How much would you stand to lose if you lost your in-house position? If the NFL has a lockout next season, Jeff Pash, the National Football League’s top lawyer and chief labor negotiator, stands to lose nearly $5 million if a deal is not reached by the March 4 deadline. Pash is the NFL general counsel. Pash, along with Commissioner Roger Goodell, have pledged to take a $1 annual salary if the lockout occurs....
The pressures of the bench may finally be affecting Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Edith Jones. After admonishing District Judge Sam Sparks for acerbic opinions, (Sparks ordered two attorneys to report to a ‘kindergarten party’ after they were “unable to practice law at the level of a first-year law student” and issued an order in which he called out another attorney for incompetence), Chief Judge Jones is, herself, in the spotlight for bad manners....
Lawyers – especially plaintiffs’ attorneys – love respondeat superior. Superiors tend to have deeper pockets than employees; an injured person is more likely to recover from the boss than the underling. Employers, on the other hand, dread the day they will be held accountable for their employees’ tortious mistakes. Not that lawyers aren’t sympathetic. Lawyers aren’t just responsible for staffers’ torts, but for their run-of-the-mill screw-ups, too. As Attorney at Work noted earlier this week, a non-lawyer “staff member’s error or omission can lead to a malpractice claim or disciplinary complaint just as readily as a lawyer’s....
Before August, federal judges in North Carolina were laying down the law, sentencing repeat offenders to more jail time than their offenses warranted. The reason? Judges were sentencing based on the punishment a “hypothetical” defendant could receive, rather than the punishment an identically-situated defendant should receive. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, tossed the “hypothetical” defendant standard out the window in August, which has led to a flood of sentencing appeals....
Conviction and sentence for the introduction of adulterated devices and non-approved new drugs into interstate commerce with intent to defraud and mislead is affirmed where: 1) issue preclusion did not bar evidence that defrauding of customers occurred; 2) the district court properly denied a motion for acquittal as he relied on new evidence rather than the evidence presented at trial and his attempt to incorporate by reference arguments made in his motion for a new trial is forfeited; 3) defendant’s challenge to a witness’ testimony is without merit; 4) the court did not err in its instructions to the jury; 5) defendant’s sentence was not based on improper factors, and was reasonable; and 6) the court properly denied defendant’s motion for a new trial....
Conviction of defendant for possession of drugs with intent to distribute is affirmed where, although defendant’s waiver of appeal was invalid, there was no error in the district court finding that defendant did not qualify for the safety valve provision of 18 U.S.C. section 3553(f), based on a reasoned assessment of the defendant’s credibility in light of the facts on record. US v. Padilla-Colon, No. 07-2372 Appellate Information Appeal from the United State District Court for the District of MassachusettsDecided July 31, 2009...
Driverless, automated cars are the future – at least if you listen to techies. Companies like Google and Tesla are pouring millions into self-driving cars. Ford and GM have jumped on the bandwagon. Even the Department of Transportation is getting on board, with the new driverless car funding and regulation. You know who else is excited? Personal injury lawyers – even though hi-tech cars might reduce automobile accidents. Here’s why....
Add another state to the list of those that allow same-sex marriages – unless the U.S. Supreme Court steps in first, that is. On Wednesday, the Eleventh Circuit denied Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s request to continue blocking same-sex marriages in the state of Florida, which means same-sex couples can start sending out save-the-dates for any time after January 5, 2015. However, there are a couple of (admittedly unlikely) ways in which the High Court could step in and prevent that from happening....
When it comes to summary judgment, plaintiff lawyers are often guilty of forgetting the fact that either party can file one. If you have solid evidence that can’t be disputed, you may very well be able to prove your claim without going to trial. While not many cases will actually be good ones for an offensive summary judgment motion, cases that don’t really present factual disputes pop up from time to time....
Quickly, name the three most important specifications for an electronic device. If you said “battery life,” “processing power,” and “price,” the words “Bay Trail” may be the most important tech terms you’ll hear this year. For years, Intel’s budget Atom processor served as its “good enough” solution for those on a shoestring, netbook-toting budget. You could take notes, answer emails, surf the web, and make on-the-road edits to your legal briefs, albeit with the occasional lag or hiccup....
