In a not so surprising turn of events, Bill Cosby has caught another break in court. However, the pudding pop pusher’s break is less a win for him, and more a loss for one of his accusers, Katherine McKee. McKee filed a defamation action after Cosby’s lawyers pretty much called her a liar. The liar aspersion cast by Cosby’s lawyers related to McKee’s recounting of a story from 1974 where she claims Cosby raped her by force in his hotel room....
The U.S. Postal Service is in financial trouble. The latest proposed patch to save the service includes eliminating 28,000 jobs and cutting next-day first class mail delivery, reports The New York Times. But while the Postal Workers Union is considering a “send a letter to your mom” campaign to increase postal revenue, and the Postal Service is running commercials promoting the sense of security that comes with a printed statement, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals is impeding the Postal Service’s comeback in Florida....
Although Christmas is for many Americans a religious occasion, the federal courts have upheld its status as a legal holiday. One court reasoned that “by giving federal employees a paid vacation day on Christmas, the government is doing no more than recognizing the cultural significance of the holiday.” But did you know that each state of the First Circuit celebrates the holiday in a unique way? Here’s an overview of some Christmas traditions found in the circuit’s five jurisdictions:...
In Air Line Pilots Ass’n v. US Airways Group, No. 09-2083, the Fourth Circut faced a challenge to the district court’s dismissal of the complaint in an airline pilots union’s suit to establish and arbitrate before a multi-employer, multi-union board of adjustment. Section 204 of the Railway Labor Act (RLA) states: “The disputes between an employee or group of employees and a carrier or carriers by air growing out of grievances, or out of the interpretation or application of agreements concerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions…may be referred by petition of the parties or by either party to an appropriate adjustment board, as hereinafter provided…It shall be the duty of every carrier and of its employees…to establish a board of adjustment…Such boards of adjustment may be established by agreement…”...
Have you heard about The Cloud? Of course you have. For the last five years or so, cloud computing – using remote servers, accessible via the Internet, to store, manage and process data – has been everywhere. There’s cloud-based apps, cloud-based accounting, even cloud-based operating systems of sorts. What there hasn’t been much of is cloud-based eDiscovery. Two new start ups are focused on changing that, offering electronic discovery services built from the ground up to take advantage of the scalability, processing power, and lower cost of cloud computing....
Tablets, baby. The Consumer Electronics Show is rolling in Las Vegas and tablets are everywhere. The conference is expected to bring in 120,000 people, who are hungry to see the next big thing in technology. While the iPad was clearly the tech item of 2010, Apple has lots of competition this year. Android-based tablets are clearly going to be a big trend. Among the 2011 tablets are manufacturers Samsung, LG, Motorola, and Cisco....
Many attorneys already use Facebook, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they all know how to maximize the benefit of Facebook for lawyers. That’s the idea behind the new book from the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Management Section, entitled “Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers.” Even if you’re already a Facebook user, this book does an excellent job of showing ways of taking advantage of the social network that you may not have thought about before....
Here’s a hypothetical double standard: Airline companies have complex fare systems, designed to be complex, so that you can’t really compare what you’re paying for. Different classes of tickets have different restrictions, some of which are obvious, and others of which aren’t. That’s perfectly fine. Then, a regular person comes along, finds a loophole in this Byzantine fee structure, and now the airlines are suing. Surprise! Not a hypothetical. Aktarer Zaman, 22, exploited a bug (or is it a feature?...
District court’s conviction of defendant for crimes related to the robbery of an armored truck in Puerto Rico is vacated and remanded where, although the government established the required nexus to interstate commerce under the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. section 1951(a), defendant’s Confrontation Clause rights were violated by the admission of hearsay evidence. Read US v. Cabrera-Rivera, No. 08-1702 Appellate Information Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico...
Your clients may not be aware of litigation finance, but you should be. And you should also be aware that handling litigation finance can be like trying to catch a falling knife. And if that’s the case, then you’re going to need to know how and why you should talk to your clients about possibly getting a third party to pay for their litigation fees and the pitfalls that come with the game....
