Many lawyers donate to charity. When that’s not fiscally possible, some may donate the value of their services to help clients in need. But remember: the value of your pro bono work is not tax deductible. You can’t jot down on your tax return that you spent $450 for one hour of “advising indigent clients” in order to reduce your taxable income. But there are tax considerations for pro bono legal services that you should know about....
At one point, a Celtic occult symbol became key to Roger Stone’s freedom. Stone told Judge Amy Berman Jackson that crosshairs, which appeared in his Instagram post behind a photo of the judge, were a Celtic occult symbol. The judge asked him what it meant. “I don’t know your honor, I’m not into the occult,” Stone said. Even though he avoided jail, it was a way wrong answer. No Jail By most lawyerly accounts, Stone should not have taken the witness stand at the hearing....
When it comes to lawyering on the go, the smartphone changed the game, even for those luddite lawyers. However, for the luddites and those attorneys that haven’t decided to go all in on a pricey enterprise solution, or a full fledged case management system that they can access from the mobile web or an app, starting slow is a good idea and can be as simple as downloading a few really helpful free apps....
When it comes to solo practice, the ABA Journal has long been a fantastic, and free, resource for practice tips, legal news, and motivation/inspiration, especially for solo practitioners. Like our blogs for legal professionals, the ABA Journal creates content specifically for attorney readers, who don’t need to be reminded about how liability, negligence, jurisdiction, or civil procedure generally works. Recently, the ABA Journal published their Top 10 Tips for Solos, and if you don’t have time to sift through their annoying slideshow, you can check out our take on the five best below....
There are many ways for lawyers to keep track of their billable hours. From going old-school with pen and paper to using Excel spreadsheets, there are a lot of options, including using your iPhone. Time Master + Billing is one such app geared towards this purpose. Developed by On-Core Software LLC, Time Master isn’t specifically designed for lawyers. Rather it’s meant to be used by any hourly professional. The app allows users to turn their iPhones and iPads into a fully functional billable hour record keeping device....
FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. Within moments of the untimely passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the political posturing began in terms of what should happen next with respect to the open seat on the high court. Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, came out of the box immediately, stating that President Obama should defer selecting a Supreme Court candidate, so that the next elected President could handle that responsibility in accordance the apparent wishes of the electorate as part of the upcoming Presidential election....
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments recently in a First Amendment case involving a Christian counseling student who claims she was unconstitutionally suspended from an Augusta State University (ASU) program for her belief that homosexuality is morally wrong. The American Civil Liberties Union has described the student, Jennifer Keeton, as the “counseling student who insisted on a right to discriminate against LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender] clients,” while the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which represents Keeton, says “she was told her Christian beliefs are unethical and incompatible with the prevailing views of the counseling profession....
Well, you could lock the refrigerator but it probably doesn’t have one. The point is, you have to get rid of the distractions when you are working from home. It’s not rocket science – especially if you are a non-technical lawyer. But for some reason, we like really simple solutions to stay focused at the home office. 1. Turn Off the Television Because you can watch television, movies, and video content anywhere on a mobile device, what you really need to do is turn off your viewing habits....
If you practice for long enough, say, more than a few days, the novelty wears off and you may need some enrichment while working. After all, sometimes you need something to listen to while zoning out and hammering out your pleading. Some folks want lyrics-free classical or jazz music, while others need the hubbub of a cafe, or that oh-so-awful, somniferous, monotone drone of talk radio. For that last group, the world has changed thanks to podcasts....
Guest post by Jennifer K. Wendell, Esq. The internet has been around long enough that attorneys have had time to adapt to how it can make their business more efficient and profitable, how they can use it to market to those they may not have reached before, and how they can even use it as a creative and informative outlet to compliment their legal services. Yet, with the development of legal websites and blogs, a potential client now has the ability to find legal information on just about any issue within seconds, not to mention a plethora of fill-in-the-blank legal documents he or she can purchase online for a lesser fee than most attorneys charge....
