Posts

In a case that is almost too difficult to describe without breaking the blogging boundaries of decency, a doctor’s criminal convictions for tax evasion, distributing drugs, and fraud have been upheld by the First Circuit. The case of Dr. Joel Sabaen, convicted back in 2016, is a curious one. The criminal convictions all stem from conduct he engaged in with his adult daughter. The tax evasion related to over $2 million he gave her over a five year period of time....

The Journal reports that the FBI has issued an alert to Honolulu’s legal community calling attention to no less than a “crime wave.” In the past several weeks, six law firms have been targeted with this particular scam and have lost a total of $500,000. The scammers contact a firm, posing as a client in need of representation in a civil case such as divorce. The firm then receives a retainer check in amount exceeding the usual firm requirement....

The Internet browser wars are in full swing, as Google Chrome has just overtaken Internet Explorer in the top spot. For the time being, Chrome is now the world’s most popular browser, but is that reason enough for lawyers to make the switch? Chrome barely edged out IE, taking 31.88 percent of the world’s Web traffic to IE’s 31.47 percent, according to StatCounter. Though IE still rules in some regions (like North America), there’s good reason for the sea change....

A new day, a new question: should you use Facebook for jury selection? Tactically speaking, a lot of people are saying yes. If you can legally find out information that could be helpful to seating a favorable jury, do it they say. Others say that the traditional voir dire process is where it should end, and there is something unsavory or even unethical about combining jury duty and Facebook. Then there is a third group, that of prospective jurors who say, “forget about the dilemma, now all I have to do is post stupid stuff on Facebook and I’ll never have to sit on a jury again....

The Pacific bearded seal’s future is on thin ice, literally and figuratively. The seals, known for their long, mustache-like whiskers, live and feed off the ice flows that cover the shallow waters off the coast of Alaska and the Arctic. Those flows are expected to decline dramatically, shrinking as climate change drives temperatures north. By 2095, loss of ice will leave the Okhotsk and Beringia bearded seal population segments endangered, according to estimates by the National Marine Fisheries Service....

What is a SuperConference, you ask? Besides being a great excuse to take a few days off mid-week and catch up with the Windy City, it is Inside Counsel’s 13th Annual Conference for in house attorneys. This year’s focus is on attorneys as strategic partners in a company’s development (as opposed to the older model: attorney locked in the attic for when the feces hits the fan.) Sound titillating? Maybe not....

Defendant’s conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm and imposition of a 70-month sentence is affirmed as defendant’s possession of the firearm had the potential to facilitate the offense of distribution because the record supports the inference that he possessed the loaded gun knowing that there were drugs in the SUV which were intended for sale. Read US v. Cannon, No. 08-1156 Appellate Information Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts...

Blame it on the 70s, when that new phenomenon – jogging or yogging – became popular. Since then, there’s been one new health kick after another, but one new health trend may actually save your company money – employee wellness programs. While sources vary as to actual savings, here’s a little sampling: the Harvard Business Review did a study in 2010 that put the savings at $6 per every dollar invested in a wellness program; the Huffington Post cites a study that puts the savings at $3....

Thanks to the Fourth Circuit’s mistake in 1994, Demetrius Hill, who was allegedly assaulted (though not severely injured) by Corrections Officer William Crum, will be unable to bring a Bivens suit, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision to the contrary. According to Hill, in 2007, his cellmate broke the sprinkler in his cell. After the cellmate was removed in hand restraints, Hill, also in restraints, was punched in the abdomen and ribs, and was elbowed in the head, by C....

Backpage.com is not liable for alleged sex trafficking cases that took place on its site after Craigslist perspicaciously shut down the “adult” section of its site, according to the First Circuit. The decision of the circuit court should come as relief to websites which look to shield themselves from liability from the ribald and illicit acts of its users. This is not the first time Backpage has been in court. The site first really came into prominence when it essentially became the go-to site for adult classified ads when Craigslist shut down its “adult” section after being besieged by lawsuits alleging Section 230 violations of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), aka the “Great Internet Sex Panic of 1995....

