Law

ABA Journal Daily News
ABA Slashes Dues for Solos by Half #ABAMidyear

9 Feb 2010 | 7:11 am

The ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates has cut dues solo practitioners will pay on bills that begin being sent in May by almost 50 percent. The ABA also cut dues paid by government lawyers, judges and legal services attorneys by 25 percent. "We have talked a lot about solos," said Patricia Refo, chair of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Membership. “It’s time to do something about it.” Fewer than seven percent of solos belong to the ABA, yet more than 30 percent of American lawyers are solo practitioners. Government lawyers, judges and legal services attorney…
DA Launches Probe into Mayor’s Liberal Use of Mute Button During Meetings

9 Feb 2010 | 6:59 am

The Los Angeles County district attorney's Public Integrity Division is looking into complaints that the mayor of Carson is using a mute button to silence those he doesn't agree with during city council meetings. Mayor Jim Dear ostensibly uses the mute button to police the allotted time each speaker has to address the council. But critics tell the Los Angeles Times that Dear hits mute when he doesn't like what speakers are saying. There is no allegation of criminal wrongdoing. So if the DA's office finds irregularities, the only remedy likely would be a letter asking the mayor to lay…
Beth Shulman, Advocate for Low-Wage Workers, Has Died

9 Feb 2010 | 6:19 am

Lawyer, author and union leader Beth Shulman, who long fought for improving the conditions of low-wage workers, died Feb. 5 of complications from brain cancer at Georgetown University Medical Center. She was 60. In 2003, Shulman, a former vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, authored The Betrayal of Work: How Low-Wage Jobs Fail 30 Million Americans. In the book, she argued that society pays no attention to the people upon whom it depends every day, the Washington Post reports. "She was one of the nation's leading advocates for addressing low-wage workers' issues,…

Blawg Review
The Art of Blawg Review

Editor

8 Feb 2010 | 11:11 am

The Trial Warrior Blog hosts of Blawg Review #250. Antonin Pribetic is well-regarded for strategic blogging about trial advocacy and international litigation and arbitration. A litigator, he draws inspiration from Sun Tzu and the Art of War, as does his blawg.Photo Credit: 663highland Wikipedia licensed Creative CommonsThis week's presentation of Blawg Review is artfully produced with a theme based on the seven Bushido virtues: rectitude, courage, benevolence respect, honesty, honor, and loyalty.
Blawg Review of the Year

Editor

2 Feb 2010 | 11:25 am

Those who took the time and made the effort to nominate their personal recommendations for Blawg Review of the Year 2009 know how daunting a task it is to single out a half dozen outstanding presentations of Blawg Review in 2009. Much more challenging it is, believe me, to recognize only one that is exemplary, from amongst the many deserving presentations of Blawg Review last year. After much consideration, that determination has been made.Blawg Review of the Year 2009 is Kevin A. Thompson's presentation of Blawg Review #213 at Cyberlaw Central. Kevin Thompson, at Davis McGrath LLC in…
Social Media 4 Social Justice

Editor

1 Feb 2010 | 8:44 am

As seen on Twitter:Blawg Review #249 is live on @slaw_dot_ca http://bit.ly/bZeXOB Black History Month, National Freedom Day, National Slavery Prevention MonthIf you're wondering what's the point of blogs and other social media, in the context of the legal profession's greater concerns, take a look at this week's presentation of Blawg Review, on Slaw.ca, a Canadian law blog with a global perspective.

Law Blog--Wall Street Journal
Catchy Tunes, But Is the Service Bogus?

Ashby Jones

9 Feb 2010 | 9:33 am

You know the ads. This twenty-something hipster dude with a guitar singing about his financial troubles. In one ad, he’s working at a seafood restaurant and is dressed as a pirate. In another, his troubles force him to live with a skinhead named Fang “in a soggy cardboard box.” Had our sadsack troubadour only checked his credit via Experian’s FreeCreditReport.com, the commercials say, he could have avoided his woe. But, according to a lawsuit recently filed by a Wisconsin woman, had the singing pirate actually done as he says he wished he had, he might have wound up an…
How Health Care Reform Setback Might Benefit BigLaw

Ashby Jones

9 Feb 2010 | 7:29 am

It’s an interesting, and often underexposed component of BigLaw practice — lobbying. And given the popularity nationwide of lobbyists and their oft-derided “special interests,” it’s not entirely surprising that firms with sizable D.C. offices don’t do more to publicize this niche. That said, the practice isn’t faring all that badly. Much as the stock markets loathe uncertainty, lobbyists love it. And that’s why folks are speculating that the recent election of Scott Brown to the Senate in Massachusetts could boost the revenues of law firms.
In Airgas, Air Products Smackdown, Cravath Hit With Shrapnel

Ashby Jones

9 Feb 2010 | 6:32 am

Lawyers working on thorny M&A battles are supposed to work their magic from outside the limelight. They help make the story that ends up on the front pages, but they don’t become part of it. But that’s not entirely what’s happening in the current battle between Air Products and Airgas. The companies themselves, locked in a tense takeover standoff, are still grabbing top billing. But lawyers at Cravath, Swaine & Moore are increasingly seeing their names in print in ways that aren’t entirely flattering. For now, a quick recap’s in order, with a little…

Smartbrief: Practising Law Institute
9 plead guilty in U.S. case of corruption in food industry

8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

A U.S. -More-
PLI welcomes Mechanicsburg, Pa., as newest Groupcast locale

8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

"Groupcasts" are live Web broadcasts of PLI programs in a central location that you can attend with other attorneys in your i -More-
Goldman's Blankfein consulted with Feinberg over pay

8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

Kenneth Feinberg, special master for the U.S. -More-
ABA plans study on firm-, law school-ranking methodologies

8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

-More-
Court ruling in Lehman case adds uncertainty regarding CDOs

8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

Collateralized debt obligations have been at the heart of the financial crisis, and a recent court ruling in the bankruptcy o -More-

Overlawyered
New federal push to force local schools to ban sweets

Walter Olson

9 Feb 2010 | 8:22 am

The feds apparently expect their newest incursion into local school autonomy to go as easily as taking candy from a baby, which always was a puzzling figure of speech [New York Times] Tags: obesity, schools Related posts September 15 roundup (3) November 10 roundup (2) New York City cracks down on bake sales in schools (4) A career of suing foodmakers (1) Zero Tolerance Blog (1)
“We need a Commander in Chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern.”

Walter Olson

9 Feb 2010 | 8:13 am

Law professor Ann Althouse reacts to a Sarah Palin-ism. Tags: Barack Obama, Sarah Palin Related posts White House race roundup (8) September 11 roundup (4) McCain and Palin guilty of “criminal incitement”? (10) In which I get called “Thought Police” (17) Yes, I’m being facetious (16)
“Man Sues for Extra Time on LSAT, Claiming ADHD”

Walter Olson

9 Feb 2010 | 7:03 am

“A prospective law school student who alleges he has a disability filed a suit in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas, seeking a court order to force the Law School Admissions Council to provide him with accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act for the Law School Admissions Test.” [Texas Lawyer via ABA Journal] Tags: disability & schools, law schools, testing, Texas Related posts U.K. medical student: multiple-choice exams unfair to disabled (8) “Suing to Get More Time on Exams” (14) Where eagles fear to litigate (0) When sending…
“How the Plaintiffs Bar Bought the Senate”

Walter Olson

9 Feb 2010 | 4:19 am

My Manhattan Institute colleague Jim Copland has an op-ed today in the WSJ explaining how current campaign finance rules magnify the influence of trial lawyers, as through the favored status of “bundling”. Excerpt: Over the current six-year senatorial election cycle, four of the top seven donors to the campaign committee and leadership PAC of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) were plaintiffs firms. Plaintiffs firms were the top two donors to Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D., Ill.). The first piece of legislation signed by President Obama—the Lilly Ledbetter Fair…
A 70 year post-mortem right of publicity?

Walter Olson

8 Feb 2010 | 9:22 pm

Under a proposed bill in the New York legislature, the owners of (say) Marilyn Monroe’s estate would be entitled to prevent the use of her persona in advertising for many years to come. [Trademark Blog] Tags: New York, right of publicity Related posts Update: Indian sovereignty advances (0) Update: court dismisses Kremen v. Morelli (0) Sued wrong party, wrist duly slapped (0) September 24 roundup (2) Requiring family social workers to report animal abuse (20)

ABA Journal Magazine Stories
Just Like Everyone

ABAJournal.com

1 Feb 2010 | 2:40 am

Like many in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, Liza Barry-Kessler has never been sure of the reaction she’ll get when potential employers, supervisors, co-workers and clients learn she’s a lesbian. In the early 2000s, while working at a small lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., on issues of education, technology and the Internet, many of Barry-Kessler’s colleagues knew she was gay. But the issue was never discussed, and she sensed it was best not to mention it to clients. “This was during the big debates about blocking Internet materials harmful to…
Grade Anxiety

ABAJournal.com

1 Feb 2010 | 2:29 am

Among Southern California plaintiffs lawyers, Paul Kiesel is something of a go-to guy. Twenty years ago he set up an information database for fellow plaintiffs lawyers to discuss arbitrators and mediators, and among the defense bar he is known as an adversary who honors his word. He’s also held board posts with the Los Angeles and California plaintiffs bars, and he chairs the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s litigation section.
The War of Winds

ABAJournal.com

1 Feb 2010 | 2:20 am

Note: This month's CLE, "A Storm Brews Over Wind Power," is from 1-2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 17.

QuizLaw Legal Blog
Who dat gonna beat dem Comcast execs?

Seth

8 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

Congrats to the Saints, and a "suck it" to the Colts. In celebration, here's Senator Al Franken giving a bit of a beatdown on one of the devils who are the people who run our cable companies. (Hat tip: Gizmodo)
Only a Special Moment of Governmental, Bureaucratic Idiocy Could Bring Me Out of the Deep, Dark Cave Where I've Been Plotting*

Seth

5 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

Pop quiz, hotshot. There's a fax in the machine. But the fax is upside down. If you don't flip it right side up, the words and pictures will be upside down. If you do flip it around, well, then you'll have to deal with it. What do you do? What ... do ... you ... do? ...Well, if you're the Patent and Trademark Office, you write a stupid letter to the sender of said upside fax, a letter labeled "Notice of Document Filed Upside Down." You then explain that the document must be resubmitted: The faxed submission was received upside down. We are unable to continue processing these images. As the…
The whole freaking system is out of order!

Seth

3 Nov 2009 | 6:30 am

Back in February, we told you about a major whoopsie that had been discovered in the Wilkes-Barry, PA juvy courts. Specifically, two judges were sending minors off to JV prison after taking millions of dollars in kickbacks from the detention centers taking in these rapscallions. Well now the PA Supreme Court has thrown out five years' worth of convictions made by one of these judges. Thousands of convictions, in fact, up to 6,500. Well now the PA Supreme Court has thrown out all of this judge's convictions. Thousands of convictions, in fact, up to 6,500. Most of the kids who now have a mark…

BlawgIT
The Latest Online Scams

Brett Trout

2 Feb 2010 | 11:29 am

Not Your Father’s Online Scam By now, everyone is familiar with the Nigerian scam. You receive an e-mail for an offer you cannot refuse. The sender alleges he or she is trustee of a large sum of unclaimed money. If you will agree to take the money into the United States, you will receive half the money (typically millions) for your trouble. After sending $200 for paperwork, $500 for bribes, $2000 for customs and $10,000 for lawyers you get the impression things are not quite as they seem. With so many pigeons now wise to the “419 grift,” online scammers are constantly…
Top Ten African American Inventors

Brett Trout

20 Jan 2010 | 2:08 pm

Black history month is just around the corner. Once again I have compiled a list of my top ten African-American inventors of all time. While no blog post could do these ten great inventors justice, I have included a brief synopsis of each inventor’s accomplishments along with a representative patent. Back in 1821, Thomas L. Jennings became the first African American to receive a patent. Since that time, black inventors have helped our country make great technological strides. Every year it becomes increasingly difficult to select only ten inventors from the thousands of choices. This…
Monsanto wins first round in “nasty” patent fight with Pioneer

Brett Trout

19 Jan 2010 | 12:01 pm

The Lawsuit Last year, Monsanto sued Iowa-based Pioneer and its parent company DuPont in federal court alleging among other things, patent infringement and breach of contract. In the lawsuit, Monsanto alleges Pioneer developed glyphosate (Roundup)-tolerant genetics called Optimum GAT. Monsanto asserts Pioneer abandoned trying to market seeds containing only Optimum GAT and began combining Optimum GAT to Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready seeds in a process called “stacking.” Smack Talk According to The AMLaw Litigation Daily, over the past year the dispute grew nasty, with…

Above the Law
Dear In-House Counsel for Macy's: Buy a Shredder. HTH

9 Feb 2010 | 10:25 am

In October, we mentioned that the giant department store, Macy's, was having some trouble disposing of its sensitive documents. Reports surfaced that internal documents -- some of which included the social security numbers of Macy's customers -- were being disposed on the streets of St. Louis in lidless containers. Now, months after the initial, embarrassing incident, Macy's is doing it again. Missouri Lawyers Weekly reports (subscription): Sensitive Macy's records have again been littering the sidewalks of downtown St. Louis. The records, meant for disposal, included shoppers' Social…
Northwestern's Gender Neutral -- Possibly Hermaphroditic -- Barrister 'Rulers'

9 Feb 2010 | 9:10 am

A few months back, the Student Bar Association at Northwestern University School of Law got its panties in a bunch over inappropriate language and the "unthinking use of stereotypes." Saying that you were "raped" by an exam, for example, was offensive to some on campus, said the SBA. (They preferred that Northwestern students engage only in consensual test-taking.) At the time, we asked: Is there an epidemic of vulgarity at Northwestern that the SBA is desperately trying to stop? Apparently so. The school is gearing up for its Barristers' Ball, and students are offended by language all over…
Update: Philly Shooting Victim Continues To Recover

9 Feb 2010 | 8:11 am

Here's some good news about Edward DiDonato, the Villanova lacrosse star and son of a Fox Rothschild partner, who was allegedly shot by Gerald Ung, a Temple University law student. From Lacrosse News: Former Villanova lacrosse captain Eddie DiDonato has cleared all serious life-threatening obstacles and has been taken off his ventilator following a ninth operation 17 days after being shot six times in an Old City altercation, according to his best friend. DiDonato, a La Salle College High graduate, remains in the Intensive Care Unit and according to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital…

Simple Justice
The End Of The World (As We Know It)

SHG

9 Feb 2010 | 9:40 am

It came by way of a Request for Proposals from the City of New York. It sought proposals for not only the provision of indigent defense and ancillary services, but conflict counsel as well. It excluded homicide defense, and left unanswered the question of cases with more than two defendants, but it said enough. There would be no 18B attorney assigned to do arraignments. They would no longer be needed. Was this the end of 18B?For anyone who isn't a criminal defense lawyer within New York State, 18B refers to the County Law section that provides for private…
ABA House of Delegates: Huh?

SHG

9 Feb 2010 | 4:10 am

The American Bar Association has never carried much weight amongst criminal defense lawyers. Few join, and I can't think of anyone who participate in the House of Delegates. I'm sure there are, but I just don't know who. Maybe they keep it to themselves to avoid embarrassing questions, like "why?", or "what the heck is the ABA doing?"The latter question popped into my head when I read the breaking news from the ABA Journal, that the House of Delegates, in full swing yesterday. announced 9 criminal justice resolutions. The ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates this morning…
The Moral Frustration Of Charging A Fee

SHG

8 Feb 2010 | 4:20 am

Norm Pattis describes well the inherent conflict that most private criminal defense lawyers feel when a person in need rings them up. The contrast between the law's soaring ideals and the more prosaic reality of paying the bills intersect at the moment the attorney-client relationship is formed. Yet in all the great and not so great fiction about lawyers and the law, fees are almost never discussed. . . Why the silence about fees?I suspect it has to do with a certain moral ambiguity. There is nothing edifying or easy about asking a person in trouble for money. The ideal of a lawyer as…

That's What She Said
Meet the New Boss

Brian Kurtz

4 Feb 2010 | 9:12 pm

Litigation Value: Approximately $5,000 - 10,000; Oscar’s Dunder Mifflin vacation time … and the replacement cost of Stanley’s busted windshield. Employment law issues often get overlooked in a merger while the parties focus on stock price, transition planning, public relations, and other big-ticket concerns. When Gabe announced to the Scranton employees that Sabre offered two weeks of vacation, Oscar [...]
Dummies, Morons & Idiots

Jody Ward-Rannow

28 Jan 2010 | 9:07 pm

Litigation Value: $0 (which is good because Dunder Mifflin has no money left!) Unfortunately, tonight’s episode was another repeat. Matt Rita did a fantastic job covering most of the employee relations issues raised by this episode when it originally aired in November. In this post, we will discuss two moments not discussed in the previous post. First, Oscar’s notebook of [...]
Classic Rewind

Chris Butler

22 Jan 2010 | 8:18 am

Litigation Value: In the aggregate, $100 million; most of which is punitive damages OK, so tonight’s episode – The Banker –- didn’t really bring us much new material, but it indeed highlighted five years of near-catastrophic employee-relations failures. As Dunder Mifflin verges on economic collapse, a potential investor dispatches its self-proclaimed “fact-checker” to conduct a due-diligence assessment [...]

opinionistas.com
On TV to Talk High Speed Rail

admin

2 Feb 2010 | 5:43 am

Watch the latest business video at video.foxbusiness.com I hit the Fox Business studio yesterday to talk with Brian Sullivan about Obama’s plans for high speed rail. Just imagine if we could get around the U.S. without having to sit in some airport purgatory breathing re-processed air and downing earwax-flavored food. Yeah, I can’t really imagine it either.
Let It Never Be Said that My Job Is Not Difficult

admin

22 Jan 2010 | 8:44 am

Behold today’s guest editor for The Infrastructurist. Look mom, aren’t you glad I did that whole law school thing?
One More on the List of ‘Terrible Vampire Movies’

admin

13 Jan 2010 | 5:49 am

There are a couple types of bad movies. Well, 2 types really. There are movies that are simply bad — bad acting, bad plot, bad dialogue, bad effects, or simply an overall melange of badness that seeps through every aspect of the film. Then there are bad movies that are incurably bad, but still manage to be entertaining — “good-bad” films, I like to call them. A lot of monster/ghost/vampire movies fall into this latter category — they manage to be bad but still somehow good, since you have something to root for. Disbelief can be willingly hung from the rafters,…

Legal Antics
I seriously question a man who delegates his personal ads.

NBlack

9 Feb 2010 | 4:34 am

Lawyer looking for a lady to date - 36 (Queens) Date: 2010-02-08, 2:06PM EST Reply To This Post Hey ladies, My name is Stacy and I’m an assistant to a lawyer who’s looking for a girl to date and take care of. His name is Michael and he’s 36. He’s looking for a woman of Eastern European descent, anything form Polish, Slovakian to Russian, up to 30 years old. I’ve been recruited to help him with this task. He’s a very romantic guy who will spoil you if need be. He’s indicated that if you’d like to go back to school he’ll pay for you and do anything to keep you happy. He’s…
Stupid rules of evidence. Also stupid: witnesses.

NBlack

8 Feb 2010 | 6:37 am

Just say calibrate! State - Then what do you do? Expert - We check the machines to make sure they are measuring correctly. State - Do you have a word for that? Expert - No. State - Are you sure?!Via On the Record in Cook County
Seeking feedback for my upcoming ABA book on cloud computing for lawyers

NBlack

6 Feb 2010 | 8:55 am

Image via WikipediaI'm very excited to announce that I'm writing a book about cloud computing for lawyers that the American Bar Association will be publishing at the end of 2010.This book will explain the concept of cloud computing, including SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS platforms, and will provide lawyers with an overview of why cloud computing is becoming increasingly common and why it will become an increasingly evident alternative to traditional software systems. I'll also discuss the legal and ethical issues presented by lawyers using cloud computing platforms in their law practices…

Law and Magic Blog
Coded Language

lpcprof

8 Feb 2010 | 11:28 am

Larry Alexander, University of San Diego School of Law, has published "Telepathic Law," in the volume for 2010 of Constitutional Commentary, Here is the abstract. In this piece I look at the debate over constitutional interpretation between originalists and their textualist and nonoriginalist opponents through the prism of telepathic communication from the Constitution’s authoritative authors to their audience. Professor Alexander discusses the arguments for and against interpreting our founding document, using the metaphor of "telepathy," that is, reading the minds of…
Lancet Retracts Wakefield Paper On MMR, Autism

lpcprof

4 Feb 2010 | 9:11 am

The Lancet has retracted that 1998 paper in which Dr. Andrew Wakefield put forth the idea that the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine could have links to autism. The Lancet's move is nothing less than earthshaking in a field in which peer review is the standard for accepting scientific publications. Meanwhile, a panel investigated Dr. Wakefield's fitness to go on practicing medicine. Will those who have believed the MMR vaccine is linked to the condition stop believing that? Probably not. One cannot unring a bell. Nor can one fail to feel for families with loved ones who…
Ray Arrested For Manslaughter In Sweat Lodge Deaths

lpcprof

4 Feb 2010 | 9:05 am

Arizona authorities have charged James Author Ray, the self-help author, with manslaughter, after three people died at an event he was conducting at a sweat lodge in Sedona, Arizona. Mr. Ray surrendered to law enforcement at his attorney's office. Here's more from ABC News. I can't say that I'm surprised that Mr. Ray is charged in these deaths, and I can't say that if civil suits follow I would be surprised, either.

What About Clients?
This month's Inside Counsel: New Lawyers in Paradise.

Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk)

9 Feb 2010 | 8:59 pm

Screw the cite-check and pass the Cheetos. Why do things the hard way? It's not like lawyering is demanding. In February's edition of InsideCounsel magazine (formerly Corporate Legal Times), do see Associate Editor Lauren Williamson's cover piece, "Mind the Gap: Generation Y Attorneys Enter the Workplace". Whether you're 25 or 52, Williamson did a masterful job. But why are Boomer partners in the office for hours after the associates leave? Stealing stuff maybe. Wait, Shepard’s® does what? Dude, you're hosin' me. No way!
Real heros: Catherine Deneuve

JD Hull

9 Feb 2010 | 8:31 pm

Gallic elegance. Catherine Deneuve is as strong, resilient and talented as she is beautiful. The only woman in the world who could make director François Truffaut completely and hopelessly lose it. She is smart, entrepreneurial and ageless. Add her to our Roman Pantheon.
Rule 9

Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk)

8 Feb 2010 | 9:34 pm

Lord Chief Justice Sir John ("Pompous") Popham, circa 1603 Lawyers aren't special. We're in a service business. We are not royalty. Get used to it. Rule 9: Be There for Clients 24/7. Returning telephone calls promptly and keeping your client "informed" is not client service. Color all that barely adequate. Get a new standard.

How Appealing
"Bike footrests aren't weapons, state Supreme Court says; Ruling comes in the case of a youth convicted of carrying a metal cylinder as a weapon"

Howard Bashman

9 Feb 2010 | 5:07 am

"Bike footrests aren't weapons, state Supreme Court says; Ruling comes in the case of a youth convicted of carrying a metal cylinder as a weapon": Maura Dolan has this article today in The Los Angeles Times. You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link.
"Judge gets sarcastic over records rule criticism"

Howard Bashman

9 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

"Judge gets sarcastic over records rule criticism": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "The chief justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court on Monday dished out a sarcastic response to criticism in newspaper editorials of a proposal to redact information from public court records."
"Case of missing innards unprecedented in state court"

Howard Bashman

9 Feb 2010 | 4:58 am

"Case of missing innards unprecedented in state court": Today's edition of The Las Vegas Sun contains an article that begins, "The curious case of a young Englishman's missing organs is forcing the Nevada Supreme Court to take its first stand on the mishandling of human remains." According to the article, the case is before Nevada's highest state court on certified question from the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

Legal Juice
Saved By The Cell

John Mesirow

8 Feb 2010 | 9:19 pm

If you are one of those folks who refuses to carry a cell phone, I seriously doubt that this story will change your mind. But for those who carry them religiously (me?), and feel strange if we don't have them, vindication! Check out this story from the Atlanta Journal Constitution: The robber came in the door of the Beverage Mart liquor store in Roswell, waving a big, black hunting knife. He wanted the money in the knapsack. Now! He lunged at the clerk, Joseph Wescott, 59, who leaned back to get away from that 10-inch gleaming blade. The knife hit the cell phone in Wescott’s breast pocket…
No! Not The Butt Bandit!

John Mesirow

7 Feb 2010 | 9:08 pm

Folks in Valentine, Nebraska can now breathe a huge sigh of relief because the Butt Bandit has been arrested. It's not clear why they call him the Butt Bandit since neither his butt, nor any other part of him, ever stole anything. To the contrary, he actually leaves something behind [bad pun, I know], his butt (and/or groin) prints in vaseline or lotion. As reported in The North Platte Bulletin: The rash of bizarre behavior began in May 2007. Valentine police already had fielded about 20 different reports by this time a year ago. Rewards offered through Crime Stoppers failed to provide any…
Isn't It Ironic?

John Mesirow

6 Feb 2010 | 9:04 pm

Irony? Sixty-one-year-old Janusz Nowak of Sosnowiec, Poland was sick and tired of people vandalizing his bus stop. So, he pasted the following notice on the pavement: "Dear Vandals - please stop destroying the bus-stop." And guess what happened? He was arrested for vandalism! A police spokesman said: "Although the man had good intentions and wanted to express his indignation towards hooligans' behaviour in the neighbourhood he unfortunately broke the law himself." What a brilliant use of police resources. Here's the story.

PointOfLaw Forum
Note: Today's Trial Lawyers, Inc.: K Street Live Event Now an Online Presentation / Conference Call

James R. Copland

9 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

IMPORTANT NOTE: To anyone who was planning on attending MI's live event on Capitol Hill this afternoon, at which we were to unveil the newest Trial Lawyers, Inc. report, Trial Lawyers, Inc.: K Street--A Report on the Litigation Lobby 2010, we've had to cancel due to projected inclement weather, speaker and attendee unavailability, and Senate office building closure to the public. In lieu of the live event, we're sponsoring a conference call and online presentation, at the same time (2 pm). Stay tuned for details. UPDATED: Conference call information.
Florida Smoker's $300 Million Award to Be Reduced

Michael Krauss

9 Feb 2010 | 3:25 am

The largest individual award to a Florida smoker will be reduced, Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld (Broward County Circuit Court) ruled Friday. [Here's the story on Law.com] Judge Streitfeld called the $300 million jury verdict, rendered months ago, "excessive" and "shocking," based on anger (which the judge attributed to poor lawyering tactics on the part of the defense) and not merely on the desire to compensate and punish. The verdict, discussed in POL previously, awarded $56.5 million in compensatory damages and $244 million in punitive damages to Cindy Naugle, an emphysema patient who quit…
How the Plaintiffs Bar Bought the Senate

James R. Copland

8 Feb 2010 | 10:06 pm

In today's Wall Street Journal, I have an opinion piece that explains how the plaintiffs' bar is using its campaign-funding largesse to buy political influence: Since 1990, the sums donated to federal political candidates by lawyers--excluding lobbyists--exceed $1 billion, according to CRP. Lawyers as a group have given more to federal candidates than any other industry or profession. Their ability to keep tort reform out of the health-care reform bills is unsurprising: Congressional campaign contributions by lawyers in the last election cycle were about $25 million more than the combined…

Ernie The Attorney
Our problem is we don't listen (and many of us don't really want to)

Ernie Svenson

31 Jan 2010 | 7:50 am

If you want to disturb someone, and provoke a highly irrational reaction, challenge one of their deeply held assumptions. Galileo discovered this, shortly after he started adovocating the Copernican notion that the Sun was the center of the Solar System, not the Earth.I thought about this as I read this article in the New York Times today, which is about a scientist who studied trauma and then wrote a book about it called 'The Trauma Myth.' Susan Clancy set about to study victims of traumatic child abuse and expected to find one thing, but then discovered something else…
iPad for Lawyers?

Ernie Svenson

27 Jan 2010 | 3:46 pm

The Apple iPad was announced today, which pretty much everyone expected. The device is basically a large iPod Touch, except with some variances. The iPad has a faster processor, and from what people who played with it report, it appears to be very speedy. Also, it will have the ability to use 3G, so it can access the Internet from anywhere. We won't be able to buy one for between 60 and 90 days (depending on if you want the 3G model or not). Until it is released into the wild, it's hard to say what the real potential of this device…
Enlighten me, but make it quick!

Ernie Svenson

18 Jan 2010 | 9:47 am

Most speeches are too long, which is a shame because almost every speech has some useful information. So what if you created a program that lets people present a bunch of short talks? How short? 5 minutes. Period. No more, no less. If you want to use Powerpoint, that's cool. But, with this ironclad rule: 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. Period. No more, no less.This type of program is called 'Ignite,' and it was started in Seattle in 2006 by two geeks who wanted to create a highly charged speaking experience. It…

On Point
Crack-Dealing Suit Against Mistress Goes up in Smoke

5 Feb 2010 | 2:50 pm

The ex-lover of a Northern California man did not injure his wife by providing him with crack cocaine during their two-year affair, a jury has ruled in a case of sex, drugs and a law that makes drug dealers liable for the injuries they cause.
Stripper Dances Off With $100K From Club in DUI Case

3 Feb 2010 | 8:59 pm

A former stripper has won a $100,000 award in an unusual employment law case as a jury found a Birmingham, Ala., strip club liable for allowing her to drive home from work "in a highly intoxicated state."
Halliburton Takes Supreme Swing at Alleged Iraq Rape Victim

1 Feb 2010 | 1:24 pm

Perhaps befitting the former employer of Dick Cheney, KBR/Halliburton has taken the low road in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to bar a former employee from having a public trial of her claims that she was gang raped by co-workers in Iraq.

The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times
DOJ Continues Fight for Deloitte Records on Appeal in D.C.

Mike Scarcella

9 Feb 2010 | 10:16 am

The Justice Department wants to convince a federal appeals court in Washington that the accounting firm Deloitte should be forced to give up tax documents stemming from auditing services provided to Dow Chemical Company. Judge Richard Leon of the U.S....
The Morning Wrap

Tony Mauro

9 Feb 2010 | 5:42 am

Greatest Deliberative Body: Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) announced he was lifting his holds on more than 70 pending nominations, having successfully gotten the White House's attention concerning some Alabama projects he'd like to save, the Washington Post reports. In other...
Snow Covers Washington Courts

Mike Scarcella

8 Feb 2010 | 12:38 pm

Here are some scenes from around Judiciary Square in downtown Washington today -- in case you are at home and wondering what it looks like. The Justice Department, at Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. and 10th Street. The sidewalk around Main Justice...

May it Please the Court
Lawyer2Lawyer Internet Radio Goes To Court On The Supreme Court's Campaign Finance Ruling

26 Jan 2010 | 5:56 am
Lawyer2Lawyer Internet Radio Digs Into The Earthquake Disaster In Haiti

19 Jan 2010 | 6:10 am
Lawyer2Lawyer Internet Radio Meets The President-elect Of The American Bar Association

14 Jan 2010 | 12:28 am

Ask the Lawyer @ Dear Esq.
If I am Emancipated, Can I Live With my Grandmother?

Anon

29 Jan 2010 | 7:00 am

I have a question about emancipation. I've read about all the requirements for this emancipation to take place, that's where the problem comes in. I've been offered a home at my grandmother's residence, and I've lived there before, so I know I'll be happy and treated well there. I don't meet all the requirements for this legal action to take place, so I was wondering if I could be emancipated to my grandmother's home.
Can my Neighbor Build a Driveway on Our Ingress/Egress Easement?

Anon

25 Jan 2010 | 7:00 am

The developer plans to build a concrete driveway on the easement (Easement "A"), and place his utility lines along side, on the our- property side of the driveway. In addition to laying out the concrete drive, he plans to create a large entryway where the easement joins the public road and landscape to further (visually) associate the entire easement, as well as his untouched and unused 15 ft. wide, 200 ft. long flag pole, with his property, thus expanding his property footprint and increasing its market value while significantly diminishing ours. I have contacted the law office of the…
My Ex Moved Away With Our Son, What Can I do?

Anon

15 Jan 2010 | 7:00 am

I am the custodial primary parent of our 16 yr old son. His father and I use to get along and when our son was 10 he wanted to live with his father (we lived within 5 miles of each other) so we orally agreed that we would have an "open door" type agreement BUT our son would come back with me for High School. Well, time moved on and my son & his father moved 4 hrs away from me. Well, I am not being "phased out" and our son is not doing well in high school and I want him back. What can I do??

JURIST - Paper Chase
African Union calls for hybrid court to try Darfur genocide cases

Andrea Bottorff

9 Feb 2010 | 6:06 am

[JURIST] The African Union (AU) [official website] on Monday called for a hybrid court of Sudanese and foreign judges to hear trials of individuals accused of war crimes in Darfur [JURIST news archive]. The AU Implementation Panel, led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki [ANC profile], renewed its request for the combined court a week after the International Criminal Court (ICC) [
Chinese-American sentenced to 15 years following espionage conviction

Hillary Stemple

9 Feb 2010 | 5:41 am

[JURIST] Former Boeing [corporate website] engineer Dongfan "Greg" Chung was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison, following his July 2009 conviction [JURIST report] under the 1996 Economic Espionage Act [DOJ backgrounder]. Chung, a native of China, was convicted by the US District Court for the Central District of California [official website] in a non-jury trial of stealing corporate trade
China earthquake activist sentenced to 5 years in prison for subversion

Megan McKee

9 Feb 2010 | 5:05 am

[JURIST] A Chinese court on Tuesday sentenced human rights activist Tan Zuoren to five years in prison on subversion charges. Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] says that Zuoren sought to release an independent report [AI report] documenting the lethal consequences of substandard construction in the Sichuan province's 2008 earthquake [BBC backgrounder], which left some 90,000 dead.

Civil Negotiation and Mediation
Congratulations to Mediate.com!!!

26 Jan 2010 | 6:37 pm

Congratulations to Mediate.com for being awarded the "Lawyer as Problem Solver Award" by the American Bar Association! In its commendation, the ABA said:"Mediate.com has been at the forefront of making the power of the internet accessible to lawyers, mediators and dispute resolution practitioners....Mediate.com offers the field one of the most used information resources, replete with blogs, cutting edge articles, news of mediation and negotiation practice, as well as a place for interactive dialogue. The website is a practical tool for practitioners and helps them become more effective…
What We Can Learn From Law Students

26 Oct 2009 | 5:37 pm

The American Bar Association, Law Student Division, hosts a variety of negotiation tournaments for law students. I spent a Saturday afternoon recently as a judge of an early round of the in-school competition at UC-Hastings College of Law. The students are being taught that the outcome of a negotiation is successful when the settlement:• Is better than the best alternative to a negotiated agreement (with this party)• Satisfies the interests of: the client – very well the other side – acceptably (enough for them to agree and follow through) third parties – tolerably (so they won't…
Summer Reads: Negotiation and Mediation

3 Aug 2009 | 5:24 pm

I couldn't let summer pass by completely without making a list of books to read. If you’re headed for vacation, here are some ideas for books to take along.Rene-Marc Mangin, Minds in Motion. Rene-Marc, a mediator, business consultant, and college professor, goes waaay beyond body language to discuss the nonverbals of subliminal influence.Andrew Little, Making Money Talk. Andy, a North Carolina mediator, puts mediations that are based on money (as opposed to relationships) into perspective. Learn how to make your offer convey the information you want.Linda Babcock & Sara Laschever, Ask…

The Volokh Conspiracy
Jockeying Over the Next Nominee

Jonathan H. Adler

9 Feb 2010 | 3:42 am

The WSJ’s Jess Bravin has an interesting article on a debate within Democratic circles over President Obama’s next Supreme Court pick. Democrats gearing up for a possible Supreme Court vacancy are divided over whether President Barack Obama should appoint a prominent liberal voice while their party still commands a large Senate majority, or go with someone less likely to stoke Republican opposition. One thing found interesting about the story was its characterization of various prospective nominees. Specifically, Bravin reports that the President’s lagging approval ratings could…
Reid’s Reversal on Recess Appointments

Jonathan H. Adler

9 Feb 2010 | 3:13 am

The Politico reports: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used to consider recess appointments “an end run around the Senate and the Constitution” — so much so that he kept the chamber open during breaks to prevent President George W. Bush from making any more of them. But with a Democrat in the White House, and Republicans blocking executive branch nominees, Reid and his allies are starting to sing a different tune. Reid said last week that he’s “tried hard” to avoid the need for President Barack Obama to make recess appointments, but he added: “What alternative do we have? . . .
“Birther” claim about Obama and the Bush National Guard hoax: Fruit of the same poisonous tree?

David Kopel

8 Feb 2010 | 10:26 pm

So suggests John Avalon, in a Daily Beast column “The Secret History of the Birthers.” He traces birtherism to a Texas woman named Linda Starr, who was a Hillary Clinton delegate to the 2008 Texas state Democratic Convention. Avalon writes that Starr “was also cited as a key source for CBS’ discredited election year investigation into George W. Bush’s National Guard records that led to Dan Rather’s replacement after 24 years as the evening news anchor.” Avalon links to the Thornburgh/Boccardi report, which was conducted at the request of CBS News to examine CBS’s conduct in…

Balkinization
The Problem is the Senate, not the filibuster per se

Sandy Levinson

9 Feb 2010 | 6:44 am

Ben Eidelson has a posting on Slate noting that filibusters are not necessarily "undemocratic" if by "undemocratic" one means (plausibly enough) thwarting the will of a national majority as measured by the number of constituents represented by the filibustering senators. Indeed, he notes that of the 63 successful filibusters conducted by Democrats between 1991-2008, a full 97% were by senators representing a national majority (an average of 59%). Only 36% of Republican filibusters met that condition (average of 50% of the population). The reason for this anomaly, of course, is the…
The Invisibility of Whiteness

Brian Tamanaha

8 Feb 2010 | 1:02 pm

The great thing about being white in America is that, unlike non-whites, whites don't have a race. Whites are just...normal. It would never occur to anyone to suggest that we need to cap the number of white students on college campuses. The very idea is an outrage, absurd, unthinkable. So why this practice? [1,623 is] the average [SAT] score of Asian-Americans, a group that Daniel Golden - editor at large of Bloomberg News and author of “The Price of Admission’’ - has labeled “The New Jews.’’ After all, much like Jews a century ago, Asian-Americans tend to earn good grades and…
Is Harry Reid The Enabler of Bullies and Extortionists?

Sandy Levinson

7 Feb 2010 | 2:07 pm

My previous post condemned Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) as a "thug" and an "extortionist," a view I have not changed one whit, save that I have been persuaded by a correspondent that "thug," with its connotations of violence, is a less fitting word than "bully," so I have changed the title accordingly and am changing all uses of the word "thug" and its variants to "bully" and its variants. (Interestingly enough, no one has, to my knowledge, actually defended Shelby, including the conservatives who regularly comment on Balkinization postings.) But, of course, Sen. Shelby would not able to…

Althouse
"How Your Pet’s Diet Threatens Your Marriage, and Why It’s Bush’s Fault."

Ann Althouse

9 Feb 2010 | 6:38 am

That seems to be the new "Lincoln's Doctor's Dog."
"Miss me yet?"

Ann Althouse

9 Feb 2010 | 6:07 am

A billboard out in Minnesota, in a place called Wyoming...I've been saying "I miss Bush" for a while. Here, I said it in a post at the end of the year. And at least one commenter said it a year ago:Patm said...I miss Bush. He never said the time for talk was over.2/10/09 4:26 PM Ha! What a funny context. Patm was responding to this, from me:Barack Obama says:We’ve had a good debate, but the time for talking is over.You hear that? Shut up!That goes so deliciously well with the top story of the last couple days: Obama wanting to hold a summit with the Republicans over exactly the subject…
"If you make sure that nothing bad ever happens to you..."

Ann Althouse

9 Feb 2010 | 5:53 am

"... you'll also make sure nothing really good ever happens to you either."

Concurring Opinions
Tale of Two CEOs

Michelle Harner

9 Feb 2010 | 6:50 am

As I mentioned in a previous post, Bank of America and some of its current and former executives, including its former CEO Ken Lewis, are facing tough times. The executives were named as defendants in a scathing complaint filed last week by New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, relating to Bank of America’s 2008 acquisition of Merrill Lynch. And yesterday, Judge Rakoff suggested that he might not approve Bank of America’s latest $150 million deal with the SEC to settle allegations of fraud and misconduct in connection with the Merrill Lynch acquisition. Judge Rakoff expressed his views…
8 Feb 2010 | 8:29 pm

Frank Pasquale

8 Feb 2010 | 8:29 pm

Whatever happened to Henry Simons? (fp)
Very scary poll results

Kaimipono D. Wenger

8 Feb 2010 | 11:02 am

Wow — that’s some very scary poll results (kw)

The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog
Student Blogger - Law and Econ Workshop: Racial/Political Biases in Bankruptcy?

Hanna Chung

8 Feb 2010 | 8:45 am

Last week, Professor Paige Marta Skiba of Vanderbilt Law School presented her paper, titled, “Race, Gender, and Political Ideology in Personal Bankruptcy Outcomes,” to the Law and Economics Workshop here at Chicago (the most recent draft is available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1548473).What It's AboutThe study collected 9,526 bankruptcy petitions across the United States, comparing dismissal rates based on gender, race, and the probable political allegiances of the judge and county. Although the dismissal rate differences between male and female petitioners were…
Moving Forward in Google Book Search

Randy Picker

5 Feb 2010 | 1:18 pm

Yesterday, the Department of Justice filed its second statement of interest in the pending Google Book Search (GBS) case. We now have a full slate of second-round filings as we head towards the fairness hearing set for a New York federal court on February 18, 2010. Where do we stand? To recap very quickly, Google launched GBS with one core thought: all books available everywhere instantly. To try to come even close to that, Google entered into partnerships with leading libraries to gain access to their holdings so as to make digital copies of those works. Google then put the books online but…
Student Blogger - Winter WIP: Malani Asks if We Can Select Beliefs Without Evidence

David Schraub

5 Feb 2010 | 8:17 am

Most (not all) models of human preferences are rather agnostic about the process by which we form beliefs about the world. And on the occasion that scholars do think about the subject, they general posit that people change their beliefs based on the acquirement of new information.But this can't be right -- or at least, not always. First, people have to at some point form a set of priors, which necessarily occurs mostly devoid of factually inquiry. Second, people do seem to form beliefs about certain subjects that are not typically amenable to factual support (such as a belief in God). Third,…

Sui Generis-a New York Law Blog
Intelligence, intuition, on display at LegalTech

NBlack

9 Feb 2010 | 6:42 am

Last week, I wrote a special edition Daily Record column entitled span>Intelligence, intuition, on display at LegalTech A pdf of the article can be found here and my past Daily Record articles can be accessed here. Intelligence, intuition, on display at LegalTechLawyers tackling troubles of the digital ageNEW YORK CITY — Thousands attended LegalTech New York this week in Manhattan, hoping to catch up on the latest legal technologies and innovations. The annual LegalTech conference is sponsored by ALM with the goal of helping lawyers and law firms learn about the latest advances in…
Don't fear the cloud

NBlack

8 Feb 2010 | 8:14 am

This week's Daily Record column is entitled "Don't fear the cloud." A pdf of the article can be found here and my past Daily Record articles can be accessed here. Don't fear the cloud“People ... especially people in positions of power ... have invested a tremendous amount of effort and time to get where they are. They really don’t want to hear that we’re on the wrong path, that we’ve got to shift gears and start thinking differently.”— DAVID SUZUKII am a staunch proponent of cloud computing and strongly believe it is the future of computing for the legal profession.Granted, legal…
Seeking feedback for my upcoming ABA book on cloud computing for lawyers

NBlack

6 Feb 2010 | 8:54 am

Image via WikipediaI'm very excited to announce that I'm writing a book about cloud computing for lawyers that the American Bar Association will be publishing at the end of 2010.This book will explain the concept of cloud computing, including SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS platforms, and will provide lawyers with an overview of why cloud computing is becoming increasingly common and why it will become an increasingly evident alternative to traditional software systems. I'll also discuss the legal and ethical issues presented by lawyers using cloud computing platforms in their law practices and will…

Brian Leiter's Law School Reports
What is the "window of opportunity" for Spring law review submissions?

Brian Leiter

9 Feb 2010 | 9:11 am

Take the poll and check out the results. I would have thought early-to-mid March, but I have also not submitted to the student-edited law reviews in many years (I've done commissioned pieces only since tenure, though I do submit to...
Stirling's Duff to Take Up Half-Time Post at Minnesota

Brian Leiter

6 Feb 2010 | 12:30 pm

Antony (R.A.) Duff, one of the most influential philosophers of criminal law in the world, and a longtime member of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Stirling in the U.K., has accepted a half-time appointment at the University...
Hastings has had a faculty blog for three years...

Brian Leiter

5 Feb 2010 | 4:02 am

...and I only found out yesterday. Check it out.

Conglomerate
The Confusing Tale of Bank of America

Miriam Baer

9 Feb 2010 | 9:51 am

What happens when: (a) a state attorney general charges that the officers of a financial institution are garden variety fraudsters, while (b) a federal agency whose avowed purpose is to protect the investing public decides that insufficient evidence exists to prove that said officers violated the law, but that their company (ie their shareholders) ought to pay the federal government a $150 million dollar fine anyway?Well for one thing, the federal judge overseeing the federal agency’s settlement might get a little … peeved. On Monday, the SEC went back to Judge Rakoff to justify its (now)…
Incorporated Americans

Erik Gerding

9 Feb 2010 | 8:13 am

A friend of mine sent me this cartoon on Citizens United. (I’ll leave you to decide if my friend is more real than the Canadian girlfriend I had in high school; she had trouble getting a visa, so didn’t make it down to New Jersey all that much). This got us thinking – what should we call corporations now that the Supreme Court has recognized their First Amendment rights to participate in the democratic process? “Non-natural person Americans” sounds divisive. At first, I liked “Corporate Americans” or “Incorporated Americans.” But this excludes all those LLCs, LPs, LLPs,…
A Model of Deregulation and Financial Crisis

Erik Gerding

8 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

I've been working away on a draft symposium piece for the NeXus Journal at Chapman where I present a model of deregulation that explains banking deregulation in Sweden leading up to that country's financial crisis in 1990. The model may also help us understand how the deregulation of Freddie & Fannie, the repeal of Glass Steagall, and bank OTC derivatives trading contributed to our own financial crisis. The piece is called Deregulation Pas de Deux: Dual Regulatory Classes of Financial Institutions and the Path to Financial Crisis in Sweden and the United States and can be downloaded…

China Esquire
techsoup looking for deferred 2010 first year associates from biglaw

Thomas Chow

29 Jan 2010 | 1:18 pm

Yes, it’s that time of the year again. TechSoup Global (“TSG”), where I work, is actually looking to add a couple of Staff Attorney Fellows this year. Above the Law and other news outlets have been covering the news for 2010 law school graduates, and it looks a lot like 2009: deferred start dates and stipends of $60,000 to $75,000 to volunteer at a public interest organization. Our selling point: how many non-profit orgs can offer you a chance to work on cutting edge international legal issues, in-house counsel corporate style experience, and a good environment in a…
xin nian kuai le (happy new year!)

Thomas Chow

1 Jan 2010 | 4:15 am

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year in 2010! May this year prove to be exciting and joyful for all of you. (especially for my regular readers!) And here’s to hoping that readership at China Esquire: Law and Business Blog will continue to grow in the coming year. I want to become more active again, though it’s difficult with Baby China Esquire around–and either way, I don’t think I can match the rapid pace of my blogging activity in 2008. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Best wishes to you and your family & friends in 2010!
examining china’s expert defense of the uk execution

Thomas Chow

30 Dec 2009 | 2:31 am

Looks like Xinhua published its defense of the execution of a British mentally ill man in an article entitled “Experts defend China’s execution of British drug smuggler”. I’m actually glad they did–it makes it a lot easier to dissect. And for the poor professors (Mingliang Wang and Jinzhan Xue), I’m sorry, you lose and that’s just how the game is played. Again, caveat: I normally don’t just go into attack mode like this anymore. (I don’t litigate on a regular basis anymore and I try to turn off this gear that’s internal to my brain)…

Ms. JD - Changing the Face of the Legal Profession
The Skills for Leading in the Current Legal Landscape Are ...

slwhite

7 Feb 2010 | 10:14 pm

Any woman who graduated from law school and passed a bar exam is capable of developing all the necessary skills to lead her organization. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Do not buy-in to the idea that you need charisma or a particular temperament. Do not let anyone convince you that you must be magically endowed with the right leadership traits or style. Good leadership flows from continually learning and refining the right set of skills for the unique context of your law firm, practice group, in-house law department, law school, or other legal organization. Leadership is a process with…
Couture-at-Law: How To Dress for Success on an Interview

Mikki Collier

5 Feb 2010 | 2:20 pm

Ed. note: Couture-at-law appears as part of Ms. JD's Writers in Residence publications. Every day we will be featuring content from our WIR's monthly columns. More information about the WIR and the 2010 WIR posts is available here. We have all heard the warning: "you never get a second chance to make a first impression." No where is this statement more applicable than when interviewing for a job. Regardless of how stellar your credentials are, the first judgment a potential employer makes is going to be based on the image you present. Therefore, you want to wear an outfit…
Ms. JD Weekly Roundup: Week Ending February 5, 2010

Ms. JD Weekly Roundup

5 Feb 2010 | 3:40 am

Today is National Girls and Women in Sports Day! One week from the Winter Olympics we're getting excited to see Lindsay Vonn Recapping Nina Totenberg's Interview with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Workplace Advancement Gender Neutral? Men and Women Disagree ABA President Carolyn Lamm on Diversity in the Profession Always Too Feminine or Not Feminine Enough, Never Just Right Working Women Have Happier Marriages and Families After the jump, women in the boardroom, the judiciary, and behind the camera ... read more

Biker and Motorcycle Lawyer Blog / Blawg
The End Of The Road For American Chopper – Is the Biker Yuppie Craze Over?

Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

8 Feb 2010 | 11:57 pm

Well the TV series American Chopper is suddenly coming to an end; the last show is this Thursday at 9:00pm EST on the Learning Channel. Many of you may have read the article I wrote about the Teutul family lawsuit here. I became aware of the fact that the show was ending when I saw a commercial on TLC announcing that the very last show would be this Thursday. I thought it was kind of odd that Paul Jr. was the one announcing the end of the show on the commercial since he was fired by his dad, (see below) and his is being sued by his dad. I am sure that most of you know that American Chopper is…
Some Simple Motorcycle Safety Tips – They Can Be Life Savers!

Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

2 Feb 2010 | 10:36 am

Motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable motorist on the road. A motorcyclist who is involved in a collision with a four wheeled motor vehicle such as a car, pickup truck, etc., it at a severe disadvantage. Often times motorcycle accidents result in the death or disability of the motorcyclist. It is not hard to lose a limb, seriously damage internal organs, or to become paralyzed in a motorcycle crash if you are not careful. Therefore unlike with other motor vehicles, bikers and motorcyclist must adhere to strict safety measures to prevent motorcycle accidents, and to ensure survival if…
Why is a Riverside, California Motorcyclist always stuck at left turn arrow signals?

Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

25 Jan 2010 | 6:42 am

Michael Murphy, of Riverside California, sometimes encounters a frustrating problem while riding his motorcycle. "I have many times been stuck at a left turn light controlled, I assume, by the circle cut in the pavement, by a weight sensor, that my motorcycle is apparently not heavy enough to trigger." He has sat through three or four cycles of the lights changing in all directions without getting a green left-turn arrow for his lane until a car pulls up behind him. That, he assumes, is "enough to trigger the light." He wonders whether there's a rule allowing him to turn when traffic is clear…

The Inspired Solo
The Top Ten Mistakes Solo-preneurs Make in Business (Christine Kane – with Commentary From the TIS Head Muse)

Sheryl

13 Jan 2010 | 6:24 am

Note from Sheryl: This is an article from Christine Kane, reprinted here with permission. Following each of the bulleted points in Christine’s article, I provide a little commentary from this peanut gallery. My comments are in block quotes. Enjoy! The entrepreneurial spirit runs wild in us creative types. Whether graphic designer, author, or coach – the possibility of freedom and self-generated income is so appealing! However, many get quickly burnt-out and disillusioned on this path. That’s because no one teaches us how to have a business AND be creative all at once.
Cage Match Round 2 Coming … But Still Not Here Yet

Sheryl

29 Dec 2009 | 6:42 am

Sorry for the delays, folks. We’re moving this week (yay! Finally!) but it’s put a real kink in my schedule. I’m set on getting this series up but it might be tomorrow next week before Round 2 is available. In the meantime — anyone know where I can find a gazillion boxes in the Myrtle Beach area? Anyone? Bueller? December 31st update: Q1: Is it possible for one single mother with a very bad back, chronic pain, a cold, and one ten-year-old girl and her two friends for help to move in three days to another state? Answer: Yes. Barely. Q2: Is it possible for same mother to…
Due Diligence in Naming Your New Blog

Sheryl

27 Dec 2009 | 7:56 am

Findlaw vs. NY Personal Injury Law Blog: The Opening Salvo Interrupting our Headway vs. Thesis Cage Match for just a moment, I wanted to share some thoughts prompted by the following tweet from BlawgWhisperer, the ABA Journal’s web editor and “keeper of the ABA Blawg Directory.” And that led me to this blog post from the original New York Personal Injury Law Blog — relevant excerpt below: I thought I was done blogging for the week, but I just learned that FindLaw, another one of those “venerable” names in the legal biz, has swiped my blog name. I kid you…

PT-LawMom
Weekly MILP Roundup #136

ptlawmom

7 Feb 2010 | 8:15 pm

The Weekly MILP (Moms In the Legal Profession) Roundup** is hosted on a rotating basis at the PT-LawMom, Attorney Work Product and A Little Fish in Law School blogs and is usually posted no later than Monday morning. Next week Proto Attorney will have it. Please go comfort Certifiable as she deals with the imminent [...]
Weekly MILP Roundup 135

ptlawmom

1 Feb 2010 | 7:33 pm

This week’s MILP Roundup is up at Butterflyfish’s place. The Roundup is hosted on a rotating basis at the PT-LawMom, Attorney Work Product and Butterflyfish blogs and is usually posted no later than Monday morning. Back here this weekend.
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-31

ptlawmom

31 Jan 2010 | 4:00 pm

On my way home from first sleepover with Mr. V. Processing it all. Stay tuned for blog post… # Trying to come up with a creative weekly MILP roundup. I'm not creative. #Fail Off to bake more and keep thinking creative thoughts # Would be inspired to write more [...]

Legal Profession Blog
Equitable Considerations

Legal Profession

9 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am

The New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department held that a law firm was not entitled to interest on an arbitration award and had acted in contravention of duties regarding entrusted funds. The law firm was awarded $30,000...
Former General Counsel Disbarred

Legal Profession

9 Feb 2010 | 6:58 am

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has accepted the consent disbarment of the former general counsel to Amkor Technology in the wake of his conviction on charges of insider trading. The attorney had been on an interim suspended status. Details about the...
Nix To Tix Fix

Legal Profession

9 Feb 2010 | 6:43 am

The South Carolina Supreme Court accepted an agreed public reprimand of a former county magistrate for intervention with tickets. The court found the following facts: This matter was referred to ODC following an internal investigation at the Department of Public...

Legalethics.com
Florida: Judges can’t “Friend” lawyers who appear before them on Facebook

prfhricik

27 Jan 2010 | 9:51 am

Not making this one up: the opinion is here. In a split decision, the majority reasoned that “friending” a lawyer who appeared before the judge suggested improper influence. If you see a judge today, don’t wave!
Adobe Flash Plug-In Creates Tracking Issues

prfhricik

17 Nov 2009 | 2:32 pm

An article in Wired Magazine reports that half of the Internet’s top websites use a little known feature in the Flash plug-in that allows for tracking of browsing activity and gathering of “private” information. Ryan Singel, You Deleted Your Cookies? Think Again (Aug. 2009).
South Carolina Issues Opinion that Impacts Linked In, Plaxo, Avvo and related services

prfhricik

26 Oct 2009 | 6:56 am

The South Carolina bar association addressed a hypothetical webside that listed attorneys without their involvement, and allows “clients” and others to “rate” the attorney. The bar association held that a lawyer could claim his listing in this service, but that all comments made about him were subject to the advertising rules. “[A]ll content in a claimed listing must conform to” the advertising rules, so held the opinion. It also basically says a laywer can’t solicit improper endorsements, and so on. Frankly, this one baffles me. I can…

China Law Blog
25+ China People You Should Follow On Twitter. Not One "China Expert" Among Them.

9 Feb 2010 | 7:28 am

A few weeks ago, a client who will be opening a factory in China within a couple of months told me how much he has been learning about China by following people on Twitter and following their news links. He then asked me who if I had a list of "China people" he should be following. I said about all I could tell him is that he should go through the people I follow on Twitter and pull out those related to China. The problem there is that I follow about 900 people and many of them have absolutely nothing at all to do with China. This morning, while perusing Ad Age China, I came across an…
Clean Energy Trade Mission To China. May 15-25.

8 Feb 2010 | 2:28 pm

US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will be leading a clean energy business development mission to China from May 15 to May 21 (h/t AmCham China News). According to the Department of Commerce's website regarding this trip, the cost will be as follows: After a company has been selected to participate on the mission, a payment to the Department of Commerce in the form of a participation fee is required. Large Companies Principal Participant fee: $10,000.00 Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Principal Participant fee: $8,500.00 Additional firm representative (both Large companies & SMEs):…
On The Deeper Meaning Of China And International Lawyers. And The Training Required.

8 Feb 2010 | 4:28 am

I hate it when I have to get all philosophical, but since China Tax Insights has thrown down the gauntlet, I feel I must. What is an international lawyer and what exactly do international lawyers do and what exactly should international lawyers do. Please bear with me here as I swear this post is going to be very relevant to more than just navel gazers and lawyers. Here goes. Matthew McKee over at China Tax Insights did a post, entitled, "What is an International Tax Lawyer?" His post was actually a riff on a post I did about a year ago where I stated the following about international tax:…

Patent Law Blog (Patently-O)
Damages: Federal Circuit Again Demands More Substance from Damages Experts

Dennis Crouch

8 Feb 2010 | 1:21 pm

ResQNet.com and Jeffrey Kaplan v. Lansa, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2010) The district court held that one of ResQNet’s patents was infringed and awarded $500k in past damages based on a 12.5% royalty rate. The court denied the patentee’s requested permanent injunction but instead ordered an ongoing license at the 12.5% royalty rate. The court also awarded sanctions against ResQNet’s counsel for failing to withdraw patents from suit that were clearly not infringed. On appeal, the Federal Circuit took issue with the damages calculation — holding that the lower court had…
Goods sold f.o.b. China considered sold "within the United States" for infringement purposes

Dennis Crouch

8 Feb 2010 | 12:06 pm

SEB (T-Fal) v. Montgomery Ward & Co. (Fed. Cir. 2010) The French company SEB sued Montgomery Ward, Pentalpha and others for infringement of its patent covering deep-fat-fryer. Patent No. 4,995,312. SEB won a jury verdict verdict of willful infringement and was awarded $4.6 million in damages, but the district court reduced the damage award to $2 million and refused to award enhanced damages for willfulness citing Seagate. f.o.b. sales: Pentalphia shipped its products f.o.b. China and argued that it therefore could not be liable for sales in the US. The Federal Circuit rejected…
Patently-O Bits and Bytes

Dennis Crouch

8 Feb 2010 | 9:16 am

The following is a list of upcoming events that I will be attending. I look forward to seeing you there!: Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal's 11th Annual Intellectual Property Symposium at The University of Texas School of Law in Austin on February 19th, 2010. Stanford Technology Law Review Symposium at Stanford Law School focusing on “PTO Reform” on February 26, 2010. IP Law Summit for Corporate IP Counsel in Miami at the Doral Resort on March 25–27, 2010. Corporate IP Counsel Summit in New York City at the Helmsley Hotel on April 27–28, 2010. If you are…

Law of the Game
LGJ: Wait, it's not a derivative?

Mark Methenitis

29 Jan 2010 | 8:12 am

This week's LGJ takes another look at NBA Jam and examines a rare example of a sequel potentially not being a derivative. Read on!Disclaimer The content of this blog is not legal advice. It only constitutes commentary on legal issues, and is for educational and informational purposes only. Reading this blog, replying to its posts, or any other interaction on this site does not create an attorney-client privilege between you and the author. The opinions expressed on this site are not the opinions of The Vernon Law Group, PLLC.
Will Currency Hedges Be Key in the Global Microtransaction Model?

Mark Methenitis

28 Jan 2010 | 9:03 am

I was chatting with Zack Karlsson and Stephanie O'Malley Deming at Game::Business::Law last evening, and the topic of currency hedging came up. The discussion was certainly interesting, but unfortunately short lived, and I thought it might serve as an interesting point to examine. While hedging has been going on to mitigate risk in the global market for quite some time, the broader question may well be how currency analysis may be the next big step in managing a global micro-transaction model. It may very well already be going on, but among those of us in the discussion, no one was aware of…
Law of the Game on Twitter

Mark Methenitis

27 Jan 2010 | 8:51 am

I'm pleased to announce that Law of the Game is now on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LawoftheGame. While I don't expect the feed to be extremely active, it will contain short thoughts from conferences as I attend them and links to the latest Law of the Game and LGJ content, which may be more convenient for some than following via RSS or e-mail subscription.Disclaimer The content of this blog is not legal advice. It only constitutes commentary on legal issues, and is for educational and informational purposes only. Reading this blog, replying to its posts, or any other interaction on this site…

Legal Talk Network
Salinger v Colting

admin

9 Feb 2010 | 8:03 am

Stacey Friends, JD ‘00, discusses Salinger v Colting, the copyright case stemming from Fredrick Colting’s sequel to JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye.
The Power of a Paralegal Education

admin

8 Feb 2010 | 12:47 pm

Education is vital to a successful paralegal career. On this edition of The Paralegal Voice, co-host Vicki Voisin welcomes Linda J. Wolf, ACP, the current President of the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) and Attorney Elizabeth Mann, Department Head of the Paralegal Program at Greenville Technical College, to focus on the importance of paralegal education. They will also discuss entering and growing in the career field and what employers look for when hiring paralegals. Special thanks to our sponsors, Teris, Westlaw Deposition Services, Clio, and the National Association of…
A Call to Action: Re-examine Laws on Domestic Violence

admin

5 Feb 2010 | 1:34 pm

Allison Myrick The murder of a young woman in Massachusetts raises new questions about the laws and the legal system in cases involving abusive relationships. 19-year old Allison Myrick was stabbed to death - her ex-boyfriend charged with murder. Authorities and family members revealed details including two restraining orders which did not prevent this tragic crime. Attorneys and co-hosts Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams welcome Attorney Marsha Kazarosian from the Kazarosian Law Offices and the Honorable Judge Eugene M. Hyman from the Santa Clara County Superior Court in California, to…

Patent Baristas
AwakenIP: Helping to Reignite Recognition of the Value of Intellectual Property

Stephen Albainy-Jenei

3 Feb 2010 | 11:24 am

Jeff Kuester, a technology attorney with Taylor | English in Atlanta, Georgia, has started AwakenIP, a web site devoted to intellectual property law. As noted on the site: This website is an attempt to help reignite broader recognition of the full value of intellectual property. Much criticism has been levied against the usefulness of intellectual property and its place in our new economy, but there are those among us who continue to recognize the wisdom of maintaining strong intellectual property protection for worthwhile contributions that “promote the progress of science and useful…
Changes in the Implementing Rules of the European Patent Convention (EPC)

Stephen Albainy-Jenei

2 Feb 2010 | 11:33 am

The Administrative Council of the EPO decided, in March 2009, to make significant changes to the Implementing Rules of the European Patent Convention (EPC). These changes will enter into force on April 1, 2010 and will have a significant impact on the grant procedure before the EPO. Introduction of a new time limit for filing divisional applications Up until now, a divisional application could be filed relating to any pending earlier European patent application at any stage of the grant procedure of this earlier application. Amended Rule 36(1) restricts this possibility by introducing a new…
Prosecution Laches and Inequitable Conduct: Cancer Research Tech. v Barr Labs.

Guest Barista

28 Jan 2010 | 9:43 am

A fellow patent attorney (who wishes to remain anonymous) called my attention to a recent decision issued by Judge Sue L. Robinson of the Delaware District Court. Cancer Research Technology et al. v Barr Laboratories et al., D-Del, Civ. No. 07-457-SLR, January 26, 2010. Download CRT v Barr. I’m not a district court decision junkie: since most patent cases revolve, at least in part, around claim construction, and since under Cybor the Federal Circuit reviews claim construction de novo, I tend to ignore many district court decisions – why bother getting into a claim construction-based…

Religion Clause
8th Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity To Officials Who Conspired Against Faith-Based School

Howard Friedman

9 Feb 2010 | 4:20 am

In Heartland Academy Community Church v. Waddle, (8th Cir., Feb. 8, 2010), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of appeals refused to dismiss on qualified immunity grounds a civil rights action for damages against various Missouri officials who conspired in 2001 to remove 115 students from a Christian faith-based boarding school for children with behavioral and substance abuse problems. The court described the underlying charges: Two of the conspiracy’s more prominent members were Chief Juvenile Officers Michael Waddle (Waddle) and Cindy Ayers (Ayers).Waddle, the conspiracy’s ringleader, disliked…
Court Orders Cemetery Title Transferred To Allow O'Hare Airport Expansion

Howard Friedman

9 Feb 2010 | 4:15 am

Yesterday's Chicago Tribune reports that an Illinois court has cleared the way for expansion of Chicago's O'Hare Airport by ordering the transfer of title of the 5.3-acre St. Johannes Cemetery from St. John's United Church of Christ to the city for $630,000. This follows a ruling last December that the city could use eminent domain to acquire the land. In previous litigation, church members were unsuccessful in arguing that moving the graves would illegally impose a substantial burden on their religious exercise because of their religious belief in the physical resurrection of the bodies of…
Human Rights Activists Charge Egypt Plans To Monitor Sermons In Mosques Through Cameras

Howard Friedman

9 Feb 2010 | 4:10 am

Egypt's Ministry of Islamic Endowments has denied that it plans to monitor sermons given in mosques through the use of cameras. Media Line yesterday reported that concern over monitoring arose after cameras were installed in the Sayyida Nafisa Mosque in Cairo. Ministry spokesmen however said the cameras were to prevent stealing money from charity boxes. Human rights advocates are suspicious of the true motivations, saying the cameras violate protections in Egypt's constitution. The decision to set up cameras is apparently related to a recent speech by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak…

Electronic Discovery Blog
Producer’s use of computer after entry of an injunction prohibiting destruction of relevant data did not constitute spoliation

Larry Wescott

31 Jan 2010 | 5:45 pm

Mintel International Group, Ltd. v. Neergheen, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2323 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 12, 2010) Defendant producer had worked in plaintiff’s marketing department, and had had access to plaintiff requestor’s confidential information. Defendant had signed an employment agreement containing a confidentiality clause, and a covenant not to compete. In 2007, plaintiff restructured its [...]
Judge Scheindlin analyzes the law of spoliation

Larry Wescott

18 Jan 2010 | 1:37 pm

The Pension Committee of the University of Montreal Pension Plan v. Banc of America Securities, LLC, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1839 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 11, 2010) Plaintiff producers were a group of investors who had brought an action to recover $550 million lost as a result of the liquidation of two British Virgin Island hedge funds. [...]
Requestor successfully rebuts claim that data from archiving system is not reasonably accessible

Larry Wescott

12 Jan 2010 | 8:05 pm

Starbucks Corp. v. ADT Security Services, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120941 (W.D. Wash. Apr. 30, 2009) The controversy involved ESI stored on a Plasmon archiving system which producer argued was so cumbersome that the data contained within it was not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost under Rule 26(b)(2)(B). The system was [...]

LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®
Gadget goes gonzo

Ron Coleman

8 Feb 2010 | 8:24 pm

They embody our passion, our vision and our values . . . They are descriptive of our products on many levels. Firefly is a business given life through ingenuity, hard work, the contributions of our employees and the trust of the many clients we serve. We’re prepared to protect that. Wow, sounds awesome! You go, Firefly [...]
“Victimless Crimes” Watch: Clash of the Sleazebuckets

Ron Coleman

3 Feb 2010 | 8:59 pm

Originally posted 2005-08-01 09:49:08. Republished by Old Post PromoterI’ve said before that we seem to be very picky-and-choosy about the concept of “victimless crimes,” which some people think we should eliminate from the books and merely “regulate.” We have schizophrenia on the matter, which is to be expected. Here’s a case [...]
Texas whiners

Ron Coleman

3 Feb 2010 | 8:59 pm

Speaking of sports: In Texas, as you know, everything’s mu-u-u-uch bigger. That includes NCAA-power-school IP thuggery, explains Eric Johnson, as well as the standard of what is and isn’t chump change: UT has been very aggressive about trademark issues. So with all that, how many millions of dollars has UT actually brought in to pay faculty and help [...]

The Trademark Blog
Marilyn Monroe's Ghost Spotted Drafting Legislation In Albany, New York?

Marty Schwimmer

8 Feb 2010 | 1:32 pm

Dead celebrities have lobbied NY state senators to introduce S06790, a bill to amend NY civil rights law to add a 70 year post-mortem right to prevent the use of the persona of a deceased personality. The ghost of Marilyn Monroe may have been among the lobbyists, because Section 12 of the bill seems to reverse the outcome of this case, that held that Marilyn Monroe's estate, and CMG, the estate's agent, couldn't enforce post-mortem rights in NY, if we ever got them, because you cannot devise what doesn't exist when the will is written. Drawing of Marilyn Monroe ghost from here.
My Huffington Post Column On The WHO DAT Dispute

Marty Schwimmer

5 Feb 2010 | 10:14 am

Trademark Nation: Who Dat Who Own Who Dat?
Pryor Representation Doesn't Create Conflict

Marty Schwimmer

5 Feb 2010 | 6:48 am

Law Firm reprented Plaintiff in a prior trademark litigation. Plaintiff sues Defendant, one of Law Firm's other clients, and Law Firm is retained to represent Defendant. Plaintiff moves to disqualify Law Firm arguing that either (1) Law Firm concurrently represents Plaintiff as a result of the prior litigation; or (2) this suit is substantially related to the prior litigation and Law Firm obtained confidential information about Plaintiff relevant to the current litigation. Held: 1. This is not a concurrent representation. Law Firm's retainer agreement with Plaintiff had clearly limited the…

Sentencing Law and Policy
Noting some great successes in Texas justice

Doug B.

9 Feb 2010 | 6:23 am

As detailed in this January 2010 publication from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the story of Texas justice (at least in the non-capital arena) is one that should garner much attention and praise. The publication is titled "Texas Criminal Justice...
Oklahoma legislature still eager to make child rape a death penalty offense

Doug B.

8 Feb 2010 | 10:06 pm

This new local article, whcih is headlined "Okla. panel OKs death sentence for child rapists," spotlights that some legislators continue to want to resist the Supreme Court's 2008 Kennedy ruling declaring unconstitutional Louisiana's capital child rape law. Here are the...
Australia province to start utilizing community-based "sentencing councils"

Doug B.

8 Feb 2010 | 9:54 pm

This interest local story from Australia, which is headliend "Community 'sentencing council' to advise on legal punishments," reports on an notable development Down Under. Here are the details: The Queensland Government says the community will get more of a say...

Grits for Breakfast
Accidents Will Happen

Gritsforbreakfast

9 Feb 2010 | 8:17 am

The title of this post is the headline to a story by Brandi Grissom at the Texas Tribune published today on the subject of errors in Texas Department of Public Safety accident reports. Here are some notable excerpts:State troopers turned in hundreds of error-riddled accident reports in 2007 and 2008, according to an internal audit report compiled by the Texas Department of Public Safety last year. In Hillsboro — the region with the most errors — more than two-thirds of the reports that officers filed in the first half of 2007 contained mistakes, according to the audit, which The Texas…
Levin on crime, costs and Texas justice

Gritsforbreakfast

9 Feb 2010 | 5:33 am

I've got a couple of Marc Levin's recent reports on my to-blog list from the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Center for Effective Justice, but in the meantime via email here's a compendium of much of his recent work on Texas crime and punishment policy:Texas Criminal Justice Reform: Lower Crime, Lower Cost - January 2010 By: Marc Levin By continuing to build upon the recent initiatives that are successfully reducing both crime and incarceration rates, Texas can achieve further crime reductions and lower its corrections budget through the closure of unneeded adult and juvenile correctional…
Political debates on death penalty focused on innocence, not cost

Gritsforbreakfast

9 Feb 2010 | 5:17 am

Several recent death-penalty related items merit Grits readers' attention:First, NPR's program Fresh Air yesterday aired a lengthy interview with Houston attorney David Dow, who has written a new, much-praised book titled Autobiography of an Execution, which has received wide critical praise.Then last night, the death penalty came up as a source of disagreement in the Democratic Governor's candidate debate, reports the Dallas News:The hourlong debate was calm, with few direct exchanges and plenty of agreement between the two candidates. But it laid bare a number of disagreements between the…

Blonde Justice
Checking In

Blonde Justice

31 Jan 2010 | 6:31 pm

I have a little less to say recently. I find that as I handle more serious cases, there is less to joke about. I have this funny case, where my client broke into this guy's house and... See, there's just not that much set up for a joke there. The other problem is that I receive about 30 comments a day I need to moderate, almost all spam. A while back, someone suggested that if I'm going to moderate comments anyway, I don't need to have the "type in the blurry word" mechanism, since I'm going to sort out the junk anyway. So, I eliminated the blurry word…
Hoarders Nightmare

Blonde Justice

8 Dec 2009 | 8:26 pm

I had a dream, a nightmare really, last night. In the dream, I was going to sleeping in a dorm room. As I fell asleep, I realized that the next morning I was supposed to move out and I hadn't packed yet. So I got up to pack and I realized my dorm room was filled with garbage, like the episode of Hoarders. I was trying to throw out all of the garbage and pack up the things that were most important to me, in a rush. But I just kept coming across more garbage.I can't remember the last time I had a nightmare from a TV show. Thus proving, Hoarders is the…
Hoarders

Blonde Justice

6 Dec 2009 | 2:02 pm

Scariest show on TV: Hoarders on A&E. It's like Intervention for Hoarders.It is like a nightmare for me. I just can't imagine anything so terrible. On this one episode, they found two dead cat skeletons under piles of garbage. She had her kid taken from her. She had no plumbing, no running water. It is so disturbing.I consider my mother a pack-rat. Not a hoarder, not as bad as the people on the show, but someone who keeps things for no real reason, buys things for no real reason. I can relate to the adult children of the…

The Virtual Chase
Supreme Court Halts Expansion of False Claims Act Liability

(24 Jun) The U.S. Supreme Court recently made plain that whistleblowers' allegations will be scrutinized more closely.
DOJ Is Aggressively Enforcing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

(24 Jun) Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is increasing dramatically. Recent Department of Justice (DOJ) actions demonstrate that it is imperative that companies maintain robust compliance programs or risk criminal exposure and substantial penalties.

Drug and Device Law
Mulligan Stew: Second Circuit Refuses to Overturn Cap on Attorney Fees

Beck, et al.

8 Feb 2010 | 10:27 am

Here's what passes for our light reading lately: cases involving plaintiff lawyers griping about their fees. We recently posted about a battle royale among ex-partners in a plaintiff firm. Now we have a Second Circuit opinion where a plaintiff lawyer chafed under fee limitations imposed by Judge Weinstein in the Zyprexa MDL. Mulligan Law Firm v. Zyprexa MDL Plaintiffs' Steering Committee II and Eli Lilly and Co., No. 07-3815-cv (2d Cir. Feb. 3, 2010). It's not as if we're obsessed by plaintiff attorney fees. Mostly it's none of our business -- consenting adults and all that. But sometimes…
Recall as Subsequent Remedial Measure

Beck, et al.

5 Feb 2010 | 9:38 am

We covered the topic of product recalls being excludable as subsequent remedial measures in some detail in our Total Recall post, including a list of all the cases we were aware of (whether they involved drugs/devices or not) that had excluded recalls for this reason. There wasn't a single federal court of appeals in the lot (the only appellate case to consider it had allowed admission despite it being a SRM under a theory that's since been amended out of Rule 407.That's why we were delighted this morning when we came across Rutledge v. Harley-Davidson Motor Co., No. 09-50533, slip op.
Plaintiffs’ Experts And Peer Review Don’t Mix

Beck, et al.

4 Feb 2010 | 5:44 am

Just the other day we brought you news that the British medical journal Lancet issued a full retraction of an purported scientific article by a plaintiffs’ expert in autism litigation. The author, who was at the time also serving as a plaintiff-side expert, described parts of his research in a manner that “have been proven to be false.”Something similar seems to be happening in the Accutane litigation. There’s a new opinion, Palazzolo v. Hoffman-La Roche Inc., No. A-3789-07T3, slip op. (N.J. Super. App. Div. Feb. 3, 2010), in which another plaintiff’s expert has…

Capital Defense Weekly
this week’s edition.

cdw

8 Feb 2010 | 7:31 pm

Leading off this edition: No new opinions of note are had this edition. In the news, NPR’s Fresh Air has an exceptional piece interviewing David Dow discussing his Autobiography of an Execution. In a sign of the times, Gabriel Gonzales returned to the same Bexar County courtroom Monday where, 13 years earlier, a jury had condemned him to die for killing a pawnshop owner during a robbery, this time . Gonzales received life. In Maryland, key changes to the public defender service appear to be working their way through the state legislature. In Pennsylvania the issue of the cost of the…
quick look at this week’s new case law

cdw

7 Feb 2010 | 8:19 pm

So far we’ve spotted only a handful of decisions of note for the next email edition, all of which are after the jump Robert W. Jackson, III v. Danberg, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 2100 (3rd Cir 2/1/2010) Panel upholds Delaware letha l injection protocols but takes it to task for its “blitheness.” James Phillip Barnes v. State, 2010 Fla. LEXIS 172 (FL 2/4/2010) Mr. Barnes waived counsel, entered a plea of guilty, and presnented no mitigation at trial. On appeal, no error is found, save for the failure to allow Mr. Barnes to review the PSI in this matter, which the Court holds,…
A closer look at an upcoming execution date: Hank Skinner

cdw

7 Feb 2010 | 5:57 pm

Where DNA evidence exists in a capital case common sense suggests it should be tested. Texas, in Hank Skinner’s case, says no. In a little over two weeks Texas is scheduled to kill Hank Skinner despite large quantities of potentially exculpatory DNA evidence readily available for testing. The State at trial had a heavily circumstantial case against Mr. Skinner. Adding to an otherwise mediocre case was the allegation by ex-girlfriend, Andrea Joyce Reed, that Mr. Skinner confessed to her the murder of his then current girlfriend, Twila Busby, and her children. The State and the…

Crime and Consequences Blog
Condescension and the Death Penalty

Bill Otis

9 Feb 2010 | 9:08 am

Condescension, discussed by Kent in the prior entry, has a longtime and prominent place in the death penalty debate. The language of the debate is itself written over with condescension. What is the abolitionists' favorite phrase? "Evolving standards of decency." What this is used to suggest is that anyone whose thinking has "evolved," at least in the direction of "decency," opposes capital punishment. And that is almost certainly what Justice Brennan intended it to imply. Analysis, you see, is not required when your…
On Condescension

Kent Scheidegger

8 Feb 2010 | 3:42 pm

UVa Prof. Gerard Alexander has this op-ed in the WaPo. He does not address the debate over crime specifically, but the overall problem he addresses is quite consistent with what I have experienced debating crime issues over the years:Every political community includes some members who insist that their side has all the answers and that their adversaries are idiots. But American liberals, to a degree far surpassing conservatives, appear committed to the proposition that their views are correct, self-evident, and based on fact and reason, while conservative positions are not just wrong but…
Federal Charges for Roeder?

Kent Scheidegger

8 Feb 2010 | 3:05 pm

Federal officials are considering charging Scott Roeder with violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), reports Judy Thomas for the Kansas City Star. This is despite the fact that Roeder has already been convicted of murder in state court for killing abortion doctor George Tiller.Constitutionally, the "dual sovereignty" doctrine permits the federal government to prosecute after a conviction or acquittal in state court for the same crime. As a matter of policy, though, it is rarely done. It is justified, in my opinion, when an acquittal or a grossly inadequate…

CLEWS Your Home for Historic True Crime
New study tries to explain why "women read true crime"

Laura James

2 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am

Why do women read true crime? Well, men read it too, but mostly it's women who go for it. This is true of virtually everything, but a new study (available online for free for a limited time) sets about proving that women read and enjoy them more and asks that old question: Why? Unfortunately, the authors begin their supposedly scientific work with a goofy fallacy. They claim that true crime has become extraordinarly popular "since the publication of In Cold Blood." That is ridiculous. True crime has been extraordinarily popular in English for at least 500 years. Setting aside…
New books

Laura James

27 Jan 2010 | 9:39 am

New Mexico Mystery A new book by author Corey Recko has gotten much buzz. Murder on the White Sands: The Disappearance of Albert and Henry Fountain [Amazon; B&N] (University of North Texas Press) has been hailed as an award-winning, impeccably researched look at an unsolved double homicide from New Mexico Territory. The victims were a man who crusaded against cattle rustlers and his eight-year-old son. The disappearance of Albert Jennings Fountain and Henry Fountain has haunted the state and has been called its greatest murder mystery. This title, it is said, replaces more than a century…
2010 Edgar Nominees for True Crime

Laura James

19 Jan 2010 | 12:12 pm

Five books made the cut to become official nominees for the coveted Edgar award. In the true crime category, they are: Columbine by Dave Cullen Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde by Jeff Guinn The Fence: A Police Cover-Up Along Boston's Racial Divide by Dick Lehr Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa by R. A. Scotti Congratulations to the authors!

The Chicago Syndicate
Is Casey Szaflarski the King of Mob-Controlled Video Poker Throughout Chicagoland?

JB

8 Feb 2010 | 1:48 pm

Casey Szaflarski allegedly runs a multimillion-dollar video poker business for the Chicago mob. But he's the first to tell you he has a fuzzy memory.When lawyers in a civil case tried to figure out...
Crime and Corruption in Present day Las Vegas: An Interview with Steve Miller

JB

7 Feb 2010 | 12:56 pm

John L. Smith, a columnist at the Las Vegas Review Journal, once described Rick Rizzolo, the former owner of Las Vegas strip club the Crazy Horse Too, as an “affable wiseguy, high-rolling gambler,...
Plans to Dig Up the Old Giants Stadium to Search for Jimmy Hoffa's Body?

JB

6 Feb 2010 | 3:56 pm

What do the New York Giants and Jets have in common with Jimmy Hoffa? Not much, unless you buy into the long-festering urban legend that they all shared the same residence in East Rutherford, New...

Crime Scene KC
Beaten for burping?

James Hart

9 Feb 2010 | 10:41 am

In Roanoke, Va., a college student has sued sheriff's deputies who allegedly beat him because they were sick of the guy's burping. (Which he blames on acid reflux.)
UPDATE: Donation jar stolen from Liberty restaurant

James Hart

9 Feb 2010 | 10:33 am

From Brian Burnes: Liberty police have identified two suspects in the theft of Haitian earthquake donations stolen last month from an area restaurant. An arrest warrant has been issued for Scott D. Case and Jessica B. McGannon, authorities said. Police...
Vacuum cleaner "fell out of the sky," victims tell police

James Hart

9 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am

I know we've had some rough weather this winter, but if it starts raining vacuum cleaners, I officially give up. Story is from Lincoln, Neb. Nobody's sure where the vacuum came from.

Salon: Glenn Greenwald
Rich Lowry's brain

Glenn Greenwald

9 Feb 2010 | 6:10 am

(updated below) Markos Moulitsas is writing a book, The American Taliban, which compares various aspects of the American Right to radical Islam (e.g., their obsessions with judging and controlling other people's sex lives, their religious fanaticism, their views of gender equality and the like). National Review Editor Rich Lowry finds this very upsetting, and the following was said by him during a chat he had yesterday with Ana Marie Cox (who, just by the way, appears to be eagerly auditioning for a role as a Fox News Democrat, as she assured Lowry that Markos is "to the far left…
Wall Street owners angry with their purchase

Glenn Greenwald

8 Feb 2010 | 3:09 am

Political science professors could require students to read this article from today's New York Times and little else would be needed to convey the essence of the American political system. The article describes how Wall Street -- which poured massive amounts of money into the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party over the last several years, ensuring unparalleled access and influence -- is now threatening to support the Republicans if Obama keeps saying mean things about them. Wall Street executives are angry that, after duly purchasing…
Palin and the tea-party "movement": nothing new

Glenn Greenwald

7 Feb 2010 | 3:08 am

(updated below) Fox News, April 6, 2006: Hundreds of protesters gripped Mexican flags as they marched for immigration reform in the past few weeks, but they say a display of cultural unity is being mistaken as a lack of loyalty to the United States. The displays turned off many Americans. Conservative talk show hosts admonished the protesters, while everyday people wrote angry letters to the editors of their local newspapers. Some called for those carrying the Mexican flag to return to Mexico. Others questioned why immigrants demanding rights in the United States would wave symbols of Mexico.

TalkLeft
Tuesday Open Thread

Jeralyn

9 Feb 2010 | 9:27 am

I'm busy at work today. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.
Sentencing Memos Filed in Bernie Kerik Case

Jeralyn

9 Feb 2010 | 6:36 am

Former NY Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik is scheduled to be sentenced in a few weeks on his guilty plea to various tax offenses and false statement charges. Both sides filed lengthy sentencing statements yesterday. Both parties have agreed to a guideline sentence in the range of 27 to 33 months. The Government is clearly hoping for the max of 33 months. Bernie is asking for 27 months. Having read through the Government's 61 page sentencing memo and Bernie's (234 pages, including many letters), I have to wonder why the Government is making such a big fuss over 6 months. By pleading…
Monday Night TV And Open Thread

Jeralyn

8 Feb 2010 | 6:21 pm

Jake the Bachelor goes on four hometown dates tonight. After that, it's "24" and "Life Unexpected." Olympics coverage is gearing up. Check out former Bachelorette winner Jesse Csincsak's new show, Beyond the Medal. What's on your agenda tonight? This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

TheFunded Founder Institute News
The Founder Institute Goes International

20 Jan 2010 | 10:50 pm

The Founder Institute is announcing a big expansion today, with new Spring 2010 Semesters in Singapore, Paris, Los Angeles and Denver. The deadline for early admissions is February 15th, with all applications due by February 28th, 2010. Apply to the Singapore Program Apply to the Paris Program Apply to the Los Angeles Program Apply to the Denver Program Apply to the San Diego/Orange County Program The Institute is run by founders for founders, providing a framework for successful entrepreneurs to share their experiences and to help. We've already lined up an impressive…
Happy New Year!

5 Jan 2010 | 5:00 pm

The Founder Institute wishes all of the participating entrepreneurs, Mentors, sponsors, and partners a Happy New Year and a successful 2010! This will be an exciting year for hundreds of enrolled Founders, who will incorporate a new technology business during the semester as part of their graduation process. After incorporating on April 16th, 2009, the Institute had three goals: launch a successful first semester that proves the model, implement a founder selection process that efficiently identifies strong talent, and, assuming success, expand the model into six operating locations. The…
Two Grads Launch in TechCrunch

22 Dec 2009 | 10:00 am

Two graduates of the Founder Institute Summer 2009 Bay Area semester have launched within three days of each other with articles in TechCrunch. The Summer 2009 Graduates are starting to gain traction with their ideas, which range from consumer electronics to video games. The first graduate, Got Clues, is an educational entertainment company. Got Clues announced the launch of iRewardChart, an interactive iPhone application to help parents track and reward children activities, such as cleaning their room. You can read more below: RewardChart Gets Your Kids To Shoot For The Stars… And…
195 Founders Enrolled in Winter 2009 Semesters

9 Dec 2009 | 3:00 pm

The Founder Institute has enrolled 195 Founders in the Bay Area, New York, Seattle, Washington DC, and San Diego for Winter 2009 semesters that run through ealry April, 2010. After tonight, all five locations will have launched first sessions. Congratulations to the incoming Founders! We hope to help make your startups successful in 2009 and 2010!
41 Accepted from DC and New York

28 Nov 2009 | 10:03 pm

The Institute accepted 41 Founders into the New York and Washington DC Area semesters Saturday evening, filling both locations with excellent candidates. The final admissions process occurs quickly by design. If you receive an acceptance letter, act on it sooner rather than later. Accepted Founders have less than 48 hours to enroll. If an invited applicant does not respond, two people from the waiting list are invited to fill any single vacancy. The moment a location has the desired number of Founders committed, enrollment is closed and everyone is sent notice. The Institute will start…

SCOTUSblog
Event: The Impact of the Citizens United Decision on Federal Elections

Matt Sundquist

9 Feb 2010 | 9:08 am

Last week, former FEC Commissioner Hans A. von Spakovsky (now affiliated with the Heritage Foundation) moderated a panel discussion at the Heritage Foundation that examined the practical impact and potential outcomes of the decision in Citizens United v. FEC. The panel – whose other members were all veterans of the FEC and/or campaign law specialists – agreed that the decision was one of the most (if not the most) significant campaign finance decisions since Buckley v. Valeo. The panelists also largely agreed on three other points: first, Congress and state legislatures will likely…
Notable Petitions

Erin Miller

9 Feb 2010 | 9:02 am

On a regular basis, we intend to post recently filed petitions that Tom deems noteworthy. Each will later appear on one of our “Petitions to Watch” lists — and will together constitute the bulk of those lists — depending on the conference they are eventually distributed for. But we see them as interesting enough to flag in advance of the conferences. Two such interesting petitions have been filed recently: No. 09-920, Simmons v. Galvin, and No. 09-923, Arar v. Ashcroft. In both cases, briefs in opposition have not yet been filed, and likely will not be until next…
Tuesday round-up

Jay Willis

9 Feb 2010 | 7:39 am

Joan Biskupic of USA Today discusses what Citizens United may portend for the rest of the current Term, in which the Court will hear several “momentous” cases. Biskupic opines that the contentious Citizensdecision may have reinforced the Court’s “caustic ideological divide” as it moves forward in reviewing and deciding pending cases, and in particular other high-profile cases such as McDonald v. City of Chicago, Doe No. 1 v. Reed, and Free Enterprise Fund v. PCAOB. Meanwhile, at the Huffington Post, Frances Moore Lappe criticizes the decision as eliminating “the freedom…

Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog
Hugh Hewitt: The Perfect GOP Candidate for Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District

9 Feb 2010 | 9:43 am

I don't know who will seek the GOP nomination to fill Congressman Murtha's seat, or even if PA law provides for nominations by ballot or from the party. If the latter, I hope the PA GOP avoids the self-destructive...
Hugh Hewitt: Following Congressman Murtha

9 Feb 2010 | 6:51 am

There is a good piece on the congressman in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and the communities he represented will certainly miss the federal dollars he brought them.Congressman Murtha's controversial legacy will be...
Hugh Hewitt: "Health Summut Starting Point: Ban Three Bad Ideas"

9 Feb 2010 | 6:38 am

The regular Monday morning column from Clark Judge has become a Tuesday column because of the snows in D.C.: Health Summit Starting Point: Ban Three Bad IdeasBy Clark S. Judge, managing director, White House Writers...

Articles on National Review Online
Defending 'Don't Ask' -- By: Mackubin Thomas Owens

9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

In a February 3 Wall Street Journal op-ed, I argued that the current law forbidding homosexual military members to discuss their sexual orientation ought to remain in place. I based my contention on the importance of non-sexual bonding as the glue of unit cohesion, which is an important contributor to military effectiveness. As expected, I received a great deal of feedback, some positive, some negative. I thought it might be useful to respond to my critics’ most common objections. First, some argued that the studies indicating the importance of cohesion in war have been “discredited.”…
Federalizing Fat -- By: Julie Gunlock

9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

Michelle Obama has recently taken up childhood obesity as one of her major policy priorities. Interviewed about this “epidemic,” the first lady discussed in some detail her own children’s supposed weight problems as an illustration of her personal experience with her new signature issue. Mrs. Obama revealed that her daughters’ pediatrician had “warned that he was concerned that something was getting off balance.” She then decided that she needed to take a greater role in her children’s nutrition: “Even though I wasn’t exactly sure at that time what I was supposed to do with…
Frank Rich and the State of Liberal Commentary -- By: Dennis Prager

8 Feb 2010 | 8:00 pm

If one had to read one columnist to appreciate the state of contemporary left-wing commentary, my nomination would be Frank Rich of the Sunday New York Times No well-known columnist better exemplifies the worst aspects of today’s Left. Virtually every piece is filled with anger, filled with ad hominem responses to arguments, filled with insults of opponents, and at the same time devoid of arguments. A Frank Rich column is essentially a weekly tantrum meant to make his readers nod in agreement and reinforce their contempt for those who differ with them. I offer this past Sunday’s column as…

Nuts & Boalts
One Path To Becoming an Good Speller Appellate Lawyer

Carbolic

8 Feb 2010 | 9:47 am

Rob banks. From the New York Times:Shon R. Hopwood was not a particularly sophisticated bank robber. “We would walk into a bank with firearms, tell people to get down, take the money and run,” he said the other day, recalling five robberies in rural Nebraska in 1997 and 1998 that yielded some $200,000 and more than a decade in federal prison.Mr. Hopwood spent much of that time in the prison law library, and it turned out he was better at understanding the law than breaking it. He transformed himself into something rare at the top levels of the American bar, and unheard of behind bars —…
Should a Gay Judge Recuse Himself In Deciding the Constitutionality of Proposition 8?

Carbolic

8 Feb 2010 | 6:31 am

A recent column in the San Fransisco Chronicle begins, "The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay." [Hat Tip: ATL]As the column indicates, Prop. 8's proponents (smartly) have not objected to Judge Walker on the basis of his orientation. There's been no indication of any bias in this trial, and I don't think that a judge's impartiality can be questioned on the basis of his sexual orientation.That said, 28 U.S.C. § 455 (b)(5) states…
Boalt Students Speak Out Against Yoo and Bybee Findings

James

4 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am

This morning, the Berkeley Daily Planet published an op-ed written by the heads of Berkeley's chapter of the National Lawyers Guild discussing the recent findings by Obama's Justice Department on John Yoo and Jay Bybee.I found this section of the op-ed to be the most compelling, as it spells out further action that could be taken against Yoo and Bybee:Despite its revised conclusion, the OPR report, at least based on what has been leaked, still seems to provide considerable evidence to support investigations of professional misconduct. From what Newsweek reported, it appears that Yoo and Bybee…

The Frugal Law Student
Is Law School Worth The Cost?

Mike

4 Feb 2010 | 8:59 pm

Given the economic crisis that is going on, the difficulty new lawyers are having getting jobs, and the soaring cost of law school, I’m doing a little analysis to see if law school is worth it for many prospective students. A lot of people go into graduate or professional school believing the debt and time spent will pay off in a more rewarding/higher paying career. While this may be happen for some, it’s by no means a guarantee. Let’s break this down by numbers: Cost of tuition (three years): $60k up to $140k depending on the school. Opportunity cost of not working (three…
7 Ways To Save Money On LSAT Prep

Brett McKay

31 Jan 2009 | 12:46 pm

In this guest post, Steve Schwartz, a professional LSAT tutor in NYC and blogger at LSAT Blog, gives 7 tips on how you can save money as you prepare for the LSAT. 1. Download free LSAT PrepTests from LSAC’s website Two LSAT PrepTests are available to download for free from LSAC: June 2007 LSAT – Free Sample PrepTest (PDF) October 1996 LSAT – PrepTest 20 (PDF) LSAC also provides an overview of the LSAT with sample questions and explanations (PDF). 2. Use Freecycle to get LSAT books for free You can search your local Freecycle group’s message board to see if anyone…
Why Every Law Student Should Blog

Brett McKay

8 Mar 2008 | 12:31 pm

I started blogging at the Frugal Law Student during my first year of law school. When I started it, I just thought it would be a fun way to share with my friends and family the ways I’m saving money in law school. But my foray into blogging has actually helped advance my legal career. That’s why I think every law student should have a blog. Here are two specific ways a blog can help you. 1. It’s a great job marketing tool. A blog is the ultimate marketing tool for law stuents. When you go into a job interview, employers are looking for what distinguishes you from the dozens…

Counsel to Counsel
What's In a Name?

Stephen Seckler, Esq.

8 Feb 2010 | 8:05 am

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.Clearly Shakespeare was not giving advice about marketing when he wrote those lines in Romeo and Juliet. What you call your business can have a great impact on how you are perceived by potential clients. Even if you are a great personal injury lawyer, calling yourself Business Lawyers of Boston is going to attract the wrong inquiries.For many years, I have operated my business under the name Seckler Legal Consulting. While I realized long ago that "consulting" is an ambiguous term, I was trying to cast a broad…
Check Your Checks and Balances

Stephen Seckler, Esq.

1 Feb 2010 | 11:46 am

This post by Jim Rhyner, worldwide lawyers professional liability insurance product manager, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, is one of a series of guest posts on CounseltoCounsel. Special thanks to Jim for his contributions.In my last Counsel to Counsel post, I talked about recent financial scandals in the legal profession. In both cases, a senior partner’s deception slipped through the cracks after a period of rapid profit growth. These incidents underscore the value of an effective system of checks and balances which can help ensure that no one person has total control over the inflow…
If You Want to Build Business Relationships, Go for Small Gatherings

Stephen Seckler, Esq.

23 Jan 2010 | 10:15 am

Every few years, I decide I'm going to attend the annual dinner of one of the charities I support. The event is touted as a great place for lawyers to meet each other but in truth, it's really a lousy way to meet new lawyers. I go because it provides me with a quick way to shake a lot of hands (i.e. I know a lot of people in the organization so I see people I already know).In sharp contrast, I joined a tiny Squash and Tennis club in my hometown and on the first day I went to work out, I met more new people than I ever do at one of these gala events.I have nothing against large events. And I…

Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog
Last chance to register: Developing Your Personal Marketing Plan - for Associates

Larry Bodine

8 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

Developing Your Personal Marketing Plan - for Associates Last chance to register for the Webinar on this Wednesay - don't miss out! Click here to learn more about this Webinar. How does an associate build the business development skills needed to succeed? Independent experts Michael G. Cummings and I will teach you the key elements of business development and show you how to create your own personal marketing plan to ensure long term success. You will learn the essential components of effective business development. The program provides real life case studies…
The One Thing You Can Do to Be More Profitable in 2010

Larry Bodine

5 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

Anita Campbell, the Founder of Small Business Trends, an online community of small business owners, polled some of her business owner contacts to see how they would answer the following question: “What is the number one thing you can do to be more profitable in 2010?” Ten business owners gave their answers: Meet the Client’s Pain Points – says Jonathan Fields, Author of “Career Renegade” “The pain points for a lot of markets have moved in a substantial way in 2009. Problems have changed, needs have evolved. Look back, ask how the points of…
Judicial Hellholes Are a Law Firm Marketing Opportunity for Plaintiff Lawyers

Larry Bodine

3 Feb 2010 | 8:47 pm

There are six "judicial hellholes," five jurisdictions on the "watch list," four "dishonorable mentions" and 16 lawyers in the "rogue's gallery" in the list of plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions named by the American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRA). "Judicial Hellholes are places where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, generally against defendants in civil lawsuits," the organization's new 64-page report says. Viewed another way, the jurisdictions are marketing opportunities for…

Legal Process Outsourcing
Financial gains underlie LPO work

Megha Pande

18 Jan 2010 | 9:59 pm

Pricewaterhouse Coopers in its study has analyzed in detail the growth of LPO industry. They have found that legal services outsourcing provides the highest cost savings of 44% in comparison to other markets. The research also revealed that LPO services realise the highest profit margin for providers, with an average margin of 29%, ahead of IT (24%), finance and accounting (21%) and procurement (19%).All these figures are indicative of the fact that legal outsourcing is the best avenue to provide cost saving, which in the present state of economic slowdown is the most coveted prize. The…
Lyceum invests in LPO domain

Megha Pande

25 Nov 2009 | 10:45 pm

Lyceum Capital, private equity house, has committed £25m to support Laureate Legal Services (LLS). The latter is a business process services group.This deal provides further impetus to the legal outsourcing industry as it is now getting evident that businesses have realized the profitability of legal outsourcing and the need to diversify.
Allen & Overy embraces legal outsourcing

Megha Pande

25 Nov 2009 | 9:16 pm

Allen & Overy (A&O) becomes the first magic circle firm to benefit from the advantages of legal outsourcing. This step has been taken in an attempt to reduce their overheads and bring in cost effectivity. The firm has signed the deal with Integreon on a case-by-case basis. They would be outsourcing basic litigation document review work to India thus saving cost by 30-50 per cent. With law firms getting into the outsourcing industry, it seems that initial apprehension regarding outsourcing has mitigated. Clifford Chance and Linklaters have both outsourced support functions. Many law…

Bag and Baggage
TWiL 46 Video — Privacy? Losin' It.

Denise Howell

5 Feb 2010 | 7:12 pm

Video archives for TWiL are available at blip.tv and ODTV. Also, TWiL is on Twitter and Facebook, if you're so inclined. This WEEK in LAW on Facebook
TWiL 45 Video — In An iPadded Cell

Denise Howell

30 Jan 2010 | 9:41 am

Video archives for TWiL are available at blip.tv and ODTV. Also, TWiL is on Twitter and Facebook, if you're so inclined. This WEEK in LAW on Facebook
TWiL 44 Video — Crimes and Damages

Denise Howell

29 Jan 2010 | 1:00 pm

Video archives for TWiL are available at blip.tv and ODTV. Also, TWiL is on Twitter and Facebook, if you're so inclined. This WEEK in LAW on Facebook

Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips Blog
2009 in Review: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Jim Calloway

25 Jan 2010 | 11:39 am

I don't generally do "year in review" pieces even I though I do a CLE program on that topic each December for Oklahoma Bar Associations's annual Recent Developments CLE. But this year, even as the economy was still weak and...
I thought I Felt Something

Jim Calloway

25 Jan 2010 | 8:32 am

I thought I felt something and, no, it wasn't the recent Oklahoma City area 4.0 earthquake. I kept noticing that I was hearing a lot more excitement about new things on the Internet in 2009 when we'd all been taking...
Do-it-Yourself Lawyers

Jim Calloway

12 Jan 2010 | 11:24 am

Topics like unbundling of legal services or limited-scope-representation may sound like academic exercises or impractical theories to many busy practicing lawyers. But when John T. Broderick Jr., the chief justice of New Hampshire, and Ronald M. George, the chief justice...

