Social media for law firms - it’s the dawn of a new era in marketing and publicity. With the increase in Web 2.0 traffic, many law firms have begun to acknowledge the importance of maintaining some sort of social media presence. For law firms, this might mean generating unique content to put on the web. Do you have a LinkedIn profile for your firm? A Twitter account? A blog? Have you heard of del....
Next time you hire for your law firm, you might want to take a second look at the resume of that ‘overqualified’ applicant. A new study suggests that such overqualified applicants are probably a better fit for the job than you might assume. The Stereotypes Everyone knows the stereotypes of the overqualified applicants: they’re just applying for the job to make ends meet until they can find something better. If you hire them, they won’t produce because they’re not committed to the job....
Justine Sacco, a former PR executive at IAC/InterActiveCorp, sparked a firestorm of controversy after posting a joke on Twitter about AIDS in Africa on Friday. Dubbed “the tweet heard ‘round the world,” Sacco sent the following message to her 500 followers before she boarded a flight for Cape Town: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” By the time she arrived in South Africa, the tweet had gone viral....
Conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not abuse its discretion in failing to conduct an evidentiary hearing before denying defendant’s motion to suppress as defendant failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact regarding the plain view analysis or the existence of probable cause; 2) the court did not abuse of discretion by finding without an evidentiary hearing that his statements to the police were voluntary, as there was an affidavit and a signed Miranda acknowledgment, and defendant’s assertions were unsupported by any references to specific statements he sought to suppress; and 3) the court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant’s motion for reconsideration as defendant’s affidavit in support of his motion did not respond to the government’s plain view assertions or specify the alleged Miranda violations....
US v. White, 09-7933, concerned a challenge to the district court’s grant of the prosecution’s motion to forcibly medicate defendant, who suffers from Delusional Disorder, Grandiose Type, for the purpose of rendering defendant competent to stand trial, in a prosecution of defendant for conspiracy, credit card fraud and identity theft. In reversing, the court held that the Supreme Court made clear in Sell that forced medication of an accused in an effort to restore competency for trial is constitutionally permissible in “limited circumstances,” and here, the district court’s order comes perilously close to a forcible medication regime best described not as “limited,” but as “routine....
We recently wrote a short piece reminding in-house counselors of the general federal employment laws they should be familiar with. Now, some recent cases at the Federal District level has prompted us to add another to that list: The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, aka USERRA. Here are a few pointers concerning liability under USERRA. USERRA, codified as 38 U.S.C. secs. 4301-4335, allows military personnel and former military personnel to sue employers and actual employers for discrimination and adverse employment actions based on their military status....
There are the sex-offender registries, and then there’s the white-collar crime registry. Utah can take credit for being the first state to pioneer such a thing. The registry seems to have sprung out of a need to keep track of the state’s rising incidents of something known as “affinity fraud.” Affinity Fraud A driving reason for the creation of the registry is to help the public keep track of certain types of criminals who use guile and the mail system to bamboozle trusting people out of their money....
It’s not every day that a man proposes through his girlfriend’s lawyer. This strange scenario unfolded in a New York court last week. Theodore Murphy proposed to girlfriend Nicole Osbourne by relaying a message through her defense attorney Aurora Flores. Yes, the newly engaged woman was in court that day facing criminal charges. Would you go the extra mile for your client? Osbourne is in a strange situation. She was in court over a felony assault charge when Murphy “proposed....
While robocalls may have cooled down a bit, robotexts are being sent in record numbers. Fortunately, the FCC recognizes that these are mostly an annoyance to the recipients, especially when they don’t recall ever consenting to receive the texts. However, the most recent FCC proposal might end up blocking some of those robotexts consumers want, that are perfectly legal. While the official announcement seems to downplay one critical fact, the big proposal Chairman Pai is making would reclassify text messages from telecommunications services (like phone calls) to information services (like internet service)....
While it’s hard to predict the weather, it’s a good bet the sun will come up tomorrow for most people. If you are in the middle of a storm, however, it can be hard to see a way out. From the outside looking in, it becomes clearer. Likewise, if your law firm is going through a merger, you should probably take a look around outside. No one can predict precisely when a layoff will occur, but you may want to consider your options while the cloudy future passes over....