California law grads waiting for their bar results are considered “professionals” and are exempt from overtime pay, according to a recent decision by the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco. For California firms that employ post-bar clerks, this decision paves the way for a clearer interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act rules. Workers who are considered “professionals” are often excluded the “overtime pay” requirement under the FLSA....
Slap on some green, don a funny hat, and get yourself – and your lawyer marketing – to the parade, for St. Patrick’s Day is coming. Whether you do a St. Patrick’s Day blog post, talk your snake-hating firm up on social media, or buy up billboards along a parade route, there could be a pot of gold at the end of that St. Patty’s Day rainbow. Or, your ads could end up trod beneath the drunken heals of revelers, your billboards used as impromptu urinals....
When it comes to questions about life in general, teen comedies hold all the answers. “Breakfast Club,” “Clueless,” “Ten Things I Hate About You,” ‘Mean Girls." The teen comedy cannon is the oracle of the modern world. For trial advocacy tips, however, we turn to an award-winning classic, “My Cousin Vinny,” a movie that teaches lawyers that we can lie to judges, shun every rule of courtroom decorum, and still win a case....
There’s some big news for Bird Law practitioners out there. The Fifth Circuit has ruled that the oil and gas company Citgo did not violate the Migratory Bird Treaty Act when it unintentionally killed birds who landed in an uncovered oil separator in Texas. The Fifth’s narrow reading of the MBTA, that it does not cover incidental or unintentional take of birds, puts it in line with the Eighth and Ninth Circuits in a growing circuit split on the reach of the Act....
In Songer v. Dillon Resources, Inc., No. 09-10803, an action brought by truck drivers who operate commercial trucks against defendants for unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the court affirmed summary judgment for defendants and dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice, holding that the Motor Carrier Act (MCA) exemption applied to bar plaintiffs’ claims because: 1) the MCA applies to defendant-staff leasing agency because is a joint employer with the two companies, both of whom are subject to the exemption, and 2) plaintiffs engaged in activities that directly affect operational safety of motor vehicles in transport of property in interstate commerce....
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli lacks standing to bring a lawsuit challenging the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act. In its Virginia v. Kathleen Sebelius opinion, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote, “A state possesses no legitimate interest in protecting its citizens from the government of the United States.” Not to be outdone by the Third, Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits, which have also ruled on Affordable Care Act cases, the Fourth Circuit issued a second Affordable Care Act opinion in Liberty University v....
FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. All sorts of businesses and organizations are potentially vulnerable to hackers. Educational institutions are no exception, as highlighted by a recent example involving Northwest Florida State College. One or more hackers accessed a folder on the school’s main server from May through September, according to a memo from the College’s President to all employees....
You all know the maxim: the best bloggers are the best lawyers. Alright, maybe that’s not a widely adopted saying just yet. But, when it comes to your writing, lawyers could learn a thing or two from blogging. No, we’re not suggesting that you format your next motion for summary judgement as “56 Reasons Defendant Is Entitled to Judgement as a Matter of Law – Number 27 Will Shock You!” But there are a few bloggy skills that can improve most lawyers legal writing....
It used to be unheard of for corporate executives, much less general counsel, to be held personally liable for crimes committed by a company. But in the past 10 years, several GCs at companies like AIG, Hewlett-Packard, and World Health Alternatives have been personally targeted in legal actions, according to a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. You may be wondering if this is because corporate lawyers are committing more crimes or throwing ethics to the wind in this bottom-line-driven economy?...
2010 was a big year for the iPad, and we found that it wasn’t just for play. More and more attorneys are using the iPad at their office as well as in court. With the launch of the iPad 2 around the corner, we thought it would be an excellent time to briefly mention three iPad apps designed for jury selection, or voir dire. The apps are Jury Duty, iJuror, and Jury Tracker....
