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Approximately three months before Walter Wooden was to be released from federal prison, the government sought to commit him as a “sexually dangerous person” under the civil-commitment provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court held that the government failed to prove Wooden suffered from pedophilia and failed to prove he would have serious difficulty refraining from re-offending. The court dismissed the government’s petition and ordered Wooden released....

His post, “Partying In House, or Why General Counsel Aren’t Like Us,” is a humorous review after spending three days with “brethren whose life is spent behind desks rather than in the well.” What did his encounter reveal? Here are a few of his choice observations. “Who are you with”?"….“Everybody is with ‘somebody’. The idea that you weren’t with ‘somebody’ was as foreign, as well, not wearing a pinstripe suit.““Unlike trench lawyers, [in-house attorneys] were inclined to be agreeable, to follow instructions, and to be on time and prepared....

Remember the old IBM Selectric typewriter? The keys felt great, it made satisfying clicking sounds and no one ever complained of repetitive strain injuries. Don’t you wish you could type on your computer using an old Selectric? Most keyboards today are membrane keyboards. They’re cheap, but the keys are mushy and there’s no audible click to tell you when the key activates. With no feedback, you tend to “bottom out” the key, pushing it down all the way and using more force than you need....

This discussion rears its head every now and then: Should companies let employees know how much money other employees make? The question came up most recently in a Slate piece about the website Buffer. Apparently, Buffer posted a Google spreadsheet on its website disclosing the salary of everyone in the company. Is that a wise decision? Well, that depends on who’s doing the asking. Con: Loss of a Tactical Advantage Keeping salary information confidential gives management a tactical advantage when it comes to negotiating salary for hiring and raises....

Most attorneys don’t practice in a massive firm, but go it alone or work with a few partners. That’s about 84 percent of us. That’s right, four out of five lawyers (plus change) are having to handle a significant amount of our own law firm functioning. But fear not, it looks like the demands of the market have created a solution that might give some smaller players in the game some hope....

RSR Corp. v. Int’l. Ins. Co., No. 09-10405, involved an action seeking a declaratory judgment that plaintiff had no obligations to defendant under four Environmental Impairment Liability policies that plaintiff’s predecessor in interest had sold to defendant earlier. The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for plaintiff on the grounds that 1) by its plain language, the triggering of a condition in the policies requires only (a) the existence of “other insurance” insuring to defendant’s benefit and (b) overlapping coverage between that other insurance and plaintiff’s policies; 2) the policies had nothing to do with whether or not the pollution in question could be characterized as “routine”; and 3) the district court did not err in finding that a condition in the policies barred all recovery....

In professional football, 53 players can make the team. Because only 11 can play on the field at a time, they typically divide up into offense, defense, and special teams. Each of these teams has a specific purpose under the guidance of an assistant coach. Project managers are like assistant coaches. Their job is to make sure everybody executes projects effectively and inefficiently. End Zone Results The football analogy only goes so far, but law firms are still a work in progress when it comes to project management....

Ayala v. US Atty. Gen., No. 09-12113, concerned a petition for review of the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s application for asylum and withholding of removal. The Eleventh Circuit granted the petition, holding that the analysis of the BIA as to whether the mistreatment petitioner suffered rose to the level of persecution lacked “any review of the most important facts presented in this case.” Beckford v. Dept. of Corrs., No. 09-11540, involved an action by female corrections officers claiming that the institution failed to remedy a sexually hostile work environment that male inmates created for female employees....

You have to applaud a company when it tries to do the right thing, like Google deciding to reject ads from bail bonds businesses. In a blog post, Google said bail bonds services make most of their money from minorities and low-income communities when they are most vulnerable. Too often, the company said, they end up in long-term debt because they have no choice. Of course, there is another choice. It’s that windowless building near the bail-bond street signs....

