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That didn’t take long. Less than three weeks after hearing oral arguments in former graduate student Jennifer Keeton’s free speech rights appeal, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court decision that Augusta State University (ASU) did not run afoul of the Constitution in removing Keeton from the school’s graduate program in counseling. After completing her first year in the Counselor Education Program at ASU, a public university, school officials asked Keeton to participate in a remediation plan addressing what the faculty perceived as deficiencies in her “ability to be a multiculturally competent counselor, particularly with regard to working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (GLBTQ) populations....

Cook County, Illinois, which voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton in 2016, will have its revenge. The Democratic stronghold has sued Facebook in the ballooning analytics scandal, in which the social media giant provided user information to a Trump-affiliated political consulting firm. It is apparently the first public entity to join the cascade of lawsuits against the company since the “breach of trust,” as Mark Zuckerberg described it. So why is Cook County – population 5 million – suing Facebook about the 50-million-user data scandal?...

When a kid gets busted for cheating while playing video games, usually the worst that can happen is a little well deserved temporary social ostracism from friends. However, for one determined and unlucky 14-year-old Fortnite player, the worst might be a $150,000 worse than anyone, including his mother, expected. That’s because this 14-year-old is being sued by Epic Games thanks not only to his repeated cheating leading to repeated banning from the game, but also for posting multiple YouTube videos showing off his prowess at cheating while also teaching others how to do the same via hacking the game....

Two women have filed a class action lawsuit against the Georgia Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, after the Kemp’s office released voter data that contained information including individuals’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and even driver’s license information. Over six million Georgia voters could be affected by the breach. But it wasn’t Russian hackers or disgruntled employees behind the #PeachBreach; it was simple, old-fashioned incompetence. The breach occurred after the Secretary of States’ office sent out routine voter information to state political parties and media outlets....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. Technology is advancing at warp speed, and the way we live is changing constantly. Indeed, what was once lifestyle bedrock is now going the way of the dinosaurs. For example, when I backpacked in Europe more than three decades ago, I kept in touch with my family by way of aerogrammes and postcards. Those days are gone....

Should you stalk jurors on social media, for juror selection research? Short answer? Yes. Last year, we asked: does an ignorance of social media amount to malpractice? It may seem like a silly question, but the sheer amount of information available on social media (for researching opposing counsel, clients, witnesses, jurors, and any other parties involved in a case) make it an invaluable resource that you’d be foolish to ignore, especially for voir dire....

Have some coffee with your legal counsel? If you’re in the Los Angeles area, you may have driven by or seen the Legal Grind coffeehouse. While Legal Grind may appear like any other cafe where you can get your morning cup of coffee, latte, or tea, the cafe distinguishes itself as attorneys can sign up for the cafe’s referral service. On designated days, the cafe establishes theme nights for certain practice areas....

Clients hate to get bad news but Lamarcus Williamson was so upset about it that he punched his attorney in the face after hearing his sentence. Williamson pleaded guilty to a string of crimes and on Tuesday a judge gave him the maximum sentence of 15 years. Public defender, Dan Hall, is seen to put a hand on his arm in a video of the courtroom drama. Shortly after that Williamson turned and sucker punched Hall....

Constraints on litigation funding just got real in Wisconsin, and will make the legal business a little trickier everywhere else. Wisconsin now requires attorneys to disclose any third-party litigation funding deals to clients and “to the other parties” in a case. “Oh no you didn’t.” (That’s what we said.) But the law does exclude contingency fee agreements, a big “whew” to plaintiffs’ counsel who depend on litigation finance to swing at the big ones....

The Eleventh Circuit has denied a petition from Xia Chen to review the denial of her motion to reopen and to stay her removal from the United States. Chen, a citizen and native of China, alleges that in accordance with federal removal proceedings, her application should be re-reviewed based on a change in country conditions. The Eleventh Circuit felt otherwise. Chen had initially entered the United States in 2001, without a valid entry document....

