Mediate.com - where I published my first article on mediation - was kind enough to publish an interview with me about my mediation career and blogging experience today. Below an excerpt and at the link, more than you ever wanted to know about my legal and ADR career. [By mediating,]I regained everything I'd ever loved – people, story, drama, recovery – yet was allowed to retain the intellectual puzzle, strategic problem-solving job I'd enjoyed so much. It was like the farmer says at the county fair – he uses “every part of the pig except the…
Selected by vpynchon
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Settle It Now Negotiation Blog
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Featured Blogger Interview at Mediate.com
8 Feb 2010 | 1:46 pm -
Negotiating Book Sales: Choosing the Best Cover
31 Jan 2010 | 6:55 pmUPDATE: Thanks to the many great comments I’ve gotten here, at LinkedIn, on the book's Facebook Fan Page, and on the book's website I’ve shifted my focus from trying to depict the Asshole on the cover to depicting the Asshole’s victim/s. Along those lines, I’m considering using an image somewhat like this cartoon by the great legal cartoonist, Charles Fincher of LawComix. I might even ask Charles if I can use this very cartoon. What do you think? With Charles’ hilarious caption above and as the cover of the book below. More after the jump. -
Motion to Compel Lunch: Granted
29 Jan 2010 | 1:13 pmThanks to Roger Wood at the Association Law and Other Musings Blog for passing along the Order for Lunch issued by the Maricopa County Superior Court (.pdf) excerpted below. Roger generously shared this truly glorious Order (and supporting opinion that you can read in the .pdf) over at Construction Law Musings today in response to my Guest Post there ("How to Get Sued"). Thanks Roger! This didn't just make my day; it made my year! Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Acceptance of Lunch Invitation The Court has rarely seen a motion with more… -
Negotiating Fallacy: Diane Levin's Brilliant Fallacious Arguments Posts
26 Jan 2010 | 9:17 amIf you're following this blog but not Diane Levin's Blog The Mediation Channel, I have good news for you. Diane is an extremely focused, disciplined and lively writer. She's also one of the brightest and most canny negotiators, mediators and negotiation trainers I know. Diane describes her series, Fallacious Argument of the Month, as follows: With the goal of promoting clearheaded and reasoned debate and improving discourse, each month I skewer a different fallacy. Before giving you entree to this excellent series, let me first note that these arguments do not justify any… -
"Man" Up to Negotiate or Prevent Your Own Disputes at Sleeping Beauty's Castle
21 Jan 2010 | 11:35 amConflict is in the house. The evil fairy surrounded the castle with deadly thorns. The "good" fairy put everyone in the castle to sleep. Will you be the valiant Prince in your own dispute story? Or are you the prize? The beautiful one who would prefer to remain unconscious rather than address the great battle between good and evil represented here? Did you hire a lawyer to resolve your dispute for you? Will he make it to the castle in time? Or will he spend the bulk of his energy erecting more obstacles to prevent your adversary from…
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Legal Blog Watch
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Experian Hit With Lawsuit Over Baggage That Comes With 'Free' Credit Report
9 Feb 2010 | 8:45 amFrom my "about damn time" file comes this report from the Huffington Post about a new lawsuit filed against credit-reporting agency Experian over advertisements for its FreeCreditReport.com service. The plaintiff, a college student named Erica Possin, had seen the catchy ads for FreeCreditReport.com and used it to check her credit before buying a new car. She received her "free" credit report but, just like me, also failed to notice that this "free" report came with a $14.95 monthly credit monitoring service. Also just like me, Possin noticed a few months later… -
New Model Jury Instruction Takes Aim at Twittering Jurors
9 Feb 2010 | 7:21 amAfter fifty 'leven recent examples of trials being upended by jurors improperly using their cell phones, computers, Twitter or other communications technologies during jury service, a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States has had enough. The Blog of the Legal Times' Marcia Coyle reports in this post that the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management has endorsed a set of model jury instructions for district judges to help deter jurors from engaging in such mischief. In a memorandum to district court judges, Judge Julie Robinson, the committee chair, wrote that… -
Take the Grizzlies Plus the Points and, um, Vote for Me!
