Or so we’re informed by TMZ. Christine Torres and Charnette Hildreth claim they were celebrating friend Tammi Tary’s birthday at the Chapter Eight dance club, when they were repeatedly asked by G4 (cable channel aimed at gamers) employees – if they would give permission to be videotaped. Though the women refused permission, they were captured on video fraternizing with Zach Selwyn and Kevin Pereira.

Contrary to what is depicted above, the plaintiffs stated they were “not attempting to meet or ‘hunt’ younger men.” In fact, according to the Courhouse News Service, they stated that they do not even date younger men: “The plaintiffs say the defendants have lined their own pockets with a video that has exposed them to “contempt and ridicule and has caused others to shun or avoid (them).” The women are represented in their $1M dollar lawsuit by Neville Johnson.

1. Criminal Defense Lawyer Flora Edwards is in the news this week, as she is representing Raffaello Follieri (better know by his tabloid moniker, “Anne Hathaway’s ex”). Mr. Follieri plead guilty to fourteen counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering in connection with a Catholic church property investment scam.

2. Pamela Mackey and Stephen Csajaghy are in the news this week, for representing Jeff Hawn, the CEO of Attachmate accused of 32 counts of aggravated animal cruelty for the killing of 32 bison on his property.

3. Blair Berk, a California Criminal Defense Attorney, is in the news for defending Kanye West for felony vandalism – after he reportedly smashed a camera worth more than $10k.

Enjoy your weekend blog readers!

Feedback from yesterday’s Smart SEO for Solos webinar fell into two camps:

1.Extremely useful and actionable information.
2.What was the password? (this feedback delivered with a broad spectrum of politeness).

I’ve learned my lesson no more password requirements for webinars. So, as an apology to those of you who were stymied I will deliver the Webinar again, same time next week; TBD if Mark and/or Craig can attend. The sign-up link is below and does NOT require a password.

Subject Matter:
An introduction to SEO for solos small firms geared towards a non technical audience. We will uncover challenges and opportunities unique to the small law firm. The hour long session will:
-review SEO fundamentals
-highlight common mistakes
-reveal unethical practices which may get a site penalized
-end with 10 things you can do in 10 minutes to improve your site’s SEO performance.

Sign up Here - No Password required!

There must be something in the water in Connecticut, they sure know how to write a great client review! Check out this review for William Ralph Donaldson in Danbury, CT:

Customer review: Bill has been our lawyer for many years and he has always been available and responsive at any time we needed him. He talks straight and never makes us feel intimidated. He takes the time to review the issues and our choices so we can make informed decisions and feel comfortable knowing that he is with us every step of the way.

We have used Bill for business activities, estate planning and real estate. Each time he has exhibited great expertise, professionalism and was always quite thorough.

My husband and I have a long standing joke that if (God forbid) we ever get divorced – our first fight would be “Who gets Bill?!”

You can request your own client reviews from the Overview or Review tabs in your profile. Or simply send your former and current clients a link to the attorney review page on Avvo.

Earlier this summer, the California State Bar was sued by the California First Amendment Coalition after the bar denied UCLA professor Richard Sander’s request for aggregated demographic information on bar exam applicants (CFAC is represented by James Chadwick of Sheppard Mullin).

There’s no small amount of political sensitivity around the issue Sander seeks the data to bolster the hypothesis that preferential law school admissions policies do more harm than good to those benefiting from placement into elite law schools, as shown by bar passage rates.

However, what’s interesting to me isn’t the research but the Bar’s response that its records aren’t “court records” subject to disclosure. That would be a neat trick, since while California courts aren’t subject to that state’s Public Records Act, there is a well-recognized common law right of access to court records in all states. Thus, the bar is arguing that its offices should fall into its own special category, free of public accountability or access. Why should this be? No reason, other than the accident of history that led to attorneys being licensed by an entity (the judiciary) free of most state regulation due to separation of powers issues.

Of course, any litigator knows that you’ve got to trot out any argument that has a chance of carrying the day, and, to its credit, the California Bar has one of the best state bar websites out there when it comes to providing consumers with “background check” information on attorneys. It’s just that I’ve heard this “our records aren’t public” spiel from more than one bar association before, and it continues to give attorneys a bad name. Here’s hoping the California Supreme Court gives short shrift to this technical argument and shoots down any special exceptions for attorney licensing information.