When does something constitute a ‘substantial portion of the components of a patented invention’ under the Patent Act? Not when that thing is only one of many components, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday, in a fun little case involving DNA testing, international supply chains, and patent law. The case, Life Technologies v. Promega, involves a patent on a genetic testing kit made of five components. The Promega company was the exclusive licensee of that patent and licensed Life Technologies for the manufacture and sale of the kids to law enforcement....
FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. Gone are the days when some companies may decide to take lightly the responsibility to safeguard private data. Indeed, many companies have been very earnest in complying with U.S. privacy rules when it comes to sensitive data such as health and financial information. But how are U.S. companies doing when it comes to protecting European data?...
The Trump Administration claimed victory against opponents of the border wall – butterflies. In North American Butterfly Association v. Nielsen, a federal judge said there was “little refuge” for the plaintiff’s claims in the case. The National Butterfly Center claimed the government violated its Fourth Amendment rights by entering the butterfly sanctuary without consent. Compared to the president’s emergency declaration to fund a wall along the U.S. Mexico-border, the decision attracted little attention....
Bad news for gay high school kids wanting to sue their coaches; the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that two Texas high school softball coaches had qualified immunity despite allegations that the two “outed” a lesbian player to her mother. In Wyatt v. Fletcher, the Court ruled that the plaintiff’s Section 1983 claim alleging a 14th Amendment violation of privacy was vague at best and certainly not enough to overcome the public school coaches’ qualified immunity....
FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet. The Committee’s discussion underpinning the Model Order notes that federal district courts have inherent power to control their dockets in the interests of time and economy. Accordingly, it is the Committee’s view that the Model Order may be a “helpful starting point for district courts to use in requiring the responsible, targeted use of e-discovery in patent cases....
The First Circuit decided a copyright infringement action barred under the claim preclusion doctrine, a contract case, and a criminal matter involving a protracted delay in a defendant’s revocation hearing following a drug offense. Airframe Sys. Inc. v. Raytheon Co., No. 09-1624, involved a district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s copyright infringement action of a software source code under the doctrine of claim preclusion. In affirming the dismissal, the court held that the plaintiff was or should have been well aware of the fact that the defendant named in the later suit filed in Massachusetts owned the business unit at issue when it filed the earlier suit in New York and should have amended it there....
For an hour, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals became a court about public opinion. The justices heard arguments about police misconduct, but they focused on a nondisclosure agreement. The plaintiff, who received a settlement from Baltimore police, lost half of it because she talked about it on social media. In Overbey v. Baltimore Police Department, the plaintiff’s lawyers argued the NDA violated her free speech rights. The city’s attorney and a judge said, however, that she was paid for her silence....
A Connecticut jury has awarded $28.6 million to the ex-wife of John Michael Farren, a former Bush administration lawyer and general counsel for Xerox Corp. The staggering award came after the jury held Farren liable for her near-fatal beating at their mansion in 2010. By all appearances, Farren and his wife Mary Margaret Farren had a picture-perfect life. But as the case makes clear, life for the Farrens was anything but an idyllic fantasy....
“Finance has the craziest ideas about accruals and budgets” (See my post of June 18, 2009: interplay of finance/accounting and legal with 19 references and 2 metaposts.). “Procurement practices don’t count for us lawyers” (See my post of March 1, 2008: procurement with 17 references.). But many of the disciplines of sourcing groups make sense for in-house lawyers to apply. “HR policies and forms misunderstand the talent of lawyers” (See my post of June 14, 2009: HR departments with 16 references and 3 metaposts....
It’s been an even more interesting week than usual in terms of FDA regulations. This week’s roundup includes the FDA possibly saying “adios” to antibacterial soap, a warning about painful, long-lasting erections caused by ADD/ADHD medications, and a last-minute backtracking on food production rules promulgated pursuant to the Food Safety Modernization Act. One of those three topics sounds far more miserable than the other two, eh? Last week, it was antibiotics being pumped into animals as a prophylactic measure by meat producers....