8 Feb 2010 | 1:59 pmEvery year, in the days leading up to the Super Bowl (that's right, I called it the Super Bowl, what are you gonna do, NFL?), mainstream media outlets run stories on the various and sundry prop (that's gambler lingo for "proposition") bets available to the public. See, for example, this slideshow from Forbes and the accompanying story. As that story notes, only a fraction of the wagers that are placed each year -- from the ho-hum "Which team is going to win the game?" to the marginally relevant but nevertheless popular "What color Gatorade will be dumped on the… -
The 'Virtual Law Firm' That Can Rid You of Your Pesky Spouse in 20 Minutes
8 Feb 2010 | 1:26 pmThe confluence of law and technology is a topic of constant interest among attorneys, discussed in one form or another at almost every large professional gathering. At the ABA's 2010 Midyear Meeting, held Friday in Orlando -- because what could be more fun than a bunch of lawyers running around the Magic Kingdom? -- the Commission on Ethics 20/20 held a roundtable discussion at which Richard Granat, founder and CEO of DirectLaw, delivered a presentation (PDF) focusing on how professional responsibility rules can deter technological innovation in the delivery of legal services. DirectLaw, from… -
Want to Exercise Your 'Air Rights?' What's the Safe Word?
8 Feb 2010 | 12:48 pmWho knew that, on my first day, I would be presented with the opportunity to, once and for all, dispel the myth that property and land use law is, by definition, imbued with Ambien-like, slumber-inducing characteristics? Professor Ngai Pindell, of the UNLV School of Law (apparently thriving in its 11th year of operation; what were the odds?), ran a brief post on the Land Use Prof Blog about a gentleman by the name of British "Lucky" Paul who so incensed his suburban Maryland neighbors that they felt they had no choice but to call in the big guns. Specifically, the Montgomery County…
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Blawg Review
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The Art of Blawg Review
8 Feb 2010 | 11:11 amThe Trial Warrior Blog hosts of Blawg Review #250. Antonin Pribetic is well-regarded for strategic blogging about trial advocacy and international litigation and arbitration. A litigator, he draws inspiration from Sun Tzu and the Art of War, as does his blawg.Photo Credit: 663highland Wikipedia licensed Creative CommonsThis week's presentation of Blawg Review is artfully produced with a theme based on the seven Bushido virtues: rectitude, courage, benevolence respect, honesty, honor, and loyalty. -
Blawg Review of the Year
2 Feb 2010 | 11:25 amThose who took the time and made the effort to nominate their personal recommendations for Blawg Review of the Year 2009 know how daunting a task it is to single out a half dozen outstanding presentations of Blawg Review in 2009. Much more challenging it is, believe me, to recognize only one that is exemplary, from amongst the many deserving presentations of Blawg Review last year. After much consideration, that determination has been made.Blawg Review of the Year 2009 is Kevin A. Thompson's presentation of Blawg Review #213 at Cyberlaw Central. Kevin Thompson, at Davis McGrath LLC in… -
Social Media 4 Social Justice
1 Feb 2010 | 8:44 amAs seen on Twitter:Blawg Review #249 is live on @slaw_dot_ca http://bit.ly/bZeXOB Black History Month, National Freedom Day, National Slavery Prevention MonthIf you're wondering what's the point of blogs and other social media, in the context of the legal profession's greater concerns, take a look at this week's presentation of Blawg Review, on Slaw.ca, a Canadian law blog with a global perspective. -
Canadian Law Blogs, eh?
