We here at Abnormal Use and Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A. wish you and your family a fun and festive Labor Day. We hope you’ve enjoyed your weekend of leisure and college football (although our editor, a graduate of the University of Texas, had a tough weekend in light of the results of the Notre Dame game).

We’ll resume our normal posting schedule tomorrow.

Try not to bill any time today, lawyer readers!

Forgive us, as it’s possible we’ve used this comic book cover before, but there aren’t too many referencing Labor Day. So, we feature Batman: The Long Halloween #12, published not so long ago in the halcyon days of 1997. We here at Abnormal Use and Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A. hope everyone has a fun and festive Labor Day.

Um, this is a curious Westlaw Next warning. Spoiler alert: We still miss Westlaw Classic. If you’re also feeling nostalgic, you can reread our Westlaw Classic obituary here.

Our favorite tweet of late is from June, but it’s a still good one:

Every good lawyer has had the experience of knowing you had the stronger argument on the law & losing anyway.

— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) June 25, 2015

Back in February, we here at Abnormal Use and Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A. announced that we had opened an office in Charleston, South Carolina. Exciting news, that. Well, we can now announce that our permanent office in Charleston has now opened and we’ve officially moved into that space. Yes, that’s a conference room picture above. As always, you can find all of the relevant contact information for our offices over on the official website, which you can access here. Be sure to let us know when you next find yourself in Charleston!

Well, the wait is over. As of tomorrow, college football will have returned. As you may know, we here at Abnormal Use are college football fans. How could we not be? So, to prepare for this momentous occasion, we have prepared a list of links to our prior football related posts. Mind you, some of these posts concern professional australia football players(which seems to result in more litigation). Oh, and let us know which Carolina you’ll be rooting for tomorrow night in the big game! (Since we have offices in both North and South Carolina and lawyers with alma maters in both states, it may be a tense day.).

“NFL Litigation May Forever Change Football” (August 19, 2013).

“PA vs. NCAA: Does the Commonwealth Have Standing?” (January 16, 2013).

“NFL Punter Claims Turf Unreasonably Dangerous” (November 29, 2012).

“Former NFL Players Allege NFL Concealed Risks of Injury” (September 14, 2011).

“The Return of College Football (And Some Law Stuff)” (September 1, 2011).

“South Carolina’s College Football Stadium Parking Jurisprudence” (July 12, 2011).

Oh, and here’s one that sounds like it’s about college football, but it’s really not:

“Georgia vs. Texas” (March 25, 2010).

So, above, you’ll find the cover of Marc Spector: Moon Knight #17, published way, way back in 1990. “No matter what the jury decides – the secret empire demands death!” That statement seems to suggest that the outcome of the trial is irrelevant. What kind of criminal justice system is Moon Knight facing, anyway? Here’s the rather confusing summary of the issue from Comicvine:

Marc’s trial begins. Meanwhile, Marlene and Frenchie are trying to escape the mercenaries they mistakenly thought would be able to help them free Marc. They bring out the innocent victims of Raposa’s rise to power, and force Marc to look upon them, much to his dismay. Back in New York, Jeff has decided to use Moon Knight’s costume and gadgets in his absence to follow in his father’s footsteps and perform some break and enters. He accidentally stumbles upon a Secret Empire meeting and is almost killed by their security patrol. He manages to escape but is caught on camera in the process. While Marc wonders what his father would think of him right now, Marlene and Frenchie are planning their rescue from a nearby hotel room. Meanwhile, Carmilla takes the stand and Marc notices that she hesitates when asked if her husband had a weapon when he was shot. This makes Marc realise there might be more to the story. The council finds Marc guilty and he is sentenced to hang in 3 days time. Marc’s cellmates are planning their escape, and even though he originally declined their offer to join them, he has now changed his mind.

You know, it’s not easy finding these legally themed comic book covers after doing this for five and a half years.

Don’t forget! You can register for the Halloween CLE planned by our editor, Jim Dedman, by going here!

Our favorite tweet of late is an older one, from June, but it is simply perfect in its sentiment:

Eternity (noun): The amount of time it takes to draft, negotiate, and sign a settlement agreement after the parties orally agree on terms.

— Lawyer Cat* (@LawyerCat_) June 17, 2015

As you know, we here at Abnormal Use occasionally speak at – or even plan – CLE conferences and seminars. 2015 is no exception, and our editor, Jim Dedman, has just assembled a heckuva Halloween CLE in conjunction with the Mecklenburg County Bar.

If you seek some frightful legal topics about which to learn, check these out:

Statutory Horror: Actual Laws Governing the Supernatural and Occult
A ghastly look into the real laws that govern the occult and the supernatural in North Carolina. This program will delve into the obscure laws on the books preventing you from falling into classic horror film clichés. We will look at haunted houses, mysterious cults, graveyards, and much more, all the while relying on very real cases, statutes, and governmental regulations addressing these very strange circumstances.