If you are thinking about whether to outsource legal work, it’s about time. A solo practitioner cannot do it all alone, despite what My Cousin Vinny said. You need at least two “yutes.” In other words, it’s never too late to get a little help in the practice of law. Outsourcing is one of the best ways to do it. Here are some pointers: Office Support Receptionist, bookkeeping, and clerical services have long offered themselves for contract work, which is basically the same as outsourcing....
It’s that time of the year again: the time you’ll make promises that you hope to follow through on, but likely won’t. Still, it’s an important ritual because it at least gives you the chance to set goals and evaluate your priorities – even if you never get around to completing them. What areas do in-house attorneys need to focus on? Data security is a painfully obvious place to start. Human resources policies could also use a “refine and shine” after another year of NLRB decisions shifting the landscape against employers....
By now, you’ve read many of our gift guides, including the Black Friday tech gift guide and the plain old lawyer gift guide. All of those gifts were actual gifts, with real utility. Don’t you ever want to get someone something that’s completely useless? Well, fear not. We scoured the Internet looking for five gifts for the tech-savvy lawyer that are just completely useless. (OK, some of them have utility, but are otherwise really silly-looking....
Now that smartphones have become the most distracting part of human anatomy, it seems like common sense that lawmakers would enact regulations to prohibit, or at least limit, their use while driving. In addition to lawmakers doing what they can to stop people from being distracted by their devices while driving, device makers are as well. Apple recently announced that a “Safe Driving Mode” will be included in the newest iPhone operating system, iOS 11, set to debut with the tenth anniversary edition of the iPhone....
For a claim of age discrimination to withstand summary judgment, a plaintiff must show that he or she was treated differently from similarly, very similarly, situated employees because of his or her age, the Fifth Circuit reminded us yesterday. While those similar employees don’t have to be identical they have to be fairly close. James Hinga, a machinist who was let go after a recall, couldn’t find a close enough match to support his age discrimination claim....
The Eleventh Circuit has twelve seats. One has been vacant for three years. Another has been vacant for fourteen months. And in two weeks, there will be a third vacancy when Judge Barkett leaves for Europe. Former Chief Judge Joel Dubina, meanwhile, is holding off on taking senior status until there is only one vacancy, as he doesn’t want the court’s business to grind to a halt. The holdup, three years in the making, begins with the nomination of Jill Pryor, who often donates to (gasp) Democrats and gave $2,500 to President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign....
Nothing is more upsetting to many practiced litigators – or judges – than hearing someone address the bench with “Judge.” The person in the black robe and gavel-ready is probably by all means a “Judge,” but anyone who doesn’t want to be considered a rank amateur should remember the following: It really is like nails on a chalkboard to hear opposing counsel say “Judge, I object!” And although it may be a small matter to some, it’s important to develop good courtroom habits for your legal career....
A judge erred by not reconsidering a decision based on new evidence crawfishermen discovered in a case against a gas company, a federal appeals court said. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an order denying a motion for reconsideration In re. Louisiana Crawfish Producers. The appellate panel said the trial judge should have considered deposition testimony and other evidence acquired after the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. “There are ’two important judicial imperatives’ relating to a motion for reconsideration: ‘(1) the need to bring litigation to an end; and (2) the need to render just decisions on the basis of all the facts,’” Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote in the unanimous opinion....
Evanston Ins. Co. v. Dillard Dept. Stores Inc., No. 09-20261, concerned defendants’ appeal from the district court’s summary judgment order holding them personally liable to plaintiff for a judgment originally entered against their law firm partnership. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that 1) the Texas Revised Partnership Act imposed joint and several liability on individual partners for all debts and obligations of a partnership, and no exception applied here; and 2) because plaintiff filed its third-party complaint within the four-year Texas statute of limitations for collecting a debt, its claim was timely....
Presidents and judges can make strange bedfellows, especially when it comes to President Trump and Justice Don Willett. It’s true they come from the same conservative stamp, and they both are famous for their tweets. But it may have come to a surprise to Justice Willett when President Trump nominated him to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. That’s because Justice Willett has been a long-time Twitter critic of the President....
