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There are some tech devices that all attorneys need. Things like decent computers, quality printers, and effective software are essential for today’s practice. Then there’s tech that many lawyers should have, like a mostly paperless practice options and good practice management software. But more importantly, there’s the tech that attorneys don’t need, but want. Really want, because they’re cool, helpful, novel, or just entertaining. That’s what we’re focusing on today....

Some up-and-coming technology and communications companies have announced new general counsel and in-house appointments. Here are five notable career moves, as reported by InsideCounsel. Spherexx.com, an Internet marketing software company specializing in the real-estate industry, has hired Lauren Allison as in-house counsel and executive assistant to the company’s CEO. Allison has worked in real estate, civil, and business litigation, and was president of the Creek County Bar Association. Spherexx.com is based in Tulsa, with offices in Dallas and Houston....

If you’ve had a good run with your solo law practice and you’ve decided the time has come to leave, you have a number of choices. One: Close out your files, don’t take on new clients, and hang a sign that declares “Out of Business.” Two: You could sell your business to another competent attorney who will carry on the practice. Make Sure You Can Sell: It’s been mentioned that most states allow the sale of your practice to another qualified lawyer....

Quick story. Friend of mine, way back in law school, had a three-year-old laptop that she used for class. Two weeks before exams, the hard drive failed and she lost everything – from notes to outlines. Another story. Myself, I had no laptop. I could not afford one. I did the paper-and-pen note-taking, then typed my notes each night, for a few weeks until the Intel Atom-based netbooks were released. Of course, then I had to hear jokes about my “Game Boy” laptop from the class gunner....

Lawyers who are both advocates as well as Apple fanboys (or fangirls) likely got their hands on the new iPhone 4S when it was released. The biggest draw to the newly-released model? The Siri voice recognition software. Previously, we wrote about whether or not Siri would make a good personal assistant. But apparently there is a caveat: the software has difficulty recognizing certain individuals, especially those with a heavy accent....

Petitioner’s petition for review of the BIA’s denial of his motion to reopen his deportation proceedings after an in absentia deportation order was entered against him is denied where: 1) the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s refusal to reopen a deportation order sua sponte; and 2) Petitioner had notice and an opportunity to attend the prior hearing. Read Caldero-Guzman v. Holder, No. 08-2325. Appellate Information PETITION FOR REVIEW OF AN ORDER OF THE BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALSFiled June 19, 2009...

Last month, the CFTC greenlit the latest strap-tightening policy suggestions by the NFA: members of the NFA “should” implement stronger cybersecurity policies. f you’re in the commodities or derivatives industry, get ready to make some changes. Adopt and Enforce The CFTC approved the latest “Interpretive Notices” of the NFA compliance rules issued to the federal agency – requiring all NFA members to “adopt and enforce” written cybersecurity policies in compliance with NFA Rules 2-9, 2-26 and 2-49....

Bill Cosby won a case and his lawyers are proud of it. Really? Even as Hollywood’s sexual predators are getting shamed in the media, Cosby’s lawyers have no shame about their client’s pyrrhic victory. Their press release was posted on the entertainer’s Facebook page. “Allen A. Greenberg of the Los Angeles-based firm Greenberg Gross LLP successfully argued on behalf of Mr. Crosby,” the release said. Is this that rare occasion when good press is bad press?...

A convicted murderer is slowly making his way up the appeals process ladder in his attempt to get Maine officials to allow him to fully practice Satanism in prison. Joshua Cookson, a devout Satanist, is allowed to practice in his cell and has reportedly done so on a daily basis since 2007. Cookson, however, wants the same opportunity to practice in the prison’s activities building as other prisoners of religious groups - including paganism and American Indian spirituality - because it “is one of the fundamental parts of his religious beliefs....

Michigan homeowner Theodore Wafer was convicted of second-degree murder Thursday for killing an unarmed woman on his porch – Renisha McBride. But could a statement by Wafer’s defense attorney be a problem if he pursues an appeal? During closing arguments, Wafer’s defense attorney Cheryl Carpenter described the situation Wafer faced: It was very early in the morning and an unknown person was pounding on his front door. “He armed himself. He was getting attacked....

