Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson is different, and it has nothing to do with the spelling of her name. It has to do with her words and how she crafts an opinion. Any judge who can introduce a standard of review with a “quick heads up,” knows how to catch a reader’s attention. At least that’s how Thompson explained the decision of the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in United States of America v....
The Idaho judiciary announced that they have begun implementation of e-filing technology that will allow residents and their lawyers to file court documents electronically at any time, from anywhere. What a relief. The lucky company that the state has selected is Tyler Technologies, whose technology is already in use in Idaho’s judicial system. The technological push is part of a campaign to streamline the otherwise creaky operations of the legal system and to make services faster and cheaper....
If nothing else, Martin Shkreli has huevos. That’s how they talk in prison anyway. Infamous for raising the price of a pharmaceutical drug from $13 to $750 a pill, Shkreli is serving seven years for securities fraud. Now he is reportedly running his business from prison. That would be huevos; and we’re not talking about eggs. Prison Business According to reports, Shkreli oversaw a $20 million deal with Orphan Star Therapeutics last September....
James Goodwin, an attorney/author/columnist, is sort of a counter-culture guy. He says that law firms should not use “firm culture” to stifle innovation. In a column on “The Culture Card,” Goodwin says culture can be good or bad. “In museums and art galleries, culture means intelligence, refinement, and beauty,” he says. “In a lab, culture means a plate of mold.” Culture Should Drive Growth Writing for Above the Law, Goodwin explains that law firms need to adapt to a changing marketplace more than ever....
Court opinions can be dry, making reading through a stack of them an arduous task. That’s why we’re thankful for judges like Ed Carnes who constantly spice up their opinions with inspired, sometimes bizarre, quotes and references. This year, our favorite Eleventh Circuit jurist quoted Bob Dylan, added a new line to a Jim Croce song, and made a particularly apt reference to turducken. To wit: Judge Carnes’ top three quotes of 2012....
If you operate a solo practice or a small firm, that means you have to manage your own affairs. That includes payroll, client communications, templates, and all that busy administrative stuff you’d rather not think about. Practically everyone is using Google Calendar or calendaring on Outlook. But one suggestion you should keep in mind is adding more to your calendars. This means not simply calendaring deadlines for motions, appearances, hearings and meetings; but also putting in additional deadlines for preparing for those events....
Finally, with all of Apple’s annual (or bi-annual, in the Mini’s case) upgrades on the books, we have the entirety of the Apple product line in front of us. If you’re looking up upgrade or replace your office computers, and you’re already on the platform, or Mac-curious, you might wonder what your best options are: Mini, iMac, or iMac with Retina? Even between those three product lines, there are countless customization options for Apple’s desktop computers....
A court’s patience will only take you so far in the wild world of federal appeals. When a plaintiff fails to perfect proper service or respond to a motion to dismiss, that patience will eventually wear thin. Such was the case last week, when the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a district court had not abused its discretion in dismissing a complaint after the plaintiff squandered multiple opportunities to perfect service of process....
After an intense jury trial, Qualcomm secured what it believes to be a pivotal victory in the ongoing legal battles between it and Apple. The jury awarded Qualcomm the damages figure they asked for of $1.41 per iPhone sold with infringing technology, which amounted to nearly $32 million in total. And for the tech giants, the dollar amount is less significant than what comes next. The jury in the case found that Apple did in fact violate three of Qualcomm’s patents related to mobile tech in several of the iPhone models....
When it comes to billing in the modern law firm, practitioners have two choices. Use billing software or practice management software with billing tools. Sure there are a thousand different programs, but they basically fall into these two categories. So here are some ways to vet those many programs to help your firm make the best choice. It’s a lot easier when you narrow it down to two. Billing Software All billing software is not created equal....
Technology and the law have a type of symbiotic relationship. New technologies change the practice of law, and the law also molds the use of technology. They are not entirely dependent on each other, but they certainly can thrive when they co-exist. Here are some areas where they have changed everything and the new practice of law: Research Books are almost dead. They survive on shelves because, like mountains, they have always been there....
After Mozilla gave birth to Firefox, the popular web browser, it created an email client in Thunderbird. But as the two grew up, Thunderbird turned out to be a problem child. Concerned about its effect on the family, Mozilla started to push Thunderbird out of the nest. Five years have passed, and Thunderbird is still hanging around. For now, Mozilla is keeping the email client under its wing but with conditions and not for long....
There is nothing rarer than a good lawyer advertisement. We see terrible law ads all the time, but when was the last time you saw an advertisement for legal services and thought, “Man. I wish I had thought of that.” One of these advertisements for family law services may inspire that sort of reaction. The other? It may make you wince in pain. Pardon the video-heavy post, but all three were needed for the full effect....
If you don’t already work for a corporate Goliath, you may soon. From health care to tech to hospitality, corporate mergers and acquisitions are skyrocketing. They’ll soon outpace the $4.6 trillion record set in 2007, the Los Angeles Times reports. But when two companies merge, what happens to their in-house attorneys? It’s common for legal departments to restructure after a merger and it’s very common for members of the in-house team to be let go....
Zest Labs has sued Walmart for allegedly stealing its technology to prolong the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. After working with Walmart for years, the Silicon Valley company claims the Arkansas-based retailer developed a system that “looks, sounds, and functions” like its grocery-tracking technology. The agtech company wants $2 billion from Walmart in the lawsuit. Meanwhile, Zest Labs announced a new plan to help Costco keep its food fresher. For grocery tech, it could be a bumper crop year....
November is National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo. It’s an artificial deadline, chosen in an arbitrary month, meant to force people to finally conquer that dream of penning the next great American novel. Because everybody has a story, right? And if everyone who wants to be a writer finally just shuts up and writes, and chases that dream, they’ll finally know whether they are the next Hemingway or Faulkner. But maybe you’re not a novelist....
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that a nonprofit organization that promotes voter registration can access completed Virginia voter registration applications under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), reports Ballot Access News. Plaintiff Project Vote/Voting for America, Inc. (Project Vote) is a nonprofit that seeks to increase voter registration among young, low-income, and minority voters. The lawsuit in this case arose after Project Vote learned that students at Norfolk State University, a historically African-American college, experienced problems in registering to vote in the November 2008 primary and general elections in Virginia....
When you think through the most neccessary people you work with in your law practice does a newspaper report come to mind? Maybe it should. A list of people essential to your law practice was recently written by Brian Tannebaum at Above the Law. The list is interesting as it includes many people you would not normally think of as “necessary” to start a law practice. So you won’t see secretaries, law clerks, or paralegals on this list....
Forget Siblings Day, Bat Appreciation Day, and even Arbor Day. Tomorrow, Tuesday the 12th, we celebrate April’s best holiday: Be Kind to Lawyers Day. So stop complaining about your boss, your colleagues, or your spouses’ divorce attorney – for a day, at least. If you’re looking for a way to express your attorney appreciation, we’ve got you covered. Here are five great gifts for the attorneys in your life. What better way to show a lawyer you care than with a nice bottle of whiskey or wine....
After Yahoo announced hackers got into 1.5 billion email accounts last year, you had to know it was coming: new rules for lawyers to protect email communications with clients. The American Bar Association has issued an ethics opinion, which says that attorneys need to consider more secure methods for electronic communications. It is basically a self-test, focusing on the sensitivity of the information and need for additional safeguards on a case-by-case basis....
