In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action claiming that defendant-officer wrongfully seized plaintiff’s wolf, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where the fact that a wolf may be lawfully possessed does not mean that the lawfulness of its possession must be verified as a prerequisite to its seizure when that seizure is necessary to protect the public safety or otherwise. Read Walker v. Prince George’s Cty., No. 08-1462 Appellate Information...
“I am an attorney because I had an abortion,” one female lawyer tells the Supreme Court. “The Court’s Webster decision, issued around the same time I was seriously considering suicide rather than being forced to give birth against my will, saved my life,” another explains. Those are just two of the stories of more than 100 women attorneys who signed an unprecedented Supreme Court brief, explaining how their personal experiences with abortion impacted their lives....
Every year, the nerds of the world descend on Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, a trade show/press release machine where companies debut new products and tantalize us with proof-of-concept devices that may or may not ever be made, as well as nifty ideas that don’t make much sense, like a Wi-Fi-enabled tea kettle. So what products came out of CES that lawyers will actually care about? Especially the ones that will actually get made and not just chattered about but never released?...
Troubling the leaders of his day with questions, Socrates was the gadfly of Athens. So said Plato, his student and chronicler of his trial. Of course, Socrates accepted a death sentence for his self-appointed role in society. Today, lawyers are taught the Socratic method of asking questions. And sometimes, they have to be painfully hardcore about it. While lawyers often try to downplay this part of their career, maybe they should embrace it....
Judges can behave badly, too – sometimes, very badly. Earlier this month, police arrested Judge Mark Fuller of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. Fuller had allegedly beaten his wife, who called 911 from a hotel. Fuller, however said his wife was the one who became violent when she accused him of cheating on her with a law clerk, reported the Montgomery Advertiser....
American Apparel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this morning. The once-hip retailer popularized metallic spandex leggings and made-in-LA t-shirts in the early 2000s but has struggled with waning sales and tumbling stock prices. The company warned investors in August that it might not have the funds needed to meet its debt obligations. Chapter 11 protection should allow American Apparel to keep open its Los Angeles manufacturing centers and 130 retail stores while it undergoes a debt-for-equity conversion....
Sumptuous family meals are now nearly eclipsed by two of the most important shopping days of the year: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Referring to the Friday after Thanksgiving when retailers are finally “in the black,” one could argue that the name should be changed to Black Thursday as sales are creeping into Thanksgiving dinner, reports The Wall Street Journal. Cyber Monday refers to the day everyone goes back to work and goes shopping online catches up on their assignments....
Anticipating widespread public interest, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has authorized live television broadcast of arguments over President Trump’s travel ban. C-SPAN will also carry the feed live for other broadcasters on May 15, 2017, from the William K. Nakamura Courthouse in Seattle, Washington. The court will independently stream arguments for internet viewers. The case, which marks the second time Trump has run afoul of the courts by banning nationals from certain countries, has picked up public steam since Attorney General Jeff Sessions criticized Judge Derrick Watson for blocking the president’s orders....
There’s been a lot of news about kids getting into trouble on social media – so much so that California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law that would allow minors to erase their Internet history. But what about when your kids post about their parents’ lives? Patrick Snay learned the hard way that his daughter’s Facebook posts can haunt him too. Patrick Snay brought an age discrimination and retaliation claim against his former employer, Gulliver Preparatory School, which resulted in an $80,000 settlement, reports the Miami Herald....
In Bauman v. DaimlerChrysler Corporation, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has overruled the trial court’s dismissal of Daimler Chrysler AG, from a lawsuit brought by survivors and heirs of Argentina’s “dirty war,” reports Reuters. The trial court had dismissed the plaintiffs’ case for lack of personal jurisdiction over DaimlerChrysler AG. So now Daimler-Chrysler must defend the plaintiffs’ claims on the merits. Argentina’s military government engaged in a “dirty war” against its political opponents between 1976 and 1983....
A plea bargain is supposed to bring finality to a case. Along these lines, the Supreme Court, in Blackledge v. Perry, stated: However, when the prosecution’s entire case relied upon fictitious statement made by a corrupt police officer, how “voluntary and intelligent” can that plea be? Cortez Leon Fisher, at least per the record, is a career criminal. In 2004, he pled guilty to a felon in possession of a firearm charge....
According to a recent Harvard Business Review article, the “era of move fast and break things is over.” And in case you have no idea what this means, that phrase “move fast and break things” is attributed to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and is the mantra of “tech disruptors.” However, now that the public has had enough of tech startups breaking things and then blaming the lack of government infrastructure, tech startups need to make sure legal compliance is a top priority before it’s even required....
Did you know that Puerto Rico fell within the same judicial circuit as Maine and Massachusetts? Earlier this year, Chief Judge Sandra L. Lynch of the First Circuit Court of Appeals announced the vacancy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Puerto Rico had been filled. Edward A. Godoy was selected to full the vacancy in the Puerto Rico bankruptcy court, conditional upon successful completion of a background check, including FBI clearance....
While you may think that some lawyers dress oddly enough to look like they’re actually in costume, when push comes to shove, it’s probably not a good idea to show up to court in your Halloween costume. If you do, consider changing out of your costume before walking into the courtroom, as even a lawyer dressed as Thomas Jefferson is not safe from disbarment. Unless you plan on wearing your normal work clothes as part of your Halloween costume, or your costume involves wearing a suit or attire that is actually appropriate for court, leave the costume in the office, at home, in your brief case, or maybe just underneath your suit (think Clark Kent/Superman)....
It was one of the biggest product defects ever, a faulty ignition switch in General Motors cars which lead to at least 124 deaths. GM settled a federal investigation over the switches last month for $900 million. Shutting down a series of private lawsuits cost the carmaker another $575 million – relatively small amounts compared to what might be in store for automakers like Volkswagen. But if GM and its executives are getting off light, the company’s in-house counsel aren’t coming away unscathed....
Lawyers are people. We have needs too. Sometimes we need new furniture. Other times, we might need tax advice or a stiff drink. And clients, often, lack the liquidity required to pay for legal services, especially when a lawyer requires a retainer. So, do you barter? Or, in the immortal words of Randy Moss, is it “straight cash, homey?” One of the biggest problems is agreeing on value. The easiest way is to have each party give a fair and reasonable value of the service if they were to provide it on the open market, before either party commences work....
Every morning people wake up and check their email inboxes to find a slew of emails that they don’t really want. But companies don’t really want them to unsubscribe from all those messages. Some organizations, including LinkedIn, require email recipients to log in before they can unsubscribe or change their email preferences. It seems like a smart way to make sure that clients have to consider for a minute if they don’t want the emails....
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that an employee was not entitled to recover the value of unvested stock shares under Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law (MWPCL) because New Jersey law applied to her employment contract in a conflict of laws scenario. Hillary Kunda sued her former employer, C.R. Bard, Inc. (Bard), alleging that Bard violated Maryland law when it failed to pay her for unvested shares earned through the company’s long-term profit sharing plan after she left the company....
When the New Year rolls around, the Florida Supreme Court will be making history, and not in a good way. The state’s high court will, for the first time in over 35 years, be without an African American justice on the bench. Apparently, this year is Justice Peggy Quince’s last year, as she has hit the retirement age, and she is the lone African American justice on the bench right now....
Many lawyers get new clients from traditional word of mouth, supplemented by business cards, websites, online marketing, and maybe some T.V. or radio commercials. Lawyers more committed to marketing may take their strategy a step further, setting up billboards or even a booth at the county fair. After all, standing out in lawyer marketing means differentiating yourself from the competition, both in what you say and where you say it....
