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Millions of wearable devices will be given as presents this Christmas and Hanukkah, with smart watches stuck in stockings and fitness monitors wrapped up with bows. A few lucky folks might even be able to get their hands on Snapchat Spectacles, the much-hyped glasses that let you take short videos and share them directly to the Snapchat app. Wearable technological hardware, or “wearables,” are coming back this holiday season – and bringing with them major implications for eDiscovery....

The day before resigning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions laid down some tighter guidelines for the Justice Department on civil settlements. Consent decrees “should be employed carefully and only after review and approval of senior leadership,” he said. It was one of his last acts in his abbreviated term as head of the department. It was not as dramatic as his exit, which he tendered at a time when the Mueller investigation appears to be at a turning point....

ACLU lawyer Ben Wizner is best known for representing Edward Snowden. In a recent discussion with ArsTechnica, Wizner discussed the current state of the government surveillance. Wizner has been doing his part to educate the public about the state of state surveillance. From his vantage point, the struggle between surveillance and privacy is really a grand struggle between government authoritarianism and democracy. Wizner doesn’t seem at all surprised by recent poll results that say that Apply should turn over the means to access the San Bernadino shooter’s iPhone – if it exists....

A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court decided a case that clarifies the pleading requirements for a plaintiff who makes a claim for false advertising under the Lanham Act. As the guardians of your company’s intellectual property, knowing the new standard is paramount. Here’s a breakdown of the Supreme Court’s decision so you can determine whether to pursue, or defend, any federal false advertising claims. Background Lexmark manufactures laser printers, and they are made to work only with Lexmark toner cartridges....

Guest post by Jennifer K. Halford, Esq. A flat fee divorce package that includes a weekend stay at a luxury hotel, completed papers, and a television appearance - is this the practice of law or reality television? Apparently it’s both. The idea was created by Dutch entrepreneur, Jim Halfens, who has been selling his Divorce Hotel package to soon-to-be divorcees in the Netherlands. And now he wants to sell it in the U....

As in-house attorneys are increasingly expected to take on more strategic roles, in addition to counseling business executives, there may come a time when you must advise (or remind) the Board of Directors the qualities they need to look for in prospective directors. What follows is a quick list of some of the attributes that a good addition to the Board of Directors would have. 1. Availability The last thing you want to do is select someone who won’t have any time to devote to the company....

Based on evidence seized from defendant’s home during execution of a search warrant issued in the investigation of threatening and sexually explicit emails concerning minor boys sent by the defendant, conviction for possession of an unregistered machine gun and an unregistered silencer is affirmed where: 1) the search for and seizure of the child pornography fell within the scope of the warrant, or in the alternative, its seizure was justified under the plain-view exception to the warrant requirement; 2) the seizure of the machine gun and the silencer was justified by the plain-view exception....

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Walgreen Co. and Par Pharmaceutical Cos. The suit alleges that Par and Walgreens overcharged insurance companies, self-insured employers and union health funds for generic drugs. Cheaper prescription-drug tablets were switched out for more expensive capsules. This was done in order to improve the companies’ bottom lines. The suit was filed in federal court in Chicago. It claims that the two companies were involved in the scheme together....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet. If you are thinking that the digital universe that comprises all electronically stored data already is gargantuan, well, fasten your seat belt, because this universe is expanding rapidly. According to IDC, a research and consulting firm, last year, notwithstanding the global recession, the digital universe expanded 62% to 800,000 petabytes. What is a petabyte?...

The Plaintiff in a wrongful termination did not establish a prima facie face for discriminatory termination, the Eleventh Circuit ruled this week, and found no errors in the district court’s decision to grant summary judgment to Plaintiff’s employer. Under Title VII, it is unlawful for employers to terminate an employee, or discriminate otherwise against any individual, because of their race. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). Therefore, in order to establish a prima facie case for discriminatory termination under Title VII, as the plaintiff needs to show the following things: (1) she was a member of a protected class; (2) she was qualified for the job; (3) she suffered an adverse employment action, and; (4) she was replaced by someone outside the protected class....

