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Maybe it can be chalked off to an economy stung by recession. Or the fact that more legal technology providers are crowding the same space. But something is changing the way in-house counsel relates to outside counsel. And the effects could trickle down to the legal tech sector. Hildebrandt International has released its annual Hildebrandt Law Department Survey, which provides benchmarking data for U.S. and global law departments. Here are a few interesting findings from the Hildebrandt Survey:...

District court’s sentencing and conviction of defendant for drug related crimes is affirmed where: 1) an appellate waiver will not be enforced where a district court has advised a defendant that, contrary to the plea agreement, he is entitled to appeal his sentence, as the defendant can hardly be said to have knowingly waived his right of appeal; and 2) the district court did not err in increasing the offense level because the PSR recitation circumstantially supports the district court’s application of a weapon enhancement and because defendant failed to show that it was clearly improbable for the handguns to be connected to the common scheme or plan surrounding his drug activities....

In early April, the Department of Labor issued its long-awaited final rules for financial advisors handling retirement accounts. And you don’t have to work for a large investor for the rules to affect you. We all, after all, have a 401(k) or IRA. And now the rules governing how advisors handle those accounts – worth trillions of dollars – are a bit more complicated. Here’s what you need to know....

Most of us, even lawyers, are unfamiliar with the military justice system. So, when soldiers are in need of an outside attorney, they seek out someone with very specialized experience. Before entering private practice, he spent more than a decade serving in the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps, first as a prosecutor, then as a defense attorney. He also served as a professor at the Judge Advocate General’s School and the Roger Williams School of Law....

You may have noticed that I love Seinfeld references, but I can’t help it. Watching Seinfeld is inextricably linked with law school for me because I’d zone out watching re-runs when I got home from the law library at 11 p.m. every night. Watching Seinfeld was my brain’s way of cooling off before I could catch some zzz’s. So, it’s only natural that this holiday season, I want you to have a Festivus-themed holiday party....

By hook or by crook, transgender student Gavin Grimm will get to use the bathroom of his choice, no matter how particular locals may feel about it. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Gloucester County School Board’s request to stay a federal ruling in Grimm’s favor, on Tuesday. It looks like Grimm will finally be allowed in, despite the efforts of some. That is, unless the Supreme Court steps in....

In-house counsel attorneys have a unique vantage point. They are part of a broader business but are specifically slated to act as the company’s legal eyes and ears. And, for some attorneys, a corporate counsel seat is also much sought-after for its lifestyle benefits including regular workdays sans the billable hours. So whether you seek a position within a corporate legal department, are new to the in-house counsel scene, or are just looking to master the domain, here are some characteristics that make for stellar in-house attorneys....

Trade in illegal, endangered wildlife parts is a billion dollar industry. In Vietnam, endangered rhino horn can sell for $100,000 per kilo, making it worth more than gold. Those prices, and growing demand, have made the illegal wildlife trade the fourth largest black market in the world. A new start up thinks they have the solution: flooding the market with 3D printed, bioengineered rhino horns. A $20 Billion Black Market Illegal wildlife trade is booming, threatening decades of conservation gains....

There are some clients that you just can’t help. Try as you might, if helping a client jeopardizes your ability to practice law, you need to rethink what you’re doing, and maybe call your local ethics hotline. However, sometimes a client just needs a little bit of help, or might be seeking “unbundled” legal services. While these clients might have money that’s as green as the next, if a client is asking for you to draft a pleading for them to file in their name, that’s called ghostwriting, and it might not be okay in your jurisdiction....

What came first in the world of copyright and 3D printing, the egg or the egg holder? Like the chicken-and-the-egg question, the copyright question seems so simple at first. The egg, right? You can’t have an egg holder without an egg? But throw in a U.S. Supreme Court decision and an industry watching it like a hawk, and you have the potential for a scrambled mess. At least, some are predicting the death of 3D printing while its still emerging....

