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Remember calling tech support, and the help was speaking to you from another country? Well, get used to it for law office help, too. Law firms are realizing that it is cheaper to move some operations to less expensive venues. Hogan Lovells, for example, is moving 78 business service jobs and 12 legal support jobs from its London offices to Johannesburg and Birmingham. It is trending to move legal services and administrative work, such as accounts payable, payroll, time and billing systems, to fairer climates....

Microsoft, like many companies, allegedly uses a complex web of overseas subsidiaries to shield itself from U.S. taxes. This is accomplished through “transfer pricing,” which allows subsidiaries of the same company to buy and sell with each other in a way that maximizes profit for the parent company. The IRS is none too pleased with all this and has begun to audit companies’ transfer prices. Well, Microsoft is none too pleased with that, and filed a complaint in federal court yesterday to get the IRS to disclose transfer pricing documents....

Just in time for the new year, the National Labor Relations Board has announced changes to its representation case procedures. That’s just a fancy, lawyer-talkin’ way of referring to union elections conducted by the NLRB at the union’s or employer’s request. The thrust of the new rules is to streamline the election process by making it easier, faster, and by reserving collateral issues for after the election. The point is just to get the election to happen without delay....

US v. Nicholson, 08-6347, concerned a defendant’s second appeal of the district court’s second denial of his petition for habeas relief, claiming that he was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel because his lawyer had an actual conflict of interest. In reversing the denial and remanding the matter for resentencing, the court held that defendant is entitled to section 2255 relief because a self-defense departure motion was inherently in conflict with interests of counsel’s other client, and thus, defendant has proven the necessary link between the counsel’s conflict of interest and his failure to move for a self-defense departure....

Tablet choices, much like the purchase of a new car, can present a confusing series of options. What size screen do you pick? Apple or Android? What about storage capacity upgrades? And do you need cellular data? Speaking of cellular data, while it would be nice to have an always-on connection, much like your smartphone, who needs the extra expense? (How about free?) If you’re selecting a tablet for yourself, for your firm, or for a family member, here are the choices you’ll have to make, plus the low-down on low-cost data....

Criminal defense lawyers know that the right strategy can make or break your client’s case. Enter the “Paxil defense.” Georgia attorney Peter Johnson is likely hoping this argument will help his client, Feliz Vega Jr. Vega is accused of robbing a Bank of America branch in 2010. He donned a mask during the crime. He even threatened a teller with a paintball gun. Vega took off with $12,000 before he was tracked down by the police....

Unilever is suing to protect its Ben & Jerry’s trademark. The unlikely targets of the lawsuit are Rodax Distributors and Caballero Video. If you don’t know who they are, that’s probably a good thing as the two companies are adult film producers responsible for such gems as “Boston Cream Thigh!” and “New York Fat & Chunky!” As you probably guessed, Unilver is suing these companies for allegedly using Ben & Jerry’s trademarks in a series of porn movies, reports ABC....

Mary Brown, the lead plaintiff representing business owners in Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida, may have a standing problem. Brown used to own a small auto repair shop in Florida. She didn’t have health insurance. She didn’t want health insurance. She didn’t want the government to tell her that she had to purchase health insurance through the individual mandate, according to the Los Angeles Times. Last year, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Brown, (along with 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business), and ruled that the individual mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional....

At some point in your career, you may come up against hostile witnesses. A hostile witness is a witness that you call who ends up becoming “hostile” to your cause. If this is the case, a court may deem the witness hostile and you will have to update your strategy on how to handle the witness. Otherwise, your questioning could lead to unwanted answers that seriously damage your case. Here are three strategies to handle a hostile witness, as reported by The Street....

American Apparel tossed its founder and CEO Dov Charney to the curb this morning, blaming the move on “an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct.” The move, which reeks of desperation, could mark rock bottom in a comeback. Or, more likely, it could be a precursor to the end: the press release notes that the change in management could trigger an event of default under its credit agreements. Add in five straight years in the red, and this could be the epitome of too little, too late....

