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The D.C. Circuit has limited the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue citations, overturning longstanding administrative precedent. OSHA may no longer cite employers for record-keeping violations that occurred more than 6 months prior. The agency has long held that the OSH Act imposed a 5-year statute of limitations on such citations. But the court chose to strictly construe the law, which specifically states that “No citation may be issued after the expiration of six months following the occurrence of any violation....

Steve Cooksey is a blogger. He also almost died. Many years ago, he was rushed to a hospital in a diabetic coma. Fortunately, he turned his lifestyle, and his medical condition, around by making a significant change to his diet: he went Paleo. The Paleolithic Diet attempts to emulate what our cavemen ancestors would have eaten — meat, fats, and nuts, while abstaining from large amounts of grains, carbohydrates, and sugars....

When business is booming, it can often feel like a waste of time to track performance metrics. However, taking the time to measure what you are doing right is as important as figuring out what you are doing wrong. The 80/20 rule may seem random, but there is certainly some validity in identifying what actually makes you, or your firm, money. Despite the fact that tracking time is generally part and parcel of the job, it can often be rather difficult to identify the right metrics to track to increase profits....

Running a massive corporation is a stressful thing. And sometimes, that stress can push executives to substance abuse. Imagine, for example, you’re an executive at an American fast food chain specializing in build-it-yourself burritos, a chain that just can’t seem to stop selling E. coli- and norovirus-contaminated wraps. Would anyone really be all that shocked if you turned to blow to get through the hump? That may be what happened to Mark Crumpacker, Chipotle’s chief creative and development executive, who was leading the fast food chain’s post-health scandal rebranding – until he was arrested for repeatedly buying cocaine from a New York delivery service....

AstraZenaca, the makers of the acid reflux pill Nexium, successfully secured an injunction against the generic pharm company Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories for the latter’s use of the color purple in packing its pills, according to the New Jersey Law Journal. The two companies have been duking it out in New Jersey and Delaware federal courts over the last few weeks. Reddy countered on November 18th, claiming the AstraZeneca knew that Reddy intended to package its generic version of the drug in a purple capsule – or at least purple and lavender....

In an age when technology is making some careers obsolete, lawyers can thank the outsourcing of digital services for helping them compete. According to a recent survey, lawyers are using more outside services to handle digital tasks at their firms. Swiss Post Solutions (SPS) North America, a leader in outsourcing and digitization solutions, says law firms outsourced mailroom and messenger services the most (93 percent), reception services next (50 percent), and then conference room management (47 percent)....

Colors matter. Scientists know this from years of studying the effects of color on people. Color can effect clients’ perceptions of you because different colors evoke different emotions. Do you want your client to think you’re aggressive? Or do you want your client to trust you? Color is also important in branding; for example, when you see a particular shade of blue on a website, you may think of Facebook. When you see red cans in the soda aisle, you probably think of Coca Cola....

Chad Fulks pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing 44-year-old Alice Donovan during a two-week crime spree after he and co-defendant Brandon Basham escaped from a Kentucky jail in 2002, reports The Herald Dispatch. Fulks has been on death row for years, and it seems unlikely that a court will step in to save him. Tuesday, a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected Fulks’ appeal that he was plagued by ineffective counsel during pleading and sentencing....

In a First Amendment action by a state university professor alleging that defendants deprived plaintiff of his ability to teach because he criticized the university, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where: 1) no clearly established law dictated that a university official sued in her individual capacity could not impose discipline on plaintiff; and 2) plaintiff failed to identify a cognizable property right for due process purposes. However, the order is reversed in part where plaintiff’s claim against university administrators in their official capacities could yield prospective injunctive relief....

How much more detailed are jury instructions going to have to be regarding communications via social media during deliberations? Obviously, A. Great. Deal. More. Clear. One juror in a Detroit courtroom proved that this week, when she posted to Facebook how much she was looking forward to delivering a guilty verdict to the defendant. At that point in time, the trial wasn’t even over. Social media and juries are strange new “friends” and as always, the law is running to keep up with the technology....

