Judith Flournoy, a leader of a new legal tech association, says she thrives in ‘a constant state of change.’ As the Association of Legal Technologists holds its inaugural conference this weekend in Arizona, “a constant state of change” seems a fitting attribute for one of its board members. Other members include business and tech leaders who collectively could change the landscape of legal tech. Actually, that’s what they want to do....
John Thomas Entler, a prisoner at Washington State Penitentiary, was in no position to complain. But he did, telling prison officials they wrongly charged his prison account $200. He also complained about being forced to do certain work. That got him 10 days of cell confinement and 15 days lost time in the yard and gym. After a failed complaint in federal court, an appeals court finally gave him a break in Entler v....
Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni is on the verge of becoming a district court judge in Massachusetts. Last week, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved his nomination unanimously to serve as the presiding judge in the U.S. District Court in Springfield. His next stop in the confirmation rigmarole? The full Senate. A Westfield resident, Mastroianni is a former state prosecutor and defense lawyer. He was nominated by President Obama to fill the vacancy in the U....
Apple released iOS 7 for iPhones and iPads on Wednesday, leaving many legal professionals to wonder: is it worth updating? According to the Los Angeles Times, while Apple may be pimping the new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s pretty hard – and Apple’s pimp hand is strong indeed – the real innovation lies with its newest mobile operating system, iOS 7. Should attorneys jump on Apple’s newest software offering? iPhones may have begun as a Silicon Valley status accessory and a trendy mobile toy, but in 2013 even experienced attorneys are ditching their Blackberries for Apples....
The federal False Claims Act (FCA) creates a cause of action for any person retaliated against by his employer for attempting to prevent an FCA violation. The cause of action, however, was not accompanied by a statute of limitations, so federal courts have been stuck applying the most-closely analogous state statute of limitations. Courts don’t always pick the right statute. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that a Texas district court erred in applying the Texas Whistleblower Act (TWA) statute of limitations to a FCA retaliation lawsuit....
So, your plan is to graduate from law school and become corporate counsel at a Fortune 500 company? Good luck with that. According to experts, your chances of getting that job right out of law school are slim and none. It would be like going to Hollywood to get discovered while working at McDonald’s. However, there are law schools that can give you an advantage on your career path. Here’s how to find the schools that lead to in-house jobs:...
Facebook’s been the king of personalized advertising for a long while, at least within that site’s walled garden. The company, which has billions of users serving up biographical data and “likes” of companies and interests, knows you better than anyone. The company’s “like” buttons on third-party sites also track you across the web, providing even more information on your preferences based on your browsing history. And now, Facebook plans on sharing that information with ad providers on non-Facebook sites....
Law firms can be stressful places. You’re rushing to meet deadlines, reassuring anxious clients, and trying to keep everything running smoothly. In between all that, it can be hard to find a moment to stop, relax, and find focus. But it’s not impossible. With a little practice, you can find some zen in the midst of your daily chaos. Here are some tips to help you out. Throw a little downward dog in with your motion drafting; stretch out with child’s pose after a client meeting....
Using Twitter is as a marketing tool is incredibly easy. If you want more visibility, you can pay to promote your tweets to more users. Simple as that. What’s not so easy is determining the ROI for promoted tweets. There are many reasons to be skeptical about Twitter’s value for marketing efforts, but there are also some good reasons why your legal practice might benefit from it. Reasons Promoted Tweets Might Work for You Tips for Increasing the RIO of Promoted Tweets If you want promoted tweets to be worth your time and money, you need to develop a Twitter strategy....
In an unsurprising move, the family of Bryan Stow–the Giants fan who was severely attacked at the Dodgers’ season opener–has filed a lawsuit against the ballpark and the team. And who, exactly, is Bryan Stow’s attorney? Thomas Girardi of the Girardi Keese law firm in Los Angeles. A member of the California State Bar’s Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and the California Judicial Council, he’s known for big verdicts and even bigger settlements....