My Shingle
Social Media or the Internet Alone Won't Help You Find A Job

Carolyn Elefant

8 Feb 2010 | 5:28 am

Don't get me wrong - I'm a fan of social media when used ethically and responsibly. Heck, I've got a book on social media for lawyers with Niki Black that's coming out at the end of next month. As a shy person myself, I understand the appeal of social media: it's easy. You don't risk huge rejection or embarrassment when you follow someone on Twitter or ask to friend or link with them. It's much harder to call someone on the phone to ask for advice or set up a meeting or coffee date. And yet, if you don't come offline, you miss opportunities. This past…
Boutique Practice: Leaving the Land of Loss Leaders

Carolyn Elefant

4 Feb 2010 | 6:22 am

The twenty-first century version of loss leaders, big-law style, is nothing more than old fashioned price cutting wars, observes Toby Brown at Three Geeks and a Law Blog. A loss leader refers to a pricing strategy whereby a product is advertised below cost to lure customers in the hopes of selling them more profitable, big ticket items. As Brown points out, biglaw's so called loss leaders - deeply discounted M&A deals and large dollar, complex litigation cases -- are in fact, nothing more than big-ticket items being passed off at bargain basement prices. Rather than…
Return of the Part Time Shingle - February 18, 2010

Carolyn Elefant

3 Feb 2010 | 8:20 pm

The wildly popular The Part-Time Shingle Teleseminar is back. Carolyn Elefant, author of Solo By Choice and the blog, MyShingle and Julie Tower-Pierce, author of Staying at Home: Staying in the Law and the flexible lawyering blog, DarlingHill.com, are teaming up once again on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 12:30 p.m. ET to offer another teleseminar – the latest offering in their PinkSlips, Detours & Re-Entry series. If you’ve ever dreamed about starting your own practice or staying in the law on your own flexible terms, this is an event you absolutely can’t miss!

Robert Ambrogi's LawSites
Survey: Media Access to Mass. Courts

Robert Ambrogi

8 Feb 2010 | 8:25 am

The Judiciary/Media Committee of the Supreme Judicial Court is considering revisions to the Guidelines on the Public's Right of Access to Judicial Proceedings and Records. In order to evaluate whether the guidelines should be amended or expanded and what other initiatives the committee might wish to pursue, the committee is asking members of the news media to complete a survey on media access to the courts.As a member of the Judiciary/Media Committee and in my capacity as executive director of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, I am helping to disseminate the survey and…
Interview with Rocket Matter Founders

Robert Ambrogi

5 Feb 2010 | 5:39 am

During LegalTech, I recorded this conversation with the founders of Rocket Matter, Larry Port and Ariel Jatib. Rocket Matter is a Web-based practice management and time-and-billing application. They talk about their product, the cloud, social media and the cow in their office. Lots of background noise, and Ariel is softer than Larry, but listenable. Listen to or download the MP3 file: rocketmatterinterview.mp3.
Update on Errant iPhone Evidence App

Robert Ambrogi

4 Feb 2010 | 2:53 pm

Last week here, I reported on an iPhone evidence app that was missing one of the federal rules. The company that created the app, Tekk Innovations, contacted me to say that it has now updated the app's description to say, "Current as of December 1, 2007." That may not be enough to alert everyone that it is missing a rule, but it is a step in the right direction.The company also said that it has another app, Lawstack, that it describes as its "flagship legal app." Lawstack has all the federal rules update through December 2009, it said. It includes the Constitution and the federal rules of…

Wise Law Blog
The Newest Leaf

Garry J. Wise, Wise Law Office, Toronto

4 Feb 2010 | 7:36 pm

As our regular readers will know, here at Wise Law Blog, we'll occasionally segue from our usual law talk with a post on one of our other two major concerns, the Toronto Maple Leafs and music. I'm not sure this video of the newest Leaf, Dion Phaneuf, will be the ultimate marriage of those two satellite interests, but it scores high for oddity value, if nothing else. He might not give great interviews, but apparently, Mr. Phaneuf can be the life of the party, once in a while:- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.netEMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND…
Quoteworthy

Garry J. Wise, Wise Law Office, Toronto

29 Jan 2010 | 11:43 pm

New York Times' Linda Greenhouse, commenting on the U.S. Supreme Court's "exaltation of corporate speech" in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission...the Roberts court has lost its virginity.- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.netEMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCEORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG
Karlheinz Schreiber Trial Begins

Garry J. Wise, Wise Law Office, Toronto

18 Jan 2010 | 9:22 am

CBC reports that the trial of former Brian Mulroney associate, Karlheinz Schreiber, has commenced in Germany.The trial has begun in Germany for Karlheinz Schreiber, a German-Canadian businessman accused of tax evasion for his role in a 1990s political financing scandal.More on the history of Mr. Schreiber and his dealings with the former Prime Minister here.- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.netEMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCEORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

DennisKennedy.blog
Recent Microblog Posts - January 31, 2010

dmk

31 Jan 2010 | 7:50 pm

Here's the latest collection of posts from DennisKennedy.Microblog, which is a supplement to this blog that can be found on Twitter at @dkennedyblog. I invite you to become a follower. An explanation of the microblog can be found here. Here are recent posts from the microblog: Adam Singer on "Workforce Darwinism" - 70% of surveyed US HR pros have rejected candidate due to online reputation info http://bit.ly/dpS8R8 Kevin Meyer: Swimming Through the Information Clutter - http://bit.ly/cB0cpS - impact of information flow on leadership Fraser Speirs: "What you're seeing in the industry's…
MLK Holiday - 2010

dmk

18 Jan 2010 | 5:57 pm

I have a tradition on this blog of writing a post on celebrating the Martin Luther King holiday (here, here, here (especially) and here). The holiday is special to me for a number of reasons that I go into in the earlier posts on the topic and it's one of my favorite holidays of the year. I enjoy reading blog posts and other materials posted on the holiday, and today is no exception. I especially liked Curt Rosengren's Martin Luther King Day: 4 steps to making it personal. The money quote: This year, instead of just thinking, "Whoo-hoo! I have the day off," or "Hey, there's a sale at the…
52 Books in 52 Weeks - 2010

dmk

16 Jan 2010 | 6:55 pm

For the last few years, I've enjoyed reading the posts of several bloggers who are trying to read 52 books in 52 weeks. I've also wanted to find a good way for me to keep track of the books I've read. Last year, I decided to try to do the 52 books in 52 weeks meme (and encourage others to do so). I made it to 63, which seemed pretty good. Here's the post with the 2009 list. I'm doing the same thing in 2010. My approach is the same as last year - I'll simply update this specific post from time to time throughout the year as I finish books. December November October September August July June…

Inter Alia
Blawg of the Day - The Policyholder Perspective

9 Feb 2010 | 2:53 am

Today's blog comes from big firm Reed Smith - The Policyholder Perspective provides just about what you would expect: updates and thoughts on the full range of insurance coverage issues affecting commercial policyholders. The main contributor there is Ann Kramer - she and others are discussing topics including environmental liability coverage, bankruptcy, insurance insolvency, regulation, first party property, and general insurance market news.
Blawg of the Day - Asset Protection Law Journal

8 Feb 2010 | 2:42 am

The Asset Protection Law Journal helps "individuals and businesses take advantage of asset protection laws." It's published by Kenneth Laino, of the Cleveland firm Schneider, Smeltz, Ranney & LaFond. He's discussing business protection, creditors' rights, domestic asset protection trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, physician asset protection, Swiss bank accounts, and more.
Presentations from your Smartphone

8 Feb 2010 | 2:39 am

I've never been a fan of giving PowerPoint presentations from my phone - I like more control over the program I'm using to give the presentation. However, with MightyMeeting I might just have to give it another try. MightyMeeting has a different take on the whole "presentation by smartphone" thing: instead of loading the presentation on your phone, you upload it to the MightyMeeting server. You can then send your attendees a link to the file when you're ready to present - but it's actually a link to the presentation that you can control remotely from your phone. When you move slides on your…

Health Care Law Blog
Model Jury Instruction: Warning Jurors on Use of Electronic Technology and Social Media

3 Feb 2010 | 7:47 am

The Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the Judicial Conference of the United States has issued a memo regarding Juror Use of Electronic Communication Technologies.At its December 2009 meeting, the Judicial Conference Committee endorsed a set of suggested jury instructions that federal district judges should consider using to help deter jurors from using electronic technologies to research or communicate about cases while they serve as jurors. The recommended instructions were developed as a result of the increased use of web enabled mobile phones and devices that can be…
WVHCA: 2010 CON Capital Expenditure Minimum

20 Jan 2010 | 1:29 pm

The West Virginia Health Care Authority announced that the capital expenditure minimum for calendar year 2010 is $2,767,500. The capital expenditure minimum is typically used by the Authority when reviewing whether or not certain health relate projects require certificate of need review. The Authority provided the following announcement via its website: Pursuant to West Virginia Code §§ 16-2D-2(h) and (s), the Authority is required to adjust the expenditure minimum annually and publish an update of the amount on or before December 31 of each year. The expenditure minimum adjustment shall be…
State Attorney General HIPAA HITECH Enforcement

14 Jan 2010 | 9:57 pm

My health law colleague, David Harlow, covers the news today on the first HIPAA enforcement action taken by a state attorney general under the new HITECH provision of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).David's post, HIPAA enforcement by state attorney general: The shape of things to come, provides a good summary of the announcement by the Connecticut Attorney General. More information via the Connecticut Attorney General press release.The lawsuit filed by the Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (coincidentally brother of David Blumenthal, National Coordinator of…

LawBizBlog
Dominance

Ed

9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am
Celebrate our YouTube Anniversary!

Ed

2 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am
Growing Your Law Practice in Tough Times

Ed

1 Feb 2010 | 5:12 pm

West Pub. Co. has announced the pre-release offering for my new book, Growing Your Law Practice in Tough Times. I'm very excited about the new book ... and encourage you to take advantage of West's offer. You can also see the new offering at LawBiz.

the [non]billable hour by Matthew Homann
Revive Zombie Clients and Other Great Tips

Matthew W. Homann

25 Jan 2010 | 8:14 am

There's some great, simple advice from the Freelance Folder in Seven Tips to Keep Your Clients Coming Back for More. The tips:Offer packages for recurring work.Give your best clients special treatment.Revive “zombie clients.”Mark important dates.Foster a feeling of belonging in an exclusive club.Create promos throughout the year.Ask for referrals.Go read the entire article. It is worth your five minutes.
Audit for Obsolescence

Matthew W. Homann

5 Jan 2010 | 8:12 am

Jordan Furlong suggests lawyers and firms conduct an Obsolescence Audit, aimed at identifying aspects of your business that won't survive the next ten years. Here's his checklist of things to look for:1. Any offering that’s the same no matter who buys it.2. Any offering essentially the same as your competitors’. 3. Any offering not optimally designed for client value.4. Any offering that really, truly doesn’t require a lawyer.Read the entire post for Jordan's elaboration on each point. A fantastic idea!
Resolve to Let Clients Set Your Price

Matthew W. Homann

5 Jan 2010 | 8:00 am

I've been using my "You Decide" fill-in-the-blank invoice, for over a year now. In that time, I've found time and time again that my clients pay me more than I would have charged them. And, in situations where clients demand a fixed price, I'm quoting them much higher prices (coupled with a money-back guarantee) than I would have before my invoice experiment.Even though I've been doing flat-fee work for almost a decade, I used to (even subconsciously) focus on the time it took me to do something. Now, everything I do is focused on delivering the…

Innocence Blog
Politics Delay Reform in Ohio

8 Feb 2010 | 1:35 pm

A bill that would address the causes of wrongful conviction and help innocent parolees seek exoneration is stalled in the Ohio House of Representatives, seven months after passing the Senate. The measure would require that law enforcement agencies preserve crime scene evidence and conduct "blind" identification procedures -- in which the administering officer doesn't know the identity of the suspect. It would also open a path for people on parole to seek DNA tests that can prove innocence.Although the bill has bipartisan support and the Governor has said he will sign it if passed, the…
Friday Roundup: 250 And Counting

5 Feb 2010 | 2:50 pm

It was a momentous week at the Innocence Project, but aside from Freddie Peacock becoming the 250th DNA exoneree in the nation, stories of injustice, exoneration and reform continued to pop up around the world.The Griffith University Innocence Project in Australia is moving forward with DNA testing in the case of Shane David, who has been in prison for 20 years for a murder he says he didn't commit.Innocence Project client Dean Cage appeared on the Dr. Phil show this week to discuss life after exoneration and the issue of eyewitness misidentification.The widow of a murder victim in…
Media Coverage in Freddie Peacock Case

5 Feb 2010 | 1:20 pm

Yesterday, Freddie Peacock became the 250th person exonerated by DNA evidence in the United States. We posted background on his case and a new report on the first 250 exonerations. This afternoon, Innocence Project Senior Case Coordinator Maggie Taylor wrote here about her experience with Peacock's family at the exoneration hearing in Rochester.Innocence Project supporters around the world are marking the 250th exoneration by sending letters to newspaper editors in their communities, calling for reforms to prevent future injustice. Send yours here.Here's a selection of media coverage of…

Charon QC
Law Review: Criminals in uniform and Cameron’s latest stunt to let people govern by petition while pissed up on a Friday night.

charonqc

8 Feb 2010 | 11:54 pm

After years of difficulties with Dizaei, he was finally ‘nailed and jailed’ yesterday for abusing his police powers. Described by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson as a ‘criminal in uniform’ The Sun comforts us all be reporting the words of Mark Leech, the editor of prisoner’s magazine Converse, “”Dizaei has finally been nailed and jailed. His sentence is destined to be slow, long and dangerous.” The Sun reports: ” During Iranian-born Dizaei’s 24-year police career – 12 of them at the Met – he had…
Brown to attend summit on Greek debt position

charonqc

8 Feb 2010 | 7:45 am
Law Review: The Grievemeister of Spin, glass ceiling yet again, hidden daggers and a trip to the law blogs

charonqc

7 Feb 2010 | 10:11 pm

Fresh from supporting the ‘Kill a burglar’ wheeze conjured up by Chris Grayling and David Cameron last week - Dominic Grieve, Shadow Overlord on Everything to do with Law, has a new plan to grab votes from the outraged classes of Britain who want prisons to be stripped of swimming pools, televisions, soft beds blah blah blah. The latest plan, reported this morning in The Times – Every defendant convicted in a criminal court would have to pay a levy of £200. On the face of it, this seems a vaguely sane and sensible idea to contribute to the costs of bringing…

Law.com - Newswire
Rakoff Still Has Questions About SEC Pact With BofA

New York federal Judge Jed S. Rakoff grilled attorneys for the SEC on Monday about a proposed $150 million settlement that would bring an end to two actions against the Bank of America Corp. stemming from its $50 billion takeover of Merrill Lynch in 2008. The actions accuse the bank of failing to disclose to shareholders that it had authorized Merrill to pay up to $5.8 billion in bonuses in 2008 and of keeping shareholders in the dark about "extraordinary" losses Merrill sustained two months before the merger.
Lawyers for Jackson's Doctor Accustomed to High-Profile Cases

A formidable team of lawyers has lined up to defend Dr. Conrad Murray, who was charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Murray's lead lawyer is Ed Chernoff, a partner at criminal defense firm Stradley Chernoff, who is handling the case with firm partners Matthew Alford and William Stradley. Also on the defense team: California lawyers Michael Flanagan and Joseph Low. Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted.
Smoker's $300 Million Award to Be Overturned

The largest individual award to a former Florida smoker against the tobacco industry will not stand, a Broward Circuit judge ruled Friday. Calling the $300 million jury verdict "shocking," Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld said he would determine a lower award later against Philip Morris USA. The jury's decision to award $56.5 million in compensatory damages and $244 million in punitive damages stemmed from anger, said Streitfeld, who faulted tobacco company attorneys for putting on a "blame the smoker" defense.

Freedom to Differ
Daily Twitter Links

9 Feb 2010 | 6:22 am

These are some of the things I've been tweeting about today:@michellegrattan says "abbott needs to move joyce before it all ends in tears" http://j.mp/bThHp1RT @Poynter: "Twitter won't save journalism," says j-prof/ex-editor Tim McGuire. "Responsible journalists will." http://is.gd/80AsAwhat an unfortunate surname ... "the borings are back! lawsuit against google revived on trespassing theory" http://j.mp/dgXK8Rno, but i will tweet it ... "will you be e-mailing this column? it's awesome" http://j.mp/d9pehxRT @jayrosen_nyu: "Were things really so great before social media fractured our…
"Why Shouldn't Jurors Be Able To Use Technology To Do More Research?"

9 Feb 2010 | 5:57 am

We've pointed out in the past that, eventually, the judicial system is going to have to come to terms with the fact that people use technology to research and communicate, rather than trying to pretend it can be stopped. But, it sounds like that's going to take a while. Courts are increasingly looking to ban jurors from using any kind of technology. And yes, before we go through this again, we understand the arguments why courts do this (so no need to keep repeating it in the comments like last time). The question is does this really make sense? The idea that you have no outside influences in…
"I Got Mail" by The Richter Scales

9 Feb 2010 | 5:56 am

via youtube.com Permalink | Leave a comment »

taxgirl
Tax Benefits for the Disabled

Kelly

9 Feb 2010 | 7:23 am

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from disabled taxpayers about whether any special tax breaks exist for them in 2009. The answer is yes – and no. As I stated in a prior post, there was some economic relief for disabled Americans in 2009 in the form of the Economic Recovery Payment (ERP) – but it was not through the IRS. It was in the form of additional checks mailed out by the Social Security Administration, Railroad Retirement Board and the Veterans Administration. If you were eligible for a check, it will not affect your 2009 tax return unless you are also working and…
Ask the taxgirl: Disabled benefits in 2009

Kelly

8 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm

Taxpayer asks: I heard that I can get more money back from my taxes this year because I am disabled. Is this true? I am on fixed income and it would help me. Taxgirl says: I think what you’re referring to is the one time payment for retirees and disabled persons as part of Obama’s stimulus package for 2009, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It’s also referred to as the Economic Recovery Payment (ERP). If you were eligible, you should have received a check for $250 sometime in 2009 directly from the Social Security Administration, Veterans…
Bipartisan Efforts to Reduce Unemployment In the Works

Kelly

8 Feb 2010 | 1:30 pm

If there’s one thing that both parties in Congress can agree on, it’s that any hope for economic recovery is going to hinge on getting unemployment under control. At the end of 2009, one out of every ten Americans able to work wasn’t working. Fortunately, there’s some good news. Last month, the national unemployment rate dropped to 9.7%, the lowest since August. In addition, the manufacturing sector added jobs for the first time in three years. It’s certainly encouraging but likely not enough to signify a recovery. That’s why Democrats and Republicans are…

Law.com - Legal Technology
LegalTech New York: That's a Wrap

LegalTech New York felt like a user conference this year, says Sean Doherty, Law.com's technology editor. Although the messages sent from vendors were mixed, a number of threads appeared that set the tone for the show and marked a direction for tech in the new year: full speed ahead.

Law.com - Small Firm Business
White-Collar Lawyer Leaves Jones Day for Solo Practice

John Cline, a San Francisco white-collar defense lawyer who has made headlines for work in national security cases and has represented clients such as Oliver North and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, is leaving Jones Day to start his own firm. Cline cited a desire to focus solely on individuals charged with crimes. He said he decided late last year the time was ripe to try and build a firm from scratch. "I really am moving in a somewhat different direction than Jones Day or any big firm would want to go," Cline said.
Brach Eichler Decides to Stay on Their Own

When Wolf Block dissolved, the 60 attorneys in the Roseland, N.J., office became a stand-alone firm, Brach Eichler. Managing partner John Fanburg says that after examining year-end financials, he and his partners think they can flourish together instead of splintering or merging with a larger operation. To help the firm succeed, Fanburg has made partners more accountable, for instance by preventing partners who don't meet deadlines for sending monthly bills from receiving their draws for the next month.
Lawsuits Accusing Banks of Illegal Overdraft Fees Start to Add Up

For the third time in a month, Washington, D.C.'s Tycko & Zavareei has filed a lawsuit challenging overdraft fees, this time targeting Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank. Customers allege that the bank charges unjustified overdraft fees in violation of state and federal laws and want the bank to refund hundreds of millions of dollars in allegedly unlawful charges. Two similar suits were filed in January against TD Bank and Citizens Financial Group, and the law firm says more suits are in the pipeline.

Law.com - In-House Counsel
'Founding Partners' Decision Shows Limits of SEC's Power Over Relief Defendants

Jenner and Block's Michael K. Lowman and Andrew F. Merrick examine SEC v. Founding Partners Capital Mgmt., a recent federal court ruling that significantly curtails the power of the Securities and Exchange Commission to pursue ill-gotten gains from relief defendants in an SEC enforcement action. The ruling is significant for practicing securities lawyers because it confirms that there are important boundaries that circumscribe the SEC's authority to pursue claims against relief defendants.
Network of Small, Midsize Firms Look for Opportunity in Hard Times

Hard times bring opportunities, and the network of small and midsize law firms called Meritas hopes that more general counsel come knocking as their companies look for ways to cut costs. Cost savings isn't the only reason to use one of Meritas' 170 firms, which are based in more than 60 countries (and 49 states). The firms and their clients also tout personal service, geographic reach and quality control.
Two Veteran Lawyers Say Now Is the Time for Fixed Fees

In these troubled economic times, fixed fees for particular legal matters have appeal for law firms and their corporate clients. Ben W. Heineman Jr., former GC for General Electric, and William F. Lee, co-managing partner for WilmerHale, strongly believe that this is an idea whose time has come. Fixed fees provide reduced billing hassles, more predictable cost to the client and more predictable payments to the firm. Heineman and Lee address how to set price with quality and achieve cost and value alignment.

Law.com - Career Center
Top Firm Leaders Discuss How to Win the Battle for Lateral Partners

Who's getting hired? What practice areas are showing particular strength? Are law firms picking up partners who've been laid off? These were just some of the issues on the agenda during a roundtable discussion involving the chairs of three top firms -- J. Warren Gorrell of Hogan & Hartson, R. Bruce McLean of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Thomas Milch of Arnold & Porter -- and prominent legal recruiter Lynn Mestel, who noted that the lateral partner market "is the most robust it's been in 22 years."
Dechert Patent Pair Jumping to Skadden

James Elacqua and Andrew Thomases are jumping from Dechert to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Silicon Valley, according to people familiar with the deal. Skadden is scooping up the two successful patent litigators after losing Jeffrey Randall in August to Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. Skadden has been searching for a proven IP trial lawyer since then, according to recruiters and local patent lawyers. Recruiter Gary Davis, who wasn't involved in the deal, said it's a good pickup for Skadden.
Ga. Senators Eye Trimming Judges, Irked That Not All Take Voluntary Furloughs

Georgia state senators irked by Superior Court judges who have not voluntarily taken furloughs matching those required of all state employees say they are exploring removing judicial positions from court circuits. Judge Kathlene F. Gosselin said many of the judges who have not taken furloughs have positive motives, using their money to help staff members compensate for wages lost due to the furloughs. Judge Clarence F. Seeliger said that the lawmakers' idea "sounds like retribution," since they cannot cut judges' pay.

Legal Blog Watch
Experian Hit With Lawsuit Over Baggage That Comes With 'Free' Credit Report

Bruce Carton

9 Feb 2010 | 8:45 am

From my "about damn time" file comes this report from the Huffington Post about a new lawsuit filed against credit-reporting agency Experian over advertisements for its FreeCreditReport.com service. The plaintiff, a college student named Erica Possin, had seen the catchy ads for FreeCreditReport.com and used it to check her credit before buying a new car. She received her "free" credit report but, just like me, also failed to notice that this "free" report came with a $14.95 monthly credit monitoring service. Also just like me, Possin noticed a few months later…
New Model Jury Instruction Takes Aim at Twittering Jurors

Bruce Carton

9 Feb 2010 | 7:21 am

After fifty 'leven recent examples of trials being upended by jurors improperly using their cell phones, computers, Twitter or other communications technologies during jury service, a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States has had enough. The Blog of the Legal Times' Marcia Coyle reports in this post that the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management has endorsed a set of model jury instructions for district judges to help deter jurors from engaging in such mischief. In a memorandum to district court judges, Judge Julie Robinson, the committee chair, wrote that…
Take the Grizzlies Plus the Points and, um, Vote for Me!

Eric Lipman

8 Feb 2010 | 1:59 pm

Every year, in the days leading up to the Super Bowl (that's right, I called it the Super Bowl, what are you gonna do, NFL?), mainstream media outlets run stories on the various and sundry prop (that's gambler lingo for "proposition") bets available to the public. See, for example, this slideshow from Forbes and the accompanying story. As that story notes, only a fraction of the wagers that are placed each year -- from the ho-hum "Which team is going to win the game?" to the marginally relevant but nevertheless popular "What color Gatorade will be dumped on the…

UNDERDOG - JON KATZ, Criminal Defense in and beyond the Capital Beltway.
Dr. Phil exposes the unreliability of eyewitness testimony.

7 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

Dr. Phil exposes the unreliability of eyewitness testimony here. Just click the video link listed below the headline EYEWITNESS EXPERIMENT, and read in this link how, after seeing a video of a "suspect", "40 percent of [Dr. Phil's] audience chose suspect number 3. Dr. Phil inform[ed] his audience that anyone who voted chose an innocent man because the real perpetrator was not in the lineup."And there I was assuming that Dr. Phil's show was just about fluff. That is what happens when I make assumptions about television shows without even having broadcast and cable…
Super Bowl: $$ meet Exxon meets drug testing meets gender segregation meets metal detectors meet excellence in athletics.

6 Feb 2010 | 9:10 pm

Another Super Bowl comes today that I will not watch. I think I last watched around 1992. Of course, by my not watching, I miss television's efforts to avoid a repeat of nipple-gate and to be more lenient in running controversial commercials; and miss any further explanation of the roots of "Who Dat", including whether the phrase is or is not racially demeaning.The problem about Soviet Olympic sports was that the Soviet government apparently poured so much money into its athletes as to make them hardly resemble amateurs any longer. A big problem about professional football,…

The Legal Satyricon
A good case for vegetarianism

marcorandazza

8 Feb 2010 | 11:02 pm

I’m still going to eat tasty animals. But, I think this is a good presentation against it. Filed under: misc
The hidden cost of single mothers

J DeVoy

7 Feb 2010 | 11:39 am

By J. DeVoy In honor of filing my taxes, here’s some information about the tax benefits that men, families and child-free women won’t be receiving this season. From Butterfly Squash: “Head of Household” is the filing status used by most single parents. They contribute the least to income taxes. The most are contributed by single males, followed by married [...]
Clarence Thomas and Richard Posner hand victories to the internet

J DeVoy

5 Feb 2010 | 9:01 pm

By J. DeVoy In his remarks at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law earlier this week, Clarence Thomas used a term those who read legal blogs and message boards know well: TTT. (Beginning at the 40:00 mark.) Thomas kind of botched the acronym, saying “third tier trash,” instead of the more commonly accepted third tier [...]

CalLaw.com
Daniel Furniss, 1951-2010

At the center of Townsend and Townsend and Crew's patent and antitrust trial practice, the 58-year-old longtime partner took the lead in some of the firm's biggest wins and windfalls.
Wealth Management Group Leaving Wilson

Six lawyers, led by longtime partner Peter LaBoskey, are joining San Jose-based Hopkins & Carley. Wilson Sonsini suggested the firm wants to separate wealth management from its corporate and litigation practices.
Mortgage Trial Under Way in S.F.

A civil trial over alleged fraud pits a lender against a family estate, with the latter blaming the mortgage middleman.

Chicago IP Litigation Blog
Court Proposes Dismissing Declaratory Judgment Counterclaims as Duplicative of Plaintiff's Patent Claims

R. David Donoghue

8 Feb 2010 | 2:47 am

Continental Datalabel, Inc. v. Avery Dennison Corp., No. 09 C 5980, Slip. Op. (N.D. Ill. Dec. 9, 2009 (Shadur, Sen. J.). Judge Shadur ordered the parties to be prepared to discuss at a status conference why defendants' respective noninfringement and invalidity declaratory judgment counterclaims should not be stricken as duplicative of plaintiff's patent infringement claims. * Click here for more on this case in the Blog's archives.
Chicago IP Colloquium: District Courts as Patent Laboratories

R. David Donoghue

5 Feb 2010 | 2:59 am

The annual Chicago IP Colloquium continues this Tuesday, February 9, 2010. The Chicago IP Colloquium is jointly sponsored by Chicago-Kent College of Law and Loyola University Chicago School of Law to discuss a range of issues in intellectual property and cyberspace law based upon papers by six nationally renowned intellectual property scholars. The sessions are uniformly excellent, and well worth your time. The next session will be Tuesday, February 9 from 4:10 pm to 5:50 pm at Loyola and will feature Professor Jeanne C. Fromer, Fordham…
N.D. Illinois Appoints Three New Magistrate Judges

R. David Donoghue

3 Feb 2010 | 2:28 am

Chief Judge Holderman announced that the Northern District of Illinois has appointed three new magistrate judges to seven year terms. All three new magistrates are former Northern District law clerks. Here are the biographies of each new judge as provided by the Northern District (emphasis added): Jeffrey T. Gilbert received his law degree from Northwestern University (1980). He is a partner with Reed Smith in its Chicago office and is a member of the firm’s regulatory litigation group. Mr. Gilbert originally practiced with Sachnoff & Weaver, which combined with…

Ohio Employer's Law Blog
Do you know? Why statistics are so important in reduction in force cases

Jon Hyman

9 Feb 2010 | 5:22 am

For the past week, I’ve been examining the use of statistics in workforce reduction discrimination cases (6th Circuit downgrades importance of statistics in reduction-in-force cases and How small is too small? Litigating sample sizes in reduction in force cases). What’s been missing from this analysis, however, is an explanation of why raw numbers are so important in these cases, especially in age discrimination claims. Many workforce reductions are accompanied by an offer of severance to the group of terminated employees. In fact, I don’t think any employer should pay severance without…
How small is too small? Litigating sample sizes in reduction in force cases

Jon Hyman

8 Feb 2010 | 5:53 am

Last week’s post on the use of statistics in reduction in force cases garnered some interest from a fellow blogger, Stephanie Thomas. She argues on her blog that small sample statistics still have a place in workforce reduction litigation. After reading Stephanie’s take on this issue, we carried the conversation over to Twitter (Are you following me on Twitter @jonhyman? If not, shame on you). My conclusion is that the Schoonmaker decision merely begs the question of how small of a sample size is too small to make pure statistics irrelevant in a RIF case. Stephanie and I agree that you…
WIRTW #113

Jon Hyman

5 Feb 2010 | 5:42 am

The theme of this week’s review is déjà vu. In each category, I’ve linked back to at least one post I’ve written on a similar subject. Social Media 5 Non-Negotiable Provisions for Your Social-Media Policy from Molly DiBianca at Delaware Employment Law. For my thoughts on drafting a social media policy, see Drafting a social networking policy: 7 considerations. It’s Not Just for Teenagers – More Businesses are Using Facebook to Connect from Jennifer Hays at the Warren & Hays Employment Law Blog. Privacy: Facebook Legal Department Hopes for Guidance from Court from Megan…

Law Vibe
Random Thoughts on Libaries, Internet, Constitution, & WHORE

C. C.

9 Feb 2010 | 7:00 am

Admittedly, there’s no official diagnosis to narcolepsy, but I’m suspecting that’s what I have because I find myself dozing off every 5 minutes or so. One moment I would be reading about “suspect classifications” and my next conscious thought was about something else completely unrelated to Con Law. I looked at my notes and somehow, I had jumped all the way to “non-fundamental rights.” Tomorrow is going to be a very long day. I’m not sure how to keep myself awake. I’ve tried just letting myself fall asleep naturally. I ended up sleeping 12 hours and feeling like I barely…
The Need for a Reverse Creative Commons Copyright License

C. C.

8 Feb 2010 | 5:00 pm

I make no secret that I am a fan of Creative Commons. Though the system has it’s flaws it, overall, is a great idea that is well-executed. But there is a pretty severe limitation to the system, it requires the copyright holder to take action first. If the copyright holder does not proactively license his or her work under a CC license, it is locked away and there is precious little help in getting the potential user of the work permission, even if the owner might be willing. This is why there is a need for a CC system that starts with the user and works backwards. This could be a boon not…
Dog Bite Law: Top 7 Ways to Save Your Pet From Euthanasia

C. C.

5 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

A friend of mine approached me quite distressed yesterday, and his situation has left me a little distressed as well. His dog bit his neighbor. The dog was on a leash at the time on his own property, but reacted aggressively when the neighbor tried to approach him. Thankfully the bite didn’t appear too serious, but the event was nevertheless quite upsetting for everyone involved. A dog bite can be almost as traumatic for the owner as it is for the victim. In addition to the obvious concerns about the well being of the victim, a dog bite can have serious financial implications for the owner…

Mediation Channel
Change blindness: testing our powers of observation

Diane Levin

4 Feb 2010 | 5:22 am

It’s happened at some point to anyone who drives a motor vehicle. You inch slowly into the intersection, cautiously looking in all directions to make sure that the right of way is clear. Convinced that you can now safely make your turn, you pull forward. Suddenly, out of nowhere, its horn blaring, appears a car, swerving to avoid you. In a panic, your heart pounding loudly in your ears, you slam on your brakes, wondering how in the world you could have missed that car. The subject of numerous studies, including research done by the Visual Cognition Lab of the University of Illinois,…
Rethinking social media: the worth of trust in online business networking

Diane Levin

4 Feb 2010 | 4:43 am

In the February 2010 issue of Harper’s Magazine is an essay entitled “The Serfdom of Crowds”, excerpted from You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, the latest book by computer scientist, web guru, and author Jaron Lanier. You Are Not a Gadget serves as a bracing rebuttal to the loud hallelujah chorus of praise for all things internet-related. Of social networking Lanier writes, An individual who is receiving a flow of reports about the romantic status of a group of friends must learn to think in terms of the flow if it is to be perceived as worth reading at all. Am I accusing all…
Beware of the app: a warning to ADR bloggers and their readers on Facebook

Diane Levin

4 Feb 2010 | 1:27 am

Numerous news articles and blog posts have commented on the dark side of Facebook – its disregard for users’ privacy, the opportunities it affords for cyberbullying, and its vulnerability to spam, phishing exploits and malware. I’d like to alert my readers, particularly those of you who blog, about a Facebook trap to avoid. I regularly check search engines for mention of me or my blog, something that all of us should do routinely, not as an exercise in egotism but as good business sense, as my colleague Tammy Lenski has written. During a search yesterday on Google I learned that…

World Directory of Alternative Dispute Resolution Blogs
Harvard Negotiation Law Review

ADRblogs.com

2 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am

Harvard Negotiation Law Review Harvard Negotiation Law Review publishes posts discussing negotiation, methods of dispute resolution such as mediation and arbitration, and dispute systems design. Click here for the RSS feed.
Southern California Mediation Association Online Magazine

ADRblogs.com

2 Feb 2010 | 6:11 am

Southern California Mediation Association Online Magazine Southern California Mediation Association Online Magazine shares information and ideas about the practice of mediation and news of upcoming events for members and others interested in mediation as an approach for collaborative problem solving and dispute resolution. Visit their web site for further information.
Riverdale Mediation Blog

ADRblogs.com

1 Feb 2010 | 6:18 pm

Riverdale Mediation Blog Riverdale Mediation Blog discusses collaborative approaches to dispute resolution, including collaborative law and mediation.

Settle It Now Negotiation Blog
Featured Blogger Interview at Mediate.com

Victoria Pynchon

8 Feb 2010 | 1:46 pm

Mediate.com - where I published my first article on mediation - was kind enough to publish an interview with me about my mediation career and blogging experience today. Below an excerpt and at the link, more than you ever wanted to know about my legal and ADR career. [By mediating,]I regained everything I'd ever loved – people, story, drama, recovery – yet was allowed to retain the intellectual puzzle, strategic problem-solving job I'd enjoyed so much. It was like the farmer says at the county fair – he uses “every part of the pig except the…
Negotiating Book Sales: Choosing the Best Cover

Victoria Pynchon

31 Jan 2010 | 6:55 pm

UPDATE: Thanks to the many great comments I’ve gotten here, at LinkedIn, on the book's Facebook Fan Page, and on the book's website I’ve shifted my focus from trying to depict the Asshole on the cover to depicting the Asshole’s victim/s. Along those lines, I’m considering using an image somewhat like this cartoon by the great legal cartoonist, Charles Fincher of LawComix. I might even ask Charles if I can use this very cartoon. What do you think? With Charles’ hilarious caption above and as the cover of the book below. More after the jump.
Motion to Compel Lunch: Granted

Victoria Pynchon

29 Jan 2010 | 1:13 pm

Thanks to Roger Wood at the Association Law and Other Musings Blog for passing along the Order for Lunch issued by the Maricopa County Superior Court (.pdf) excerpted below. Roger generously shared this truly glorious Order (and supporting opinion that you can read in the .pdf) over at Construction Law Musings today in response to my Guest Post there ("How to Get Sued"). Thanks Roger! This didn't just make my day; it made my year! Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Acceptance of Lunch Invitation The Court has rarely seen a motion with more…

idealawg
I will be away for a week

StephanieWestAllen

3 Feb 2010 | 6:41 pm

And I look forward to blogging again upon my return. Here's wishing you a good week!
Blog Glob: "UMass wins approval for public law school"

StephanieWestAllen

3 Feb 2010 | 8:34 am

Excerpt:BRIDGEWATER - The state Board of Higher Education cleared the way yesterday for the University of Massachusetts to open the state’s first public law school, endorsing the idea of affordable law degrees and more students choosing public-service careers.UMass, which overcame an acrimonious challenge from three private law schools and Beacon Hill detractors, wasted no time launching a recruitment drive: signs advertising the new law school were hung, a website seeking applicants went up, and 100 blue-and-gold baseball caps emblazoned with the school’s name were distributed.“We’ve…
Embodied cognition: Your body's processing (Be careful about what you and your body hear)

StephanieWestAllen

2 Feb 2010 | 9:01 am

Embodied cognition has recently been enjoying much attention. Now The New York Times has just published an article on the topic, so it has definitely entered the mainstream of thought. I bet we will be hearing a lot more about embodied cognition—and that, as typically happens when research enters the mainstream, assertions will be made beyond what the research supports. Practice caution with what you hear and read.From "Abstract Thoughts? The Body Takes Them Literally":“How we process information is related not just to our brains but to our entire body,” said Nils B. Jostmann…

Conflict Zen
10-second reader poll: best days of the week for seminars?

Tammy Lenski

8 Feb 2010 | 6:04 am

I’m planning my schedule of spring conflict resolution seminars and retreats in New England and would love your input before I reserve facilities. Which combination of days would work best if you wanted to attend one of my two-day events? [Can't see the embedded poll? Click here].
Conflict coaching interview on BlogTalkRadio

Tammy Lenski

3 Feb 2010 | 3:36 am

Texas conflict coach Pattie Porter interviewed me for her Blog Talk Radio show last evening. We talked about conflict coaching, how it differs from other types of coaching, and when it offers a good return on investment of time, energy and money. I also shared a few tips for becoming more conflict competent at work and home. I invite you to listen to the 20-minute interview here: Conflict Coaching Interview with Dr. Tammy Lenski We referenced my whitepaper, The Case for Conflict Coaching, on the show. If you want your own copy, you can get it here: The Case for Conflict Coaching Thanks,…
How unspoken expectations influence conflict behavior

Tammy Lenski

28 Jan 2010 | 10:28 am

To what extent do you play up to other people’s expectations of you during conflict? In workplace conflict, if they believe you’re aggressive, do you act more aggressively? In a relationship conflict, if they expect you to be a conflict coward, do you behave more timidly? A classic psychology experiment suggests you do. University of Minnesota researchers had a hunch that people sense how others view them and start exhibiting the expected behaviors, They set up this experiment, described in PsyBlog’s How Other People’s Unspoken Expectations Control Us: To test this in…

CKA Mediation and Arbitration Blog
A Time to Write?

Christopher Annunziata

4 Feb 2010 | 7:21 am

After a nearly three month hiatus, it might be time for me to start blogging again. I hope to post at least weekly. I think that I can manage that. Since I really have nothing terribly substantial to say right now, I will start with a funny story that a good friend told me I should post on my blog. My friend, let’s call him Brett, recently changed firms, moving from one well known BigLaw firm to another. Today, when I visited LinkedIn, the popular social/business networking site, it suggested that I send Brett a note congratulating him on his move. So I did. Of course, I had to give…
The Joys of Dealing With the Pro Se Party – Part 2

Christopher Annunziata

4 Feb 2010 | 6:34 am

When we last left our hero (me), I was dealing with the pro se party from hell. It took three different conversations with both me and the ADR office just to confirm whether he would even appear at the mediation. The only two things he made clear were that he wasn’t gonna pay me and he wanted to come strapped. That is, for the street-impaired, carrying a pistol. I’m not sure his question about carrying in the Courthouse was a threat, more of a practical question from a man likely used to carrying a concealed weapon. This is Georgia. Besides, in my experience, the people that…
At Least the Lead Role isn’t Brad Pitt or Orlando Bloom

Christopher Annunziata

30 Oct 2009 | 12:32 pm

or some other guy that women find “dreamy” or “hunky.” Sarah Shahi lands role as divorced lawyer who becomes a mediator.

CaseDetails.com
Surprise… Google’s Still On Top

jclayc

13 Jan 2010 | 4:27 pm

The Nielsen Corporation recently released its search engine market share numbers for December 2009. Were there any surprises? Let’s look: Combine Google with AOL (same results) and you can see that their algorithm serves up nearly 70% of all search results online. This really isn’t shocking, but the decline of Yahoo! is [...]
Blogging Inspiration

jclayc

27 Dec 2009 | 9:36 am

One of the most difficult things about blogging is finding good inspiration for blog content. (We’re not all Shakespeare… wait, did he blog?) The ultimate goal is to write legal blog posts that will attract potential clients, establish your authority or solicit comment by other lawyers. With this in mind, how do [...]
Syndicated Content “Duplicate”?

jclayc

1 Nov 2009 | 4:03 pm

I was recently asked if syndicating or licensing content would have a negative impact on the author website’s rankings. Was syndicated content seen as duplicate content? My answer may be useful to others, so here it is in a nutshell: Maliciously duplicated content (with the intent to deceive through redirects, multiple pages on the same domain, [...]

Privacy Law Blog
This Advertisement is Brought to You By...You

Robert D. Forbes

1 Feb 2010 | 12:26 pm

A new advertising icon was released last week by a privacy advocacy group in conjunction with a group of advertisers and agencies as part of an effort to educate consumers about behavioral advertising and head off federal regulation.The “Power I” icon was released last Wednesday by the Future of Privacy Forum (“FPF”), a privacy policy think tank, along with a research report on the potential efficacy of icons and phrases in providing notice to consumers. The icon was developed in collaboration with advertising holding company WPP and input from ad…
2009 Ponemon Institute "Cost of a Data Breach" Study Released

Natalie Newman

29 Jan 2010 | 1:27 pm

This past week, the Ponemon Institute announced their publication of the results of their fifth annual study on the costs of data breaches for U.S.-based companies. The study was sponsored by the PGP Corporation. A similar report for U.K.-based companies was also released. This year's report, entitled 2009 Annual Study: Cost of a Data Breach, displays the results of the Ponemon Institute's research of data breach incidents occurring in 2009. Overall, as with previous years, the study found that U.S. organizations continue to experience increased costs associated with the…
District Court Rules TCPA Applies to Text Messages Even Though Recipient Not Charged to Receive the Message

Andrew Hoffman

22 Jan 2010 | 11:45 am

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently ruled that a plaintiff may maintain a suit for receiving an unsolicited Short Message Service (“SMS”) text message under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, even though the plaintiff was not actually charged for receiving the message. In Abbas v. Selling Source, LLC, No. 09-CV-3413 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 14, 2009), Judge Joan B. Gottschall noted that in enacting the TCPA, “Congress was just as concerned with consumers’ privacy rights and the nuisances of telemarketing” as it was…

Lawyers, Guns and Money
Greed and Immorality

Scott Lemieux

9 Feb 2010 | 8:05 am

There's something pathetically instructive about today's GOP to be gained from reading Marc Thiessen's defenses of the torture policies of his previous employer. Obviously, he's got nothing to work with -- trying to argue that simulated executions aren't torture is a non-starter -- but no matter what he makes sure to repeatedly plug his shitty book defending the grossly immoral polices he also defended as a paid hack for the worst elected administration since the Civil War. And then, upping the ante, he claims that you don't have standing to condemn torture if you haven't carefully studied…
Microsoft and Army Can't see Eye to Eye

Robert Farley

9 Feb 2010 | 7:40 am

Now this is just fascinating:So will the Army go out and buy the Xbox? Not quite. Roger Smith, chief technology officer for PEO STRI, the Army command responsible for purchasing training equipment, claims that Microsoft refused to sell him the consoles. Smith told me that he discussed acquiring the Xbox with Microsoft representatives at a trade show back in 2006. According to Smith, the Microsoft executives said they would neither sell the Xbox 360 nor license XNA game development tools to the Army for three reasons:Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but…
Niall Ferguson is a terrible economist, too

davenoon

9 Feb 2010 | 12:09 am

Now that one of the great wankers of our era has turned out to be a serial adulterer as well, would it be possible for NPR to desist from quoting Niall Ferguson every time it runs a story even remotely connected to the problem of the US national debt? I understand the logic in the sentence I just wrote makes utterly no sense, but neither does anything Ferguson has to say about monetary policy or, for that matter, the sloppily-defined term that helped make him a wealthy academic playboy in the first place.(via Ralph Luker)

Avvo Blog
How to add the Avvo Badge to your webpage

Cristin Carey, Customer Care Manager

9 Feb 2010 | 9:48 am

With our latest release we’ve fixed a long-standing bug that has prevented you WordPress bloggers from adding the Avvo Badge to your blog. No more excuses. Don’t have a blog yet? We can help with that too. And whether you are using WordPress, Blogger, hosting your own blog or just have a website, here is a quick how-to video to walk you through adding the badge to your webpage:
“Ghostblogging” – Are You Kidding Me?!?

Josh King, VP of Business Development and General Counsel

3 Feb 2010 | 1:37 pm

Much ado in the legal blogosphere about “ghostblogging”, an apparently new practice in which lawyers pay professional writers to write their blogs for them. The discussion has evolved to cover not only the appropriateness/efficacy of ghostblogging, but also whether it is ethical (per attorney advertising rules) and whether it is proper for those taking umbrage at ghostblogging to “name names” of those lawyers hiring ghostbloggers. This entire discussion is mind-bendingly baffling to me. Blogging is a great platform for those who like to write and have something to say.
6 Questions to Ask a Potential SEO Firm

Nick

3 Feb 2010 | 1:22 pm

Hiring an SEO (search engine optimization) firm can be a daunting experience. Thousands of dollars are at stake, there is no regulation in the industry, and there is certainly no shortage of people promising amazing results. Read on to find six questions that will help you sort out the pros from the con men. 1) How well does the SEO firm’s own website rank in Google? If an SEO firm’s own website doesn’t rank well in Google for keywords important to its business, that puts a big dent in its credibility. To quickly find out for yourself a few keywords an SEO firm ranks well for,…

TVC Alert
Everything Has an End

(24 Jul) To paraphrase Shakespeare, the inaudible and noiseless foot of time passes almost without notice. Indeed, the past 12 years, spent writing about research strategies and resources...
Resources: None Today

The Virtual Chase
Supreme Court Halts Expansion of False Claims Act Liability

(24 Jun) The U.S. Supreme Court recently made plain that whistleblowers' allegations will be scrutinized more closely.
DOJ Is Aggressively Enforcing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

(24 Jun) Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is increasing dramatically. Recent Department of Justice (DOJ) actions demonstrate that it is imperative that companies maintain robust compliance programs or risk criminal exposure and substantial penalties.

Lawyers.com Blog
Common Divorce Myths

9 Feb 2010 | 9:20 am

Common Divorce MythsOrange County divorce attorney, Brian A. Bayati understands that you face a lot of emotional and legal stress during a divorce. It is important to understand what is fact and what is fiction regarding the divorce process. Brian A. Bayati talks about some of the most common divorce misconceptions including the following:All lawyers are alike. Some attorneys are friendly and welcoming and provide advice that is specific to the needs of each individual client. Other divorce lawyers are less communicative and investigate all divorce…
Job Termination Could Forfeit Virginia Workers Compensation Benefits

3 Feb 2010 | 7:05 am

We all thought that if an injured worker returned to "regular duty" work then a termination from that "regular duty" job would not affect his/her compensation rights. Unfortunately, this has changed. In a February 10, 2009 decision of the Virginia Court of Appeals called Shenendoah Motors v. Smith, the Court changed the law. Smith had been terminated from her "regular duty" car sales position by Shenendoah Motors (for not selling enough cars and poor work performance). She then filed for compensation claiming partial disability for work due to her…

Connecticut Employment Law Blog
Paycheck Fairness Act - Coming Soon?

Daniel Schwartz

8 Feb 2010 | 7:47 pm

As those who have been following my tweets know, I have been at the American Bar Association's House of Delegates and midyear meetings. There's lots of substance to these meetings and you can certainly follow along with the ABA Journal. Among the topics discussed today, was the Paycheck Fairness Act now pending in Congress. If you are not familiar with it, you should be because by all accounts, it's moving front and center this year as an important piece of legislation for the Obama Administration and others. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut is the primary sponsor of the bill in…
Do You Really Want To Take on the 350 Million Pound Gorilla in the Room?

Daniel Schwartz

3 Feb 2010 | 9:50 am

So, you're an employer and you've just been sued for disability discrimination. Allegedly, you fired an employee who was out of work without a legitimate reason. You had heard grumblings that the worker had actually taken a four-day weekend in Vail but never had definitive proof, so you just relied on the no-call/no-show policy to say the employee abandoned his job. But what now? You think "I know where I'll look -- Facebook! (After all, Facebook has 350 million users now!)" Surely, you think, there must be pictures, or a wall post, or a status update,…
Social Media Policies and Practices Developing as Companies Begin to Embrace It

Daniel Schwartz

1 Feb 2010 | 7:15 pm

Among the interesting programs at the Legal Tech 2010 conference in New York this week, was panel discussion tackling social media at companies. Three attorneys with significant in-house experience (American Express, Lincoln Center, Kraft), all took turns describing how social media is here to stay -- and how companies can take advantage of it. First off, the moderator noted that people are likely talking about your company; but if you're not on social media, you may not realize it until it has spread like wildfire. Example #1: "United Breaks Guitars" a viral video that…

CaseDetails.com
Surprise… Google’s Still On Top

The Nielsen Corporation recently released its search engine market share numbers for December 2009. Were there any surprises? Let’s look: Combine Google with AOL (same results) and you can see that their algorithm serves up nearly 70% of all search results online. This really isn’t shocking, but the decline of Yahoo! is [...]
Blogging Inspiration

One of the most difficult things about blogging is finding good inspiration for blog content. (We’re not all Shakespeare… wait, did he blog?) The ultimate goal is to write legal blog posts that will attract potential clients, establish your authority or solicit comment by other lawyers. With this in mind, how do [...]
Syndicated Content “Duplicate”?

I was recently asked if syndicating or licensing content would have a negative impact on the author website’s rankings. Was syndicated content seen as duplicate content? My answer may be useful to others, so here it is in a nutshell: Maliciously duplicated content (with the intent to deceive through redirects, multiple pages on the same domain, [...]

