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Medical marijuana may be legal in your state, or it soon may be, but that is not the story. Everybody knows it is still a controlled substance under federal law, so party-goers beware even in recreational-use states. But that is not the story either. The real story, particularly for corporate counsel, is that companies need to update their drug policies on marijuana use. That’s because weed use is growing like, well, that’s another story....

If you thought you already had enough competition with the big law firms, small law firms, and the ever-growing army of unemployed new admitees who are opening their own shop, Washington State has approved a new rule that could open the floodgates for a new, more numerous, rival – non-lawyers. The new Washington State rule allows licensed legal technicians to work on certain aspects of a case and to assist civil litigants....

Revenge Porn LawsWe recently saw two states – New Jersey and California – enact revenge porn legislation, and California officials recently made their first revenge-porn related arrest – though under different legal theories. Yesterday, the FBI arrested “revenge porn king” and the “most hated man on the [I]nternet,” reports Ars Technica.The Federal IndictmentYesterday, the FBI announced that Hunter Moore and Charles Evens were arrested and charged them each in a 15-count indictment with one count of conspiracy, seven counts of hacking (or, as they like to call it “unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information”), and seven counts of identity theft....

Lawyers have a bad reputation for being stuck in the past. Compared to other professionals, lawyers do not take well to technological changes. That’s problematic because we’re living in a time when technological advancements are drastically changing communication and professional services. Science historian James Burke reminds us: by the time you learn and understand something, it’s already obsolete. And millennial lawyers are right on that razor edge. Let’s look at a few simple ways young lawyers are disrupting this industry....

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will take a second look at a decision that said employers can pay women less than men for the same job. A three-judge panel of the appeals court said in April that women can be paid less based on salary histories. An en banc court will revisit that decision, which said pay disparities between men and women are lawful if the difference is not based on gender....

An increase in data breaches had led to the creation of a Data Breach and Encryption Handbook published by the American Bar Association Section of Science & Technology Law. The handbook takes an in-depth look at some of the cybersecurity risks present in the 21st century. With escalating data breaches and their series legal ramifications, it is essential that attorneys become well versed on the topic. It was once true that safeguarding information meant keeping it in a locked cabinet....

As lawyers, we’re all writers. But we’re not poets here, and legal writing doesn’t have to be (and probably shouldn’t be) best-seller worthy. It should be better, though: clear, accessible, and sometimes even enjoyable to read. And there’s a bevy of automated editing and proofreading software out there that promises to improve your writing with the click of a button. So do they work? Sort of. When it comes to a little editorial help, you can rely on your handy copy of Garner’s Elements of Legal Style, your built-in spelling and grammar checker, or any of the many automated proofreading programs out in the market....

Citepad is like a magic wand that floats over your screen and inserts legal terms, symbols, and phrases into documents with the touch of your finger. It does not turn your computer screen into a touch screen, but you “touch” the Citepad virtual keyboard with your mouse and “Voila.” An innovation from Juristech, it is available by download for as little as $15. Not bad for a magic wand. Now You See It?...

Coffee is one of those things that people either love, or hate. Here at FindLaw, you will find many in the former category. There are those of us that take our coffee seriously (yes, I’m looking at you Mr. Peacock, with your own personal French press). So, when I came across an article in Ars Technica regarding a study on how caffeine affects memory, it got my wandering to a hot cup of joe....

We’ve already concluded that lawyers love surveys, and the latest attorney survey deals with the unique legal issues that general counsel face. Let’s take a look at the results of Consero’s 2014 General Counsel Data Survey: Legal Department Resources While things in the traditional legal market seem gloomy, not so at in-house legal departments. Almost half (44 percent) of the GCs surveyed said their legal departments had increased, with only 12 percent claiming their legal departments decreased....

The Edward Snowden fallout continues. In June, we posted about Reset the Net, a campaign to increase privacy to “stop mass surveillance, by building proven security into the everyday Internet.” Last week we saw Black Hat and DEF CON wrap up and with it, two very important announcements regarding encryption and spy-free email. Privacy, it seems, may not be a longshot after all. In an effort to show users that it is taking privacy seriously, Google has announced that it will “use encryption as a ranking signal....

How many judges does it take to change a light bulb? Just one – she holds the bulb still and the world revolves around her. Just kidding of course. But if your career goals include donning a robe, deciding cases, and being called “Your Honor,” you probably won’t be able to pursue your first judgeship alone. Networking and a reputation for legal acumen are necessary, no matter which route you take to become a judge....

In Anderson v. Cytec Indus., Inc., No. 09-30333, an action challenging defendant’s denial of plaintiff’s ERISA claim for short-term disability benefits, the court affirmed judgment for defendant where 1) it was not unreasonable to ask for some objective showing that plaintiff’s PTSD-related disability prevented him from performing his job; and 2) defendant’s decision that plaintiff was not “totally disabled” was not arbitrary and capricious and was supported by substantial evidence....

In-house counsel know how difficult claims of retaliation against whistleblowers can be. Those issues can become even worse when it’s a fired in-house lawyer making the retaliation claim. That’s what happened to Sanford Wadler, fired GC for Bio-Rad Laboratories. Wadler claims he was terminated after attempting to report corrupt practices to the company’s board. The case raises important questions about how much the attorney can disclose about his former employer and client in order to prove his case....

In the fast-paced computer world, people occasionally use “password” as a default password on their accounts. Bad idea. It was an expensive lesson learned for furniture company Brown Jordan and one of its top executives. Christopher Carmicle used the password to access email of other employees, including superiors, leading to costly litigation and termination. According to the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Brown Jordan rightfully terminated Carmicle for hacking into the email....

Megaupload plans to sue Universal Music Group over the takedown of its viral video, “The Mega Song.” File hosting site Megaupload has long been the target of RIAA and the MPAA. The two industry organizations claim that sites like Megaupload promote piracy because it easily allows users to upload and download illegal material. So why is Megaupload the one suing Universal instead of the other way around? Megaupload has filed suit against Universal for its alleged misuse of YouTube’s takedown procedures....

Texas’s voter identification law, widely viewed as one of the harshest in the country, was passed with a discriminatory purpose, a district court in Texas ruled yesterday. The ruling comes on remand from an en banc Fifth Circuit, which ruled last July that the law had a discriminatory effect, but sent the case back down to reconsider evidence going to whether the law was intended to discriminate. Yesterday, district court judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos answered, once again, “Yes, it was....

Microsoft sold about 5.8 million Lumia smartphones in a mere two months, a pretty impressive number considering nobody you know actually owns a Windows Phone. Out of all of the Windows-based phones in the wild, one model is far more popular than any other: the Lumia 520, which makes up 31.6 percent of all active Windows phones, according to AdDuplex. Add in the slight variant 521 and you have 36.4 percent of the phone’s OS share covered by what is essentially one model....

The very nature of handling “high stakes litigation” implies that there’s much to lose and gain from a case. And, as in-house counsel, when handling high stakes litigation, your ultimate goal is to provide the very best settlement for your company. Or, in the alternative, prevail in court. What are some tips to ensure that the litigation process goes smoothly? High Stakes Litigation Tip #1: Manage your internal expectations. You should aim to not “surprise” stakeholders or company executives with a settlement....

So far this year, the United States government ranks first in the number of Google takedown requests it sends to the tech giant. This data was revealed as part of Google’s Transparency Report. The report even elaborated on what kind of removal requests were made on which of the web giant’s platforms. By far, the biggest reason behind takedown requests was because of alleged defamation. This probably comes as little surprise....