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Facebook may have just set a record. In the seven days since the company went public, it’s managed to become the subject of two congressional investigations and at least three lawsuits. One Facebook IPO lawsuit wouldn’t have been a surprise – with an offering this large, there was bound to be a disgruntled investor or two. But between the 2-hour NASDAQ delay and the falling stock prices, few can say they are shocked about the current state of Facebook’s legal affairs....

The Fifth Circuit decided to err on the side of equity and toll a statute of limitations in favor of a corporation originally indicted for illegal storage of ultra-hazardous materials. According to the circuit court, the state failed to prove that the company definitely would have discovered that it was injured and how was injured. And what was the supposed cause that exploded into this protracted debacle? A federal agent’s perjuring himself over an extra-marital affair....

Forbes recently posted an article about the 16 things one should do at the start of the workday – while some of the points were useful to lawyers, others didn’t apply because of the nature of the work we do. Since time is money, we’ve decided to whittle the list down to the five top things you should to every morning to kick start your day. Here goes … The Mindful Lawyer: Can Meditation Help With Your Billable Hours?...

Christmas miracle? Not quite. Mark Stopa is a defense-side foreclosure lawyer in Florida who wants to give away a house. The deadline to apply has already passed, but we wonder who the lucky winner will be. Stopa announced November 3 that one lucky family would win a brand-new foreclosed house if they submitted a 200-word essay by December 23. What’s going on here? According to Stopa’s blog, the Florida Supreme Court “enables a free house where a bank has blown its deadline to file suit....

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has one of the fastest hearing-to-decision turnaround times in the country. When this appellate court decides that an injustice has occurred, it moves quickly. Last week, the Atlanta-based court heard arguments in an HIV-positive cop applicant’s discrimination claim. Wednesday, the court ruled for the appellant, finding that he could pursue his discrimination claim against the Atlanta Police Department for denying his application based on his HIV status, reports the Associated Press....

Are you an attorney in a small firm or solo practice looking for new ways to grow your practice in an efficient and cost-effective way? With LegalTech New York 2011 just around the corner, you have just the opportunity to learn about new ways to improve law practice management and learn about new legal technologies in fields such as e-discovery. The conference is a trade show that takes place bi-annually in New York and Los Angeles that allows attorneys to take in depth look at new and exciting technologies that can help any law firm practice....

A recent class action lawsuit filed against Nike alleges the company has discriminated against its employees by failing to pay, promote, and treat women equally. The plaintiffs are alleging that Nike demeaned and devalued women employees. The lawsuit comes nearly a month after the company announced that it would be giving roughly 10 percent of its employees pay raises, which according to a CNBC, and any casual observer for that matter, was done to remedy the past discrimination and mistreatment of women employees that was revealed within the last year....

Somebody said to be careful what you ask for, but they didn’t mean to ask the Patent Trial and Appeals Board. In any case, the PTAB has been listening to practitioners. In response, the agency recently rewrote its trial practice guide and revised standard operating procedures. As if patent practice weren’t hard enough, now the PTAB is proposing changes to its claims process. It’s a good thing they didn’t change the substantive law....

Pointing out the pros and cons of being a trial lawyer is like pointing out the best and worst flavors at Baskin Robbins. There are so many choices and everybody has a favorite. Maybe you like peanut butter chocolate, but the next guy is allergic to it. So it is with the best and worst parts about being a trial lawyer because there are many kinds of trials. I’m gonna go with rocky road....

S&M Brands Inc. v. Caldwell, No. 09-30985, involved an action claiming that the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached in the 1990s between the four largest tobacco manufacturers and the several states and the Louisiana Escrow Statute violated the Compact Clause, First Amendment, Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (FCLAA), Commerce and Due Process Clauses, and federal antitrust laws. The court affirmed summary judgment for defendant on the grounds that 1) the MSA may result in an increase in bargaining power of the States vis-a-vis the tobacco manufacturers, but this increase in power does not interfere with federal supremacy; 2) the MSA and Escrow Statute working together did not create an antitrust violation; and 3) while the MSA did restrict the speech activities of participating manufacturers (PMs), the plaintiffs were not PMs and were not coerced to become PMs....

