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After the decision, and the amicus briefs, comes the expected denial. Next stop SCOTUS? James Risen had a lot of inside information about the CIA, which he revealed in his book State of War. We’re all pretty certain that the information came from Jeffrey Sterling, a disgruntled former agent, as he’s the common link to a lot of the information about a variety of operations. The government, however, contends that only Risen can provide a direct link to the leaks....

Add this to the list of reasons to take sexual harassment seriously: not only is it illegal and unethical, but it can sink the whole company. That’s just what happened to FitzGibbon Media, the Washington, D.C., public relations firm that folded just days after claims about widespread sexual harassment were revealed. In the few years that it’s been around, FitzGibbon Media made a name for itself among progressive and liberal groups....

“I’m free,” Anthony Wright proclaimed. “I thank God for science.” Wright was exonerated of murder last year after 25 years in prison. He was the 344th person in the United States to be exonerated by DNA evidence. This month, judges at the U.S. Ninth Circuit Judicial Council learned more about how faulty forensic evidence leads to exonerations. Legal experts told them to be skeptical of methods that don’t pass scientific muster....

There are many ways to handle a staffing shortage at a small firm. We’ve suggested a few ways to handle staffing shortages to free up your time for more billable hours. After all, you aren’t being paid to answer the phone, organize file cabinets, or troubleshoot a crashing computer. Some firms, especially smaller firms, can’t afford more support staff, however. There is also a surplus of unemployed law graduates desperate for experience or employment....

Located in Fremont, Ca., solar energy startup Solyndra LLC has announced plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week–the third solar company to do so in the last month. Immediately laying off approximately 1,100 employees, a press release tied the Solyndra bankruptcy to the company’s inability to compete with its overseas rivals, despite being the recipient of a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. Is this a sign of hard things to come in the alternative and clean fuel industry?...

You may have noticed by now that we draw many of our legal life lessons from either song lyrics or “Mean Girls.” Do you really need anything else? Today’s lyrical wisdom comes compliments of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood hit, “Relax.” It’s helpful to take a similar approach in business, according to The New York Times. A Times opinion piece argues that relaxing can actually make you more productive: Yes, you could be a better attorney if you chilled every once in a while....

Electronic discovery is the name of the game these days as more and more people and companies store their stuff in the form of bytes, not pages. That means that lawyers need to know how electronic discovery works (and in some places, that’s an ethical requirement). Even so, nobody’s perfect, and replying to requests for ESI can cause headaches. When you’re responding to an ESI request, take caution to avoid these three mistakes....

A faulty indictment can mean the difference between a life sentence and a chance to walk free after 25 years. This week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Larry Whitfield’s conviction and sentence on an uncharged “death results” offense for a North Carolina woman’s death, reports The Associated Press. One of those homes belonged to Mary Parnell. Whitfield entered the Parnell residence through the unlocked front door and encountered Mrs....

A law firm is more than a collection of lawyers. Often, the staff keeps things running, handling case logistics, managing scheduling, and even researching and drafting. That is to say, your paralegals and legal assistants matter. A lot. Here are FindLaw’s seven best posts on how to get the best paralegals and legal assistants around and how to make the most of the support staff you already have. The chances are, if you’re a solo practitioner you’re really solo, handling almost all your work on your own....

California lawmakers want more women on corporate boards, and if their law passes it would turn corporate boardrooms completely around in the state. According to studies, California has more boardrooms without women than anywhere else in the United States. Hannah-Beth Jackson, who co-authored the pending legislation, wants to change all that. “They are operating without the benefit of the experience, perspective, and tools that women bring with them to the boardroom,” she told Bloomberg....

King, a video game studio, created Candy Crush Saga. For those unfamiliar, it is an insanely popular free-to-play video game. How popular? Per the New York Daily News, it has been downloaded more than 500 million times, was the most downloaded free app of 2013, and was the year’s top revenue grossing app. That popular. It’s big. And with success comes copycats and infringers. King is doing what any responsible company would do, attempting to protect its IP....

