If you tweet to promote your practice – or just because you like to tweet – you’ve probably heard the sad news that the TweetDeck app is dead. This week, Twitter-owned app announced: The outpouring of emotion across the Internet suggests that active tweeters aren’t handling the news well. (The Atlantic Wire even published a eulogy for the TweetDeck app.) Luckily, all is not lost. TweetDeck will live on in actual computers....
Arbitration agreements often seem one-sided, and in some employment cases, they may seem downright predatory. But as the Fifth Circuit affirmed in their most recent look at arbitration agreements, even an agreement that allows the employer to unilaterally terminate is not illusory – it’s legal. Arbitration agreements are some of the most heinous contractual provisions for a reason. Even in cases where other circuits have found them to be one-sided and adhesive, they’re almost always upheld....
You’re a lawyer, not a writer. You have billable hours, office management, and scotch to drink. Even if you could find the time to start a law blog, what would be the point? Marketing Look up DUI defense lawyers in your city on Google. Unless you live in Wasilla, Alaska, there are probably at least a few dozen lawyers, each with their own webpage. Each has experience, most appear mildly non-sleazy, and none really set themselves apart, at least with their online presence....
Given the increases in electronic storage and data archiving, eDiscovery has exploded in recent years. That explosion has helped fuel a growing industry of legal support professionals, from attorneys to IT workers to project managers, who manage you eDiscovery needs. But, of course, not all litigation support specialists are equal. Here are some tips to help you out in your search for the perfect match for your firm. Before starting your job search, it’s important to know just what type of specialist you need....
In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a remarkable difference between in-house attorneys and out-house … Alright, that wasn’t fair. But you know where we’re going with this. In-house counsel and outside counsel are different animals. It’s not just that one goes to work in casual wear, and the other wears a dress suit. It’s actually about the difference in pay – and not what you think. Career Satisfaction According to the latest Evers Legal Career Satisfaction Report, in-house lawyers care more about advancement opportunities than salaries....
It’s just wrong to let someone else make your estate plan without you, so why would you let anybody plan law firm succession without you? Seriously, getting old is hard enough without people waiting around for you to get out or die. They don’t call lawyers sharks for nothing. Make your own plan to get out of practice because if you don’t, somebody else might do it for you. Or, if you are part of the group circling aging colleagues, show them that famous professional courtesy....
Judge Edward Prado of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals was recently nominated by President Trump to serve as the ambassador to Argentina. And while the official ambassador position has been vacant for nearly a year, if Prado is confirmed (which is highly anticipated), it will create a new vacancy on the Fifth Circuit. Recently, Trump was able to fill two open seats on that bench with the appointments of Justices James Ho and Don Willett....
The trial of Azamat Tazhayakov, better known as one of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s friends, began earlier this month, and a mere two weeks later, the jury has deliberated and found him guilty. Let’s take a closer look at the details surround the criminal trial. The Criminal Conduct Azamat Tazhayakov, a native of Kazakhstan and visiting student at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, was indicted for allegedly interfering with the investigation against alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev....
President Trump issued a revised version of his controversial immigration executive order this morning. The new EO is largely similar to the previous version, with some important changes meant to insulate it from legal challenges. Permanent residents and visa holders are no longer covered by the ban, for example, while a preference for Christians and other religious minorities has been dropped. But what will the new order mean for the litigation currently playing out in federal courts, including Washington State’s ongoing challenge to the previous order?...
We’ve written before about how lawyers do (or at least, should) extend each other professional courtesies. These small actions, like not objecting to reasonable discovery requests or scheduling depositions at convenient times and places, amount to treating opposing counsel with respect. Some lawyers, though, think that any amount of cordiality amounts to surrender. They’ve got to the establish themselves as the Alpha Dog, or whatever metaphor their self-help books use. How do you deal with these crazy people?...