The dream of patent litigation reform is nothing new. It is expensive. And so called patent trolls can pretty much get away with operating legal, government sanctioned, extortion schemes. Even after strong patent reform was passed in 2011 basically targeting patent trolls, the problem has continued to persist. But interestingly, SCOTUS recently heard arguments in a case seeking to invalidate and challenge the somewhat new process of inter parties patent review by the USPTO....

Back in February, the 2013 Super Lawyers Pro Bono Award recipients were announced and the nine exceptional winners included attorneys, firms, and law schools that gave back to disabled veterans, the homeless, immigrants preyed upon by fraudulent non-lawyers, and more. As promised, Super Lawyers provided in depth profiles of the winners in this month’s issue of the magazine. It’s truly an impressive slate of winners, and for those of you looking for inspiration for your own project, the Super Lawyers Pro Bono Awards 2013 issue is, appropriately, available online for free....

We have to hand it to Massachusetts attorney Richard Goren. When faced with a negative review on Ripoff Report, he didn’t just win a defamation victory (alright, it was by default, so it’s not too impressive), he convinced the court to transfer him ownership over the copyright of the negative post, in a clever attempt to get around laws that protect websites hosting user-generated content. But not everyone is amused by Goren’s legal maneuvering....

Two contracts thwarted by the same natural disasters can have two different outcomes in litigation. That’s why it’s important to carefully define your force majuere responsibilities in an agreement. Their claim? The force majeure provisions in their contracts required Dynegy to secure replacement gas. Dynegy admits that it didn’t. Following trial, the district court concluded that the Ergon Refining Contract was unambiguous, and that extrinsic evidence didn’t require Dynegy to attempt to secure replacement gas....

The makers of a recently released legal AI, aptly named HelpSelf, has stepped up to the plate of providing better access to justice, and it plans to keep on climbing. Currently the company’s focus is on helping users, both individual and attorneys, fill out and file legal forms. For individual users, the company currently offers help with preparing forms for domestic violence restraining orders, debt collection defense, and clearing California marijuana convictions under prop 64....

The supposed inventor of email has sued a blogger website that doesn’t believe he invented it. Techdirt, an irreverent blogsite about changes in government policy, technology, and legal issues, reported in a series of stories that Shiva Ayyadurai falsely claims to have invented email. Ayyarduri, who copyrighted “Email” and trademarked “The Inventor of Email,” has sued Techdirt for defamation. In a $15 million complaint filed in federal court, the plaintiff alleges that Techdirt and its founder Michael D....

Even the smartest, most well-prepared lawyers can be betrayed by their body language. A shaky hand can undermine the most confident speech and a slouching posture can make the hardest working attorney look lazy. That’s because your body language can often say as much about you as your words, whether you realize it or not. So don’t let body language sabotage you. Here are five body language mistakes to avoid....

New Orleans is a key area for the oil industry. So it is really fair that the judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals have investments in oil, when it’s highly possible that they may be hearing cases involving oil companies? Many environmentalists are arguing that the Fifth Circuit Judges aren’t necessarily impartial, reports The New York Times. Remember that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is based out of New Orleans....

First Circuit Court of Appeals attorneys: You have to show up for your hearings. It seems obvious because it’s hard to bill when you’re noticeably absent, but there’s a bigger issue than just meeting your billable hours. What, you may wonder, could ever trump billables in an attorney’s heart? Try a healthy fear of fines. Attorney sanctions are no laughing matter. They look bad on your record, they’re proof of judicial ire, and they could land you in a post like this....

At a small firm, maintaining and expanding your client base is absolutely necessary for growing your business. Maybe you don’t have a large marketing budget for a fancy website, or maybe you’re in small-town setting. Regardless of what situation you’re in, you have the most valuable marketing tool of all – you. By getting more involved in your community, you can expand your network of contacts – and potential clients. While all these options are free, they do take time and a little bit of effort....