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The wave started five years ago when the American Bar Association approved a new rule of professional conduct requiring lawyers to be technology competent. As Nebraska has recently adopted the rule, the competency wave has crested and is about to break. Now, twenty eight states have raised the bar for attorneys to be technologically proficient. It’s only a matter of time before every lawyer has to take a technology class. So, you may as well get started before the ethics wave crashes....

An ex-Univision Radio sales executive’s lawsuit claims age, race, and even foreign-accent discrimination by her former boss created a hostile work environment. Laura Hagan, 66, a native of Ecuador, complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which declined to take the case but has given Hagan a Notice of Right to Sue her ex-employer, The Huffington Post reports. While Univision targets the Spanish-speaking market, Hagan was the only Hispanic executive on Univision Radio’s national sales team when she was fired in 2008, her lawsuit claims....

Defendant’s drug and firearm convictions and sentence are affirmed, where 1) the lack of a reporter’s transcript of the charge conference and related proceedings did not violate Defendant’s due process rights and 2) the evidence linked Defendant to multiple firearms during the course of the conspiracy offense. Read the full decision in US v. Jeffers, No. 06-5289. Appellate Information: Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Harrisonburg....

You know that awkward moment in puberty when a boy’s voice cracks? That hasn’t happened yet with voice-controlled devices. Developers say the technology is still in its infancy. But that puberty moment is coming soon. Just ask Josh. Josh AI Like Alexa, Josh is an emerging voice in smart-home technology. He sounds smarter, however, and that could be a little awkward. There is competition for the next big thing in voice-control, like Control4 and Savant....

“Cannabis justice,” for the record, is not a practice area. The term describes the state of disconnect between federal and state laws on marijuana use. The feds have criminalized it; most states have legalized it. In the breach, many lawyers have capitalized on it. “Cannabis justice” is a different kind of opportunity waiting to happen. STATES, FIRST STEP The STATES Act recognizes that 46 states have laws permitting or decriminalizing marijuana use....

Leave it to a lawyer to argue that associates are independent contractors and a law firm is an “attorney incubator” for tax purposes. No judgment, mind you. We appreciate any creative argument to limit tax liability. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, does not share our appreciation for inventive ways of avoiding employment taxes. Recently, the New Orleans-based court ruled in an unpublished opinion that a Baton Rouge law firm’s associates were employees – not independent contractors – for tax purposes, according to Forbes....

This next question is going to smack some readers as being highly chauvinistic, but what does a rich man in a bar expect when beautiful young girl asks him to buy her a drink? This question, believe it or not, is at the heart of a recent Eleventh Circuit case that reversed several criminal convictions against some enterprising businesses in Miami. The opinion is colorful, offering a dose of booze, Star Trek, film-noir, and theology in such an efficient bundle – all of which help lead the court to answer the “what are you expecting” question with “not much....

Think Verizon and the NSA shouldn’t be in the same category as Wolfman and Frankenstein? Think again: Behind you! It’s … it’s … packet shaping! So maybe James Clapper isn’t as scary-looking as Lon Cheney in “Phantom of the Opera,” but the implications of warrantless surveillance are terrifying. For Halloween, make sure you have the lights on as you read about these 13 (arguably) “frightening” legal issues facing technology today:...

If your company prefers arbitration to litigation – and what company doesn’t? – then you’re probably well-versed in the ways of the the Federal Arbitration Act. And you probably know that the FAA doesn’t include a definition for “arbitration.” Congress left the courts with dirty work of figuring out what “arbitration” is, and the courts have turned to the common law for answers. But should the courts look to federal common law or state law?...

The Fourth Circuit agreed to rehear the cell-site tower case United States v. Graham, which further probes the questions of the Fourth Amendment’s application to an increasingly mobile, digital world. The grant of the U.S. Government’s petition effectively means that there will be some delay in Graham reaching the country’s highest court – thereby delaying a much sought final word from SCOTUS. It has been little more than a year since SCOTUS ruled unanimously (how often does that happen?...

