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While Lumber Liquidators is under a microscope for its potentially toxic laminate flooring, at least one flooring company is getting some good news. After refusing to be walked all over by the competition, Mannington Mills, a laminate manufacturer, has gotten support from the Eleventh Circuit. After the company designed a rustic, imitation-wood flooring, it soon found almost identical pieces for sale by a competitor. There wasn’t much Mannington could do about it, a district court ruled, since the old wood design wasn’t original enough to justify copyright protection....

Apparently unfamiliar with The Streisand Effect, the International Franchise Association, along with four owners of various franchises, are suing the City of Seattle to enjoin enforcement of the city’s new minimum wage ordinance. The ordinance would take effect April 1 and would raise the city’s minimum wage from $9 to $15 an hour. Despite what The Huffington Post is insinuating, McDonald’s isn’t suing the city, nor is any McDonald’s franchisee. On the other hand, a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs would definitely benefit those franchisees....

Unlike weeds that seem to grow in any condition, solo law practices need a little more care. After all, lawyers are not a naturally occurring part of the ecosystem. Sunshine, water, and a little soil probably have nothing to do with their success. In urban life, it takes at least a plan, implementation, and perhaps a little luck to grow a solo practice. Here are some tips for your growth strategy:...

Forget the sky high heels and the over-sized purses. The best fashion accessory these days is apparently your law degree. It’s a well-known adage that everyone needs a lawyer but fashion law is a growing specialty tailored to the specific needs of fashion designers. Whether it’s a new area or simply one that’s getting attention now is unclear. What we do know is that it’s a field looking for lawyers. But before you dive in headfirst, make sure you can offer what they’re looking for....

For many attorneys, there is very little concern that a judge will comment on your attire, hair, or overall style. However, it does happen, and unfortunately, more often than not, it will happen behind your back. When it does happen that a judge calls out a lawyer in their courtroom for some perceived fashion faux paus, an attorney may feel compelled to defend their dressing decisions, but that might not be the right choice....

Hurricane Sandy lashed the East Coast with ferocious winds and torrential rain. As the storm causes delays in the justice system, law firm business may take an indirect hit. The U.S. Supreme Court, which heard arguments Monday morning as most of the nation’s capital shut down, closed for business at 2 p.m., according to The Washington Post. Arguments set for Tuesday will now be heard Thursday. It’s not yet clear if Wednesday’s arguments will also be rescheduled....

Hurricane Katrina-Related Negligence Action In In Re: Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC, No. 08-30738, an action alleging damages from the flooding of Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes in New Orleans when several levee systems failed as a result of the erosion of protective wetlands allegedly caused by defendants’ negligent maintenance dredging operations, the court affirmed the dismissal of the action where the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina was not a foreseeable result of the allegedly negligent conduct of any defendant....

Before 2007, John McAleese may have had the “accidental investor” defense if anyone ever questioned his involvement with the patent-trolling company suing one of his firm’s biggest clients. His wife was involved with FlatWorld Interactives, a company that patented gesture-based control of a touchscreen device. According to Ars Technica, they even made attempts to commercialize the concept, but when Apple’s iPhone was revealed in 2007, the company’s plans turned to the courtroom....

Lawyers get a lot of flack for commercial and radio shoots, with parts of the profession considering it sleazy, and other parts trying to reign in potential misrepresentation. But lawyer advertisements are important to get the word out and help smaller firms and solo practitioners compete, which is why the New York firm Cellino & Barnes has made them a part of its marketing strategy. Only now, instead of being scrutinized by the profession, the firm is getting some pushback from Buffalo’s City Hall....

It’s the biggest legal data breach ever. With over 11 million previously confidential files released to the public, the so-called “Panama Papers” have led to accusations of corruption, cronyism, and tax evasion, implicating everyone from Vladimir Putin and Jackie Chan, to the (now former) Prime Minister of Iceland. At the center of the scandal is one law firm, Mossack Fonseca, whose “limited” data breach exposed how the rich and powerful hide their cash....