27 Jan 2010 | 1:35 pmWe've been criticized in the past for not featuring many of the great Canadian law blogs. In our defense, we have always encouraged Canadian law bloggers to host Blawg Review but, frankly, only the very bravest among them have taken up the challenge.#57 Lawyerlike#105 Connie Crosby#207 Law21#228 Law is CoolOthers?With the Winter Olympics arriving in Canada in February 2010, it's not surprising that crazy Canucks are coming to Blawg Review now, eager as beavers with a renewed sense of national pride -- with glowing hearts, as it were.Feb 1 Slaw.caFeb 8 The Trial Warrior BlogFeb 15 Canadian… -
Robert Burns Blawg Review
24 Jan 2010 | 6:54 pmWith perfect disgust, a haggis-eating Scots Law Student hosts this week's Blawg Review #248 on Robert Burns Day. If it's not Scottish, it's crap!
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Mediation Channel
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Change blindness: testing our powers of observation
4 Feb 2010 | 5:22 amIt’s happened at some point to anyone who drives a motor vehicle. You inch slowly into the intersection, cautiously looking in all directions to make sure that the right of way is clear. Convinced that you can now safely make your turn, you pull forward. Suddenly, out of nowhere, its horn blaring, appears a car, swerving to avoid you. In a panic, your heart pounding loudly in your ears, you slam on your brakes, wondering how in the world you could have missed that car. The subject of numerous studies, including research done by the Visual Cognition Lab of the University of Illinois,… -
Rethinking social media: the worth of trust in online business networking
4 Feb 2010 | 4:43 amIn the February 2010 issue of Harper’s Magazine is an essay entitled “The Serfdom of Crowds”, excerpted from You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, the latest book by computer scientist, web guru, and author Jaron Lanier. You Are Not a Gadget serves as a bracing rebuttal to the loud hallelujah chorus of praise for all things internet-related. Of social networking Lanier writes, An individual who is receiving a flow of reports about the romantic status of a group of friends must learn to think in terms of the flow if it is to be perceived as worth reading at all. Am I accusing all… -
Beware of the app: a warning to ADR bloggers and their readers on Facebook
4 Feb 2010 | 1:27 amNumerous news articles and blog posts have commented on the dark side of Facebook – its disregard for users’ privacy, the opportunities it affords for cyberbullying, and its vulnerability to spam, phishing exploits and malware. I’d like to alert my readers, particularly those of you who blog, about a Facebook trap to avoid. I regularly check search engines for mention of me or my blog, something that all of us should do routinely, not as an exercise in egotism but as good business sense, as my colleague Tammy Lenski has written. During a search yesterday on Google I learned that… -
Right before your eyes: on cognitive fluency, graphical literacy, and illusion
31 Jan 2010 | 1:10 pmOptical illusions make ideal teaching tools in negotiation and conflict resolution training. They serve as humbling reminders of the unreliability of our senses and the conclusions we draw from the data we perceive. One of my favorite illusions is “Shepard’s Turning the Tables“, which you can view at the web site of Professor Michael Bach of Universitäts-Augenklinik, Freiburg, Germany. This illusion depicts two tables standing near each other. The tables appear to be of different sizes, one apparently longer and narrower than the other. When you click “Run”, one… -
Does law lag behind science? Psychologists question Supreme Court campaign finance decision
31 Jan 2010 | 11:37 amIn yesterday’s mail, among the bills, bank statements, and catalogs, I found a solicitation from a non-profit. The package it arrived in declared in bold red letters that my “signature is needed” (not to mention, no doubt, my cash) for a petition to halt some objectionable political action. Visible through the plastic wrapper was a pen, their gift to me. No doubt you’ve received similar solicitations from other organizations. In the past they’ve sent me (and occasionally my dog) shiny nickels; return address labels; and (my personal favorite) a world map. Those who create…
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Brains On Purpose™
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I will be away for several days
4 Feb 2010 | 10:30 amI'm looking forward to writing more posts when I return. -
Learning and the Brain: Some conferences for all of us who are teachers and learners
2 Feb 2010 | 9:35 amConflict resolution is about learning. From Learn, baby, learn: Resources to help facilitate brain learning and mind changing: Resolving conflict typically requires our learning much, including the parties' positions, interests, and stories. Growing as a conflict professional requires that we be learning about ourselves, too, both in the room and away from sessions. We are not the only ones who... -
Neurososcience "evolved from an interdisciplinary specialty to a full fledged scholarly discipline"
28 Jan 2010 | 11:12 amUsing new methods of analysis, researchers have tracked 10 years of neuroscience. One member of the team was quoted in a release. "We wanted to map changes in science over the past decade. To do so, we started with more than 35 million citations between the articles in over 7000 scientific journals. This network of citations represents the flow of... -
Brain talk: How to talk with your clients about neuroscience
26 Jan 2010 | 4:22 pmLast November, I posted a poll in a post titled Do you tell your clients about neuroscience? A quick poll. I appreciate the time and thought taken by those who responded. The first question I asked was How much information do you typically share with your clients about neuroscience? 1=Not Much, 5=Everything I Know The responses: 1 - 5.6% 2... -
Our hidden brain: How much of an influence does it have on our decisions?
