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Law firms and social media aren’t exactly best friends. The Wall Street Journal looked at how 110 different global law firms used social media. The results: not many of them do. Many firms have basic Facebook or LinkedIn profiles set up. Some of the findings, as reported by The Journal, include: 77% of firms had LinkedIn profiles 31% had Twitter accounts 29% had a Facebook account 10.9% were on YouTube 8% had firm blogs 7% used social media widgets Sure, these numbers seem low....

‘If you plan to have children, try not to have teenagers.’ That’s my joke to friends, and it came to mind when I read about the debate between a judge and a lawyer over a “yes-or-no” question. You see, my kids sometimes have trouble answering straightforward questions. It’s because they don’t want to be cornered – like attorney William Hermesmeyer, who had to hear it from the judge and the court of appeals....

Many Californians know the Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange, but they don’t know what the judge had to do with it. Pregerson, who died at 94, has a legacy in Southern California for stopping the 105 Freeway until construction complied with environmental laws. But his legacy on the court reaches much farther than the freeway. “He was larger than life,” said Dean Kevin Johnson of the UC Davis School of Law....

A lawyer’s desk can definitely leave a lasting impression on clients and colleagues. But only the junior associates are really going to be impressed with how high you can stack pleadings on your desk. You, and those that know you, might be able to excuse your messy desk as a personality trait, or as evidence of your non-traditional, outside the box thinking. But what about new clients, or opposing counsel?...

If you speak Vietnamese and are in the Northern California area, you might have noticed a proliferation of legal advice columns and radio talk shows. These programs usually involve questions from the public followed by general legal advice from a professional. These legal advice spots, whether in Vietnamese or otherwise, can be a good way for lawyers to raise their profile, advertise their practice, and establish themselves as an expert in the public eye....

If you’ve seen video of self-driving cars cruising through the streets of Manhattan or San Francisco and it slightly terrified you, you weren’t alone. Self-driving cars still struggle with things like rain. Can they really handle Bay Area bikers or New York pedestrians? But whether you fear or love self-driving cars, they’re probably here to stay. And now if they stay, they’ll be both supported and regulated by the federal government....

There are dozens of ways to get clients. Slap up a billboard. Run a late night commercial. Beg family and friends to send in referrals. But, when it comes to finding clients online, there’s one way that is more efficient, a way to find new, highly qualified clients without wasting money. It puts you at the top of search results, it targets your message directly to those who are searching for you already, and it does so in an easily measurable and affordable manner, which makes calculating your return on investment (ROI) easy....

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that federal courts could hear a former UPS employee’s Title VII sex discrimination claim, despite the fact that the company’s collective bargaining agreement provided a grievance procedure for statutory discrimination claims. Amber Ibarra worked as a package car driver for the United Parcel Service (UPS) until the company terminated her for “recklessness resulting in a serious accident” after she lost control of her van and struck a telephone pole while delivering packages....

Defendant’s sentence of 135-months’ imprisonment after being convicted of participating in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics is affirmed where: 1) trial court’s reliance on witness’ testimony was not unreasonable; 2) district court did not err in attributing the full five kilograms of cocaine to defendant in calculating the base offense level of 32; 3) district court did not err in denying defendant’s request for a two-level reduction in his offense level for acceptance of responsibility....

The New Orleans Saints have been rocked by plenty of bad news lately. Last week, the NFL slapped the Louisiana franchise with the harshest penalties in league history for its illegal bounty program, and suspended head coach Sean Payton for a year. Then, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals announced that former punter Mitch Berger is stuck pursuing fraud claims against former deep snapper Kevin Houser in binding arbitration. Since this is an appellate law blog, you already know which of these let-downs we have to cover....

Unless your firm hasn’t done any hiring in the last decade, you’ve probably noticed that the Millennial Shift has happened. We’ve hit that point where Millennials are now entering leadership positions at all levels in great numbers, and with that, more law firm employers need to be mindful of shifting their policies and practices to be more in tune with what the generation’s top talent really wants, and no, it’s not foosball, nor ping-pong, though both are delightful pastimes....

