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Perhaps people are capable of change. As individuals, we can forgive, look forward, and move on. Courts don’t really do that. A judge doesn’t just let bygones be bygones. She can look to a defendant’s past — both convictions and unconvicted arrests— when determining a sentence. And the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is okay with that. Nicholas Harris pleaded guilty to attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine. His pre-sentence report (PSR) calculated a total offense level of 30, placing him in criminal history Category III due to his prior criminal convictions....

Are you on LawyerRatingz.com? If you are, it may be time to cringe. Florida attorney Adrian Philip Thomas has been threatening the site with legal action for quite some time. He wants a number of poor reviews removed, and claims the anonymous comments have lost him business. But now the Electronic Frontier Foundation has stepped in on the site’s behalf. The organization has asked a federal court to issue a declaratory judgment stating that the website is not legally responsible for defamatory content posted by its users....

Net neutrality: those words have swirled in and out of headlines for the past couple of years, but what do they really mean? It’s a principle, one that means that no legal Internet traffic is prioritized or demoted over other traffic. Internet Service Providers don’t filter or promote websites or content by restricting data speeds or access. In times past, the argument was whether ISPs could restrict the amount of bandwidth used by data-hungry services, like Netflix or Bittorrent....

The Fifth Circuit en banc is hearing the Texas Voter ID case, making the procedural history of the case of Veasey v Abbott even more confusing. The case revolves around the legal implications that arise if the Texas Legislature should be allowed to implement voter ID laws which may be shown to be intentionally discriminatory, though not facially so. And in a state with consistently low turnout rate, the fate of Veasey could have a palpable effect on the minority voters who appear to be disproportionately affected by the law’s strict requirements....

This article is by Kristopher Klein, J.D. of InOutsource. For more author information, please see below. Conflicts of interest surrounding the “lateral” movement of attorneys from one firm to another have proven to be a risk management challenge for many firms today. One of the more uncertain aspects relates to conflicts created by laterals’ former clients that do not come to the hiring firm. For example, Attorney was formerly with Firm A, where she did work for Company A, drafting and negotiating a supply contract with Company B....

People are cheap, they like free things, and paradoxically, this can be a great way to get into their pocketbooks. How can you turn a giveaway into a payday? For many lawyers, it’s via the free consult, where attorneys meet with potential clients, answering basic questions and providing simple advice. But, when your product is your legal expertise, does it make sense to give it away? Like so many things, the answer is “it depends....

In an action for breach of contract, district court’s holding that the original decision to seek specific performance precluded the non-repudiating party from being able to claim monetary damages is reversed as there is no reason why, as a general matter, a party who initially seeks specific performance cannot later switch his preferred relief to an award of damages in the event that specific performance is rendered impractical or impossible. Read Homeland Training Center, LLC....

Shared workspaces are becoming increasingly popular and may be better than cubes for law firms, both large and small. For tough economic times, reconfiguring offices into a more shared space seems like a great solution. Here are six tips on how to share a workspace – without going insane: If all else fails, try taking everyone on a relaxing retreat to diffuse the tension. Related Resources: Why Your Office Will Disappear (Forbes) Coworking: Office Space Options for Solo Lawyers and Small Firms (FindLaw) 5 Places to Work if You Don’t Have an Office (FindLaw’s Strategist) Generation Gap: How Does Stress Affect You?...

Bankruptcy Appellate Panel judgment is affirmed where, in calculating monthly income under the means test for identifying an abusive Chapter 7 petition, the plain language of 11 U.S.C. sec. 707(b)(2) allows debtors to deduct payments due on a secured debt notwithstanding the debtor’s intention to surrender the collateral. Read In re Rudler, No. 08-9007 Appellate InformationAppeal from the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the First Circuit. Decided August 5, 2009 JudgesBefore Lynch, Chief Judge, Boudin and Lipez, Circuit Judges....

With all the eagerness to be part of the BigLaw leagues, it is very easy to be blinded by the glamour and overlook many of the disadvantages of BigLaw. Sure, people like to be associated with the big names on BigLaw firms, but most will stay just that: an associate. When bad times hit, BigLaw firms look to outsource – starting with you. If you’re part of a small firm, you can take steps to weather the economic storm and also take the driver’s seat....