26 Jan 2010 | 3:07 pmFor those of you always happy to learn more about the decision-making process (isn't that true of all conflict professionals?), here's a new book for you: The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives. Right now you can click to listen to an NPR interview of the author Shankar Vedantam; it...
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Charon QC
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Law Review: Criminals in uniform and Cameron’s latest stunt to let people govern by petition while pissed up on a Friday night.
8 Feb 2010 | 11:54 pmAfter years of difficulties with Dizaei, he was finally ‘nailed and jailed’ yesterday for abusing his police powers. Described by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson as a ‘criminal in uniform’ The Sun comforts us all be reporting the words of Mark Leech, the editor of prisoner’s magazine Converse, “”Dizaei has finally been nailed and jailed. His sentence is destined to be slow, long and dangerous.” The Sun reports: ” During Iranian-born Dizaei’s 24-year police career – 12 of them at the Met – he had… -
Brown to attend summit on Greek debt position
8 Feb 2010 | 7:45 am -
Law Review: The Grievemeister of Spin, glass ceiling yet again, hidden daggers and a trip to the law blogs
7 Feb 2010 | 10:11 pmFresh from supporting the ‘Kill a burglar’ wheeze conjured up by Chris Grayling and David Cameron last week - Dominic Grieve, Shadow Overlord on Everything to do with Law, has a new plan to grab votes from the outraged classes of Britain who want prisons to be stripped of swimming pools, televisions, soft beds blah blah blah. The latest plan, reported this morning in The Times – Every defendant convicted in a criminal court would have to pay a levy of £200. On the face of it, this seems a vaguely sane and sensible idea to contribute to the costs of bringing… -
Postcard from The Staterooms-on-Thames, Battersea, London
7 Feb 2010 | 6:20 amDear Reader, I write from The Staterooms-on-Thames, Battersea – a curious place overlooking Chelsea Marina and close to Battersea Bridge. I can’t quite see the boat I used to live on at Cheyne Walk beside Battersea Bridge. It is a short walk to World’s End, Chelsea for coffee, breakfast and a read of the papers. I plan to live here for a year and then… who knows? I’ve brought some of my paintings and some furniture with me and I thought I would take a few pics on my mobile to show the main room where I drink and work – sometimes at the same time. -
Clerics call to bring god back into government!