JD Supra Hot Docs - Newsworthy Legal Filings From the Source
United States v Stephen Bowers: Opinion

Timothy Flynn

8 Feb 2010 | 6:57 am

Case Name: United States v Stephen Bowers Document Name: Opinion Post Date: 02/08/2010 Filing Date: 02/08/2010 Document Summary: This document is the opinion of the U.S. Sixth Court of Appeals affirming Appellant Stephen Bower's conviction for possession of child sexually abusive material. The decision will be published in the Federal Reporter 4th and overturns the Sixth Circuit's Corp decision. Citing the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gonzales v Raich (which held that the medical marijuana industry in California, although completely local, is nevertheless subject to…
Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital: In a success for plaintiffs, the Illinois Supreme Court strikes down medical malpractice law

Larry Bodine

7 Feb 2010 | 2:35 am

Case Name: Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital Document Name: In a success for plaintiffs, the Illinois Supreme Court strikes down medical malpractice law Post Date: 02/07/2010 Filing Date: 02/04/2010 Document Summary: In a boon to plaintiff lawyers, the Illinois Supreme Court strikes down medical malpractice law.In 2005, a statute took effect in Illinois that placed limits on awards for noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, in medical malpractice cases. The total limit was $1 million for hospitals and their personnel and $500,000 for doctors.Shortly after the effective date of…
1976 of 2010 - Hemant Goswami vs. Union of India: Petition Against Introduction of GM Foods

Hemant Goswami

4 Feb 2010 | 5:07 pm

Case Name: 1976 of 2010 - Hemant Goswami vs. Union of India Document Name: Petition Against Introduction of GM Foods Post Date: 02/05/2010 Filing Date: 02/05/2010 Document Summary: The petition reads, “The Ministry of Environment and Forestry issued a notification citing the provisions of Section 6, 8 and 25 of the ‘Environment (Protection) Act’ and brought into existence a Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, despite the fact that the scope of the Environment Protection Act or the GoI allocation of business rules or the Constitution did not in any way provide for formation or…

Special Education Law Blog
House committee Passes Seclusion & Restraints Bill

Jim Gerl

9 Feb 2010 | 6:33 am

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeThe Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives approved a bill limiting the use of seclusion and restraints on students. Here is the official release. The official name of the bill is H.R. 4247. Here is website with additional resources concerning the bill. An article in Disability Scoop also discusses the legislationAmong other things, the bill limits the use of these techniques to cases of imminent danger; requires that staff using these techniques be properly trained; outlaws mechanical restraints; requires parental notification and…
2011 Federal Education Budget: What's in it for Special Ed?

Jim Gerl

4 Feb 2010 | 8:24 am

Image via WikipediaThe 2011 budget proposed by the Obama Administration provides 12.8 Billion Dollars for Special Education Programs. Here is the analysis by the U. S Department of Education. I tend to get overwhelmed by big numbers, perhaps inspired by former Senator Dirksen who used to say, "... a million dollars here, a million dollars there, and pretty soon you're talking about a lot of money." Maybe modernly we should change "million" to "billion" or even "trillion," yet I digress.When the Congress passed IDEA, the federal special education law, in 1975, it promised full funding of IDEA…
Is Special Ed Too Litigious or Not Litigious Enough?

Jim Gerl

3 Feb 2010 | 12:32 pm

Image by Joe Gratz via FlickrThe number of due process hearings in special ed disputes has increased nationwide over the last two decades. This link is to a pennlive.com article discussing the topic. The article quotes Professor Perry Zirkel for some of the reasons for the increase, including the recognition of autism and ADHD as disabilities for purposes of eligibility.I have great respect for Professor Zirkel and I generally agree with him. One area where we differ, though is whether the special ed hearing system is overlegalized, as he contends. I contend that in the ten busiest…

Drug Injury Watch
Case Report: Man Using Diabetes Medication Januvia Develops Elevated Hepatic Enzymes

Tom Lamb

8 Feb 2010 | 12:29 pm

Authors Suggest That Certain Patients Starting Januvia Should Have Their Liver Function Monitored (Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com In the recent past we considered whether Januvia (sitagliptin) can cause pancreatitis in patients using this relatively new diabetes medication. Now, a new medical journal "To The Editor" letter suggests that Januvia may have a negative effect on the liver for certain patients, specifically "individuals with a history of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or elevated hepatic enzymes". From this letter titled "Elevated Hepatic Enzymes Potentially Associated…
There Is Disagreement Over The Three-Year Failure Rate For Sprint Fidelis Lead Wires

Tom Lamb

4 Feb 2010 | 12:39 pm

Medtronic Says 4.6 Percent Of Leads Failed, While Reports From Some Hospitals Indicate 9.2 Percent Of Sprint Fidelis Wires Failed (Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com In our December 30, 2009 article, "Sprint Fidelis Lead Wire Failure Rate Could Rise To 30 Percent By Four Years", we provided the little bit of information we could find, then, about the future failure rates for the Medtronic Sprint Fidelis lead wires that were removed from the market back in 2007: A report by UBS Investment Research Monday said lead failures could accelerate over time, citing independent studies that…
February 2010: Fosamax Federal Court MDL Litigation Update; Next Trial Starts In Mid-April

Tom Lamb

2 Feb 2010 | 1:20 pm

Merck Lost Its Attempt To Have Louise Maley's Fosamax Lawsuit Dismissed Before Her April 19, 2010 Trial Date (Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com We have been reporting about the three bellwether trial cases for the federal court Fosamax MDL and, in this article, we continue to do so. To start, Louise H. Maley v. Merck & Co. Inc. is the next Fosamax case set for trial in the federal court MDL, and this trial will start as scheduled on April 19, 2010. Recent efforts by Defendant Merck to avoid this Maley Fosamax trial were summarized in a January 28, 2010 news article, "Merck Loses…

Bankruptcy Blog
Homes Worth 3/4 What Homeowners Owe?

rob

8 Feb 2010 | 12:39 pm

A recent article in the New York Times said that the U.S. Treasury Department projects that by mid June of this year the value of the homes of 5.1 million homeowners will be less than 75 percent of what they owe on the mortgage. Some are suggesting that this may be the magic number that has more underwater homeowners walking away from their mortgages. With mortgage modifications slow to materialize for people having trouble with their mortgage payments, many who struggle to make it will decide that the battle should be over. The Treasury Department and others argue that more people talk about…
What Debts are not discharged a in Rhode Island bankruptcy case?

admin

5 Feb 2010 | 7:33 am

Rhode Island non-dischargeable debt will be the same as in other states. Non-dischargeable debt is decided at the federal level and listed under federal bankruptcy laws. If you fail to continue paying non-dischargeable debts, collections for these debts will continue even if you have filed bankruptcy. It is important to talk to your Rhode Island Bankruptcy Lawyer about all of your debts. Rhode Island non-dischargeable debt can include: Federal, state and local taxes. May be subject to specific time rules. Spousal Support/Alimony Child Support Payments Most Student Loans Mortgage Liens Certain…
Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Rhode Island

admin

4 Feb 2010 | 5:30 am

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is the easiest and most common type of bankruptcy, but many people will not qualify to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or they will not want to liquidate their assets. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will not discharge your debts as quickly, in fact you will have to repay all or most of your debt, but Chapter 13 Bankruptcy does allow you many benefits including: Stop a home foreclosure and allow you to repay missed mortgage payments Give you the ability to reorganize your debts with a more favorable debt repayment plan. End certain types of wage garnishments Stop harassing creditor calls…

Higgins and Associates
Filing Bankruptcy Stops Foreclosure? If You Stick To The Payment Plan

A piece in today's Star-Telegram talks about the number of homes that are foreclosed on after a bankruptcy filing. According to the article by Sandra Baker an analysis of post-bankruptcy cases for homeowners in 60 Texas counties shows that the number of cases involving properties protected from foreclosure rose 9 ...
Judges Battle Over Student Loan Foregiveness In Bankruptcy

In an unusual case, mostly because student loans are rarely ever discharged in bankruptcy, a bankruptcy judge in Massachusetts and and the chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts are having a bit of a spat about discharging the student loans of a 2005 law school graduate. According to ...
Famous Fort Worth Resident Files For Bankruptcy

Image by Alan Light via Flickr Reading the news today that Barry Corbin (famous for his roles on TV's Northern Exposure, Dallas and on film as Uncle Bob in Urban Cowboy) has filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, it occurred to me ...

Asbestos HUB
Scientists Urge Premier Of Quebec To Stop The Hypocrisy And Ban Asbestos Exports

Thomas J. Lamb at AsbestosHUB.com

2 Feb 2010 | 12:36 pm

The Premier of Quebec, Jean Charest, has been placed under the scrutiny of scientists from 28 countries.These scientists are pleading with Charest to ban the export of all forms of asbestos.This call to action came forth just as Charest was preparing a trade mission to IndiaQuebec’s biggest importer of asbestos. Asbestos is a dangerous fiber which causes deadly diseases which often take decades to emerge.Charest and Quebec are well aware of the dangers of asbestos and have strict regulations in place regarding its use in Quebec.In fact, Quebec uses “virtually none of the asbestos it mines…
EPA Fines Naval Station For Improper Asbestos Handling

Thomas J. Lamb at AsbestosHUB.com

19 Jan 2010 | 6:40 am

In February of 2009 the United States Naval Station - Newport, Goel Services, Inc., and A. A. Asbestos Abatement Co., Inc. violated the Clean Air Act and the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Asbestos (Asbestos NESHAP) while performing a demolition at a Newport, RI Naval Base. Now, the EPA is fining them $14, 238. According to an EPA News Release these parties had not handled asbestos in a safe way. They did not seal wet asbestos-containing products properly in leak-tight containers. In addition to this improper handling, the parties also neglected to inform the EPA…
Malignant Mesothelioma Treatments by Stage

Thomas J. Lamb at AsbestosHUB.com

6 Jan 2010 | 5:42 am

Stage I Treatment Options Surgery to remove the pleura and surrounding tissue. Surgery to remove sections of the pleura, the lung, part of diaphragm, or lining around chest. External beam radiation therapy. Surgery, followed by chemotherapy. Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Stage II, III, and IV Treatment Options Drain fluid buildup from the chest or abdomen. Surgery. Radiation therapy. Chemotherapy. Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy directed at chest or abdomen. The treatment options are varied because the time between exposure to asbestos and onset of…

Lowering the Bar
Common Sense Should Have Prevailed, Say Cops Who Arrested 12-Year-Old Doodler

Kevin

9 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

Based on what we've seen so far," said Queens Education Department spokesman David Cantor, "this shouldn't have happened." He seemed to be leaving open the possibility that, when all the facts were in, he might take the position that leading a 12-year-old girl away in handcuffs for doodling on her desk at school had in fact been the right thing to do. On February 1, junior-high student Alexa Gonzalez wrote two sentences on her desk in erasable green marker, adding a smiley face, presumably to indicate a lotal lack of remorse for her heinous crime. Her teacher called the principal, the…
Men at Work Didn't Do All Their Own Work, Judge Rules

Kevin

7 Feb 2010 | 6:43 pm

An Australian judge has ruled that the group Men at Work plagiarized the flute riff in the song "Down Under" from a children's song written in 1932. The ruling means that the Men will have to pay royalties, although the amount has not been set and will apparently depend on the judge's evaluation of the role that the plagiarized material plays in the completed work. Larrikin Publishing has owned the rights to "Kookaburra Sits In the Old Gum Tree" since 1990, but apparently did not make the connection to "Down Under" until 2007, and then only because it came up on a game show. The company…
Demon Sheep Still Focus of California GOP Primary

Kevin

5 Feb 2010 | 9:24 am

Faced with what is shaping up to be a marketing disaster of legendary proportions, the Fiorina campaign is furiously spinning the Demon Sheep ad as something that was deliberately planned to attract as much attention as possible. It has certainly done that. So does setting yourself on fire, but you know what? Not all publicity is good publicity. "[T]he Democrats are all out there attacking the video," a Fiorina spokesperson told the L.A. Times, "which is both predictable and fine by us since the more people talk about it, the more people watch it, which of course is the whole point." …

A Work In Progress
Corporations, Tim Tebow , CBS, the Super Bowl, and Gay Rights

Kyle Hulten

4 Feb 2010 | 7:30 pm

In my Corporations, Law, and Society class I've started to see what an immense impact corporations have on our society. Yet, the pervasiveness of their power seems to be constantly increasing. A few weeks ago in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission the Supreme Court held that Corporations have a right to unlimited political speech. As President Obama said in his State of the Union address this will, "open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections."It is interesting that in this instance the court treated a…
What Is Law?

Kyle Hulten

28 Jan 2010 | 4:38 pm

What is law? The search for an answer to that question is the subject of my jurisprudence course. Thus far we've focused on three main legal philosophers. First we studied John Austin who argued that law is commands issued by a soveriegn; the commands are backed by threats and habitually followed. Second we read Oliver Wendall Holmes Jr's speech "The Path of the Law". Holmes claims that the law is merely a prophecy of what a court will do in fact. The most recent author we've studied is HLA Hart. Hart claims that every society with law has a "rule of recognition" which enables individuals to…
Another Semester Underway

Kyle Hulten

21 Jan 2010 | 4:36 pm

The first two weeks of the new semester are done, and it's off to a great start. I'm just as busy as ever, but I'm enjoying all my classes. Once again, it seems like all my professors will be great. The faculty here really is the best.Here's my new schedule:I'm taking the following classes:International Human Rights Trusts and EstatesLegal Writing IIJurisprudenceDrafting LabsCorporations, Law, and SocietyI think the semester is going to be reading and writing heavy, but light on finals. My Trusts and Estates class is the only one that will have a traditional law school final. The others…

Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Applied Ethics- How to lose two clients in 30 minutes

3 Feb 2010 | 5:30 pm

This is a tough economy and many clients need until the last minute to come up with legal fees. No one plans on needing a criminal defense lawyer and even career criminals don't keep a defense lawyer fund handy. Ergo, it is not uncommon for a client to retain my services the morning of their court appearance. In Kaufman, I have often met clients the morning of an announcement at my office, signed them up as a client, and then passed their case and requested discovery. This scenario is convenient for the client since they don't have to schedule an extra trip to my office and it gives them…
Trial Stress

31 Jan 2010 | 5:19 pm

I had a DWI jury trial for most of last week. I don't blog about trials or cases in detail, and I'm not going to start here. But I would like to talk about the experience of trial stress and what it's like to represent a defendant in front of a jury of her peers. I usually start feeling trial anxiety the weekend before. That is when my thought process becomes dominated by visions of voir dire and opening statements. If my mind isn't occupied with other matters I'm making arguments in my mind to imaginary jurors. It's not just a mental dialogue. I often visualize the scene, projecting myself…
Penn and Teller, Austin Police Chief, Netroot Nation, Inter Alia

26 Jan 2010 | 7:14 pm

Well my trial ended so now I've got some time to blog. Here is roundup of sorts I was working on last week. Want to be on Penn and Teller Bullshit? I got a call from a producer with Penn and Teller looking for an interview on sexting. I wrote a general post on the laws in Texas but BS is looking for an attorney or defendant who have been involved in a sexting case. Particulary for defendants who have had their lives ruined by overzealous puritanical prosecutors. BS will be in Dallas in February to film. Email me if you are interested. Austin Police Chief Calls Got a call from Austin Police…

UndercoverLawyer
Steps Toward Workplace Civility Law & Could You Qualify for Disability Benefits?

UndercoverLawyer

25 Jan 2010 | 3:17 am

We also have a highly informative interview with Brian Therrien of Disability Digest about qualifying for disability benefits, and the differences between short term, long term, and social security disability. I learned a lot just from interviewing Brian, and I know you'll find this to be one of our most informative interviews yet. Related posts:Do You Know the 4 Key Steps to Taking Back Your Life from a Bully? Hostile Workplace Podcast #5: “I Don’t Know What FMLA Is, But I’m Sure YOU Don’t Qualify For It” When Your Bully Boss is Behind Closed Doors, Do You Want…
Is This Retaliation or Discrimination? Q & A with Derek D.

UndercoverLawyer

18 Jan 2010 | 2:29 pm

When Derek's boss harassed him into a near stress attack, Derek went out on 8 weeks of FMLA leave. The company demanded he come back to work, and then began retaliating against him by playing doctor, ignoring the release to work by two other doctors. Since Derek is learning his employee rights, he now has the upper hand. Related posts:Three Female Employees Win $485,000 For Retaliation & Sex Harassment from Fred Meyer Stores Can Your Abusive Boss’s Unattainable Goals for You Actually be Discrimination Against You? Bully Boss Survivor Marilyn Veincentotzs and the new Undercover H.R.
Academy Open! Free Copies of Printed Book Going Fast

UndercoverLawyer

12 Jan 2010 | 12:03 pm

The Undercover Lawyer's Employment Law Academy has opened with a very special offer for a free copy of his $197 printed book for Fighting Back Against a Bully Boss. Only for the first 500 to enroll. Related posts:To Your Resounding Success in 2010 Employment Law Academy Logo When Your Bully Boss is Behind Closed Doors, Do You Want to Know What the Lawyers Are Telling Him?

ElderLaw Answers Blog
To HIPAA Release or Not to Release

Margolis

2 Feb 2010 | 9:11 am

In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in part to protect the privacy of patient records. As with most laws, the results have been both good and bad. Medical providers have become more careful about preserving patient confidentiality, but sometimes to the detriment of open communication with family members who may be able to provide important information to doctors and other health care providers. In response, many estate planners have begun including HIPAA releases in their documents for clients so that medical personnel will communicate…
New Legal Resource Site Available for Seniors

Margolis

26 Jan 2010 | 9:04 am

The Administration on Aging, along with a number of non-profit organizations, has created a new legal resource web site that is available to consumers, attorneys and advocates alike. It is a good starting point for anyone researching the legal rights and benefits of older Amercians. You can reach the new site by clicking here. The American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging The Center for Elder Rights Advocacy The Center for Social Gerontology The National Consumer Law Center The National Senior Citizens Law Center
U.S. News & World Report Releases Nursing Home Ranking

Margolis

12 Jan 2010 | 4:59 pm

Essentially a compilation of information provided by the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) on its Nursing Home Compare site, U.S. News & World Report has released a ranking of nursing homes. Will the data is based on data compiled by CMS and state regulatory agencies, the US News web site presents the information in a usable format and accompanies it with useful articles on choosing nursing homes. It also lists the 11 nursing homes out of more than 15,000 nationwide which received perfect ratings for the past four quarters. While the ratings may be questioned as the…

Law is Cool
The Other Google Spot, and Florida Divorce Attorneys

admin@lawiscoool.com (Omar Ha-Redeye)

8 Feb 2010 | 1:11 pm

Google’s ad last night attracted quite a bit of attention. Kenneth Corbin of Internet News said, For Google, Super Bowl Sunday was something of a departure. In the third quarter of the game, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) aired a nearly full-minute ad promoting its search engine, marking one of the few television appearances for the company that rarely advertises and its first spot during a Super Bowl. At it happens, the ad, “Parisian Love,” had been online for several months, posted on Google’s “Search Stories” page on YouTube where it has been viewed more than a…
An Interview with Quebec’s first black lawyer

admin@lawiscoool.com (Omar Ha-Redeye)

7 Feb 2010 | 12:13 pm

Anthony Morgan, a McGill law student and president of the Black Law Students’ Association of Canada, interviewed Frederick Phillips, McGill’s first black law grad and Quebec’s first black lawyer. You can read the interview on inFocus online, McGill’s news magazine.
Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants – Redux

admin@lawiscoool.com (Omar Ha-Redeye)

7 Feb 2010 | 9:40 am

Aimee Green of The Oregonian reports, An attorney for Aurora Hill filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon — stirring memories of a controversial 1994 suit in which a jury awarded $2.86 million to an Albuquerque, New Mexico woman who spilled scalding-hot coffee on herself, suffering severe burns that required hospitalization. Upon appeal, the parties settled for an undisclosed amount. …She went into “nervous shock,” endured pain and has scarring. She seeks $7,182 for her pain and suffering, plus another $318 for lost wages and medical expenses.

Real Lawyers Have Blogs
Why your law firm should forget about building an iPhone App

Kevin

9 Feb 2010 | 9:53 am

Since the advent of iPhone applications in July, 2008 over 134,000 iPhone applications have become available at the Apple App Store. Over 3 billion of such applications for news, information, entertainment, and more have been downloaded by iPhone users. With ESPN, The New York Times, Facebook, LinkedIn, CNN, and MLB all having applications, why not our law firm? Everyone could read our blog posts, articles, and alerts on an iPhone. It would be so cool. We'd look so hip. I'm in agreement with online PR and social media professional, Niall Harbison. Forget about building an iPhone App. Couple…
Best in Law Blogs : LexBlog Network : February 8, 2010

Colin O'Keefe

8 Feb 2010 | 4:34 pm

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl; watching Peyton Manning channel his inner Favre was a bit surreal. Anyway, we had 129 posts on the LexBlog Network today with Jamie Spencer providing one of the more interesting posts, offering insight on cops, lawyers and judges using iPhone apps. Keeping Stuff out of Trials: Dirty Tricks - Palm Coast lawyer Philip Chanfrau on his Palm Coast Injury Law Blog Proving fault in a slip and fall case - Dallas attorney Bryan Fears of Fears Nachawati on the firm's Texas Injury Law Blog The High Road to Labor Law Reform... - White Plains lawyer Tom…
Best in Law Blogs: LexBlog Network: February 5, 2010

Colin O'Keefe

5 Feb 2010 | 5:13 pm

Fridays are always slightly slower as far as posting goes, but not too much slower as we still had a respectable 119 posts on the LexBlog Network today. Hope everyone has a very enjoyable Super Bowl weekend, not sure who I'll sway my allegiances toward; let's hope for a good game. Municipal Ordinance Permits Attorney Fee Award Only In Limited Proceedings - Complex litigation attorney David J. McMahon on Barger Wolen’s Litigation Management and Attorney Fee Analysis Blog The Combs v. Chevron opinion is out, and it's big news for the Texas state tax world - Dallas lawyer Alan E. Sherman…

Digital Media Law
Pilots Overwhelmingly AFTRA Again

8 Feb 2010 | 8:30 pm

About 60 pilots for scripted network primetime programs will be shot under AFTRA contracts this year, while few – or perhaps none – will be produced under SAG jurisdiction, according to sources close to the two unions, who spoke on condition of anonymity. This continues a trend that began last year, when roughly 90% of pilots (and 83% of pilot pickups) went AFTRA. Those numbers, in turn, were a stunning reversal from previous years, which had had SAG garnering about 90% of pilots and 86% of pickups in 2008. But to see such figures two years in a row raises a fundamental question: Is SAG…
SAG Moves towards Joint Bargaining with AFTRA

31 Jan 2010 | 11:35 pm

The SAG National Board yesterday passed a resolution, by a surprising 82% to 18% vote, directing the guild’s president and National Executive Director to “seek engagement with AFTRA in a joint bargaining agreement for negotiation of the Television/Theatrical Contract,” as quoted in a SAG press release. This move is as I predicted in a blog post three weeks ago, based on conversations then with a confidential source. Those negotiations, scheduled for October 1 – November 15 of this year, would take place “under the terms of Phase One, modeled on the agreement used successfully in the…
SAG-AFTRA Joint Bargaining: AFTRA Hesitates, Slightly; and More

26 Jan 2010 | 12:33 pm

An AFTRA committee, expected to recommend joint bargaining with SAG, instead referred the matter to a subcommittee, the Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap reported. Curious about details, I contacted a source close to AFTRA. (SAG and AFTRA declined to comment.) The committee that met yesterday is, in fact, AFTRA’s Strategy Cabinet, a key, 25-member committee that advises the AFTRA National Board on important matters. The Cabinet is chaired by AFTRA president Roberta Reardon and includes AFTRA officers and others. As the Strategy Cabinet’s action indicates, there wasn’t 100% agreement in…

Securities Docket
Securities Docket A.M. News Wire for Feb. 9, 2010

Securities Docket

9 Feb 2010 | 3:55 am

Ex-Intel Executive Pleads Guilty in Galleon Case http://bit.ly/9bZbDL # Wall Street Firms Hire CIA Experts to Detect Lies http://bit.ly/d3clIO # Pokemon Mogul Buys Madoff Apartment http://bit.ly/caMQZP # SEC’s New Approach to Enforcement Showing Results in Insider Trading Area http://bit.ly/aozBmw # N.C. Judge Upholds Settlement in Wachovia Shareholder Litigation http://bit.ly/9hwIQx # BAE Systems to Pay $400 Million to Settle Bribery Charges http://bit.ly/b3duSm # Diana Weiss, James Capra, Jr., and James Cusick Join King & Spalding http://bit.ly/cGOSM5 # Judge Presses S.E.C. on…
Ex-Intel Executive Pleads Guilty in Galleon Case

Hemma Ramrattan

8 Feb 2010 | 9:08 pm

On Monday, Rajiv Goel became the 10th person to plead guilty in the Galleon Group case. Prosecutors have called Galleon the biggest insider trading investigation in U.S. history. According to the New York Times, Goel, a former executive of Intel, admitted in court on Monday afternoon that he had passed confidential corporate information to Galleon’s founder, Raj Rajaratnam. Agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation were secretly listening to the conversations in which Goel was sharing information with Rajaratnam, the Times reports. Goel pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and…
Wall Street Firms Hire CIA Experts to Detect Lies

Hemma Ramrattan

8 Feb 2010 | 9:05 pm

Active CIA agents have been recruited by Wall Street firms to train their managers to detect lies using verbal and behavioral clues. Business Intelligence Advisors (BIA), a Boston-based investment research firm with apparent links to the U.S. intelligence agency, employed workers with backgrounds in interrogation and interviewing to train hedge fund managers in a technique called “tactical behaviour assessment”. According to a forthcoming book by US reporter Eamon Javers and confirmed by the CIA, veteran CIA workers helped hedge fund clients to make enormous investment decisions…

IP LAW 101™
6 Key Points Every Website Privacy Policy Should Contain

1 Feb 2010 | 5:52 am

Every Social Networking Site, Blog, Website, etc. should have a Privacy Policy. A Privacy Policy can minimize liability for a site owner. For example, it can reduce Invasion of Privacy Claims. When a site is very thorough and transparent regarding whether user's personal information is gathered; how the information is gathered; and whether the site is using third-party applications to get this information, an Invasion of Privacy Claim is severely diminished. An Invasion of Privacy Claim occurs when the site is doing any of the above actions without disclosing these actions to the site user.In…
Amazing News! Blogher 2010!

27 Jan 2010 | 8:13 pm

Hello!I hope your life is absolutely wonderful! I have some AMAZING news to share! I was invited to speak at the 2010 Blogher Conference in New York, August 6-7. Yeah!I will speak on a panel entitled "Mastering Intellectual Property Law." Specifically, I will discuss intellectual property law, registering and protecting a trademark, copyright infringement, defamation, libel and slander. This blog has afforded me amazing speaking and writing opportunities. It has been very good to me. I have found that individuals are really interested and have a thirst for information on how to protect their…
Security and Privacy Issues with Google Wave

25 Jan 2010 | 7:49 pm

HelloBy now everyone has heard the buzz about Google's newest product, Google Wave. Google Wave is an online tool that lets users instantaneously communicate and share information. Any user of the Wave can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the Wave. The Wave can also be played back to review the Wave's content. This technology sounds pretty cool. However, there are some privacy and security concerns regarding the use of Google Wave. The following are two features of Google Wave that can potentially lead to privacy and security risks for a…
Universities Aggressively Policing Their Trademarks.

18 Jan 2010 | 4:44 am

Hello:Universities are cracking down on individuals who sell their team logos, names, or any gear associated with their teams without a proper license. The University of Cincinnati recently enforced their trademark rights by filing cease and desist actions against several retailers, boosters, and students selling unauthorized merchandise. The cease and desist letters demanded immediate compliance as well as return of any profits or merchandise to the university.The University of Cincinnati will also join other Universities in pursuing trademark infringement litigation against several national…
Right to Publicity? When Can a Celebrity or Public Figure Sue?

23 Nov 2009 | 10:36 am

Hello:It has been a while since I posted on this blog. I have been extremely busy working, writing, and speaking on Intellectual Property issues in New Media. No excuse for neglecting this space, but I hope to post here more often.I have been writing quite a few articles for Black Web 2.0 and recently I wrote an article on the Right to Privacy and Right to Publicity Law. Specifically, I discussed how this law affects bloggers who feature and write about celebrities. Below is the article in full text. Also, please visit www.blackweb20.com to see more articles I have written about legal issues…

California Labor and Employment Law
Leave Rights in California: Part 2

Eugene Lee

1 Feb 2010 | 12:02 am

Getting hurt or sick is no fun, but what’s worse is worrying that you’ll lose your job if you take time off to recover. That’s why employee medical leaves are protected under both the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the analogous California Family Rights Act (CFRA). Has FMLA/CFRA been good for the workplace? Ever since FMLA went into effect in 1993, it has been a success. A U.S. Department of Labor report issued in June 2007 found employee reactions to FMLA to be uniformly positive. The report referenced a 2000 Westat Report which had found that “89% of…
Leave Rights in California: Part 1

Eugene Lee

25 Jan 2010 | 12:01 am

Getting hurt or sick is no fun, but what’s worse is worrying that you’ll lose your job if you take time off to recover. That’s why employee medical leaves are protected under both the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the analogous California Family Rights Act (CFRA). Am I eligible? Unfortunately, FMLA/CFRA does not protect all workers, only those who have: worked at least one year for their employer, have worked at least 1,250 hours in the past year, and whose employer has at least 50 employees working within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite.
Filing a Discrimination Complaint in California

Eugene Lee

19 Jan 2010 | 12:58 am

In California, employees who wish to file a discrimination lawsuit cannot do so until they first file “charges” with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and/or the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH) and obtain “right to sue” letters. This process is called “administrative exhaustion”. Luckily, the systems are now highly automated and charges can be filled out online at the DFEH’s and EEOC’s websites. You can still choose to mail your charge in using the DFEH’s form. And the EEOC permits you…
Sexual Harassment in California

Eugene Lee

14 Jan 2010 | 12:37 am

It’s hard to believe that sexual harassment still occurs in the modern workplace, but it does. Luckily, Federal and California state laws offer powerful protections against workplace sexual harassment. Under the law, there are two main types of sexual harassment: “Sleep with me if you want to keep your job” Quid pro quo sexual harassment is the type of harassment people are most familiar with. “Quid pro quo” is Latin for “this for that”. This form of sexual harassment involves a supervisor conditioning employee benefits, such as promotions, benefits…
Discrimination Laws in California

Eugene Lee

8 Jan 2010 | 12:26 am

Both Federal and California laws prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on an employee’s “protected characteristics”. Under California’s broad, pro-employee laws (perhaps the best in the US), “protected characteristics” mean: “race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, or sexual orientation”. Types of Discrimination Discrimination comes in many flavors. There is “disparate treatment” and “disparate impact”…

theCPLRblog
Directed Verdict

David M. Gottlieb

6 Feb 2010 | 5:21 pm

Brownrigg v New York City Hous. Auth., 2010 NY Slip Op 00795 (App. Div., 2nd, 2009)Prior to directing a verdict in favor of one party to an action, a court must determine "whether there [is] any rational basis on which a jury could [find] for [the opposing party], the [opposing party] being entitled to every favorable inference which could reasonably be drawn from the evidence submitted by [it]" (Rhabb v New York City Hous. Auth., 41 NY2d 200, 202; see Pollack v Klein, 39 AD3d 730, 730). In making this determination, a court must not "engage in a weighing of the evidence,"…
Interesting Collateral Estoppel Decision

David M. Gottlieb

6 Feb 2010 | 5:12 pm

Sepulveda v Dayal, 2010 NY Slip Op 00782 (App. Div., 1st, 2010)The record shows that prior to obtaining the medical records indicating which physicians had reviewed the sonograms taken during the pregnancy of plaintiff mother, plaintiffs commenced an action naming Montefiore Medical Center and the 43 radiologists employed at the time of the alleged malpractice. After ascertaining the identity of the four physicians who had interpreted the sonograms, none of whom had been named in the first action, plaintiffs commenced a second action against those four physicians and Montefiore. The…
The Short Walk

David M. Gottlieb

2 Feb 2010 | 7:56 pm
Joinder, Nonjoinder, Intervention, and Forum Non Con

David M. Gottlieb

31 Jan 2010 | 6:50 pm

CPLR § 1001 Necessary joinder of parties(a) Parties who should be joined(b) When joinder excusedCPLR § 1003 Nonjoinder and misjoinder of partiesCPLR § 1012 Intervention as of right; notice to attorney-general, city, county, town or village where constitutionality in issueCPLR R. 327 Inconvenient forumEVERYTHING BUT FORUM NON CONDeMato v Mallin, 2009 NY Slip Op 08991 (App. Div., 2nd, 2009)Under the circumstances of this case, the Supreme Court properly directed that the Town be joined as a defendant in order to accord complete relief between the parties (see CPLR 1001[a], [b]; Lazzari v…
My Favorite Kind of Niceties

David M. Gottlieb

27 Jan 2010 | 6:15 pm

Over at Full Court Pass, Norman Olch has a post: Improper Dismissal of Civil Claims: The Procedural Niceties. There he discusses a recent Second Circuit decision addressing CPLR § 1003 (Nonjoinder and misjoinder of parties) and a really interesting case from the Appellate Division, Second Department, Beshay v Eberhart L.P. #1,2010 NY Slip Op 00461 (2010). In Beshay, the complaint was dismissed after plaintiff's opening statement; something you don't see all to often. Beshay explains what circumstances will warrant such a dismissal, which is nice. You can find a…

HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog
Transparency: Too little, too late?

David Harlow

9 Feb 2010 | 6:20 am

When the President of the United States, allegedly possessed of the best bully pulpit in the free world, needs to go on the Super Bowl pre-game show to attract a big audience, you know that something has gone horribly, horribly wrong. We can't solve that problem here at HealthBlawg, but perhaps we can address the issue that Obama put on the table during the pre-game show: transparency in health reform negotiations. From the New York Times: “I want to come back and have a large meeting, Republicans and Democrats, to go through systematically all the best ideas that are out there and move it…
Wayne Burton and Cyndy Nayer, from the Center for Health Value Innovation, speak with David Harlow about value-based health designs for health improvement and cost savings

David Harlow

8 Feb 2010 | 10:07 am

I recently spoke with Wayne Burton, MD and Cyndy Nayer. Cyndy is co-founder and President of the Center for Health Value Innovation; Wayne is a member of the Board of Strategic Advisors, and former longtime Corporate Medical Director of JP Morgan Chase. The Center focuses on sharing evidence of improved health and economic outcomes through value-based designs. In the current environment, this sort of private-sector focus on value-based health improvement and cost savings is critical. Given the recent collapse of health reform inside the Beltway, now is the time for organizations such…
Medical Apologies: Do right and do well

David Harlow

6 Feb 2010 | 10:35 pm

An often overlooked tool in health care providers' struggle with the malpractice crisis is the medical apology. Two thirds of the states provide some form of protection for the medical apology (i.e., a simple apology is not admissible in court as an admission of culpability), and settlements reached post-apology are almost invariably lower that they would be otherwise. (In the current environment, articles on medical apologies are popping up everywhere ... even in the NY Times business section.) It is important to note that an effective apology policy does not stop with the simple apology…
Health reform now or later -- What's a physician to do?

David Harlow

24 Jan 2010 | 7:31 pm

A few weeks ago, I suggested that -- love it or hate it -- physicians need to prepare themselves for the likely advent of health reform by getting a handle on internal costs and processes, and by strategically organizing into stronger bodies able to negotiate more effectively with payors across a range of new approaches to payment for health care services. While the landscape has changed dramatically in the past week, my advice still holds. Some physicians may believe that reform in any form similar to the bills that are now derailed must be stopped in its tracks, and that entertaining…
Holy Mackarel: Scott Brown, Health Reform Redux and What Can (Should) Happen Next

David Harlow

22 Jan 2010 | 11:04 am

Today's story begins in the Massachusetts State House Senate chamber. Prominent in the chamber is the Holy Mackarel. (Really. The House chamber is graced by the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts; the Senate had to get something.)A recent alum of the Massachusetts Senate, one Scott Brown, has been eliciting cries of Holy Mackarel (and worse) this week. The stunning setback to health reform represented by Brown's election to Ted Kennedy's seat the people's seat in the US Senate is just sinking in -- inside the Beltway, across Massachusetts, and around the country. While we all try to figure…

CREATE PROTECT
Monopoly The Game Meets Music Publishing

ipandentertainmentlaw

5 Feb 2010 | 2:11 pm

Hasbro is promoting the 75th anniversary edition of the Monopoly board game. Not only does it have a new circular game board, it contains clips of popular songs from artists such as Beyonce and Rihanna. So, how did they do that? Hasbro had to secure permission to use the underlying songs from the music publishers that own the song copyrights. To be able to use the actual recording by Beyonce and other artists, a master use license had to be secured from each record label that owned the master recording. Use of the underlying song may have been treated as a mechanical license as this…
Sly Stone Sues Manager For Fraud, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Cancel Trademark

ipandentertainmentlaw

5 Feb 2010 | 1:45 pm

Sylvester Stewart p/k/a Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against his longtime manager, Jerry Goldstein, alleging Goldstein stole $80 million in licensing and royalty income, and filed a trademark for Sly and the Family Stone without Stone’s permission. He also alleges Goldstein never provided him any royalty accounting for albums between 1989 and 2009 and the manager breached his fiduciary duty. Read more from The Hollywood Reporter Esq. blog which also includes a link to the complaint. The complaint hits straight out the issue of the…
Roger Miller Estate Continues Battle Over Copyright Renewals

ipandentertainmentlaw

2 Feb 2010 | 1:59 pm

For years, the estate of Roger Miller has battled with Sony Music over the ownership of the copyright in songs written by Miller in 1964. In 1964 Miller was under contract with Tree Publishing, which eventually became part of Sony Music. Pursuant to his exclusive songwriter agreement, Tree owned the copyright for the initial 28 year term and for the 28 year renewal term in the songs Miller wrote. The renewal provisions under the 1909 U.S. Copyright Act were created to give songwriters, authors (other creators) the ability to recapture rights for their family that they may have…
“60 Years Later” Lawsuit May Continue

ipandentertainmentlaw

1 Feb 2010 | 4:16 pm

I made a series of posts at the Ask Before You Act blog here, here and here on the lawsuit filed by author of “Catcher In The Rye,” J.D. Salinger seeking damages for copyright infringement and an injunction against the writer, publisher and distributor of a sequel to “Catcher In The Rye” …. “60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye.” Mr. Salinger passed away on January 27, 2010. A preliminary injunction was issued in July 2009, but the case is still moving forward. The plaintiff is listed as J.D. Salinger, individual and Trustee of the J.D. Salinger…
Trademark Basics Part 4: After Trademark Registration

ipandentertainmentlaw

1 Feb 2010 | 3:51 pm

In Part 4 of Trademark Basis we explore what happens after you secure a trademark registration. Feel free to review Part 1 “Selecting a Trademark,” Part 2 From Selection to Application,” and Part 3, “Intent to Use.” Q: When should I use the ™ symbol or the ® symbol? A: After federal registration the mark should be identified with the symbol. Do not use the prior to issuance of the Federal Registration. While the federal application is pending ( from one to two years), the trademark should be identified with the TM symbol. Use the mark…

Political GPS: Womble Carlyle Political Law
Womble Carlyle Presents WMACCA Signature Luncheon: Corporate Political Activity this Election Year

The Womble Carlyle Team

5 Feb 2010 | 12:44 pm

Larry Norton and Jim Kahl of Womble Carlyle’s DC Office and Political Law Team, will present WMACCA’s February Signature Luncheon titled, "Corporate Political Activity this Election Year - Treacherous Waters & Safe Harbors," on Thursday, February 25, 2010, from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. at the Tysons Corner Marriott. The landmark Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC has transformed the rules for corporate spending in federal and state elections. Corporations are now able to communicate more freely about elections with the general public, as well as with their employees, customers…
GPS Special Edition: Corporations Free to Engage In Election Spending, Says U.S. Supreme Court

The Womble Carlyle Team

22 Jan 2010 | 8:54 am

The Supreme Court yesterday swept aside federal laws that ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections. The ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission struck down a decades-old ban on ads funded by corporations (including incorporated trade associations and non-profits) that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a federal candidate. The court also overturned the McCain-Feingold law’s ban on corporate-funded “electioneering communications” – broadcast ads that merely refer to a candidate and air in the periods immediately before federal elections.
Supreme Court Sides with Broadcasters in Landmark Case

The Womble Carlyle Team

22 Jan 2010 | 7:30 am

Overturns McCain-Feingold’s Electioneering Communication Prohibitions The Supreme Court struck down longstanding federal laws that prohibit corporations from directly financing election ads in a decision released on January 21, 2010. The Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission agreed with the position advocated by Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC in a brief filed on behalf of ten State broadcasters associations. Corporations are now free to purchase ads that expressly support or oppose candidates, and so-called "electioneering communications" – broadcast…
New Year, New Scrutiny: Act Now To Protect Company From Auditors, The Media, And Others Who Are Reading Your Disclosure Reports

The Womble Carlyle Team

8 Dec 2009 | 7:10 am

In the rush of year-end deadlines and holiday preparations, it's easy to let next year's lobbying, campaign finance and pay-to-play deadlines wait until – well, next year. A little advance planning, however, can avoid unpleasant questions later in the year from government auditors, the media, watchdog groups and your competitors – all of whom may be scrutinizing your disclosure reports. Here are some important deadlines that come early in the New Year: Companies that employ one or more federal lobbyists must certify, by January 30, that no one in the organization has made a "gift" on…
Rules for Advocacy Groups May Not Be Settled Until Spring 2010

The Womble Carlyle Team

9 Nov 2009 | 8:03 am

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced on October 21 that it will not seek further review of a ruling by a three-judge federal appeals panel that struck down restrictions on fundraising and spending by non-profit advocacy groups. (EMILY’s List v. FEC). The six-member Commission split evenly on whether to ask for review by the entire D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, even though the ruling invalidated rules that the Commission adopted just four years ago.For non-profits looking ahead to 2010, however, the rules governing fundraising and spending will probably not be clear until next…

Wag The Dog
Quick reads: Toyota, the Washington Capitals, and resignation by tweet

Henry Fawell

9 Feb 2010 | 5:01 am

1.) The Capitals are reaching out (The Washington Post) -- The Washington Capitals in recent years have moved more aggressively than any other NHL team toward embracing social media Web sites such as Twitter and Facebook, targeting supporters who get their information from non-traditional outlets.2.) Sun's chief executive tweets his resignation (New York Times) -- Jonathan Schwartz, the last chief executive of Sun Microsystems, has become the first Fortune 200 boss to tweet his resignation. Late Wednesday night, Mr. Schwartz used Twitter to publish a haiku about his exit from Oracle, which…
Survey: Tech is trusted, banks are not

Henry Fawell

4 Feb 2010 | 12:48 pm

Edelman Worldwide last week released its latest survey of the public's trust (or lack thereof) in the business community. Not surprisingly, banks have their work cut out for them in regaining the public's trust, while technology companies enjoy high marks.To read the full report, click here. Below are a few highlights:*The banking and insurance industries rank as the least trusted in the U.S., with banks recording the only slide in faith in the past year.*According to those surveyed, "quality of communications" and "customer service" as important as "price" and "performance" in influencing…
Monday's quick reads: Toyota recall and random rules for building awareness

Henry Fawell

1 Feb 2010 | 7:03 am

1.) Toyota recall: Five critical lessons (Business Ethics Magazine) -- Toyota’s announcement of a technical fix for its sticky gas pedals – which can lead to sudden acceleration problems - is not likely to bring a quick end to the company’s current recall nightmare. The Toyota brand, once almost synonymous with top quality, has taken a heavy hit.2.) Survey finds majority of journalists depend on social media (George Washington University) -- A national survey found that an overwhelming majority of reporters and editors now depend on social media sources when researching their stories.
Word cloud analysis of President Obama's State of the Union address

Henry Fawell

28 Jan 2010 | 9:40 am

Word clouds are a creative way to gauge whether your message stands out in a speech. Pictured here is a word cloud of President Obama's State of the Union address Wednesday night.Ask yourself whether the right themes break through, then give your own company's message a test drive for free at http://www.wordle.net/. You could insert your CEO's upcoming speech, the executive summary of your last annual report, or even a press release or a blog post. You may be surprised at what themes pop out most.To be sure, a word cloud is not the final arbiter of whether your message passes the clarity…
Monday's quick reads: The Pope, the FCC, and medical correspondents in Haiti

Henry Fawell

25 Jan 2010 | 8:09 am

1.) FCC is on the hunt for ways to improve news media (The Wall Street Journal) -- Just a month after the Federal Trade Commission held hearings on the beleaguered news industry and what the government might do about it, the Federal Communications Commission is getting into the act, too. The agency has launched an investigation into the “Future of Media,” and released an 11-page request for information about the state of the news business. It plans to examine the current state of the news industry, industry trends and what the agency could do to change its current rules.2.) Pope to…

Multifamily and Mixed Use Development
California institutes the First Statewide Green Building Code

15 Jan 2010 | 12:51 pm

This week, California because the first State to announce a statewide green building code standard.“With this first-in-the nation mandatory green building standards code, California continues to pave the way in energy efficiency and environmental protection. Today’s action lays the foundation for the move to greener buildings constructed with environmentally advanced building practices that decrease waste, reduce energy use and conserve resources,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “The code will help us meet our goals of curbing global warming and achieving 33 percent renewable energy by…
HUD Posts New Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity Rules

7 Nov 2009 | 9:13 am

On October 21, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a press release announced the agency's intention to propose regulations regarding HUD-supported rental programs and their effect on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender tenants and prospective tenants; see http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2009/HUDNo.09-206. This proposal would require individuals and entities which receive grants from HUD or participate it its programs to comply with state or local sexual orientation or gender identity laws; while "clarifying" that family…
Think Outside the Box for New Developments

12 Aug 2009 | 1:00 pm

Given current market conditions, developers of multifamily projects may find it difficult if not impossible to continue developing in the way that they did in the recent past. But this does not mean that it is impossible to develop new multifamily project. Rather, developers must explore new project types and reach out to different development partners to continue doing business. Multifamilybiz.com showcases a good example in Delanco, New Jersey. Michaels Development Company, an affordable housing developer, has undertaken the first phase of mixed-use project that includes 64,000 square feet…
Importance of an Effective Moisture Response Program in Multifamily Residential Housing

13 Jul 2009 | 12:34 pm

When moisture problems and apparent mold growth occur in multifamily residential housing units, landlords may become vulnerable to tenant claims, even in the absence of health concerns. A recent California appeals court decision underscores the necessity of prompt landlord responses to water intrusion complaints under all circumstances. Jackson v. Rod Read & Sons, 2009 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 4569. (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/C058024.DOC)The California court found that, as soon as the tenant alerted the landlord to the wet conditions in her unit, the landlord took immediate steps…
Freddie Mac CME Program Offers Borrower-Friendly Terms

29 Jun 2009 | 10:53 am

As the economic crisis and its related fallout continues to chug along, the GSE’s remain one of the main source of financing available for multifamily owners. Those in search of financing should consider Freddie Mac's new Capital Markets Execution (CME) program. CME was just launched in the last month or so. CME multifamily loans are offered on more favorable terms than Freddie's standard portfolio loans. CME loans enter a pool of loans from which Freddie sells loans to an institutional investor who securitizes the loans and then sells securitized bonds backed by the loans themselves. Here…

Trade Secrets Blog
Former Boeing Employee, Dongfan Chung, Sentenced to More than 15 Years for Economic Espionage

9 Feb 2010 | 8:47 am

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a Chinese-born engineer was sentenced Monday to more than 15 years in prison for hoarding sensitive information about the U.S. space shuttle that prosecutors say he intended to share with China.The case against Dongfan "Greg" Chung was the U.S.'s first trial on economic-espionage charges. The 74-year-old former Boeing Co. engineer was convicted in July of six counts of economic espionage and other federal charges for keeping 300,000 pages of sensitive papers in his home.Before sentencing Mr. Chung, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney said he didn't…
Potential Problems in Trying Goodyear Trade Secrets Case

9 Feb 2010 | 8:45 am

Following up on our earlier posting here, there’s a good story in the Knoxville News Sentinel about the difficulties of trying corporate espionage cases in court without revealing trade secrets. The article outlines the conceptual clash between the philosophy of open and public courtrooms (embodied, after all, in our Constitution) and the problem that victims of trade secrets theft won’t come forward if they fear that their trade secrets will be exposed at trial.According to the story, prosecutors are at the trial of two engineers accused of improperly snapping seven photographs at a…
Liberty Mutual Sues Nine Departed Employees and Their New Employer for Trade Secret Theft

8 Feb 2010 | 6:11 am

The online magazine, Insurance Journal, is reporting that Liberty Mutual Insurance is suing nine former employees and their new employer, Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Holdings, alleging they have plotted to steal professional liability insurance business from its Liberty International Underwriters unit.The suit, filed Feb. 1 in New York County Supreme Court, says the workers and Aspen "unlawfully conspired (and continue to conspire) to breach duties of loyalty to Liberty, raid Liberty's business operations, and misappropriate Liberty's trade secrets and goodwill."The Liberty suit alleges…
Korean Authorities Arrest Many in Alleged Theft and Transfer of Samsung's Trade Secrets to Hynix

5 Feb 2010 | 6:26 am

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the world's top producers of computer memory chips are embroiled in an alleged case of industrial espionage after South Korean prosecutors indicted 18 people over alleged technology theft.Prosecutors said Thursday those involved — including employees of U.S. company Allied Materials and its South Korean unit — are suspected of leaking semiconductor technology belonging to South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. to its domestic rival Hynix Semiconductor Inc.Samsung and Hynix are the world's top two producers of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM,…
Bristol-Myers-Squibb Employee Charged with Extensive Trade Secret Theft

4 Feb 2010 | 7:24 am

ABC News is reporting that Shalin Jhaveri, 29, of Syracuse, was charged in U.S. District Court with stealing trade secrets and proprietary information from the New York-based company while taking part in a management training program. He was fired Tuesday.Employed on an immigrant worker's visa, Jhaveri had been a technical operations associate at Bristol since November 2007. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.The thefts of "hundreds of the company's standard operating procedures" took place over an extended period, "but the most active period…

Furniture Law Blog
Gum Tree - Culp Battle Over Fabric Copyright Protection

31 Jan 2010 | 4:02 am

On August 21, 2009, High Point based fabric and ticking supplier Culp, Inc. sued Gum Tree Fabrics, Inc. of Tupelo, Mississippi for copyright infringement, unfair competition, and unfair and deceptive trade practices under North Carolina law. (Case No. 1:09-cv-648-NCT-LPA) The complaint is based on Gum Tree's continuing sales of its "Ringo" fabric, which Culp claims infringes its copyright on its "Palamino" fabric. The parties were apparently trying to settle the matter. However, settlement talks have failed and Gum Tree appears ready to litigation. Gum Tree's answer to the complaint is now…
Federal Circuit Updates Design Patent Invalidity Standards

23 Jan 2010 | 8:52 am

In 2008 the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its landmark decision in Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, 543 F.3d 665 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (en banc) in which the court eliminated the point of novelty test for design patent infringement, stating:[W]e conclude that the point of novelty test, as a second and free-standing requirement for proof of design patent infringement, is inconsistent with the ordinary observer test laid down in Gorham, is not mandated by Whitman Saddle or precedent from other courts, and is not needed to protect against unduly broad assertions of…
Strength Of Design Patents Seen In Case On Shower Rod

23 Jan 2010 | 8:21 am

A recently filed case in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania demonstrates the power of design patents to protect design elements that are not eligible for copyright protection. In Zenith Products Corp. v. Design Home Solutions, LLC (Case No. 2:10-cv-00148-LS), Zenith Products alleges that defendant is infringing U.S. Patent No. D542,897, entitled "Curved Shower Rod." The '897 Patent covers a simple curved shower rod that could not be protected under copyright law. Ohter than the circular mounts located on each end, the only design element on the bar…
Sleepy's Awoken By Trademark Infringer

23 Jan 2010 | 7:35 am

On January 8, 2010, mega-mattress retailer Sleepy's filed a trademark infringement action against Mattress & Furniture Outlet Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (Case No. 2:10-cv-00108-FSH-PS). In its complaint, Sleepy's alleges that the Jersey City based defendant is offering mattresses, bedding, and furniture under the marks or names "SLEEPYZ," SLEEPYZ MATTRESS & FURNITURE OUTLET" and "SLEEPY'Z" as well as operating a website at http://www.sleepyzonline.com/. A visit to the website on January 23, 2010 indicates that defendant has already stopped…
NHFA Adds Glossary Of Furniture Terms

23 Jan 2010 | 7:30 am

The National Home Furnishings Association (NHFA) has added a glossary of furniture terms to its consumer-based website http://www.homefurnishings.com/. The glossary should be useful for consumers, the industry, as well as patent lawyers looking for an authoritative definition. The glossary may be viewed by clicking [here].

