FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. First, we took to the air by hot air balloon. Next, we went even higher via ever-developing aircraft. Astronauts then made their way into outer space and even to the moon. And now, with the advent of Virgin Galactic, there has been the prospect of non-astronauts going into outer space in a new-age space plane....
Does the United States has jurisdiction to prosecute a nominated surveyor — i.e., a person who conducts a MARPOL survey on behalf of a foreign nation — for a knowing MARPOL violation while aboard a foreign-flagged ship docked in the United States? According to Defendant Hugo Pena, it is the responsibility of the Flag State to conduct surveys and issue certificates, and therefore only the Flag State has jurisdiction to prosecute a surveyor for failure to conduct a proper MARPOL survey....
Universal Furniture Int’l Inc. v. Collezione Europa USA, Inc., 07-2180, concerned a challenge to the district court’s judgment that plaintiff possessed valid copyrights in its furniture designs and that defendant had infringed those copyrights, that defendant acted in contravention of both the Lanham Act and the UDTPA, and an award of more than $11 million in damages to plaintiff, in a copyright suit between competing furniture companies. Related Resource: Full text of Universal Furniture Int’l Inc....
If you’re looking to expand your practice, one of the most basic ways of doing that is through hiring an employee. But can you afford to hire another employee? Maybe you’ve hired one in the past only to realize that he or she wasn’t fit for the job, or maybe she was too skilled and left for greener pastures. Now you’re licking your wounds. Well, you’ve tried it before, maybe you should consider the idea again – or at least explore some alternatives....
While mentors are usually the ones doling out advice to the newbies, mentors can actually learn a thing or two from their mentees. Although traditionally seen as a one-way learning experience, a mentor-mentee relationship might actually be mutually beneficial, according to the ABA Journal. So what can your mentee teach you? Career coach Cordell Parvin observed a mentoring relationship between a partner and an associate at a Canadian law firm. Based on the mentee’s experience, there are a couple things partners can learn from their mentee relationships....
Last week, a friend and colleague forwarded this hilarious ABA Solo Newsletter piece which appears to be from … 1923 or so. There’s no date, but the tech suggestions for briefcase essentials are amusing. No, the author wasn’t recommending an Apple Newton, but it’s almost that bad. The Old List Bare Essentials PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) – For “keeping your calendar, to-do list, and contact information for clients, attorneys, and contacts at your finger tips....
Sure, SEC, we’ll investigate your foreign corruption allegations ourselves. Our lawyers will want to talk to you, then they will start piling up billable hours. The Justice Dept. and SEC continue to rely heavily on companies to investigate themselves, and to root out potential fraud, reports The Washington Post. The probes range wide and cost a lot. So Justice and the SEC often let the companies investigate themselves, reports the Post....
For attorneys coast to coast, CLE can be a real pain to keep up with. In addition to having to devote several hours of actual time to the courses (meaning you can’t bill for that time), often, you have to shell out hundreds of dollars to take the course you want or thousands to attend a special conference. Fortunately, with the advent of streaming video, attorneys can now attend CLE courses on nearly any subject, from the comfort of their own office, or even their home, and some are even free....
Lawyers spend decades building up their reputation. One bad case and you might be driving a stake through the heart of your business. Zuckerberg, Esq. already had a tough time setting up a Facebook account in the first place. Unsurprisingly, Facebook shut down his account last week. The likely reason? They thought Mark Zuckerberg was trying to impersonate Mark Zuckerberg. Sharing a name with a public figure can be tough, and it’s something that Zuckerberg is very familiar with given the wide publicity Facebook has received....
YouTube just announced that it has opened up its coffers and will foot the legal bill for DMCA takedowns of a small number of videos, which the company believes are clearly “fair use.” This is welcome news to YouTube users who have been hassled by DMCA piracy complaints for reasons that have little to do with copyright protection. Free speech protection applies against the government; fair use applies to private parties....
Online gaming giant Zynga is being sued in a class action lawsuit that claims the company and some of its early investors engaged in insider trading. It’s alleged that the company’s executives and early investors knew that the company was struggling long before the public had this information. As a result, these insiders, including the company’s CEO, supposedly sold off millions of shares right before prices plummeted by 75 percent, reports the San Jose Mercury News....
Dixie County’s 5-foot, 6-ton Ten Commandments monument can keep standing while the courts decide whether the plaintiff who complained about the statue has standing. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Inc. sued Dixie County in 2007, arguing that a Ten Commandments monument in front of the county courthouse violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The County moved for summary judgment, claiming that plaintiff John Doe, the ACLU member through whom the ACLU claimed standing, could not demonstrate an actual injury that he had suffered as a result of the display....
One day after the U.S. Supreme Court neutered Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act – i.e., one day after the preclearance requirement for changes to voting laws in jurisdictions with a history of voter suppression efforts was nullified by that decision – North Carolina passed House Bill 589. The bill made a number of significant changes to the way North Carolina voter registration and elections are handled, including eliminating same-day voter registration, the counting of ballots cast in the wrong precinct, the reduction of early voting days, and a voter ID requirement, among others....
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was enacted in order to battle organized crime, specifically the mafia. But as of late, it has become quite the versatile tool, being employed in combating gang crime in Chicago and even more intriguingly, cyber crime. Now, the government has its test case, in the form of a pudgy-faced, relatively low-level criminal named David Ray Camez. Though Camez is already serving a seven-year state prison term, federal RICO charges could lengthen that sentence greatly....
House Democrats passed a bill today called the “Disclose Act,” designed to increase transparency for corporations and other interest groups who make contributions to political campaigns. The bill passed 219 to 206 with only two Republicans voting in favor of the measure. The name comes from a very Washingtonian acronym, “Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act.” However, not all organizations are subject to the new law, including the NRA and AARP....
The U.S. Supreme Court recently pushed back police who use GPS tracking on cell phones to follow suspects. The High Court said police generally must get warrants for such searches. At the same time, legal researchers published a study about courts using GPS to monitor sex offenders. The developments illustrate how the law – like technology – is constantly changing. And these days, the law is usually changing to keep up with technology....
In Dos Reis v. Holder, No. 09-2536, the First Circuit faced a challenge to an order of the BIA affirming an IJ’s denial of a Brazilian petitioner’s motion to reopen removal proceedings, claiming that his attorney failed to notify him of a scheduled hearing before the IJ. As the court wrote: “In order for an alien to be entitled to reopen removal proceedings based on lack of notice, he must show, at a bare minimum, that he did not receive notice as provided in 8 U....
At least 95% of the Ground Zero plaintiffs in the World Trade Center settlement had to agree to the settlement reached back in June. Now, six months later, it happened. Individual compensation will be determined based on the severity of the illness claimed and the likelihood that the illness is, in fact, linked to activities at ground zero. Another impressive aspect of the World Trade Center settlement concerns the legal team that made the class action fund possible....
FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. Drones, drones, drones … Everyone is droning on about drones as they become ever more ubiquitous. But as drones become more commonplace, there have been growing concerns – especially with respect to safety in the sky. This announcement, originally disclosed by AP and also reported on by Mashable.com, states that the task force will examine various potential weaknesses of aircraft in the event of collisions with drones – such as windshields, engines and outer aircraft frames....
While for most people, Facebook and Instagram are just easy ways to keep up with friends and family; for many others, it’s a whole lot more, and the government knows that. From businesses to social media influencers to con artists and even recruiters from extremist and criminal organizations, Facebook and social media, generally, has become a strange place. You might not see much of it, depending on what you’re doing and your settings, but it’s there and alarming, and if you believe the companies running the sites, it’s nearly impossible to completely stop....