Alienation of Affection: The Cause of Action that Refuses to Die
Alienation of affection remains our state’s scariest cause of action.  Although most states have abandoned this ancient tort, it refuses to die here in North Carolina. Equally frightening is criminal conversation, a closely tied tort sounding in strict liability.  This program will address both of these concepts in detail, including the elements of each, practical considerations in filing and trying such suits, and the perils of pursuing these claims.

The Ashley Madison Hack: Legal Frights Waiting To Happen
Of course, by now, you’ve heard about the Ashley Madison website, which purports to facilitate adultery by linking married individuals through its dating website. You’ve also likely heard about the hack of that website and the release of information relating to its subscribers and their various “preferences.” There may be no more terrifying news for parties in family law cases or tort litigants pursuing loss of consortium claims! This presentation will discuss the potential litigation issues that could arise from this hack and others like it.

Strange But True: Uncommon Malpractice Cases and Ethics Violations
You’ve heard the old adage, you can’t make this stuff up?  This program will offer true stories of uncommon challenges to lawyers and the malpractice cases and ethics violations they cause.  You’ll leave with our top tips to avoid the same fate from such bugaboos like:

– The Horrors of Email Scammers – This Client is Too Good to Be True
– When Slimy Clients Sue Their Attorneys
– The Lie Down With Snakes Cases
– Angry Partners and Ugly Firm Breakups — Firm Dysfunction May Cause Ethical Heartburn
– Ignore Warning Signs at Your Peril – Keep an Eye on Your Partner
– The Incredible Hulk Claims – Unrestrained Anger Will Get You in Trouble

Practice alert! If you litigate cases in South Carolina, you should be aware of a new court of appeals case, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Fallon Properties South Carolina, LLC, et al, No. 2015-000157 (S.C. Ct. App. August 26, 2015). This case states that an email from the office of a master-in-equity containing an order that was later appealed is considered notice of entry of that order. Accordingly the court of appeals denied a petition for appeal that was received 31 days after the email and 28 days after the hard copy receipt. Calendar accordingly.

Above, you’ll find the cover of Wonder Wonder #207, published way, way back in 1973. As you can see, Wonder Woman – and her mother! – are being sentenced by “The Jury of Death.” We are wondering why, if the jury was referred to as such, Wonder Woman didn’t request a bench trial. It seems like one might take one’s chances with a judge if the jurors are collectively known as “The Jury of Death.”

Our fearless leader Mills Gallivan has been named President-Elect of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC) with his term ending in July of 2016. In case you didn’t know, Mills has already written a number of blog posts for us. You can revisit them here.

On another note, we are pleased to announce that 25 of our attorneys have been named to the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in America, one of the most respected peer-reviewed publications in the legal profession. Read more about that here.

Our favorite legal tweet of late addresses the changing legacy of famed fictional lawyer Atticus Finch:

SCOUT: What changed in you? Youre not the father I know ATTICUS: I love vaping. It’s good. My law firm is dedicated to protecting vaping now

— Ben Swanson (@CardboardGerald) July 18, 2015

We can’t bring ourselves to see the new Fantastic Four movie, but its release did inspire us to investigate old Fantastic Four comic book covers. Take a look at the cover of Fantastic Four #9, published way, way back in 1962. Okay, so it appears from the cover of this issue that the members of the team have been evicted. Who brought that proceeding against them? Which firm felt comfortable litigating against The Thing? Were they defendants in their individual capacities? Did they sign the lease as individuals? It appears that they are attempting to avoid publicity as they vacate the premises. If so, why are Reed Richards and Sue Storm in costume? Why has the human torch activated his powers to carry his suitcases from the building? Are those suitcases not flammable?

If Westlaw Next is truly akin to New Coke, won’t they be bringing back Westlaw Classic? We can only hope.

Here’s some news: Kyle White’s recent post on the memory issues of asbestos plaintiffs was linked on Overlawyered!

Our favorite tweet of late comes come related to the ABA Journal’s next hackathon, which is coming to North Carolina. Behold:

We are excited to announce that we are coming to North Carolina in October. Join us Oct. 24-25th and check back soon for more details.

— HackcesstoJustice (@Hack2Justice) August 6, 2015

This, dear readers, is our 1,500th post. Can you believe that? It all started back on the first business day of January of 2010. And here we are, more than five and a half years later, reaching yet another milestone here on Abnormal Use. Of course, we could not have done it without all of the assistance of our firm, Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A., and our talented crew of writers and contributors. If you’ve not noticed before today, take a look at the right hand column on the blog. There, you’ll see a list of all of our writers, and you can click on the appropriate link in order to view their past posts (some of which date back to the beginning).

We also thank you, our dear readers and supporters, for everything you have done to keep this site alive and thriving for the past five and half years.

We couldn’t have done it without you.

By the way, above, you’ll find the cover of Whiz Comics #100, published way, way back in 1948. Sure, Captain Marvel is only celebrating 100 issues (not 1,500 posts), but we thought the cover was sufficiently celebratory for our purposes here today.