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The name Rosa Parks evokes powerful imagery of the fight for Civil Rights in this country. Now, when people think of Rosa Parks, they will also be reminded of this appropriation lawsuits in the Eleventh Circuit. The circuit court ruled in favor of Target, who sought to sell civil rights themed merchandise in its stores featuring Parks’ likeness, much to the chagrin of the institute founded by Parks (The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development aka “RRPI) that sought to enjoin such sales....

Apple’s legal team won a big one in Texas. A federal judge threw out an earlier $625 million verdict against Apple in a patent-infringement case, overturning one of the largest settlements ever awarded in a patent case and fueling debate on software copyright in general. A jury in federal court in Tyler, Texas – which often handles complex patent cases – last year found that Apple infringed three of Mirror Worlds’ patents, awarding the company $208....

We don’t often look across the pond for advice on making ‘Merica’s legal industry great. We took the Magna Carta, some common law, and haven’t felt the need to look back since 1776. But maybe there’s a thing or two American lawyers can learn from their English counterparts, at least when it comes to the structure of the “law firm of the future.” A recent debate among English practitioners about the future of the firm has plenty of good insights for American lawyers....

Attorney Forrest Mosten, also known as the Father of Unbundling, has a dream. One day, clients will come to lawyers for legal help. But first lawyers must offer limited scope services as an option. So it’s not a paradisiacal dream with seascapes and sunsets, but we’re supposed to be working here. And who knows, maybe in the future we will all dream of representing clients on a limited basis. Unbundled Now Mosten revealed his dream on the Legal Talk Network, where he described his long experience with limited scope legal services....

Conviction of defendant for cocaine related offenses US v. Rivera-Gonzalez, 08-2142, concerned a challenge to a conviction of defendant for conspiring to distribute cocaine and a sentence of 121 months’ imprisonment. In affirming, the court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The court also held that the district court did not err in its sentencing calculation and defendant’s sentence is reasonable....

Regardless of your area of practice, cases and clients can get rather weird sometimes. And not the good kind of weird. It’s generally a byproduct of working with individuals, as people can and will act without thinking. But not all strange situations merit a withdrawal or a client firing. However, sometimes, even if the weirdness isn’t weirding you out, you might want to consider what continuing to pursue the case could do to your reputation, or even your legacy as a lawyer....

As litigious as Americans can be, the vast majority of cases settle before going to court. How vast is that majority? Less than two percent of federal civil cases go to trial, a fivefold decrease from 50 years ago. It’s understandable that clients, and lawyers, would want to avoid trial. Trials are expensive, time consuming, unpredictable. But sometimes, they’re also your best option. Federal civil trials can trace their lineage at least all the way back to the signing of the Magna Carta, 800 years ago....

Age discrimination is a strange animal in the federal circuits. Case law-wise, it shares many similarities with Title VII cases, but the jurisprudence is slightly different. In Leal v. McHugh, the Fifth Circuit tackled a case that exemplifies some of the quirks of age discrimination cases, as well as the low standard of meeting a pleading burden. George Leal and John M. Lozano were both employees at the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) since the mid-1980s, during which time they received multiple promotions and positive performance evaluations and awards....

Samuel Muriithi drove an airport shuttle for Shuttle Express. He did so not as an employee, but as a franchisee. Of course, he alleges that the arrangement was a misclassification and that he was entitled to more pay, overtime, etc. under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Alas, the parties haven’t even reached that important question yet. You see, their agreement included an arbitration clause. Shuttle Express pushed for enforcement of the clause but the district court ruled that it was unconscionable due to three provisions in the contract: the class action waiver, the requirement that the parties “split” arbitration fees, and the one-year limitations period for asserting claims....

If you are outside counsel, don’t be surprised to learn that general counsel talk behind your back. It’s practically a requirement because GCs have a duty to inform their clients about the good and the bad of outside representation. At best, outside counsel can hope it’s all good. But the reality is that inside counsel have a different perspective. The best thing to do is listen to them carefully, and maybe you’ll get a clue about what they say about you behind closed doors....

