Tech folks often have their eye on the future, but when it comes to dealing with issues of culpability and liability in computing, some are arguing that it’s time to start looking to the past. When it comes to holding those responsible for complex systems accountable when something goes wrong, at least one Mircoserf suggests that we bring bring back medieval law. The legal revival isn’t quite the “if she floats, she’s a witch!...
Not many lawyers ever actually get to grapple with the great legal conundrum of the Parrot Evidence Rule. Surprisingly, it’s somewhat similar to the Parol Evidence Rule, apart from the easy to forget part. But rather than dealing with extrinsic evidence of contract terms, it deals with the unverifiable ramblings of birds that can mimic speech. (Note: this may be the first ever definition, albeit unofficial, of the rule since my fellow FindLaw writer Chris Coble coined it, so strap in, folks)....
First, it was computers. Then it was cell phones. And now? It’s gaming consoles. Hacktivist group Anonymous recently targeted the email account of a cybercrimes investigator with the California Department of Justice. That hack netted a treasure trove of information related to police use of Xbox and other gaming consoles. The practice is apparently becoming more and more common. This is based on an analysis of emails sent to a digital forensics mailing list, according to Ars Technica....
Would you ever consider going in house for a school district? In stark contrast to the traditional model of hiring attorneys on a retainer basis, some of the larger school districts across the country are hiring full-time counsel–people they call almost daily while school is in session. Though some are criticizing the trend and wonder whether it saves districts money, with the growth in school litigation, school districts could become the next big in house employer....
The St. Louis Cardinals were reportedly caught stealing more than bases from the Houston Astros last week. An employee for the Red Birds allegedly breached the Astros’ private database of player information, notes and trade discussions, leading the FBI to announce an investigation into the foul play. There’s plenty of lessons to learn from the Astros’ breach, which was less cloak and dagger corporate espionage, and more simple failure to implement basic data protection steps....
Lawyers know jargon. We’ve got our alphabet soup of laws and government agencies, our obscure doctrines, our endless, archaic Latin phrases. But even lawyers can be left scratching their heads at the constantly evolving (and sometimes meaningless) stream of tech jargon that can pass their way. We’re talking about the startup kids who want your help incorporating a company that will “gamify cross-office collaboration through SoLoMo tech.” Or the new law school grad who is so excited to tell you about his project coding “self-enforcing crypto-ledger-based smart contracts....
For many businesses, the announcement of anything involving new regulations elicits groans. New regulations means retraining, adjusting company policies, and often, increased compliance costs. What is it? The “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” order requires federal agencies to share information on cyberterrorism, hacking, cyber threats, and other scary things of that ilk with private companies that are involved with critical elements of the nations’ infrastructure. This includes the power grid, air traffic controllers, financial institutions - basically the elements of our nation that we would be crippled without....
An Arizona police officer must stand trial for shooting a woman who was walking in her driveway with a knife, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal reversed a lower court that had dismissed the case on a motion for summary judgment. Judge William K. Sessions III said a jury should decide whether the officer used excessive force. He also said the officer was not, without further proceedings in the excessive force case, entitled to immunity....
While most lawyers don’t think of themselves as artists in the traditional sense, the long history of persuasive, and not so persuasive, cease and desist letters that have made it to the internet beg to differ. There is certainly an art to drafting a cease and desist, and not just one of those epically funny ones that we all relish reading about. After all, it’s a functional letter meant to accomplish a goal....
James “Whitey” Bulger will serve two life sentences plus five years in prison. For relatives of Bulger’s victims, confronting the former Boston mob boss in the flesh has been a long time coming. This week, relatives of those killed by Bulger had an opportunity to face the former gangster at his sentencing hearing and bring his 11 murder victims’ stories to life. The moment highlights the legal void victim impact statements fill, but it also demonstrates the unclear function they serve in our criminal justice system....