So you’re an active attorney practicing law in one of the states Avvo covers and you don’t see your profile on Avvo…Are you Missing in Action? We do our best to keep our records from the state licensing authorities as up-to-date as possible, but we realize there are a lot of lawyers who are newly licensed between our updates.

Starting today (after 4:00 PST) you won’t have to wait any longer to have a profile on Avvo.

Simply fill out this short form, and you will be on your way to having your own Avvo profile which you can claim and update for free. Here’s how it works: after you fill in your information, we’ll do our magic and verify your licensing info through the state records. Once your information has been verified, you will receive your very own numerical Avvo Rating and appear in the search results where potential clients can find you!

Yep, it’s that easy! Here’s to being lost…and found!

1. Actress Kate Hudson is being sued over shampoo. She and her celeb stylist, David Babaii, launched their own line of eco-friendly products using a unique key ingredient: volcanic ash. The company 220 Laboratories Inc. filed the suit against Hudson, Babaii and their manufacturer, claiming that Babaii broke an oral agreement with the company. 220 is represented by William Crocket, who had this to say: “We can demonstrate that our client…invented these beauty products. David Babaii and Kate Hudson have said they invented the product. Claiming to have invented and developed a product that is delivered ready-to-go is not only breach-of-contract”it’s fraud.”

2. Madonna is being sued this week over an alleged $400,000 loan. Apparently the Queen of Pop, along with her manager and their Maverick Motion Picture Company, took out the loan in 2006 from Dykes and Dykes LLC to make a film called “Material Girls” starring sisters Hilary and Haylie Duff. She supposedly has failed to pay the company back. Dykes LLC is represented by attorney Daniel Davis.

3. 80’s television star Mackenzie Phillips is having a little trouble this week. She was arrested for possession after being caught with drugs at LAX airport. The actress’s attorney, Blair Berk, confirmed her client has gone back to rehab.

Some lawyers have contributed so greatly to Avvo Legal Guides, which aim to help people understand everyday legal issues, that even the Avvo Content Girl (who prefers candlelight to limelight) must come out of her soundproofed editing room from time to time and publicly acknowledge them. Jon Mitchell Jackson is one of those lawyers.

Within a few days of the launch of our lawyer-published How-To Legal Guides, Mr. Jackson contributed a whopping 41 guides, and continues to churn them out a remarkable rate (the latest count is 75, but I have a feeling he won’t let up until he’s submitted at least 100).

Also notable is the sheer breadth of topics these guides cover. Wondering about how drug testing for Olympic athletes works? Jon knows. Need information about S Corporations? Jon’s got it covered. He even has advice for his fellow lawyers.

As steward of Avvo Legal Guides, Content Girl is grateful to Mr. Jackson for blazing the trail and setting the bar for volume so high. She also hopes this stands as an example (or challenge, perhaps?) to those of you who think you don’t have time to submit a How-To Legal Guide. It takes just a few minutes to create one (you’ll need to log in first) and it doesn’t have to be a tome. Feel free to keep it simple. If Jon can do 75, I have all faith that you can do one or two. (Please just watch your spelling and go easy on the Caps Lock key, for Content Girl’s sake.)

Carl Malamud is thumbing his nose at California’s claim that its laws are copyright-protected (hat tip to Citizen Media Law Project). Armed with a scanner and big pile of paper, Malamud is bringing all 38 volumes of the California Revised Code online.

California apparently makes nearly $1 million a year selling copies of its laws (a digital version goes for over $1500). Will it go after Carl’s blatant flouting of the state’s copyright claim? I’m sure he’s hoping they do.

Join lawyer, blogger, and author J. Craig Williams; Avvo CEO, Mark Britton and myself to discuss SEO for the solo and small firm.

After the FindLaw link selling fiasco, I’ve been fielding calls and emails about SEO best practices and have decided to put together my thoughts into an hour long presentation. The webinar is an introduction to SEO for the solo and small legal firm delivered in (mostly) non-technical jargon. The hour long session will:

-review SEO fundamentals
-uncover challenges and opportunities unique to the small law firm
-highlight common mistakes
-reveal unethical practices which may get your site penalized
-cover free and easy to use tools vital to SEO success
-end with 10 things you can do in under 10 minutes to improve your site’s SEO performance.

Space is limited.
Reserve Your Webinar Seat

Title: Ethical SEO for Solos and Small Firms
Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM PDT
Password: Avvo

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer