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2014 Year in Review: From Inmate Sex Changes to Pinball Wizard Attorneys

In a rapidly changing world where social media and technology permeate nearly every facet of day-to-day life, the courts are forced to grapple with the new frontier of litigation. Some of this year’s most interesting, bizarre and important cases deal with the rapidly changing high-tech world. Of course, 2014 also saw its share of cases dealing with timeless themes of greed, lust, murder, sex, racism, violence and corruption. And sometimes, there was an obvious overlap.

Here is a small sample of the seemingly infinite cases, stories and trials that caught the eyes of the legal community, the public and Progressive Law Practice.

This stories below about the dangers of oversharing on Facebook and about prenuptial agreements governing social media postings are evidence that lawyers and judges must be able to keep up with the proliferation of societal transparency.

Further, both the public and private sectors are increasingly facing especially malicious threats in the digital world, as evidenced in this PLP feature:

Hot button topics like gender equality and family planning have also become popular. This year featured cases spanning the spectrum of social issues including pieces dealing with some touchy subjects like taxpayer-funded sex changes for inmates and nuns that don’t approve of some key provisions of Obamacare.

Religion, always a contentious topic, was the heart of this piece regarding the copyright of the Holy Bible.

The New York Times also took a look at gender with respect to the work pay gap.

The National Football League, which satisfies casual sports fans, “fantasy” diehards and a growing number of women, has peppered the legal community with some high-profile cases involving domestic violence, child abuse and racism. One article tackled the controversial Washington Redskins name patent. Another dove into the case of former Ravens running back Ray Rice and punishment handed to him relating to an alleged domestic dispute.

In 2014 seemingly nothing was out-of-bounds. There were cases about diarrhea-related hit-and-runs and grandmas having sex in public. Massachusetts took on "upskirts."

Celebrity Judge Joe Brown found himself in hot water and the infamous journalist Steven Glass was back in the news after his failed attempted at becoming a certified lawyer.

A PLP feature covered a lawsuit brought by a Boston Marathon bombing victim against Glen Beck.

Lastly, PLP features comprised a large portion of our top read stories of the year. They include: 

Meet the Pinball Wizard Attorney and Other Legal Collectors

How Virtual Should Your Law Office Be?

Hanging a Single Shingle: A Primer for Practicing Law Solo  

What 'Apps' Do Attorneys Really Need?

Depressed Lawyers Blog: Meet the Creator

Severe Weather Impacting Lawyers' Bottom Lines

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