As the ‘Twitter President,’ Donald Trump may leave a legacy to the law that will outlive his judicial appointments. According to the Department of Justice, Trump’s tweets are official statements of the White House and the President. It’s hardly trivial because his tweets are at issue in more than one legal proceeding. While relatively few lawyers will litigate over the President’s tweets, Twitter statements may be admissible as official records for many others....

Ever heard of Google’s Social Circle, an add-on for existing Google users to help add friends and invite new contacts? No? You’re not alone. News of a secret, stealthy - and kind of sleazy - PR attack on Google by Facebook was recently brought to light by USA Today. Burson-Marsteller, a top public relations firm, started a “whisper campaign” to encourage various media and news outlets to print a story about how Social Circle was some sort of invasive breach of privacy for Google users, reports USA Today....

This week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment against self-proclaimed American Nazi leader Bill White for Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Virginia law violations, intentional infliction of emotional distress damages, and attorney’s fees. The Fourth Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, found no reversible error in the case. This is not the first civil dispute based on an FHA complaint in which the Fourth Circuit has ruled against White....

Lisa West, an attorney, entered the Fulton County Courthouse in Georgia on December 9, 2010. She was wearing a suit jacket and no overcoat. A sheriff’s duty told her to remove her suit jacket; she said she wouldn’t because it would “improperly expose her undergarments.” The deputy said that if she didn’t remove the suit jacket, she could leave. If she didn’t do either one, she’d be arrested. West called her husband, also an attorney, while still at the checkpoint....

When it comes right down to it, sometimes you don’t want every attorney at the firm on your cases. But, at small firms, it may be difficult to exclude the other attorneys, especially when an interesting or lucrative case comes through the door. However, below, you can read a few tips on how to do so without causing any hurt feelings or reputational slights. Sometimes you want to exclude certain people not because you don’t want their help, but rather because you don’t want to spread an employee too thin (at least that’s the nice way to say it)....

Georgia Pacific makes paper towels and paper towel accessories. It’s a glamorous life – especially when you design some spiffy new automatic paper towel dispenser that uses its own proprietary premium paper towels. Of course, premium paper towels come at a premium price, and when that happens, other companies, like von Drehle, rush in to fill the cheap-paper void. The inevitable result of such competition is litigation. GP accused VD of contributory trademark infringement....

When entering a home back in the day, a burglar typically jimmied a door or broke in through a window. If you were smart, you could protect your stuff with good locks or an alarm system. Today, however, thieves work in an entirely new world. In the age of cyber criminals, your information is golden. The problem is, not even law-abiding companies can replace a stolen identity. Compliance Is Not Enough Corporations may comply with security standards, but nobody can return stolen information....

Who could blame a juror for wanting out of the El Chapo trial? After all, according to reports, the Mexican drug lord has hired hitmen to kill potential witnesses and informants in the past. But not jurors, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has promised in a motion before his upcoming federal trial. That would be uncivilized. In any case, the judge will have a handful trying to put together a jury – and then protecting them....

The perils of co-representation! Representing two parties at the same time usually comes up in the divorce context, where the parties are (more or less) agreeable and really just want to save money by using just one lawyer. That sounds great and all – except when things go south, or when your state’s professional rules strictly forbid it. The Legal Profession Blog shares this tale of a Maryland lawyer suspended indefinitely for representing a married couple in a personal injury suit....

If you’ve lost a job recently, don’t take it personally. According to labor statistics, the legal services sector lost 1,100 jobs last month. Out of more than a million people in legal services, it is not a large enough loss for profession-wide depression. But for any individual, losing a job can be discouraging. It can also provide perspective, however, about where to go next. Losses and Gains The latest U.S. Labor Department statistics say there are 1,126,200 people working in legal services....