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Are you interest in LGBTQ rights and the legal industry? Planning on being in or around New York City on November 7th? Then here’s something you might want to check out. Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute is hosting an election-eve event on LGBTQ rights and the law in New York, entitled OutLaw: Critical Dialogues on LGBTQ Representation and Corporate Leadership. (Disclosure: Thomson Reuters is FindLaw’s parent company.) The day-long event will feature leaders from the legal and corporate worlds and “earnest dialogue around galvanizing business leaders toward more inclusive enterprise cultures and leadership opportunities....

A Virginia lawyer has been charged with misconduct over legal blog posts on his website. Horace Hunter is a criminal defense attorney. He writes about some of the cases he’s worked on. He also writes about substantive criminal justice issues. What’s come under scrutiny is his discussion of his old cases. Like many state bars, the Virginia State Bar requires lawyers to be truthful in their advertising. They wish to avoid misrepresentation....

In a capital habeas matter, the denial of the petition as to petitioner’s murder conviction is affirmed where: 1) the district court’s finding that petitioner was not diligent in gathering evidence was not clearly erroneous and its denial of petitioner’s motion for an evidentiary hearing was not an abuse of discretion; and 2) defense counsel’s investigation and presentation of mitigation evidence during the sentencing phase of petitioner’s trial were well within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance....

With how many different ways there are to hack into a system and the fact that the insurance industry has entered the cybersecurity insurance game, it may actually matter how you get hacked, and how the hackers cause you harm … at least if you have cyber insurance. Simply put, like any other insurance policy, cyber insurance policies do contain exclusions. Unfortunately, for unsophisticated but insured users of hackable technology, failing to use security protocols required by an insurer could lead to a denial of coverage....

In this day and age, it is virtually inexcusable to not have a coffeemaker in your office, even if you have a virtual office. And due to the wide variety of ways to brew coffee, what kind of coffeemaker you choose, and how you serve your coffee, might say more than you anticipate about your law practice. In the grand scheme of things, law firms really shouldn’t try to cut costs when it comes to coffee....

If you give 1,000 monkeys 1,000 typewriters, sooner or later they’ll get around to writing “Hamlet” – or so the theory goes. But what if those primates do a little bit more than just stumble across “Alas, poor Yorick”? What if they come up with something wholly novel? That’s not too likely, at least not with typing primates, but it’s already happening with creative computers and artificial intelligence. Rather than banging aimlessly until they randomly invent something, some of today’s artificial intelligence programs are designed to be creative, giving rise to a new influx of “nonhuman inventors” – and raising some interesting legal questions in the process....

For much of the world, B.C. marked a time “Before Christ.” But in the legal tech world, B.C. could refer to another time. At the annual meeting of the American Bar Association, leaders said B.C. may someday refer to a time before Carpenter. That was U.S. v. Carpenter, a tech case that many believe marked a turning point in Fourth Amendment law. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court said police need warrants to obtain geolocation data about suspects from cell phone service providers....

Whether you’re hanging your own shingle straight out of law school or branching off on your own after years of practice, you’ll want to make malpractice prevention a central part of your business plan. After all, legal ethics aren’t something you want to pick up through trial and error and if you’re starting your own practice, it can be easy to miss some of the malpractice safeguards larger firms have built in....

We said it once, we’ll say it again: new year, new taxes. We’ve done a pretty good job of discussing your tax obligations by giving you small law firm tax preparation tips – but what about your clients? They need tax tips too. Since many of the clients you advise may be small business owners as well, many of the same considerations apply. So while you’re getting your to do list in order, why not get one ready for your clients – might we suggest a tax preparation newsletter?...

A federal appeals court has set a hearing next month to review President Trump’s second travel ban. After a federal judge in Hawaii blocked the President’s orders, the Trump administration asked the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal to expedite the matter. The appellate court has agreed to hear arguments on May 15, 2017. Trump’s latest order revised a broader travel ban that the appeals court turned back in February. Rather than continue his appeal to the U....

