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Some law students dream of a gig that involves litigating from day one; that usually means working for the government. Government experience – whether working for a city, state, or the feds – is certainly valuable, but it’s often a stepping stone in a legal career. At least, it was for Gregory Mouton, Jr. “I went into business as a solo because I wanted to work for myself and have more control over my future in legal profession,” Mouton said....

In a challenge to the Coast Guard’s regulatory scheme governing the issuance of coastwide endorsements to vessels, an order enjoining the regulations is reversed where the Coast Guard’s interpretation of its regulatory scheme gave all parts of the scheme functional significance. Read Shipbuilders Council of Am. v. US Coast Guard, No. 08-1546 Appellate Information Argued: May 15, 2009 Decided: August 21, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Duncan Counsel For Appellants:...

Should your law blog allow for comments? Here are two better questions: Do you want engagement, and do you have time to moderate? You’ve started a law blog. Good. You write regularly on topics of interest to your target audience. Even better. You write response pieces to other blogs’ posts to further the conversation. Well done. But do you have comments? Here are two considerations when questioning whether to open or close your comments section:...

After a four-month wait, the Central District Court of California has finally issued its ruling on the motion to dismiss in the Spinal Tap v. Vivendi lawsuit. While the band’s fraud claim has been dismissed, along with three of the four band members, the breach of contract claims and plaintiff Christopher Guest (a.k.a. Nigel Tufnel) still remain. Fortunately for the band, the dismissal of both members and the fraud claim were without prejudice....

A guy stands next to a dumpster behind a convenience store in a high crime area talking to another guy. There are “no trespassing” signs posted nearby and the store’s owner has previously reported trespassers in the area. In addition, there have been multiple shootings near the store. The moment a police car pulls into the lot, the two individuals take off running. Though one of the individuals escaped, the other, Irvin Bumpers, stopped when ordered to by the police officer....

Supreme Court haikus Are they good for law firms too? Perhaps for a blog. The above 17 syllables is a haiku. A Supreme Court haiku. And, apparently, haikus are all the rage now, with Supreme Court haiku blogs popping up all over the internet. Maybe. Entertaining blog posts can be one way that your firm can help draw in clients. And, if you build up a loyal fan base reading your law blog, maybe some of your fan base can eventually be converted into loyal clients....

Alexander Macgillivray is unexpectedly stepping down as Twitter’s General Counsel. Not surprisingly, he tweeted the news himself and didn’t offer a reason for the surprising move. (You do only get 140 characters per tweet.) Here’s why people are pretty surprised about it and who will be filling Twitter’s empty legal nest. Industry folk are furrowing their eyebrows and scratching their heads at why Macgillivray is calling it quits when Twitter is on the cusp of going through its IPO....

Defendant’s conviction and sentence for possessing a handgun is affirmed where: 1) the federal ban on juvenile possession of handguns, 18 U.S.C. section 922(x)(2)(A), does not violate the Second Amendment and the court reaffirms the holding in US v. Cardoza, 129 F.3d 6 (1st Cir. 1997) that the section does not exceed Congress’s Commerce Clause authority; and 2) defendant’s sentencing challenge is moot as he is no longer in detention or under juvenile supervision....

Appeal from a conviction for conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft is dismissed where: 1) defendant validly waived his right to appeal the guideline sentence imposed by the district court in the plea agreement; and 2) enforcing the waiver would not work a miscarriage of justice in light of the First Circuit’s subsequent decision in US v. Stepanian. Read US v. Ter-Esayan, No. 07-2419 Appellate InformationAPPEAL from a judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet. A scholarly law review article talks about the right to privacy in the face of new technology encroachments and speaks of “the right to be let alone.” When was this article written? This year? Last year? No, in 1890, and think of all the technological advancements that jeopardize the right to privacy since then!...

People sometimes use Twitter for the wrong reasons, but Twitter is doing something right. Following up on its campaign against revenge porn and harassment, the company has a new program to fight hate speech. Twitter already had policies to remove threats of violence, and now the company is drilling down on hateful imagery, symbols, and related behaviors – especially against hate groups. Twitter is focused on eliminating hate from its platform, starting with a video President Trump retweeted from a racist group called Britain First....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet. Bezos originally wanted to name the company “Cadabra.” Ultimately, he was convinced otherwise, because that sounded too much like “cadaver.” Here is an ironic surprise – early on, Bezos, his wife, and the third company employee held meetings in a local Barnes and Noble. Bezos back in the day, believed that employees should work at least 60 hours per week....

With the Trayvon Martin case finally rolling forward, the eyes of the public have turned towards the major players who’ll be litigating the case. Angela Corey is the special prosecutor tasked with proving George Zimmerman’s guilt. And she’s no pushover. Corey, 57, was the first to announce that the Florida State Attorney’s Office would be pursuing second-degree murder charges against Zimmerman. Since then, she has been plunged into the national spotlight....

Did you hear the inside joke about the Comic Con case? Didn’t think so. That’s because a judge issued a prior restraint in the pending litigation. The joke’s on the judge, however, because the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t think that was funny in Dan Farr Productions v. United States District Court. “Comic Con” Trademark The case started when the San Diego Comic Convention filed a trademark action against Dan Farr Productions’ use of the mark “comic-con” or “comic con....

The makers of “pink slime” have sued ABC and the scientist who dubbed the beef product as pink slime for defamation. Beef Products Inc. brought the lawsuit against ABC and the beef company is seeking $1.2 billion in damages. The South Dakota meat processor accuses ABC of misleading its viewers into believing that their product was unsafe, reports Reuters. The company claims that ABC falsely told its viewers that its beef product was not safe, not healthy, and not even meat....

Few people get excited about meetings. Why? Because they’re typically felt to be a waste of time. Here you are, listening to someone drone on and on about something that could have been conveyed more quickly in an email. There goes another hour that could be spent on work, wasted before an endless deck of PowerPoint slides. There’s a reason people often sneak in actual work – checking their emails, updating their calendars – while meetings are going on....

Sometimes settlements come because the participants are just worn out. That includes the judges. You could say that’s the case in The Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education v. McMillan. The case – a battle over funding for Maryland’s predominantly black schools – has been dragging on for 13 years. The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals sent the parties back to the negotiating table because the judges have seen enough....

Where do you stand on the Oxford comma? If you’re like a sizable minority of Americans, you could do without it. But if you’re an intelligent, thoughtful person who cares about your writing, you make sure you’ve got an Oxford comma in place when needed. That’s because the Oxford comma can be essential to creating clear writing. Don’t believe me? Then you’ve yet to read O’Connor v. Oakhurst Dairy, yesterday’s First Circuit decision that rested entirely on the lack of an Oxford comma....

Let’s say you have a group of … oh, six hooligans. Undercover cops “lay the foundation” for said hooligans to rob a drug stash. The hooligans plan their attack, and the cops move in to arrest them before they can execute. As it turns out, there were no drugs, it was all just a clever ruse to lure in a target. According to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the hooligans can go to jail for forming a real conspiracy to steal make-believe drugs....

For lawyers serving cryptocurrency clients, or clients with legal issues revolving around crypto, a recently released white paper may be the new crypto-lawyer’s bible. The ABA’s Derivatives and Futures Law Committee’s Innovative Digital Products and Process Subcommittee Jurisdiction Working Group released a 350-page report detailing the current state of cryptocurrency federally and on the state level. And for legal practitioners in the tech field, it’s probably worthwhile to at least skim it over....