Back in 2012, we wrote about a Seventh Circuit case in which FedEx drivers claimed they were entitled to the same benefits as non-drivers, but FedEx claimed they were independent contractors. The case encompassed different lawsuits in different states. The Seventh Circuit decided to certify a question to the Kansas Supreme Court. In the meantime, the Ninth Circuit had independently determined that FedEx drivers were employees under either an Oregon test or a California test....

Asian American lawyers who gathered in Chicago last year to discuss roadblocks to a career advancement expanded their roundtable program to the West Coast last month. A roundtable event in California’s Silicon Valley, focused on Asian American GCs, sought to provide networking opportunities and dialogue about the careers of Asian American in-house attorneys. The meeting, hosted by the legal consultancy Major, Lindsey and Africa and the firm Shearman and Sterling, brought together both firm and in-house lawyers to discuss career advancement and obstacles....

You head to the networking events, pockets stuffed with business cards. You’ve taken up golf, racquet ball, and joined the Order of St. Hubertus, all to make contact with prospective clients. You’ve connected with just about everyone on LinkedIn. But, you’re not getting the results you want. What gives? Probably your strategy. If you’re not taking a systematic approach to client development, you may not be demonstrating the persistence needed to really reel the big fish in....

While public opinion has favored borrowers since the mortgage meltdown, the federal courts occasionally side with the mortgage industry. Last week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion siding with a loan servicer in a fee dispute involving acceleration dates. In December 1999, Cathy and David Delebreau refinanced a home mortgage with Option One Mortgage Corporation (Option One). The Delebreaus executed a note payable to Option One for the principal loan amount, and a deed of trust securing the note on the property....

Latimer v. Roaring Toyz, Inc., No. 08-16665, concerned a copyright infringement action by a professional photographer against multiple defendants regarding the distribution and publication of photographs of a customized motorcycle. The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for defendants in part, holding that plaintiff granted defendant an implied license to use his work. However, the court reversed in part on the ground that, even if plaintiff agreed that defendant could distribute his photographs to the media in a printed flyer, the distribution of the photographs in digital format on compact discs could be found to have exceeded the scope of the license....

Just because a court doesn’t know its own power doesn’t mean the court committed reversible error. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a district court’s lack of familiarity with the specifics of Federal Rule of Evidence 706 wasn’t sufficient to reverse the court on summary judgment. But wait! This isn’t an open-and-shut case, (even though it is an unpublished opinion.) Robinson wanted an expert. He asked the court to appoint an expert....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. The FTC has issued a press release claiming that it has reached agreement with Google to resolve competition concerns in the markets for smartphones, games, tablets, and online search. The FTC states that pursuant to a settlement agreement, Google will comply with earlier promises to permit access to competitors on reasonable terms to patents on certain popular devices....

Overbilling cases against lawyers don’t often make headlines. That’s because sooo many people think lawyers overbill that it’s not even newsworthy. But once in a while a big law firm goes on an alleged “billing feeding frenzy,” and it’s all over the news. For many attorneys, those stories are interesting in the same way the attorney discipline report is interesting. It’s like reading the obituary column to see if you are in it....

Alternative dispute resolution is an increasingly popular method for resolving conflict and many organizations provide certification in certain aspects of the practice. For an attorney looking to branch out into mediation, the variety of training programs available can be confusing. It’s not clear what training programs are useful and what kind of certification is necessary to call yourself a mediator. So far, only Florida has specific certification requirements and then only for certain kinds of mediators....

Your mom may want you to eat at Jimmy John’s, but would she want you to work there? The Huffington Post recently reported on a Jimmy John’s franchisee’s “oppressive” noncompetition agreement, which was disclosed as part of a lawsuit by employees. (For the uninitiated, Jimmy John’s is a national chain of bro-tastic sub sandwich shops, usually found in college towns.) The Content of the Noncompete Clause The Jimmy John’s franchisee’s noncompetition agreement purports to bind the employee for two years after his termination “for any reason,” and forbids the employee from having any interest or providing any services for any business that derives more than 10 percent of its revenues from sub sandwiches within 3 miles of any Jimmy John’s sandwich shop....