Greer and Stearns -- Together Again!

Well folks, IT finally passed.

I'm referring of course to universal healthcare:

Fresh from a two-day weekend visit to Iraq, the Bush administration's top health-care official defended the $950 million that will be spent to help Iraq establish universal health care.

Oops, wrong country.

Are you a lawyer looking for a new practice area?

The NYT says you should be filing lots and lots of copyright termination notices.

Seriously:

The dispute is also emblematic of a much larger conflict between intellectual property lawyers and media companies that, in Mr. Toberoff’s view, have made themselves vulnerable by building franchises atop old creations. So-called branded entertainment — anything based on superheroes, comic strips, TV cartoons or classic toys — may be easier to sell to audiences, but the intellectual property may also ultimately belong in full or in part to others.

“Any young lawyer starting out today could turn what he’s doing into a real profit center,” Paul Goldstein, who teaches intellectual-property law at Stanford’s law school, said of Mr. Toberoff’s specialty.

Mr. Goldstein said cases like the one involving Marvel are only the tip of an iceberg. A new wave of copyright termination actions is expected to affect the film, music and book industries as more works reach the 56-year threshold for ending older copyrights, or a shorter period for those created under a law that took effect in 1978.

You guys better hurry, though, because I've got dibs on my star-studded remake of The Montefuscos.

Finally, in the ongoing drama at Fairchild well-chronicled by Eye on Miami, the Herald reports that Gene Stearns is helping out Bruce Greer:

Stearns said Forrester quit to live closer to her boyfriend. But Forrester, whose last day was March 12, painted a different picture: ``My decision was not based on personal reasons but rather based on recent changes in the structure of the education department.''

Greer insists that he had nothing to do with Lewis' firing, but some say they believe he was behind the move. And while Greer and Stearns say the board voted unanimously to let her go, one member called the vote ``deceiving.''

I'm sympathetic to some of the complaints here, but this is a serious uphill battle.

You are dealing with a powerhouse combination, the Rowan & Martin of the law biz, the Martin & Lewis of lawyerland, the Lewis & Clark of Miami's legal elite.

Bring your best stuff, kids.