Employee’s suit against his employer for violation of the USERRA and Puerto Rico law Vega-Colon v. Wyeth Pharm., 09-1861, concerned a challenge to the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of employer, in plaintiff’s suit against his employer, claiming that the employer discriminated and retaliated against him based on his military service in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and Puerto Rico law....
FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. WhatsApp, a messaging service that is often used for international texting and other services, is about to be gobbled up by Facebook, right? Well, that is Facebook’s plan. Indeed, Facebook intends to fork over a hefty $19 billion to acquire WhatsApp. However, that is not the end of the story. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been contacted by privacy advocates – the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) – in an effort to block Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp, according to Reuters....
Maryland has a need for public safety measures. There’s a reason some people call it “Balti-murder” after all. Of course, the means chosen to achieve that public interest must survive intermediate scrutiny by having a fit that is “reasonable, not perfect.” Obviously, those points are subject to some debate. Do we deprive someone of a constitutional right because someone might steal their gun? Does the need for easier encounters between police and citizens, and reduced investigations of (sometimes lawful) public gun possession justify reduced rights?...
It’s an appy world, where you can tap an app and do just about anything. Conference with a client; there’s an app for that. Deposit a retainer; tap that app in a snap. In the law business, however, not everything is so automatic. Some things take a little more time, like best practices behavior. No App for That Computer applications and programs are great for productivity, but they are only as good as the users....
Did Gabriella convince you? If you’re preparing to launch your own small firm practice, you really should have a business plan. The plan should weigh the relevant factors, from practice area to practice location, before you open up shop. A proper law firm business plan may also be a necessity if you are applying for a small business loan to cover startup costs. If you’re suffering from writer’s block, despite Gabriella’s great advice, here are few more resources to get you started:...
There are few feelings in life better than walking out of the office before a vacation. When it comes to good work-feels, it’s really only behind receiving and depositing checks. And following closely behind walking out that door, the third most satisfying work to-do involves setting your out-of-office auto-reply email message. Although many lawyers struggle to fully disconnect, or unplug, especially when it comes to email, one sure fire way to help ensure the plug stays pulled is by using a really good out-of-office message that gets a recipient’s attention....
Earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit ruled that Barnes & Noble couldn’t enforce an arbitration agreement against a customer. The only notice of the arbitration clause was buried in an agreement the user had to find by clicking a link to it on Barnes & Noble’s website. These agreements – called “browsewrap” or “clickwrap” agreements – are popular because they bury the lede in fine print – which the Ninth Circuit said wasn’t OK....
In Alston v. Dept. of Corrs., No. 09-15137, a capital habeas matter, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of petitioner’s habeas petition, on the grounds that the district court did not err in finding that the state court’s ruling that petitioner was competent to waive his post-conviction proceedings and that the waiver was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary was neither an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law nor an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court proceedings....
By some accounts, about 75 percent of employees steal from their employers. As in-house counsel, you might find yourself in the uncomfortable position of having to advise your client as to why some numbers aren’t matching up. Could it be that someone in the company is walking out with the goods? Could be. Fraud Expert Findings According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, your typical organization loses approximately five percent of its revenue to fraud with the median amount being $120,000....
According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook walked away with a ruling in favor of an American company … in China! But is this a sea-change for intellectual property rights in China? Despite being blocked in the world’s most populous country, Facebook’s name still carries a bit of a cache. It may be banned, but Chinese city-goers are aware of it. And its banned status makes it all the more alluring and taboo....
Practicing the law requires patience, dedication, and experience. Hiring a lawyer? Not so much. For the average legal consumer, choosing an attorney is often a quick process. Clients often start searching for lawyers just hours after a legal incident occurs, and the first attorney they contact is often the one they hire. And those quick-acting legal consumers can be a boon to attorneys who know how to attract them. Clients are eager to pull the trigger, and, luckily for you, a free FindLaw on-demand webcast can put you square in their crosshairs....
If the SELF-DRIVE Act is any indication, the law might actually keep up with the technology. The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the self-driving car bill by a voice vote. H.R. 3388 is a first-of-its-kind legislation, if not one of the first unanimous votes on a bill in the current administration. It bodes well for the future of autonomous vehicles, which still have a way to go as the self-driving cars on the road are basically test versions....
If someone updates George Orwell’s 1984, they should explain how Big Brother grew up. Yesterday, it happened through DNA evidence. Today, it’s happening with facial recognition software. In the latest chapter on the technology’s application, police used the software to catch suspects who stole circuit breakers from businesses in Southern California. As Big Brother Borg says, “Resistance is futile.” “Fully Operational” According to reports, half of all Americans are already in a facial recognition database....
California lawyer James Mazi Parsa might be the most complained-about lawyer ever. The Orange County attorney is currently facing over 1,100 pending bar complaints, many stemming from his alleged abandonment of clients. Let’s take Parsa’s potential disbarment as a learning moment. When it’s time to call things off with a client, there’s an ethical way to pull the plug or there’s, well, potential disbarment. Here’s the difference. The Worst Case Scenario Parsa’s case presents one of the absolute worst ways to end client engagement, aside from dying....
In determining the constitutionality of President Trump’s travel ban executive order, courts shouldn’t look back to Trump’s statements as a candidate, the Department of Justice says. District courts in Maryland and Hawaii blocked Trump’s newest travel ban two weeks ago, finding it to be likely unconstitutional. Both judges relied significantly on the president’s public statements when doing so. In a brief filed with the Fourth Circuit last Friday, the DOJ argues that the travel ban does not discriminate on the basis of religion, despite Trump’s calls for a “Muslim ban” during his presidential campaign....
Have you seen FindLaw’s 99 Things to Do With Your JD, Besides Practice Law? Though it’s six years old now, it’s still incredibly popular – thanks, Google! It might be time to tip the list over into the triple digits with the addition of the newest ex-lawyer trend: lawyers leaving practice to become coders. Can lawyers make the switch from the United States Code to computer code? Probably. Should they give up the law for programming?...
The U.S. Copyright Office has performed its duty of publishing exemptions to the DMCA once every three years. This year’s exemptions include a ruling that jailbreaking a smart phone is now legal. But the detail that’s turning heads is that the exemptions don’t mention tablets. In order to keep up with the times, the DMCA makes some effort to adapt to new standards as technology develops. As part of that, exemptions to the rules are made every three years based on new information....
Massachusetts has joined the ranks of states requiring attorneys to keep pace with technology as part of their ethical obligations. Among the changes the Supreme Judicial Court authorized to the state rules of professional conduct was the addition of a comment to Rule 1.1, which outlines a lawyer’s duty to provide competent representation. The change comes as more and more states, and the ABA, are recognizing that lawyers who don’t understand new technology aren’t just adorable throwbacks, but could be endangering their clients’ interests....
Did you ever notice how “LoL” and “IoT” look a little alike? “Laugh out Loud” and the “Internet of Things?” Maybe it’s just me, but there is something a little funny about the internet security of a toaster. Or a coffee maker; that’s a hot one. To help keep our toasters and coffee makers safe, Congress is looking for more ways to deal with cyberattacks and privacy breaches through household devices connected to the internet....
In an employment termination action brought under the Family Medical Leave Act, district court judgment is affirmed where equitable estoppel may not be applied against a government employer based upon the employer’s alleged oral assurances to the employee of coverage under the Act, as plaintiff had no right to FMLA leave under the statute because she did not work the requisite number of hours. Read Nagle v. Acton-Boxborough Regional Sch. Dist....
