An attorney in Michigan is facing disbarment for filling his resume with a series of ‘alternative facts’ – including that he competed for the U.S. field hockey team in the 1996 Olympics. Turns out, the lawyer, Ali Zaidi, wasn’t on the roster for that or any other Olympic events. Now Zaidi’s gold-medal lie, along with a whole string of additional misrepresentations, has the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board recommending his ouster....
Is the federal criminal code out of control? Experts told a House panel on Tuesday that it includes over 4,500 statutes – that’s in addition to another 300,000 agency regulations that impose other criminal sanctions. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R., Wis.) believes this is a problem, as the lesser known prohibitions often ensnare well-meaning citizens. He’s thus proposed a bill that will reduce the federal criminal code by 1/3. It’s still over 1,200 pages in length....
Before holiday travel gets into full swing, it might be good to warn your clients that their laptops and digital devices may be subject to a border search if they travel abroad. That’s true for now, though it may not be the case for long. Border searches are an important part of national security, and traditionally involve a search of both people and property entering the United States. For tech-savvy travelers, that also means their electronic devices can sometimes be seized and searched....
In a tort and civil RICO action against an investment company through which a third party funneled certain insurance companies’ funds before moving them to his Swiss bank account, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed in part where there was no evidence that defendant knew or ought to have known that the funds it processed on behalf of the third party’s firm were, in fact, fiduciary. However, the order is vacated in part where New York law did impose on defendant a duty – in this case running only to certain subaccounts – to ensure that the transactions it processed on behalf of its customers were authorized....
DNA analysis was once at the forefront of medical science. Now it’s just another consumer entertainment product. Rub a swab against your cheek, send it off to a company like Ancestry.com or 23andMe and in a few weeks you’ll get a quick, simple genetic profile. Who knew you were part Polynesian? But those companies are creating vast genetic repositories based on consumer curiosity. Police, in turn, are turning to those data stores to search for DNA matches that aren’t in criminal databases, according to a report by Wired....
The Eleventh Circuit decided two employment cases and one criminal sentencing matter. Mora v. Jackson Mem. Found., Inc., No. 08-16113, was an an Age Discrimination in Employment Act action in which the district court granted summary judgment for defendant. The Eleventh Circuit vacated the judgment, holding that a reasonable juror could accept that plaintiff’s supervisor made discriminatory-sounding remarks and that the remarks were sufficient evidence of a discriminatory motive which was the “but for” cause of plaintiff’s dismissal....
Cyberwar and cybersecurity is getting to the point that it’s even scaring credit card companies, financial institutions, and government agencies. In the past, the problem just wasn’t expensive enough. Well, times they are a-changin’. Part of the problem, however, is that there’s a bit of a supply and demand mismatch. There are not enough lawyers who are competent in cyber security exist to meet the sudden surge in demand. That said, if you’re wondering, “Should my small firm hire a cybersecurity specialist?...
“Consumers want what we don’t have.” The title of that slide, from an Apple internal presentation, has been quoted all across the tech blogs and even mainstream newspapers today. It’s a glaring admission by Apple executives that their current iPhone strategy is leading nowhere. Why? Apple’s iPhone models fall directly in the segment of devices that is losing market share. Not coincidentally, rumors have been swirling that Apple could introduce new models that are cheaper, bigger, or both later this year....
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that Wells Fargo is stuck litigating overdraft fee class actions because it didn’t move to compel arbitration when it had the chance to do so. While Wells Fargo argued that it was justified in holding its arbitration motion until the Supreme Court decided AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, the Eleventh Circuit decided that Concepcion wasn’t such a big deal in Wells Fargo’s case....
Jaded lawyers and criminal defendants might think that it is nearly impossible for a court to find ineffective assistance of counsel in a criminal case. Not so, says the Fifth Circuit in U.S. v. Pham, you can be found ineffective when you totally neglect to tell your client about the option to directly appeal your sentence, even if done under a plea bargain! Vietnamese Pot Farmer Takes Deal Cong Van Pham was charged and sentenced for five years in prison for growing over 700 pot plants in order to raise money to pay for his wife’s brain cancer treatment....
