Bad times for lawyers

The Herald's business section has a long piece on how the tough economy is affecting lawyers. And Julie Kay makes a special guest appearance here. (UPDATE -- Julie wrote the long piece as well, but they cut her name out of the byline!). One of the recruiters quoted in the article has this happy thought for lawyers who have been laid off: "Think about learning a new practice area or even a new career."


In other news, Jay Weaver has the latest on the Helio Castroneves case. Here's a small part of the article and the necessary picture:

Castroneves' lawyers maintain he owes no taxes on the Coimex earnings because the payments were made to his father, who lives in Brazil and once supported his son's career. As for the racer's Penske income, the money went to a Dutch annuity account -- income that Castroneves will start receiving next month, when he intends to pay his taxes.
The prosecution's portrayal of Castroneves as a chiseler could undercut his charismatic profile -- he's also known for winning the Dancing With the Stars reality TV show -- in the eyes of 12 federal jurors. As his trial wraps up this week, they will soon decide the fate of Castroneves, 33, his sister/manager, Katiucia Castroneves, 35, and his attorney, Alan R. Miller, 71, of Michigan.
They're charged with conspiring to evade paying taxes on $5.5 million in income between 1999 and 2004. If convicted, they could each face five to 10 years in prison.
Such an outcome would crush the racing star's career.
Whatever their decision, the jurors' verdict will come just after the start of the IndyCar Racing season, which got under way Sunday with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg -- a race that Castroneves won in 2006 and 2007. For this season, Penske has replaced Castroneves, a two-time Indy 500 winner, with Will Power.