With all due apologies to Charles Dickens, there are moments when I feel we are living in an era that sometimes evokes the best (or at least the funniest) we have to offer as a society, while simultaneously highlighting some of mankind’s more ignoble members. As a lawyer, I pay particularly close attention to my fellow attorneys, and to the often-hapless folks that they represent in matters both big and small, both civil and criminal. At times, it might even feel like the world’s a great big party, and you’re wondering how some of these people got on the guest list.

More often than not, it’s the criminal element that wind up on my “do not invite” list. For example, one person you definitely don’t want at the office white elephant gift exchange is the unidentified Canadian recently arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs into New Zealand. According to New Zealand customs officials, the woman had 22 pounds of methamphetamine (street value: up to $2.2 million) in her carry-on luggage disguised as wrapped Christmas presents when she arrived on a flight from Vancouver to Auckland. I don’t know how the criminal charges will turn out, but she’s definitely earned a place on Santa’s naughty list.