Elon Musk is known as a visionary leader of technologically advanced companies, and it is exactly that reputation, plus a few potential conflicts of interest, that have landed him, and Tesla, in hot water with investors. In short, Tesla’s litigious shareholders are blaming Musk’s incredibly strong influence on the Tesla board for unduly influencing the vote to purchase SolarCity, which was owned by Musk’s cousins. The Tesla investors allege that Musk had a conflict of interest due to these relationships, and other close relationships with other board members....

After Carolyn Tanner suddenly lost her position as Nevada’s Public Utility Commission General Counsel, we couldn’t help but look a little deeper into what sounded like a “loose lips sink ships” story. Allegedly she is no longer employed due to her actions on Twitter. Tanner, however, claims the timing was coincidental and denies that her Tweet under the pseudonym “DixieRaeSparx” had anything to do with her current job search. Personal or not, Dixie’s little spat with an enterprising Nevada lobbyist shines a light on the proprieties of lawyer’s comments on past or pending legal matters....

The Supreme Court ended its most recent term with a bang on Monday, reversing the Fifth Circuit and declaring that Texas’s restrictions on abortion providers constituted an undue burden on a woman’s access to abortion, in violation of the Constitution. In Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the Court rejected the Fifth Circuit’s determination that uncertainty about the health risks of abortion can justify restrictions on physicians. Instead, the Court found that any such restrictions must be based on convincing medical evidence, to be evaluated by courts, not lawmakers, and any burdens those restrictions impose must be outweighed by their health benefits....

On Saturday, August 3, 2013, tragedy struck. At some point on that fateful day, the web server that hosts my personal and professional (non-FindLaw) sites, went down. Over the last twenty or so years, I’ve dealt with more than a few server crashes and server migration issues. This was, by far, the worst. Ordinarily, when such a crash occurs, the hosting company scrambles to solve the problem. If your site is down for more than an hour or two, they’ll typically notify you and provide an estimated time frame....

Some 75% of associates leave the firm after five years, according to a National Association for Legal Placement study. And, many attorneys can empathize. While associates may love the practice of law, long billable hour requirements and sleepless nights can often leave to associates simply burning out. Or, some associates may already have their exit strategies in place, looking to only gain experience at a firm for a few years before jumping ship....

A bill intended to curb class action lawsuits passed in the House of Representatives last week. H.R. 985, the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017, would make major changes to class action litigation, limiting attorney’s fees and narrowing what plaintiffs can be certified as a class. It has, unsurprisingly, faced strong opposition from plaintiffs’ lawyers. The bill is one of several litigation and tort reform measures passed by the House in recent days....

On Monday, the President and First Lady hosted The White House Summit on Working Families to kick start the “conversation on working families for a 21st century workplace.” The President’s remarks showed his commitment to working families, and focused on four issues: paid maternity leave, workplace flexibility, childcare, and wages. Earlier this week we provided a recap of President Obama’s priorities and initiatives. Now, we’ll look at how your law firm can help #FamiliesSucceed....

After Apple hit the $1 trillion mark, CEO Tim Cook told his employees that money isn’t everything. That’s easy to say when you can buy a planet. And it’s good to say before everybody asks for a raise. Of course, it’s also true. Like the boss said, it’s more important to focus on doing a good job and staying true to company values. So how does your company measure success?...

US v. Rivera-Moreno, 08-1961, concerned a challenge to the district court’s imposition of a sentence of 365 month’s imprisonment and a fifteen year term of supervised release in a prosecution of defendant for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. In affirming both the sentence and the term of supervised release, the court held that the district court did not commit clear error in its factual findings, including the calculations of the drug quantities, and that the district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing defendant’s sentence....

Are you planning on starting your own practice in the new year? If so, you might be looking to outfit your office during the holidays when prices on some good-enough-for-legal-work consumer-grade tech might be at an all-time low price. Below, you can read about some of the best tech essentials to be picking up before you open your new law office’s doors. Perhaps the most essential piece of equipment for a lawyer these days is a good office computer and/or laptop that can connect to larger external monitors or dual large external monitors....