The fall of Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm caught in an international tax scandal, is the stuff of movies. Founded 40 years ago, it became one of the largest providers of offshore services in the world. It served more than 300,000 company clients in more than 40 countries. It started to fall apart after hackers exposed tax liabilities for its wealthy clients who hid money in offshore accounts. Then there was a government investigation....
Tuesday was National Hugging Day, otherwise known as every in-house counsel’s sexual harassment liability nightmare. A high-five, a handshake, or a hug – which is appropriate in the workplace? To get a “feel” for how to approach hugs at your workplace, here are different workplace hugging factors to consider: If a problem should arise, don’t expect people to hug it out. Work with HR to craft a company policy and establish a protocol for promptly handling complaints related to hugs (and any other personal contact) gone terribly wrong....
As a young lawyer, I found myself answering questions from a group of 100 or so judges and attorneys. The big question – other than the one I asked myself about how I got there – came from a veteran jurist. “How do journalists decide what is newsworthy?” he asked. I hadn’t yet tried a case, much less a high-profile one, but I realized then the value of knowing one thing that others don’t....
Matthew and Sondra Knowles (“the Knowleses”) owned a mixed-use five-story rental property in Massachusetts. In 2008, they weathered a tropical storm that resulted in excess rain water pooling on the roof of the building, which in turn resulted in property damage because water leaked through two glass skylights. Nova Casualty Company (“Nova”), the Knowleses’ insurance provider denied the insurance claims citing “rain limitation” and “faulty workmanship” provisions. The Knowleses ended up having to vacate the building and couldn’t afford repairs....
Stay current on your child support obligations, or you might lose your law license. As the ABA Journal reported yesterday, the Supreme Court of Kentucky disbarred Daniel Warren James for failing to pay over $200,000 in child support obligations over 13 years. That’s not just a failure to pay a little child support; it’s a failure to pay a lot of child support. That, coupled with a history of attorney discipline, led the Supreme Court to conclude permanent disbarment was an appropriate sanction....
The Los Angeles Police Department has about 242 cameras mounted on police cars throughout its fleet. That’s not unusual, but the cameras are always on and always scanning license plates as they drive by. The cameras are connected to optical character recognition (OCR) software that reads and stores the license plate numbers – every license plate that it sees, whether or not the plate is expired or the car’s registrant is suspected of a crime....
If you scratch your head when you hear about the “new normal,” I get you. What happened to the “old normal”? Who said there is a “new normal”? And when it comes to law practice, is anything normal? If only it were so simple. But with all the changes in the law business, there actually are new ways to measure lawyer performance. They made the new normal, and we just have to get used to it....
A new lawsuit filed against Uber in California on behalf of two unidentified women is claiming that the service is not as safe as advertised. The Doe plaintiffs allege that each was raped by their Uber driver, calling into question the service’s claim that it is a safe alternative to driving home from the bar. The case is not only seeking class action status, but the attorneys are also requesting that Uber turn over their data on the rider complaints relating to rapes and assaults....
Sarepta Therapeutics, a drug research and development company, won the recent federal appeal over the securities fraud lawsuit against them that was dismissed by the lower federal district court. The lawsuit was filed after the company’s stock took a large dive after bad news was announced about the FDA denying approval. The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal and confirmed that the plaintiffs failed to allege sufficient facts inferring the defendants intentionally or recklessly deceived investors....
Lawson v. FMR LLC is a case originating in the First Circuit, that dealt with whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower protections extend to employees of a private company that are contractors for public companies. Last week, the Supreme Court issued its opinion clarifying the reach of the Act. Lawson v. FMR LLC – The Lower Courts In Lawson, two contractors who worked for mutual funds (who in practice don’t have employees of their own) were essentially fired after they brought up concerns regarding the funds’ management....
