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Gagnon v. United Technisource Inc., No. 09-20098, was an action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) based on defendants’ failure to increase plaintiff’s “per diem” hourly rate. The court of appeals affirmed judgment for plaintiff in part, holding that 1) when, as here, the amount of per diem varies with the amount of hours worked, the per diem payments are part of the regular rate in their entirety; 2) there was no clear error in the district court’s finding that the violation was willful; and 3) in paying the per diem, defendant did not pay plaintiff any additional sums that could be characterized as advanced or inappropriate amounts subject to an offset against the overtime owed to him....

Even as U.S.-backed forces launched an attack on ISIS headquarters in Syria, America’s social media giants fought back claims they provide a “safe space” for terrorists online. Facebook, Google, and Twitter insisted they work closely with government to flush out those who push extremist content, including terrorists like those who recently attacked on London Bridge. Prime Minister Theresa May had complained that terrorists had found a “safe space” to spread their message online and proposed more regulation of internet service providers....

With the next crop of law school graduates soon out of school, hiring season is upon us. If you’re thinking about adding to your firm’s roster, before you just look at law schools and grades, consider the big picture. Apparently, the new trend in hiring is look for employees with emotional intelligence (if Google’s doing it, it must be cool). Emotional intelligence? Yes, basically, it’s a person’s “self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill,” says Fast Company....

If you’ve ever thought about an exit strategy from the legal profession, maybe you should know that ex-lawyers apparently make great “pretend patients.” What exactly are pretend patients, also known as standardized patients (or SPs)? Simply put, they are hired actors or amateurs who are used to help educate medical students. Pretend patients are given a persona and a list of symptoms. TV’s Kramer famously portrayed an SP with gonorrhea, describing “the burning” in a classic scene on Seinfeld....

So what’s big this year at LegalTech 2011? Cloud and mobile. FindLaw president Karl Florida was in the thick of the legal technology event talking about FirmSite Premium and cloud computing. “We’re seeing a lot of interest in cloud computing, we’re seeing mobile become part of the legal technology landscape for real, and we’re seeing a lot of interest in social media. So law firms are wrestling with how social media affects their practice and also their marketing,” Florida said....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. Up until recently, and for years, I was a lawyer addicted to his BlackBerry. My BlackBerry always was on my hip, ready for immediate use. I became so proficient that I literally could type as fast with two thumbs on the device as I could with all of my fingers on my desktop keyboard at work....

In plaintiff’s section 1983 action against the town and employees arising from his arrest for simple assault of his estranged wife, grant of defendants’ motion for summary judgment is affirmed as an officer had sufficient information to conclude that the state offense of simple assault had taken place, and as such, there was no violation of the Fourth Amendment. Read Holder v. Town of Sandown, No. 08-1582 Appellate Information Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire...

If you’ve never sent a holiday newsletter out to clients, this may be a good year to start. Overdone or not, holiday cheer and goodwill really do exist, and while the goal isn’t to capitalize on those, getting into the spirit can help your business too. Not only is it a good way to update clients about your office, it’s nice to spread a positive message during the holiday season....

If you use your smartphone to browse websites you know how frustrating it can be to visit a site that is not mobile compatible. It’s clunky and hard to read and there’s a good chance you’ll leave and never come back. Your website is likely a big part of how clients find out about your services. It’s important to make sure they’re getting the same service whether they’re searching on their laptop or their mobile phone....

Can you use LinkedIn to market you and your law firm? Absolutely. LinkedIn, which is an online network geared towards professionals and businesses, has surpassed Myspace to become the number two social networking site in the United States behind Facebook. LinkedIn had around 33.9 million unique visitors in the month of June alone, reports CNN. And, with the use of “company pages,” a LinkedIn feature, businesses - including law firms - can help shape their professional image....

In this post, guest authors Mary Mack and Dennis Kiker examine the implications of an eDiscovery decision suggesting that authentication of electronically stored information will soon become a major issue during litigation. The authors predict that this opinion will take on great importance in future eDiscovery cases. Lorraine was a “garden variety” civil suit over damage to a yacht sustained during a lightning storm. The arbitration amount at issue was $36,000....

With her seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida barely warm, rumor has it that the Honorable Robin Stacey Rosenbaum is being vetted for a promotion. The Southern District of Florida Blog reports that Rosenbaum is being considered for the vacancy left by Judge Rosemary Barkett, whose last day on the court was yesterday. Barkett is heading to Europe to sit on the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague....

After days of deliberation, the verdict is in: Both Gov. Bob McDonnell and wife Maureen McDonnell have been found guilty of multiple charges. What were the charges? Each faced 14 in total. The couple faced 13 charges in common, including wire fraud, conspiracy, and false statements, while each faced a single separate charge – false statements for Bob McDonnell and obstruction for Maureen McDonnell, reports Washington’s WAMU Radio. Out of the 14 counts each, Bob was found guilty of 11 counts, while Maureen was convicted on nine counts....

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) operate in a weird plane between retirement funds that are meant to benefit employees and a means for employee “buy in” that should benefit the company. The administrator of a plan is supposed to further the latter aim, while maintaining a fiduciary duty to employees. Smells like conflict of interest, right? That’s exactly what happened with Fifth Third Bancorp, which used employee funds to purchase more company stock, even while the bank was engaged in the risky subprime mortgage market....

She started as General Counsel for Sony in 2001. Now, Sony’s Nicole Seligman will hold three titles: President of Sony Corporation of America (the umbrella company for all U.S.-based business), President of Sony Entertainment (includes the company’s music, movie, and publishing operations) and senior legal counsel (an advisory role) – a considerable list of responsibilities that will be eased a bit by ceding GC duties to someone else. She’ll also remain on the company’s executive committee, reports Deadline....

You’ve got your document formatted exactly to specifications: titles are properly bolded, block quotes are well blocked, bullets sit in perfect lines. Then you insert just one troublesome picture or footnote – everything is shot. Goodbye beautiful formatting; goodbye well-arranged page. Hello desperate plea for a last-minute extension. It doesn’t have to be like this. With a few quick tricks, you can help escape Word formatting hell – at least most of the time....

Providing free and helpful information is kind of our thing – blogs, cases, codes, and practice guides for lawyers, Learn About the Law and blogs for consumers, etc. But you don’t always want to read online articles, or print out blog posts. And sometimes, you want a more comprehensive approach to a topic than 400 words of snark-filled brilliance. (Dusts off shoulders.) That’s why we have Mini Guides. Each of these free little e-books contains an in-depth discussion on a single topic....

The Federal Reserve Board adopted a rule earlier this week that, in theory, precludes it from rescuing individual companies that claim status of “too big to fail.” Has your cynicism kicked in yet? The change was implemented following much controversy and teeth gnashing over the government’s decision to shell out $85 billion to rescue AIG, making it one of the – if not the –biggest government bailouts in modern history....

The settlement in the Uber self-driving car case is confidential, but it still says a lot about how to settle a high-profile case. In the big picture, it isn’t so much about the money. Of course, money is almost always the currency of civil settlements. But settling a high-profile case for a company like Uber is more about moving on. It’s the main thing the parties have in common. One and Done Uber smartly settled this first-ever case almost before it began....

In habeas proceedings, defendant’s conviction and death sentence are affirmed where: 1) the district court properly conducted an evidentiary hearing on the Brady issue and rendered a decision on the merits; and 2) the district court properly determined that, even if defendant were able to show that the evidence at issue was withheld and that it was favorable to him, the alleged Brady material does not undermine confidence in the guilty verdict....