There’s a trend happening: Each federal circuit court of appeals is redesigning its website. Though all of the new sites are visually similar, and perhaps based on a common template or codebase, each has its own pros and cons. Previously, I wrote a long, hateful rant about the Tenth Circuit’s website. Little has changed – it is still terrible. Most of the other circuit courts’ redesigns have gone far more smoothly....

In US v. Blocker, No. 09-10798, the court of appeals affirmed defendant’s bank robbery sentence on the ground that it was error for the district court to assess defendant two criminal history points under U.S.S.G. section 4A1.1(d), but where a sentence falls within both the correct and incorrect guidelines, the court of appeals does not assume, in the absence of additional evidence, that the sentence affected defendant’s substantial rights. As the court wrote: “John Tyrone Blocker was sentenced to his 85-month term of imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of bank robbery in violation of 18 U....

Did you know that lawyers are ranked as #9 on the list of sexiest professions? So we’re sexy-hot (riiiiight), but we don’t want to be hot-hot, and summer is coming. All Internet foolishness aside, as a lawyer, you want to show that you can handle everything, no sweat. 1. “Never Let Them See You Sweat” It’s more than just a Dry Idea ad slogan from the 80’s; these are words to live by....

In re: Texas Pig Stands, Inc., No. 09-50544, involved a bankruptcy trustee’s appeal from the district court’s reversal of the bankruptcy court’s order refusing to hold the trustee liable for a tax deficiency incurred in running the debtor’s business. The court of appeals affirmed the district court’s order, holding that the trustee exceeded his authority, violated the Plan, and committed willful misconduct, and therefore the Trust Agreement did not limit his liability....

Class standings. Law school rankings. Salary comparisons. The list goes on in the competitive law business. But there’s a new list: best retirement plans. Unlike salary increases – which law firms announce to attract top talent – nobody really publishes retirement benefits by firm. But now, with help from Above the Law, there is the best small firm 401(k) plans by state. Best Contributions You would think that the best states for employer contributions would mirror the best states by salary....

In a breach of contract action regarding a public water utility, an injunction requiring defendant to change its main pipe interface with plaintiff and turn over certain customer information to plaintiff is: 1) affirmed in part where the risk of an overload to Plaintiff’s water supply could harm the public interest; but 2) reversed in part, where plaintiff failed to show a threat of irreparable injury justifying its receipt of customer information....

Bouchat v. Baltimore Ravens Ltd, P’Ship, 08-2381, concerned a challenge to the district court’s determination that defendants’ depictions of a logo in season highlight films and in the Ravens corporate lobby were fair use, in entering judgment against the plaintiff, in plaintiff’s copyright infringement suit against the Baltimore Ravens football organization and National Football League entities for their unauthorized copying of a Ravens team logo, drawn by plaintiff, that was used for three seasons as the team’s official symbol....

The Eleventh Circuit recently upheld the conviction of “an international sex trafficker named ‘Drac’ (short for Dracula) who sometimes dressed up as a vampire, complete with yellow contact lenses and gold-plated fangs.” Drac, also known as Damion St. Patrick Baston, a Jamaican pimp with a theatrical side, was convicted for sex trafficking across the globe, from Florida, to Australia, to the United Arab Emirates. Baston’s criminal inspiration wasn’t limited to Nosferatu, either....

You might remember Aereo, the Internet startup that allowed individuals to watch broadcast T.V., including local programming, online. Traditional broadcasters and cable companies hated it and sued. The case eventually ended up before the Supreme Court, where Aereo lost. The company filed for bankruptcy just a few months later. But the dream of Internet-based television didn’t die with Aereo. Other companies, including FilmOn X, are picking up Aereo’s model and are surviving court challenges, at least for now....