Posts

Last week, the Supreme Court of Delaware suspended an attorney from practicing law within the state for a two-year period for, among other things, not having a “bona fide office.” What? Yep, at FindLaw we do a fine job of letting you know where to work effectively when not in an office, things to consider if you need an office, and how to choose the right virtual law office for your practice – but this all begs the question – ethically, can you even have a virtual law office?...

Last year, denizens of the Eleventh Circuit were shocked to learn that U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller had been charged with battery after his wife made a 911 call from a hotel. Fuller was formally charged with battery, but that was just the start of his problems. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reassigned his cases and suspended him from receiving new ones. Both of Alabama’s senators called for his to step down....

Though most in house and general counsel hate to admit it, there is a really simple way for any company to get ahead of bad legal press: settle early and confidentially as soon as that first pre-litigation demand letter arrives. Legally, that might not be the best move, but corporations have more to worry about than just what’s the best legal move. As recently displayed by Politico, the media thirsts for sensational legal news and will even present an internal legal hold as some sort of proverbial nail in the they-must’ve-done-something-wrong-coffin....

The IP battle between tech companies Apple and Samsung got a little weirder recently with the involvement of the Department of Justice, which filed an amicus urging the Supreme Court to send the case back down to the deciding federal trial court in order to determine the appropriate damages. The Supreme Court is not beholden to the DOJ by any means. But if the advice is heeded, it could mean years more of legal wrangling in the courts....

The holiday season is upon us – the season of religious holidays, leaves of absence, and potential discrimination lawsuits. In-house counsel across the country are probably inundated with questions and requests from their human resource departments. As the holiday season approaches, many employees are likely requesting time off work to celebrate religious holidays. And while most companies do provide time off for Christmas, HR staff may be wondering what do to with requests for time off for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and other religious days....

Copyright trolling seems to be a decent business model, until a court starts imposing sanctions. And woe is the attorney on the receiving end of those sanctions, according to a recent Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion. Attorney Evan Stone represents Mick Haig, a company which produces pornographic films. Their copyright infringement lawsuit — which lead to attorney sanctions against Stone — is at the root of this appeal. Mick Haig identified 670 unnamed persons who it claimed had unlawfully downloaded its film Der Gute Onkel using Bit Torrent, an online file-sharing program....

For law firms and lawyers, celebrating Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s birthday is becoming more than just a fun trend, though it most certainly is that. This year, several different groups are planning to celebrate in a few different ways. From protest planking (more on that below) to partying, there’s quite a bit planned for this March 15, and here you can read about how you can get involved. If you live or work near the United States Supreme Court, you might want to grab your yoga mat and show up outside the courthouse for a 5 p....

It may be hard to believe, but the future is now. Thanks to the futuristic world we live in, our clients can be faced with damning evidence that was generated via automation or artificial intelligence. Soon, prosecutors may be asking the robot gardener what happened? What’s worse is that the systems that generate the evidence are prohibitively expensive to forensically examine. And let’s be real, the custodian of records that gets called to testify to admit the evidence will likely be as unhelpful a witness as they come....

Hughie Stover, the security chief found guilty of lying to investigators in the Upper Big Branch mine investigation, will appeal his conviction to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Stover’s attorney, William Wilmoth, claims that District Judge Irene Berger erred in denying the defense’s requests for jury instructions, acquittal, and a new trial. He also alleges that the trial was tainted by prosecutorial misconduct. U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin maintains that Stover received a fair trial, reports The Washington Post....

Internet fraud rose again last year, and scammers are at this year with fake news. According to recent reports, fraudsters are creating fake news sites with links to trick users into buying bogus products online. The Federal Trade Commission says an investigation uncovered scams for “brain booster” pills. “They build spoofed websites that look like the news sites that we know and trust,” the government said. “The sites aren’t real news sites and the endorsements featured on the sites, often from figures like Stephen Hawking, Anderson Cooper and others, are fake....

The IRS announced yesterday that it had suffered a data breach with allowed criminals to gain access to the tax return information of more than 100,000 tax payers. That information could have then been used to file fraudulent returns – and receive fraudulent refunds. The hacking, which was limited to one IRS application, exposed weaknesses in the Service’s authentication system and emphasizes the continued risks associated with the loss of personal information in other data breaches....

The federal Judiciary Conference is looking to bring the Federal Rules of Evidence into the 21st century. The Ancient Documents Rule is on the chopping block and likely to get the axe. At the same time, the Conference is looking to make the introduction of electronic documents even easier, adding them to the list of self-authenticating documents under Rule 902. If the changes are adopted, you would no longer need to bring a witness in to court in order to authenticate electronic documents....

As January winds down, it may be a good time to kick off your I’m-going-to-be-proactive-this-year New Year’s resolution and start early on CLEs rather than scramble at the last minute. Here’s a breakdown of different CLE events happening in your area: Wednesday, January 29th MBA’s A View from the Bench Series Non-CLE: View from the Bench Special Reception (Special note: Free drinks and hors d’oeuvres!) Thursday, January 30th Health Law Advocates’ Efforts to Enhance Mental Health Advocacy in the Juvenile CourtsOn Demand Real-time Webcast Non-CLE: 15th Annual Walk to the Hill for Civil Legal Aid Maine Bar Association Wednesday, January 29...

Picture this: you get on a roller coaster ride. They strap you in. The ride starts. Mid-ride, a sharp knife comes out and cuts your nose off. At the end of the ride, as you’re returning, still strapped in and bleeding, there’s a clear disclaimer warning you that riding the ride means you assume the liability of having your nose chopped off. Now ask yourself where your email disclaimer is located?...

Legal tech is booming. The good news is, that means more work for tech savvy lawyers. The bad news is, maybe you’re not one of them. So either you get tech smart, or you get a techie to work for you. Then again, maybe you should get a robot before a robot gets your job. Booming Business If you were thinking about starting a legal tech business, you are late to the investor party....

March Madness is in full swing, and if your company offices are like any of the others in this country, so is March Madness betting. As an in-house attorney we’re sure you steer clear of any potentially illegal conduct. But should you be advising your company against allowing employees to engage in a March Madness office pool? Here are three reasons why you should advocate for a no-bets policy … and one reason why it may not be such a bad idea....

Companies in Silicon Valley and beyond have been waiting with baited breath for this day: The Securities and Exchange Commission unanimously approved a proposal of crowdfunding rules to last year’s Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. If your company funds its ventures online or is considering using crowdfunding as a litigation aid, it’s time to pull out your reading glasses and peruse the 538-paged proposal before you weigh in on the matter and comment on the proposed rules....

Terry v. Hubert, No. 09-30559, involved an action alleging violations of plaintiff’s First Amendment right to access the courts and Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. The court of appeals reversed the denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity, holding that the undisputed evidence showed that defendant-warden neither violated plaintiff’s right of access to the courts nor violated any clearly established law in connection with the detention. As the court wrote: “In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Appellee James Allen Terry, Jr....

New York City courts are overloaded. There are long delays to resolve cases and many cases are dismissed or are pleaded to much lesser offenses due to mistakes and inefficiencies. Would giving iPads to police officers solve this problem? In a recent The New York Times op-ed piece, a law student stated the case for giving the popular consumer device to police officers. He argued how arming cops with tablets would promote the efficiency of the justice system, lower costs, and reduce errors....

Here are some tales from the seedy underworld of organized crime and mobsters-turned-FBI informants. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal involving a notorious Boston area gangster. The High Court denied certiorari after the First Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the case due to the statute of limitations. The case involves the murder of Edward Halloran by a former Boston mob boss and FBI informant, James “Whitey” Bulger....