It’s sometimes risky to ask for a change of venue based on pre-trial publicity. In the internet age, it’s very possible that people have heard about a high-profile case beyond the borders of one courthouse. Plus, potential jurors in another town may not be as sympathetic to a party in a case as those in the original venue. So is it really a good idea for Oberlin College, a defendant in defamation/business interference case, to ask for a venue change to a courthouse 30 miles away?...
What a great year for gay rights activists. First, President Barack Obama comes out publicly to support gay marriage. Now, a federal court has ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Yes, that’s right. The First Circuit Court of Appeals has finally weighed in on the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. And same-sex couples are applauding the unanimous decision of the three-judge panel. Does this mean that same-sex couples will be rushing to the altar?...
The story of Princess LaCaze is no fairy tale. To start with, she is no princess. Rather, she is an inmate in Louisiana, in jail for the murder of her husband. But she didn’t commit the murder, although she was complicit. And in cutting a plea deal, the actual killer testified against her. When the full nature of his plea bargain was kept under wraps by the prosecution, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals was called in to decide whether there were any violations for failure to disclose Brady material....
This week we’ve been taking a look at the ACC’s report “Skills for the 21st Century General Counsel,” and giving you a brief synopsis of the kinds of skills that lawyers, board members and executives value in their GC. First we looked at the GC’s role as the fearless leader of the legal department, and then we looked at the GC’s role as the “counselor in chief.” Today, in the last of a three-part series, we look at the GC’s role as business strategist....
It takes a conscience – not a calculator – to figure out the right hourly fee to charge clients. Years ago, I learned this lesson in a divorce case. I charged the going hourly rate for my services, although the opportunity was there to work on a contingent fee. I could have made millions, but my conscience wouldn’t let me. Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.5, which prohibits contingent fees in divorces, also had something to do with it....
With the National Labor Relations Board trying to push the envelope in making corporations jointly liable for labor violations of their franchisees, California has quietly pushed the envelope across the desk and into a mailbox. (Is that how that metaphor works?) Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB 1897 into law. It took effect January 1, along with about 900 other new laws, but it promises to have a huge impact on how business is done....
In a challenge to a confirmed Chapter 11 reorganization plan, the confirmation of the plan is affirmed in part where: 1) certain noteholders did not preserve their challenge to the plan’s treatment of their secured claims; and 2) the plan did not create a substantive consolidation. However, the order is reversed in part where: 1) the equitable mootness doctrine did not bar review of issues raised on appeal concerning the treatment of noteholders’ secured claims, it did not bar re-evaluation of whether their administrative priority claim was correctly calculated, and it did not bar review of the plan’s release clauses insulating multiple parties from liability; and 2) the bankruptcy court may have made a mathematical error and deprived noteholders of a post-petition administrative priority claim....
We’ve been having some fun with the latest iPhone’s Siri voice recognition software. It’s supposed to help users find directions, and answers to everyday questions. But for legal professionals, this new technology may not truly connect. Ask Siri about the law, and she’ll likely respond like your summer intern: “Hmm… I don’t know… How about a web search?” So we put Siri to the test. Our un-serious deposition produced the following answers:...
Last July, the Second Circuit ruled that the federal government could not force Microsoft to turn over emails stored on a foreign server in Ireland. Two weeks ago, a divided Second Circuit declined to reconsider that ruling en banc, allowing the landmark decision to stand. But the Second Circuit’s logic doesn’t seem to have convinced U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Rueter. On Friday, Rueter ruled that Google must turn over foreign-stored electronic data to the FBI, pursuant to two search warrants issued under the Stored Communications Act, the same act the Second Circuit found did not have extraterritorial reach....
A tacky joke between a judge and jurors in a murder trial isn’t necessarily evidence of an unfair trial. Jurors in Marcus Wellons’ malice, murder, and rape trial sent a chocolate penis to the judge and chocolate breasts to the bailiff — gag gifts that were intended to “lighten things up.” The jury later convicted Wellons and recommended the death sentence. Wellons argued that the gifts denied him of his constitutional right to a fair trial by an impartial jury and judge....