Here’s a little tip we’ve picked up from reading appellate opinions all day long: When the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals starts a decision with the admonition, “You don’t let a pistol-packing mother catch you naked in her daughter’s closet,” you keep reading. It doesn’t matter what kind of case follows. It’s going to be good. That’s when Uzuri’s mother, Dorethea Collier, returned home from work, wearing her uniform, gun belt, and pistol....

The reception and antenna problems with the iPhone 4 have already been blowing up the news. Lawsuits have been filed, techies are up in arms and iPhone enthuistists have been stuck ordering $30 cases to keep their calls from dropping. Things started off swimmingly for Apple with the iPhone 4; the company sold 1.7 million iPhones in the first three days. The steel band that frames the new iPhone was touted as a design improvement that would increase the power of the antenna over previous iPhones....

Sixta v. Thaler, No. 07-20890, involved an intoxication manslaughter prosecution. The court affirmed summary judgment for respondent on petitioner’s habeas petition, holding that the applicable procedural rules required the respondent in a 28 U.S.C. section 2254 proceeding to serve both the answer and any exhibits attached thereto on the habeas petitioner, and respondent complied with this requirement. Hardy Wilson Mem. Hosp. v. Sebelius, No. 09-60312, involved an action against the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), alleging that CMS’s method for calculating reimbursement payments for costs incurred by health care providers’ psychiatric units between 2003 and 2005 violated 42 U....

Uber announced it was settling Liss-Riordan’s class action in late April. Under the terms of that settlement, Uber will pay out $84 million initially, with another $16 million coming later should the company have a successful IPO. That’s no small payout to the 385,000 drivers who could be affected by the settlement – but it doesn’t change their employment classification, the main basis for the suit. Under the terms of the settlement, Uber drivers will remain independent contractors....

This week, social media was abuzz with a new coffee shop on the scene – Dumb Starbucks. Yes, you read that right – Dumb Starbucks. As a Starbucks gold card member, I love my coffee, but even I thought the idea of a Dumb Starbucks was hilarious. But what about Starbucks? Were they able to have a laugh? Starbucks is notorious for protecting its trademarks, though sometimes unsuccessfully. Just last year, the Second Circuit ruled against Starbucks when it sued a coffee producer for naming its blend “Mr....

Almost exactly a year after the NLRB’s first ruling on whether employees can be fired for what they post on Facebook, the NLRB has issued a new ruling that further clarifies the its stance. The case involved a car salesman who was fired for photos taken at his workplace and posted on Facebook, Inside Counsel reports. The pictures were accompanied by sarcastic remarks made by the employee. When Knauz BMW, the dealership where he worked, found the pictures, the salesman was fired....

As a general counsel, ethics should be up your alley. Most attorneys also have their own view of what’s “right” and what’s “wrong.” While this doesn’t always coincide with what’s “legal” or “illegal,” it does play a role in a general counsel’s advice or decisions. Should attorneys advise companies about the morality of their decisions? Well, think about it this way. Part of the business function of the general counsel is to ensure that the company’s actions are in compliance with relevant laws....

Cloud storage offers a lot of benefits to attorneys who need extra storage space, but what it doesn’t always provide is confidentiality. Companies that offer cloud storage provide access to their superior memory capacities which allows clients to store and backup computer files online. Those online files can then be access from any computer without having to carry an external hard drive everywhere. That all sounds good, but how secure is this cloud really?...

As we know by now (and are probably sick of hearing), class action waivers are totally fine if they’re couched a part of an arbitration clause. But what about when an employment agreement contains an arbitration clause that purports to preclude employees’ abilities to file joint or class complaints against the employer? No bueno, said the National Labor Relations Board in an October decision called Murphy Oil. The decision is significant not only because it departs from the Supreme Court’s increasingly permissive stance on arbitration agreements, but because it upholds a doctrine that at least three federal circuit courts of appeals view as either unpersuasive or reject outright....

Have you ever watched Lance Armstrong compete? It’s incredible. Love him or hate him, Lance made cycling interesting. Now, he’s making anti-doping litigation interesting. If you have no idea who Lance Armstrong is, and you think cycling is about as exciting as watching paint dry, we’ll condense the dirty details to bring you up to speed. Lance is famous for battling testicular cancer – which should have killed him since it had spread throughout his body to his lungs and brain – and coming back to win the Tour de France seven times....