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In a conviction of defendants for being accessories-after-the-fact to first degree murder, judgment holding the defendants jointly and severally liable for additional restitution to the victim’s estate in the amount of $1,459,854.22 is vacated and remanded as, unless a plea agreement provides otherwise, an order of restitution under the (Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996) MVRA is to be based upon the loss directly and proximately caused by the defendant’s offense, and here, the restitution paragraphs in defendants’ plea agreements do not provide a valid basis for the district court’s decision holding them jointly and severally liable to the victim’s estate under the MVRA for her lost future income from the Tribe and her lost future wages....

Have a seat, Walmart. That’s what $65 million says after nearly 100,000 current and former cashiers settled with the retail giant. The cashiers sued the company for refusing to provide seating while they worked. Under California law, employers must provide seating for workers “when the nature of the work reasonably permits.” Under the settlement, Walmart will also have a seat among payors for the largest settlement ever under a special state law....

On February 7, a series of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks hit a number of Bitcoin exchanges, causing many to shut down temporarily. The DDoS attacks repeatedly pinged their servers with fake transactions, overloading their servers’ abilities to processes legitimate transactions. Mt. Gox, (formerly) the world’s largest exchange, never reopened, and probably never will. At this point, due to a “malleability” leak in their transactions, the company suspects that 744,400 bitcoins, presently worth about $400 million, have been stolen from the company and may never be recovered, leaving investors in the backed-by-nobody currency with little recourse....

While you may be able to let loose the likes of Terrible Terry Tate when your associates or staff members are defiant, when clients are uncooperative, your options are much more limited. Basically, you have a couple options when you begin to notice that clients are uncooperative, or acting out. You either sit them down to make them understand the error of their ways and what it means for their case and your representation, or you may be faced with having to cut them loose....

Most tweeting attorneys know that what you write on your personal Twitter account is yours. In fact, Twitter itself weighed in and clarified its terms of service to say that an account’s tweets are owned by the author. But the lines get a bit sketchy when you consider a company’s Twitter account. Corporations, small businesses, and anyone who wants to gain a following is now getting into the social media game....

The Alabama Crimson Tide football team and Kathryn Pereda have one thing in common: winning when it counts. For the Crimson Tide football players, the win that mattered was last night’s BCS National Championship victory over our beloved LSU Tigers. (Well played, Nick Saban and crew.) For Kathryn Pereda, the critical win was today’s Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruling reinstating her FMLA rights violation case after a 12(b)(6) dismissal in the district court....

While attorneys have to put up with plenty from opposing counsel, judges, and witnesses, clients can often be the toughest to handle, with some becoming downright obnoxious. But all lawyers owe their clients certain ethical duties, which can make a cantankerous client worse than those telemarketing calls that just won’t stop. You can still be an good lawyer and not a doormat, but you need to keep in mind these three ethical issues:...

While you may not have had to deal with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) at your firm, now that you are in-house counsel, complying with the FCPA can be your day-today reality. While the prohibitions of the FCPA regarding payment/gifts to foreign government officials, or government owned/funded entity, as well as the accounting and reporting provisions, may seem clear – one thing does not – how the FCPA applies in real life, daily transactions....

Gavin Class, the Towson University football lineman who underwent a staggering 14 surgeries after he nearly died of heatstroke during practice will not be returning to the field, ruled the Court of Appeals. The 4th Circuit ruled that it was required to defer to Towson University’s policies and judgment regarding whether or not Class could be cleared to play. Despite the setback, the court praised Class for his accomplishments and declared that he “can be proud to tell his story....

Revenue and cases ebb and flow. Last year, the coffers were full and you had to hire contract counsel to help with all of the extra work. This year, you find yourself spending more time doing marketing and administration than actual cases. 5. VistaPrint, Online Print Shops Business cards. Postcards. Letterhead. Customized pens. If clients see your name on the pen they use, on the business cards collecting dust in their car’s cup holder, or on the free post-it notes they snagged from your desk, it’s more likely that you’ll be the person they, or their friends, call when in need....

