Welcome to this edition of Inter Alia. Here are some good legal blog posts and articles from around the web:

• Big corporate buyouts have slowed in the wake of very tight credit markets that our economy is faced with today. Considering how fast the "credit crunch" sneaked up upon corporate America, many buyouts were agreed to but cannot be closed due to financing difficulties. A direct by-product of this has been lawsuits filed by shareholders against these corporations. Read more here.
• Interested in securities law? Read more about leveraged buyouts that may not close and probable future lawsuits that these companies will face by clicking here.
• Any first year associates at law firms out there need writing tips? Great advice here.
• A Utah judge was not happy about a media anchor who intereviewed a potential jury prior to jury selection in a highly publicized case. Find out her punishment by clicking here.
• The Duke lacrosse players involved in the recent scandel have filed a civil suit against multiple defendants. Read more here.
• And now for the non-legal post to this edition of Inter Alia: Motorola has been struggling to keep up with the likes of the iPhone and Blackberry (made by Research in Motion), but is an 18K gold-plated phone the answer?

It did not take long for everyone in the blawgosphere to figure out that I Love New York 2’s “Pretty”(known around here as Juan McCullum) is a student at our beloved Mississippi College. Shortly thereafter, Above the Lawsuggested that Pretty may not be the fairest of us all. Former Miss Hawaiian Tropic, Mrs. Katie Rader Lusk (that’s right, gentlemen, she is taken) is a 3L, also here at “One Of The Best-Kept Secrets of the South.”

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So called "Music Piracy" has dominated the intellectual property headlines ever since Lars Ulrich (of Metallica) decided to punish his fans and take on Napster. Well the times they are a changing. For those of you who are not aware, Radiohead has found a new way to fight music piracy - Give the music away to your fans and allow them to pay as much or as little (£0.00) as they feel like paying. The new album In Rainbows is available at Radiohead.com for any amount.

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Summary and Question: Songwriters and Publishers DO get paid for radio station airplay, but Labels and Artists do not get separately paid through the same pipeline.  Should the Copyright Laws be changed to incorporate royalty compensation for Record Labels and Artists in a structure similar to the way Publishers and Songwriters are currently paid?  If so, how would one incorporate royalty compensation into the current model without seriously diminishing the revenues of current songwriters and publishers through performance royalty earnings?  Record labels and Artists earn their money by way of record sales (including internet downloads), touring, and merchandise.  If an artist records someone else's song and gets permission to include that song on an album and eventually releases the song to radio as a single, but has no copyright ownership in the song (they just perform the song), should the artist and/or record label receive royalties for radio broadcast performances of that particular song?

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An attorney out of Oakland, California just recently founded LawLink.com, a social network site for attorneys. Close to 2,000 attorneys nationwide have signed up in just over two months. About 1,000 of those attorneys are Tennessee attorneys. Why? Because the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) included an American Bar Association (ABA) article in its weekly online newsletter discussing LawLink. These numbers show that social networking is something that people of every age and profession want to engage in.

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(A note - This is meant to be entertainment only. This is not meant to imply that any member of the TLS team will not be passing the bar. I am writing this just to lighten the mood in an area that can get a little stuffy. This piece was originally written for my other blog, but given the legal themes I felt it carried over well. Again, I will pass the bar. The first time. And have a job. Positive thinking.)

Coming to NBC next fall, the story of recent law graduates without a real job...

Follow the gang as they deal with the misadventures of failed law aspirations and overcooked filets at your favorite local pub, Failed the Bar & Grill.

Simultaneous to the launch of the show will be the opening of the very first Failed the Bar & Grill in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Read on to see the full menu, featuring Res Ipsa Lasagna, Title VII Nachos, and Joint & Several Pie!

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Is your passion Entertainment Law?  Well, it might be beneficial to check out this article  posted on www.hollywoodreporter.com listing a number of the Top Entertainment Lawyers throughout the nation & giving a brief description of some of their dealings and/or accomplishments.

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