Morning Wrap

Law Firm Ads. "The best attorneys know how to balance aggression with delicate handling," reads an ad prepared for Boston-based Bingham McCutchen against the backdrop of a computer-generated grizzly bear cradling an infant. How should firms project themselves and balance their needs for clients with modern-day marketing? The NYT today features several firms that have shunned traditional images of suits and offices for visual metaphors that replicate their culture and prestige. For examples, click here and here.

FBI Official Arrested. The WaPo reports that the former head of the FBI's Toledo, Ohio office, who was on temporary assignment in Washington, is accused of assaulting his girlfriend during a drunken stupor in an Arlington, Va. apartment last month. Carl Spicocchi, 54, is being held without bail on two felony counts in the local jail. Spicocchi formerly ran the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Toledo and transferred to FBI headquarters in 2006. Here's a TV report from Toledo and the AP version via the Newport News, Va. Daily Press.

Mea Culpa. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell has admitted he erred when he testified in a Senate hearing Monday that the Protect America Act -- passed last month to extend the government's surveillance powers -- had "facilitated" the arrests of three people in a recent terror plot in Germany. Newsweek says the intelligence czar called Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., on Tuesday and yesterday issued a statement correcting his testimony.

Courtroom Love. Who says you can't flirt with a fellow juror? Maxine and James Moore served on a medical malpractice trial 17 years ago in D.C. Superior Court, began dating soon after and then got married. The WaPo reports the Moores are now helping the U.S. Postal Service in a campaign to spark interest in the sometimes-dreaded jury summons with the launch of a new stamp extolling 'Jury Duty' and 'Serve with Pride.'

Bad Humberto. The tropical storm went from a lowly depression to a Category 1 hurricane and made landfall overnight near Galveston, Texas with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles an hour. CNN reports the hurricane generated a couple of tornadoes and is expected to dump up more than a foot of rain to already-drenched parts of Texas and Louisiana. A hurricane warning is in effect the rest of the day for much of the area.

Comments

[JG]

Have you considered that Mike McConnell may not be lying? Perhaps the technology of this "new law" was in force BEFORE it was signed officially and he was talking about how well that worked (when it wasn't supposed to exist yet).