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The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a child pornography suspect appearing before a grand jury is allowed to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refuse to decrypt the contents of his computers. John Doe, the suspect at the center of the controversy, was served with a subpoena duces tecum, requiring him to appear before a grand jury and produce the unencrypted contents from his laptop computers and five external hard drives....

FaceTime multiplied its coolness, allowing more than one person to videochat at a time. Unfortunately, it had a bug that multiplied problems for FaceTime users. In Texas, a lawyer sued Apple over the bug. The lawsuit says FaceTime recorded a private deposition. If only that were all that FaceTime secretly recorded … Secret Recordings Apple disabled group FaceTime after a 14-year-old kid discovered the problem. Basically, people could surreptitiously record a conversation by adding another person’s number to a streaming videochat....

Multinational companies aren’t putting much faith in the “Privacy Shield” agreement between the United States and the European Union, a recent survey of privacy professionals shows. Barely a third of surveyed businesses plan on using the agreement, which makes it easier to for companies to transfer personal information on European citizens outside the EU. The Privacy Shield agreement was meant to replace a previous data sharing agreement, known as Safe Harbor, which was struck down last October, in part because U....

These days, pretty much any lawyer with a laptop, a cell phone, and a bar membership can start her own solo practice. There’s no need for the wood-paneled offices or stacks of legal reporters. Solo practice can offer you more control and greater flexibility in your work, but it also requires that you take on the role of manager, accountant, marketer and more – in addition to your legal responsibilities....

It’s not too late, but you probably should have asked about part-time work at your law firm a while ago. That’s because most firms today have part-time policies, and it’s one of those things you can know even before you start a job. So if you are just starting to think about it, relax because there are plenty of law firms that even encourage part-timers. But when it comes down to it, asking for part-time is about asking at the right time....

They may be known for their bigoted, rude and downright obscene behavior, but Internet trolls are an essential part of the worldwide web. They keep message boards interesting and force many an individual to step away from the computer. (If you were being baited by an Internet troll, you’d need to quell the urge to throw your monitor, too.) Nonetheless, it seems a just-passed Arizona bill may soon criminalize such behavior....

A court system in Washington State has touched on what could be a technological trend: It’s implemented perhaps the nation’s first iPad juror check-in system. Yes, apparently there’s an app for that. The iPad jury check-ins began earlier this year in the Benton-Franklin Superior Court system, which covers two rural counties. No longer are jurors slowly shuffled into different waiting rooms while they get checked-in by hand, the Tri-City Herald reports....

Attorney ghostwriting–the practice of preparing pleadings for pro se clients–seems to be a growing trend. It’s often the best option for struggling clients and attorneys alike. But is it unethical? Are you misleading the court by not signing your name to a pleading you prepared? Are you violating rules that require all pleadings to be signed by the attorney of record? Are you breaching your client obligations by only preparing a pleading?...

What are all the hip tech kids talking about these days? It’s no longer Snapchat or gossip apps like YikYak. It’s not even Meerkat. The newest big news is Periscope, Twitter’s just acquired mobile live streaming app. It’s already signed up a million users in its first ten days. Periscope allows you to watch live broadcasts as well as recently recorded videos. These videos can be public, available to all your Twitter followers, or private, allowing you to just invite your besties....

Jeremy Scott is a fashion industry darling. Each season he conjures up a collection for the young at heart that usually centers on a graphic theme. From superheroes to fast food, all was fair game for Jeremy Scott. Until now. According to Style, for his Fall/Winter 2013 collection inspiration, Jeremy Scott mentioned skate decks and posters that California punks, skaters and surfers would wallpaper their walls with. What was not mentioned, was that the graphic imagery was not his....

As lawyers we have ethical responsibilities to our clients — and our clients need to be able to trust our staff as well. Though certainly not a new phenomenon, two recent cases serve as a reminder that we need to be mindful of what our support staff are up to. In the first incident, a Florida paralegal, Richard Hummel, was arrested on drug and theft charges that occurred outside the work place....

“Watergate” for political scandal. “Deflategate” for NFL cheaters. “Fontgate” for forgers? It works because “Fontgate” is about forgers using Microsoft’s Calibri font to fake documents. In any case, the forged font story is a remake of scandals that actually date back to the original cover-up. Fontgate really began in 1973, the same year Richard Nixon began the Watergate cover-up. But both gates reverberate in law and politics today. Calibri to Conspiracy The “Killian documents,” which suggested President George W....

A hot area in the in house world right now: preservation of electronic evidence or “e-evidence.” These days, more and more evidence exists only electronically. However, the fact that a piece of evidence is never printed on a piece of paper does not absolve in house counsel of the obligation to safeguard it. As in house counsel, if there is a reasonable likelihood of litigation on a matter or if a matter is already being litigated, you have a responsibility to preserve evidence under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure....

In US v. Goodwyn, No. 09-7316, the court faced a challenge to the district court’s grant of defendant’s motion for a reduction in his sentence a second time within eight months. In reversing the decision, the court held that although the district court acted within its authority to grant the first motion under 18 U.S.C. section 3582(c)(2) and U.S.S.G. section 1B1.10, the district court lacked the authority to grant the motion for reconsideration under these, or any other, provisions a second time....

Will the plaintiff’s bar soon see a long desired break from the IRS? Several news reports believe, yes a tax write-off will soon be available for the up-front expenses often incurred in contingency suits. According to Forbes, a ruling from the Treasury Department on the issue could come at any time. Plaintiffs attorneys who take contingency cases have complained they must eat the costs of the out-of-pocket expenses such as witness and filing fees as incurred, and only get to write off expenses against any fee they obtain at the resolution of the case....

Headlines were made over the weekend when one Tesla driver made history on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge after being arrested for a DUI. While that alone isn’t so epic, allegedly, the driver was found asleep, with the car stopped on the bridge, and he is alleged to have claimed that he wasn’t driving, but rather had the vehicle’s autopilot engaged. This delightful DUI actually raises quite a few legal questions about the use of driverless cars....

The lawsuit will go forward with respect to several other claims related to trademark infringement. But Judge Hamilton’s ruling suggests that they won’t be very successful. The ruling was confined to the issue of false advertising, but it could potentially be applied to the claims of trademark infringement in general. That could be bad news for Apple. It also doesn’t help that Apple’s executives don’t appear to have treated the term as an exclusive description....

The First Circuit is making moves into the 21st Century as it is updating the mechanics for accepting filing fees. Read on as we give you an outline on everything you need to know about the new filing requirements. Attorney Admissions The First Circuit guide provides that all attorneys (excluding law clerks) are required to electronically submit their bar application. Absent a waiver, the electronic filing of applications applies whether or not the admission fee is waived....

If you’re looking to expand your client base with a splashy new online web campaign, might we suggest that instead of finding new clients to dissatisfy, how about keeping your old ones? A new white paper from FindLaw, “Failing At The Finish Line,” suggests that many firms have no real problem attracting prospective clients; but they drop the ball right at the point of intake. In fact, the problems are so obvious that they’re laughable....

Class action mistakes are not unheard of, especially for rookie class counsel. There are different rules to play by, and the fate of an entire class of plaintiffs rides on your shoulders. But even experienced class counsel make mistakes that sometimes result in harsh consequences, like sanctions, the denial of attorney’s fees, or the rejection of a class settlement. With those consequences in mind, check out these five rookie mistakes other class lawyers have made, so you don’t end up following in their footsteps:...