Asbestos litigation has been around for a while. Many a solo or small firm rely almost entirely on mesothelioma and asbestos-related cases for the bulk of their practice. Thomas Brown Jr., 48, was awarded the sum after he prevailed against Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) and Union Carbide Corporation. Brown was 16 when he began working in the oil fields in the late 1970s, and was 30 when he was diagnosed with asbestosis....
If you’re going to couple business travel with a family trip, don’t bill your client for your vacation expenses. That’s the lesson from a recent Fifth Circuit ruling upholding the removal of a bankruptcy trustee who billed the estate for his family’s extended stay in New Orleans during oral arguments. Steven Smith, the trustee in question, continually put his own interests ahead of the estate’s, the court found. What’s more, because Smith was removed as trustee for cause, the Bankruptcy Code required Smith to be removed as trustee from all other bankruptcy proceedings....
A sad reality, in-house counsel often must deliver bad news. Sometimes you are a jack of all trades, judge, jury and executioner when it comes to legal policy and the actions that follow. To put it even more bluntly: you’re often getting paid to be the buzz-kill. You have to tell your boss when they’re flying too high and taking too many risks. This happens a lot at start ups. Founders can be bent on taking one path and the last thing they want to hear is “no....
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held this week that a defendant is not bound by his appeal waiver if he was incorrectly told that his maximum sentence would be shorter than the mandatory minimum sentence. But that doesn’t mean that a court must adjust the defendant’s sentence. William Davis pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and received a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA)....
Andrew Gordon wanted a hit man to kill his wife. Only problem was, he confided in someone who tipped off police and the would-be “hit man” turned out to be an undercover officer. So Gordon sought another hit man to kill the undercover officer and the tipster. But you just can’t get good help these days, and the second potential conspirator squealed on him. Gordon got 20 years in prison....
You’ll recall that in July, Eric Garner, a man from Staten Island, was placed in a lethal chokehold by NYPD officers after he was arrested for the inherently dangerous felony of selling untaxed cigarettes. (That was sarcasm, by the way.) Garner’s family filed a civil suit against the NYPD. Well, things just took a turn. In another case of lawyers (allegedly) behaving badly, Sanford Rubenstein, the attorney representing Garner’s family, was accused of rape earlier this week and has now said he will drop out of the case....
In an action for breach of a covenant not to compete, an injunction against defendant is affirmed where defendant failed to show that the district court clearly erred in finding that defendant’s confidential information constituted a legitimate business interest that justified the non-compete covenant. However, the damages award in favor of plaintiff is reversed where plaintiff failed to establish that defendant’s solicitation of a client for plaintiff’s competitor resulted in plaintiff’s loss of the project that was the basis of the damages award....
Happy Wednesday. We’re still waiting on Bostic. But that’s not all that’s happening in the Fourth Circuit. There’s been a rule change regarding the number of briefs one must file with the court. (Oooh!) And the North Carolina “Choose Life” license plate dispute is headed to the Supreme Court – they hope. (Aaahhh!) But Family Dollar, the losers in a class action certification dispute, won’t be, after the Supreme Court quietly denied certiorari before heading on summer vacation....
Do you own a smart TV? Have you noticed your advertising experience getting better? If so, you might be curious about the work of two United States senators. Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal recently sent a letter to the FTC requesting that the agency look into potential Smart TV privacy issues. Fortunately, none of the alleged issues have to do with Smart TVs actively monitoring people insider their homes a la big brother, rather, it’s a bit more subtle of a privacy violation....
The Roger Stone case is certainly the center of quite a bit of media fanfare, and for those in the legal community, it’s starting to get even more interesting as Stone’s lawyers appear to be scrambling over surprises. Most recently, in an order denying his attorneys’ “Motion to Clarify,” we’re given a glimpse into just how frustrating this situation must have been for his attorneys. Hat tip to @Popehat for alerting the world of just how nutty this must be....
There are a lot of stereotypes that seem to haunt lawyers, including an inability to adapt to the changing times. But a failure to adapt to marketplace changes can be a big business mistake, especially for the solo attorney. As times change, you should be finding that you’re spending more time on your mobile device. And that has both good and bad implications. Going Mobile: Your Clients Are Demanding It We hate to be morbid, but unless you’re in elder law, there’s a fair chance that your clients are young, healthy, and mad as hell....
After SCOTUS punted on affirmative action in Fisher v. Texas, the case over UT’s admissions decisions was back in front of the Fifth Circuit. Texas Public Radio reports that the Fifth Circuit heard arguments Wednesday over questions left unanswered by the U.S. Supreme Court, like whether UT’s admissions policy validly used race as a factor. At this point Abigail Fisher has already received her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University (LSU), so is this a winning fight?...
One of the benefits of working as in-house counsel is that you don’t have to worry about pesky (and somewhat costly) things like malpractice insurance, right? If something goes wrong, no one will blame the company lawyer. Except, of course, when they do. Civil lawsuits and even criminal indictments targeting in-house attorneys aren’t the norm, but they are becoming increasingly common, leading more and more in-house lawyers to look into malpractice insurance....
The hacking scandal has already claimed News of the World, one of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation’s biggest tabloids. What’s next for News Corp.? A U.S. investigation into the media giant? Apparently so. Members of Congress are now clamoring for an investigation into the U.S. operations of News Corp., even though for the most part the hacking scandal originated from the same land where News of the World circulates: the United Kingdom....
They are a trio of siblings so famous that GQ did an entire profile on them, post-crime spree. Dylan was the leader, Ryan was his younger brother who was on probation for sending explicit text messages to a minor. And Lee-Grace? She was the stripper with a machine pistol. Together, the Dougherty Gang shot at and outran a cop in Florida, robbed a bank in Georgia, and led officers on a high speed chase in Colorado, before spike strips sent their car into a tumble....
Bruce Wayne Potts’ parents had a different idea when they named their child after a crime-fighting superhero. They didn’t foresee that he’d be on the opposite side of the law, facing off against the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on a Miranda issue and the proper use of appellate procedure. The issue arose after Potts was arrested during a vehicle stop, which yielded hidden firearms once his car was searched. This case is very important for criminal defense attorneys arguing within the Fifth Circuit, as it shows the importance of obtaining definitive rulings on objections, in order to preserve them for appeal....
The AT&T/Time Warner merger was a done deal last year. It just took a while for the federal government to accept it. After an appeals court rejected the government’s arguments, the Justice Department lawyers finally threw in the towel. President Trump, an outspoken critic of Time Warner’s CNN since his election, had said the merger would hurt consumers. But none of that matters anymore. We will now return our regularly scheduled programming....
Providing pro bono legal services isn’t always the easiest sell for attorneys. After all, you didn’t sink that much time and money into law school just to give your time and expertise away for free, did you? And times are tight in the legal industry – you’re probably thinking that every pro bono client is a missed opportunity for some much-needed income. But times are tight for everyone, not just lawyers, and an attorney’s commitment is to provide legal service for those who need it, not just those who can afford it....
Smooth or crunchy? Sean Connery or Roger Moore? Free consultations or no? These are the debates that characterize our times. Because this is a legal blog, we’re going to have to save the first two for another blog (although, off the record, the answers are “crunchy” and “Roger Moore”). We’re qualified to help you answer the third question, though. Many opinions abound about whether you should offer free consultations, where the potential client comes in to explain his or her problem....
Wouldn’t it be great if robocallers actually listened when you told them not to call? That’s what Emily Schweitzer was thinking when she filed suit against a credit card company for making robocalls to her at work. A trial judge dismissed her case – because, after all, the robots weren’t listening – but a federal appeals court said she had a right to stop the work-hour calls under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act....
