Federal Judiciary

Paralegal fees, dumb laws and good German potato salad

By Michael Smith

Just received the June 2008 issue of the Northeast Texas Association of Paralegals' Key Note and saw some information I thought might be of interest to readers.  Key Note had - two days before the national press had it, incidentally, a short report on the Supreme Court's June 2 decision in Richlin Security Service Co. v. Chertoff in which the justices unanimously reversed the Federal Circuit's decision (funny how that keeps happening) and rejected all of the government's arguments that the Equal Access to Justice Act limited recovery of paralegal fees to the attorney's cost -- which was lower than the billed rate.  NALA had filed an amicus on the issue, which obviously would be of interest to paralegals, but which I thought might be of interest to readers as well. 
The issue also has some ethics FAQs from the Texas Paralegal Division and a good article on ethics for paralegals, and under the "Dumb Laws" column, notes that in Mississippi it is illegal to teach others what polygamy is, and in Montana it is illegal for unmarried women to fish alone (married women can fish alone except for Sundays).  Also a good recipe for German potato salad (I say good because it requires half a cup of bacon grease, as all good recipes must).

Full post as published by Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice on June 11, 2008 (boomark / email).