An asylum applicant won’t win an immigration appeal simply because he’s credible; the facts supporting his application must also meet the U.S. criteria for asylum. Luis Escobar, a citizen of Guatemala, asked the First Circuit Court of Appeals to review the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) decision denying his applications for asylum, statutory withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. While the Boston-based court sympathized with Escobar, it rejected his appellate arguments....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. With modern air travel, it is possible to visit family members and dear friends who live in other parts of the country for Thanksgiving. Indeed, Thanksgiving week is the busiest time of year for airlines and airports. It is not uncommon for people to think twice about Thanksgiving travel, given the crowds and commotion....

Have you ever been called a “shark”? If you were a gunner in law school, then you are probably nodding – in a somewhat aggressive and menacing manner. Well, guess what? In honor of “Shark Week” on the Discovery Channel, we are not going to reduce you to a jerk. Today, we celebrate you … from a safe distance. We opined in another blog, that maybe being called a shark could be viewed as a compliment – but that was for litigators....

With gourmet food trucks still riding high on the popularity wave, there’s bound to be at least one lawyer out there asking: Why not set up a mobile law office a la a food truck? After all, it could serve up legal services a la carte. There’s no doubt that some lawyers are attracted by life on the road (in a food truck). Just about every lawyer remembers hearing about Kim Pearlman’s famous hot dog stand, “Law Dogs,” which served dogs with a side of free legal advice....

That loud sucking sound you hear is the noise of 30 partners leaving the respected law firm of K and L Gates to find greener pastures. And to what does the firm owe this migratin of talent? Let’s call it a difference in management style. The ABA Journal reprinted the words first used by anonymous partners leaving the firm: the firm “is run like a dictatorship.” Now, the loss of 30 partners leaving the firm out of a pre-migration number of 1,852 might not sound like a lot, but considering those partners left within just days or weeks after the company managed to bag a $210 million contingency fee award, almost assuring a massive boost in partner profits for 2016....

Another day, another child pornography appeal. This time, Timothy Majeroni is appealing a 2012 conviction for child pornography, which occurred when he was already on supervised release for a previous conviction for – wait for it – child pornography. Majeroni tried to throw everything he could at the wall, but nothing was going to stick. That’s how these cases go sometimes. Majeroni is no stranger to violating supervised release, either. He did that in 2004 and 2007 following a 2001 child porn conviction....

A man who long battled to have his citizenship recognized has finally won in the Fifth Circuit, with the court finding citizenship through his father under Mexican law. In Saldana Iracheta v. Holder, the Fifth Circuit was called upon to review an order for reinstating an order for removal, one that had been reinstated many times as Saldana had returned over and over to the U.S. from Mexico. However, the Court took the opportunity to review Saldana’s claim of U....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. The UK is working on proposals for national electronic surveillance that could monitor every electronic message sent and received by its citizens. This follows the 2008 abandonment of a gigantic government database that would have tracked UK phone and email communications, the AP reports. It appears that the UK government is back at it now, but perhaps with a somewhat different approach....

Online privacy is a big deal. And in several countries across the globe, access to the internet is highly restricted by the government. But Google, not satisfied with leading online industries, now seems to be disrupting government online censorship. One of the newest features for the Android operating system, dubbed Pie, is an app called Intra that will be integrated into the software. Intra is basically end-to-end encryption for DNS requests designed to get around and bypass government censorship such as blocking of certain websites....

When it comes to managing a law firm’s social media schedule, prioritizing is key. From pokes and pins, to tweets and diggs, managing your social media presence can feel daunting — unless you have a solid checklist that outlines your social media activity. In a new e-guide by Attorney at Work , author Gyi Tsakalakis thinks a schedule will give you a better feel for how much time to spend on social media....

For in-house counsel, the thought of taking a job at a startup might be enticing for several reasons (beyond just daily foosball tournament). However, for every benefit you might think of, there’s usually a corresponding sacrifice you’ll have to make because you’re a lawyer, and not some Millennial techie that can show up to work in ripped jeans and a t-shirt. Below you can read about some of the pros and cons of going in house at a startup....