For the longest time, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections dispensed HIV-positive prisoners’ medication through the “Keep on Person” (KOP) program, where prisoners were given a bimonthly or monthly supply of the drugs to keep in their cell. In 2009, as a cost-saving measure, the DOC switched to dispensing HIV meds at a dispensary window. Why? Because HIV drugs are expensive, making up more than 40 percent of the DOC’s pharmacy budget....

In Graham v. Florida, the U.S. Supreme Court said that the Eighth Amendment didn’t allow for sentencing juvenile offenders to sentences of life without parole (LWOP) for non-homicide offenses. That’s all well and good, but what about “de facto LWOP” sentences of 90 years, which would, in the case of one 17-year-old offender, get him out of prison at the ripe old age of 107? Last week, the Florida Supreme Court issued opinions in four such juvenile life sentence cases, concluding that courts can’t sentence juveniles to very long prison terms for non-homicide offenses....

Last week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a South Carolina program that allows high school students to earn elective credits for off-campus religious education, reports The Associated Press. South Carolina is the only state that specifically permits credits for religious released-time programs. The Freedom from Religion Foundation and the parents of two Spartanburg High students sued the school district, claiming that the policy impermissibly endorses religion and entangles church and state, in violation of the Establishment Clause....

Courthouse shootings and violent crimes are rare, but they aren’t unheard of. From X-rays to pat-downs, many courthouses have installed security procedures to protect against potential violence. Some courts have extended those procedures to lawyers as well, requiring attorneys to remove belts and pass through metal detectors in order to enter the courthouse. That’s a step too far, according to many lawyers. They’ve begun pushing back against the strict security procedures – and they’re having some success at it, too....

Like other embarrassing crimes, malware attacks often are not reported – especially when law firms are the victims. It took a lawsuit for this one to come out. A Rhode Island law firm has sued its insurance company for lost income suffered during a cyber attack last year. For three months, the firm’s computers were held hostage by ransomware – a form of malware that criminals use to extract ransom payments from victims....

Gary Wall is an inmate housed at Red Onion State Prison (ROSP) in Pound, Virginia. As a member of the Nation of Islam, he observed Ramadan in 2008 and 2009. Prison officials provide special meals to accommodate Muslims’ sunrise-to-sunset fasting. After half the prison population signed up for Ramadan in 2009, the prison adopted a special policy requiring those wishing to participate to prove the sincerity of their beliefs by providing physical evidence, such as a Quran, a prayer rug, or some other physical article of faith....

Matthew Herrick is not your typical plaintiff in a sexual harassment case. By and large, sexual harassment complaints usually involve workplace misconduct. But Herrick’s case isn’t the usual kind. He is suing over a dating app that his former lover used to harass him. It has caught the attention of other companies because Herrick alleges the software developers unleashed a dangerous app upon the world. Products Liability Herrick sued under a products liability theory, but a trial judge threw out the complaint....

Can you imagine your law firm on Groupon? The daily deals site is a popular place for savvy shoppers. You can find offers for local restaurants, cafes, and spas. Soon you may even find legal services advertised on the site. The South Carolina Bar issued an ethics opinion on the matter last year. It decided Groupon-like advertisements do not violate ethics rules. The New York Bar Association Committee on Ethics has issued a similar decision....

LinkedIn, the popular website that essentially works like the Facebook for professionals, is suing hackers – but doesn’t know the identity of the hackers. The hackers – whoever they are – created thousands of fake LinkedIn accounts, through the use of bots, in order to access member accounts. According to the LinkedIn complaint, once accessed, the hackers copied and extracted information from member profile pages. The “scraping” scheme occurred just below detectable limits, leading people to believe the hackers were aware of LinkedIn’s security thresholds, reports Bloomberg Businessweek....

This week, the First Circuit Court of Appeals reminded us to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s when filling out immigration documents. Since Wu entered the country without inspection, however, there was an additional requirement he had to meet. While noncitizens who enter the U.S. without inspection generally aren’t eligible for an adjustment to lawful permanent resident, they can be “grandfathered” if a labor application was filed on their behalf before April 30, 2001 under 8 U....