Conduct: Troubled Times for the Student Loan Industry

In November of 2006, the office of the New York State Attorney General initiated an investigation into the financial agreements between New York universities and student loan providers as part of an effort to eliminate practices that created conflicts of interests in the lucrative $85 billion student loan industry. [1]  However, this investigation did not receive a high degree of publicity or momentum until February of 2007 when the newly appointed New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo expanded the investigation to include more than 60 universities nationwide and major student loan providers and banks. [2]  Attorney General Cuomo's investigation revealed questionable practices within the student loan industry whereby universities were receiving illegal kickbacks for including certain lenders in their "preferred lender" list.  [3] This discovery has led to a nationwide reaction and the student loan industry has been under significant probing from several lawmakers as well as the U.S.

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Accessing Unclaimed TIF Funds

Developers looking for a new source of revenue during the housing slump should not overlook municipal redevelopment programs. Developing the right kind of project at the right location may qualify one for millions of dollars in government subsidies. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have some variation of Tax Increment Financing. [1] More commonly known as TIF, the program lets local municipalities subsidize projects in designated redevelopment areas. 

Illinois was one of the first states to develop TIF. The state enacted the original version of its TIF statute in 1977 for the purpose of promoting development in areas which are “blighted or are in danger of becoming blighted." [1] The program works by using future property taxes to “provide incentives to develop areas which would remain undeveloped if not for governmental assistance.”[2] TIF districts do not create new taxes or automatically increase property taxes. Revenue comes from an increase

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Undocumented Taxation: More Illegal Immigrants Likely to File Returns

The historic case of James v. United States held that illegal gains constitute income that must be reported, despite any legal obligation which might arise to make restitution. [1] However, a whole different tax question arises for collecting legally earned income from residents illegally in the country. While the issue may not be clear to the millions of immigrants illegally residing in the country, the issue is clear to the Internal Revenue Service. “Everybody is a citizen for tax purposes,” remarks one Baltimore tax-preparer. [2]

This year, illegal immigrants have been sending in federal tax returns in what will likely be record numbers, despite concerns of immigration raids and the ability of the IRS to identify illegal immigrants through these returns. [2] While illegal immigrants are not issued Social Security numbers, they are allowed to file through individual taxpayer identification numbers issued by the Internal Revenue Service. [3] There have

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Evolution of Maternalism in Corporate Law

I: Introduction


During the uncertain times of World War II,
Harvard University’s president was interviewed concerning the condition
of the law school. He stated that it wasn’t bad as he had expected,
given the war-time circumstances: “We have 75 students, and we haven’t
had to admit any women.” [1]


One would think that the legal industry would have
made giant strides towards remedying such primitive opinions. On the
contrary, a recent Harvard Law survey of large corporate firms found
that some male lawyers still drop pencils under boardroom tables as an
excuse to look at women’s legs, and take clients to strip clubs where
their female colleagues feel unwelcome. [2] Fortunately, not all firms
tolerate such behavior. This article aims to examine the obstacles
facing women and mothers in the field of corporate law, and what
actions some firms are taking to alleviate their unique burdens. 


II: Is the Glass … Read the rest

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Anchors Aweigh! The U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Regulating International Shipping on the High Seas

Law students enrolled in a “substantive” criminal procedure course frequently sweat over the intricacies of search and seizure law within contexts familiar to the average land-lubber attorney – the home, the automobile, and the person strolling down the street.  Perhaps some die-hard students will take the time to learn more obscure aspects of the Fourth Amendment such as administrative searches and the law of satellite reconnaissance.  But who really bothers to learn anything about maritime search and seizure law?  The idea of pirates, smugglers, and privateers in the twenty-first century is absurd to most people, including many attorneys.  But, be forewarned!  In the post 9/11 world the men and women in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard are on call twenty-four hours a day monitoring commercial and private vessels on the high seas.  [1]  They are enforcing regulatory legislation developed by Congress and applicable to all tankers,

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Not so Funny Funny Business

Open your local paper and you will see advertisements, turn on your car radio and you will hear advertisements.  Small business owners typically use newspapers and radio ads to sell their products and services, but the process of selecting the proper advertisement is often difficult.  [1]  Selection of the proper media is not the only decision the business owner faces.  The advertisement’s content is also important.   Off the wall advertisements can be beneficial to a business because they can make a business stand out.  [2] Recently a local Champaign-Urbana radio station has spread two wacky ads through the airwaves.  Both radio advertisements imitate famous movie characters in an attempt to entice listeners to go tanning.   What characters you ask, why “Bormat” and “Neapolitan” of course.  Surely, these simple name changes will shield the business that ran the ads from legal liability, right?  This article will briefly analyze these radio ads

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The Dark Side of Land Use Restrictions

     Residential land use restrictions are part of life in most areas in the United States.  There may be land-use restrictions regarding “building height, architectural styles, materials, orientation, view preservation” [1] and even the color of your home. [2] These restrictions may have benefits, to essentially assure quality homes are being built as well as maintain property values by preventing doublewides from being built next to mansions.  However, what happens when these restrictions go too far?  For example, the government may reject a landowner’s building plan not because it fails to meet the technical requirements of local building and zoning codes, but because the board simply does not like what the structure will look like. [3]   Along more disturbing lines, land use restrictions can (and have) made it difficult for hundreds of natural disaster victims to construct decent temporary housing. [4] Welcome to this, the dark side of land-use

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A Penny for Your Pounds: U.S. Companies are Paying Overweight Employees to Get into Shape

I. Introduction

The Zone, Atkins, liposuction, colonics, the
liquid diet…  Many people have tried and failed at losing those last
five pounds.  However, would the effort be less frustrating if someone
offered you money to lose weight?  Employers across the U.S. have
noticed problems associated with overweight employees, and they are
hoping that monetary incentives will solve the problems.  This article
will first examine the rising healthcare costs in the workplace.  It
will then focus on employer efforts to combat these costs.  Finally,
the article will explain some cautionary steps that employers should
take when implementing weight loss efforts.   

II. America's Rising Healthcare Costs

Obesity is a serious problem plaguing Americans.  About every ninety
seconds, obesity claims a life.  [1]  Not only does obesity affect
one's quality of life, it also has serious implications in the
workplace.  Employers incur huge costs related to their overweight
employees.  "On average, at

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The Application of EU Competition Law to Professional Soccer: Should the EU Regulate Professional Soccer? (Part II)

As one of the primary aims of the EU has been to establish a common market and foster competition, and as soccer has increasingly become a large economic enterprise, the EU's regulation of soccer is simply not surprising.  Legal scrutiny of sports rules and regulations has grown as the EU has expanded its involvement in the regulation of Member States.  The realm of professional soccer has perhaps been the most publicized and hotly debated area of sports in the EU.  What was once thought to be immune from the scrutiny and regulation of EU institutions such as the European Council, the Commission, and the ECJ, is no longer afforded such protection.  That is, the governing bodies of professional soccer can no longer rely on the past deference afforded to them.  A brief discussion of the inherent purposes of the EU helps explain why this is so.

II. Should the EU

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