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When the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed in 2010, it included an expanded whistleblower bounty program. As an incentive to report violations of financial regulations, whistleblowers are entitled to 10 to 30 percent of an enforcement action’s recovery. If they can ever get it. According to a review by The Wall Street Journal, 83 percent of the whistleblowers who have applied for their awards have yet to have their claims addressed....

Last month, Canada’s Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s order that Google alter their search results worldwide as a result of a lawsuit alleging that one Canadian company had infringed upon the intellectual property rights of another Canadian company. However, while Google plans to respect the Canadian court’s authority, in Canada at least, it’s going to check with a U.S. court before making the global change. This case presents a few novel, yet significant, issues....

In Villa-Londono v. Holder, No. 09-1832, the First Circuit addressed a challenge to the BIA’s denial of a Colombian National’s application for withholding of removal and related relief. In denying her request for review of BIA’s denial, the court concluded that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding is supported by specific and persuasive findings. And as a consequence, with her testimony discredited, there is very little evidence in the record to support her asylum claim as well....

So Text A Lawyer wants to be the next Uber. Yeah, and George C. Parker has a bridge to sell you. Not to be judgmental or anything, but doesn’t everybody want to be the next Uber – without all the lawsuits? The real question is, can lawyers really make money with this app? Oh, and because of Uber and all that, is it ethical? Real Money Kevin Gillespie, a legal tech innovator, says lawyers can make $150 an hour with Text A Lawyer from the comfort of their smart devices....

With the Discovery Channel’s famed “Shark Week” already upon us, lawyers using e-discovery could learn a thing or two. Sharks are slimy predators who ruthlessly scour the oceans for tasty morsels, constantly working to improve their methods of zeroing in on just the right information. Here are a few tips on how to become an e-discovery shark and take a bite out of your competition. Sharks are mercilessly efficient, and their e-discovery shark counterparts won’t be throwing money all over the place gathering far too much information and then sorting through it....

Back in 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon platform was gushing barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico — and brilliant plans like “let’s throw garbage at the leak” failed to stymie the flow — the Obama administration decided that offshore drilling might not be all that it was cracked up to be. Ten days after the Deepwater explosion, President Obama ordered Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to review the event and report on additional precautions and technologies to “improve the safety of oil and gas exploration and production operations....

LinkedIn now boasts more than 200 million members worldwide. So if you’re a solo or small firm attorney and you aren’t on LinkedIn, you are giving up business. It’s not just that the networking site could potentially be useful for some attorneys. The free service is a business booster for any small firm or solo practitioner in terms of both client acquisition and connecting with colleagues. Not all social media services are necessarily good for your practice....

When it comes to mediating mass tort, class, complex, or just massive, cases, fashioning a resolution that all the parties can live with, and that a court will approve, can often feel nearly impossible. However, it is not just possible, but reaching a mediated resolution is frequently the best option for everyone involved, and the numbers back that up. For defendants, setting up a settlement fund that can be administered by a third party can help avoid the costs and negative PR of moving forward with litigation....

Lawyers today carry around computers more powerful than those that sent men to the moon. The NASA guidance system filled a room, yet now people can put a GPS device in their pocket. By comparison, the moon shot machines literally had the computing power of a pocket calculator. It’s just a footnote in the astonishing evolution of technology. But it’s also a reminder that technology moves on – especially mobile tech....

When internet radio giant Pandora updated its SEC filing recently, it announced to the world that the mobile app market could potentially be in for a big change. Pandora disclosed that a grand jury in New Jersey had issued the company a subpoena to produce information about data collection methods for its Android and iPhone mobile applications. The subpoena is allegedly part of an industry-wide criminal investigation into how mobile apps collect and utilize user information, reports Ars Technica....

Have you identified the closest WiFi-accessible coffee shop to your office? Do you have a backup location where you can meet with clients? You might want to think of one. As spring sets in for part of the country – many condolences to those of you shivering through snow storms in April – businesses are preparing to send their power bills surging by turning up the air conditioning. But, as the mercury rises, what happens when your air conditioner stops working?...

‘Thanks for calling. Please hold.’ Click. That’s what happens when you put a prospective client on hold for too long, according to a study by an audio-branding company. And lawyers are some of the worst call-holding offenders. PH Media Group, which called 2,695 businesses across the country for the study, reports that law firms put their callers on hold for an average of 36.07 seconds–longer than the national average. How Bad Are These Results?...

In Texas, a federal judge ruled that setting bail without considering a defendant’s ability to pay violates equal protection. It was a good ruling for the defendants, but also yesterday’s news. Half a dozen states have all but ended cash bail for the same reason – it’s not fair to poor people. In the Dallas, Texas case, however, the judge enjoined the county’s bail system and waived the bond requirement for misdemeanor defendants....

Because what the world needs now is lawyers with even more degrees? UC Irvine is planning to launch a Center for Corporate Law next summer that will offer extensive training for attorneys already working as in house counsel as well as those aspiring to go in house. While several schools already offer programs for corporate counsel that last a few days, UC Irvine hopes to distinguish itself with a program that will last six weeks over the summer, reports The National Law Journal....

Chloe, the star of “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” and a voice of inspiration for those who search for meaning in the drudgery of life, said it best: “Rough. Rough.” Just kidding. For those of you haven’t watched a dog movie since Lassie, they are all dubbed nowadays. But Chloe didn’t actually say anything in the climactic scene. She found her bark, and that made all the difference. What we’re talking about, or barking about, is this: lawyers, too, can find their passion in the law....

Did you ever notice how a teenagers can focus on video games so intently, an earthquake couldn’t shake their attention? Or how about those basketball players who make free throws while 20,000 fans scream and wag those monster fingers at them? It’s called focus, and you need some of that in your law practice. So let’s talk about eliminating distractions at work. We’re going to take a couple of pages from the video game and basketball playbooks....

Congrats on that great new job as in house counsel! You landed a plum gig in the legal space. Now you need some tips on how to stand out in the office. Being a good employee is about more than showing up on time and finishing your work by the deadline. Sure that will keep you from getting fired but it won’t help you climb the ranks. Your goal is to be lead GC isn’t it?...

Following an en banc reversal of fortune, Michelle Kosilek was denied the ability to have a sex-change operation paid for by the Massachusetts Department of Correction. Both a federal district court and a three-judge panel of the First Circuit agreed that the state should pay, but the en banc court reversed. Now, Kosilek is taking her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The First Circuit’s en banc panel conditioned its opinion on the deference courts are supposed to grant to prison officials when it comes to matters of security....

In a firearm possession prosecution, denial of defendant’s motion to suppress the firearm seized from his house is affirmed where there was a sufficient basis for the magistrate who issued the warrant to conclude that there would be probable cause for the search. Read US v. Andrews, No. 08-4721 Appellate Information Argued: May 13, 2009 Decided: August 12, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Traxler Counsel For Appellant: Stephen Clayton Gordon, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Raleigh, NC...

Finding the right legal assistant for your law firm may not be as easy as you think. The position of legal assistant or paralegal may attract job-seekers with any combination of skills and professional competencies. When hiring for the position, what do you look for? First, Get the Name Right Once upon a time, the term ‘paralegal’ and ’legal assistant’ referred to two different jobs. However, the National Association of Legal Assistants together with the ABA declared that forthwith the two terms were (probably) interchangeable....