6 Feb 2010 | 3:20 amA senior Church of England bishop has condemned the Labour Government for forcing God out of politics. Times: The Bishop of Durham, Dr Tom Wright, the fourth-most-senior in the church hierarchy, warned that the British public had been left to “lurch in a sea of amoralism”. The Prime Minister had become akin to an “absolute monarch” with little or no accountability, he added. While I tend to favour reading the tabloids first on a Saturday (I do like to keep up with the tabloids and their pre-occupations) I woke this morning, after an amusing night, at 6.00 am to read an article in The…
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idealawg
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I will be away for a week
3 Feb 2010 | 6:41 pmAnd I look forward to blogging again upon my return. Here's wishing you a good week! -
Blog Glob: "UMass wins approval for public law school"
3 Feb 2010 | 8:34 amExcerpt:BRIDGEWATER - The state Board of Higher Education cleared the way yesterday for the University of Massachusetts to open the state’s first public law school, endorsing the idea of affordable law degrees and more students choosing public-service careers.UMass, which overcame an acrimonious challenge from three private law schools and Beacon Hill detractors, wasted no time launching a recruitment drive: signs advertising the new law school were hung, a website seeking applicants went up, and 100 blue-and-gold baseball caps emblazoned with the school’s name were distributed.“We’ve… -
Embodied cognition: Your body's processing (Be careful about what you and your body hear)
2 Feb 2010 | 9:01 amEmbodied cognition has recently been enjoying much attention. Now The New York Times has just published an article on the topic, so it has definitely entered the mainstream of thought. I bet we will be hearing a lot more about embodied cognition—and that, as typically happens when research enters the mainstream, assertions will be made beyond what the research supports. Practice caution with what you hear and read.From "Abstract Thoughts? The Body Takes Them Literally":“How we process information is related not just to our brains but to our entire body,” said Nils B. Jostmann… -
Blog Glob: "Commentary: Half a case may be better than none"
2 Feb 2010 | 7:33 amExcerpt:For the legal profession, the impact of the current recession has been felt the most by the nation’s one million-plus lawyers who are sole practitioners or members of small firms.These lawyers are not at the top of the compensation scale to begin with. They generally work on what’s called “the consumer side” of law, representing individual clients and small businesses in personal injury, family, criminal defense and personal debtor cases that tend to pay less. In tough times, many such practitioners have experienced a reduction in the number of clients they serve. And,… -
Increasing use of dogs in courtrooms
1 Feb 2010 | 9:32 amThe presence of dogs is growing in US courtrooms. From "Using training and lovability, Amos the dog calms kids in court" (Free Press - Michigan):The idea of using dogs to ease courtroom tensions is not new and is gaining popularity across the country. Courthousedogs.com began in Seattle when an assistant prosecutor in King County, took her disabled son's service dog to work one day a week and discovered that the dog had a profoundly calming effect on young witnesses. Now that county, and others in Texas, Georgia, Montana, Florida and Maryland have dogs working courtrooms.There…
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Balkinization
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The Problem is the Senate, not the filibuster per se
9 Feb 2010 | 6:44 amBen Eidelson has a posting on Slate noting that filibusters are not necessarily "undemocratic" if by "undemocratic" one means (plausibly enough) thwarting the will of a national majority as measured by the number of constituents represented by the filibustering senators. Indeed, he notes that of the 63 successful filibusters conducted by Democrats between 1991-2008, a full 97% were by senators representing a national majority (an average of 59%). Only 36% of Republican filibusters met that condition (average of 50% of the population). The reason for this anomaly, of course, is the… -
The Invisibility of Whiteness
8 Feb 2010 | 1:02 pmThe great thing about being white in America is that, unlike non-whites, whites don't have a race. Whites are just...normal. It would never occur to anyone to suggest that we need to cap the number of white students on college campuses. The very idea is an outrage, absurd, unthinkable. So why this practice? [1,623 is] the average [SAT] score of Asian-Americans, a group that Daniel Golden - editor at large of Bloomberg News and author of “The Price of Admission’’ - has labeled “The New Jews.’’ After all, much like Jews a century ago, Asian-Americans tend to earn good grades and… -
Is Harry Reid The Enabler of Bullies and Extortionists?
