Law And More

Is Anna Delvey aka Anna Sorokin Having Fun With Us Again?

From the Ice detention center in Goshen, New York Anna Delvey aka Anna Sorokin announced the formation of her law firm, reports New York Magazine. It's called Delvey & Daughters PLLC. It will only accept the retainer payment in Dogecoin. 

Since Delvey has no legal training - except by omosis through her own trial at which she was convicted - she may be having fun with us. Yes, once again, she could be spinning together a fantasy world. 

Those of us in the creative professions understand fully the satisfaction Delvey might derive from creating her own universe. This one which most agree is "reality" can be painful in how boring and predictable it is. Yet, society pushes us to be in that rule-bound  box for our personal lives and what we do to bring in income. 

Perhaps Delvey simply decided she won't go near that box and she will accept the consequences. Also, there is the possibility that she will study for a law degree.

No matter how that might play out, she will continue to fascinate us.

Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com.

Tender Mercies - That Could Actually Play Out at Sentencing for Lawyer-Activists Pryor Cashman and Colinford Mattis

It's a story that has caused deep pain among those of us who have been political activists. That's the saga of lawyers-activists Pryor Cashman and Colinford Mattis. 

On an experience level too many of us know how "naturally" it could seem for peaceful legal activities to cross the line to the violent illegal.

I bore witness to that frequently during the late 1960s and early 1970s counterculture. Friends lost jobs, careers, and relationships. Some got entangled with the legal system. Others got caught up in other forms of destructive excess. They lost their minds.

To cool off the fires of my own rage against a lot of things, I exited the US and took a job in Barcelona, Spain. After working 14-hour days in the hospitality industry on Calle de San Francisco I conceded that maybe America wasn't so oppressive after all. I circled back to the US to finish my doctorate degree. The lesson I had learned about economic systems had been penalty-free.

Not so fortunate have been lawyer-activist pair Cashman and Mattis. In the heat of the national outrage about the death of George Floyd, they crossed the wrong lines. Those involved a Molotov Cocktail. That was in 2020. More recently the two took a guilty plea for one count of possessing or making a destructive device. That could bring a sentence of 10 years.

But, as the New York Law Journal reports, the government has recommeded to US District Judge Brian Cogan a sentence of 18 to 24 months. The defense is requesting that be done through time already served. The two have been under house arrest.

Not everyone is sympathetic. The Police Benevolent Association oppose that reduced sentence. After all, a police station was what had been targeted.

But, this proposal by government showcases the humanity in the legal system. What human being hasn't become overwrought and entered a perilous emotional force field? Fortunately, for them and for society rarely does that explode into action.

This blog hopes for tender mercies for Cashman and Mattis. They will probably still have to pay the steep price of being disbarred. But perhaps that could be reversed in time. Former Willkie Farr Co-Chairman Gordon Caplan was able to have his license reinstated. 

Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com.

Hinckley Allen Partner Bruce Singal Allegedly Went Rogue

"Bruce Singal, currently a partner at Hinckley Allen who also lists an adjunct position at Boston College on his resume [and a former Assistant US Attorney], allegedly picked up a woman from a less than reputable area of town and was confronted by police while being… um… you know, by the woman. According to the report the woman received $40 for the transaction." - Abovethelaw, May 2, 2022.

This looks bad. But it could be worse. The Incident Report, provided by ATL, lists the alleged crime as human trafficking. But that was later downgraded to misdemeanor solicitation. 

The bad is still bad in terms of this lawyer's brand and his future career. It can also throw shade on his law firm. The court of public opinion creates the rules of the optics game. The legalities more and more often play second fiddle. Meanwhile law is a slow-moving process. Media outlets operate 24/7.

So here we have yet another successful lawyer who allegedly didn't walk the line. It remains a puzzle why too many lawyers, who have had to jump through so many hoops to get where they are, allegedly risk tearing it all down.

Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com