Partner: “I’m taking the jet today.” Associate: “Can I help with your bags?” Secretary: “No, but you can load mine.” If only your law firm had a corporate jet, you too could live like the rich-and-famous. Some lawyers can justify the expense of a private jet, but obviously it’s not for everybody. Or is it? Only $3 Million Patterson & Sheridan, a patent litigation firm in Texas, decided to buy a $3 million corporate jet instead of opening a satellite office to develop a practice in California....
It’s only mid-August, and the days are getting shorter already. I’m noticing it’s darker out at my usual wake up time, and I’m thankful that I invested in my Philips Wake-Up Light so I can awake not only to bright light, but also the sound of birds chirping (kind of like this gal). But seriously, anyone who feels the slightest effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder knows the impact of light on sleep....
Are you addicted to your Outlook Calendar and Inbox? Do you go through withdrawal when you can’t connect to Outlook’s folders away from the office? Credenza might be the application that you are looking for. An add-on to the popular e-mail application, Credenza offers a variety of different solutions - file management, time recording, and data encryption, to name a few. Many seem perfect for attorneys. Utilizing the Credenza application seems to also be great for consolidating applications....
There are at least three good reasons not to buy drugs from a client. One, it creates an insurmountable conflict of interest if you are both arrested on drug charges. Two, even if only your client is busted, the price for your drugs will triple. And three, your name might end up in a blog post about why you shouldn’t buy drugs from clients. It’s not really funny, but reality can be hard to deal with and sometimes you just have to laugh....
Defending against the Justice Department’s attempt to block its plans, AT&T wrote in court filings on Friday that the pending T-Mobile merger is a boon for consumers, who would experience better output, fewer dropped calls, and lower prices if the deal is allowed to go through. The company further asserted that the Department’s focus on preventing the reemergence of the Twin Bells has blinded regulators to the realities of the wireless industry, including the extent of actual competition, and surging consumer demand....
Is it really a good idea to issue a press release about going global with your cannabis practice? Hoban Law Group, a leading cannabis law firm in Colorado, apparently thinks so. The firm announced it is opening four offices in Europe and two in Latin America to serve cannabis clients. But with federal laws against marijuana, isn’t that a little like winking at a highway patrol officer as you speed by at 90 miles an hour?...
US v. Wilson, 06-4180, concerned a challenge to a defendant’s conviction for conspiracy to kidnap, a sentence of life imprisonment, and district court’s denial of defendant’s post-sentencing motions for a new trial. In affirming, the court held that given the strength of the government’s case, the extensive evidence of defendant’s guilt, the prosecution’s limited use of challenged evidence during the trial, and the court’s cautionary instructions to the jury, the erroneous introduction of a shooting did not affect the jury’s verdict....
Paul Ceglia, who has been steadfast in his claims that a 2003 investment and programming contract entitles him to a portion of Facebook, amended his lawsuit against Mark Zuckerburg last week to include new evidence. The evidence? A series of emails from 2003 and 2004 that purportedly demonstrate that Ceglia is entitled to 50% of the social network. Facebook maintains that the emails are fake. According to the lawsuit and the new emails, Mark Zuckerburg had agreed that, for every day that the Facebook launch was delayed, Ceglia would receive 1% of the company....
A federal appeals court preserved Mississippi’s so-called “religious freedom law” from a legal challenge by LGBT-rights activists. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said the plaintiffs in Barber v. Bryant lacked standing to sue the state over the Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act. The law allows government employees, service providers, and businesses to deny services to gay couples and others based on religious beliefs without reprisal from the government....
Micah Johnson, a disgraced Army vet, is thought to have shot and killed five police officers and injured seven others in Dallas last Thursday. Johnson was killed in turn, hours after being cornered by police in a nearby parking garage. But Johnson didn’t fall to police gunfire. He was blown up. In what appears to be a first, the Dallas police used a Multi-function Agile Remote-Controlled Robot, or MARCbot, to end Johnson’s life....