Justice Jon David Levy, an associate justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court since 2002, was one of eight nominated nationally Thursday by President Barack Obama to be a U.S. District Court judge, the White House announced. Earlier this year, Maine’s congressional delegation passed along Levy’s name and the names of attorneys William D. Robitzek of Berman & Simmons in Lewiston and Jeffrey N. Young of McTeague Higbee in Topsham to the White House, reports the Bangor Daily News....

In Carreras v. Sajo Garcia & Partners, No. 08-2068, the First Circuit faced a challenge to the district court’s summary judgment for the defendant in plaintiff’s action for workplace disability discrimination and retaliation. As stated in the decision: “The record shows that in many instances Carreras’ response manifestly ignores the express requirements of the anti-ferret rule. Most blatantly, in at least two instances, Carreras’ opposition fails to “accept, qualify or deny” the fact listed by his opponent....

Providing an employment reference for a former employee is always a sticky situation. If the person responding to the request discloses too much information, the employer can end up being sued for defamation or tortious interference with prospective business relations. But what if that person has disclosed too little information? What if the reference request is for a dangerous former employee? Is human resources obligated to disclose violent or other improper conduct?...

It’s a bad time to be a pickpocket or mugger. Starting this July, all smartphones sold in California must come with a kill switch – software that allows the phone’s owner to disable the device should it be stolen. This makes the phones more difficult to resell and less of a target for thieves. The smartphone kill switch may already be working. Smartphone thefts have dropped drastically in the last year, which some advocates attribute to the growing prevalence of the kill switches....

The Supreme Court’s ban on victim impact testimony that recommends specific sentencing outcomes (like the death penalty) is still in effect despite the opinion being partially overruled, the Court announced in a per curiam decision last week. The brief ruling involves the interplay of Booth v. Maryland, the 1987 case in which the Court ruled that the Eighth Amendment prohibits victim’s family members’ opinions about the crime, and Payne v. Tennessee, decided just four years later, which allowed testimony about the emotional impact of crimes....

After a rollercoaster week of appeals, Texas Death Row inmate Beunka Adams was executed by lethal injection on Thursday in Huntsville. Though U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider granted Adams a stay of execution on Monday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the stay on Wednesday. The Supreme Court rejected Adams’ appeal on Thursday, hours before he was executed, reports The Associated Press. Adams, who was 19 when he committed the crime, has been appealing his conviction, both through state and federal habeas petitions, for years....

Can you write an appellate brief in 140 characters or less (including spaces)? This odd question–and challenge–has been posed by the Appellate Section of the Texas State Bar, which is kicking off its annual meeting in September with a Twitter brief competition, asking members and attendees to test their ability to make it short and quick. For those yearning to enter–and those who have no clue where to start–here are a few suggestions to get those creative juices flowing....

Not every potential client who walks through the door is worth the trouble. There’s the controlling “my uncle is a lawyer and he said…” client. There’s the “can you bill me later… at a lower rate” client. And, of course, the overly specific herpes defense client. When you start out, you’ll be tempted to take every case that walks in the door. First of all, don’t. And as you get further along in your practice, not only will that feeling subside, but you’ll get better at learning when to say no, and more important, how....

There is no one-size-fits-all for when to settle a lawsuit, especially when it comes to whistleblower cases. That had something to do with why two Utah companies folded for $1.2 million in a whistleblower case. Money and timing were keys to settling the suit, but then there were also the intangible factors. Money Creative Times Dayschool Inc., and Big-D Construction Corp., two construction companies, agreed to pay to settle claims that they cheated to win a small business contract....

If you’ve decided to lease office space rather than go the virtual route, congratulations! You’re well on your way to looking professional. Before you get that office space, though, there are some things you want to think about that will make your whole experience better in the future. They might not seem important before you sign that lease, but if you don’t take these things into account, they’ll slowly nag at you until you wish you had....