Personal Injury and Social Security Disability
Toyota Planning to Recall 300,000 Prius Cars?

Bob Kraft

9 Feb 2010 | 4:14 am

According to published reports, Toyota is planning to recall some 300,000 Prius vehicles worldwide to repair a brake problem. The manufacturer supposedly will notify the U.S. and Japanese governments today. Toyota has already recalled more than 7 million other cars for repairs in the U.S. and other countries over a sticky accelerator and floor mats that can get caught in the gas pedal.General Motors said yesterday that it will start shipping parts to dealers soon to fix about 99,000 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibes equipped with the same sticky gas pedal systems as Toyota's. The Vibe is…
Not Following Doctor’s Orders Is Bad for Your Social Security Disability Claim

Bob Kraft

8 Feb 2010 | 3:17 am

Fellow blogger and Social Security Lawyer, Gordon Gates recently updated his blog on the topic of failure to follow prescribed treatment. It is worth reading, and I agree with him that you should avoid this becoming an issue at your hearing. Under the regulations, your disability claim can be denied if you would otherwise be found under a disability but fail, without justifiable cause, to follow treatment prescribed by a treating source which can be expected to restore your ability to work. See 20 C.F.R. 404.1530 (2009). Further sub-regulatory authority can be found in the Social Security…
U.S. Starts Inquiry Into Prius Brake Problems

Bob Kraft

5 Feb 2010 | 8:37 am

Poor Toyota. The company finally comes up with a proposed solution to the sticking throttle problem, and now they have a brake problem with the hugely popular Prius model. Here are excerpts from an article in the New York Times about the Prius problems:No sooner had Toyota dealerships begun to repair accelerator pedals on millions of recalled vehicles than the carmaker said it was considering yet another major recall, this time for problems with the brakes on its Prius hybrid.Safety regulators in Washington said Thursday that they would open an investigation into the brakes on the 2010…
Friday Fun

Bob Kraft

5 Feb 2010 | 3:06 am

This montage of old photos set to the lyrics of Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire has been around a while, but I still enjoy seeing it. I'm old enough to remember all these pictures! Thanks to my friend Adam Doner for reminding me of it.
Embrace Life — Always Wear Your Seatbelt

Bob Kraft

4 Feb 2010 | 3:01 pm

Colorado Law Blog
Toyota Finally On Track to Fix Recalled Gas Pedals

linda

3 Feb 2010 | 7:40 am

After nearly a week with no word about the defective accelerator pedal, Toyota announced on Monday, that they would begin to ship parts to dealers and begin training staff to perform the repairs. Many dealers, frustrated with Toyota’s delays and lack of information have promised consumers to work round the clock to make the repairs. The repair, which should only take about a half an hour, involves installing a steel shim in the pedal assembly which should eliminate the excess friction between the two pieces of the accelerator mechanism. Toyota claims that this friction is what causes…
If You’ve Been Injured at Work

linda

1 Feb 2010 | 8:02 am

If you’ve been injured at work, no matter how minor the injury may seem at first, it is important to contact a law office that specializes in workers’ compensation claims immediately. The moments and days after an injury occurs are crucial and vital to an injured worker’s situation. There are many dangers involved in waiting to learn about your rights. Many individuals believe that waiting until the injury “cools off” is the proper course of action. As many doctors will tell you, the true extent of an injury is not always known at first. Also, an injury that…
Toyota Halts Sales of Camrys and Corollas. Is Your Toyota Safe?

linda

27 Jan 2010 | 9:34 am

In an unprecedented move, Toyota suspended sales of eight of its recalled models including two of its most popular models, the Camry and Corolla. Additionally, Toyota has shut down production at five of its manufacturing plants as the company assesses the damage and comes up with a game plan. From Toyota’s website: “Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company,” said Group Vice President and Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter. “This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We’re…
How to Survive Being Stranded in Your Car During a Colorado Snowstorm

linda

26 Jan 2010 | 1:00 am

Many of us living in Denver don’t think we’ll ever be stranded in our cars during a snowstorm. We’re in the big city, it’s not like were on some deserted country road. Even if we do get stuck we wouldn’t have far to walk for shelter, right? I’ve got my cell phone and On-Star, I won’t be stuck long. Having lived most of my life in Colorado, I’ve hit a patch of ice and lost control of my car and slid off the road a time or two. Fortunately, a Good Samaritan helped me out and my time stuck out in the blizzard was minimal. But what if my timing…
Toyota Recalls 2.3 Million Vehicles for Faulty Accelerator Pedal

linda

22 Jan 2010 | 9:14 am

After months of consumer complaints and at least four deaths, Toyota announced a recall of approximately 2.3 million cars that may potentially have a faulty accelerator pedal. Recently, there have been reports of gas pedals sticking in an accelerated position. Toyota claims this is a rare occurrence that occurs when the pedal mechanism becomes worn and becomes harder to depress, slower to return to its original position and at worst, stuck in the partially depressed position. This recall comes on the heels of Toyota’s recall in November 2009, which affected 4.2 million cars. That recall…

Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog
“Law Lords” to JFS: You’re Not So Free

Richard M. Esenberg

7 Feb 2010 | 6:39 am

There has been a fair amount of commentary regarding a decision of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (formerly the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary and part of the House of Lords) in a matter called R (on application of E) v. Governing Board of JFS. The case involved the desire of a man referred to only as E to have his son, M, admitted to London’s prestigious Jewish Free School. There are many more applicants than spaces in the school and it gives preference to children who are recognized as Jewish either by the rule of matrilineal descent derived from Deuteronmomy 7:3-4…
I Started Law School . . .

Ashanti Cook

5 Feb 2010 | 10:29 am

Thank you to Professor Slavin for asking me, back in my first month as a wide-eyed 1L, to be on the blog. I thank you for both your confidence in me and this opportunity to attempt to prove you correct. I started law school at a disadvantage; I didn’t want to be a lawyer. I say this is a disadvantage because I met many people who not only wanted to be a lawyer but had known this about themselves since childhood. Some followed in the steps of a family member and some found their way by other means. That wasn’t me. I don’t want to dwell on myself for very long; I only…
Mother and Daughter, Justly Proud

Alan J. Borsuk

4 Feb 2010 | 7:26 pm

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Pat Roggensack and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Ellen Brostrom are wary of almost all of the labels that people try to put on them and on other justices and judges. But one label they are proud of is mother and daughter, and that was clear Thursday during an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session at the Law School. The two are believed to be the only mother and daughter to serve on the bench at the same time in Wisconsin history, Gousha said. “You’ve just been an incredible role model for me,” Judge Brostrom told her mother. Justice Roggensack…
Respecting Student Experience

Judith G. McMullen

4 Feb 2010 | 1:29 pm

One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was a copy of Jeannette Walls’ amazing memoir, The Glass Castle. In it, she describes growing up with her three siblings in a household characterized by chaos and poverty on the one hand, and love and a sense of wonderment on the other. Jeannette and her siblings live in a series of cars, tents, or leaky-roofed houses without heat. They forage for food in farmers’ fields and trash cans, wear cast-off clothing, and bathe so infrequently as to attract the scorn of schoolmates. Their unstructured life and economic deprivation are partly a product…
The Future of Family Law?

Alan J. Borsuk

4 Feb 2010 | 10:56 am

A good family-law attorney approaches a divorce case with rigorous attention to detail, a strong understanding of finance and property issues, and a readiness to deal with quick changes in circumstances. Who could disagree with that? Perhaps no one, and these matters were thus common ground in a provocative session for students this week, with presentations by Dean Joseph D. Kearney (“10 Things I Learned During My 28 Days as a Divorce Lawyer”), Milwaukee lawyer Thomas St. John ’72 (“5 Things Any Lawyer Should Know Even Before Taking the Case”), and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge…

Dozier Internet Law, PC
Google Runs Into Trouble Oversees

Dozier Internet Law

5 Feb 2010 | 7:13 pm

It's been interesting watching the politics of the online world lately at Dozier Internet Law. Google has been struggling with the Chinese government's information policies and threatening to pull out of China altogether. Google's claim, in summary, is that China does not adequately embrace the concepts of free speech. Yes, Google argues, China must change its attitude and approach about suppressing dissent and repressing criticism. Is Google's problem really one of free speech? Or is the problem that Google, and other US bred online businesses, really don't like to follow the laws of other…
Negative Option and Continuation Billing Programs

Dozier Internet Law

29 Jan 2010 | 6:26 pm

The online marketing industry has been hit hard recently. First, the FTC passes new requirements for disclosing economic interests. Then Google shuts down the Adwords accounts of a lot of marketers for the negative option and continuation programs, and MasterCard and Visa stop processing negative option and continuation program transactions. It's a tough time for everyone because a small segment of the affiliate marketing and retail industry were less than honest about the programs people were buying and how those consumers would be charged. And an entire industry, many of whom were operating…
The Advertising Network Dilemma

Dozier Internet Law

9 Jan 2010 | 1:01 pm

No one really understands the duties, responsibilities, liabilities and exposures of ad networks. With any new (relatively) business model or process comes uncertainty. The primary uncertainty in terms of success, long term viability, profitablity, and sustainability inherent in the advertising network business model and operational structure rests with relationships. Advertisers are often very happy with ad networks. Affiliate marketers (publishers) are likewise pleased. Ad networks are aggregators of advertising services (for advertisers with a product or service) and business generation…
Dozier Internet Law at Upcoming Conferences

Dozier Internet Law

4 Jan 2010 | 4:40 am

Dozier Internet Law and John W Dozier Jr will be attending and participating in the following upcoming conferences: Affiliate Summit in Vegas in January The Social Network Conference in Miami in January LeadsCon in Vegas in February We'll be doing book signings at each, so stop by and say hello. More information on my presentations coming soon. Obviously FTC regs is at the top of the list with the lead generation audience. Hope to see you there.
Dozier Internet Law: The Far Left Virtual Police State

Dozier Internet Law

3 Jan 2010 | 11:03 am

We've been quite vocal at Dozier Internet Law about the nasty habit of the far left leaning and liberal blogosphere attacking through words (and otherwise) individuals who dare disagree with their "information yearns to be free" and "hands off the web" mantra. These interests claim that our free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment protects the right to attack with impunity anyone with whom they disagree. And most troublesome is that these groups and special interests maintain a virtual police state online. They develop intelligence, share information, and relentlessly…

New York Personal Injury Law
Did Rep. John Murtha Die From Medical Malpractice?

9 Feb 2010 | 6:44 am

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) died yesterday, a week after routine gall bladder surgery (cholecystectomy). He was a powerful congressman with his finger on the button of Pentagon appropriations.And with his high-profile death comes an opportunity to explore some medical malpractice issues.So let's do this in Q & A form:What is the first reaction as to why this happened?First up is the most common reason for malpractice litigation with gall bladder surgery: That the common bile duct was mistakenly cut. I don't know what happened here, of course, since I don't have the medical records or the…
Caveat Jurista! (Let the Lawyer Beware And Welcome ABA Journal Readers)

6 Feb 2010 | 11:51 am

Maybe someone that knows Latin can help me. I'm looking for the proper way to write "Let the Lawyer Beware!" much the way the buyer must beware (caveat emptor). An online dictionary tells me that consultus is the Latin for legal expert, and from which consultant is derived; though jurista seems like a possibility and it also looks and sounds better.So this post has nothing to do with being afraid of lawyers, but rather, as a warning to those with the juris doctorate.Frankly, I've always hated the use of Latin phrases in the law, as it always seemed pretentious. My usage is usually de minimis,…
John Stossel, You Gotta Love Him

3 Feb 2010 | 6:10 pm

Now I know what you're thinking with this headline: "John Stossel? You love the guy? He is always whining about trial lawyers, how can you love him?"No, really, I do. Because for a writer, hypocrites like Stossel are like manna from heaven. This story is inspired by a little fluff interview with New York Magazine earlier today where this question and answer appeared:Who is your mortal enemy? Smug, ignorant, and arrogant Upper West Side Lefties and personal-injury lawyersAwww, isn't that cute. Johnny-boy wants to kill me and all the other personal injury attorneys in the country. We're his…
SuperLawyers Gets Sold, Creates Conflict With FindLaw (And My Days As A SuperLawyer Seem Numbered)

2 Feb 2010 | 8:20 pm

I was amused some months back when I was named one of New York's personal injury "SuperLawyers." I had some ambivalence about it since it was difficult to know much about the magazine's methodology in making selections.But no matter now; the company has now been sold to Thomson West and my days on the list, it seems safe to say, are numbered. I'd bet good money I won't be on it next year.Why? Because Thomson West also happens to own FindLaw, whose dreadful history of selling links, ripping off a certain blog name, exploiting dead victims for its dreck-blogs by a writer who appears to know…
Court Finds Insurance Covers Fireman in Own Car

2 Feb 2010 | 3:40 am

This is the issue in a nutshell: If a volunteer firefighter is in an accident while responding to an emergency, and the insurance policy of the car that clobbered him is already exhausted, can he get the benefits of the fire department's own Supplemental Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Endorsement (a/k/a the SUM policy)?In a matter of first impression, the trial court in American Alternative Insurance v. Pelszynski said yes. The matter came before Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Mark Cohen when the fireman filed for arbitration on the policy and the insurance carrier brought an action in…

SECLaw.com - The Securities Law Blog
Advisers Sue State Securities Regulator

8 Feb 2010 | 7:58 am

Years ago I wrote a column for Research Magazine titled Fight Back, an analysis of a litigation strategy for advisers when faced with frivolous customer complaints. The article created something of a stir among securities lawyers, which was a good thing. Sometimes regulated professionals are too timid to stand up for their rights.Two former financial advisers have taken this a step further, and have sued the Utah Securities Commission for conducting what the advisers claim was an over-zealous campaign against them.According to press reports, the two advisers, who were who were barred from the…
Wells Fargo To Add 1,400 Advisors

8 Feb 2010 | 6:59 am

Stories about Merrill adding trainees surfaced last week, now we learn that Wells Fargo Advisors is looking to add 1,400 financial advisors. A published report said that the advisors will be a combination of 1,000 recruits from other firms and 400 trainees. More>>>Technorati Tags: broker transition, stock brokers
Raiding Case Costs Raymond James $12 Million

7 Feb 2010 | 6:45 am

In a case involving 20 advisers in 4 branch offices, a securities arbitration panel has ordered Raymond James Associates Inc. to pay $12.1 million to Wells Fargo Advisors LLC for alleged raiding.The award does not provide any detail of the case, but ordered 10,500,000 in compensatory damages, 1,500,000 in attorneys fees and costs. A copy of the award is available here.The offices were, at the time, Wachovia offices, and according to published reports, Wachovia Securities allegedly lost $5.3 million in production from the departures of these advisors. FA Magazine has more>>>
Bad Advice -Ignore FINRA Social Media Guidance

5 Feb 2010 | 5:27 am

Securities regulation is a big deal for those in the industry. The mix of rules, regulations and regulators is a dangerous web of potential violations, fines and suspensions. But those who are in the industry know that the regulators are serious, that they are looking for violations, and will bring actions for those violations. Maybe it is a sign of the Madoff times, but I can't help but shutter when I read comments from supposedly educated and experienced people who comment on rules and regulations. We all know that FINRA has released its social media guidelines. And we know that like most…
Investors Filing Claims Against Lehman Brokers

4 Feb 2010 | 8:21 am

Investors are starting to file arbitration claims against their Lehman brokers, in an attempt to collect their losses on investments in Lehman principle protected notes. I warned of this eventuality some time ago, as customers who lost money in the notes are going to look to recover those losses. Obviously suing Lehman is not going to accomplish anything, but some customers and their attorneys believe that suing the broker just might.Lehman brokers have been through quite a bit. These professionals relied management's statements that "all is well" with the company, and were blindsided by the…

Human Rights in the Workplace
Twitter Talk – January 29, 2010

Donna Seale

28 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm

Here’s what I’ve found interesting in the “Twitter-sphere” this past week. Click on the links to read the original article or post: RT: @fpbowen WFP Survey finds number of women in top jobs at largest companies has stalled:http://bit.ly/bOgn5m [Not employment related but interesting just the same...] RT: @globeandmail Muslim basketball player fails to overturn headscarf ban http://tgam.ca/HR9 RT @firstreference: An aging workforce: the legal issues (Part I)http://bit.ly/61rkZH RT @OmarHaRedeye: “The 5 groups that experience the most discrimination in the…
The crucial importance of note-taking when dealing with workplace human rights issues

Donna Seale

24 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm

We all write notes for ourselves at some point or another, for one reason or another. Whether it be a ‘to do’ list, a goal list, a diary entry of what we did that day or a reminder to pick up eggs at the store, notes help us in innumerable ways in our daily lives. Notes are also critical in our work lives as well. They keep us on task. They help us remember what has been said or done in the past. They establish expectations. Yes, notes are important for a whole host of reasons, both personal and professional, but from my perspective they are absolutely critical if…
Lessons to be learned from the Siloam Mission resignations

Donna Seale

21 Dec 2009 | 8:06 pm

In this past weekend's edition of the Winnipeg Free Press, Gordon Sinclair Jr.wrote an article called "When personal is so much more". It was a piece addressing the fall-out from the alleged affair between Siloam Mission's CEO and Director of Communication and Development, both of whom recently resigned their positions and left the organization. It's a sad tale, as sometimes occurs when two people in a workplace become intimately involved and the relationship fails to work out. But, as is often the case when things go…
Thankful thoughts for 2009

Donna Seale

20 Dec 2009 | 6:31 pm

A number of years ago now, my husband and I started an annual tradition of reflecting on what we had accomplished individually and as a family over the course of the past year, what we were thankful for overall, and then we set out goals for the year that was ahead. We set aside time in our calendars just before New Years' Eve, head out to a local restaurant for breakfast, I bring along my laptop and we map out where we've been, where we wish to go and what we wish to do in order to feel, by the end of the year, that we have made a contribution to our family and…
My picks for the 2009 CLawBies

Donna Seale

16 Dec 2009 | 7:39 pm

I like December for a lot of reasons. No, the Manitoba "dry cold" is not one of them, but the fact that it is CLawBie nomination time definitely is! Long-time readers will know that the CLawBies are the Canadian Law Blog Awards initiated by Steve Matthews of Stem Legal back in 2006. In December of every year since, bloggers from the Canadian legal industry as well as their readers submit their top three picks for the 'best of' in the Canadian legal blogosphere. On New Year's Eve, the "winners" are announced (no trophies are…

Law Firm Bottom_Line
Too Little…Too Late?

cable&clark

9 Feb 2010 | 8:36 am

Great post about the timing of the new versions of Westlaw and Lexis at Legal Practice Pro. This is what caught my eye: “But the giants got fat and sleepy, as they often do. Their pricing became their burden, their staffing and infrastructure made them sluggish. Rather than take the innovations of the technology and provide [...]
Friday Fun: Librarians Will Save the World…Again

cable&clark

5 Feb 2010 | 8:04 am

I’ve written about librarian heroes several times in the past, such as here. But now a new book is out that takes the reader deep into our world and demonstrates that librarians “are FIERCE” (per a reviewer on Amazon). I’ve already got my copy downloaded on my Kindle, and I’ll post a review as soon [...]
Vendor News and New Resources

cable&clark

3 Feb 2010 | 9:34 am

Thomson Reuters/West WestlawNext–Official Site WestlawNext, the Next Generation in Legal Research Thomson Reuters Buys Super Lawyers Thomson Reuters Introduces International Pro Bono Project Hildebrandt and Baker Robbins Merge Reed Elsevier/LexisNexis Reed Elsevier Boss must Ditch the Debt Lexis for Microsoft Office: Sneak Preview New Interface for LexisNexis Academic and New LexisNexis Statistical Insight LexisNexis Increases Irish Coverage Others Fastcase iPhone app…Free! Mexican Portal for Public Documents CFR in [...]
“Hey! You Sunk My Battleship!”: Another Article about New Platforms for Legal Research

cable&clark

25 Jan 2010 | 1:43 pm

The ABA Journal is predicting a “battle” will soon be breaking out on a computer screen near you. This article has screen shots of both WestlawNext (which seems to be the official new name) and New Lexis, and also includes a discussion of Bloomberg Law, FastCase and Google Scholar. A battle like this makes me think [...]
New Versions of Westlaw and Lexis Mentioned in the New York Times

cable&clark

25 Jan 2010 | 11:14 am

There has been much buzz over the last year around ‘new’ versions of Westlaw and Lexis. How big are these changes? Pretty big, considering the New York Times published an article on the subject yesterday. Some interesting tidbits from the article: Westlaw will introduce its changes on Feb. 1; LexisNexis has yet to specify a date. Mike Dahn, [...]

Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog
“Law Lords” to JFS: You’re Not So Free

Richard M. Esenberg

7 Feb 2010 | 6:39 am

There has been a fair amount of commentary regarding a decision of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (formerly the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary and part of the House of Lords) in a matter called R (on application of E) v. Governing Board of JFS. The case involved the desire of a man referred to only as E to have his son, M, admitted to London’s prestigious Jewish Free School. There are many more applicants than spaces in the school and it gives preference to children who are recognized as Jewish either by the rule of matrilineal descent derived from Deuteronmomy 7:3-4…
I Started Law School . . .

Ashanti Cook

5 Feb 2010 | 10:29 am

Thank you to Professor Slavin for asking me, back in my first month as a wide-eyed 1L, to be on the blog. I thank you for both your confidence in me and this opportunity to attempt to prove you correct. I started law school at a disadvantage; I didn’t want to be a lawyer. I say this is a disadvantage because I met many people who not only wanted to be a lawyer but had known this about themselves since childhood. Some followed in the steps of a family member and some found their way by other means. That wasn’t me. I don’t want to dwell on myself for very long; I only…
Mother and Daughter, Justly Proud

Alan J. Borsuk

4 Feb 2010 | 7:26 pm

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Pat Roggensack and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Ellen Brostrom are wary of almost all of the labels that people try to put on them and on other justices and judges. But one label they are proud of is mother and daughter, and that was clear Thursday during an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session at the Law School. The two are believed to be the only mother and daughter to serve on the bench at the same time in Wisconsin history, Gousha said. “You’ve just been an incredible role model for me,” Judge Brostrom told her mother. Justice Roggensack…
Respecting Student Experience

Judith G. McMullen

4 Feb 2010 | 1:29 pm

One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was a copy of Jeannette Walls’ amazing memoir, The Glass Castle. In it, she describes growing up with her three siblings in a household characterized by chaos and poverty on the one hand, and love and a sense of wonderment on the other. Jeannette and her siblings live in a series of cars, tents, or leaky-roofed houses without heat. They forage for food in farmers’ fields and trash cans, wear cast-off clothing, and bathe so infrequently as to attract the scorn of schoolmates. Their unstructured life and economic deprivation are partly a product…
The Future of Family Law?

Alan J. Borsuk

4 Feb 2010 | 10:56 am

A good family-law attorney approaches a divorce case with rigorous attention to detail, a strong understanding of finance and property issues, and a readiness to deal with quick changes in circumstances. Who could disagree with that? Perhaps no one, and these matters were thus common ground in a provocative session for students this week, with presentations by Dean Joseph D. Kearney (“10 Things I Learned During My 28 Days as a Divorce Lawyer”), Milwaukee lawyer Thomas St. John ’72 (“5 Things Any Lawyer Should Know Even Before Taking the Case”), and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge…

Class Action Blog
Contributions for Cases

classactionblogadmin

5 Feb 2010 | 2:57 pm

Attorneys giving political donations to drive business with government officials the new qui pro quo? We often look to government officials to resolve problems that plague our society - from developing Swine Flu vaccinations to providing legal council in the Bernie Madoff case. But who helps state officials when they are tasked with a growing list of responsibilities and fewer resources to tackle them than ever before? Budget cuts overshadow a sea of necessary government projects. To ignore many of these projects means we ignore the rights and needs of the public. Without the…
Is Your Grandma Safe With Caregivers? What You Should Watch For.

admin

2 Feb 2010 | 8:56 am

The demand for adult-care homes is on the rise as several Americans entering their golden years are in need of living assistance. The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) pushed for private adult-care homes but unfortunately, too many seniors have faced neglect and abuse from their caregivers at these facilities. Hagens Berman’s Tony Shapiro speaks with Seattle Times about the real cost of senior care in an investigative series called "Seniors for Sale." The story examines “private residences — called adult family homes — were marketed as opportunities for seniors…
NCAA Fumbles over Video Games

Steve Berman

29 Dec 2009 | 11:36 am

Incorporating physical characteristics of NCAA players helps make video gaming more realistic, but at what cost? Rob Carey, Hagens Berman attorney, spoke with ESPN recently about a class-action lawsuit we filed against NCAA and Electronic Arts, Inc. (EA). NCAA bylaws clearly state that the commercial licensing of an NCAA athlete's "name, picture or likeness" is prohibited and rightfully so. These athletes already face overwhelming pressure to perform on and off the field. In the segment, Carey argued that the NCAA failed to honor its promise to protect its athletes from…
Big Pharma Layoffs Could Mean Big Pharma Whistleblower Lawsuits

Steve Berman

12 Nov 2009 | 3:24 pm

Whether you're an employee at Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Abbot Laboratories, Schering-Plough, AstraZeneca or any other Big Pharma company, you've seen and may know all too well that layoffs during the last two years have cost the industry tens of thousands of jobs. Last year, layoffs from just five pharmaceutical companies alone totaled more than 25,000. Job losses include those from sales and laboratories across the U.S. and Europe.An interesting sidelight, though, is that off-label promotion and improper marketing of pharmaceutical drugs in America make Big Pharma big bucks.
Pulte Homes: The “One-Stop Shop” of Home Buying Horrors

Steve Berman

27 Oct 2009 | 4:57 pm

In light of scandal-ridden Wall Street and an escalating unemployment rate, it’s no surprise that consumer confidence continues to fall. Americans certainly don’t feel comfortable opening up their wallets when we’re bombarded with news of corporate schemes and scandals that mock the intellect of consumers and negate their trust in corporations.Consumers rights strike a cord within our firm and we recently filed a case in California against Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) claiming that the “one-stop shop” for homes engaged in a sophisticated scheme to control the entire home buying process.

Green Building Law Update
Can a Green Schools Program Be Inequitable?

Chris Cheatham

5 Feb 2010 | 5:51 am

In Ohio, there is LEEDigation brewing. But it's not the LEEDigaiton that I anticipated. The Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) requires that new OSFC-funded schools achieve LEED Silver certification. The Washington-Nile school district is balking at the additional costs incurred as a result of the LEED certification requirement. When a school project is pursuing LEED certification, OSFC provides three percent more funding than the estimated project costs in order to pay for the incremental costs of certification. According to Washington-Nile…
LEED Funding for Green School Causes Construction Delay

Chris Cheatham

3 Feb 2010 | 3:21 pm

Last Thursday, during a webinar on green building legal issues, I stated the following: "I really believe schools will be a hotbed for green defect claims, in terms of energy efficiency, and other green building components. Schools rely on tight budgets. . . . Be careful what you are promising on these green school projects." On Friday, I read an article titled "Construction Delayed at West School," which led with the following paragraph: "Construction is at a stand-still at Washington-Nile School, where issues surrounding state-mandated LEED (Leadership…
Important Revision to the D.C. Green Building Act

Chris Cheatham

1 Feb 2010 | 11:43 am

In December 2009, an Amendment to the D.C. Green Building Act of 2006 was introduced by the D.C. Council. Labeled the "Green Building Technical Corrections, Clarification, and Revision Amendment Act of 2009," this Amendment includes many revisions to the original Green Building Act. One of those revisions involves the "performance bond" requirement: "'Sec. 6. Bond requirements.'. (2) Section 6 is amended by striking the phrase 'performance bond' wherever it appears and inserting the word "bond" in its place." That's it. This feels…
Hitting Reset on the D.C. Green Building Act

Chris Cheatham

29 Jan 2010 | 11:09 am

Back in April 2009, I took a vow of silence. I promised to stop writing about the "performance bond" requirement in the D.C. Green Building Act. I had faith the D.C. Council would address the issue. Thankfully, it appears our long nightmare may be coming to an end. Today, I am going to reset the "performance bond" issue (I have not written about it since April 2009!). On Monday, I will discuss the "Green Building Technical Corrections, Clarification, and Revision Amendment Act of 2009" (pdf) and the proposed revision to the…
Live Webinar (1:00 pm EST): "Green Building Legal Issues on the Horizon"

Chris Cheatham

28 Jan 2010 | 6:18 am

You can view my webinar "Green Building Legal Issues on the Horizon" live at 1 pm EST or archived on demand. If you are having trouble, you can also try the BrightTALK website. PLEASE NOTE: We experienced some technical difficulties at the beginning. Please fast forward to the 2:10 mark for the beginning of the presentation. Thanks!

California Employment Law Report
No Break In Worker Suits

Anthony Zaller

3 Feb 2010 | 5:16 pm

I was quoted in this month's California Lawyer magazine regarding the steady persistence of wage and hour lawsuits here in California - even during these difficult economic times. The article, No Break In Worker Suits, can be read here.
Recruiters for temporary staffing company must be paid overtime

Anthony Zaller

3 Feb 2010 | 7:33 am

The case Pellegrino v. Robert Half International, Inc. (RHI) was brought by recruiters alleging that RHI failed to comply with Labor Code provisions pertaining to overtime compensation, commissions, meal periods, itemized wage statements, and unfair competition (under Business and Professions Code section 17200). As defenses, RHI argued that Plaintiffs’ claims were barred because they all entered into agreements that shortened their statute of limitations down from four years to six months. RHI also argued that the Plaintiffs were exempt from wage and hour laws because the…
You are a linchpin

Anthony Zaller

24 Jan 2010 | 9:19 pm

Despite your teachers, friends, boss, colleagues and family members telling you otherwise, you are a linchpin. You are a genius that can succeed in the new economy. Seth Godin’s new book, Linchpin, sets out to challenge you to unlearn what school and society has rewarded in the past, and to let us all know that we are linchpins (if we make the choice to be). I just finished reading an advance copy of Linchpin, and have to recommend the book to anyone who either manages people at work or for anyone who has to work for a living. I have read many of Seth’s other books which…
Top 100 Employment Law Blog

Anthony Zaller

12 Jan 2010 | 7:51 am

Yes, the California Employment Law Report was recognized as a top 100 employment law blog in 2009. The Delaware Employment Law Blog published its top 100 employment law blogs, and the California Employment Law Report is honored to be recognized in such a distinguished list. If you routinely deal with employment law issues across the country, the list of the 100 (plus 10) blogs is a great resource, and you should check the list out here and add a few of the blogs to your RSS reader. Now all is needed is more time to publish posts to keep this standing in…
Arbitration Agreement Upheld Despite Employee's Argument It Was Not Mutual And Adhesive

Anthony Zaller

21 Oct 2009 | 8:47 am

In Roman v. Superior Court, the Court of Appeals upheld an arbitration agreement where the employee challenged the agreement by arguing that the agreement was unenforceable because it only obligated the employee to arbitrate his claims. The court disagreed with plaintiff’s argument and explained that the mere inclusion of the words “I understand” or “I agree” does not destroy the mutuality of an arbitration agreement. Roman v. Superior Court, 172 Cal.App.4th 1462, 1473 (2009). The arbitration agreement at issue in the case provided: I hereby agree to submit to…

Social Security Disability Lawyer
Fibromyalgia - a Life of "Maybe"

Maine Social Security attorney Gordon Gates

8 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

A recent article, entitled A Life of "Maybe" With Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome notes that fibromyalgia patients live in a world of "maybes." Maybe you will feel all right on a given day, but maybe not. The "maybes" make it hard to maintain a job, a social life, relationships, you name it.Living in a world of "maybes" is a good description of daily life with fibromyalgia.In terms of a claim for Social Security disability benefits, Social Security Ruling 96-8p has these claimants covered. According to the Ruling, a person must be able to…
Disability Blog Roundup - 2/05

Maine Social Security attorney Gordon Gates

5 Feb 2010 | 3:35 am

Here is a selection of recent articles from the Social Security disability blogs: It is no fun being disabled from the California Social Security Lawyer Blog published by Geri Kahn What medical sources are considered acceptable by the SSA? from the Social Security Disability Blog moderated by Jonathan Ginsberg 5 Questions About Social Security Answered from the Raleigh Personal Injury Lawyer blog published by Hardison & Associates Frequently Asked Questions About Disability Hearings Before Judges from the Personal Injury Social Security Disability blog published by Bob Kraft Appealing…
Failure to Follow Prescribed Medical Treatment

Maine Social Security attorney Gordon Gates

1 Feb 2010 | 3:10 am

Every now and then at a Social Security disability hearing, the issue of failure to follow prescribed medical treatment is raised by the administrative law judge. You don't want this issue at your hearing. If a claimant has failed to follow prescribed medical treatment, and the prescribed treatment would restore the claimant's ability to work at the SGA level, then the disability claim will be denied. See 20 C.F.R. 404.1530.An individual who would otherwise be found to be under a disability, but who fails without justifiable cause to follow treatment prescribed by a treating source…
Portland, Maine Hearing Office Workload Data

Maine Social Security attorney Gordon Gates

26 Jan 2010 | 3:00 am

The Social Security Administration just published current statistics regarding the workload of the hearing offices around the country, including the Portland, Maine hearing office. The Workload Data Report shows the Portland ODAR received 976 appealed claims in Fiscal Year 2010, disposed of 771 claims, and has 2,989 pending claims as of December 2009. That is a lot of pending claims. The current average processsing time is 320 days.The NETSTAT Report shows "the average time (in months) from the hearing request date until a hearing is held for claims pending in the Office of Disability…
ALJ Disposition Data

Maine Social Security attorney Gordon Gates

25 Jan 2010 | 3:00 am

The SSA has just released, and posted on its website, a goldmine of current statistics regarding the Social Security hearing offices (ODARs) and judges.Check out the ALJ Disposition Data. These Fiscal Year 2010 statistics, which run through December 2009, are the most current available. Notably, the data includes the disposition statistics for new ALJs who have been under the radar until now. The list is alphabetical by judge. Just scroll down to find the ALJ you seek.

The Rainmaker Blog
Focus on the positive

Stephen Fairley

8 Feb 2010 | 11:11 am

We have been through a rough time during the past year or two across the country. The economic downturn has many attorneys increasingly concerned with how the tough economy is affecting their practice and their ability to focus on their law firm marketing plans. As a business owner you cannot afford to focus on the fear and scarcity mentality that is seen today and being promoted by the media. Let’s have a little perspective on this. Is this the best of times? No. Is this the worst we have ever seen it? Not by a long shot. Will we recover? …
A Strong Financial Plan is Vital For Your Law Firm Marketing Plan

Stephen Fairley

3 Feb 2010 | 2:49 pm

Previously, I discussed selecting the most effective legal marketing techniques to boost your law firm marketing plan. The techniques include referrals, speaking engagements, networking, online presence, public relations, promotional events and advertising. This post explores the benefits of a strong financial component in your law firm marketing strategy. This is often the scariest part of writing a marketing plan. One of the biggest reasons for small business failure is lack of available funding to keep it going. This is certainly the case for many new firms and solo…
Looking for Law Firm Marketing Guidance? Come to a Rainmaker Retreat

Stephen Fairley

1 Feb 2010 | 10:33 am

Are you looking for a way to fulfill your New Year’s resolution to become more effective in how you spend your legal marketing budget? Do you need guidance and motivation to compose a comprehensive law firm marketing plan? I have a suggestion for you. Come to one of the upcoming Rainmaker Retreats. The Rainmaker Retreat is a 2-day marketing boot camp for attorneys. Attendees at previous Rainmaker Retreats have come away with many new ideas and actionable legal marketing strategies that they can take home and implement right away. This spring, we have a number of…
The Legal Marketing Lowdown on PR, Promotional Events and Advertising

Stephen Fairley

29 Jan 2010 | 8:36 am

Previously, I discussed selecting the most effective legal marketing techniques to boost your law firm marketing plan. The techniques include referrals, speaking engagements, networking, online presence, public relations, promotional events and advertising. This post explores the benefits of public relations, promotional events and advertising in your law firm marketing strategy. Public relations, promotional events and advertising are three similar, somewhat interrelated but distinct strategies in a sound law firm marketing plan This post provides a brief overview of…
California Solo and Small Firm Summit Recap

Stephen Fairley

28 Jan 2010 | 1:38 pm

Last week, 175 solo and small firm attorneys from a wide variety of practice areas gathered in Long Beach for the State Bar of California Solo and Small Firm Summit. I had the great privilege of being the keynote speaker during the opening and closing sessions, as well as presenting during two of the breakout sessions. Law firm marketing was not the only topic on the agenda, but it was prominently featured. The attorneys in attendance were upbeat and positive, despite the recent economic doldrums that have befallen the nation. They were motivated and there for a…

Federal Employment Law Articles
H-1B Filing Season to Open April 1, 2010.

8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

The filing season for the Fiscal Year 2011 H-1B quota is at hand. Despite the sluggish economy, analysts are predicting positive growth in employment during the course of the year. Thousands of new H-1B cases will be filed on April 1, 2010. Employers need to project their labor needs for the coming year and position themselves to take advantage of the new H-1B quota.
The Risk of Automatically Terminating Employees After Leave Expires.

8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

The EEOC published a press release a few days ago about the distribution of a $6.2 million settlement it had reached with Sears, Roebuck & Co. The lawsuit had been filed in November 2004 in federal court in Chicago. The consent decree was entered and publicized on September 29, 2009 as the largest ADA settlement in a single case in EEOC history.
New Notice Requirement of Group Health Plan Sponsor CHIPRA Premium Assistance.

8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (“CHIPRA”) imposes certain notice requirements on employers maintaining group health plans. Under CHIPRA, beginning in April 2009, employers sponsoring group health plans must provide notice of the new special enrollment rights CHIPRA affords.
New Guidance Regarding Penalties for Child Labor Violation.

8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

The Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division has issued a Field Assistance Bulletin that provides guidance that employers can use to determine when they can expect to be subject to child labor civil money penalties under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and how much they can expect to pay. The Bulletin also addresses the Child Labor Enhanced Penalty Program (CLEPP) created by the Wage and Hour division to incorporate changes made by the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) to the FLSA's child labor penalty provisions.
DOL Publishes Model CHIP Notices for Eligibility for Premium Assistance Under Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.

8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

As previously discussed in our February 17, 2009 Legal Alert, President Obama signed into law the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA). Among other things, CHIPRA requires that employers inform each employee of potential opportunities currently available in the State in which the employee resides for group health plan premium assistance under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). These notices are referred to as Employer CHIP Notices.

Defending People
Accidental DIVERT Coercion

Mark Bennett

8 Feb 2010 | 5:22 pm

Houston criminal defense lawyers Herman Martinez and Dane Johnson report separately on the state of the Harris County DA’s DWI DIVERT program. Here’s Herman: This week the HCDAO decided that a defendant needs to decide if they want to be considered for the DIVERT program by their second court setting. This is patently unfair and lends itself to the biggest complaint against the program, that is coercive. And Dane: The new policy mandates that a person arrested for a Harris County DWI must make a decision about his/her case within a month of the DWI…
If Halle Smith Had Been White, Would She Be Alive Today?

Mark Bennett

7 Feb 2010 | 6:34 pm

I had a client recently—call him Sam—who got in the law’s bad graces for some conduct involving alcohol and the brandishing of a firearm in his garage while his young daughter slept upstairs. The daughter—well-fed, well-loved, well-adjusted and well-cared-for—was never in any danger and never even knew what had happened. Only a total idiot would think it was a good idea to take that child out of that home, but CPS was all over Sam’s case, questioning his daughter at school, filing suit against him, threatening to take her away from him and his wife. By spending a bunch of…
If He’s an Expert, Then So Is My Dog

Mark Bennett

5 Feb 2010 | 8:07 pm

Yesterday at the ABA Journal Blogs, Debra Cassens Weiss asked, Are Ghostwritten Blogs Unethical. In the comments, “defunct big law associate” (in other words, my Rhodesian Ridgebacks have spent more time in law offices than he has) BL1Y writes, The fact that this is even a question shows a fundamental flaw in understanding how law firms operate. Legal opinions are largely derived from treatises and best practice memos published by other firms. Documents are mostly taken from form books. None of this matters. It doesn’t matter if your attorney is independently brilliant, or just…
Anonymous Comment Reminder

Mark Bennett

5 Feb 2010 | 6:42 pm

Dan Hull (What About Clients) writes (again—it’s a recurring theme on his blog) about anonymous blogging and commenting: This blog does not publish anonymous comments. Absent compelling reasons, nameless blogosphere participants, in our view, are rarely worth anyone’s time, thought, or respect–even when they think and say brilliant things. Anonymous writers have already “discounted” themselves. They are second-class citizens. And they generally say third-rate things; they have no incentive to exceed below-average. When the Founders declared, “We hold…
Even If or Especially Since

Mark Bennett

4 Feb 2010 | 10:51 am

After Rosa Villegas-Vatres ran a red light and hit and killed Steve Morrison, she was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide (John Nova Lomax, Houston Press; easier to read all-on-one-page print version). Villegas-Vatres wanted to plead guilty to misdemeanor deadly conduct. The prosecutor, Brent Mayr told Steve Morrison’s family that, and warned them that it was a difficult case and that the chance of a guilty verdict was not very high. The Morrisons were undaunted. After discussing the matter in a family meeting, the Morrisons voted and it was unanimous. Frank Morrison…

a public defender
To have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence

Gideon

2 Feb 2010 | 4:42 pm

Clarence Earl Gideon, we salute you. On the first go around, sans counsel: and after the landmark decision: HT: Tannebaum
Bysiewicz as AG: I hate to say it

Gideon

2 Feb 2010 | 4:29 pm

but I told you so. Leaving aside the “does she have 10 years’ active practice” kerfuffle for a moment, I just want to give you all this moment to recognize that, well, I was right (or at the very least that the current AG agrees with me). The long-awaited “formal opinion” from our soon to be Senator Blumenthal was issued today at 1pm. You can read it here or view the pdf here. The opinion hits all the usual points in construing the constitutionality of a statute: “[l]egislation is presumed to be constitutional, and a litigant challenging its validity has the…
The Constitution is a wet blanket

Gideon

31 Jan 2010 | 3:32 pm

The Constitution was intended to be many things: a guide, a charter, founding principles and at the very least a set of instructions for those that sought to build a just and fair country from the ashes of rebellion. What it was never intended to be was a blanket, and a wet one at that. Unfortunately, state Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, TN (hey! stop rolling your eyes) didn’t get that particular memo. So, in his Tennesseean way, he has introduced a bill making it a felony for criminal defense lawyers to make “unproven insinuations” about crime victims during the course of…
State v. DNA profile

Gideon

26 Jan 2010 | 8:12 pm

In these days of DNA, scientific and forensic evidence, it was bound to happen. As this very interesting (and lengthy) opinion from the California Supreme Court details, a “John Doe” warrant issued mere days before the statute of limitations was set to expire, identifying the defendant only by his DNA profile, satisfies the “particularity” requirement of the Fourth Amendment. The DNA was taken from a crime scene (and victim) in 1994 and after the issuance of the warrant, a cold hit matched the profile to that of the defendant. Only problem is, the DNA taken from the…
Saving the next generation

Gideon

26 Jan 2010 | 7:10 pm

Where We Live, NPR’s local daily radio show dedicated the entirety of today’s episode to the issue of children with incarcerated parents. Here’s a 2007 Sentencing Project report on children with incarcerated parents. These are the highlights: In 2007, 1.7 million minor children had a parent in prison, an 82% increase since 1991. One in 43 American children has a parent in prison, with particularly broad racial/ethnic variation. One in 15 black children and 1 in 42 Latino children has a parent in prison, compared to 1 in 111 white children. In 2007, there were 809,800 parents…

Internet Cases
File extensions cannot be trademarks

Evan Brown

27 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pm

Autodesk, Inc. v. Dassault Systemes Solidworks Corp., 2009 WL 5218009 (N.D. Cal. December 31, 2009) One of the issues in the case of Autodesk, Inc. v. Dassault Systemes Solidworks was whether Autodesk could claim trademark rights and the letters “DWG”. The .dwg (“drawing”) file extension is the native file format for Autodesk’s flagship product AutoCAD. Plaintiff Autodesk moved for summary judgment on the trademark issue. The defendant pointed out that the trademark laws do not permit one to claim exclusive rights in trademarks that are merely functional. During…
Wait just a second . . . isn’t online gambling illegal?

Evan Brown

25 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pm

Wong v. Partygaming Ltd., — F.3d —, 2009 WL 4893955 (6th Cir. December 21, 2009) The Sixth Circuit’s recent opinion in the case of Wong v. Partygaming is interesting if you’re a civil procedure wonk and care about things like which law applies to determine the enforceability of forum selection clauses in website terms and conditions and what factors a court should consider when dismissing a case on the basis of forum non conveniens. The most intriguing part of the case, however, comes from Judge Merritt’s concurrence, in which he addresses the significance of the…
Lawsuit against state officials for privacy violation moves forward

Evan Brown

20 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pm

Welch v. Theodorides-Bustle, — F.Supp.2d —, 2010 WL 22365 (N.D. Fla., January 5, 2010) Plaintiff sued the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and a number of state officials for violation of the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 USC §2721-25. Plaintiff claimed that the defendants turned over a large amount of protected personal information to a private party, and that that party then further disclosed the information to another entity that published the information on the web. As a result, the personal information of a number of Florida drivers…
Court orders anonymous GQ blogger and accused hacker to be identified

Evan Brown

18 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pm

Advance Magazine Publishers v. Does 1-5, No. 09-10257 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 22, 2009) Someone accessing the Internet using an AT&T IP address hacked into Conde Nast’s computer system and acquired and published copies of editorial content and the images that were to be in the December 2009 issue of GQ. Those images were later published anonymously on a blog hosted by Google’s Blogger service. Conde Nast sued in federal court alleging copyright infringement (for the posting of the content) and violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (for the unauthorized accessing of the Conde…
BitTorrent site liable for Grokster style inducement of copyright infringement

Evan Brown

13 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pm

Columbia Pictures v. Fung, No. 06-5578 (C.D. Cal. December 21, 2009). This case came out three weeks ago, but it’s pretty significant and hasn’t gotten the coverage and analysis it deserves. Of course Professor Goldman covered it in a timely manner. But his blogging agility surpasses that of us mere mortals. Fung and his company Isohunt Web Technolgies ran a number of popular BitTorrent sites where users could find and share torrent files that permitted the downloading of video files. [Here's how BitTorrent works.] Several Hollywood studios sued Fung and his company for copyright…

ICBC Personal Injury Claims Lawyer Erik Magraken | Victoria & Vancouver Island BC
Duties of Motorists Involved in Single Vehicle Accidents Discussed

MacIsaac

8 Feb 2010 | 2:07 pm

Reasons for judgement were released today by the BC Supreme Court discussing whether a motorist has to stay at the scene of a single vehicle accident in British Columbia. In today’s case (ICBC v. Pariah Productions Inc.) the Defendant vehicle was involved in a single vehicle collision when its driver struck the wall of a Wendy’s restaurant. The motorist drove home after the collision without notifying anyone of what happened. ICBC paid out the property damage claim and then sued the Defendant for their money back claiming that the motorist was in breach of an obligation to…
Removing a Claim from Rule 68 - Criteria To Be Considered

MacIsaac

5 Feb 2010 | 3:33 pm

As readers of this blog know Rule 68 is a ‘proportionality‘ based rule which was brought in a few years ago and was intended to be mandatory to certain claims worth $100,000 or less in the BC Supreme Court. Rule 68 has not been particularly successful and many injury lawyers have avoided this rule whenever possible due to its perceived shortcomings. This rule is going to be wiped from the books when the New BC Supreme Court Civil Rules take effect on July 1, 2010. Rule 68 will be blended with the New Rule 15 which really combines the best of our current alternative litigation…
More on Rule 37B - Lack of a “Reasonable Counter Proposal” Considered

MacIsaac

3 Feb 2010 | 3:25 pm

Reasons for judgement were released today by the BC Supreme Court, New Westminster Registry, considering a factor that I don’t believe has been previously considered under Rule 37B, the effect (or lack of) a reasonable counter offer. In today’s case (Foster v. Juhasz) the Plaintiff was injured in a BC car crash. She sued for damages. Before trial she made a formal offer under Rule 37B for some $285,000 and at the same time indicated she would be willing to settle for $214,000. The Defendants rejected the offers, apparently did not make a counter offer and went to trial. At…
BC Court of Appeal Discusses Rear End Crashes and Permitted Inferences of Negligence

MacIsaac

3 Feb 2010 | 1:02 pm

Usually when a driver rear-ends another vehicle that driver is at fault. However, this is not always the case and reasons for judgement were released today by the BC Court of Appeal addressing this area of law. In today’s case (Singleton v. Morris) the Plaintiff was involved in a rear end collison in 2005. She sued the owner and driver of the vehicle that rear-ended her claiming negligence. The driver of the rear vehicle gave evidence that the collision happened not due to carelessness, but as a result of an unexpected slippery substance on the road (perhaps brake fluid) and…
Multiple Claimants in ICBC Hit and Run Injury Claims; Sharing a Limited Pool

MacIsaac

2 Feb 2010 | 10:27 pm

If you are the victim of a hit and run collision in British Columbia you can sue ICBC directly in certain circumstances to seek damages in tort. This is so because of Section 24 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Actwhich creates certain compensation rights for victims of hit and runs. ICBC’s monetary liability under Section 24 arising our of the same accident is $200,000 all inclusive. What happens when multiple people are injured in a hit and run claim and their claims exceed $200,000? How does ICBC distribute the funds from this fixed pool? Reasons for judgement were released…

Federal Employment Law Articles
H-1B Filing Season to Open April 1, 2010.

8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

The filing season for the Fiscal Year 2011 H-1B quota is at hand. Despite the sluggish economy, analysts are predicting positive growth in employment during the course of the year. Thousands of new H-1B cases will be filed on April 1, 2010. Employers need to project their labor needs for the coming year and position themselves to take advantage of the new H-1B quota.
The Risk of Automatically Terminating Employees After Leave Expires.

8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

The EEOC published a press release a few days ago about the distribution of a $6.2 million settlement it had reached with Sears, Roebuck & Co. The lawsuit had been filed in November 2004 in federal court in Chicago. The consent decree was entered and publicized on September 29, 2009 as the largest ADA settlement in a single case in EEOC history.
New Notice Requirement of Group Health Plan Sponsor CHIPRA Premium Assistance.

