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Brown v. Colegio De Abogados De Puerto Rico, 08-2432, concerned a class action suit against the integrated bar association of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, arising from the organization’s activity of requiring members to purchase life insurance in order to practice before Puerto Rican courts. As stated in the decision: “After Romero, Colegio did not fully advise its members that they no longer had to buy insurance, threw obstacles in front of those trying to opt out, and delayed refunds....

FLSA Action for Unpaid Overtime In Diaz v. Jaguar Restaurant Group, LLC, No. 09-16046, an action against plaintiff’s former employer for unpaid overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the court reversed the district court’s holding that plaintiff was an exempt administrative employee under the FLSA, where the administrative exemption issue was not tried by implied consent as plaintiff’s testimony was relevant to another defense in this case: defendant’s independent contractor defense....

In a rape prosecution, the denial of Petitioner’s habeas petition is affirmed, where Petitioner sought a stay of federal habeas proceedings pending state habeas review, but: 1) he did not argue that he would be barred from obtaining re-review in the state court by the Court of Appeals’ continued review and disposition of his habeas case; and 2) the District Court properly deferred to the state court’s postconviction decision that the state trial court had denied Petitioner’s motion and therefore had jurisdiction to sentence Petitioner....

Homestead exceptions are a nice public policy “plus” of bankruptcy law. They attempt to ensure that those filing for bankruptcy will have somewhere to go and lick their financial wounds after the case is finished. But can the proceeds from selling your home be protected permanently from bankruptcy? The Fifth Circuit says no. Bankruptcy law is a strange hybrid of federal and state laws, and in this case Texas’ law prevailed....

We’ve talked a lot on this blog about how to give feedback to employees, but as we said on Friday, communication is a two-way street. Just as we have feedback for our employees, they may have some feedback of their own for us, or the firm as a whole. Hearing out your employees will lead to a happier firm workforce because your associates and staff will feel that their opinions are valued....

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action based on a warrantless entry into Plaintiffs’ home, the denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity is reversed where the search was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment exigent circumstances doctrine, because Defendants believed a missing teenage girl was in the house. Read Hunsberger v. Wood, No. 08-1782 Appellate Information Argued May 15, 2009 Decided June 29, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Wilkinson...

When it comes to Internet marketing, the most important piece of the puzzle is, of course, the website. This is your business card, your public face, and your brand. If you run a virtual law office, it is also how clients will reach and conduct business with you. Though we often talk about law blogs and social media savvy, all the tweets in the world won’t help if your website is nonexistent or looks like a 90s era Geocities page....

After years of Head & Shoulders’ “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” commercials, we’re basically convinced that initial perceptions are how we will be judged in life. Sure, it was a marketing campaign, and we shouldn’t base our life choices on what Madison Avenue says, but repetitive messages have a hypnotic effect. For lawyers, that message is probably true. If a prospective client goes online to find an attorney and is unimpressed by a lawyer’s website, the attorney probably won’t get the gig....

When Marriott acquired Starwood hotels two years ago, the company didn’t realize it was also buying a massive security breach. The breach – compromising information about 500 million customers – is reportedly one of the largest in history. It is not close to the Yahoo breach of some three billion user accounts. According to reports, however, the Marriott breach involves more than email information. It apparently includes credit card, passport, and other personal details that hackers use for identity theft....

The private search doctrine’s applicability to computers will probably make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, thanks to a recent Sixth Circuit decision in United States v. Lichtenberger. After Aaron Lichtenberger was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender, his girlfriend hacked into his computer, found images of child pornography, and notified the authorities. Police obtained a warrant to search the computer, finding more pornography, but a federal district court – and eventually the Sixth Circuit – agreed that the evidence should be suppressed....