Six years ago, Apple released the iPad and suddenly the market for tablet computers, which had been around since the early 90s, exploded. Simple, mobile tablet computing was now a real, worthwhile thing. But since 2010, Apple has been surpassed by its competitors, especially when it comes to using tablets for professional purposes. The primary iPad-killer is the Microsoft Surface Pro, which we love. Sure, it’s cute that you can play Candy Crush on your iPad, but you can actually do work on the Microsoft Surface....

In a recent decision by a three judge panel at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, judges that use Twitter got a little bit more clarity on when Tweeting violates judicial ethics. The case involved an appeal of a motion for relief from judgment filed by Sierra Pacific Industries, a lumber producer, after a settlement related to a 2007 wildfire. Sierra, for their appeal, alleged that the district court erred in refusing to grant relief from the settlement that the company agreed to with the government....

In-house attorneys at banks can breathe a collective sigh of relief this week after the Baltimore City Council and Mayor’s Office lost an antitrust claim against some of the world’s largest and best-known financial institutions. Baltimore politicos filed a class action suit against household name banks including Citigroup, JPMorganChase, and Bank of America, alleging that the institutions violated the Sherman Act when they simultaneously stopped buying auction rate securities in 2008....

The “Courtroom of the Future” is not a courtroom; it’s the future of courtrooms. But Hofstra University has one – a working model for law students to learn how to practice in the future. It features trial practice software, digital presentations, video-conferencing for witnesses, and more. Judge Gail Prudenti, who is dean of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra, says legal tech is a priority there. That’s because lawyers of the future are going to need it....

Last week, Girl Scouts of the USA announced the appointment of Jennifer Rochon as the organization’s first-ever general counsel. Rochon, a seasoned litigator with experience ranging from complex contractual disputes to intellectual property, will join the Girl Scouts on October 1. Sadly, she will be compensated in dollars and not in Thin Mints. Rochon is currently a litigation partner at the New York City-based law firm of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP....

In Morales-Vallellanes v. Potter, No. 08-2346, the First Circuit faced a challenge to a jury’s $500,000 verdict in plaintiff’s favor, later reduced to $300,00 due to a statutory cap and an award of $64,504 in back pay, in plaintiff’s Title VII suit against his former employer, the United States Postmaster General, alleging discrimination and retaliation. Here, in finding that none of the claims made by plaintiff had a material effect on his employment, and therefore cannot constitute discrimination, the court vacated the jury’s verdict as plaintiff failed to prove that he suffered any material adverse employment action within the meaning of Title VII’s discrimination or retaliation provisions....

Say what you want about Sheryl Sandberg’s admonition to lean in, but whether you agree with her theory or not, she has added fuel to the long-stagnant discourse on the professional advancement of women. And it seems like companies are taking note – and taking responsibility. Now that the issue of women’s professional advancement is definitively on the map, we can all start doing something about getting there. Women Should Lean In If you’re unfamiliar with Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In,” she essentially states that women need to be proactive about moving forward within a company....

The First Circuit Court of Appeals clearly cares about deadlines. Just ask Samuel Dixon, who just lost his sentencing appeal because his motion was filed one day too late. In Dixon’s recent sentencing appeal, despite the fact that the district court didn’t even bother to address the timeliness question when dismissing the appellant’s motion to vacate his sentence, that’s all the First Circuit even looked at. The court explained that even giving the appellant the longest available statute of limitations, he missed it by one day....

If no one has said it to you yet, then we should step in to do that honor: retail is getting killed, and we all know that online-retail’s rise and brick-and-mortar retail’s coincidental decline is no coincidence at all. And the fight for consumer retail dollars is finding its way into the courtroom. But not all the time. General counsel and other in-house lawyers should take the time to get familiar with mass tort class action trends that have been afflicting the industry....

It seems that Thomas Liotti was pretty peeved after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals admonished him in December for five different charges of attorney misconduct. Some attorneys might have picked up a pint of ice cream, curled up in pajamas, and watched some reality TV to cope with appellate admonishment. Liotti, on the other hand, filed a petition of certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to benchslap the Fourth Circuit for benchslapping him....