Cocktail parties, business lunches – they’re all fine places to network. But as the late Yogi Berra once said: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” It can be maddening to join a Facebook group or a bar association committee where everyone is trying to network. In much the same way as inspiration can strike in the bathtub, you may find yourself in a situation where you can network or drum up some business – as in these five places to network that you might not have considered:...

Google Adwords can sell your trademarked terms to competitors. In a recent trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Rosetta Stone against Google, the U.S. Court of Appeals laid down the law with regards to this issue. Google can sell trademarked terms to advertisers on AdWords depending on how recognizable the trademarked term is and whether Google is diluting the trademark by selling it. Rosetta Stone, the language learning program, claimed that Google sold their marks to third-party advertisers for use as search keywords, The Chicago Tribune reports....

A passenger has two options when he gets stuck in the advanced imaging technology (AIT) scanner line at the airport: Accept that the naked scanner has become a part of the travel process, or opt-out of the scanner and into a trés personal patdown. According to Jonathan Blitz, that’s not really an option at all. Blitz sued Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator John Pistole, (collectively, “The Man”), challenging the AIT scanners and invasive pat-downs at airport screening checkpoints....

Apple’s lawyers may want to make vacation plans now, because their docket just cleared. After Apple entered the market, and the publishers hiked prices in unison, consumers paid average increased prices of 18 percent across the board, reports Ars Technica. The scheme almost seems too obvious not to discover. Much like it’s App Store, Apple, using the agency model, took a commission on each e-book sale, with prices set by the publisher....

One mega beer company is alleging that it isn’t getting fair treatment under tax laws, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals isn’t cutting the company any slack. Coors Brewing Company sued the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, asking for federal jurisdiction as it related to taxes. The problem for Coors was that it was taxed at a higher rate in Puerto Rico, due to the fact that they were considered as a “large brewer” under the tax schedule....

State of North Carolina ex rel. Cooper v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 09-1623, concerned a challenge to the district court’s entry of an injunction requiring immediate installation of emissions controls at four Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) electricity generating plants in Alabama and Tennessee. In reversing, the court held that, where TVA’s plants cannot logically be public nuisances under Alabama and Tennessee law where TVA is in compliance with EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the corresponding State Implementation Plan (SIPs), and the permits that implement them, as these standards impose more stringent requirements than source state nuisance law....

In nature and in lawsuits, discovery can be a dangerous thing. In nature, it’s dangerous if you discover a black widow hiding in your cupboard. In litigation, it’s dangerous if a plaintiff discovers more evidence against you. Facebook found both kinds in a case over videos playing on its platform. Plaintiffs found evidence the company was hiding viewership figures, and the numbers look scary. Amended Complaint Facebook inflated views by 900 percent, according to an amended complaint....

As corporations expand globally, the skill set for General Counsel is constantly evolving. The Association of Corporate Counsel conducted a survey of board members, GCs, CEOs and executive recruiters to find out what skills the “21st Century General Counsel” will need. This week, we’ll be exploring the ACC’s findings in a three-part series. First up, we look at the importance of the GC as the “fearless leader” of the legal department....

Everybody has that relative they don’t talk about because of some skeleton in the closet. Or maybe the family tree digs up an awful ancestor everybody would just as soon forget. Go back far enough, and you’re bound to find a killer or two. In the Golden State Killer case, genealogy found a mass murderer. In criminal technology, it pretty much changes the meaning of “family reunion.” Genealogy and DNA According to reports, police cracked the case by searching online genealogy sites....

It’s no secret that the legal profession has been slow to cultivate and support a diverse workforce. Law is one of the whitest, most male-dominated professions, losing to the medical, engineering, and even tech industries when it comes to diversity. Yet, many in-house legal departments are faced with corporate diversity initiatives which seek to strengthen diversity within the company and its partners. Here’s how CGs can help accomplish those goals, helping to lead the way to a more diverse legal profession despite barriers in the industry....