Saucier v. Plummer, No. 09-60873, involved an action for breach of an oral contract to split commissions on a sale. The court of appeals affirmed the district court’s order reducing the damages awarded to plaintiff by the jury, on the ground that plaintiff’s attorney, in closing argument, limited the scope of plaintiff’s claim by telling the jury to award damages solely for one category of the commissions at issue. As the court wrote: “In summary, although nothing indicates that Saucier and Plummer entered into separate agreements for the division of commissions from the sale of Legacy I and Legacy II units, Saucier’s attorney limited the scope of her claim by telling the jury to award damages solely for Legacy I commissions....

The Fourth Circuit decided two criminal cases today, one involving a challenge to district court’s imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence based on violation of a state’s blue-light statute, and a second criminal case involving suppression of evidence. In US v. Rivers, No. 09-4336, the court faced a challenge to the imposition of a mandatory fifteen-year minimum sentence on a defendant convicted of a being a felon in possession of a firearm under the Armed Career Criminal Act....

The ‘Accidental Tax Lawyer’ is not the name of a movie. It’s a title from a blog post about a lawyer thinking about going back to school to become a certified public accountant. But if it were a movie, it would be a mid-life, coming-of-age story because it speaks to all who wonder about that other road in life. Only the road to becoming a CPA after law school is harder than doing it the other way around....

E-cigarettes seem to be the hot topic in federal regulation, and for good reason. The tobacco alternative, which delivers nicotine-laced vapor into the lungs, has exploded in popularity while regulations have languished far behind. Prime example: Cigarettes cannot be flavored (even menthol may be on the way out), while e-cigarettes can come in such delightful flavors as cherry, rocky road, or chocolate. Now, frustrated by the Food and Drug Administration’s delay in regulating the devices, 40 states’ attorneys general have signed on to a letter urging the administration to act before an October 31 deadline, reports CBS News....

For lawyers, it’s nearly a guarantee: if you practice, at some point in your career, you’ll deal with a bully – or, if you’re unlucky, a few hundred bullies. It’s simply unavoidable. However, how you react and respond to bullying can be career defining, career breaking, or just be down-right frustrating. Below, you can find a few of the best tips on how to deal with different types of bully lawyers....

A website alleging racist policies of the Lafayette Police Department is appealing its shutdown by a federal magistrate in 2012 to the Fifth Circuit, and the Court will hear their case in July. The webmasters of “realcopsvcraft.com” are appealing federal magistrate Judge Pat Hanna’s ruling, claiming that shutting the website down chilled their First Amendment free speech rights, reports Baton Rouge’s The Advocate. The Fifth Circuit is slated to hear the case on July 8, 2013, and what arguments will they be likely to hear?...

While fighting off the holiday-itis at work is hard enough, trying to take on a job search during that time can feel daunting. However, it is actually a great time to update your resume and actually apply to jobs for quite a few reasons that don’t just apply to lawyers. No, it’s not very likely you’ll get hired, or even interviewed or called before the end of the year (or at all in this market), unless you were applying for a position for an immediate opening....

In-house jobs are in demand. There is rarely a shortage of candidates for an in-house position. That means that prospective corporate counsel will need to truly stand out in order to land a position in-house. If you manage to get an interview for an in-house position, don’t think that your skills, talent, and experience alone will be enough to carry you through. In-house interviews require a bit more. Here are three tips to help you master yours:...

We’re 33 days into the trial of James Holmes for opening fire in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater in 2012 and the jurors are being dismissed left and right. Last week, three jurors were kicked after reading tweets about the case. Another was let go on Monday for failing to disclose potential bias during voir dire. She was joined by a fifth juror, removed today, again for potential bias. After Judge Carlos Samour pulled together the largest jury pool in history, it looks like a few mistakes may have been made in voir dire – and after....

For attorneys out there that accept fee payments via credit and debit cards, properly securing your client’s financial data should be an integral part of your office security. But if it isn’t, it’s about to be. Mandatory PCI compliance, which seeks to secure user credit card data, is now required for merchants accepting cards issued by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB (Japanese Credit Bureau). This includes even legal merchants like you....