7 Feb 2010 | 2:07 pmMy previous post condemned Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) as a "thug" and an "extortionist," a view I have not changed one whit, save that I have been persuaded by a correspondent that "thug," with its connotations of violence, is a less fitting word than "bully," so I have changed the title accordingly and am changing all uses of the word "thug" and its variants to "bully" and its variants. (Interestingly enough, no one has, to my knowledge, actually defended Shelby, including the conservatives who regularly comment on Balkinization postings.) But, of course, Sen. Shelby would not able to… -
Richard Shelby, an extortionate bully
5 Feb 2010 | 1:14 pmNOTE: PLEASE SEE THE POSTING ABOVE EXPLAINING THE SHIFT FROM "THUG" TO "BULLY" IN THE TITLE LINE AND THE REWRITTEN SENTENCE TWO BELOW.I apologized to Ben Nelson and even, kind of, to Joe Lieberman, for earlier referring them (in a post that I then deleted) as "thugs." "Thug," with its connotation of a willingness to use violence, may be too extreme, but certainly the word "bully" is appropriate for Richard Shelby, who, as Jack (and the Washington Post) described below, is holding up the Senate in order to gain what Chicago-types call "rents" from the national government, i.e., a presumptively… -
Senator Shelby and the Emerging Constitutional Crisis of our Time
5 Feb 2010 | 9:37 amSenator Richard Shelby a Republican Senator from Alabama, has secretly put a hold on all executive branch nominations by the Obama Administration. He wants earmarks for some pet projects in his home state. The hold is secret no more, since Shelby's identity has been leaked to the press, and Shelby himself has come forward with a statement defending his decision to place an unspecified number of holds on President Obama's nominees, and, in effect blaming President Obama for making him do it.Apparently a blanket hold of this sort has never been attempted before, but in effect all Shelby has…
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Law Blog--Wall Street Journal
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We Know About Cornell, But What about Vandy, GULC, Duke, Etc?
9 Feb 2010 | 11:37 amWe’ve already pretty firmly established how Cornell Law School is like Lady Gaga. But for anyone perhaps searching for another pop-culture based metaphor to describe the situation, we bring you this one: The Cornell admissions situation is like Lost: The harder we scrutinize it, the more confused we get. Our readers put forth a host of possible explanations for why applications to Cornell Law are up over 50 percent from last year. Many of them make sense: its admissions standards have historically been slightly less rigorous than others in the so-called T14; more on the high end of the… -
Catchy Tunes, But Is the Service Bogus?
9 Feb 2010 | 9:33 amYou know the ads. This twenty-something hipster dude with a guitar singing about his financial troubles. In one ad, he’s working at a seafood restaurant and is dressed as a pirate. In another, his troubles force him to live with a skinhead named Fang “in a soggy cardboard box.” Had our sadsack troubadour only checked his credit via Experian’s FreeCreditReport.com, the commercials say, he could have avoided his woe. But, according to a lawsuit recently filed by a Wisconsin woman, had the singing pirate actually done as he says he wished he had, he might have wound up an… -
How Health Care Reform Setback Might Benefit BigLaw
9 Feb 2010 | 7:29 amIt’s an interesting, and often underexposed component of BigLaw practice — lobbying. And given the popularity nationwide of lobbyists and their oft-derided “special interests,” it’s not entirely surprising that firms with sizable D.C. offices don’t do more to publicize this niche. That said, the practice isn’t faring all that badly. Much as the stock markets loathe uncertainty, lobbyists love it. And that’s why folks are speculating that the recent election of Scott Brown to the Senate in Massachusetts could boost the revenues of law firms. -
In Airgas, Air Products Smackdown, Cravath Hit With Shrapnel
9 Feb 2010 | 6:32 amLawyers working on thorny M&A battles are supposed to work their magic from outside the limelight. They help make the story that ends up on the front pages, but they don’t become part of it. But that’s not entirely what’s happening in the current battle between Air Products and Airgas. The companies themselves, locked in a tense takeover standoff, are still grabbing top billing. But lawyers at Cravath, Swaine & Moore are increasingly seeing their names in print in ways that aren’t entirely flattering. For now, a quick recap’s in order, with a little… -
Doctor for King of Pop Hit With Involuntary Manslaughter Charge
9 Feb 2010 | 5:53 amWell, it sure took a while. But in a move that had long been rumored, discussed and debated; debated, discussed and rumored, the Los Angeles district attorney finally took action against Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Conrad Murray (pictured). Prosecutors on Monday charged Murray with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the King of Pop’s death in June. Click here for the WSJ story; here for the NYT story; here for the LAT story. In charging Murray with a single criminal count, which carries a maximum four-year prison sentence, prosecutors alleged that the physician…
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Overlawyered
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New federal push to force local schools to ban sweets
9 Feb 2010 | 8:22 amThe feds apparently expect their newest incursion into local school autonomy to go as easily as taking candy from a baby, which always was a puzzling figure of speech [New York Times] Tags: obesity, schools Related posts September 15 roundup (3) November 10 roundup (2) New York City cracks down on bake sales in schools (4) A career of suing foodmakers (1) Zero Tolerance Blog (1) -
“We need a Commander in Chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern.”