8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (“CHIPRA”) imposes certain notice requirements on employers maintaining group health plans. Under CHIPRA, beginning in April 2009, employers sponsoring group health plans must provide notice of the new special enrollment rights CHIPRA affords.
New Guidance Regarding Penalties for Child Labor Violation.

8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

The Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division has issued a Field Assistance Bulletin that provides guidance that employers can use to determine when they can expect to be subject to child labor civil money penalties under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and how much they can expect to pay. The Bulletin also addresses the Child Labor Enhanced Penalty Program (CLEPP) created by the Wage and Hour division to incorporate changes made by the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) to the FLSA's child labor penalty provisions.
DOL Publishes Model CHIP Notices for Eligibility for Premium Assistance Under Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.

8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm

As previously discussed in our February 17, 2009 Legal Alert, President Obama signed into law the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA). Among other things, CHIPRA requires that employers inform each employee of potential opportunities currently available in the State in which the employee resides for group health plan premium assistance under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). These notices are referred to as Employer CHIP Notices.

Medicare Update
Region C Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor Posts Additional Audit Issues for DRG Validation

Michael Apolskis

8 Feb 2010 | 12:33 pm

Connolly Healthcare, the Medicare recovery audit contractor (RAC) for Region C, recently updated its CMS approved audit issues for RAC review. Specifically, Connolly Healthcare recently posted at least 19 new CMS approved audit issues on its website for inpatient hospitals pertaining to DRG validation. The issues affect providers in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. The issues are briefly described below: Pulmonary Edema and Respiratory Failure: MS-DRG 189 Heart…
President Obama Calls for Televised Health Care Summit

Michael Apolskis

8 Feb 2010 | 9:56 am

President Obama plans to hold a half-day, televised health care summit on February 25, 2010 with the expectation that Democrats and Republicans will go through various health care issues and possibly arrive at some agreements.Watch CBS News Videos Online
CMS Releases National Health Expenditure Projections

Michael Apolskis

4 Feb 2010 | 11:43 am

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has prepared an analysis of projected national health care expenditures through 2019, which has been published on-line by the journal Health Affairs.The growth in U.S. health care spending is projected to be 5.7 percent in 2009 and reach $2.5 trillion. As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), CMS projects that health care spending will increase to 17.3 percent in 2009 (from 16.2 percent in 2008), which would be the largest 1 year increase in history. CMS attributes the projected accelerated growth in 2009 to (among other things):…
CMS to Hold Special Open Door Forum on Medicare Provider and Supplier Enrollment

Michael Apolskis

3 Feb 2010 | 11:41 am

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that it will hold a Special Open Door Forum (ODF) to discuss Medicare provider enrollment issues. The Special ODF will take place from 2:00 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. (ET) on February 17, 2010. At this Special ODF, CMS will discuss: Internet-based Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) for physicians, non-physician practitioners and supplier organizations; Provider and supplier reporting responsibilities; Medicare ordering and referring issues; and Revalidation efforts. To participate, one must dial 1-800-837-1935…
Administration's FY2011 Budget Invests in Medicare Integrity and Enforcement Initiatives

Michael Apolskis

2 Feb 2010 | 8:30 am

On February 1, 2010, the Obama Administration transmitted its proposed fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget to Congress.The budget requests $1.7 billion to fight health care fraud, including $561 million in Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control discretionary funding, which is a $250 million increase over the FY 2010 enacted level. Among other things, this discretionary allocation adjustment is designed to: Expand the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative;and Provide additional resources to identify and reduce improper payments in the Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP…

Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog
Graphical View of Unemployment over the last few years

David M. Goldman

4 Feb 2010 | 6:29 am

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 31 million people currently unemployed -- that's including those involuntarily working part-time and those who want a job, but have given up on trying to find one.
Estate Planning Professionals Network of NRA

David M. Goldman

18 Jan 2010 | 1:03 pm

David Goldman of Apple Law Firm, Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog, and NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog became a member of the Estate Planning Professionals network (EPPN) of the NRA. The next EPPN event will be held in conjunction with the NRA Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina in May 2010. As a member of the EPPN, David can modify wills and trusts with language that can be added to Florida Wills and Trusts to make bequests to the national Rifle Association or any of the NRA charities or endowments.
Fighting Foreclosures in Jacksonville or in Florida

David M. Goldman

10 Jan 2010 | 3:18 pm

If you live in Jacksonville or anywhere in Florida and are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit or facing the foreclosure on your home in the future there are somethings you should know. In Florida a foreclosure process my proceed in the courts. This is because Florida requires a Judicial Foreclosure with court supervision. Once you fall 30 days behind on your payments the lender can file a foreclosure lawsuit against the owners and tenants of the home. Most foreclosures happen when you become at least 60-90 days late on your payments. When this happens the bank or servicing bank will not…
Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer

David M. Goldman

6 Jan 2010 | 7:54 pm

Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer: What does Florida Divorce Law have to do with Florida Estate Planning? We often find that Estate planning is needed most around the time of a Divorce in Florida. We now have a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer on staff to help deal with the unique issues of Jacksonville Child Support, Jacksonville Child Custody, and Jacksonville Family law. These issues often arise around the time of Florida Estate Planning or in conjunction with a Florida Probate. If you have questions concerning Florida Estate Planning contact one of our Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or Jacksonville…
Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer and Duval County Property Values

David M. Goldman

1 Jan 2010 | 6:52 pm

a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyersknows that foreclosures in your neighborhood hurt property values. Good news for Texas residents, Today they have help in dealing with property values and the taxes related to them. Homeowners in neighborhoods that have been hurt by homes with foreclosures might find some relief. The new Teas law requires appraisal districts to consider properties that have been foreclosed on when determining a home’s value. Homeowners in other states including Texas and Florida have complained that appraisal districts have excluded foreclosed properties and those with…

Slaw
Legal Project Management – Control Costs, Meet Schedules, Manage Risks and Maintain Sanity

Andrew Terrett

9 Feb 2010 | 10:26 am

Legal Project Management – Control Costs, Meet Schedules, Manage Risks and Maintain Sanity by Steven Levy, Daypack Books, Seattle WA, 2009 Book review by Andrew Terrett (Director of KM, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP) The nature of legal services is changing. Indeed barely a week passes without another article in the legal press about Alternative Fee Arrangements and the death of the billable hour. Consequently the need for better Project Management has become a hot topic within law firm practice management circles. It is perceived by many as part of the solution in driving greater…
U.S. Federal Courts Tell Jurors Twitter, Facebook and Texting Verboten

Michel-Adrien Sheppard

9 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am

Wired Magazine is reporting that the Judicial Conference of the United States, the body that develops policy for federal courts in that country, has proposed new model jury instructions that explicitly ban the use of applications like Facebook and Twitter: “U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson of Kansas, the chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, told the nation’s judges in a Jan. 28 memo that the new jury instructions ‘address the increasing incidence of juror use, of such devices as cellular telephones or computers, to conduct…
E-Health Records Symposium

Patricia Hughes

9 Feb 2010 | 6:57 am

On January 28, 2010, the Law Commission of Ontario and IP Osgoode held a Symposium on electronic medical records. The Symposium brought together experts from law, academia, health and other areas as part of the consultation that Professor Pina D’Agostino is carrying out in her project on the intersection of IP, ethics and privacy issues arising from electronic medical records. Professor D’Agostino is an Osgoode LCO Scholar in Residence and she is carrying out her project in association with the LCO. All these issues were discussed, with some passion in some cases, but so was a…
US and Canada Tax Law: Outlook for 2010

Agnese Caruso

9 Feb 2010 | 6:50 am

Interested in tax law developments? Davies has put out a clear and easy to understand publication “US and Canada Tax Law: What to Watch for in 2010.” It reviews tax developments in the US and Canada from the past year, and it also provides perspectives on the key developments impacting the US and Canadian taxation of international companies and investors in 2010.
Pricing Trends – Projections and Realities

Gary P. Rodrigues

9 Feb 2010 | 4:54 am

I understand from various sources that preparations are well advanced for the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries. Among other things, the meeting offers an invaluable platform for legal publishers and law librarians to share information with each other. A key element of the preparation for the meeting is the annual request for information on the anticipated price increases that the library community can expect in the coming year. The issue of price increases is a critical element in planning and budgeting and gives the library purchaser a useful guideline for use in…

Virtual Law Practice
Presentation on Virtual Law Practice for Ethics Commission 20/20

slkimbro

7 Feb 2010 | 9:28 am

The ABA’s Commission on Ethics 20/20 held a public hearing at the ABA’s Mid-year conference in Orlando, Florida to discuss topics related to their Preliminary Issues Outline. On Friday, I was honored to be invited to speak to the commission about virtual law practice. The ABA Now wrote up an article about the hearing and presentations here. Below are slides from my presentation at the hearing. The text of the hearing should be available on the ABA’s website at some point in the near future. I am happy to report that the Commission is making a great effort…
Reminders for Avoiding Malpractice in Virtual Law Practice

slkimbro

25 Jan 2010 | 8:46 am

This past Friday I attended a Law Practice Management Section Council meeting at the NCBA Bar Center. This is the first meeting I’ve attended in person. Usually I am on conference call and booming my thoughts to the group via voice box. Thanks to the Chair, Lee Rosen, these meetings are about the least boring I’ve ever been in and worth the two hour drive up to Raleigh. At each session, we have an educational “mini-CLE” for the council members. This past Friday’s mini-CLE was presented by Mark Scruggs of NC Lawyers Mutual which provides services to…
Contributing to the Lawyerist

slkimbro

24 Jan 2010 | 10:45 am

I’m happy to announce that I will be a contributor to the Lawyerist.com blog. Here’s my intro post. An article on unbundling legal services with a virtual law practice should post sometime next week. If anyone has requests for topics related to virtual law practice that they would like for me to cover on this blog or as a contributor to Lawyerist, please drop me a line.
Drawing the Line – What a Virtual Law Practice is Not

slkimbro

13 Jan 2010 | 9:40 am

Defining virtual law practice and the delivery of legal services online by licensed professionals is becoming ever more important as the market continues to fill with companies offering various forms of online legal services. Two of the biggest concerns that surround these companies include the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) and misleading the public. Many of these entities do not provide attorney review of the legal documents that they sale online and are coming up against strong criticism for this aspect as well some of their marketing techniques. For example, the Connecticut Bar…
Recent AZ Bar Ethics Opinion Discusses eLawyering Methods

slkimbro

7 Jan 2010 | 7:20 am

The Arizona State Bar has published Ethics Opinion 09-04 “Confidentiality; Maintaining Client Files; Electronic Storage; Internet” in December 2009. This opinion will apply to attorneys operating virtual law practices within the AZ Bar jurisdiction and is similar to the NC Bar 2008 Formal Ethics Opinion 5, Web-based Management of Client Records published July 2008. In fact the NC Formal Ethics Opinion 5 is cited in this new AZ opinion. AZ Opinion 09-04 addresses the ability of an attorney to work with clients and deliver legal services online. The question presented in…

With Vigour and Zeal
Reporting on 2009, filings are down

Werner R. Kranenburg

13 Jan 2010 | 11:58 am

As usual, NERA Economic Consulting and Stanford Law School, in cooperation with Cornerstone Research, have released reports looking back at the year’s securities fraud class action activity (NERA press release, report; Stanford press release, report). In its latest annual report, NERA does not separately track or comment on filings against foreign issuers, except for a footnote on the Vivendi trial (p. 11). Stanford does. (Both reports are discussed in-depth by learned friends at the 10b5 Daily (here and here) and D&O Diary and elsewhere, such as at the AmLaw Daily and Bloomberg.)…
WV&Z now also on Twitter

Werner R. Kranenburg

2 Mar 2009 | 12:12 pm

After following the action from the sidelines for a while I finally caved in and created a Twitter account about a fortnight ago now. (See my first ‘tweet‘, as posts are called there.) Twitter is a ‘micro-blogging’ site where one can post messages for others to ‘follow’; a message may contain just 140 characters, much like a text message. The aim of the dual blogging destinations - WV&Z/Twitter - is to add a short, quick-fire message function to the more in-depth, long form With Vigour and Zeal. (So it’s certainly not a replacement!) On Twitter…
Lovells’ latest bulletin

Werner R. Kranenburg

1 Mar 2009 | 4:41 pm

It’s been a few months since Lovells LLP has published its latest Class Actions Bulletin but it’s still the latest one and still packed with interesting articles, so it’s still revelant to post here. Topics include the EU Commission’s collective action benchmarks and recent studies, the latest on collective actions in France and the Netherlands, alternative forms of collective actions in Germany (other than the KapMuG), a piece on ‘corporate responsibility - a step in the right direction or towards increased group litigation?’ in England and Wales and…
Court in session: In re Northern Rock Plc

Werner R. Kranenburg

14 Jan 2009 | 2:02 pm

The trial pitting former shareholders of Northern Rock Plc against the UK Government has kicked off yesterday. (previous post) The Government nationalised the bank early last year and the issue of this judicial review is the level of compensation its shareholders are due under the Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008. A selection of the many press articles on the case: Legal Week, The Lawyer, FT and The Times. Among other players are Lord David Pannick QC of Blackstone Chambers (instructed by White & Case LLP) for SRM Capital, one of the bank’s two biggest shareholders at the time…
WpHG basis for HypoRE damages claims

Werner R. Kranenburg

13 Jan 2009 | 10:21 pm

On 2 October 2007, Hypo Real Estate Holding AG’s (FRA: HRX) shares were trading well above €40 a share. That day, HRX completed the acquisition of Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (DEPFA) for more than €5 billion. (press release) At the close of trading yesterday, the shares were at just above €2, the combined group worth just over €400 million. The board of directors of HRX allegedly withheld price-sensitive information in relation to this acquisition and since then in relation to the combined group’s state of affairs. It wasn’t until 29 September 2008, when HRX announced…

IMS ExpertServices
Rule 26 Major Changes for Attorneys and Experts

A major revision to the federal rules governing expert witness reports is on track to take effect in December.
The 2010 Expert Forecast: Surge Ahead

The New Year has barely begun, but all indications suggest 2010 will bring a surge in litigation involving major corporations.
The Top 10 Expert Rulings of 2009

As 2009 drew close to its end, the Supreme Court turned down an opportunity to decide a case many lawyers believed could set new precedent regarding the admissibility of expert testimony.
Madoff Litigants Lag in Lining up Experts

Lawyers were quick out of the gate to file lawsuits on behalf of victims of Bernard Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
Litigation is Recession Proof -- But are Experts?

Litigation is recession proof. That, at least, is the conventional wisdom. Can the same be said of expert witnesses?

Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog
Graphical View of Unemployment over the last few years

David M. Goldman

4 Feb 2010 | 6:29 am

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 31 million people currently unemployed -- that's including those involuntarily working part-time and those who want a job, but have given up on trying to find one.
Estate Planning Professionals Network of NRA

David M. Goldman

18 Jan 2010 | 1:03 pm

David Goldman of Apple Law Firm, Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog, and NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog became a member of the Estate Planning Professionals network (EPPN) of the NRA. The next EPPN event will be held in conjunction with the NRA Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina in May 2010. As a member of the EPPN, David can modify wills and trusts with language that can be added to Florida Wills and Trusts to make bequests to the national Rifle Association or any of the NRA charities or endowments.
Fighting Foreclosures in Jacksonville or in Florida

David M. Goldman

10 Jan 2010 | 3:18 pm

If you live in Jacksonville or anywhere in Florida and are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit or facing the foreclosure on your home in the future there are somethings you should know. In Florida a foreclosure process my proceed in the courts. This is because Florida requires a Judicial Foreclosure with court supervision. Once you fall 30 days behind on your payments the lender can file a foreclosure lawsuit against the owners and tenants of the home. Most foreclosures happen when you become at least 60-90 days late on your payments. When this happens the bank or servicing bank will not…
Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer

David M. Goldman

6 Jan 2010 | 7:54 pm

Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer: What does Florida Divorce Law have to do with Florida Estate Planning? We often find that Estate planning is needed most around the time of a Divorce in Florida. We now have a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer on staff to help deal with the unique issues of Jacksonville Child Support, Jacksonville Child Custody, and Jacksonville Family law. These issues often arise around the time of Florida Estate Planning or in conjunction with a Florida Probate. If you have questions concerning Florida Estate Planning contact one of our Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or Jacksonville…
Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer and Duval County Property Values

David M. Goldman

1 Jan 2010 | 6:52 pm

a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyersknows that foreclosures in your neighborhood hurt property values. Good news for Texas residents, Today they have help in dealing with property values and the taxes related to them. Homeowners in neighborhoods that have been hurt by homes with foreclosures might find some relief. The new Teas law requires appraisal districts to consider properties that have been foreclosed on when determining a home’s value. Homeowners in other states including Texas and Florida have complained that appraisal districts have excluded foreclosed properties and those with…

Next Generation Law
Remarkable Leadership

Kevin Thompson

18 Jan 2010 | 6:16 am

What a powerful legacy. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a precious gem whose end came far too soon. He was truly a remarkable person that altered the course of history. He endured physical abuse, jail time and ultimately death in support of his vision: an America where people were judged by the content of their character instead of by the color of their skin. He proved it true that an intimate knowledge of the truth, however simple that truth may be, is the best defense against lies and propaganda. MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is one of the most brilliantly crafted…
I’m terrible at marketing…

Kevin Thompson

12 Jan 2010 | 9:31 pm

but I intend to get better and I need some help. I understand the social media tools and I appreciate their game-changing importance, but I’ve done a poor job at optimizing their effectiveness. I’m all over the place. Take this blog, for example. I dont’ make any money here, yet I’m driving traffic to it! And The Advocate Group? I’ve received several compliments about it but I feel like I’m selling people short. It’s too static. There’s a lot that I can do better there. But that was in 2009 and I’m humble enough to admit when I suck. I…
7 Summit Challenge

Kevin Thompson

11 Jan 2010 | 6:01 am

Check out there homepage: 7 Summit Challenge Fan them up on facebook and track their progress. Become part of this adventure by helping spread the word. Click the share button below and do your thing.
MonaVie vs. XOWII

Kevin Thompson

7 Jan 2010 | 2:37 pm

I’ll post my thoughts on this lawsuit in a separate post. Until then, check it out. MonaVie vs. XOWII, et al
Network marketing companies in the digital space

Kevin Thompson

4 Jan 2010 | 11:49 am

Download now or listen on posterous Memo.m4a (552 KB) Posted via email from Kevin Thompson

Native American Legal Update
New York Times: Twilight And New Moon "Sucking The Quileute Dry"

Greg Guedel

8 Feb 2010 | 10:27 am

This site has commented previously on cultural issues arising from the blockbuster film Twilight and its recent sequel New Moon. This week the New York Times features commentary by Angela R. Riley regarding the economic impact of the film and book series on the Quileute Nation, whose members are portrayed as shape-shifting wolf people locked in a centuries-long battle with local vampires. Ms. Riley is Associate Director of the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA. Her analysis of the economic circumstances of the Nation is succinct: “Twilight” has made all things Quileute wildly…
Celebrating Chief Phillip Martin -- "The Moses Of The Choctaws"

Greg Guedel

7 Feb 2010 | 12:38 pm

Hailed as "The Moses of the Choctaws" and "The Indians' Lee Iaccoca," Phillip Martin led the Choctaw Nation of Mississippi into printing and manufacturing of auto parts and electronics at the Mississippi reservation once called "the worst poverty pocket in the poorest state of the Union." Mr. Martin, who died Thursday at age 83, became chairman in 1959, and then elective chief until 2007. By the 1990s, the Mississippi Choctaws had moved so far up the wage scale that they moved some of their lower-paid industrial jobs to Mexico. The Nation then concentrated on…
NAFOA Conference Call On Tribal Finance - 10 February

Greg Guedel

4 Feb 2010 | 3:19 pm

Native American Finance Officers Association Conference Call Series “Indian Country Financing at a Crossroads” A Primer to NAFOA’s Next Decade Finance Conference Wednesday, February 10 – 10:00AM Pacific / 1:00PM Eastern Dial-In Number: (800) 965–6503 Conference ID: 54703566 NAFOA’s experts will weigh in on the recent Lac du Flambeau management decision, and then take a broader look at the potential crisis that may emerge with future tribal defaults. This call will begin to address the situations that will be discussed in greater depth and breadth at…
Can Theft Of Native Culture Occur - On Ice-Skating Costumes?

Greg Guedel

1 Feb 2010 | 9:33 am

(Nick Verreos) Russian figure-skaters Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin are among the favorites to win gold at next month's Winter Olympics in Vancouver. However, the costumes and skating routine they have chosen have provoked less-favorable reviews from Aboriginal scholars and activists. The theme for their ice-dancing routine is intended as a tribute to Aboriginal peoples, with the skaters wearing suits with Native-inspired designs and their music featuring samples of Aboriginal instruments. Despite good intentions, the pair have been criticized for co-opting cultural traditions…
Tribal Stimulus? South Dakota Sioux Left In The Cold

Greg Guedel

28 Jan 2010 | 8:55 am

(Central Connecticut State University) “They're out there melting snow and keeping a look out for any water they can use.” “Schools have been out of session for a week and will likely be unable to open their doors for at least another week.” “These events are showing just how painfully inadequate our emergency response capabilities are.” In the midst of one of the worst winter storms in memory, the members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe are struggling for survival. Located roughly 200 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota, the Cheyenne River…

Technology & Marketing Law Blog
Third Circuit Schizophrenia Over Student Discipline for Fake MySpace Profiles

7 Feb 2010 | 9:05 am

By Eric Goldman J.S. v. Blue Mountain School District, 2010 WL 376186 (3rd Cir. Feb. 4, 2010) Layshock v. Hermitage...
FTC Privacy Roundtable Recap

2 Feb 2010 | 4:04 pm

By Eric Goldman [Introductory note: I have repeatedly criticized the FTC on this blog, and this post may implicitly criticize...
Google Street View Lawsuit Revived, But Only on Trespass Grounds--Boring v. Google

1 Feb 2010 | 6:43 am

By Eric Goldman Boring v. Google Inc., 2010 WL 318281 (3rd Cir. Jan. 28, 2010). You may recall the book...
January 2010 Quick Links

31 Jan 2010 | 1:19 pm

By Eric Goldman Copyright * An English translation of Google's December loss in France on a Google Book Search lawsuit....
Terri Chen Replaces Rose Hagan as Google's Chief Trademark Counsel

29 Jan 2010 | 12:58 pm

By Eric Goldman I previously mentioned that Rose Hagan, Google's longtime chief trademark counsel, was retiring. (Her last day was...

JD Supra Legal Alerts: All
Massachusetts Divorce Lawyer Explains Divorce 101

The Divorce Collaborative LLC

9 Feb 2010 | 1:56 am

The Divorce Collaborative LLC
City of Seattle Adopts Energy Efficiency Reporting Requirements That Exceed State Law

Lane Powell PC - Construction Law

8 Feb 2010 | 11:47 pm

Lane Powell PC - Construction Law
SEC Issues Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations Regarding Proxy Disclosure Enhancements

Miller & Martin PLLC

8 Feb 2010 | 11:43 pm

Miller & Martin PLLC
Rhode Island 45-Day Notice by Charles A. Lovell, Esq.

Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP

8 Feb 2010 | 11:21 pm

Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP
Thankfully, We Now Have Many Laws To Protect The Elderly From Abuse In A Variety Of Settings. However, Laws Are Worthless, If The People For Whom They Are Intended To Help Are Unaware Of Them

Jonathan Rosenfeld - Nursing Home Abuse

8 Feb 2010 | 11:17 pm

Jonathan Rosenfeld - Nursing Home Abuse

California Wage and Hour Law for Employees
Supreme Court to Hear Oral Argument on Martinez v. Combs

Steven G. Pearl

3 Feb 2010 | 4:12 pm

Martinez v. Combs has been on the Supreme Court's desk for more than five years. The Court just announced that it will hear oral argument on Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at 9:00 a.m., in San Francisco. See the Court's docket here. The Court states the issues presented as follows: Petition for review after the Court of Appeal affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment in a civil action. The court ordered briefing deferred pending decision in Reynolds v. Bement, S115823, which includes the following issue: Can the officers and directors of a corporate employer personally be held civilly…
Court of Appeal Upholds Order Decertifying Store Manager Class

Steven G. Pearl

2 Feb 2010 | 10:10 am

In Keller v. Tuesday Morning, Inc. (November 4, 2009, Second District) 179 Cal.App.4th 1389, the Court of Appeal held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting motion to decertify a class of retail store managers "where multiple witness declarations asserted in detail that tasks performed by each class member were dissimilar, and so individualized issues of liability and damages would predominate over issues common to the class." The opinion includes a detailed discussion of the evidence presented on the motion to decertify, including declarations, deposition testimony,…
Employer Cannot Terminate Employee Who Makes Good Faith But Mistaken Claim for Overtime

Steven G. Pearl

2 Feb 2010 | 9:01 am

In Barbosa v. IMPCO Technologies, Inc. (November 30, 2009) 179 Cal.App.4th 1116, the Court of Appeal held that the public policy in favor of an employer’s duty to pay overtime wages protects an employee from termination for making a good faith but mistaken claim to overtime.Manuel Barbosa was a shift leader who was paid by the hour. Two of the employees whom he supervised approached him and stated that they had not been paid for two hours of overtime work. Mr. Barbosa complained to management, who paid him and the other employees for the two hours of overtime. Upon investigation, the…
Cal. Supreme Court Upholds Bonus Forfeiture Agreement

Steven G. Pearl

27 Jan 2010 | 1:26 pm

In Schachter v. Citigroup, Inc. (November 2, 2009) 47 Cal.4th 610, the California Supreme Court upheld an employer's bonus compensation plan against allegations that it worked a forfeiture of wages in violation of California law. The Court described the plan and the issues presented as follows:Citigroup offered a voluntary employee incentive compensation plan that provides employees with shares of restricted company stock at a reduced price in lieu of a portion of that employee's annual cash compensation. Employees agree that, should they resign or be terminated for cause before their…
Ninth Circuit Refuses to Enforce Class Arbitration Waiver

Steven G. Pearl

27 Jan 2010 | 12:26 pm

In Laster v. AT&T Mobility LLC (9th Cir. October 27, 2009), the Ninth Circuit followed Shroyer v. New Cingular Wireless Services, Inc., 498 F.3d 976 (9th Cir. 2007) and affirmed a District Court decision that a class arbitration waiver was unconscionable and unenforceable in a class action against a telephone company based on allegations that the company’s offer of a "free" phone was fraudulent because the company charged the customer sales tax on the phone. The "new wrinkle" in this case -- a very creative contract clause providing a "premium" payment of $7,500 to any customer who…

Consumer Class Actions and Mass Torts
How Much Is That Doggy in the Window Worth if He Came from a Puppy Mill?

Russell Jackson

7 Feb 2010 | 6:11 am

New Yorkers always warn: "Don't buy a dog at a pet store! They all come from puppy mills, are sick, and were raised in deplorable conditions." But I bought my dog at a mall pet store. I wasn't shopping for a dog nearly two years ago when Ted came into my life. But decisions have consequences, and the decision to kill time at a pet store while waiting for friends to arrive for dinner at a nearby restaurant resulted in me sharing my apartment with Mr. Ted E. Bear. I didn't know much about where he came from. His papers said a farm in…
West Virginia Jury Pool Too Opinionated to Seat a Jury in a Tobacco Trial

Russell Jackson

5 Feb 2010 | 10:31 am

One of my news clipping services brought me this fascinating tidbit from The West Virginia Record: after 3 days of trying to empanel a jury in a massive liability trial over cigarettes, the court simply gave up. It had gone through 650 prospective jurors and only qualified 6 for potential service. According to the article, "Lawyers excused a woman who said people have no right to sue over diseases that are disclosed on the warning label of a package." Funny, I would have liked her on my jury. The court will try again in June, this time with a…
Magistrate Judge's Report Reads Physical Injury Requirement Out of Strict Liability Statute

Russell Jackson

5 Feb 2010 | 6:02 am

A recent report and recommendation from a US Magistrate Judge raises the question: Does a group of patients who were exposed to pathogens but never developed a disease have a cause of action? In Descoteau v. Analogic Corp., 2010 WL 325933 (D. Me. Jan. 21, 2010), Magistrate Judge John Rich III suggests that they do, although he clearly seems to stretch Maine law in order to find a cause of action for a bad factual situation. If this report and recommendation is affirmed by the District Court, it will not be the first time hard facts have made bad law. The facts are not…
The Alabama Supremes Hold That Two Is Not Better Than One

Russell Jackson

4 Feb 2010 | 6:02 am

Is it fair for a plaintiff to sue the same defendant twice for the same thing? Of course not! But what legal redress is available to a defendant who is sued twice by the same plaintiff? In Alabama, at least, the answer is now mandamus as a result of Ex parte J.E. Estes Wood Co., 2010 WL 335646 (Ala. Jan. 29, 2010). In Estes, a railroad filed suit in federal court in Alabama against property owners who allegedly caused a fire that burned down a wooden bridge over a waterway. Two days later, the railroad filed an identical suit in Alabama state court "'to…
Louisiana Court Affirms Denial of Certification of Class Alleging 40 Years of Exposure to Radioactive Dust

Russell Jackson

2 Feb 2010 | 5:36 am

A recent decision from the Louisiana Court of Appeals demonstrates once again why personal injury claims simply cannot be tried as class actions. In Pollard v. Alpha Technical Services Inc., 2010 WL 323576 (Jan. 28, 2010), plaintiffs alleged that for more than forty years, industrial property in Harvey, Louisiana had been used to clean oilfield pipes of scale or crust that had built up in the interior of the tubing. This scale or crust was alleged to be barium sulfate -- later identified as radium sulfate -- and other radioactive materials. Plaintiffs alleged that…

Brent Britton
A nation adrift

bcjb

3 Feb 2010 | 7:25 am

Ever paused to reflect on the odd nature of jurisdiction? The rules that govern your behavior change as you move to different sections of the earth’s crust. Don’t like the rules here? Go stand on another rock. Land-centric provincialism seems increasingly archaic in the age of the internet, a truly global village where the rock you’re standing on is neither obvious nor relevant to your participation. But I’d wager it’s not going away on anything less than a truly tectonic timescale, however. Turns out, as discussed in this discovery.com article, if you actually…
Top Ten Legal Issues for Startups

bcjb

19 Jan 2010 | 7:35 pm

The (rather spartan) slides from my recent talk, TOp Ten Legal Issues for Startups, are here: http://www.slideshare.net/bcjb/top-ten-legal-issues-for-startups Video coming soon.
What is Facebook?

bcjb

28 Dec 2009 | 10:53 am

I’ve gotten a little play lately for saying, “Linkedin is your resume; Twitter is your personality.” (Borges, Marketing 2.0: Bridging the Gap between Seller and Buyer through Social Media Marketing, 2009.) Now I’m being asked, in so many words, “OK bub, you think you’re so full of pith and vinegar… Let’s have a metaphor for Facebook, and make it apt.” Alright, here goes. Facebook is your life as a cocktail party. And everyone’s coming. Everyone. Remember how your peeps used to be stratified into groups based on how and when you met…
A New Theory of Business: From Idea to Happy

bcjb

8 Dec 2009 | 8:26 am

For 15 years or so I have been pursuing an agenda dubbed “ideas2money,” a slightly tongue-in-cheek abstraction of the premise that all business is about monetizing good ideas, in turn premised on the relatively venerable notion that the sole role of any business is maximizing profit and, thus, shareholder wealth. After observing progressive companies such as Zappos (and, to some extent, Google), however, I propose a new theory of business = ideas2happy, whereby profits are maximized in any business whose primary goal is to maximize customer happiness. According to Zappos CEO Tony…
Three Reasons Why It’s the Dawn of the Entrepreneurial Age

bcjb

18 Nov 2009 | 8:27 pm

Three Reasons Why It’s the Dawn of the Entrepreneurial Age. Opening Keynote, TechVenture2009 Conference, 16 Nov 2009, Tampa Some moments matter more than others. Humanity is at an inflexion point in history that makes this moment the Entrepreneur’s moment. When the history of this time is written, they will call it the true dawn of the Entrepreneurial Age. If entrepreneurship is where technology and business come together, then historians will call this the time when technology and business truly got down to… business. They will point to the dot com boom of the late 90’s as a trifling…

SECLaw.com - The Securities Law Blog
Advisers Sue State Securities Regulator

8 Feb 2010 | 7:58 am

Years ago I wrote a column for Research Magazine titled Fight Back, an analysis of a litigation strategy for advisers when faced with frivolous customer complaints. The article created something of a stir among securities lawyers, which was a good thing. Sometimes regulated professionals are too timid to stand up for their rights.Two former financial advisers have taken this a step further, and have sued the Utah Securities Commission for conducting what the advisers claim was an over-zealous campaign against them.According to press reports, the two advisers, who were who were barred from the…
Wells Fargo To Add 1,400 Advisors

8 Feb 2010 | 6:59 am

Stories about Merrill adding trainees surfaced last week, now we learn that Wells Fargo Advisors is looking to add 1,400 financial advisors. A published report said that the advisors will be a combination of 1,000 recruits from other firms and 400 trainees. More>>>Technorati Tags: broker transition, stock brokers
Raiding Case Costs Raymond James $12 Million

7 Feb 2010 | 6:45 am

In a case involving 20 advisers in 4 branch offices, a securities arbitration panel has ordered Raymond James Associates Inc. to pay $12.1 million to Wells Fargo Advisors LLC for alleged raiding.The award does not provide any detail of the case, but ordered 10,500,000 in compensatory damages, 1,500,000 in attorneys fees and costs. A copy of the award is available here.The offices were, at the time, Wachovia offices, and according to published reports, Wachovia Securities allegedly lost $5.3 million in production from the departures of these advisors. FA Magazine has more>>>
Bad Advice -Ignore FINRA Social Media Guidance

5 Feb 2010 | 5:27 am

Securities regulation is a big deal for those in the industry. The mix of rules, regulations and regulators is a dangerous web of potential violations, fines and suspensions. But those who are in the industry know that the regulators are serious, that they are looking for violations, and will bring actions for those violations. Maybe it is a sign of the Madoff times, but I can't help but shutter when I read comments from supposedly educated and experienced people who comment on rules and regulations. We all know that FINRA has released its social media guidelines. And we know that like most…
Investors Filing Claims Against Lehman Brokers

4 Feb 2010 | 8:21 am

Investors are starting to file arbitration claims against their Lehman brokers, in an attempt to collect their losses on investments in Lehman principle protected notes. I warned of this eventuality some time ago, as customers who lost money in the notes are going to look to recover those losses. Obviously suing Lehman is not going to accomplish anything, but some customers and their attorneys believe that suing the broker just might.Lehman brokers have been through quite a bit. These professionals relied management's statements that "all is well" with the company, and were blindsided by the…

Downtown Lawyer
Illinois Supreme Court strikes down cap of medical malpractice awards as a violation of separation of powers.

Jodie L. Hill

5 Feb 2010 | 12:01 pm

In 2005, Illinois adopted a law that limited jury awards for pain and suffering to $500,000 against doctors and $1 million against hospitals. Illinois medical and business industries supported the cap, claiming jury awards against medical providers had led to astronomical malpractice insurance rates, which in turn, had driven doctors out of the state. Trial lawyers and patient-rights groups argued that the real factor behind medical malpractice insurance rate hikes is the insurance industry. The Illinois Supreme Court called the law a legislative branch infringement on an issue that should be…
Eleventh Circuit holds that pervasive use of gender-specific vulgarities can create a hostile workplace for women, even if they are not directed at a specific female employee.

Jodie L. Hill

22 Jan 2010 | 12:19 pm

After working as a sales representative for three years at C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Ingrid Reeves sued the company for allegedly subjecting her to a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII. Reeves alleged she was subjected daily to gender-specific vulgarities (“bitch,” “fucking bitch,” “fucking whore,” “crack whore,” and “cunt”) from her male co-workers. She stated they also talked within ear-shot about masturbation and bestiality and often listened to a Howard Stern-like radio show loaded with sexual references. The trial…
Eighth Circuit joins other circuits in requiring sex stereotyping plaintiff to show she was treated differently–not the relative treatment of different groups within the workplace.

Jodie L. Hill

21 Jan 2010 | 12:22 pm

Breanna Lewis v. Heartland Inns of America, L.L.C., No. 08-3860. Facts Heartland Inns of America, L.L.C. (“Heartland Inns”), operates a group of hotels in Iowa. In July 2005, Breanna Lewis began working for Heartland Inns. Over the next year and a half, Lewis successfully filled several positions related to guest services. Lewis received multiple commendations from her direct supervisors and two merit based pay raises. On December 14, 2006, Lewis was hired to work a full-time position at the front desk of the Ankeny hotel from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., after her supervisor at Ankeny, Lori…
Third Circuit rules that fired Muslim scientist is not entitled to a hearing to contest being terminated.

Jodie L. Hill

15 Jan 2010 | 9:22 am

Dr. Abdel Moniem Ali El-Ganayni, an Egyptian native, has lived in the United States since the 1980s and worked as a nuclear physicist for Bettis Laboratory. In 2007, El-Ganayni passed out copies of a Muslim religious tract called "The Miracle in the Ant" at a prison. He was grilled by the Bettis Laboratory security manager and then the FBI. Investigators suggested that some of the scientific information contained in the work, specifically that some ants can burst their bodies open and secrete a deadly substance as a defense mechanism, could be construed as an apology for suicide…
Arkansas Court of Appeals holds that attorney for incompetent person is not entitled to attorney’s fees for challenge of guardianship.

Jodie L. Hill

14 Jan 2010 | 8:01 am

In re: the Estate of Mary Elizabeth Reimer, incompetent, No. CA09-770. In 2004, George Reimer petitioned for guardianship over his wife, Mary Elizabeth Reimer. The trial court found Mrs. Reimer incompetent and appointed Mr. Reimer as guardian over her person. Two years later, Mr. Reimer moved to change guardians, and Karen Hunter, Mrs. Reimer’s daughter, was appointed as guardian over Mrs. Reimer’s person and estate. In 2008, Mrs. Reimer moved to terminate the guardianship, arguing that she was not notified about the expansion of the guardianship to include her estate and that she no…

Social Media Law Student
The Future of E-books and Law School

Katie Luper

8 Feb 2010 | 8:51 am

Books are very important to law students. I still remember going into the bookstore before the first day of law school and purchasing my first set of law books. I treated them like golden treasures. As I learned more about how to read cases, I started tabbing important sections. I carried these books everywhere and in the process I just about broke my back. With the introduction of the Kindle, the Nook, and the new Apple iPad, it seems that many technology manufacturers envision a world where e-books will replace the traditional printed media. I happen to be very conflicted about the two, and…
2010 Super Bowl Ads (vote for best) #colts #saints #sb44

Rex Gradeless

6 Feb 2010 | 5:56 pm

Vote for the best Super Bowl Ad of 2010 and discuss your favorite below. Brought to you by Forbes.com. You must have Adobe Flash Player 9 or higher installed to view this content Related posts:Social Media Law Student Microblog Posts and Links for 1-31-2009 Update: WestlawNext Screenshots and Pricing Information 2010 Guide to Technology: Basic RSS
Update: WestlawNext Screenshots and Pricing Information

Laura Bergus

28 Jan 2010 | 1:02 pm

Mike Dahn, Vice President of WestlawNext Product Development, was kind enough to answer some of our questions directly: Do you know when WestlawNext will be available for use at law schools? Mike Dahn: We have not finalized a law school rollout plan. Law school students will not have access to WestlawNext at launch. However, we will distribute trial passwords to many law school faculty members and staff in the upcoming months to allow them to gain comfort and confidence in the product prior to the rollout to students. Very generally, can you explain how the pricing structure might change…
Apple iPad

Rex Gradeless

27 Jan 2010 | 12:57 pm

In case you didn’t know, Apple launched the iPad tablet today. Here’s the link. Related posts:The Future of E-books and Law School What Apple Says About Windows 7 Help: My Hard Drive Died. How Can I Legally Get My Music Back!?
WestlawNext: It’s About Time

Laura Bergus

27 Jan 2010 | 9:30 am

Update 1/28/10: Mike Dahn, Vice President of WestlawNext Product Development, was kind enough to answer some questions about availability and pricing, and we’ve posted some screenshots. Next week at Legal Tech NY, and at a number of preview breakfasts, Thomson Reuters will publicly showcase its new legal research product, WestlawNext. The basis of the new tool, which was reportedly five long years in the making, is a robust search algorithm that returns results based on …wait for it… relevance! Thanks to Rex’s contacts I was able to preview WestlawNext and it is very…

Bankruptcy News & Articles
Dems’ election loss illuminates the modern filibuster system: How can hard-hit consumers survive this stacked deck?

Mike Hinshaw

2 Feb 2010 | 10:57 pm

Who knew a relatively unknown state senator could have such far-ranging implications for jammed-up consumers scurrying to deal with over-the-levee unemployment rates, health-care costs and home-foreclosure levels–as well as credit-card company shenanigans? Scott Brown (R-MA) hasn’t been seated in Teddy’s 50-year-old chair, yet–but already he has an action figure. And some reports–notably, this one in the Christian Science Monitor– say his Republican victory in the Massachusetts race for Kennedy’s vacancy has “sent tremors” not only…
Bankruptcy trustee offers timely spending advice; MBS creator steps up as leader to clean up the mortgage-relief mess

Mike Hinshaw

21 Dec 2009 | 12:47 pm

Even though bankruptcy in Canada is a different animal than what we’re used to in the states, some parallels apply. During the holiday season, for example, one parallel is hugely important, namely, the pressure to buy largely… But it’s a big mistake to let meager finances get overwhelmed by holiday pressure to buy gifts and decorations and–well, all that stuff. Canadian bankruptcy trustee Doug Hoyes posted December 4, saying that “one of our busiest phone days of the year is the first Monday back after the Christmas holidays. I assume that January 4, 2010 will be…
In speech, Obama seems to ‘get it’ that real unemployment rate is closer to 20% than the often reported 10% rate

Mike Hinshaw

8 Dec 2009 | 10:08 am

In his most public acknowledgment of the true depths of unemployment, President Obama today said in a speech to the Brookings Institution that he wants to use unexpected fiscal headroom in recovery-stimulus funds to create jobs. As reported by CNN Obama said “he wants to give small businesses tax breaks for new hires and equipment purchases. He also wants to expand American Recovery and Reinvestment Act programs and spend some $50 billion more on roads, bridges, aviation and water projects. “Obama did not give a price tag for his proposals but pointed out that there is more…
Bernanke glad that job loss ‘getting worse more slowly’ while Senator Whitehouse pursues medical-debt bankruptcy relief

Mike Hinshaw

20 Nov 2009 | 1:03 pm

With mixed-news noise dominating any clear signal of a consumer-level recovery from The Great Recession, at least one Senator is still hoping to make the bankruptcy code more useful to individuals filers. On the slightly brighter side of recent announcements, the big consumer-credit players are saying that even though credit-card delinquencies rose in October, out and out defaults fell more than expected–which is a good sign. And as Bloomberg reported Nov. 17, “Wholesale prices in the U.S. increased in October for just the second time in the past four months, indicating inflation…
GDP good Recession news? Consumer strife data say no as bankruptcies rise along with unemployment and forclosures

Mike Hinshaw

30 Oct 2009 | 3:22 pm

We left the Phat Lady of the Turnaround headed back to her dressing room, not yet ready to sing the praises of the end of the Recession and the start of a shiny future. In fact, foreign observers may have a better feel for the plight of the U.S. consumer than do many domestic pundits and measures that just don’t seem to get it. For example, an Oct. 26 report from MarketWatch tells us, “A broad gauge of U.S. economic activity rose above the level that typifies recessions, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.” But here’s an account from Oct. 28…from…

Georgia Debt Law ::. Bankruptcy Blog
Foreclosure Notices Soar In Atlanta

Rob

8 Feb 2010 | 1:29 pm

There were 10,357 foreclosure notices published in February for the 13-county Metro Atlanta area, up 27 percent from January and 34 percent from February 2009. Alpharetta-based Equity Depot released the numbers in a report today, according to a post by Henry Unger in his “The Biz Beat” on the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Web site. I guess the brief slowing in January’s numbers was the calm before the continuing of the storm that is devastating neighborhoods across Atlanta.
Filing Personal Bankruptcy in Cartersville

admin

8 Feb 2010 | 10:41 am

Thousands of Georgia residents have found themselves unable to pay their home mortgage, credit card or medical expenses and having exhausted all other financial options, have found financial relief by filing personal bankruptcy. If you are considering filing bankruptcy in Cartersville and you need information, a Cartersville bankruptcy lawyer can help. When is the right time to file bankruptcy? There may not be a right answer, but a Cartersville bankruptcy attorney can help evaluate your financial situation and decide if you are eligible to file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Filing…
Filing Personal Bankruptcy in Duluth, Georgia

admin

5 Feb 2010 | 11:31 am

Image via Wikipedia Thousands of Georgia residents have faced an unexpected financial crisis through job loss, home foreclosure, high medical bills or unexpected death or divorce. Many Duluth residents have found relief by filing bankruptcy in Duluth. If you are considering filing bankruptcy in Duluth, Georgia, you can contact a Duluth bankruptcy lawyer for help. Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Duluth may allow you to discharge all or a portion of your debt within four to six months. Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Duluth may allow you to reorganize your debt payments with a 3 to 5 year…
Filing Personal Bankruptcy in Jonesboro, Georgia

admin

27 Jan 2010 | 8:30 am

Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Jonesboro may allow Jonesboro residents to dismiss all or part of their unsecured debt within four to six months. Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Jonesboro does not immediately dismiss debt, but may allow Jonesboro filers to restructure their debt payments with a new three to five year repayment plan. Current bankruptcy laws have made it more difficult to file bankruptcy in Jonesboro. Anyone considering bankruptcy should contact a Jonesboro bankruptcy lawyer for more information. Filing bankruptcy is an important decision and should not be done without careful…
Filing Personal Bankruptcy in Rome

admin

19 Jan 2010 | 8:53 am

If you are like millions of other Americans who are unable to pay their high credit card bills or who are facing home foreclosure, you may need financial help. Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Rome, Georgia, may allow you to eliminate all or part of your debt. Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Rome may be another option if you do not qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy may allow you to repay your creditors over a three to five year repayment period with a new bankruptcy debt payment plan. Filing bankruptcy is a very serious financial decision and should not be done…

Technola
Creative Commons Licensing and Writing Attributions Correctly

Kate Bladow

1 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

Creative Commons is "a nonprofit dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright." They provide six free licenses that you can use to license your creations: Attribution Attribution Share Alike Attribution No Derivatives Attribution Non-Commercial Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives A while ago, Hugh Calkins asked whether the legal aid community should be licensing its community and self-help materials under Creative Commons licenses in his posts Creative Commons…
A2J Author 3.0 Released

Kate Bladow

25 Jan 2010 | 7:30 am

The Center for Access to Justice & Technology and the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction released A2J Author 3.0 last week. With A2J Author, non-techies can create user-friendly interfaces that help self-represented litigants fill out court forms and other legal documents. Several states with great A2J Author interviews, including New York, Washington state, and Washington, DC, have been highlighted on Technola previously. New features included in A2J Author 3.0 include the ability to add graphics and videos to questions; customize how users exit an interview and let them…
Free Cloud Computing Webcasts from O'Reilly

Kate Bladow

12 Jan 2010 | 9:29 am

After I posted "We Love the Cloud; We Hate the Cloud," I noticed a tweet from Tim O'Reilly: two free webcasts on cloud computing on January 20. Cloud Security & Privacy - A 75-minute look at a large number of privacy and security issues. Cloud Security Deep Dive - A 90-minute session focusing on three areas--data security, identity management, and governance. Both sessions are led by the authors of "Cloud Security and Privacy." You can register for one or both online. - K
We Love the Cloud; We Hate the Cloud

Kate Bladow

11 Jan 2010 | 12:17 am

This month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to examine the security risks of cloud computing as the FCC puts together the national broadband plan. This request grew from the FTC's concerns that Americans love cloud computing but don't understand the risks of storing data on remote systems. Cloud computing is something I've written about before (Cloud Computing Explained) and something that I've become enamored with. I like not being tied to one computer and not worrying about losing a lot of information if a computer fails. But I know that…
Technola LexBlog Interview

Matthew Burnett

7 Jan 2010 | 3:48 pm

Kate and I were recently interviewed by Lisa Kennelly, Editorial Manager at LexBlog. We shared the story behind Technola, how it has evolved, and our thoughts on technology, blogging and the public interest legal community. -M

Allen and Allen Law Blog
GIVING BACK: Public Service and the Allen Law Firm

ejk

8 Feb 2010 | 5:44 am

Author: Attorney Douglas A. Barry Personal injury attorney Douglas A. Barry Giving back and serving our communities is a deeply held value at the Allen Law Firm. When I joined the firm in 1996, I came with a strong Government and public service background as well as a commitment to giving back to the community that fit well with the Firm’s values. For the first half of my career, I was an attorney in law enforcement, as a Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and also as a prosecutor (Commonwealth’s Attorney in two different jurisdictions in Virginia). During the time since…
What do Nelson Mandela and Jerry Springer have in common?

ejk

3 Feb 2010 | 8:03 am

Famous people that also happen to be law school graduates Author: Attorney Paul D. Hux Attorney Paul D. Hux There are many famous people in the world today, and with media, the internet and the other multitude of publications, we think we know everything there is to know about these people. However, there are a number of movies actors, television personalities, sports stars, well known politicians and musical entertainers who all have something in common that very few people realize. This common thread is that they graduated from law school. The following is a list of some of the most well…
“I Just Found Out I Had Cancer Five Years Ago, But My Doctor Never Told Me! Can I Sue?”

ejk

2 Feb 2010 | 7:56 am

The Statute of Limitations in Medical Misdiagnosis Author: Attorney Malcolm P. McConnell Attorney Malcolm P. McConnell If you have cancer that has been allowed to spread and threaten your life because of medical negligence, the answer is “yes.” But it may shock you to learn that, only a few years ago, the answer was “no.” Until recently, your right to sue could expire before you even knew you had a case! How could something so unfair be the law in Virginia? All claims for personal injury in Virginia, including medical malpractice cases, are subject to time limits. 1 Although each case…
Be Prepared When Driving in Winter Weather Conditions

ejk

29 Jan 2010 | 1:01 pm

Attorney Tammy S. Ruble Author: Attorney Tammy S. Ruble Virginia has already been hit with the first big snow storm of the season and, as I write this, another storm is pending. Winter weather brings with it opportunities for outdoor fun but also the potential for great danger. Whether you clap your hands with glee at the first falling snowflake or are huddled before the fire dreaming of Virginia Beach in July, a little preparation will help make the winter safer. Start by familiarizing yourself with the meanings of the various weather warnings you might hear. A “winter storm watch” means…
The First 100 Years: My Grandfather’s Influence

ejk

29 Jan 2010 | 6:57 am

Author: Attorney Charles L. Allen Attorney Charles Littlepage Allen One hundred years ago, in 1910, my grandfather, George E. Allen Sr., a founder of this law firm, handled his first personal injury case. As a third generation family member of this law firm, I reflect back occasionally on the influence my grandfather and his legal career have had upon me. When I first began practicing law 25 years ago, attorneys and judges always spoke well of my grandfather. He was often cited as a shining example of professionalism who set a standard to which all successful attorneys should aspire. My…

Are You Writing This Down?
Why are we still debating (redux)?

Lance Godard

13 Jan 2010 | 7:52 am

Are you really not yet convinced that you need to develop a more active social networking and social media profile? That you need to understand and use and master social media tools for communicating? Maybe the CEO of Sun Microsystems can convince you:“As CEO, I need to engage the market, inside and outside Sun, with whatever technology affords me the greatest possible reach. Through blogs,
What lessons have you learned?

