BP has taken its last gasp of air as it seeks it’s one and only option in the ongoing saga of the oil-spill settlement agreement the company hastily signed. After unsuccessful attempts with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the oil giant is now trying its hand with the U.S. Supreme Court. Whether the Supreme Court will grant cert. remains to be seen, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at the legal backdrop of the case....
If you ever find yourself in litigation against your employer, you may be wondering if you can use confidential information you gained through your position in your lawsuit. For in-house counsel, this question is particularly tricky as you may be privy to certain confidential information that most other employees are not exposed to. And because of your position, it may be unfair to the employer if you can suddenly open the curtain on everything that happened at your company simply because you were fired or discriminated against....
In the world of online fundraising, otherwise basically known as crowdfunding, the opportunities are seemingly endless. In fact, lawyers and clients have successful crowdfunded litigation. However, due to the relative newness of the crowdfunding sensation, those in the legal profession embracing it, have sort of been operating in murky ethical waters … that is, until now. A recent ethics opinion issued by the District of Columbia’s legal ethics committee explains that lawyers can in fact represent clients who pay via crowdfunding, but, as the ABA Journal reported, there are a few important caveats....
Imagine you are general counsel of Overstock.com and you discover a legal problem that will put the company’s stock in a tailspin. Then imagine your compensation package is tied to the stock’s performance. Now you have a dilemma: do you sell before you advise the directors? Just kidding, SEC; we’re talking hypotheticals here. Oh wait, the company just got sued for defrauding investors. Bitcoin Frenzy Strategy Overstock is already under in stock performance – trending down in recent months....
During our interview with Ron Collins of Amicus Attorney, we got into an interesting discussion about Google’s data policies and how they implicate A lawyer’s duty of confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege. Many people are concerned that Google’s sharing of information and scanning of email for advertising purposes constitutes a breach of confidentiality, a waiver of attorney-client privilege, or both. It’s an interesting question. Google’s privacy policy states that the company will not disclose “sensitive personal information” to third parties unless you opt-in....
Now that spring is officially here, families are going away for spring break, and gearing up for summer vacations. And while you may only be fortunate enough to get a working vacation, if you have the right tech accessories, you won’t have to stay behind at the hotel while the rest of the family hits the beach. When it comes to the basics of working from the beach, you will definitely want shelter from the sun, a sand-proof towel, a comfy beach chair, and, of course, your smartphone and laptop....
Earlier this month, Congress did the unthinkable: they invoked the so-called “nuclear option” and removed the filibuster option for blocking the president’s nominees from being brought to a vote, with the exception of Supreme Court nominations. Though much attention (rightfully) has been paid to the D.C. Circuit, with its three vacancies, and its importance in national matters, we’re more concerned with the local impact. Will the removal of the filibuster allow thirteen Eleventh Circuit vacancies (four of which are on the circuit court of appeals itself) to be filled in a timely manner, or will the oft-forgotten Blue Slips tactic rise up in its place?...
Constitutional challenge to the New Hampshire School Patriot Act Freedom from Religion Found. v. Hanover Sch. Dist., 09-2473, concerned a challenge to the district court’s dismissal of all of plaintiffs’ federal claims on their merits, in plaintiffs’ suit seeking a declaration that the federal Pledge statute and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in New Hampshire’s public schools violates various provisions of the U.S. Constitution, the New Hampshire Constitution, and federal and state law....
Integration. No matter how much we may begin to fear the creep of big data and companies monitoring our every move, every click, and every email, our privacy paranoia is always matched by one competing interest: convenience. The first time Google Now automatically added directions on my Nexus 4 to an address that I had looked up earlier on my desktop computer, I was a bit creeped out. “How did my phone – what the?...
There are 1,600 unread emails in your inbox. Finding an important message takes a couple of minutes, instead of a couple of seconds. The idea of scrolling to the bottom of your inbox and seeing all those missed, unanswered, ignored emails fills you with a bit of dread. Your inbox is a mess. But it doesn’t have to be. Adopting a few good habits can help you develop a clean, efficient approach to email for the New Year....
Who wants to have to take the NY bar? No one, is a pretty safe guess. Bar exams are expensive, time consuming and frustrating. But if you want to practice law in a state, there’s just no way around that. Or is there? In-house counsels in New York don’t want to take the exam, and New York State Bar Association is backing them up. They have asked the Court of Appeals to allow in-house counsels with a continuous presence to be allowed to practice law without taking the bar exam....