“Churn that bill, baby!” Those words, possibly spoken in jest, made a lot of in-house counselors shiver. After all, controlling the bills for outside counsel is one of your main duties. But, the bigger the case, the harder it is to keep track of escalating costs. Are you being charged market rate? Are the bumps in compensation for associates assigned to the case legitimate, or are you being gouged? How much do the biggest BigLaw firms charge?...

Here’s some good news for litigious Cadillac drivers. The Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a lower court’s finding that purchasers of GM’s 2014 Cadillac CTS sedans could properly be certified as a class for purposes of suit. It’s a second validation for the plaintiffs, who had earlier beat opposing motions by GM in a lower federal district court. Under the Eleventh Circuit’s affirmation, all Floridian’s who purchased 2014 Cadillac CTS sedans could be part of the class of plaintiffs suing under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act....

It’s time to celebrate pro bono work in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Celebrate Pro Bono Week is October 23-29. ABA Model Rule 6.1 recommends that every lawyer provide 50 hours of pro bono service each year, but a recent survey administered revealed that only approximately one-fourth of respondents had provided 50 hours or more of free legal services to persons of limited means or to organizations that support the needs of persons of limited means....

A recent Engle-progeny case decided by the Eleventh Circuit is making headlines as Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds just had a $20 plus million judgment reinstated by an appellate panel. Sadly, the plaintiff’s estate had to bring the appeal as the plaintiff, Judith Berger, passed. Notably though, Mrs. Berger did testify at trial, and won. Unfortunately, during a post-judgment motion, the court vacated the $20 million in punitive damages that were awarded....

In Raymond James Fin. Servs., Inc. v. Bishop, No. 09-1038, the Fourth Circuit addressed the issue of a decision by the district court vacating an award of compensatory damages rendered by an arbitration panel for three former employees of defendant-company for wrongful termination. As stated in the decision: “Notwithstanding that the appellant’s fundamental claim was one for wrongful termination, we agree with the district court that the award in this case cannot be understood as based on anything other than the arbitrator’s finding that defendant committed a breach of fiduciary and legal duties when its in-house lawyer, Bostic, provided legal representation to the appellants in third-party arbitration proceedings....

According to a recently filed lawsuit, the Washington state attorney general alleges that Google and Facebook both failed to comply with the state’s campaign advertising disclosure laws. Primarily, the complaint alleges that the companies did not maintain and disclose records for who paid for campaign related advertisements. These are serious charges in today’s tense political climate where espionage is actually prime time news (depending on where you get your news). In response to the lawsuit, the companies have both issued statements about striving for full transparency and cooperating with the AG’s office....

Though we’re certain that the judges of the First Circuit have very demanding schedules, they ought to take a day off and watch a few episodes. In a per curium decision released last week, they passed when given a chance to clear up confusion regarding the proper test for nominal use of a trademark. While some might laud them for exercising judicial restraint, others will wonder if it would have been more prudent to clarify the law once and for all....

It’s not too early to think about seasons greetings, and for some things it’s probably too late. So let’s just talk about what you can do this season – especially if you’re on a budget. Assuming you’re not a Grinch, let’s say you can spend a couple hundred bucks to cheer up your clients. Come on. If you’re charging a couple hundred bucks an hour, you can do this. Cards It’s so traditional to send greeting cards, you better just do it....

Rumors are swirling that an iPad price drop is imminent. It’s a new year, which means Apple will likely be unveiling new products in the coming months. One new product could very well be a new iPad 3. Some media outlets are predicting there will be several different models of the new iPad. Apple may produce an entry-level unit and a higher-priced model. The estimated price points: anywhere between $299 and 499....

Last summer, we posted about UpCounsel, a relatively new online service that matches up small companies with attorneys for short-term projects, creating a bit of a revolution in the way companies find affordable legal services. Business owners can post free job listings on the UpCounsel website, and attorneys who have been registered, and screened, are able to bid on the projects. Then, based on attorney profiles, ratings, rates, and reviews, business owners are able to select an attorney for pending projects....