The technology startup world is known for being male-dominated. A survey by TechCrunch found that in 2014, only 18 percent of startups had a female founder, up from less than 10 percent in 2009. One law firm is trying to change that – and not by filing a series of gender discrimination lawsuits, either. Perkins Coie announced this week that it would discount its services 15 percent for startups that have a woman in a senior executive position....

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of five men accused of working with al-Qaida to bomb the Sears Tower this week, rejecting their appeal that the judge in the case should have declared a mistrial. Five of the “Liberty City Seven” were convicted in a 2009 Florida trial after two prior mistrials. The U.S. Attorney’s office had indicated that it would not prosecute the men a fourth time if the third trial also ended in a mistrial, reports The Miami Herald....

A former lawyer in Pakistan who overstayed his U.S. visa was denied his political asylum petition for withholding of removal and his Convention Against Torture petition by both an immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals. The First Circuit granted, in part, his petition for witholding of removal and remanded it to the BIA for further proceedings. However, his CAT petition was denied for lack of evidence of torture....

One of our most loyal readers tweeted us with an interesting question: is it considered ethical behavior for judges to tweet? It may seem like a strange question – after all, Twitter is a communication medium, like email, blogging, and the like. Then again, we’ve seen at least one judge lose his job over forwarding naughty emails. Twitter could simply be a quicker way to shoot yourself in the foot....

As a lawyer, should you ever represent family members? That’s Not My Area of Expertise You don’t want to take on problems that aren’t in your field of expertise. If you’re a construction attorney who spends his day revising contracts, what can you do about Aunt Bertha’s slip-and-fall? Probably not that much: You’d essentially be a law student looking things up, which wastes both your time and Aunt Bertha’s. Both of you would be better served if she would just hire a personal injury lawyer....

So much is a mouse-click away these days. A playlist of classic rock. A video of cats doing funny things. A billion online posts collected by military spies. Wait, what? That’s right, U.S. military intelligence made a huge trove of social media surveillance publicly available – one mouse-click away from being spread across the internet. Thank goodness it was only your Facebook information. Wait, what? Spy Archive “The repositories appear to contain billions of public internet posts and news commentary scraped from the writings of many individuals from a broad array of countries, including the United States,” Dan O’Sullivan said on UpGuard’s blog....

We’ve heard so much about Russians, collusion, and porn stars, it’s getting really old. If it weren’t for stories about Mueller, Cohen, and Kavanaugh, many lawyers would have tuned out the saga of scandals. But now comes a presidential/legal development that should concern attorneys across America. One potential Supreme Court nominee proposes eliminating discovery in federal cases worth less than $500,000. It won’t make the 6 o’clock news, but associate attorneys should start thinking about what they will do for work next....

Last year, we blogged about the new “fast track” (Track One Prioritized Examination) system for patent applications. The idea is simple: Pay more upfront, do less work, and get your patent faster. By many accounts, the new fast track was definitely faster than older expedited methods (an average of 184 days from filing to allowance), and was cheaper too – research published on the Patently-O blog said that despite the higher upfront cost, fast-tracked patents would actually save money in the long run....

The oddest tech news of the week belongs to Microsoft, the new owners of Nokia’s phone division. For those who aren’t tech-obsessed, Microsoft has its own phone operating system (Windows Phone 8.1) and app store, though its app store is far less populated than those of Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS. As a result, Microsoft’s phones haven’t been selling particularly well. Two of the company’s plans leaked earlier this week, and both point to a cozier relationship with rival Google’s Android operating system....

There are lots of good reasons for lawyers to work from home. It saves on commute time, office expenses, and other overhead. It offers flexible work hours, freedom to practice on the go, and the ultimate perk – working in pajamas or flip-flops. But there are at least three reasons not to practice law at home. The Number 1 reason is a practice-killer. 1. Don’t Do Depositions at Home William T....