There are a lot of reasons not to buy a Google Glass (available today only), besides the incomprehensible price of $1,500. For example: You’ll be called a “Glasshole” repeatedly; You’ll be barred from certain restaurants and other establishments; You may be ticketed for DWG (Driving While Glass’d); Random angry people may assault you; The Terms of Use are incredibly restrictive; Google has had more privacy issues than we can link to; But hey, it’s not all bad....

Action Alleging Wrongful Suspension of Nursing Student In Castle v. Appalachian Tech. Coll., No. 10-11546, an action by a former nursing student, alleging that her suspension from the Licensed Practical Nursing Program at Appalachian Technical College violated her free speech and due process rights, because defendants allegedly: 1) suspended plaintiff in retaliation for reporting one of her instructors for falsifying attendance records, in violation of the First Amendment; and 2) suspended her without a meaningful opportunity to respond to the charges against her, judgment for defendants is affirmed where the court could not say the district court erred in deciding that, for qualified immunity purposes, school administrators in their position could have reasonably believed that suspending plaintiff would not violate her First Amendment rights under the facts of this case....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. Last week, you were informed about the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) updating advertising disclosure guidance for search engines. But there’s more! On July 1, new FTC rules went into effect that are intended to provide greater privacy protection for children online. Indeed, the rules are supposed to afford increased safeguards when it comes to data such as geo-location and social media information....

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will once again consider an ordinance requiring an “occupancy license” for prospective renters in a Dallas suburb. The housing ordinance also criminalized making false statements on an occupancy license application, occupying rental housing with a license, and knowingly permitting a person to occupy a rental unit without a valid license. That wish was granted this week. The Fifth Circuit announced on Tuesday that a majority of the court had voted in favor of rehearing....

Game maker EA’s Battlefield is now a court – instead of a virtual warzone. The company has filed for declaratory relief. It wants a California court to rule that their depiction of military helicopters in their popular war game Battlefield is protected by the First Amendment. EA says that it “has a reasonable and strong apprehension” that Textron will soon file a trademark action. Textron manufactures real-life military helicopters. Perhaps EA’s fear is grounded in reality....

For Equifax, the 2017 data breach debacle still isn’t over. That’s because the consolidated class action stemming from the breach is still being litigated out in court. Most recently, the federal court in Atlanta denied Equifax’s motion to dismiss the case, explaining that despite uncertain damages, it is clear that the company owed a duty to protect consumers’ information from a data breach. Next up in the litigation will be discovery, where the plaintiffs will likely seek to connect various dots showing how the company failed to keep the data secure, while defendants likely seek to estimate just how deep the damages run....

Last Wednesday, February 5, marked the 20-Year Anniversary of the day that President Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) into law, reports Working Mother. With more than 100 million people helped during this time, we thought we would give you some tips to make sure that your company is meeting the standards set forth in the FMLA. Do Your Research If an employee requests time off pursuant to the FMLA, be sure to properly research whether the request properly falls within the FMLA before approving, or denying, such requests....

In a predictable move, Hotfile and several motion picture studios reached a settlement only six days before heading to trial. With a settlement award of $80 million in favor of the motion picture studios, it’s questionable how much Hotfile will actually be able to pay, reports Ars Technica. Several motion picture studios filed a complaint against Hotfile, in February 2011, alleging the “cyberlocker” site was in engaging in copyright infringement. In an order dated September 20, 2013, the district judge found that Hotfile did not have the protections of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and found Hotfile vicariously liable for the copyright infringement of it users....

Seeking to add plaintiffs to a class-action lawsuit against a South Carolina car dealership, the now-defendant class-action attorneys tapped into the DMV records via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in order to locate potential clients. Each was sent a letter with “ADVERTISING MATERIAL” emblazoned across the top. Unfortunately, one of the recipients also worked at the dealership. The attorneys defending the dealership filed a class-action lawsuit against the original class-action plaintiffs’ attorneys on behalf of the 34,000 people who received a letter from the firm....

Mandamus Petition by EPA In In re: US EPA, No. 10-14535, a petition by the EPA for a writ of mandamus to substitute the appearance of the Assistant Administrator for Water of the Agency for the appearance of the Administrator of the Agency, at a hearing about compliance by the Agency with orders entered by the district court that concerned pollution of the Everglades, the court granted the petition where the record established no special need for compelling the appearance of the Administrator, and the Assistant Administrator was an adequate substitute....