9 Feb 2010 | 8:13 amLaw professor Ann Althouse reacts to a Sarah Palin-ism. Tags: Barack Obama, Sarah Palin Related posts White House race roundup (8) September 11 roundup (4) McCain and Palin guilty of “criminal incitement”? (10) In which I get called “Thought Police” (17) Yes, I’m being facetious (16) -
“Man Sues for Extra Time on LSAT, Claiming ADHD”
9 Feb 2010 | 7:03 am“A prospective law school student who alleges he has a disability filed a suit in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas, seeking a court order to force the Law School Admissions Council to provide him with accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act for the Law School Admissions Test.” [Texas Lawyer via ABA Journal] Tags: disability & schools, law schools, testing, Texas Related posts U.K. medical student: multiple-choice exams unfair to disabled (8) “Suing to Get More Time on Exams” (14) Where eagles fear to litigate (0) When sending… -
“How the Plaintiffs Bar Bought the Senate”
9 Feb 2010 | 4:19 amMy Manhattan Institute colleague Jim Copland has an op-ed today in the WSJ explaining how current campaign finance rules magnify the influence of trial lawyers, as through the favored status of “bundling”. Excerpt: Over the current six-year senatorial election cycle, four of the top seven donors to the campaign committee and leadership PAC of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) were plaintiffs firms. Plaintiffs firms were the top two donors to Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D., Ill.). The first piece of legislation signed by President Obama—the Lilly Ledbetter Fair… -
A 70 year post-mortem right of publicity?
8 Feb 2010 | 9:22 pmUnder a proposed bill in the New York legislature, the owners of (say) Marilyn Monroe’s estate would be entitled to prevent the use of her persona in advertising for many years to come. [Trademark Blog] Tags: New York, right of publicity Related posts Update: Indian sovereignty advances (0) Update: court dismisses Kremen v. Morelli (0) Sued wrong party, wrist duly slapped (0) September 24 roundup (2) Requiring family social workers to report animal abuse (20)
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Concurring Opinions
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Tale of Two CEOs
9 Feb 2010 | 6:50 amAs I mentioned in a previous post, Bank of America and some of its current and former executives, including its former CEO Ken Lewis, are facing tough times. The executives were named as defendants in a scathing complaint filed last week by New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, relating to Bank of America’s 2008 acquisition of Merrill Lynch. And yesterday, Judge Rakoff suggested that he might not approve Bank of America’s latest $150 million deal with the SEC to settle allegations of fraud and misconduct in connection with the Merrill Lynch acquisition. Judge Rakoff expressed his views… -
8 Feb 2010 | 8:29 pm
8 Feb 2010 | 8:29 pmWhatever happened to Henry Simons? (fp) -
Very scary poll results
8 Feb 2010 | 11:02 amWow — that’s some very scary poll results (kw) -
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Rewards
8 Feb 2010 | 9:22 amIn my last post I explained that the state sometimes offers money or status (a reward) to regulate behavior instead of imposing sanctions or granting property rights. Now let me explain the pros and cons of this approach. On the positive side, a reward is almost always less intrusive than sanctions. The best example is the difference between the draft (or any compulsory labor) and the volunteer military. While in that case offering inducements is the more expensive option, in many instances rewards are also a cheaper form of regulation because their enforcement costs are insignificant… -
Author poll: Spring target dates
7 Feb 2010 | 10:33 pmWe’ve asked editors to give us some information about their submissions windows. I thought it might be useful to check with authors as well. If you’re planning on sending out your masterwork this spring (and aren’t we all?), what is your target date for submitting it? Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
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Robert Ambrogi's LawSites