In Bokhari v. Holder, No. 09-60538, a petition for review of the BIA’s determination that petitioner was ineligible for adjustment of status, the court denied the petition where 1) the employment authorization provided to petitioner under 8 C.F.R. section 274a.12(b)(20) did not provide him with lawful immigration status; and 2) petitioner was in unlawful immigration status, as defined in 8 C.F.R. section 1245.1(d)(1)(ii), after June 10, 2003, and he unlawfully remained in the United States for more than 180 days thereafter....

Here on the FindLaw blog team, we like puppies. We write about puppies. We select pooches as FindLaw Top Dogs. If there are cat people in our group, they are a silent, sadly marginalized minority. But even though we believe that “puppies” are the answer to any question worth asking, we’ll concede that a dog-scent lineup may not be the solution to a police department’s criminal investigation problems. Dog-scent lineup supporters say the tests are “a powerful crime-fighting tool helping investigators crack cases....

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act says employers can’t prohibit employees from talking about unions, working conditions, or pay. Section 8 prevents employers from punishing employees for these activities. Employees of Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille in Watertown, Connecticut, took to Facebook to complain that Triple Play’s co-owner and accountant, Ralph DelBuono, incorrectly calculated the employees’ state tax withholding, and as a result, they owed the state money....

The First Circuit Court of Appeals denied review of a Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) decision to deny asylum to a Guatemalan citizen, finding that the petitioner was not a member of a protected social group or faced persecution in his home country. In addition, the Court denied NACARA relief because he was apprehended at the time of entry. Gorgonio Sicaju-Diaz, who currently resides in Rhode Island with his wife and three children, was taken into custody by federal immigration officials over twenty years ago in Texas....

Public policy does not bar corporation from recovering under the policy for its settlement of a shareholder class action lawsuit Genzyme Corp. v. Federal Ins. Co., 09-2485, concerned a challenge to the district court’s judgment that a corporation’s loss was not insurable as a matter of Massachusetts public policy, in the corporation’s suit against its insurer seeking to recover its costs in settling a shareholder class action under a corporate and director and officer liability insurance policy....

If you’re running your own law firm then you already have enough to stress about without having to figure out what to get your coworkers for the holidays. What about your paralegal? What about the receptionist? What about your partner? We’ve taken the mystery out of gift giving and made it as simple as possible for you – choose from the options below – and you’re done. Many use the holidays as an excuse to eat everything they deprive themselves of the whole year (ahem, at least some of us do)....

Trademark tacking is a jury question, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court said in Hana Financial, Inc. v. Hana Bank, resolving a circuit split about whether it’s the judge or the jury who makes that determination. The High Court upheld a decision of the Ninth Circuit (take a picture; it’ll last longer) finding that it was the jury that should decide whether facts exist to support trademark tacking. The Ninth Circuit, like the trial court, found in favor of Hana Bank....

The ranks of America’s independent contractors, freelancers, and temporary workers have swelled over the past years. Many companies have eagerly switched to a contract-based workforce. After all, using independent contractors allows corporations to avoid many of the costs and risks of employment – by shifting them onto the worker. But, if today is the golden age of contract work, two recent developments signal that the era could be coming to an end – or at least facing major new obstacles....

If your firm burns down, will you have a backup plan? What if your office just loses internet for a day? Or your computer system gets hacked and held for ransom? For every law firm, from the smallest solo practice to the biggest of BigLaw, these are very real possibilities. As a legal professional, you should be aware of such potential risks and have a plan in place to respond. To help you out, here are some disaster-aversion tips from the FindLaw archives....

Consider the traditional law firm service model officially disrupted. According to a new study, a sizable majority of companies are now using some sort of “alternative legal service provider,” moving away from the classic model where a firm guides every aspect of a legal matter. In today’s legal market, “consumers of legal services find themselves beneficiaries of a new and growing number of nontraditional service providers that are changing the way legal work is getting done....