In re: Northlake Dev. L.L.C., No. 09-60743, a creditor’s appeal from the district court’s affirmance of the bankruptcy court’s decision that certain deeds the creditor held were legal nullities, the court certified the following questions to the Supreme Court of Mississippi: When a minority member of a Mississippi limited liability company prepares and executes, on behalf of the LLC, a deed to substantially all of the LLC’s real estate, in favor of another LLC of which the same individual is the sole owner, without authority to do so under the first LLC’s operating agreement, is the transfer of real property pursuant to the deed: (i) voidable, such that it is subject to the intervening rights of a subsequent bonafide purchaser for value and without notice, or (ii) void ab initio, i....
The question of whether the Mississippi statutory cap on noneconomic damages violates the Mississippi separation of powers clause sounds like a question for a Mississippi court. But this week, it was the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that decided that the Mississippi tort reform statute didn’t conflict with the state’s constitution. How does that work, you wonder? We’ll explain. The Fifth Circuit certified the state constitutional question to the Supreme Court of Mississippi, which declined to answer the question because the issue was not “squarely presented” by the parties at trial....
We should’ve known that the decision upholding Obamacare by the nation’s highest court wouldn’t be the end of the battle. Back in 2011, Liberty University, a Christian college located in Lynchburg, Virginia, challenged the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on religious freedom and equal protection grounds. Of course, this ruling also conflicts with the Fourth Circuit’s justification for dismissing Liberty’s challenge to the law. Though Liberty’s case was not directly on appeal when SCOTUS heard a bundle of challenges to the PPACA, SCOTUS’s conflicting opinion did give Liberty grounds to seek a rehearing, reports Reuters....
RE/MAX, a giant franchisor of real estate brokerage, is moving into the IPO neighborhood. The company has publicly filed a registration statement for a proposed initial public offering of $100 million in common stock. The made the move after competitors – Realogy, Zillow and Trulia – have had strong post-IPO performances in the market. In-house counsel in the real estate sector should recognize the filing as a strategy for investors to gain exposure to the recovering housing market....
US v. Crape, No. 09-12470, concerned defendant’s appeal from the revocation of his conditional release following his writing of letters threatening to kill several teenagers. The court of appeals reversed, holding that requiring defendant to refrain from writing threatening letters and revoking his discharge from a psychiatric hospital for the failure to comply with that condition exceeded the district court’s authority under 18 U.S.C. section 4243(g). As the court wrote: “Michael Crape was committed to a mental-health facility after being found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of mailing threatening letters to the President and Vice-President of the United States....
The Fourth Circuit’s ruling striking down President Trump’s second travel ban, EO 13,780, was vacated by the Supreme Court this week. In issuing this ruling, it was ordered that the challenge to the injunction be remanded to the Fourth Circuit Court and dismissed as moot. The High Court explained that because the EO’s September 24 expiration date had passed, the appeal no longer presented a live case or controversy, and as such, was moot....
Bribery Convictions Affirmed In US v. Bohuchot, No. 08-11090, the court affirmed defendants’ convictions and sentences for bribery and money laundering, holding that 1) it was at least debatable whether there was clearly or obviously a constructive amendment of the indictment, but in any event, neither the third nor fourth prongs of plain error review was satisfied in this case; 2) a rational juror could infer from the circumstantial evidence and the evidence regarding the contract at issue that defendant accepted or solicited remuneration as part of an ongoing scheme as alleged in the indictment; and 3) even if the prosecutor’s comments were improper, they were not sufficiently prejudicial to “cast serious doubt on the correctness of the jury’s verdict....
In a conviction of defendant for possession of child pornography, district court’s imposition of 5 years of probation and an order to pay a $3000 fine is vacated and remanded as, the court erred by failing to provide an adequate explanation of why a term of imprisonment is not warranted in light of applicable policy statements. Read US v. Morace, No. 09-4007 Appellate Information Argued: December 4, 2009 Decided: February 11, 2010...
Sentence and conviction of defendant for drug-related crimes is affirmed where: 1) defendant’s appeal waiver is valid, and thus, direct appeal of his conviction and sentence is not permitted under the terms of the waiver to which he assented; 2) district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant’s pro se motion for modification of his term of imprisonment as he stipulated to possession with intent to distribute powder cocaine, and the revised guideline regarding crack cocaine possession was simply not applicable; and 3) defendant’s Kimbrough claim is rejected....
