Posts

Whether you love’em or hate’em, those rentable eScooters are everywhere these days. In many cities across the country, these rentable electric scooters are strewn about sidewalks and are causing real problems for the pedestrians that choose not to scoot. Fortunately, because we lawyers are the heroes the public needs (though may not want, or know they need), one attorney has decided to take the eScooter scourges to task, filing a class action lawsuit against both Bird and Lime, the two biggest eScooter renters....

A Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court judge recently heard a lawsuit seeking to reverse Gov. Deval Patrick’s rejection of Pittsfield lawyer Michael McCarthy’s confirmation as a district court judge in Berkshire County. In July, Councilor Michael Albano, former Councilor Mary-Ellen Manning and Pittsfield attorney Michael McCarthy filed a civil lawsuit in the state Supreme Judicial Court claiming McCarthy’s judicial confirmation was wrongfully rejected by Gov. Deval Patrick and Secretary of State William Galvin....

Most people, including lawyers, are at least broadly aware that whenever a document is created, something exists behind the scenes that tracks information related to the creation, editing, and general handling of the document. That “something” is called metadata, and although it’s wonderful for engineers and accountants, it can be hell for attorneys. Here, we go over some of the basic considerations all attorneys must think about when handling client files....

Lolita, the killer whale, will remain in captivity. That’s the decision of the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Miami Seaquarium. The animal rights group and others claimed that Lolita should be freed under the Endangered Species Act. The appeals court said PETA did not prove that captivity posed a serious threat to the whale. It will not be a sequel to “Free Willy....

FindLaw Tip 1: Don’t be a shady politician who trades funding for favors. FindLaw Tip 2: If you insist on being a shady politician, don’t document your illegal activity in a government email account. “Wait!” you say. “Certainly the marital communications privilege will cover me if I only email my spouse to explain the scheme?” Except that it won’t. Phillip Hamilton – kind of a silver-fox Kenny Rogers type – served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1988 until 2009....

Tech-loving lawyers rejoice, the Samsung Galaxy S III is nearly here. The South Korean company has just announced its latest addition to the Galaxy family. But for lawyers, is upgrading to the Galaxy S III worth it? Gadget junkies need not answer that question. It’s more directed toward attorneys who value function over being able to make their fellow associates jealous. The Galaxy S III brings a number of changes to the popular line of Android smartphones....

Reading this case, we get the idea that the Boston-based First Circuit Court of Appeals is not a big fan of Starbucks. That’s not particularly surprising, given that Beantown is better known for Dunkin’ Donuts. Starbucks employees — or “partners” in the company lingo — are divided into four subcategories: store managers, assistant managers, shift supervisors, and baristas. Both shift supervisors and baristas are hourly wage employees, often working part-time. Baristas are frontline employees who serve food and beverages to customers; shift supervisors perform those functions and other functions as well....

Tesla has a new general counsel, Dane Butswinkas. He will oversee the company’s legal and government relations teams, and report directly to CEO Elon Musk. Butswinkas will take over from Todd Maron. It is a curious move, since the outgoing Maron hasn’t been general counsel that long and he was also Musk’s personal lawyer at one time. But it is not that unusual because GC turnover has become the norm at Tesla....

In a dispute between two sureties claiming rights to the same property, plaintiff’s appeal requesting review of a district court order summarily dissolving a pretrial attachment is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction under the collateral order doctrine, where the circuit court was unable to discern the basis for the district court’s ruling with respect to the unexplained interlocutory order. Read US Fidelity & Guar. Co. v. Arch Ins. Co. , No....

While Walmart’s in-house counsel may know all the rules regarding age and disability discrimination, some of Walmart’s in-store employees clearly do not. The EEOC filed suit against Walmart on behalf of David Moorman, a former manager at a Walmart store in Keller, Texas, alleging age and disability discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Moorman claimed he was taunted and ridiculed by direct supervisors who called him “old man” and “old food guy....

When it comes to winning, one of the most important parts of any case, especially for lawyers on a contingency, or defending cases of clear liability, is damages. There’s no denying that the more sympathy you can get from the jury (or judge) for your side, the more likely the damages will shake out in your favor. Even if a jury is limited to awarding fixed statutory damages, a sympathetic jury is likely to look for ways to award even more (or avoid awarding anything at all)....

A new year means a new slew of cool new tech devices. For many attorneys, though, new legal gadgets usually amount to larger binder clips and a photocopier/fax combo. But fear not tech-savvy lawyers, FindLaw is here to help. So if you’re in the market for some new tech, you can’t go wrong with the following five must-have legal gadgets. Legal Gadget No. 1. Wacom Bamboo Tablets Plug this tablet into any desktop computer and you’ve got a fast new way to review those briefs and interrogatories....

Sick of your tired old business card? Want something more modern, more compelling, and simply different? How many lawyers have business cards that, when you scan them with your phone, will either add the lawyer’s contact information or give you directions to her office? If you have five minutes to spare, these steps, and a trip to your business card printer, will provide you with slick, QR-coded business cards. Think barcodes, but with a lot more data....

At an unknown time in probably Q1 next year, at an unknown price, the Apple Watch is coming. The Apple Watch promises, among other things, a centralized way to track all your health statistics. That’s got some ears perking up, from e-discovery experts to, now, the FTC. Citing two anonymous sources, Reuters reported yesterday that Apple and the FTC were in talks over the privacy of all that juicy health data the Apple Watch will undoubtedly collect....

There’s no such thing as bad publicity. We’ve all heard that, but really, instead of bad publicity, you should be looking to gain free (and preferably good) publicity for your law firm. Easier said than done, right? It does require some work, but it is easier than you probably think. All you need to do is roll up your sleeves and come up with a game plan – the publicity will follow....

Legal practice is often a high-stress job. There’s the trying work hours, the high-stakes outcomes, and the horrible opposing attorneys or trying clients. It’s enough to cause an esquire or two to unleash a near-constant stream of unprintable profanities. Cursing under his breath at court got one attorney publicly reprimanded recently. Meanwhile, a major microbrewery is encouraging its employees to drop more F bombs. Who’s got the right approach? Earlier this month, Craig Weintraub was publically admonished for his potty-mouth....

There is just something about lawyers and terrible TV ads that are inherently connected. Now, we all know lawyers aren’t creative types. We’re cold, analytical, type-A sharks with no souls. Any semblance of humanity or creativity was wiped from our minds during three years of “legal education.” As such, we can excuse all kinds of terrible, terrible ads, especially the boring stereotypical TV spots, such as “Guy in a suit in front of books can help you!...

The idea of police seizing your text messages may seem funny if all you have is some attempts to make happy hour plans and a cute note from your significant other. But it’s a much bigger deal if that seizure results in an arrest. States are still divided on whether police can seize a cell phone without a warrant and at least one more has thrown its hat into the ring....

Killing a troll and throwing its corpse into lava is a good strategy because apparently the trolls die again as soon as they revive. Legally speaking, that’s what some companies are doing with patent trolls. It’s the scorched-earth approach, and it seems to be working. Rather than pay the trolls, small businesses are fighting back and taking no prisoners. It sounds like a good plan because the patent troll story is getting old....

John Gomes Mendes was convicted in a Massachusetts court of the first degree murder of his wife, on a record that the First Circuit Court of Appeals described as “suggesting a motive to gain control of her small inheritance to pay for prostitutes and drugs.” He sounds like a stand-up guy, right? Mendes walked free, despite incriminating circumstantial evidence, for 13 years following the murder. He was indicted and prosecuted only after police learned of two witnesses to whom Mendes had admitted the killing....