Lance Godard

12 Jan 2010 | 9:40 am

I read an interesting post today on the Commute by Bike blog: “5 Things I wish I knew when I first started Bike Commuting.” I would add a sixth, but all the same I was struck by how easily these bicycle commuting lessons apply for lawyers: Route. Plan your route. Know where you want to go and how to get there and what you need to do to move in the right direction. There’s plenty of strategy
Are you exploring Social Media?

Lance Godard

16 Oct 2009 | 9:58 am

What are you doing to market your practice with social media? How are you telling your story? What are your objectives? Are you meeting them?There's no doubt that social media is revolutionizing PR, marketing, and internal communications across industries, and that the legal profession finds itself directly in the mix. Are you keeping up with the changes or getting left behind? Blogs, Twitter,
What are your extraordinary measures?

Lance Godard

20 Aug 2009 | 10:18 am

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. No one would dispute that these are extraordinary times for the legal profession. Or that the landscape in 12 months will look radically different than it does today. So what are your extraordinary measures? Are you thinking about your business model? How it meets your clients’ needs (and not just your own)? How it could give you a competitive
What do you say to new clients?

Lance Godard

29 Jul 2009 | 2:57 pm

What do you tell every new client before you start working for them? Here's how your peers are answering that question in their 22 Tweets interviewsJeena R. Belil (@jeenabelil): That no outcome is guaranteed and that settling a matter is not the same as losing the case. Kelly Phillips Erb (@taxgirl): Not to be scared of tax. While it’s important to try to get it right the 1st time, there’s

Decoupling
Best Interests of the Child – The Emotional Needs and Developmental Level of the Child

liz

5 Feb 2010 | 10:50 am

In this series, we’re reviewing Washington cases which help us to understand what exactly the “best interests of the child” standard means, and how it works when applied to a specific family. Last week we discussed the third factor, the “past and future performance of parenting functions“, which relates to each parent’s ability to take care of a child’s day-to-day needs,…
Adventures in Community Property Breaking News – Clayton v. Wilson (2010)

liz

29 Jan 2010 | 10:33 am

In two previous pop quizzes, we discussed previous Washington court decisions regarding community property and community liability for torts committed by one spouse. To recap: Washington is a community property state, which generally means that all property that a couple acquires during their marriage is considered to be jointly owned by both spouses, and neither spouse can transfer or destroy the property…
Best Interests of the Child – Past and Potential for Future Performance of Parenting Functions

liz

25 Jan 2010 | 5:46 pm

In this series, we’re taking a look at some Washington cases that shed some light on to what the “best interests of the child” standard means, and how it works when applied to a specific family. Last week we discussed the second factor, “the agreements of the parties.” In that article we saw just how much discretion a court has…
Best Interests of the Child – Agreement of the Parents

liz

13 Jan 2010 | 12:52 pm

In this series, we’re taking a look at some Washington cases that shed some light on to what the “best interests of the child” standard means, and how it works when applied to a specific family. Last week we discussed the first, and most important factor, “the relative strength, nature, and stability of the child’s relationship with each parent.” Here…
Best Interests of the Child – The Quality of the Parent Child Relationship

liz

7 Jan 2010 | 1:06 pm

In this series, we’re taking a look at some Washington cases that shed some light on to what the “best interests of the child” standard means, and how it works when applied to a specific family. Today, in this second article in the series, we’re taking a look at the first of the seven factors that Washington courts must consider…

New Jersey Attorney Law Review Blog
Vacating Sheriff's Foreclosure Sale - Lack of Notice to Homeowner

Glenn R. Reiser

13 Jan 2010 | 7:33 am

In this article I discuss the rights and remedies available to a New Jersey homeowner who has lost his or her property to a sheriff's sale because the lender failed to provide actual notice of the sheriff's sale date. The state of confusion that can be created by the lender's failure to communicate with the borrower can be grounds to vacate a sheriff's sale under New Jersey law. But the homeowner must get to the court quickly upon learning of the sale. For purposes of this article I ask my readers to make the following assumptions: (1) a foreclosure suit has been filed in New Jersey; (2) the…
Prominent NJ Law Firm Sues Former Associate for Website Infringement

Glenn R. Reiser

12 Nov 2009 | 8:40 pm

(November 2009) Levinson Axelrod, a prominent New Jersey personal injury law firm, has filed suit against its former disgruntled associate, Edward Heyburn, who in September 2009 registered and published a website domain using Levinson Axelrod's name for the purpose of airing his grievances against them. The firm filed suit in the Superior Court of New Jersey on an emergent basis, seeking to shut down the website, www.levinsonaxelrod.net, alleging, among other claims, that the content posted on the site is defaming the firm's reputation, the site is diverting traffic from the firm's legitimate…
Attorney-Client Privilege Attaches to Employee Yahoo! E-Mails Sent Through Employer's Computer

Glenn R. Reiser

29 Jul 2009 | 8:40 pm

In a published decision issued on June 26, 2009 in an employment litigation case, a New Jersey appeals court held that the attorney-client privilege applies to e-mails that the employee sent to her attorney while accessing the company's computer to send the e-mails through her private Yahoo! e-mail account. (Stengart v. Loving Care Agency Inc., A.-35-6-08T1). With all due respect to the trial court, in my March 9, 2009 post discussing this case I expressed my opinion that the trial judge's decision was incorrect and predicted that an interlocutory appeal would be forthcoming because of the…
Bergen County Judge Rules No Attorney-Client Privilege Attaches to E-Mail Sent by Employee’s Personal Yahoo! Account While Using Company’s Computer

Glenn R. Reiser

9 Mar 2009 | 10:11 am

Before Maria Stengart quit her job, she was already making plans to sue her employer. She e-mailed her lawyer during business hours from her company-issued laptop, though she was circumspect enough to use her personal Web-based Yahoo e-mail account. It was not until discovery in the ensuing hostile-workplace, constructive-discharge case that she learned company lawyers had a copy of the message, which was automatically saved on the laptop's hard drive as a temporary file.Now a Bergen County judge, Estella De La Cruz, has held the e-mail isn't protected as an attorney-client communication,…
NJ Trial Court Tosses Defamation Case Against Hot Chicks With Douchebags

Glenn R. Reiser

26 Feb 2009 | 7:08 pm

A Superior Court judge in Bergen County New Jersey dismissed a defamation case against a number of defendants based on the claims of two women who sued over photographs taken of them clubbing at a Clifton, NJ bar which were included in a book titled, "Hot Chicks With Douchebags," published by a Simon & Schuster division.In a 9-page written opinion granting summary judgment, the trial judge dismissed the complaint finding there was no actionable defamation claim because the photographs and accompanying text are used for humorous social commentary and the book is protected by the First…

The Client Revolution
What lawyers can learn from an Office Depot commercial

Jay Shepherd

7 Feb 2010 | 8:52 pm

So ironically, the best commercial I watched this evening — Super Bowl Sunday — wasn't even during the Super Bowl. Instead, it came during the new CBS show "Undercover Boss," which had the coveted post–Super Bowl slot. (So coveted because people tend to be too brain dead to turn off the TV after the game ends, as we were.) Unlike the Super Bowl ads, this commercial featured no pantsless office workers, screaming chickens, or sadistic Doritos-loving dogs. Just a barber, a voiceover, and a sign (from Office Depot, natch). And a lesson for lawyers on how to price and market their services.
The Revolution spreads to Solo Practice University

Jay Shepherd

25 Jan 2010 | 6:30 am

One of my big goals for 2010 was to adjust my role as a commentator on the state of the practice of law and become more of a change agent dedicated to helping fix it. Today I'm taking a first step in that direction by joining the faculty of the pioneering Solo Practice University. If you're not familiar with SPU you should head on over and check it out. Under the leadership of legal-education trailblazer Susan Cartier Liebel (who also blogs at the ABA Blawg 100 site Build A Solo Practice @ SPU), Solo Practice University picks up where law school left off. One of the most common complaints…
"He shall from time to time ...." Or not.

Jay Shepherd

11 Jan 2010 | 7:10 pm

You'll have to forgive this post. It's not really about lawyers, although it does cite the Constitution. You see, I've been distracted lately: the final season of "Lost" is just a few weeks away, and there's a lot to be stressed about. (Publicity photo above. Click to biggify.) Will they be able to wrap it up in one short season? Will the finale justly reward viewers' five-year commitment to the series? And most importantly, will President Obama's State of the Union bump the February 2 premiere? Finally, this weekend, my fears were allayed. Turns out, the President won't bump the premiere.
Blawg Review #246

Jay Shepherd

11 Jan 2010 | 2:33 am

The best way to predict the future is to invent it.— Alan Kay, computer scientist, 1971 The future is already here — it's just not evenly distributed. — William Gibson, author, 2003 In gathering the best and the brightest from the blawgosphere for this first full week of the 2010s, I thought I'd look at them through the lens of a crystal ball. Many of us are wondering what this new decade will be like, especially in the world of the law. First, though, let's talk about what this decade will be called. A decade with no nameLook, we just went through a decade that had no name, let alone a…
Client Revolution hosting next week's Blawg Review

Jay Shepherd

7 Jan 2010 | 8:49 pm

Hey, blawggers and blawg readers! Actually, as I've said before, I'm not a fan of using the term blawg to mean "law-related blog." The problem with it is that blawg sounds exactly like blog. When you're speaking and you say "blawg," there's no way of conveying that you mean "law-related blog" without also saying something pedantic like "with an A and a W instead of an O." Yeesh. Anywho, I'm honored to have been invited to host Blawg Review #246 on Monday. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Blawg Review is a blog carnival, which comes out every week and contains links to many other blog…

ParalegalGateway's Web Blog
Workers' Compensation Practice for Paralegals (Actually Written by a Paralegal!)

ParaGate

26 Jan 2010 | 5:09 pm

Many of you know Lynne DeVenny as the gifted author of the exceptional Paralegal blog entitled Practical Paralegalism however, what many of you may not know is she is also the co-author of an excellent guide for Paralegals who work within the workers’ compensation practice area. The book, Workers’ Compensation Practice for Paralegals, published by Carolina Academic Press, was co-authored by J. Griffin Morgan and it provides a comprehensive resource and guidance for both the novice as well as the expert Paralegal. Amazon provided the additional description: “Workers’ Compensation…
Small Town Paralegal Student Has Big Dreams

ParaGate

26 Jan 2010 | 2:08 pm

Walking past a guitar and having envisions of performing on stage started out as a dream for one 14-year-old girl. As most teen parents would assume, Amelia Conway’s parents thought that she was just going through a phase and did not take her seriously when she asked for a guitar. “I saved $50 of my own money for a couple of months and bought that guitar,” Conway said. “It was one of those small First Act acoustic learning guitars.” Determined to follow her dream of playing on a stage, Conway taught herself to play her newly purchased six-string. She had some musical knowledge from…
Want Power

Patty Dietz-Selke

19 Jan 2010 | 8:34 am

By Patty Dietz-Selke "U R the only problem U will ever have & U R the only solution. Change is inevitable, personal growth is always a decision." Bob Proctor This powerful message came to my attention recently as I was in the midst of making plans to live a more healthy life and lose 10-20 lbs. Now let me confess up front that I contemplate losing those same 10-20 lbs with the start of each New Year and that many years have passed since I started this annual contemplation. Despite numerous successes in my career and other areas of my life, this…
Handbook 2010

Patty Dietz-Selke

11 Jan 2010 | 8:55 am

by Patty Dietz-SelkeThis bit of wonderful wisdom was sent to me by a dear friend with loving instructions to share it with others. So in the spirit of the new year, here goes........ HANDBOOK 2010 Health: 1. Drink plenty of water. 2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar. 3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. 4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy. 5. Make time to pray. 6. Play more games. 7. Read more books than you did in 2009. 8. Sit in silence for at least 10…
Paralegal Admits Failing to Pay Taxes on Income

ParaGate

7 Jan 2010 | 2:07 pm

A secretary and paralegal for lawyer John P. Karoly Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday to failing to pay taxes on more than $70,000 of income, much of it from bonus checks. Heather Kovacs, 41, pleaded guilty to two counts of knowingly and willfully filing false federal income tax returns. She faces up to six years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Prosecutors said in court documents that Kovacs, who earned $89,000 annually at the Karoly firm, also received bonus checks for holidays and for work done on several high-profile cases. She received a $30,000 bonus in November 2004 for her work on a case in…

New York Business Law
April 1, 2010 is the Filing Date for 2011 H-1B Visa Applications #Immigration

Fred Abramson

5 Feb 2010 | 12:53 pm

On April 1, 2010 The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will accept new H-1B visa applications for Fiscal Year 2011 (for work which starts on October 1, 2010). Now is the time to review your files to see whether you are in need of any H-1B visas for your workers. You should be on the lookout for any interns from colleges working for you or anyone else who has a J-1, E-1, E-2 or O-1, to H-1B visa. Be aware that the paperwork to file H-1B visa preparation is more lengthy than ever. This is because the Department of Labor is requiring a Federal Tax ID verification…
Facebook’s Law Department is Ready to Brawl over Requests for Information from a User’s Facebook Account

Fred Abramson

2 Feb 2010 | 12:34 pm

Image via CrunchBase Nearly everyday, civil litigators like myself and law enforcement officials request information from Facebook regarding user information. Facebook has been very difficult in responding to such requests. I have been trying to obtain records from Facebook for my client whose child has been a victim of cyber bullying. According to Law.com, the Deputy General Counsel of Facebook, Mark Howitson told lawyers at the Legal Tech Conference in New York today that they are ready to fight those requests. I certainly hope that Mr. Howiston doesn’t have any children. The…
Another Wrongful Death Lawsuit filed against Toyota due to Sudden Acceleration Problems

Fred Abramson

2 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am

Image via Wikipedia The Wall Street Journal reports that another wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Toyota claiming sudden acceleration as the cause. A young mother of two children died when her Toyota Corolla sped through a stop sign in Houston and crashed into a wall. As a result of the crash, the mothers husband, Michael Harris, filed a against Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., gas pedal maker CTS Corp. and the company that leased the vehicle. It is likely that this is the third such case filed in response to acceleration problems on Toyota vehicles. Toyota issued a voluntary…
What we can Learn from Startup Culture in China and Government Stability.

Fred Abramson

1 Feb 2010 | 4:50 am

Calvin Chin, an American entrepreneur in China, wrote an insightful guest post in Techcrunch about startup culture in China. He recently attended the World Economic Summit in Davos, so you know that he has his ear to the ground on what’s going on in the largest country in the world. Calvin Chin believes that the Chinese government has placed a premium on stability with the goal of lifting millions out of poverty at the expense of freedom of information. This emphasis on stability, with power in the hands of the few, allows for big decisions to made quickly and without opposition.
6 New Tax Laws for 2010 that your Small Business Must be Aware of

Fred Abramson

28 Jan 2010 | 10:26 am

Image via Wikipedia 2010 tax year brings several changes to business tax law. I know, the thought of taxes isn’t a pleasant topic to think about, unless you are an accountant. However, a look now at the tax position of your company can help you assess how your business can benefit and comply with the amendments to the tax code. Listed below are 6 amendments to the 2010 tax code that could have an impact on your small business. This list is subject to change, especially since President Obama outlined in his State of the Union address that there will be more aid for small businesses.

Construction Law Musings
Reflections on a Great AGC Weekend

Christopher G. Hill

8 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of going to Hot Springs, VA for the AGC of Virginia’s annual conference. The days were cold, but the company (my wife) and the friends were great. As always, it was a blast. I got to catch up with friends in the Virginia construction industry from across the state. Just from a networking perspective, the “face time” that I get from these events is amazing. I always return with at least a couple of new contacts that inevitably grow into friends. This year’s gathering was a bit more intimate, down about 200 people from 2009. While this may be…
UCC Article 9- A “New” Collection Tool?

Christopher G. Hill

5 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

Originally posted 2009-07-10 09:23:00. For this week’s Guest Post Friday, Musings is honored to have Doug Reiser. Doug is a construction attorney licensed in Louisiana and Washington, focusing the majority of his efforts on the contracting and management phases of the construction process. Recently being named a LEED AP, Doug hopes to grow with the blossoming green building industry. He works with at the boutique construction firm Wolfe Law Group, LLC as a member and the director of the Seattle, WA office. Doug is a contributor to the blogs Construction Law Monitor, LA Green Law, and…
Building Green: What it Means for Your Business

Christopher G. Hill

5 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

For this week’s Guest Post Friday, Musings welcomes Kevin Kaiser. Kevin is the online marketing director for Surety Bonds.com a leading online surety company. He specializes in educating current and prospective business owners about local surety requirements. He helps contribute to the Surety Bond Education Center and the Surety Bond InsiderTo keep up with surety bond trends, follow Kevin and his cohorts on twitter. D.C. officials are considering changes to a promising-yet-controversial green building law that has raised the ire of the surety industry. The landmark 2006 Green…
Watch this Space for More Construction Tips

Christopher G. Hill

2 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

Originally posted 2008-12-11 15:09:00. Just wanted to let all of my friends know that this blog is here and let them know that I have gotten buried in a construction case in the Eastern District of Virginia “Rocket Docket” and may not post for a while (meaning a week or so). I still will be feeding documents and the occasional link. Once I am out from under this case, I will be posting more practical and hopefully helpful construction contract, lien and safety tips. In the meantime, please check out my JDSupra feed and profile (the feed on the left does not catch all my older…
DurretteBradshaw PLC Is Moving to New Digs

Christopher G. Hill

2 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

I just want to let you know that my firm, DurretteBradshaw PLC will be moving to a new location beginning February 5, 2010. The new address will be Bank of America Center 1111 East Main Street, 16th Floor Richmond, VA 23219 All other e-mail, phone and fax information will remain the same. As far as Musings is concerned, I will continue with my postings and hope to continue the great interaction with all of you. As always, I welcome your comments. Also, please subscribe to keep up with this and other Construction Law Musings. Related Musings:DurretteBradshaw Adds Two…

New York Driving Law
Driving with a Dummy (Again)

[caption id="attachment_74" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mannequin is speachless"][/caption] A New York driver was pulled over for driving in a car pool lane with a dummy for a passenger. Her excuse to the officer was that "everybody does it". What always amazes me when I read these stories is the lengths that some ...
Changes in Teen Drivers License Law

Effective February 22, 2010, New York will make the following changes to its drivers license laws that will apply to teenage drivers. First, teen drivers will be required to increase the practice time behind the wheel from 20 hours to 50 hours which must include 15 hours of practice after ...
Female New York State Trooper Killed in Accident

Sad news out of Morris, New York in Otsego County where 31 year old Trooper Jill Mattice was killed in a collision with a tractor-trailer. She was a six year veteran assigned to the Oneonta barracks. My thoughts and prayers to her family and collegues. Reportedly, she was the first ...
Thirteen Minute Pursuit, 110 mph, and 56 tickets.

This may be a new upstate New York record. A man from Greece, NY led local law enforcement on a thirteen minute chase where his vehicle was clocked at 110 mph in a residential area. Following his arrest, he was cited for 56 traffic violations. Needless to say, he may not be ...
William J. Shramek, Esq. Opens Second Law Office in Southern Tier

As many of my readers know, I have opened a second office in the Binghamton/Southern Tier area of New York. Below is a list of town courts I will be appearing in on a regular basis. Most of my cases in this area are generated from high volume traffic on the ...

Class Action Fairness Act Blog
CAFA Has No Retroactive Effect: Colorado District Court Says It Has No Original Jurisdiction Under CAFA If Post CAFA Amendment Bringing New Class Claims Relate Back To Pre CAFA Action

9 Feb 2010 | 4:30 am

In re Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co. Overtime Pay Litig., 638 F. Supp. 2d 1290 (D. Col. 2009). In this consolidated action, the Colorado District Court dismissed without prejudice the Rule 23 state law class action claims asserted in the amended complaint filed post CAFA ruling that it related back to the original complaint filed pre CAFA, therefore, the commencement date of the state claims was the date of filing of the original complaint notwithstanding the amendments. In doing so, the Court reiterated that it could not exercise original jurisdiction on the action “commenced” prior to…
CAFA Is Not Applicable To A Previously Filed Suit, Even If Class Certification Is Sought Or Claims Revived For Deceased Plaintiffs After Its Commencement, Says Fifth Circuit

8 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

Admiral Ins. Co. v. Abshire, 574 F.3d 267 (5th Cir. 2009) The U.S. Fifth Circuit recently upheld a district court’s ruling that the plaintiffs did not commence a new suit under CAFA, by seeking class certification in an amended complaint or by reviving claims held by the deceased plaintiffs, in a suit which was filed prior to commencement of CAFA. Seventeen years back and long before the commencement of CAFA, Abshire and other purchasers of life insurance products, sued the State of Louisiana in the state court alleging that the State’s negligent, intentional, and criminal acts…
Laws.Com - Where It's At!

5 Feb 2010 | 11:03 am

Want to network with attorneys around the world, find out what is hot in the legal world, etc., then turn to Laws, a one-stop shop for almost all things law related.
Domicile, Not Residency, Is The Central Question In Determining Citizenship For Diversity Jurisdiction Under CAFA, Says California District Court

4 Feb 2010 | 6:56 am

Beauford v. E.W.H. Group Inc., WL 1808468 (E.D. Cal. Jun. 24, 2009). In this case, the California District Court remanded the action to state court ruling that in absence of diversity of citizenship, it lacked subject matter jurisdiction under CAFA. No surprise there! No diversity, even minimal diversity; no federal court. Denise Beauford sued E.W.H. Group, who operated a car dealership known as "Bakerfield Mitsubishi," in California state court asserting breach of sales contract claims on behalf of herself and all buyers of E.W.H. Group who had received similar…
Once There's CAFA, There's Always CAFA: Seventh Circuit Says Jurisdiction Not Ousted By Lack of Class Certification

3 Feb 2010 | 9:24 am

Cunningham Charter Corp. v. Learjet, Inc., __ F.3d __, 2010 WL 199627 (7th Cir. Jan. 22, 2010) We are honored again to bring you another guest column from one of the smartest Chicago lawyers from below the Mason-Dixon line. Our regular, loyal readers know we are referring to none other than Gabriel Crowson, a consumer finance defense attorney of the Howrey firm. Heeeere's, Gabe.... In a case of first impression, the Seventh Circuit recently reversed a district court’s ruling that the denial of class certification eliminated jurisdiction under CAFA. Cunningham…

Collateral
Pretrial Release Debate Now in Virginia

RICHMOND, VA – Across the country and now in Virginia, bondsmen are speaking out against pretrial release programs. Now, The House of Delegates' Courts of Justice Committee has passed a bill which might allow only indigent defendants to qualify for pretrial release programs. In addition, judges are still permitted to ...
Bondsmen Facing Economic Woes

SAN BERNARDINO, CA– Some bondsmen in San Bernardino County are reporting economic stress in the industry. Fewer people have the resources to bail friends and family out of jail. More judges are also permitting cite releases and other solutions for defendants in financial distress, and bondsmen allege that this trend ...
Bondsman-Supervised Electronic Monitoring a First in the County

WYSOX, PA – An armed robbery suspect may get an unusual condition of release: an electronic monitoring system which would also be overseen by a bondsman. Jordon Garrett Brown, accused of armed robbery, is seeking to have his bail reduced from $60 000 to $30 000, but a judge still ...
Fake Bondsmen Apprehended

LEE COUNTY, FL – Ahizer Alvarez was arrested after posing as a bondsman. In addition to illegally impersonating a bondsman, Alvarez has also allegedly threatened legitimate bondsmen in the area with physical harm. The faux bondsman was trying to operate a business, Sunshine Bail Bonds, without being properly licensed and ...
PBT 1st Quarterly Meeting & Basic Continuing Education

The Professional Bondsmen of Texas is holding the 1st Quarterly meeting and offering basic Bail Continuing Education classes at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Austin, Texas. The meeting and courses will be held January 28-30th, 2010. For more information visit the PBT website

Lowering the Bar
Common Sense Should Have Prevailed, Say Cops Who Arrested 12-Year-Old Doodler

Kevin

9 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

Based on what we've seen so far," said Queens Education Department spokesman David Cantor, "this shouldn't have happened." He seemed to be leaving open the possibility that, when all the facts were in, he might take the position that leading a 12-year-old girl away in handcuffs for doodling on her desk at school had in fact been the right thing to do. On February 1, junior-high student Alexa Gonzalez wrote two sentences on her desk in erasable green marker, adding a smiley face, presumably to indicate a lotal lack of remorse for her heinous crime. Her teacher called the principal, the…
Men at Work Didn't Do All Their Own Work, Judge Rules

Kevin

7 Feb 2010 | 6:43 pm

An Australian judge has ruled that the group Men at Work plagiarized the flute riff in the song "Down Under" from a children's song written in 1932. The ruling means that the Men will have to pay royalties, although the amount has not been set and will apparently depend on the judge's evaluation of the role that the plagiarized material plays in the completed work. Larrikin Publishing has owned the rights to "Kookaburra Sits In the Old Gum Tree" since 1990, but apparently did not make the connection to "Down Under" until 2007, and then only because it came up on a game show. The company…
Demon Sheep Still Focus of California GOP Primary

Kevin

5 Feb 2010 | 9:24 am

Faced with what is shaping up to be a marketing disaster of legendary proportions, the Fiorina campaign is furiously spinning the Demon Sheep ad as something that was deliberately planned to attract as much attention as possible. It has certainly done that. So does setting yourself on fire, but you know what? Not all publicity is good publicity. "[T]he Democrats are all out there attacking the video," a Fiorina spokesperson told the L.A. Times, "which is both predictable and fine by us since the more people talk about it, the more people watch it, which of course is the whole point." …
Rat Planter Pleads No Contest to Extortion Charges

Kevin

5 Feb 2010 | 8:30 am

Debbie Miller pleaded no contest on Tuesday to charges stemming from a failed attempt to extort money from a Wisconsin restaurant by planting a dead rat in her lunch. The report did not say what kind of lunch Miller had, so it is not clear exactly how this genius-level scheme was designed to play out, but apparently she just plopped an entire rat into her lunch and then demanded $500,000 in compensation, saying that otherwise she would alert the media. How could such a plan have failed, you ask? The restaurant's owners kept the rat and turned it over to insurance investigators for…
Campaign Ads That May Never Be Topped, Although I Hope People Continue to Try

Kevin

4 Feb 2010 | 1:03 pm

The Huffington Post (among others) has been reporting lately on the fact that the off-year election season is in full swing and it appears that it will be perhaps the most ridiculous one yet. I know that's saying a lot. But the campaign ads so far are supporting that prediction. The first of this truly remarkable pair is an attack ad being run by the challenger in the race to be the next coroner of Orleans Parish, Louisiana. (Yes, there is a race to be the next coroner of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, and yes, coroner candidates now run attack ads.) The ad refers to a scandal in the 1990s…

Ohio Family Law Blog
They Fight For America and Upon Return Must Fight For Their Children…

Anne Shale

6 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

Recent articles and news programs have focused upon active duty military members who have returned from overseas tours of duty (often in the Middle East) to find themselves engaged and involved in “custody battles” with former spouses who are arguing it would be in the “best interests” of the minor child/children to remain with the parent who has provided care and custody during the year(s) the military parent was deployed overseas. Michael R. Turner, R-Ohio, a member of the House of Representatives, has been trying for the past three to four years to pass an amendment…
Your Divorce Marathon

Guest Contributor Donna F. Ferber, LPC, LADC

30 Jan 2010 | 3:00 am

Getting tired of all this? No one goes into a divorce adequately prepared to deal with all the changes and stresses. As active, high-functioning men and women, we want to do the best we can in the least amount of time. However, divorce is a process, not a single event, and it can be a long process. Even if the legal divorce takes only a few months, the fall-out (both emotional and financial) can continue for many years. To prevent your divorce from becoming overwhelming, recognize that you cannot rush it. The legal system works at its own pace. It requires patience and energy. The emotional…
Here Comes the Judge: A Little Insight for Your Child Custody and Divorce Case

Robert L. Mues

23 Jan 2010 | 3:00 am

Michael Mastracci, an attorney from Baltimore, Maryland, publishes one of my favorite blogs, “Divorce Without Dishonor.” He is a huge proponent of utilizing the collaborative law model in divorce and custody matters whenever possible. He recently posted an excellent piece, with which I agree, well worth sharing. I have added a few of my own thoughts at the end. When I was in law school one of the adjunct professors was a circuit court judge with years of experience presiding over cases involving dueling parents arguing about virtually every aspect of their children’s lives.
Fathers are Indeed Important!

Robert L. Mues

16 Jan 2010 | 3:00 am

A large body of research overwhelmingly suggests children do best when they have both a mother and a father involved in their lives. Specifically, children whose fathers participate in raising them do better in school, are less likely to get into trouble with the law, and are more likely to be better parents themselves. While more fathers are being awarded legal custody of their children, the statistics seem to indicate that the majority (between 75 and 85 percent) are awarded to mothers. Today, nearly 20 million children live in a home without a father (2002 U.S. Bureau of the Census).
Ask Yourself, Who Really Needs Help in Your Family?

Guest Contributor Gregory Ramey, PhD, Child Psychologist and Dayton Daily News Columnist

9 Jan 2010 | 3:00 am

In spite of his mom’s death from breast cancer two years ago, 14-year-old Damian appeared to be doing well. He was experiencing typical adolescent issues with independence and responsibility, but seemed to be working those out with his dad. Damian was starting to think about college, motivated by a desire to “always make my mom proud of me.” I was a bit taken aback when I shared my impressions with his dad. He became very quiet and simply said, “our family is not right. We need help.” I finally realized that I was focusing on the wrong client. I stopped talking…

AttorneySync Lawyer Marketing Blog
A Wordpress Plugin For Your Law Firm Blog: All In One SEO Pack

AttorneySync

9 Feb 2010 | 6:59 am

From time to time we like to share some of our favorite Wordpress plugins. One of our, and over 4,ooo,ooo others favorites’, is the All In One SEO Pack. In a nutshell, the All In One SEO Pack plugin gives you more control of the on-page SEO components of your wordpress blog. Here are some of the features listed on the website: Advanced Canonical URLs Fine tune Page Navigational Links Built-in API so other plugins/themes can access and extend functionality ONLY plugin to provide SEO Integration for WP e-Commerce sites Nonce Security Support for CMS-style WordPress installations…
What Can Content Do For You?

Jeff Berman

8 Feb 2010 | 3:22 pm

Frequently Adding Content Is Crucial I wrote a post recently highlighting the benefits of blogging for your firm. We hear “the experts” tell us all the time that we need a blog. I know plenty of lawyers that have set one up. They blog for awhile, get too busy, and before they know it, the blog hasn’t been updated in 4 months. Actively Blogging Is The Key So what can creating new content, ie: active blogging, do for you? Here is a convincing study from HubSpot: A study of 2,168 HubSpot customers shows that businesses that published at least 5 blog articles in the last 7 days…
AttorneySync’s Most Read (2-1-10 to 2-7-10)

AttorneySync

8 Feb 2010 | 10:15 am

In case you missed them, here are some of our most viewed posts from last week: New From LinkedIn Craigslist For Your Law Firm Your Law Firm Should Be Like McDonalds Top 10 Business Books Lawyers Should Read A Good Looking Law Firm Website Visitors who read this post also read:Most Read At AttorneySync (1-17-10 to 1-23-10) Craigslist For Your Law Firm? AttorneySync Best Of 2009
The Unpopular Position

AttorneySync

5 Feb 2010 | 1:29 pm

I have an opinion. It’s controversial. It’s definitely the minority position. It will undoubtedly subject me to ridicule amongst my peers. And it may even cost me some business. Nevertheless, I can’t shake myself from it. No matter how much I read what “the experts” have to say, I keep reaching the same conclusion: Your law firm website and blog should be used to get business from search engines. Yes, that just happened. Deal with it. It seems to me that everywhere I surf, there is yet another expert talking about using their blog to build relationships, grow…
Craigslist For Your Law Firm?

AttorneySync

4 Feb 2010 | 9:35 am

Recently, more and more lawyers have been telling us that they have been seeing great results with their craigslist advertising. While craigslist posts are free, are they worth the effort in setting up a full craigslist ad campaign? As it turns out, for a lot of law firms, posting on craigslist is well-worth the time. As with any other advertising, it is important that your craigslist ads comply with your state’s rules on attorney advertisements. At the risk of stating the obvious, don’t post listings for adult secretarial services. Are you using craigslist for your law firm?

3 Geeks and a Law Blog
When the Court Jester Becomes King

9 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

The Financial Times reported at the end of January that "Evan Williams, the chief executive and co-founder of Twitter, which has been credited with helping anti-government protesters in Iran to organise resistance, said software developers were working on 'interesting hacks' to stop any blocking by foreign governments."Is it just me or did this bother anyone else?To me, there just seems to be something intrinsically wrong with a company essentially declaring war against a country. Basically, Evan is saying he and all of Twitterdom were going to flame China.Let me say this again: Twitter is…
Must Have iPad Accessories

8 Feb 2010 | 4:04 am

I have been thinking about the new iPad.Call me crazy, but I think it looks like a huge Etch-A-Sketch. I just want to shake it to see if it will clear the screen. Add two big round button in each of the bottom corners so I can scroll over the page. Is there an app for that?Plus, aren't you guys worried about that screen? Don't you think it is going to get scratched up? And it is kind of big for when you are running down the runway to make that plane, juggling your iPad, your iPhone, your iPod and your one bag of luggage.So you are just begging for a murse.You do know what a murse is, right?
Toyota 'Diggs' Its Vehicle Recall

8 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

Last year, I took the government's money and traded in my old minivan for a nice new 2010 Toyota Prius. When all of the Toyota recall issues hit the news, I breathed a sigh of relief when I read that the recall for floormats, and then gas peddles did not include my Prius. But it didn't take long for me to start seeing things pop up on Twitter about the 'Woz' having cruise control issues (and feeling slightly proud that the Woz got clocked doing 105 in his 2010 Prius -- yes, they can go that fast.) Then the big news that a recall of the 2010 Prius was probably coming due to a braking issue.
Is Android the New Mac?

5 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

After years of listening to my friends tell me why they "looooovvveee" their Macs, and how it is "sooooo" much easier to use than a PC, and that I'm an idiot (not a Mac/PC issue apparently), I think I'm finally feeling some empathy for them. Not because I'm going to rush out after 20 years of using a PC, but because I went out traded in my old Windows Mobile 6.0 phone (BlackJack I on AT&T) and bought an Android phone (Samsung Moment on Sprint). All of those times I had to listen to "when are they going to port that to Mac?" or "but my Mac can run that 50 times faster than your PC!"…
Loss Leader Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means

4 Feb 2010 | 4:31 am

Jim Hassett’s post on Keys to New Business finally put me over the top on the whole Loss Leader thing (Jim was actually quoting a lawyer – so these were not his words). In my AFA role I have seen numerous examples of low-ball bids from law firms desperate to get the work in the door. These deals are consistently referred to in the market as Loss Leaders. What is a Loss Leader? Originally this term applied to advertising items at a price below the actual cost (thus the loss) to ‘lead’ customers into the store and sell them other products. One example of this is the car advertised with…

Canadian Business Law Blog
Ontario Small Claims Court Limit Raised to $25,000

Shane McLean

13 Jan 2010 | 10:15 am

Effective as of January 1, 2010, the upper limit on claims brought before the Ontario Small Claims Court was raised from $10,000 to $25,000. This change will almost certainly increase the overall number of claims that are brought in the $10,000 to $25,000 range. Prior to this change it was not unusual for plaintiffs with claims in that range to give up the amount over $10,000 in order to bring their claim into the jurisdiction of the Ontario Small Claims Court with its lower costs and quicker timelines. Of interest to Ontario based businesses, I expect to see a larger number of vendor…
A case to watch for lawyers who serve on boards

Shane McLean

6 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am

The Law Times has a good article (here) about a recently certified Canadian class action suit which has, as a side issue, the question of whether a law firm can be responsible for the director related liabilities of a member of the firm who serves on the board of directors of a client. The outcome of this case will be important to watch for Canadian lawyers who serve or would consider serving on the board of directors of their clients and may make it prudent for firms to review their policy re: firm partners and associates accepting board positions with clients.
Looking back at the CBLB in 2009

Shane McLean

31 Dec 2009 | 8:00 am

Here is a list of the top 10 most viewed posts on the Canadian Business Law Blog in 2009 (its inaugural year). Thanks to all of those who have stopped by during the year. The interest so far has exceeded the expectations I had as I sat to write the very first post about 8 months ago. I hope that 2010 will be an even stronger year. If anyone has any Canadian business law topics they would like to see covered here in 2010, please feel free to make suggestions by e-mailing me or by posting a comment below. 1. What is the Capital Pool Company Program? — originally…
LaBarge Weinstein Fall 2009 Quarterly

Shane McLean

22 Dec 2009 | 1:19 pm

See below for LaBarge Weinstein’s quarterly newsletter published this week: LaBarge Weinstein Fall 2009 Quarterly Just in time for the holidays, as our long, gentle fall turns the December corner, even the grimmest winter-curmudgeons among us can’t but feel the public/private financing markets heating up their engines in the driveway for what we all think will truly be a breakout 2010. Our evidence of the recession’s Chinook from the firm’s recent dealflow? On the private side, Bridgescale’s permafrost-breaking investment in Bluecat Networks, Celtic House’s investment in Peraso…
MaRS Launches Entrepreneurs Toolkit

Shane McLean

7 Dec 2009 | 10:00 am

MaRS has recently launched a great new website which includes a section called the Entrepreneurs Toolkit. It’s a collection of articles, videos and other tools all aimed at educating and helping entrepreneurs understand the practical and legal aspects of startup life. At launch the Toolkit boasts 10 workbooks, over 250 articles and over 150 videos live on the site. The site even includes form documents and agreements that you can download and edit for your own use. I was lucky enough to be able to assist and contribute to a number of the articles you will find on the MaRS…

The High-touch Legal Services Blog
Can I Abandon a Copyright?

Dana

8 Feb 2010 | 7:01 pm

Copyright protects works of authorship and, in the U.S., subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form (see Copyright Protection in One Easy Lesson). In certain circles, however, there is fervent opposition to copyright (see the Wikipedia entry for Anti-copyright). Suppose that an anti-copyright author wants to abandon the copyrights in his works. [...]
SVASE East Bay Series Feb. 10: Raising the First Round

Dana

5 Feb 2010 | 7:33 pm

On the evening of Wednesday, February 10, 2010, the Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs’ East Bay Series will present Raising the First Round at the beautiful Crow Canyon Country Club (delicious buffet dinner included!). Description: Whether it comes from VCs, angels, or friends and family, that first round of funding often is the toughest one [...]
WSJ: Asset-Based Lending on the Rise

Dana

3 Feb 2010 | 11:07 am

In an article yesterday (Asset-Based Lending Grows in Popularity), the Wall Street Journal reported that asset-based lending – loans secured by the borrower’s assets as collateral – surged during 2008 and 2009 The reason: Businesses that lack the credit rating, track record, or patience to seek traditional sources of capital can get loans by pledging their [...]
Copyright: If You’re Going to Register, Register Right Away

Dana

2 Feb 2010 | 11:09 am

Several months ago (Copyright Registration: Whether, When and Why), I wrote about the benefits of registering a copyright. A recent case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Dongxiao Yue, et al., v. Chordiant Software, Inc., et al.) shows that if you are going to register a copyright, you should register [...]
How High an Interest Rate Can I Charge?

Dana

1 Feb 2010 | 12:50 pm

I recently had a conversation with an attorney in Louisiana, who mentioned that in that state, the annual interest rate on a promissory note was limited to 12%. I told him that in California story is much different. Article 15 (Usury) of the California Constitution states (simplifying a bit) that the annual interest rate on [...]

ITC 337 Law Blog
Update Regarding Certain Liquid Crystal Display Modules (337-TA-702)

Eric Schweibenz

5 Feb 2010 | 7:34 am

Further to our February 3 post, Chief ALJ Paul J. Luckern issued a notice assigning ALJ Theodore R. Essex as the presiding Administrative Law Judge in Certain Liquid Crystal Display Modules and Products Containing the Same, and Methods for Making the Same (Inv. No. 337-TA-702).
ITC Institutes Investigation (337-TA-702) Regarding Certain Liquid Crystal Display Modules

Eric Schweibenz

3 Feb 2010 | 4:56 pm

On February 3, 2010, the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a Notice of Investigation regarding institution of Certain Liquid Crystal Display Modules and Products Containing the Same, and Methods for Making the Same (Inv. No. 337-TA-702). The investigation is based on a January 8, 2010 complaint filed by Sharp Corporation of Japan alleging violation of Section 337 in the importation into the U.S. and sale of certain liquid crystal display (“LCD”) modules and products containing the same, and methods for making the same which allegedly infringe certain claims of U.S. Patent Nos.
ALJ Charneski Permits Filing Of Supplemental Expert Report In Certain Digital Televisions (337-TA-617)

Eric Schweibenz

2 Feb 2010 | 4:10 pm

On February 1, 2010, ALJ Carl C. Charneski issued Order No. 23 in Certain Digital Televisions and Certain Products Containing Same and Methods of Using Same (Inv. No. 337-TA-617) granting Complainants Funai Electric Co., Ltd. and Funai Corporation, Inc.’s (collectively, “Funai”) motion to file a supplemental expert report of V. Michael Bove, Jr. The Order simultaneously denied a motion by Respondents Vizio, Inc., AmTran Technology Co., Ltd., Suzhou Raken Technology, Ltd., TPV Technology, Ltd., TPV International (USA), Inc., Top Victory Electronics (Taiwan) Co., Ltd., Envision…
ALJ Bullock Denies Motion For Leave To File Supplemental Submission Regarding Claim Construction In Certain Flash Memory Chips (337-TA-664)

Eric Schweibenz

2 Feb 2010 | 4:05 pm

On January 29, 2010, ALJ Charles E. Bullock issued the public version of Order No. 28 (dated January 8, 2010) in Certain Flash Memory Chips and Products Containing the Same (Inv. No. 337-TA-664). According to the Order, Respondents Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung International, Inc., Samsung Semiconductor, Inc., and Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC (collectively, “Samsung”) moved for leave to file a supplemental submission in support of their claim constructions regarding one of the patents-in-suit, the ‘877 patent. Complainants…
ALJ Charneski Issues Public Version Of Initial Determination In Certain Semiconductor Integration Circuits Using Tungsten Metallization (337-TA-648)

Barry Herman

2 Feb 2010 | 9:36 am

On January 29, 2010, ALJ Carl C. Charneski issued the public version of the Initial Determination (dated September 21, 2009) in Certain Semiconductor Integration Circuits Using Tungsten Metallization and Products Containing Same (Inv. No. 337-TA-648). By way of background, the Complainants in this investigation are LSI Corporation and Agere Systems Inc. (collectively, “Complainants”) and the Respondents are Tower Semiconductor, Ltd. (“Tower”), Jazz Semiconductor (“Jazz”), Qimonda AG, Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (“Powerchip”), Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing…

Al Nye The Lawyer Guy
Saints March On

Al Nye

8 Feb 2010 | 6:14 am

Not only did the sentimental favorite won the Super Bowl, they did it in style! Right up until the final quarter there was the sense that Peyton Manning could lead the Colts back from the brink. But the final score of 31–17 belies the interception in the 4th quarter by Tracy Porter and his 74–yard run to the endzone. Who Dat — Payton? Nope. Dat Brees!
Second Crash Results in Death

Al Nye

4 Feb 2010 | 12:05 pm

The Portland Press Herald has an article about a woman from Auburn who was in a hit-and-run automobile crash, fled the scene, and 15 minutes later was in another car accident that killed her. It’s a tragedy, no doubt. But you have to appreciate the comments to the article: Submitted by RADIO HEAD — Thank goodness no one was hurt. ———————— Submitted by Andrea Sawyer — Uh, someone was.
Update On New Year's Resolution

Al Nye

1 Feb 2010 | 7:02 am

I wrote here about my New Year’s Resolution to run outside all this winter. I haven’t run outside during the winter in more years than I can remember. As I mentioned in that post, I’ve had problems running consistently for years due to arthroscopic surgery on both knees. But with my change in running style (due to reading “Born To Run”), I’ve been running pain free — at least as far as my knees go. Everything else hurts: feet, ankles, heels, calfs, back, etc. — but my knees are fine thank you very much. So how am I doing? In January, I ran 104…
Tough Guy On A Motorcycle

Al Nye

1 Feb 2010 | 5:18 am

It was 19 degrees out this morning when I came into work. Across from my office are some motorcycle spaces set aside by the city in order to promote the use of bikes, scooters, mopeds and motorcycles. This morning, there is a motorcyle parked over there. I’ve seen in a few times over the last month — some tough son of a gun is riding to work on his motorcycle in 19 degree weather. Whoever you are, my hat’s off to you!
What Is Wrong With The Boston Celtics?

Al Nye

1 Feb 2010 | 4:50 am

Last year, Kevin Garnett was hurt. That was the excuse. That was why the Celtics didn’t have the depth to go anywhere in the post season. That was what all the fans agreed was the problem. “Just wait until KG is healthy next year,” they said. Well, next year is here. And the men in Green still aren’t getting it done. They’ve been in a month long slide and have lost three in a row, and won only three of their last ten games. Kevin Garnett is back and the Celtics are relatively healthy, so what’s wrong? Answer: they’re not winning.

Gamso - For the Defense
Deuteronomy Trumps the Sixth Amendment

4 Feb 2010 | 5:39 pm

I'd do exhaustive research, write a powerful legal argument, and then watch no one pay it any heed. The problem with this lawyerly approach is that nobody cares about rules or principles when they're dealing with a murderer. The lawyer says that the Constitution was violated every which way, and the judge says, Yeah, but your client killed somebody, right? For all our so-called progress, the tribal vengefulness that we think of as limited to backward African countries is still how our legal system works. Deuteronomy trumps the Sixth Amendment every time. Prosecutors and judges kowtow to…
They'd Rather Have Closure

2 Feb 2010 | 7:11 am

The title of this post is part of what special prosecutor Raymond Fuchs said in explaining why the family of Louella Hilton went along with it. "It," in this case, is a life sentence with the possibility (although surely not the likelihood) of parole for Gabriel Gonzales in Bexar County, Texas.Some 13 years ago, Gonzales was sentenced to die for killing Hilton. As Craig Kapitan in the San Antonio Express-News tells it:Gonzales was a 20-year-old member of the Crips gang who was known as “Capone” when he and four others were alleged to have stormed into Louella Hilton's Austin Highway store…
Dissing the First Amendment

31 Jan 2010 | 6:33 pm

I was going to write about Tennessee State Senator Tim Burchett (R. Knoxville) and his plan to make it a felony for a criminal defense lawyer to dis a crime victim.* As reported by Cara Kumari of WSM-TV in Nashville,While lawyers have called this bill unconstitutional, Burchett said it is the right thing to do."If I was member of the legal community, I would quit wrapping myself up in the Constitution and start thinking about what's right," said Burchett.There goes that pesky Constitution thing again. Always getting in the way. Fortunately, Kumari explains to the people of the Volunteer State…
I've Looked at Trials from Both Sides Now

30 Jan 2010 | 7:26 am

In a college philosophy course, I once wrote a paper called something like "The Categorical Imperative meets the Teleological Suspension of the Ethical." The idea is that sometimes absolutes conflict. My resolution, as I recall (this was decades ago) was built around Coleridge's recognition that some literature requires and evokes a "willing suspension of disbelief."* All of this is by way of introduction to a knotty problem in Constitutional Law working its way out, at the moment, in the Ohio courts. I should add that, as the title of this post suggests, I have been, professionally, on both…
Tri-State Roundup

29 Jan 2010 | 5:57 pm

KANSASThe Judiciary Committee of the Kansas Senate voted 7-4 to send a death penalty repeal bill to the floor for consideration by the full senate. If enacted (reportssay that's unlikely), the bill would change the law effective July 1 so that what are now crimes punishable by death would, instead, be punished by life without the possibility of parole. Of the seven who voted to send the bill to the Senate floor, five are Republicans and two are Democrats. That's the sort of alignment you won't be seeing in Washington on anything much.According to Prime Buzz, a blog from the Kansas City Star,…

Virtual Marketing Officer
Got an APP-etite for Consumer Advertising Law? Arnold & Porter DELIVERS!

virtualmarketingofficer

25 Jan 2010 | 6:19 am

Now you can pick up your iPhone or Kindle and place that order… The highly regarded Consumer Advertising Law Blog created by Arnold & Porter’s multi-disciplinary Consumer Protection & Advertising Practice Group is now available as an application for your iPhone or a download for your Kindle. When I spoke with Neil Rosenbaum, New Business Opportunities Manager [...]
How Law Firm Marketing Teams are Working the Social Web: Another #MPF Recap

virtualmarketingofficer

21 Jan 2010 | 3:46 am

“What blogs do you read?” That’s what CMO Melanie Green of Baker Daniels in Indianapolis, Indiana (Go Colts!) asks an attorney before approving their request to blog. Melanie was a panelist on the break out session, “Success on the Social Web,” at the 17th Annual Marketing Partner Forum, Hildebrandt Institute and West EdCenter. “If you are not [...]
How General Counsel Evaluates and Hires Law Firms: Marketing Partner Forum Recap

virtualmarketingofficer

17 Jan 2010 | 2:19 pm

The joint 2009 price tag on outside legal services for three large corporations is enough to run a small country—Office Depot: 12 million (excluding an SEC action); Wal-Mart: 315 million; BJ’s Wholesale Club: 9 million—and these numbers represent significant revenue for the hundreds of law firms that serve them. No surprise that the general counsel [...]
Stay Tuned…Marketing Partners Forum (#MPF)

virtualmarketingofficer

13 Jan 2010 | 6:08 am

Just a quick note before I leave Miami this morning and take the long trip north to Palm Beach Florida for the Marketing Partner’s Forum. I’ll be covering the event here on the VMO and on Twitter #MPF. I hope you’ll subscribe to VMO via email, grab the feed, or follow #MPF on Twitter—@melaniegreen (Baker [...]
It’s a BRAND new year: The Anatomy of a Law Firm Brand

virtualmarketingofficer

11 Jan 2010 | 8:54 am

There’s been a curious amount of discussion among law firm marketers, this New Year, about branding. When it comes to launching brand campaigns for law firms, the past two years have been as flat as the world before Magellan. It seemed as if everyone locked down the steering wheel and few boats left the harbor. However, [...]

lawyersandsettlements.com
Yaz, Yasmin Russian Roulette?

LucyC

8 Feb 2010 | 2:15 pm

No matter how frequently or strongly Bayer Healthcare Corp declares their oral contraceptives Yaz and Yasmin to be safe and effective—as long as they’re used according to the product labeling—it’s not preventing women from filing lawsuits against the pharmaceutical giant. I read a news report recently that stated some 50 women in Indianapolis have filed Yaz/Yasmin [...]
If your Breast’s on Reglan, is your Baby on Reglan?