The First Circuit partly affirmed a lower district ruling ordering Zhong H. Chen and his wife Chu H. Ng to hand over business and financial records pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act, the federal act intended to pry open records relating to possible overseas financial criminal activity. The case highlights the tensions between the right against self incrimination and the government’s need to review documents under the Required Records Doctrine....

You know, there are times when you think you’ve read it all, but then history taps on your shoulder politely to remind that you haven’t. Take for example, the old gem of In re Inglimo, which asks the question: “does a three-way with a client count as sex with a client?” The answer, it turns out, depends on your interpretation of “with.” Thanks to Eugene Volokh for reminding us. Accounts Receivable Indeed The outlandish and bawdy behavior of some attorneys can amaze even the most jaded in the industry and this case stands out as one of the best....

Attorneys like to be paid, so it’s understandable that a lawyer would zealously pursue a motion for attorney’s fees. A zealous appellate argument, however, can be premature when there are competing motions for attorney’s fees in a district court. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently noted that it lacked jurisdiction to rule on a fee appeal because a district court hasn’t issued a final ruling on a motion for attorney’s fees....

Here at FindLaw, we understand the pressures of being a legal professional - most of us are recovering lawyers - so we want to help by tossing you that preferred life preserver of the legal profession, the short list. Muppet-mania is consuming the nation in the most unexpected ways following the release of The Muppets. Needless to say, we have Kermit on the brain. But Kermit the Frog isn’t the only noteworthy Kermit in America....

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is allowing the Abu Ghraib torture lawsuits against military contractors to proceed … for now. In an 11-3 decision after en banc rehearing, the Fourth Circuit reinstated two torture claims in Virginia and Maryland federal courts. The court did not rule on the merits of either claim; it only agreed to let judges in the cases review more evidence before addressing the contractors’ immunity claims....

Taking breaks at work is natural – no need to mull over the benefits here. Knowing what to do on those breaks should also come naturally, but for some it’s a bit of a puzzle. It’s like knowing you need to eat, but having a hard time eating right. We can’t promise amazing weight loss or rock-hard abs, but here are some suggestions about how to take healthy breaks at work....

When it comes to cybersecurity, there is a delicate balance between annoying and asking to get hacked. While cybersecurity is important, there’s no doubt about the fact that cybersecurity measures, like two-factor authentication, or obscenely long and complex passwords, are just annoying. Unfortunately, when outsourcing cybersecurity, third party providers will always want to oversell. This has two primary benefits for them: 1) the more you buy the more money they make, and 2) the more cybersecurity you have in place, the less likely you’ll have a breach which makes the third party look good....

By now, you may have heard about the Victoria’s Secret customer in Texas who was not allowed to breastfeed in a fitting room. The story, as reported by The Blaze, should give pause to in-house counsel to consider revisiting company policy and staff training to make sure everyone is up to speed on the legal status of breastfeeding – both with regard to customers and employees. Here are five breastfeeding-related legal reminders every corporate counsel should recall:...

Nothing is sacred on Howard Stern’s radio show. Famous for making fun of everyone from politicians to prostitutes, Stern will do most anything for ratings. Except broadcast Judith Barrigas’ tax information; that was a mistake. Or so said his lawyers in Barrigas v. United States of America. Barrigas sued Stern for invasion of privacy, and the judge dismissed it. “King of All Media” Stern, the self-proclaimed “King of All Media” for his ventures in radio, television, and movies, faded from the spotlight after he went to satellite radio a decade ago....

It’s not good practice for an attorney to bring a defamation lawsuit against a client, but in some cases it may be warranted. The reality today is that consumers have many very public outlets to express their opinions about an attorney’s work. And unfortunately, these outlets rarely check the veracity of comments made. As a result, many attorneys can get harmed by misstatements and outright lies on sites like Yelp, message boards, and discussion groups....