Some lawyers think they are “smarter than the average bear,” which was Yogi Bear’s line back in the 1960s. If you don’t remember Yogi and his sidekick Boo Boo, you are probably a Millennial. It’s all good, but growing up in the 60s had its benefits. For example, Boo Boo was also a double entendre for making mistakes. It’s a reminder that a lot of lawyers – young and old – are making mistakes with their passwords....
After 10 years of litigation, it’s finally over. (Except for the appeals. Oy.) Apple prevailed in a jury trial alleging anticompetitive practices in the operation of its original iPod, which didn’t even last through this litigation (Apple quietly discontinued the “classic” iPod at its iPhone 6 event in September.) So what’s going on here? Did Apple win a Pyrrhic victory, a regular victory, or a nominal victory? Looks like a regular one....
When technology can detect your voice, your face, and your heart rate, it sounds like a healthy step forward for artificial intelligence. There is a catch, however. It looks like Alexa wants to be your pharmacist, too. “Abnormal” Conditions “A cough or sniffle, or crying, may indicate that the user has a specific physical or emotional abnormality,” the patent says. It’s all good until Alexa takes that information and tries to monetize it....
Machine learning is becoming ever more common. Artificial intelligence programs like IBM’s Watson can gobble up huge corpuses of knowledge, attempting to recreate human cognitive processes. These self-teaching machines can learn how to create novel recipes, master Jeopardy, or answer legal questions. The technology poses major questions, not just for lawyers but for the law itself. Take, for example, automatic sales pricing algorithms, the type that are already common in online trading and travel booking....
AT&T has officially ended its $39 billion bid to purchase T-Mobile USA. Last month, the telecom behemoth withdrew its FCC merger application with plans to re-file. But executives quickly realized that, even with changes, there was no way the deal would receive approval. The company now owes Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s parent company, a breakup fee of $4 billion. It’ll also need to find new ways to address the mobile spectrum crunch, which would have been eased with the merger....
Bank lenders can’t be put first by companies headed towards Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling has set an important new precedent bound to send ripples through the lending industry. The decision came following a long legal battle between homebuilding company TOUSA, its hedge fund debt holders, and Citigroup. The case had been heard by a bankruptcy judge and a district court. There was $421 million hanging in the balance....
Everybody knows Jerry Maguire was not a real sports agent, but they also know his most famous line: “Show me the money!” Leigh Steinberg is a real sports agent and lawyer, and he is oft credited as the inspiration for the Hollywood version. Even so, many aspiring sports attorneys think that it is all about the money. Darren Heitner, author of a new book on becoming a sports lawyer, says it’s about way more than that....
According to a new survey, more than one-fourth of law firms last year say the were hacked and the number is increasing. If your law firm hasn’t been attacked, chances are it’s just a matter of time. It may have already happened; you just don’t know it. In any case, cyberthreats are getting bigger, so you need to do more to fight them off. Like the sheriff said in Jaws, you’re going to need a bigger boat....
Depending on your office dress code, there are likely bright-line rules that dictate no shorts and no sandals. However, when the temperatures start to spike over the summer, you might be thinking about playing fast and loose with those rules, especially if you work in a business casual environment. As a general rule of thumb, if you’ve never seen anyone else around your office in shorts or flip flops, then you might not want to be the one to test the policy....
Can toothpaste cause you to test positive for alcohol? Anthony Galluccio, a former Massachusetts state senator, tested positive for alcohol three days after being sentenced to six months of home confinement for leaving the scene of an accident. The judge revoked Galluccio’s probation for violating a no-alcohol provision of his sentence. Galluccio says that the only explanation he can think of is that toothpaste was the culprit. That’s because the toothpaste he was using contained sorbitol, an artificial sweetener used in toothpaste that contains sugar alcohol....
District court’s denial of defendant’s request for habeas relief arising from his conviction for armed assault with intent to murder and assault and batter by means of a dangerous weapon is affirmed where: 1) appeals court’s analysis of the sufficiency of the evidence was not an unreasonable application of the Supreme Court’s standard announced in Jackson given the sufficiently suggestive circumstantial evidence presented; and 2) defendant was not deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury....
Roman v. Potter, No.09-1600, concerned a plaintiff’s Title VII retaliation claims and claims under the Family Medical Leave Act against the United States Postal Service management in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Because, even under the most generous interpretation of Title VII towards plaintiff, her claims fail, as well as her FMLA claims, summary judgment in favor of defendants is affirmed. In St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins., Co. v. VDE Corp....
Trapped in a trailer in the Nicaraguan jungle, Contra rebel “Roger” Ricardo Alfaro made a decision that would change his life decades later – he just didn’t know it. He had been moving some Sandanista prisoners, who were chained together, when they started to take fire. After one prisoner was killed, Alfaro cut off the man’s hand so the rest could move on without the dead weight. For his actions, Alfaro was confined to the trailer....
FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. There have been several technological paradigm shifts over the past few decades. First, there was the personal computer. Next came the Internet and worldwide technological/communications access across the globe. And now, we have drones. So what is a drone? It’s commonly defined as an unmanned aerial aircraft. But drones really are much more....
Lundy Law did not break false advertising law with its commercials. However, according to a federal judge, the Philadelphia law firm did stretch the truth to the breaking point. Judge Cynthia Rufe said the managing partner lied in a television commercial. With an endorsement like that, it’s no wonder Lundy Law is advertising for business. How close can you get to the line without crossing it? “That’s What We Do” Lundy Law got into trouble after a competitor saw the firm’s ads for personal injury, Social Security and workers’ compensation cases....
The FBI couldn’t really tell Apple how they cracked their phone, even if they wanted to. According to Reuters, the method that was used to crack the infamous Syed Farook iPhone is proprietary and owned by a group of professional hackers outside of the U.S., and certain rules may preclude the government agency from letting Apple in on the secret. Apple has a strong interest in knowing exactly how the foreign hackers achieved their goal....
Florida has had more than its share of misfortune, and then the opioid crisis happened. Earlier this decade, Florida became known for its “pain mills.” Federal officials said 90 percent of the nation’s biggest opioid prescribers were Florida doctors. Now Florida is suing Walgreens and CVS for its opioid problem, saying they oversold painkillers. Looks like a clean-up on aisles one and two. “Illegal Sales” State Attorney General Pam Bondi said she added the companies to a lawsuit filed last spring against Purdue Pharma and other opioid distributors....
‘Ambush by deposition’ is not as bad as it sounds. It means “to catch a witness by surprise,” which is the Perry Mason paradigm. Nothing wrong with a little curve, right? It’s not right to harass a witness with argumentative, irrelevant questions, but that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about pouncing on a witness with exactly the right question. Plan Ahead Before you schedule that ambush deposition, make sure you have the right prey....
Why won’t sharks attack lawyers? Professional courtesy. Why do sharks make terrible lawyers? They’re too nice! Ouch. In celebration of the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, it’s relevant to ask: as a lawyer, are you a shark? If you yourself don’t display any negative shark-like characteristics, chances are that you definitely know someone in the field who does. So, what can be done? Here are three reminders on why you should keep your shark-like instincts in check:...
Is this going to open up the floodgates to waves of foreign attorneys? Or is this simply a reflection of the realities of the business marketplace, with more international companies having a U.S. presence? Okay, but what about proper training? As wonderful as foreign law schools might be, they don’t train those attorneys in U.S. laws and practices. One has to imagine that this will increase the probability of malpractice. To err is human....
