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For several years, there have been different brass rings to reach for within the legal profession. The most common recurring of these including being named partner and in-house counsel (or better yet, GC) – though the orders tend to switch. But for most lawyers, that isn’t going to happen or it will be a while yet. One way you can make partner instantly is to create your own firm. You’ve dreamed about it, of course, but what to do with the expenses?...

Last week Office Depot and OfficeMax completed their merger, and it made us wonder, what is going to happen to each respective legal department? Here are some things we think are important to consider if you work in the legal department of a company that was merging with another … You don’t like to take chances. Your desk is tidy. You like predictability and job security. Working in a company that is in the midst of a merger means one thing – your job may not exist after integration....

There are plenty of pronunciations practitioners can disagree on – voir dire, for example, stare decisis, or even choate. Then there’s antecedent, usually said with the emphasis on cede, as in ‘ant-a-SEED-ent.’ But not by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. Justice Kagan pronounced the word ‘an-TESS-a-dent,’ like precedent, during oral arguments in 2015, according to Regent University law professor James J. Duane, raising the question of how attorneys should respond to a judge’s unusual pronunciation....

What does the First Circuit Court of Appeals say about former FBI informants who claim use immunity? Unfortunately for James “Whitey” Bulger, there isn’t much room for immunity. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be raising the argument. And even if there is, the courts have addressed the same issue before in a related mobster case, and ruled against use immunity. We’ve covered the story of mobster Whitey Bulger previously on this blog....

Wikimedia may continue its case against the National Security Agency for allegedly spying on users’ internet communications, a federal appeals court said. Reversing a trial court decision in Wikimedia Foundation v. National Security Agency, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals said the non-profit organization has standing to sue the agency for violating Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful searches. The court rejected the government’s argument that Wikimedia’s claims were speculative and said the foundation had alleged enough damages....

We know that the U.S is a highly litigious society, but did you know the U.S. legal system is the most costly, too? The way our legal system works is problematic for companies, large and small. The costs of doing business will be increased by the high costs of litigation and budget cuts that will inevitably be made for businesses to survive in this economic climate. Don’t let your job be on the chopping board....

Fact: at some point in your career as a practicing attorney, you will have a disgruntled client. Your primary concern, years ago, would be a malpractice lawsuit and perhaps, a lost client or two in the community. Today, that one angry client can run amok on sites like Yelp!, leaving your online reputation tarnished in the eyes of prospective clients, most of whom will search for you online before contacting your office....

People probably expect lawyers to exaggerate; it’s what we do. Like when an attorney says a client chained to a chair in court is “not guilty,” who really believes that? It’s not a lie, but everybody knows the real story. Outside the courtroom, it’s a different story. Lawyers have to check the hyperbole at the door. Here are the three, biggest hyperbolic don’ts in lawyer marketing: Don’t Lie on Social Media Maybe you can get away with calling out opposing counsel for “unmitigated lies” in pleadings, although you won’t win any arguments that way....

Over time, attorneys tend to specialize and focus their legal practices rather narrowly. As such, attorneys often litigate the same issues, and file the same types of motions and other pleadings, over and over again. And while you may have finally moved over to an online form system for gathering info from clients, your pleading form library may just be a mess of uncategorized motions, replies, and oppositions you’ve filed in the past....

Getting clients is probably the most difficult challenge for a new solo practitioner. You may be desperate for a start, or have hit a dry patch, and any potential client seems appealing. However, you should be aware that not all prospective clients are created equal. In fact, there may be times when a prospective client who walks in through your doors is more trouble than he is worth. Here are three types of clients you should be wary of:...

For some lawyers, the work day never ends. Twenty years ago, lawyers left their phones and computers at work. Thanks to increased mobility, lawyers now send email from their phones, read briefs and cases on tablets, and are rarely seen without a laptop. Unfortunately, the never-stop-working work ethic means that more attorneys are burning out. So how do you stop the vicious cycle? Try actively disconnecting from the office at the end of the day....

Zamora v. Stephens would hardly merit a case note, except for one sensational thing: Diane Zamora murdered her boyfriend’s teenaged lover. It stemmed from a one-night stand that turned into years of stories, a book, a movie, and life sentences for Zamora and David Graham, who was also convicted in a love-triangle that ended the life of Adrianne Jones. They were all teenagers. Zamora is 40 now, and just lost her appeal in a civil rights suit against a prison....

BYOD is not just a trendy phenomenon – it’s here to stay. While there are many benefits of BYOD including increased company savings in funds and resources related to the purchase and supporting devices, and increased employee productivity and flexibility, BYOD also poses some serious risks. To assist you in this ever evolving field, we’re laying out the problems you should look for, as well as the policies and plans you should set in place....

In the wake of the recent tragedy in Sutherland Springs, Texas, what usually unfolds into a vehement battle between tech-giant and law enforcement over privacy rights, ended in a rather unexpectedly peaceful manner. Investigators of the mass shooting found a blood spattered iPhone in the shooter’s vehicle and promptly got a warrant to search it. Surprisingly, they also got an offer of assistance from Apple. Initially, it seemed as though law enforcement needed assistance to get into the locked device, however that has not been the case....

Back in January, we answered the question: how can lawyers help combat human trafficking? The answer was awareness: learning about the problem itself, discussing it with business clients (especially those who have supply chains), ensuring that their legal services aren’t used to further trafficking activities, and if necessary, dropping clients who refuse to conduct business legally and ethically. Meanwhile, industry-wide, organizations like the American Bar Association were pushing for more stringent laws and increased awareness....

Real Estate Bar Ass’n for Massachusetts, Inc. v. Nat’l Real Estate Info. Serv., No. 09-1809, concerned the Real Estate Bar Association’s suit against defendant for unauthorized practice of law. First, the court vacated in part the judgment of the district court against plaintiff on its unauthorized practice of law claim, as in Massachusetts, the state judicial branch and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) in particular, is solely responsible for defining what is the practice of law, and here, there is no controlling precedent which addresses whether the activities at issue constitute unauthorized practice of law....

A “Meet and Confer” under Rule 26(f) can set the tone for an entire trial. It can also lead to millions of dollars in sanctions and fees, and a trip before the state bar disciplinary committee. Judges have become increasingly fed up with bickering attorneys and unproductive meetings. Whether or not attorneys deliberately withhold information, or engage in willful conduct, judges are striking back. And it’s not pretty. The amended rules require both sides to Meet and Confer at least 21 days before a scheduling conference or scheduling order is due....

Well, it has finally happened. In a first, the maker of a self-driving car has accepted that their autonomous vehicle might be liable for a collision with a more traditional auto. The revelation comes after a Google self-driving car drove right into it’s human-operated kin this Valentine’s Day. And that the little ding could have major implications for the future. The fender bender took place, fittingly, in Silicon Valley, when a Google self-driving car caused a crash with a city bus in Mountain View, California....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. The Internet brings people together in all sorts of new ways. And when people come together, there can be all sorts of problems. So, is there a federal watchdog looking out for the rights of consumers in cyberspace? The answer is “yes” – the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC). The FTC was created in 1914, long before the Internet, to prevent unfair methods of competition in commerce....

For general counsel, when lawsuits get filed by and/or against subsidiaries, it’s usually no laughing matter. However, when subsidiaries of the same parent corporation sue each other, it’s easy to see how a GC might just step back and have a little chuckle. And while this is a rare occurrence, it is not that uncommon for companies that have the same shareholders to find themselves at odds in the courtroom. Recently, Epic Games, makers of the popular game Fortnite were sued by PUBG Corp....