AbiK

8 Feb 2010 | 11:13 am

There are women who breastfeed, and there are women who don’t. I’m not going into pro’s and con’s here (or a debate on breastfeeding 4 year olds, or public displays of breasts)—but suffice to say, if you’ve been pregnant, you have undoubtedly found yourself signed up for two things associated with the letter “L”: Lamaze [...]
Open Letter to Guinea Pig Victims of the World

Hunter West

8 Feb 2010 | 8:07 am

Are you tired of living alone, even though you are classed as a “social” pig? And do you feel for your goldfish friend, which is suffering mistreatment by having four open sides in his / her / their aquarium, when it is obvious that they need shelter and such shelter is being denied? If so, Bunky, [...]
Week Adjourned: 2.5.10

LucyC

5 Feb 2010 | 2:55 pm

Top Class Actions Toyota: “Moving Forward” Alright. This week is really the week of the Toyota class action. I have to be honest—I’ve lost count as to the number of lawsuits that have been filed, but I did see a report today that put the number at 29, and counting. That may just be some kind [...]
“This Statement has not been Evaluated by the FDA”

Kristine B

5 Feb 2010 | 1:02 pm

And until something changes, it ain’t gonna be. This week, a study was released suggesting that the combination of herbal remedies and heart medications can be dangerous for patients. According to the study, patients who use popular herbal remedies—including ginko biloba, St. John’s wort and Echinacea—along with heart medications are at an increased risk of serious heart [...]

Florida Rules Decisions
Chemrock Corporation v. Tampa Electric Company d/b/a TECO Peoples Gas Company (Fla. 1st DCA Nov. 17, 2009)

Brian Willis

23 Jan 2010 | 8:05 am

Excellent post by Palm Beach Attorney Christopher Hopkins about a conflict that has developed between the 1st DCA and the 2nd and 3rd DCAs with regard to the interpretation of Rule 1.420(e), Fla. R. Civ. Pro. - Failure to Prosecute:In 2007-2008, the Second and Third Districts held that any filing during the sixty day grace period is sufficient. The First District, in Chemrock Corporation v. Tampa Electric Company d/b/a TECO Peoples Gas Company, holds otherwise (Hawkes, Clark and Wetherell).In Chemrock, the plaintiff was inactive for 10 months, was served with notice, and…
Wells Fargo Bank v. Conaway, No. 09-000145 (Fla. 6th Cir. Jan. 11, 2010)

Brian Willis

21 Jan 2010 | 7:05 pm

In another mortgage foreclosure case, which was successfully argued by your author, the Bank obtained final summary judgment without notifying the defendant, or their counsel, of the summary judgment hearing. The defendant filed an emergency motion to set aside final judgment. The court found that the defendant had an inalienable due process right to notice of the summary judgment hearing pursuant to State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. v. Lezcano, 34 Fla. L. Wkly. D2105a (Fla. 2d DCA Oct. 14, 2009) and Greene v. Siegle, 745 So.2d 411 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) and overturned the…
Randy Cohen v. Sonia Aponte, 35 Fla. L. Wkly D137c (Fla. 4th DCA Jan. 6, 2010)

Jason Baruch

16 Jan 2010 | 5:21 pm

In this auto accident case, the defendant moved to dismiss the complaint for insufficient substitute service of process because the affidavit of compliance was not filed on or before the return day of process (20 days after the complaint was filed with the Department of State) as required by Florida’s substitute service of process statute, Section 48.161(1). The appellate court reversed because “[p]erfection of substituted service requires strict compliance with the statutory prerequisites because such service is an exception to personal service.” Randy Cohen v. Sonia…
Toward a More “Convenient” Standard of Review in Cases Involving Forum Non Conveniens Issues

Brian Willis

10 Jan 2010 | 6:53 am

The January 2010 edition of the Florida Bar Journal discusses the forum non conveniens doctrine in an article by attorneys Alina Alonso and David Luck. The article provides an excellent explanation of Rule 1.061(a), Fla. R. Civ. Pro., and how Florida came to adopt the Federal analysis of forum non conveniens issues. As the article explains, Federal Courts have adopted a four prong analysis: 1) At the outset, does an available and adequate alternative forum exist that possesses jurisdiction over the parties and may resolve the dispute? 2) Do the private interests of the…
Hess Corp. v. Denise Grillasca & Kelly Mayzik, 34 Fla. L. Wkly D2629b (Fla. 2d DCA Dec. 23, 2009)

Jason Baruch

5 Jan 2010 | 10:56 am

In this consumer class action case, the trial court certified a class against gas stations for failing to provide notice of a temporary hold on customers’ bank accounts after a debit transaction. The appellate court reversed because, under Rule 1.220(b), there were individualized differences among the members of the putative class. The differences included the fact that some customers 1) received notice of the hold and/or 2) incurred damages in the form of overdraft charges, while others did not. Hess Corp. v. Denise Grillasca & Kelly Mayzik, 34 Fla. L. Wkly D2629b…

New York Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Connecticut Power Plant Explosion has Officials Questioning Workplace Safety

Rafal Perkowski

9 Feb 2010 | 6:30 am

An under-construction Connecticut power plant blew up on Sunday, February 7, 2010, in a huge explosion that killed five workers and shook the ground for miles around. According to the New York Daily News, a normal workday suddenly turned to carnage and death when a gas line exploded without warning at the plant south of Hartford. A dozen workers were hospitalized after the blast at the Kleen
Toyota Prius Recall in the Works

Rafal Perkowski

8 Feb 2010 | 6:39 am

Toyota will soon announce recalls for 300,000 Prius hybrids sold in the United States and Japan. This is the latest embarrassment for the world’s largest car maker after having to recall automobiles for having defective gas pedals. The Prius hybrids are being recalled because of complaints about a faulty brake system. According to the New York Daily News, a voluntary or mandatory recall has not
Lawsuits Against Toyota Coming in Fast

Rafal Perkowski

5 Feb 2010 | 6:48 am

Toyota has found a way to stop the gas pedals on their cars from sticking, but nothing will stop the lawsuits coming from the defective gas pedals. New York automobile accident lawyers think that Toyota is strictly liable for this defect in the accelerator. According to the New York Post, a father from Queens was driving his daughter to college last summer and had to crash his Toyota RAV4 into a
Champs Sports Employee Files Lawsuit

Rafal Perkowski

4 Feb 2010 | 6:44 am

An ex-salesman at Champs Sports in Times Square has filed a lawsuit claiming that he was handcuffed, beaten, and lashed with a belt by sadistic guards in a stockroom. According to the New York Daily News, the court papers filed in Brooklyn say that the ex-salesman was pressured to drop his complaint against the store’s guards. One of the guards was arrested for a 2006 beat down in which the
Distracted Truck Driver Slams into Car and Kills One Person

Rafal Perkowski

3 Feb 2010 | 7:15 am

According to CBS News, a mother of two has tragically died of her injuries after being struck by a truck in New York while the driver of the truck was watching pornographic movies on his laptop. The driver of the truck crashed into her disabled car on the New York State Thruway while distracted. The woman was in her disabled car on the side of the road because she had hit a deer and called for

Chicago Law Blogger
New Post on the Nanny Tax at Grown in My Heart

Just posted here at Grown in My Heart on the so-called "Nanny Tax" talking about the tax aspects of hiring nannies or other household workers. No related posts.
Hell hath no fury like an employee scorned…

I've been meaning to put up a post for a while now about how badly an ex-employee can sting your business...even if you have all the standard non-solicitation and confidentiality provisions with the employee in his or her employment contract. Prime example: Nelson Piquet, Jr., a former Formula 1 race driver. ...
Asset Protection if you hit your head…like Conan O’Brien

Conan O'Brien made news last week when he cracked his melon against the Tonight Show floor. Luckily, he was fine with just a minor concussion. Obviously, Conan didn't set out to slip and fall on his head...but he did. Life happens, including undesirable events. This is ...
Prince Harry and Estate Planning for your Kids

So here's some recent news that, but for the legal angle I'll describe in this post, I wouldn't have given a second thought: Prince Harry turned 25. This is news here, here and here not only because it's Prince Harry, but also because of (as you can read) the ...
Lawyer Money Stuff: Retainer Fees and Fee Agreements

Money. It's the reason a lot of lawyers become lawyers in the first place (because they want a lot of it). We all grew up watching Perry Mason, Matlock or LA Law and thought...those guys make good money, I should do that! But how is it that ...

Forward Movement
In Case You Missed It This Week

5 Feb 2010 | 6:50 am

Have a *great* weekend! Tea Party Convention. (That's funny just by itself, right?) WaPo. Score for EPA and DOJ efforts: $ 1.79 billion settlement for pollution claims. NPR via HuffPo. Legal staff still being cut. AmLaw. Stupid people and the law: naked burgular (alleged) in the chimney. Guardian via RollOnFriday. More of a community in law school than you'd think >> Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas responds to a student question on why he went to law school: "I was lost." TampaBay.com via Althouse. All work is original to the blawg post author, and all copyrights from that blawg post…
BofA settles with the SEC, is however sued by NYAG Cuomo

4 Feb 2010 | 11:09 am

Busy day for BofA. I haven't had the opportunity to read through the 30-some page settlement proposal and 90 page complaint yet, but here's the surface data.The SEC announced today it reached a settlement with BofA as regards both pending suits: failure to properly disclose Merrill bonuses, and separately, failure to properly disclose Merrill 4Q08 losses, to BofA shareholders prior to a proxy vote on the Merrill merger. The settlement submitted to S.D.N.Y. Rakoff for approval includes a $150 million fine and a remediation plan. The $150 million is to be distributed to BofA shareholders on an…
June 29, 2010 – Trial date for SEC v. BofA, Part II

2 Feb 2010 | 1:35 pm

I have to admit that when news hit last month of the SEC's second amended complaint - and then second independent complaint - I was content at the time to read the headlines and news reporting alone. In addition to alleging BofA violated federal securities laws by not properly disclosing the Merrill bonus agreement to BofA shareholders prior to the proxy vote on the merger, the SEC filed new allegations that BofA violated securities laws by not properly disclosing Merrill 4Q08 losses to its shareholders prior to the same vote. The usual remedies are sought: injunction and civil penalty.A…
Introducing Guest Blawger Jason Silberberg

31 Jan 2010 | 7:14 pm

I am happy to write that Jason Silberberg will be guest blawgging on the site for the next month.Jason is a graduate of both NYU, and separately, the George Washington University Law School. He studied in Spain while an undergrad and participated in Moot Court and the Project for Older Prisoners Clinic while in law school. Jason has a wide research and writing background; his accomplishments include: A legal journal document discussing the right to withdraw consent under the Fourth Amendment.A research document and presentation to the English and Dramatic Literature Organization's Annual…
In Case You Missed It This Week

29 Jan 2010 | 6:05 am

Have a *great*GREAT* weekend!!J.D. Salinger has left the building. Reported everywhere, including AmLawDaily. The SEC thinks it's very important investors know how global warming affects the corporations they invest in. WSJ. I love it how Congress can keep it real; "largest theft in history." Corporate Counsel. Five point plan for when to start disclosing information to regulators. Corporate Counsel. Respectfully said, there was another suicide in the law this week. AmLawDaily. Photo credit: Getty Images, via AmLawDaily. All work is original to the blawg post author, and all copyrights from…

Digital Rights - Sound and Fury
in Academialand

Klang

2 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pm

A new brilliant adventure has begun in the Piled Higher & Deeper comic by Jorge Cham. Its called Cecilia in Thesisland: this is actually part two. The adventure begins here…
Sounds familiar… the end of privacy as norm

Klang

11 Jan 2010 | 2:55 pm

Mark Zuckerberg the the 25 year old founder and chief executive of Facebook says that privacy is no longer a social norm (eweekeurope): …that people no longer have an expectation of privacy thanks to increasing uptake of social networking. Speaking at the Crunchie Awards in San Francisco this weekend, the 25 year-old web entrepreneur said: “People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people.” “A lot of companies would be trapped by the conventions and their legacies of what they’ve…
Seriously cool litterature

Klang

11 Jan 2010 | 12:54 pm

Law and Magic: A Collection of Essays The nearly two dozen studies in this collection explore the very rich ways in which the rule of law and the practice of magic enrich and inform each other. The authors bring both a U.S. and a comparative law perspective while examining areas such as law and religion, criminal law, intellectual property law, the law of evidence, and animal rights. Topics include alchemy in fifteenth-century England, a discussion of how a courtroom is like a magic show, stage hypnotism and the law, Scottish witchcraft trials in the eighteenth century, the question of…
CFP Internet Research 11.0 – Sustainability, Participation, Action

Klang

11 Jan 2010 | 2:11 am

The 11th Annual International and Interdisciplinary Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) October 21-23, 2010 University of Gothenburg/Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden The challenge of this conference is to find multiple avenues for participation and action towards a sustainable future. In a society increasingly aware of social and ecological imbalance, many people now see information and communication technologies as key technologies for solving problems associated with an unsustainable future. However, while information technology may solve some…
Congratulations & Welcome

Klang

7 Jan 2010 | 3:52 pm

Missed this in the rush of things… Two new jurisdictions join the Creative Commons family! Costa Rica The CC project in Costa Rica is officially underway. Leading the public initiative are Rolando Coto-Solano, from the Office of the Vice Dean of Research at the University of Costa Rica, and Carlos E. Saborío Romero, a representative of over ten creative communities and artists. The license porting will be conducted by our long-time friend and colleague of Costa Rican descent, Andres Guadamuz, of the University of Edinburgh. Andres continues to lead CC efforts in Scotland, and…

Internet Television Law Blog
Funny Picture # 16

devalera01

7 Feb 2010 | 10:33 pm

Funny copyright/piracy picture. Enjoy!
Funny Picture # 15

devalera01

5 Feb 2010 | 10:31 pm

Funny copyright/piracy picture. Enjoy!
Funny Picture # 14

devalera01

3 Feb 2010 | 10:23 pm

Funny copyright/piracy picture. Enjoy!
Funny Picture # 13

devalera01

1 Feb 2010 | 10:21 pm

Funny copyright/piracy picture. Enjoy!
News Roundup - January 2010

devalera01

31 Jan 2010 | 10:28 pm

Baidu gets out of jail freeAussie censor balks at bijou boobsSky 3D to launch in AprilVirgin Media to monitor music piracyCopyright, companies, individuals and news: the rules of the roadNeutralize UK File-Sharing Legal Threats – Join TalkTalk3 Strikes Coming To The United States Via The Back Door?Settlement Rejected in ‘Shocking’ RIAA File Sharing VerdictMed Student Turns to Test-Prep PiracyYouTube and Hulu dabble in for-pay vidsMPs frozen out of super-secret copyright talksPiracy continues to cripple music industry as sales fall 10% ‘Piracy Isn’t Killing Music’ Radiohead’s…

The Business Of Law
Data Security Bills in Congress

Gabriel Miller

25 Jan 2010 | 7:09 pm

Kim Atkins over at Lawyers USA recently had a nice piece (subscription required) on the data security bills working their way through the U.S. House and Senate. Certainly law firms who often deal with confidential personal information and who are increasingly collecting that information online, will need to be aware of the provisions that will likely be included in a compromise bill. In the meantime states are not waiting on the federal government to act. For example, Massachusetts’ data privacy security act, considered one of the strictest in the nation, goes into effect March 1.
Not Worth the Wait

Mike Skoler

11 Jan 2010 | 10:46 am

If there is one constant on the cocktail party circuit, it’s that you will undoubtedly have the same conversations over and over and over again. The current winner by a long run is the Tiger Woods drama; I’ve heard that one at nearly every party I’ve been to in the last month. But coming in a distant second is that annual stalwart—the airline horror story. If you travel often, as I do, you know the story well. And you’ve probably shared your version: flights delayed, connections missed, nights spent at the airport, etc. Perhaps one of the best I heard this year was about a…
With Facebook, Legal “Friends” Are Transparent

Gabriel Miller

6 Jan 2010 | 8:49 pm

As I’ve written before, here and here, the rules of legal ethics are being forced to adapt to changing circumstances in the profession caused by the social networking revolution. The latest example of this is a legal ethics ruling out of Florida in which the state’s Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee said that judges and lawyers should avoid “friending” one another on the popular social networking site Facebook. (The opinion specifically says it isn’t picking on Facebook: the rule would apply to similar types of social networking sites). The AP has a nice write up of the…
Seasons of Change

Mike Skoler

6 Jan 2010 | 8:36 pm

D.M. Levine over at AmLaw Daily had a recent blog post titled “Where Do We Go From Here?” The post covered a panel discussion hosted in December by LexisNexis on the future of the legal industry. As D.M. reports: The discussion, entitled “Evolution or Revolution: The Future of the Law Firm Business Model,” was moderated by Darryl Cross, vice president of client profitability at LexisNexis, and included panelists from various sides of the legal profession. The debate was part of LexisNexis’s release of a survey of legal professionals on the future of the legal services industry. Here…
A Chilling Ruling on TPLF

Gabriel Miller

6 Jan 2010 | 8:04 pm

A recent Florida District Court of Appeal case could raise serious implications for so-called “third-party litigation financing” (TPLF). TPLF is the practice of providing money to a party to a lawsuit with repayment of the loan contingent on the party “winning” the case. Here’s how it works: I am hurt, I want to sue the party that hurt me, but I cannot afford the costs of litigation. Currently, there are lenders who will loan me the money to pursue the matter (based on their belief that I will win) and if/when I reach a settlement or am awarded damages, I have to pay back the…

Technically Legal
Can the Police Find Your Phone?

Ben Snitkoff

8 Feb 2010 | 8:26 pm

Recently Mac developer and Somerville native Daniel Jalkut had his iPhone stolen from a locker room. Daniel used MobileMe, an Apple service, to locate his phone in order to get it back. Then, he called an MIT police officer to report the crime, and presumably the street address of the alleged thieves. This got me thinking, it’s perfectly legal for Daniel to hand all this information over to the police. But what if he were to hand over the password to his MobileMe Account, so the police could track the phone in real time, right down to the house where the thieves were keeping it? Would…
Episode 36: Still Not About the iPad

Ben Snitkoff

8 Feb 2010 | 7:00 pm

Amazon Wrap Up, iPad Trademark Dispute, Out-Of-School Speech, New Rules for Juries Please download the podcast, or subscribe to the feed. Feel free to e-mail us with questions, suggestions or comments. iPad Trademark Dispute FUJITSU’s iPAD Fujitsu’s Leaked iPad Memo Will the iPad soon have a new name? MAGTEKs iPad STMicroelectronics iPad Apple’s Trademark Application Students Punished, or not, for Out of School Speech Snyder v. Blue Mountain School District Synder Opinion Layshock v. Hermitage School District, Opinion New Rules for Juries Juror Use of Electronic…
Another Reason to Secure Your Wireless Network

Ben Snitkoff

8 Feb 2010 | 6:35 am

Somehow this story slipped past us last week. A Federal District Court in Oregon held that a man had no reasonable expectation of privacy in files that was easily viewable over his unsecured wireless network.M The man had an unsecured network which a neighbor was using. The man was allegedly using Limewire to download child pornography, and had Limewire and iTunes set-up to automatically share the downloaded files through iTunes’ built in sharing. The neighbor was browsing the man’s shared files and stumbled across the child porn. So, count this as reasons: (1) Not to have an…
Episode 35: Not about the iPad

Ben Snitkoff

1 Feb 2010 | 7:00 pm

Are file extensions trademarks, Google Street View suit reinstated, and Amazon pulls Macmillian books. Please download the podcast, or subscribe to the feed. Feel free to e-mail us with questions, suggestions or comments. Are file extensions trademarks? File extensions cannot be trademarks Street View Suit Reinstated Google Street View: Appeals court revives Pa. couple’s lawsuit The opinion Amazon pulls Macmillan Books Amazon Pulls Macmillan Books Over E-Book Price Disagreement Amazon conceded to Macmillan hours after we finished recording. Related posts:Episode 36: Still Not About the…
RIAA Offers Thomas-Rasset Settlement, T-R Rejects

Ben Snitkoff

27 Jan 2010 | 4:27 pm

The RIAA offered to settle Jammie Thomas-Rasset’s case for $25,000 this afternoon. An offer which Thomas-Rasset quickly rejected. From her lawyers: [A]s our response makes clear, Jammie is standing on principle here, and will not accede to payment demands that the RIAA is making thru an unconstitutional statutory scheme (that they lobbied for the creation of) and we will ride this train to it’s appellate end no matter how many future remittiturs are rejected. At this point, any amount that the RIAA is likely to collect, through the actual amount imposed, or through bankruptcy…

Bitter Lawyer Feed
Bitter News, 2-9-10

9 Feb 2010 | 8:53 am
Do's and Don'ts on Valentine's Day Gifts for Lawyers

9 Feb 2010 | 12:56 am
Bitter News, 2-8-10

8 Feb 2010 | 12:44 pm
I Wonder if a Law School’s Rank or Location is More Important

8 Feb 2010 | 12:01 am
Bitter News, 2-5-10

5 Feb 2010 | 11:45 am

Rochester Bankruptcy and Debt Relief
Second Vehicles, Motorcycles and Bankruptcy

alexkorotkin

7 Feb 2010 | 5:07 pm

Periodically, I meet with debtors who own either second vehicles or motorcycles, and would like to keep them, after either Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy filing. Filing for either Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy doesn’t always mean that you have to give up your second vehicle or motorcycle, as long as the payments are considered a reasonable vehicle expense. The second vehicle, referred to above, is the vehicle that is an extra one for the single debtor, or the third one for joint filers. How does the debtor know if the second car or motorcycle will be…
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and Purchase of a Vehicle

alexkorotkin

30 Jan 2010 | 4:29 pm

I frequently meet with debtors who tell me that they are thinking about filing for bankruptcy, but have concerns since they may need a new car in the near future. I am usually asked if a new car or used car should be purchased prior to filing for bankruptcy protection. As a bankruptcy lawyer, the current status of the law prevents me from counseling debtors from acquiring more debt prior to filing for bankruptcy. However, if I were in the debtor’s position, I would consider the following. First, if you planning to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and you will need a different car, you…
Bankruptcy, Bad Checks, Discharge and Criminal Liability

alexkorotkin

23 Jan 2010 | 7:43 pm

A bad check, hot check, NSF check, returned check, rubber check, worthless check, or whatever you want to call it, is a check which the bank will not pay because there is either no such checking account or insufficient funds in the account to pay the check. In Texas, writing a bad check is a misdemeanor or can be a felony depending on the amount of the bad check and the circumstances of the issuance of the check. No matter how nominal you think the check is, you can still get you charged with a crime. If you file for bankruptcy and have hot checks outstanding it might make your bankruptcy…
Automatic Stay and Proceedings in New York Family Court

alexkorotkin

15 Jan 2010 | 7:53 pm

I have previously written about automatic stay in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, and divorce, and domestic support obligations. While divorce is handled in the New York State Supreme Court, once in a while, a family court petition seeking child support or spousal support is filed against one of my bankruptcy clients in New York State Family Court. When this happens, usually I am asked whether the automatic stay prevent the filing or continuation of the family court proceedings. My answer to that question will depend on the type of bankruptcy filed. While the debtors…
Filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Keeping Your Bank Accounts

alexkorotkin

10 Jan 2010 | 6:38 pm

One of the most common questions I hear from clients is whether they are able to keep their bank accounts while they are in bankruptcy, or to open new accounts after bankruptcy. My usual answer to that question is that there is nothing under bankruptcy code that would prevent a debtor from having or keeping bank accounts. While there is nothing under the bankruptcy law that prohibits it, there are may be some practical complications. As I have discussed previously, a typical bankruptcy requires planning and preparation. One of the possible situations I prepare my clients for is a…

The Jury Room
Voir Dire Clinic

Douglas Keene

8 Feb 2010 | 5:05 am

This blog post marks the beginning of a series, the frequency of which will be decided by you. I was asked, by a very gracious and experienced litigator/reader, if I would weigh in on a voir dire dilemma she recently faced in Federal Court. There was no attorney voir dire, so she only had the opportunity [...] Related posts:Voir Dire Fundamentals: Look for trouble, not for friends Inviting jurors to actually ‘speak the truth’ in voir dire (and why they often don’t) Voir dire lesson: “I don’t believe everything I hear”
Simple Jury Persuasion: My opponent has great rhetoric, I have reality

Rita Handrich

5 Feb 2010 | 5:45 am

The study of rhetoric is rooted in classical Greek philosophy and the mastery of rhetoric/argument was then seen as a desirable skill. ‘Rhetoric’, in modern times, is often used dismissively and seen as meaningless and perhaps manipulative as intimated in the phrase “mere rhetoric”. During the Presidential campaign, President Obama’s gift of rhetoric was often [...] Related posts:Simple Jury Persuasion: Beware what the other side will tell you… Simple Jury Persuasion: KISS–Keeping it simple, simple… Simple Jury Persuasion: Make an emotional connection with your jury
Charlie Sheen or Tiger Woods? When behavior doesn’t fit the image

Douglas Keene

3 Feb 2010 | 5:45 am

The uproar following Tiger Wood’s one-vehicle accident at his home and the subsequent disclosure of multiple infidelities remains huge. The deluge of stories are in a temporary lull, but they are coming back when Tiger returns. There were a few thoughtful and even eloquent stories like this one from sports columnist Mike Wise. But the majority [...] Related posts:Eliot Spitzer, Uncivil Behavior & Possibilities of Redemption “I didn’t know truth had a gender” “I can look into his eyes and just tell he is lying”
Extremism comes in many shapes and forms

Rita Handrich

1 Feb 2010 | 5:45 am

Given the focus of our country on terrorism, now if we say ‘extremism’—we likely have a common image that comes to mind. But there are many kinds of extremism. We’ve written about some of them: racism here, and here, polarizing opinions, and hate group members. What we’ve noticed is that when we have mock jurors who describe themselves as [...] No related posts.
Simple Jury Persuasion: Using counter-factual thinking to your advantage

Douglas Keene

29 Jan 2010 | 5:39 am

We often hear directives to anticipate ever-present juror counter-factual thinking. It’s really tough (and sometimes impossible) to figure out all the imaginative directions jurors can go to come up with their own hypotheses as to what ‘really happened’. So we wonder—why don’t more litigators simply turn counter-factuals to their advantage? Counter-factual thinking is the label used [...] Related posts:Simple Jury Persuasion: Beware what the other side will tell you… Simple Jury Persuasion: Alpha and Omega Persuasion Strategies Simple Jury Persuasion: KISS–Keeping it simple,…

Disputing
Halliburton/KBR Files Cert. in Jones v. Halliburton

Victoria VanBuren

8 Feb 2010 | 4:15 pm

Via On Point News, we learned that Halliburton/KBR has recently filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on the case Jones v. Halliburton, 583 F.3d 228 (5th Cir. 2009). The issue is whether the arbitration provision in an employment contract includes the tort claim of sexual assault. The petition presents this question: Respondent Jamie Leigh Jones filed a complaint in federal district court against her employer, seeking redress of injuries she allegedly sustained from a sexual assault by another employee in overseas employer-provided housing in which she was required to…
Free Podcast | How To Work With E-Mediation and Special Masters in E-Discovery Cases

Victoria VanBuren

5 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

We thought that you might be interested to listen to the Podcast entitled “How To Work With E-Mediation and Special Masters in E-Discovery Cases” by Peter S. Vogel, trial partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP and contributor of this blog and Allison O’Neal Skinner from the Alabama-based law firm Sirote & Permutt. The ESIBytes™ Podcast of about 40 minutes is available here. (no PowerPoints, but free!) Peter and Allison will also host the TexasBarCLE Webcast “When to Use eMediation or Special Masters in eDiscovery“on February 16, 2010 from 2-3:30pm. The Webcast…
Fifth Circuit Compels Arbitration of Attorney’s Fees Dispute Between Law Firm and Former Client

Victoria VanBuren

4 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that an arbitration clause is enforceable notwithstanding that the parties had terminated their services contract. In Hall-Williams v. Law Office of Paul C. Miniclier, PLC, No. 09-30113 (5th Cir. Jan. 13, 2010), Carolyn Hall-Williams (Hall-Williams) is a former client of the Law Office of Paul C. Miniclier (Miniclier). In September 2006, Hall Williams hired Miniclier to represent her in an insurance dispute with Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate) regarding a claim for damages caused by Hurricane Katrina. The retainer contract…
International: More on Hong Kong’s New Mediation Procedure

Victoria VanBuren

3 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

To follow up on our earlier post, here are more details about Hong Kong’s mediation initiative: Mediation in Hong Kong December 10, 2009 By Alfred Ip, Partner at OLN and CEDR Accredited Mediator From 1st January 2010, the court will require parties to civil proceedings to consider using mediation as an alternate means to settle their dispute. The court will require the parties to justify their decision in case they refuse to attempt mediation, failing which adverse costs order may be made against that party, irrespective of the outcome of the litigation. The court also put the burden on…
Employment Arbitration: Issues Implementing the ‘Franken Amendment’

Victoria VanBuren

2 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

[Ed. note: hat tip to our blog contributor Don Philbin.] On January 20, 2010, the Council of Defense and Space Industry Associations (CODSIA) sent a letter to the Director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy raising questions and issues in implementing Section 8116 of the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations Act (aka the “Franken Amendment”). Section 8116 prohibits the use of funds for certain contracts unless the contractor agrees not to enter or enforce binding arbitration contracts with their employees. CODSIA seeks to clarify Section 8116’s legislative intent in order…

BAR AND BENCH
Slew of High Court Justices Transfer

9 Feb 2010 | 6:56 am

President Pratibha Patil has had a busy few days with the transfers of High Court Judges. Justice Anil Ramesh Dave, Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, has been transferred to the Bombay High Court. Justice Dave has been asked to assume charge on or before February 15. Also, there has been an exchange in the High Courts of Jammu and Kashmir and Sikkim with Justice Barin Ghosh, Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir, being shifted to the Sikkim High Court, and Justice Aftab H. Saikia, Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. Justice Jasti…
Muslim Reservation: Senior Counsel Ramakrishna Reddy secures victory

9 Feb 2010 | 6:50 am

A 7 Judge Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court struck down State Government’s efforts to provide 4 percent reservation to Muslims.
VI ITechLaw conference concludes; resounding success

8 Feb 2010 | 10:50 am

The 6th International Asian Conference organized by the International Technology Law Association held on February 4 and 5in Bangalore, saw attendance of about 250 members from the legal and technology fields from both India and abroad.
Yet another Consultant for FML; London office gets Labour MP Nigel Vaz

8 Feb 2010 | 9:44 am

In its second consultant hire in the last one week, FoxMandal Little has gotten on board Member of Parliament and British Labour Party politician, Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz for their London offices.
Vegetable in Court - BT Brinjal

8 Feb 2010 | 3:56 am

Activists have claimed that BT Brinjals had an adverse impact when tested on lab rats. Hemant Goswami has petitioned the Punjab & Haryana High Court on the BT Brinjal matter.

South Florida Lawyers
Leesfield Appeals Judge Freeman's Arbitration Order

South Florida Lawyers

9 Feb 2010 | 6:17 am

Notice of Appeal I guess somebody was unhappy with Judge Freeman's order denying arbitration and allowing preliminary discovery to proceed.Briefing on this should be interesting.BTW, my read of Rule 9.130(f) is that a stay pending appeal is discretionary and discovery could therefore proceed in accordance with Judge Freeman's order.Play nice, kids!
Gerald Posner Suspended For Plagiarism!

South Florida Lawyers

9 Feb 2010 | 4:11 am

Miami Beach's own Gerald Posner, who recently was the talk of the town with his salacious book Miami Babylon, has been suspended by The Daily Beast for lifting passages from prior articles, including the Herald:On Friday, it looked like writer Gerald Posner had his minor plagiarism scandal under control. Slate's Jack Shafer busted him for one case of copying, but Posner claimed it was accidental and his editors said he would keep working. Now Shafer has three more examples of Posner stealing from the Herald, plus one involving Texas Lawyer, and Posner writes he's been suspended. He blogged:…
Judge Hurley Peers Into His Crystal Ball

South Florida Lawyers

8 Feb 2010 | 12:58 pm

hurleycrystalball And tries to predict how the Florida Supreme Court would rule on discovery of other claim files of an insurer for purposes of evaluating claims procedures in a bad faith action:While Ruiz addressed the parameters of the discoverability of the insured’s own claim file, as “virtually the only source of direct evidence with regard to the essential issue of the insurance company’s handling of the insured’s claim,” this court finds Ruiz also informs the discoverability of other insured claims files which relate to and illuminate the manner in which the company handles…
Saintsmania!

South Florida Lawyers

8 Feb 2010 | 7:29 am

Order_Trial Continued_Saints to Superbowl Good God, get a grip.
Do You Care About "The Google"?

South Florida Lawyers

8 Feb 2010 | 4:57 am

So it was fun last night yada yada yada but "Who Dat" officially jumped the shark for me at the 4000th onscreen shoutout, somewhere around 8:30 am yesterday.Kids, if Boomer is yelling a "hip" catchphrase it either was never hip or stopped being hip a very long time ago.Speaking of a long time ago, I enjoyed the history of the AFL they broadcast on Saturday, with Broadway Joe at the Miami Touchdown Club and that classic Hank Stram sideline commentary ("Just keep matriculatin' the ball down the field, boys.").Old Hank was an awesome radio announcer too, btw, if you were stuck listening to…

e-Lessons Learned
Use a Fine-Tooth Comb Before and After Document Production

Fernando M. Pinguelo

8 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pm

The document reviewing attorney is charged with an unenviable task: Review thousands of documents to ensure that no privileged information is produced to opposing counsel. Given the fact that document productions may consist of thousands or even millions of pages of documents, it is not surprising that privileged documents will slip by the watchful, often weary, eye of reviewing attorneys – it is inevitable. Not to worry, the Federal Rules of Evidence are sympathetic to those tired eyes. Inadvertently produced privileged documents do not automatically lose their privilege protection. …
LegalTech 2010: Blogstars, eDiscovelebrities, and… Vendors (They’re Cool, Too)

Fernando M. Pinguelo

3 Feb 2010 | 11:09 pm

Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Another cold February weekday workday morning. Another noisy, bumpy, spill-my-coffee-on-my-newspaper-every-two-minutes train to the city. I looked around me, and observed the others commuting from Newark to midtown Manhattan, beginning their daze days with the lethargy one might associate with a Jets fan circa last Monday. But not me. This was day two of LegalTech New York 2010, and I was on my way to this premier legal technology showcase sponsored by ALM. Given how great my experiences were last year, I was amped up and ready to go. So, with my coffee…
An Aside: “Smart” Company Policies

Fernando M. Pinguelo

24 Jan 2010 | 1:13 pm

Increasingly, our society devotes a lot of time and energy to the use of smartphones. Whether it is a BlackBerry or an iPhone, it is the craze, and many now feel that they need to access their emails from the palm of their hands. And the corporate world is no different. Executives spend as much time focusing on the best ways to read emails, send and receive instant messages, and access the Web as the rest of us. However, executives (and the corporations they work for) who use company intranets, also need to worry about the possibility of unintentional data distribution — meaning they…
UPCOMING EVENT: eDiscovery Symposium at Campbell University School of Law – January 22, 2010

Fernando M. Pinguelo

18 Jan 2010 | 12:18 am

We are happy to report that we have been named the official blog of Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law’s Annual Law Review Symposium entitled Emerging Issues in Electronic Discovery. This educational event is on Friday, January 22 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Taken from the promotional materials created for the event: Electronic Discovery is a relatively new area of the law and is constantly evolving. Many attorneys are not aware of the potential issues that arise when a case involves electronic discovery. Examples of the types of data included in electronic…
Shampoo Moguls Learn That Cowboys Use Zubulake, Too

Fernando M. Pinguelo

13 Jan 2010 | 8:14 pm

In this recent opinion, one Texas Court applied the Zubulake cost-shifting factors to a shampoo company’s unsupported argument that the opposing party should have to share the costs of performing OCR… and booted their argument to the curb. At the pre-trial Case Management Conference, the Court ordered the parties to submit estimates of the costs involved in the production of documents in searchable Tagged Image File Format (“TIFF”) with Optical Character Recognition (“OCR”) before it made a ruling on the format of electronic discovery. OCR is how static images of text are…

Matthew Stoloff's Blog
Special Needs Camps

Matthew Stoloff

8 Feb 2010 | 5:05 am

On this blog, I usually write about legal issues related to service animals, special education, student rights, or disability discrimination. Once in a while, though, it’s always nice to get away and not need to think about issues associated with school, employment, or independent living. Kids, especially, need to have fun, a place to get away from the stresses of life, and meet new friends they can relate to and share interests with. Whether it’s during the day for a week or two, or overnight for several weeks, summer camp can boost a disabled child’s confidence and…
Special Education Services in Charter Schools

Matthew Stoloff

1 Feb 2010 | 5:05 am

Education Week recently published a very interesting article titled Charters: Students With Disabilities Need Not Apply? Although charter schools have existed since the early 1990s, many people do not understand what it is and how it works. The almost always reliable Wikipedia provides a nice overview of charter schools; and in the very first sentence, we learn that: Charter schools are elementary or secondary schools in the United States that receive public money but have been freed from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type…
Disability, Sports, and “Performance Enhancing Drugs”

Matthew Stoloff

25 Jan 2010 | 5:10 am

I’ll admit it: I’m not a big sports fan. In fact, I rarely watch sports except for the occasional March Madness college basketball tournament on TV. But when a famous sports star hits the front pages of the newspaper, I take notice. Earlier this month, Mark McGuire admitted what most of us had suspected all along: he took steroids and Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Mark McGuire joins a long line of other baseball stars who have admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs: Jose Canseco and Jason Giambi, among others. But I’m not interested in those guys. I’m interested…
Taking Care of Your Service Animal When Something Happens to You

Matthew Stoloff

18 Jan 2010 | 5:10 am

There is a well known saying: “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Let’s face it, no one likes to think about their own mortality. But those of us who have family and pets should consider having a will drawn up and/or a trust established to ensure that our family and pets are taken care of. It is important that pet owners think about where they want their pets to end up after the owners pass away. Equally important, service animals can survive their disabled owners. But there are other reasons why it is important to consult with an attorney to prepare certain papers to…
Parents with Disabilities?: Yes, they can!

Matthew Stoloff

11 Jan 2010 | 5:10 am

When Kaney O’Neill was 21 years old and working as a Navy airman apprentice, she fell off a balcony and broke her neck. Thereafter, she had minimal use of her arms and could no longer use her legs. Nearly ten years later, she gave birth to her son, Aidan. In August 2009, the Chicago Tribune published a beautiful story about Kaney’s pregnancy and the support system in place for her. It appeared as though Kaney would be spending the rest of her life with her son Aidan, along with her boyfriend, caretaker, and service dog by her side. But in just a few short weeks after giving birth,…

PracticeSmarter
Are You Charging What You’re Worth?

Judd Kessler

8 Feb 2010 | 6:47 am

A guest blog post by Gunter Entz: We are in a tough economy, no doubt about that. Businesses across the board are doing what they can to generate profit, including lowering rates to stay above the red line and keep up with the competition. But how does this bargain-basement marketing relate to running a law practice? There will always be law firms that stay successful due to that extra something, such as more effective marketing, and running their office like a well-oiled machine. However, offering rates that are far lower than your competitors is not only a bad way to generate the business…
Looking to Save Money? Start With Your Malpractice Premiums

Judd Kessler

4 Feb 2010 | 6:29 am

In the Himalayas it’s called the Death Zone – a point past which the air is too thin to sustain living tissue. Stay up there too long and your body begins to die. In law practice there’s a similar kind of danger – the Malpractice Zone. The ABA has done many studies and found that almost 20% of malpractice claims involved missed deadlines or administrative errors. If you’re working at the edge of control, sooner or later you’ll make a mistake – forget a phone call, miss a deadline, lose a document. Experienced climbers use expert gear to keep them out…
Selling In Your Comfort Zone

Judd Kessler

1 Feb 2010 | 7:03 am

The ABA published best-selling book, Selling In Your Comfort Zone, by Larry Kohn of Kohn Communications, gives detailed advice to lawyers on how they can best market their practices. Mr. Kohn was recently interviewed by Beverly Loder about the book. She asked him numerous questions, including what obstacles lawyers are facing today that are different than when he first starting coaching them 20 years ago. Kohn stated that 20 years ago, firms didn’t have marketing departments. Today you need to make your firm standout since everyone is concerned with marketing. As new marketing…
TREAT Clients Well

Judd Kessler

28 Jan 2010 | 6:17 am

Beverly Michaelis of the Oregon State Bar Professional Liability fund was recently interviewed on the Legal Talk Network podcast, “The Paralegal Voice.” She spoke about many important topics pertaining to law practice management including ethics and technology. Although the show was geared towards paralegals, the information is relevant to all legal professionals. Beverly later blogged about her conversation, reiterating important points. She said that the key to improving your client relations is to “T-R-E-A-T Clients Well”. T – Timeliness R –…
Are You “Too Busy” to Make Rain?

Judd Kessler

25 Jan 2010 | 7:05 am

The number one excuse lawyers give for not marketing their firm and services is that they are too busy. Sometimes you are too busy (at a trial, with a closing etc.), but the reality is that people make time to do what they’re excited about. Larry Kohn, president of Kohn Communications, calls this “too busy” excuse of not rainmaking “defaulting to the billable hour.” As lawyers, we have clients to call, deadlines to meet and other important tasks to accomplish. Lawyers often think they will appear “needy” if they marketing themselves, so they default…

International Business Law Advisor
The Ultimate Hidden Fee: U.S. Based Multinational Companies Face $122 Billion Tax Burden Under Proposed Bill

Santiago Cueto

4 Feb 2010 | 1:03 pm

And Why Relocating to Switzerland May be the Best Corporate Strategy There’s nothing more annoying than finding hidden fees buried deep inside obtuse and mangled contract language. The only thing worse than findinghidden fees is learning about these punishing provisions from someone else—after you’ve signed the agreement. If you thought hidden fees provisions were the exclusive craft of credit card and cable companies, I’ve got bad news. The biggest offender just might be the drafters of the proposed federal budget making its way through Congress. International…
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes: SEC Switches Position and Issues Disclosure Guidance on Material Risks Impacting International Climate Change Accords.

Santiago Cueto

29 Jan 2010 | 2:49 pm

SEC Wants to Know: Is Your Carbon Footprint a "Material Risk" to International Climate Change Agreements? Climate Change is a red hot area right now and is a top priority of discussion this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It seems that everyone is throwing their hat into the ring in one way or another. Now the Securities and Exchange Commission has, rather surprisingly, entered the climate change picture. In an unprecedented move, the SEC issued a directive that companies should warn investors of global-warming risks.The SEC directive is…
7 Ways to Bulletproof Your International Arbitration Agreement

Santiago Cueto

26 Jan 2010 | 1:43 pm

As an international business attorney, a focal point of my practice involves advising clients how to best handle cross-border disputes. The most effective mechanism by far in resolving international dispute is international arbitration. Why? International arbitration levels the playing field by taking away the home court advantage of parties on either side of a transaction. But the most attractive aspect of arbitration is that the awards issued by an international arbitration tribunal will receive worldwide recognition by countries that are members of one of the…
The BRICfast Club: A Series of Posts Dedicated to Brazil, Russia, India and China (Part I)

Santiago Cueto

25 Jan 2010 | 12:49 pm

Hey Brazil--Take Your Time With Those BITs, I Can Get Them Somewhere Else! Today we’re launching the first in a series of posts on the BRIC countries in a fast, quick read format. While the late John Hughes would have appreciated the titular tribute to his Breakfast Club classic, the series is meant to stimulate a robust discussion among those interested in the subject. For the uninitiated, BRIC is an acronym coined by Goldman Sachs to refer to the red-hot economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. According to the investment group’s projections, the BRIC countries…
The Great Firewall of China: How Lessons from the Apartheid Era Can Lift the Information Curtain

Santiago Cueto

22 Jan 2010 | 12:42 pm

Corporate Codes of Conduct Played a Major Role in the Collapse of Apartheid in South Africa and Are a Viable Means to End Digital Censorship in China. The remarks of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday that “we stand for a single Internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas” echoed the stern tone of Ronald Reagan twenty years ago when he challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Fast forward to 2010 where digital walls have replaced brick and mortar to divide repressed citizens of…

Software Law Made Simple
Can You Change Your Contracts Unilaterally?

9 Feb 2010 | 5:07 am

I am sure you read all the electronic contracts you enter into (yea right). But just in case you had, you may have noticed one sentence in certain contracts that states that one party (always the party that wrote the electronic contract) can change the contract "...at any time, in its discretion...." You probably have heard about this particular case, as Blockbuster was supposedly transferring movie rental information to Facebook accounts, without the express advance permission of the Blockbuster account holder (in essence people had automatically opted into this program, called "Beacon").
Google Recently Changed Its Trademark Use Policy for Resellers/Informational Sites. Did You See It?

31 Jan 2010 | 6:04 pm

Until recently, if you were a reseller or an informational website you could not use the trademarks of the manufacturers you represent in the ad text of your Google ads. This kind of made sense, as it is not your trademarks. However, Google did a little more thinking about the issue, and revised their Trademark Policy (probably as a result of the fair use doctrine (see my blog on this)).There are still a few rules though (summary below), before anyone can take advantage of this new policy: 1. you have to be either a:reseller, informational…
Can Your Customer Transfer Their Software as Part of a Reorganization?

29 Jan 2010 | 7:49 am

Seems like a simple issue, but can your customer transfer your software or licenses to another entity? Well, the right way to address this is up front in your agreement, but this is too often not the case. Also, when it is addressed, sometimes it does not clearly address every situation (internal transfers, external transfers, reorganizations, mergers, stock sales, assets sales, etc.). This is definitely something to talk to your attorney about first, but below are some of the things that may come in to play. What Type of Transfer is it? Who were the users before and who are…
How a Well Drafted EULA Saved A Lot of Money

23 Jan 2010 | 5:09 am

A recent case was dismissed before trial, as the terms of the end user agreement were so well drafted that as a matter of law it helped to resolve the main issue in the case. In Hayes vs SpectorSoft Corporation (dated November 3, 2009) the judge dismissed the entire case at the Summary Judgment stage (before they really got started) as he determined that the case did not need to go any further. What is the case about? SpectorSoft makes Internet monitoring software (the kind of software certain employers, parents, and government agencies use to check on what…
Did You Know the US Supreme Court Changed Reseller Law in 2007?

18 Jan 2010 | 11:37 am

I bet you missed it. The law used to be that when someone resells your product you could not tell them that they could not resell the product below a certain price (i.e. a floor). You could suggest that they hold to a certain price but you could not mandate the floor price. Violating this rule used to be a big no, no. By the way, this explains why you often see 'Suggested Retail Price' on merchandise tags. In legal jargon, this is called 'Resale Price Maintenance.' To cut a long story short (and it is a long story), 96 years of law was changed by the US Supreme Court in…

Karasma Media by Kara Smith
Legal Marketers – Now is NOT the time to give up on Twitter

Kara

9 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

Legal marketers, don’t stop tweeting just yet. If you haven’t gotten yourself up to speed with social media, specifically with Twitter, there’s no time better than right now. Total Attorneys‘ @Kevin Churn posted a note to me on Twitter about an episode of their terrific show on BlogTalk Radio he knew I’d be interested in. Kevin, John Remsen and Larry Bodine discussed: Shoestring PR for Lawyers In the conversation, Larry states that “Twitter is really a waste of time”, because very few lawyers are actually using it. It’s extremely…
To legal marketers – The secret of winning at social media is to stick to it…

Kara

4 Feb 2010 | 5:06 pm

I’ve been working at my “media” career for more than 25-years now. That’s a surprise to a lot of people. It could be because they think I make doing what I do look “easy”. But, it’s more likely because they’ve never heard of me… I was talking to my aunt about what it takes to stick to a venture and keep making it run, particularly when surrounded by folk who don’t quite “get” the internet or how entrepreneurship is a good idea. Thanks to the writing of many, many successful folk, my belief that fortitude,…
Legal Professionals Who Are Not Social Media Savvy Can Jeopardize Their Cases

Kara

3 Feb 2010 | 12:14 pm

Legal marketers, what you don’t know is hurting you… Florida: A mistrial was declared recently after a federal judge learned eight jurors had researched the drug case on the internet. England: A juror was dismissed from a sexual assault case after asking how she should vote on her Facebook page. Dallas: A state District Judge recently terminated someone from a pretrial drug diversion program after a probation officer discovered Internet postings showing that the man clearly planed to get drunk on his graduation day. There has never been a time where the legal field’s ability…
Cartoonist Hugh MacLeod and Seth Godin’s Linchpin — A little humor for us legal marketers…

Kara

2 Feb 2010 | 7:15 am

You never know who you’re going to meet in Harlem… I met Hugh MacLeodon New Year’s Eve and as you can probably imagine, he’s a very funny guy. His exclusive Amazon guest review of Seth Godin’s Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, received top billing and is definitely worth reading. (I haven’t read Seth’s book yet…) However, since Seth has been and continues to be on the cutting edge of social media and communication, I felt it was important to include his book here. What was more important to me personally though, was bring Hugh to your…
Legal Marketers: You Can Create an eNewsletter from your Facebook Fan Page

Kara

1 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

You can automatically send the latest feeds from your page to your fans’ email in-boxes. A free Email Newsletter application allows your firm’s fans to keep track of new activity on your firm’s Facebook Fan Page. The new NutshellMail Facebook application allows users to add an “Email Newsletter” tab to their fan page, letting fans opt-in to receiving emails that highlight recent content from your page. I know you may be from from Big Law, so this application may not be applicable. However, if you’re working in a small to mid-size organization, where everyone is…

Kimberly Houser's Blog
Free Credit Report dot Com, Let’s Go!

kimberlyhouser

4 Feb 2010 | 12:07 pm

First let me say that I love those FreeCreditReport.com commercials. I sincerely hope they do not take them off the air. The problem is that the commercial itself does seem to imply that if you go to this website, you will receive a free copy of your credit report. The commercial does not make it clear that when you go to the website and enter your information, you are also agreeing to a monthly charge of $14.95 for a credit monitoring service. One of the users of the website has now brought a class action suit in a California federal court against Experian, the website owner, claiming false…
Is a cross a religious symbol or a war memorial?

kimberlyhouser

29 Jan 2010 | 2:36 pm

In Salazar v. Buono, 08-472 (Supreme Court 2008 – not yet decided) the lower court held that the presence of a Christian cross located on land owned by the federal government was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. The original cross had been erected in 1934 by the Veterans of Foreign Wars in remembrance of those who died. The original case was brought by a former National Park Service employee who felt that displaying the cross on public lands without other religions represented was offensive. In an attempt to get around the Establishment clause issue, Congress declared the cross…
Supreme Court rules that Bribing Political Candidates is now legal!

kimberlyhouser

22 Jan 2010 | 12:16 pm

In a 5-4 decision the United States Supreme Court has made bribing political candidates legal. Locally, when a developer is denied approval to build another subdivision, now corporate headquarters can turn around and fund the election of someone who will vote for it. Nationally, the awarding of federal contracts to campaign supporters will no longer go on under the table with risks of ethics violations and possible criminal charges, now it can be done out in the open. The case at issue is Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, No. 08-205. This case involves a…
Bloggers and the new FTC Guide

kimberlyhouser

20 Jan 2010 | 11:15 am

The FTC updated its Guide Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising effective December 1, 2009, which concerns testimonials and endorsements on websites and blogs. Going forward, if you (or a user on your blog or website) represent results from the use of a product or service as typical when that is not the case, you will need to also disclose the results that most consumers can expect. This is different from the previous FTC Guide which allowed advertisers to use extremely positive results in a testimonial as long as they included the disclaimer such as “these…
Will someone please decide whether software can be patented?

kimberlyhouser

16 Jan 2010 | 2:54 pm

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments in the case of Bilski v. Kappos No. 08-964 (Supreme Court 2009). This decision could help determine whether software can be patented. The question in the lower court was whether a process can be patented. The lower court expanded its inquiry to whether or not software can be patented. Although this Federal Court did not rule that software cannot be patented, it apparently overruled the State Street decision. In State Street Bank & Trust v. Signature Financial Group, 149 F.3d 1368 (1998), the court determined that software programs that…