Legal Solutions  Blog

“Why should I read this?” Every time a reader or potential client visits your blog, this is likely to be the first thing that goes through their mind.  You have to quickly convince them that your content is interesting and valuable. Fail to provide useful content and you’ll lose readers. How can you keep your audience? [...]

(Editor’s note: We have previously covered the Supreme Court’s ruling in  Bowman v. Monsanto Co . last week.  Here’s another view on the case.) To paraphrase “Jurassic Park,” that enduring classic of 1990s cinema, nature always finds a way . But apparently, so do agribusiness giants. Last Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that farmers could not use copies of Monsanto’s genetically engineered [...]

Many pre-law students who are facing a tough legal job market say they plan on pursuing a law degree, not to practice, but to get a competitive edge in the business world. Kaplan Test Prep surveyed more than 200 pre-law students who took a Kaplan LSAT prep course. Only 5 percent of those surveyed listed salary as [...]

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, documents released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and various U.S. Attorneys’ offices paint a confused picture regarding the current state of electronic mail privacy.  The documents indicate that the FBI takes the position that it can review electronic communications, including [...]

Did you know that in 2012 over 300,000 cases were added to WestlawNext™? The law is ever-evolving. The status of the cases you cited in your pleadings may have changed over the course of litigation. You have to be confident that you are relying on the strongest precedent to make effective arguments. On WestlawNext, KeyCite® [...]

115 Damages 115III Grounds and Subjects of Compensatory Damages 115III(A) Direct or Remote, Contingent, or Prospective Consequences or Losses 115III(A)2 Mental Suffering and Emotional Distress 115k57.19 Intentional or Reckless Infliction of Emotional Distress; Outrage 115k57.25 Particular Cases 115k57.25(1) k. In General. Restaurant’s denial of entry to customer’s untrained service puppy was not extreme or outrageous conduct under California law, as would be intentional [...]

This series of blogs  gives the reader a perspective on the rights, duties, and responsibilities of employers and employees with respect to digital sexual harassment in the workplace. Part Three. Judicial Response to privacy in the workplace  In this installment on preventing sexual harassment, I will look at the judicial response to privacy in the workplace and the [...]

In our “Today in Legal History” series, we cover a wide variety of historical legal events. Some, such as last week’s Nix v. Hedden Supreme Court case ruling that tomatoes are vegetables, not fruits, are somewhat amusing. Others, such as  March’s Minor v. Happersett Supreme Court case ruling that women have no constitutional right to vote (before the ratification of the [...]

92 Constitutional Law 92XVIII Freedom of Speech, Expression, and Press 92XVIII(Q) Education 92XVIII(Q)2 Post-Secondary Institutions 92k2006 Access to Facilities and Other Public Places; Public Forum Issues 92k2008 k. Outside Persons or Organizations. Photographer had no First Amendment right to access to graduation ceremonies at state universities, for commercial purpose of taking photographs of graduates and later soliciting sale of such photographs, although [...]

Standard form commercial General Liability policies now include coverage for “injury … arising out of … ral, written or electronic publication of material that slanders or libels a person or organization or disparages a person’s or organization’s goods, products or services” In recent years, courts have struggled with the question what must be alleged to trigger [...]

Paid search advertising, or pay-per-click (PPC), can help your firm target a specific audience or quickly boost visibility in a unique niche. PPC involves bidding, buying and creating ads that match specific keywords or phrases. When Web users search for a word or phrase you’ve purchased, your ad appears in a special section adjacent to the [...]

If you own an iPhone 4, and it’s older than 18 months in age, chances are that your phone’s power button has stopped working, at least according to a new class action lawsuit. The suit , filed last Friday, claims that the iPhone 4 suffers (and has always suffered) from a latent defect in a flex cable that [...]

230 Jury 230V Competency of Jurors, Challenges, and Objections 230k124 Challenges for Cause 230k131 Examination of Juror 230k131(8) k. Personal Opinions and Conscientious Scruples. In prosecution for being a felon in possession of a firearm, court’s use during voir dire of term “gangsta rap” was not improper; defendant introduced topic into case by mentioning to arresting officer that danger was inherent [...]

Westlaw Topical Highlights for Labor and Employment provides summaries of significant federal and state judicial decisions and legislative and administrative activities affecting labor and employment law.  A Westlaw subscription is required to access the documents linked from this page. 1. Hours and Wages: Paid time off was equivalent to “vacation leave” under Wage Payment and Collection Act.  Fisher v. PayFlex [...]

The new Westlaw Journals blog brings you litigation headlines in over 30 substantive areas of law. Here are some highlights from the past week: Toyota MDL plaintiffs seek approval of $1.6 billion settlement : Plaintiffs who claim that sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota cars and trucks ruined the value of their vehicles have asked a federal judge in Los [...]

Last week , I described two different categories of methods for getting your information out to potential clients: referral and non-referral. “Non-referral” is when a client finds your information on his or her own through some publicly accessible medium (Internet, phonebook, advertisement, etc). “Referral” is just that: someone with whom you’ve had previous dealings gives your name [...]

348 Seamen 348k10 k. Provisions and Supplies. The slop chest statute, although intended primarily for convenience of seamen and for replacement in emergency situations of articles of clothing, is to be reasonably applied, and Congress did not intend by the statute that a merchant ship should be required to carry a large assortment of articles of clothing sufficient [...]

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling on the “first sale” doctrine. “First sale” is a principle of copyright law that allows the end user to sell or otherwise dispose of a legally purchased copyrighted work without permission from the copyright owner. The case,  Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons , involved a consumer (Supap Kirtsaeng) [...]

As a party selected mediator and court appointed e-discovery neutral, special master, and forensic expert, I have had the fortunate opportunity over the course of the past several years to be involved in many matters in federal and state court. Recently, a light bulb went off: the benefits of e-discovery mediation should be considered by a [...]