This tax season, don’t be a partner in shelter tax crime like the attorneys at Nix, Patterson & Roach in Texas. In NPR Investments v. United States, the Fifth Circuit frowned upon the law firm partners’ investment scheme to generate $65 million in artificial losses, so they could ultimately create a tax shelter for their huge litigation fees. So what happened in this case? The first lesson here is to not piss off the IRS – especially when you’re law partners who won more than $600 million in attorneys’ fees from a huge tobacco litigation case, as Courthouse News reports....

Petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeal’s denial of Senegalese petitioner’s application for asylum and other related relief is denied where: 1) substantial evidence supports the BIA’s conclusion that petitioner failed to show her proposed group is socially visible and sufficiently particular; 2) petitioner presented no evidence to support her claim of persecution because of her religious beliefs; 3) petitioner failed to prove that the Senegalese government would torture her or permit her to be tortured if she were to return....

The federal government has sued a Texas trailer park for violating the Fair Housing Act after a transgender woman and her partner were evicted. According to the Houston Chronicle, Texas transgender woman Roxanne Joganik lived – or attempted to live – at the Texan RV Park in Athens, Texas from 2011 to 2012, but the park’s most recent owner, George Toone, took issue with her wearing female clothing. As a potentially huge case for transgender equality in the Fifth Circuit, what are the key issues?...

Florida Virtual School is an online charter high school authorized by statute. It has been around for more than a decade. A few years back, apparently unsatisfied with FLVS’s performance, the state opened up the door to private competitors, including K12 Inc., which calls itself Florida Virtual Academy. FLVA, which after its pilot program got picked up, also adopted the alternative moniker Florida Virtual Program (FLVP), and which purchased a sponsored listing on FLVS....

Is every job hunter on LinkedIn these days? The professional network may not have the same level of global participation as Facebook, but it’s the most popular among recruiters. According to CNET, 93 percent of recruiters turn to LinkedIn to find qualified candidates for openings. And 93 percent can’t be wrong. Right? If you’re solo practitioner or a partner in a small practice, you probably don’t have the resources to hire a recruiter quite yet....

Last week, an HIV-positive Georgia man argued to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals that he should be allowed to proceed with his discrimination claim against the Atlanta Police Department in a federal district court. The man, using the name “Richard Roe” claims that a doctor who conducted his pre-employment medical exam as part of his application said that he “could not be employed in a position in which he had any contact with the public” because he was HIV-positive, and that he had “failed” his medical exam, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution....

When it comes to fighting patent trolls, the government has been long on talk, and short on action. Legislation is in the works, but other than a few state governments standing tall, most of what we’ve heard is proposals and verbal condemnations, especially on the national level. The hesitation, it seems, may have ended, and the first shots may have been fired in the federal government’s War on Trolls. Earlier this week, one of the most notorious non-practicing entities, the “Scanner Troll” MPHJ, filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission....

A recent ruling out of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals confirms that judges can in fact order the release of secret grand jury proceedings for historians to study. The case involved the “Moore’s Ford Lynching” in 1946 which is believed to be the last mass lynching in the U.S. and a catalyst to the civil rights movement. Surprisingly (or perhaps not, given the attitudes of the times), despite hundreds of witnesses, no one was convicted of the murders, and there wasn’t even a criminal case....

After Blessing Iwuala received his master’s degree in business administration in Nigeria, he put his learning to use opening a medical supply company. When Iwuala teamed up with John Nasky, who ran a medical billing business, the two used Iwuala’s company to circumvent Nasky’s pervious ban from Medicare payments. Soon, Medicare payments for durable medical equipment left Iwuala “awash in a flood of easy money.” That arrangement netted Iwuala quick cash with little work, but it also landed him in jail when Nasky’s fraudulent billing was revealed....