When the York County Grand Jury returned over 900 indictments in a single day in June, more than one local defense attorney noticed. After all, that number is two to three times the number that is usually returned in a month, let alone a day. As reported, the math works out to 39 seconds per indictment. The motion to quash, which 27 different defense counsel signed onto, alleges that there is no way the grand jury could have adequately done its job in that short a time....
It makes some sense that a technical gaffe caused online job sites to winnow out older workers. The drop down menu on one job site only scrolled back to 1956 for applicants to indicate a graduation date on their resumes. Most tech workers these days weren’t even born back then. Unfortunately for the online companies, the math did not work out right for Illinois’ top prosecutor. Attorney General Lisa Madigan sent letters to six job sites about the problem, which involved potential violations of the Illinois Human Rights Act and the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act....
In-house law staff seem to have discovered a radical notion, hitherto anathema to the in-house defense mindset: you can sue people for money. In at least one recent quarter, Ford offset their entire legal department budget with plaintiff recoveries, Ford general counsel David G. Leitch told The Wall Street Journal. Plaintiffs’ lawyers can only smile, and nod knowingly. Yes, when you sue someone who owes you money, get a judgment or settlement, and collect it, you can make money....
Denial of Asylum Application Affirmed In Demiraj v. Holder, No. 08-60991, a petition for review of the decision of the BIA denying petitioners’ applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture, the court denied the petition where 1) the record disclosed no evidence that petitoner would be targeted for her membership in her family as such; 2) the IJ had sufficient record evidence to conclude that the state was not “more likely than not” to acquiesce in torture and therefore also to deny relief under that treaty....
The United States Constitution is on the shortlist of most significant legal documents in our nation’s history. And like the document itself, the term “constitution” has taken on new life over the centuries of usage. Most people are familiar with the word’s different usages, such as referring to an individual’s constitution, but the term’s origins are a bit more involved and date as far back as the 12th century. What might come as a surprise to some: Despite the 800 year history, the ever so popular legal term “unconstitutional” wasn’t used until 1734....
Morgan Stanley’s Eric Grossman made nearly $7 million last year, the most among general counsel in a new survey. According to the 2018 General Counsel Compensation Survey, Grossman topped 341 in-house attorneys in compensation. That included salary, cash bonuses, and nonequity incentives. The survey also had good news for most general counsel, reporting that salaries increased slightly and bonuses jumped 31 percent. The bad news is their average cash compensation went down....
Back in August, a federal district judge in Florida held that the state’s same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional. That was, of course, a lifetime ago in light of what’s happened since: The Supreme Court punted, the Sixth Circuit upheld, and same-sex marriage is the law in 33 states (for now). Well, the State of Florida isn’t taking this lying down. Attorney General Pamela Bondi is appealing the district court’s order. Does Florida’s brief to the Eleventh Circuit have anything new that hasn’t been dismissed by four other circuit courts already?...
Several years ago, the Justice Department announced it was cracking down on violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the federal statute that makes it a crime to bribe foreign government officials in order to get business. Last week, the French engineering company Alstom interrupted its Merry Christmas to plead guilty to FCPA violations and pay $772 million in fines – the largest ever for foreign bribery, according to The New York Times....
In this Twitter world, news travels faster than the average general counsel can handle. And for some reason, the bad news seems to travel faster. Like when Elon Musk tweeted about Tesla’s car production for 2019, what should have been good news quickly turned into bad before the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC is deciding whether to sanction Musk for tweeting without appropriate “controls and procedures.” So inquiring GCs want to know, how do you stop the company’s chief executive officer from posting stupid tweets?...
Arbitration remains an essential litigation prevention tool, and one that’s regularly been given favorable legal treatment by the Supreme Court and Congress. But two recent opinions, one from the Supreme Court and one from the Fourth Circuit, serve as an important reminder of some of the limits to arbitration agreements, at least when it comes to choice of law provisions. Here’s a quick review. One of the most interesting arbitration decisions of the past year comes from the Supreme Court, and it’s recent....
