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A third of all in-house counsel report that their companies have suffered a data breach, according to a new survey released by the Association of Corporate Counsel. The larger the company was, the more likely it was to experience a breach. The most common causes were employee error and “inside jobs.” But, perhaps because of the high rate of data breaches, many companies are now taking greater steps to protect themselves and their data, though gaps in protection remain....

Is the first commandment of courthouse management “thou shalt not display a 6-ton Ten Commandments monument in front of a government building?” A federal judge in Florida ruled in a Ten Commandments case last month that such displays are not permitted. Attorneys for Dixie County, Fla. are appealing decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The American Civil Liberties Union, the plaintiff in the Ten Commandments case, argues that the monument constitutes the government promoting a religious message....

Well, color me shocked. In an essay published today in Wired, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler backed the strongest-ever plan for net neutrality: Regulating Internet service providers as telecommunications utilities under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. The move, if successful, would allow the FCC to regulate broadband ISPs in the same way it regulates phone companies. And as you might expect, the ISPs aren’t happy about it, even though it’s good for customers....

Zillow might be better off burning down this office. First opened in 2012 as an office for selling ads to real estate agents, Zillow’s Irvine, California, office has become a hotbed for employee lawsuits. There was the sexual harassment lawsuit that we blogged about earlier this month. And this week, Geragos & Geragos, the law firm of famed attorney Mark Geragos, dropped another off another lawsuit at the clerk’s office – the sixth such lawsuit in three weeks....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. But, and there always seems to be a “but,” as reported by USA Today, cybercriminals have been lurking in the vicinity of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the overall holiday season. What have they been up to? They have been busy inundating the internet with emails, social media postings and search results that contain links that offer pitches for various scams and worthless products....

It’s baaaack! Yes, it’s that time of year again – Discovery’s “Shark Week” (already? We’ve barely had time to recover from “Sharkando 2: The Second One”) – which of course means it’s time for FindLaw’s “Legal Shark Week” series of blog posts. Because as lawyers, we are as misunderstood as the sea creatures we are often analogized to, we thought we’d flip the switch and co-opt the term. So let’s dive in by taking a look at four ways you can be a social media shark:...

Lost evidence is more or less a deal breaker when litigating a case, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that a football helmet at the root of a plaintiff’s products liability claim wasn’t necessary to prove a design defect in this game-changing opinion. The case emerged from an injury that the Appellant A.K.W. sustained during a high school football scrimmage. A.K.W.’s coaches were trying him out at a new position during practice....

Whether your client is a rinky-dink startup or a blossoming corporate giant, all in-house counsel realize the critical need for clients (and their attorneys) to understand the nuts and bolts of cybersecurity. For those in need of a refresher or crash course on the topic, the Small Business Administration is offering a new online cybersecurity course that is geared to small business. The course, Cybersecurity for Small Businesses, provides a nutshell primer on how to secure business information, identify security threats and guard against cyber-attacks....

We recently wondered who would replace long-time First Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kermit Lipez, and we may have gotten our answer: William J. Kayatta, Jr. President Barack Obama announced his pick to replace Maine’s only jurist on the First Circuit on Monday. “I am proud to nominate these outstanding candidates to serve on the United States Court of Appeals,” Obama wrote in a statement to the press. “I am confident [Tenth Circuit nominee] Judge Robert E....

In a world that is becoming ever-so mobile, the business of law is moving from the walnut-paneled window office to the Starbucks down the street. With iPhones, Blackberries, netbooks and iPads, the confines of the office can seem limiting. But an on-the-go attorney faces another potentially debilitating limitation. Attorneys must safeguard client data and protect confidentiality. In an increasingly mobile world, how can mobile attorneys protect the confidentiality of their data?...

With Windows 8’s release looming ever closer, Microsoft appears poised to take on Apple and Google head on. However, it’s sea change may be Windows Phone. But should lawyers make the switch? It might seem far-fetched, but the proposed changes Microsoft’s planning might very well be the streamlining attorneys need. Microsoft wants to make Windows 8 a truly integrated operating system, one that works across platforms. At the forefront will be Windows Phone....

We all know about Facebook and divorce. Talk about evidence. But it seems that the smartphone is catching up and may have become the divorce lawyer’s new best friend. Divorce and custody attorneys are using text messages and smartphone evidence at an unprecedented rate, according to a survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). Ninety-two percent of respondents report seeing an overall rise in the use of such evidence during the past three years....

An injunction against Texas’ abortion law was removed by the Fifth Circuit on Thursday, allowing the law which threatens to shutter many of the state’s abortion clinics to go into effect. According to The New York Times, the three-judge panel unanimously decided that the Texas abortion law, enforcement of which was on emergency appeal from Monday’s district court decision, found that the “admitting privileges” provision was likely to be found constitutional, reversing the lower court’s decision....

The political pendulum is quickly swinging to the right in the U.S. Eleventh Circuit, as President Trump named two more judges to the federal bench. Judge Elizabeth Branch of the Georgia court of appeals has been nominated to fill a vacancy on the federal appeals court. Stan Baker, a federal magistrate, has been tapped for a district court judgeship in South Georgia. The latest nominations, particularly to the appeals court, mark a clear changing of the guard during the Trump Administration....

Lawyers can expect to hear a lot about tort reform in the upcoming months. With a Republican president-elect, a Republican-controlled Congress, and a Trump-selected future Supreme Court justice, tort reform advocates are facing one of their most favorable political climates in some time. So, how likely is tort reform in the near future and what could it mean for attorneys like you? If you want to see limits to medical malpractice awards, fewer consumer class actions, or personal injury reform, you’re probably feeling pretty good these days....

You’ve probably heard the news, maybe even on Twitter. The microblogging site, struggling to maintain growth and increase its revenue, is looking to shake things up. And that could mean ditching one of Twitter’s defining characteristics: the 140-character tweet limit. Tweets might not just get a little longer, however, they may become much longer. Twitter is considering allowing tweets up to 10,000 characters long. What effect will that have on attorneys who tweet?...

Vigilantly staying on top of one’s private communications is simply a good practice when traveling within the states. Things get slightly hairier when you travel abroad, because there are compatibility issues to consider too. But when you travel to places like China, it’s not just a matter of due diligence: you’re potentially putting your clients and their company information at risk. Remember, Chinese institutions at least condone the offering of hacking courses that have left American companies scrambling – even the federal government....

This week, the Fourth Circuit released what our Southern roots recognize as “a mess of opinions” in United States v. Vann, a case examining presentencing reports, sentence enhancements, and grammar in a guilty plea. What, you might wonder, constitutes a mess? How about 7 separate opinions totaling 100 pages. If you do criminal defense work within the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ jurisdiction, and represent a client who wants to enter a guilty plea, you unfortunately need to read this case....

The Fourth Circuit just tossed a conviction of a man who photographed himself and a 7-year-old girl having sex, the Associated Press reported. Now before readers take up pitch-forks and torches, it should be noted that the circuit did nothing more than review whether or not the lower court applied the law correctly. Anthony Palomino-Coronado was sentenced to 30 years after being convicted of persuading a child to engage in sexual activity for the purpose of filming or photographing that conduct in violation of 18 U....

BP is still fighting with Gulf business owners over the billions businesses feel are owed under the Deepwater Horizon settlement, but the Fifth Circuit may have given BP a wakeup call with a small typo. On Thursday night, in response to plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss BP’s request for an en banc rehearing of the settlement issues, the Court mistakenly issued this order – granting the motion. Another order quickly filed on Friday vacated the mistaken order, but how did the mix-up happen?...