The affirmative action hot-potato case of Fisher v. University of Texas is back in SCOTUS and already causing people to froth at the mouth. Justice Antonin Scalia kicked off public gasps with a question that suggested that black and Hispanic students might perform better at less competitive schools. His comments would result in massive response from minority students who wished to intervene in a challenge to Harvard’s race-based admissions practices. Well, the First Circuit has ruled that this appearance may not move forward....
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to move the Blackstone battle between the Environmental Protection Agency and the city of Worcester to mediation, forcing the two parties to sit down and possibly discuss a compromise. The battle over the Blackstone River has been a long and contentious one. Federal environmental regulators initially stepped in when they became concerned with the levels of pollutant discharge from the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District plant in Millbury....
The Internet Policy Task Force from the US Dept. of Commerce made a recommendation that Congress should alter the Copyright Act in such a way to reduce overall money damages in copyright disputes. The recommendation is not to do away with the $150,000 per violation rule; however, the changes will generally make it much more difficult to ever get that number. Every self-respecting organization has to have a white-paper, right? In the IPTF’s white-paper concerning the Copyright Act, the agency recommends that Congress consider the defendant’s financial situation and also the actual value of the works infringed....
Augmented reality takes the real world and graphs a new universe on top of it. Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality doesn’t remove the outside world, it just adds a new layer. You can use your phone to spot a Pikachu on the sidewalk, for example, or strap on some goggles and start crafting a virtual sculpture in your living room. The most common AR application these days is, of course, Pokemon Go, the new AR app that lets you catch make-believe monsters in the real world....
It’s getting more expensive to protect against cybersecurity risks. In response to increased hacking of U.S. companies, insurance firms are raising cyber premiums and limiting coverage, according to a recent report by Reuters. Many cyber insurance policies cover the cost of digital forensics, credit management, and litigation expenses. The changes come as high-profile hacks are causing more companies, from large retailers to small law firms, to turn to cyber insurance to protect against potential hacking liability....
Phone interviews are about as fun as flu shots. And like shots, they’re painful, sometimes nauseating, but a necessary part of life. Deprived of the many cues afforded by a face to face meeting – the types of visual aids that let us know when the other side is done speaking or if they are even still listening – phone interviews can be stilted and awkward for both the interviewer and interviewee....
A cell phone might be a cop’s new best friend. It can’t do what a police dog does, like sniff out evidence or chase down a suspect. But a cell phone can bust criminals as fast as they can snap a selfie. Fools incriminate themselves by vanity all the time. A new twist in technology, however, shows how some drug dealers should have kept their hands away from the cell phone....
Every year, the Supreme Court takes up a case or two that help to clarify how recent technological advancements should be analyzed under the law. This term is no different, with SCOTUS having agreed to hear the Carpenter case, which could lead to significant changes in how law enforcement officers obtain cell phone metadata during investigations. However, even cases that are not directly about technology can often make waves throughout the tech community....
If a study by NYSE Governance Services and BarkerGilmore is to be believed, then in-house counsel jobs are getting less cushy. A big percentage of directors and officers recently polled have noticed a tectonic shift in the role of the in-house lawyer. There are pros and cons to this developing trend, of course. At least one con should be screaming at you, unless you think we’ve seen this all before....
Mid-Continent Cas. Co. v. Bay Rock Operating Co., No. 09-50984, involved an action by an insurer seeking a declaration that damages awarded against defendant in an underlying suit arising out of an oil well accident were not covered by the policy at issue. The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for defendant on the grounds that 1) the insurer was collaterally estopped from re-litigating the subrogation right at issue because it was in privity with defendant; 2) defendant’s subrogee’s lack of an ownership interest in one well did not defeat defendant’s claim for coverage; and 3) defendant showed that the costs at issue were related to property damage and thus covered by the policy....