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Survey: Media Access to Mass. Courts
8 Feb 2010 | 8:25 amThe Judiciary/Media Committee of the Supreme Judicial Court is considering revisions to the Guidelines on the Public's Right of Access to Judicial Proceedings and Records. In order to evaluate whether the guidelines should be amended or expanded and what other initiatives the committee might wish to pursue, the committee is asking members of the news media to complete a survey on media access to the courts.As a member of the Judiciary/Media Committee and in my capacity as executive director of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, I am helping to disseminate the survey and… -
Interview with Rocket Matter Founders
5 Feb 2010 | 5:39 amDuring LegalTech, I recorded this conversation with the founders of Rocket Matter, Larry Port and Ariel Jatib. Rocket Matter is a Web-based practice management and time-and-billing application. They talk about their product, the cloud, social media and the cow in their office. Lots of background noise, and Ariel is softer than Larry, but listenable. Listen to or download the MP3 file: rocketmatterinterview.mp3. -
Update on Errant iPhone Evidence App
4 Feb 2010 | 2:53 pmLast week here, I reported on an iPhone evidence app that was missing one of the federal rules. The company that created the app, Tekk Innovations, contacted me to say that it has now updated the app's description to say, "Current as of December 1, 2007." That may not be enough to alert everyone that it is missing a rule, but it is a step in the right direction.The company also said that it has another app, Lawstack, that it describes as its "flagship legal app." Lawstack has all the federal rules update through December 2009, it said. It includes the Constitution and the federal rules of… -
Thomson Reuters Acquires Super Lawyers
2 Feb 2010 | 2:20 pmIn a move that underscores the increasing importance of lawyer ratings and reviews in helping consumers select a lawyer, Thomson Reuters announced today that it has acquired the Super Lawyers, the suite of attorney-rating publications and Web site created by Key Professional Media, based in Minneapolis, Minn.Super Lawyers creates and distributes an annual listing of outstanding U.S. lawyers by state and practice area, reaching 11 million consumers via inserts in leading city and regional magazines, as well as online. Super Lawyers will be part of the Thomson Reuters, Legal, Business of Law… -
Screen Caps of Lexis Office Integration
1 Feb 2010 | 5:34 am
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Above the Law
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Update: Heller Ehrman Art Auction Exceeds Expectations
9 Feb 2010 | 11:38 amAs we previously reported, a sizable portion of the art collection of defunct law firm Heller Ehrman was sold at auction yesterday. The auction took place at Bonhams in San Francisco, before a standing-room-only crowd. We submitted absentee bids on the following: lot 1, Pale Orange Begonia (we bid $500; it sold for $1,159); lot 2, Glass of Water (we bid $500; it sold for $671); lot 99, Lover of Time (we bid $800; it sold for $1,830); lot 210, Bonsai and Bicycle (we bid $1,000; it sold for $4,575); and lot 290, Return of the Rice Cooker (we bid $2,000; it sold for $5,185). All of the items we… -
Presented By:
9 Feb 2010 | 11:38 am -
Dear In-House Counsel for Macy's: Buy a Shredder. HTH.
9 Feb 2010 | 10:25 amIn October, we mentioned that the giant department store, Macy's, was having some trouble disposing of its sensitive documents. Reports surfaced that internal documents, some of which included the Social Security numbers of Macy's customers, were being disposed of on the streets of St. Louis, in lidless containers. Now, months after the initial, embarrassing incident, Macy's is doing it again. Missouri Lawyers Weekly reports (subscription): Sensitive Macy's records have again been littering the sidewalks of downtown St. Louis. The records, meant for disposal, included shoppers' Social… -
Northwestern's Gender Neutral -- Possibly Hermaphroditic -- Barrister 'Rulers'
9 Feb 2010 | 9:10 amA few months back, the Student Bar Association at Northwestern University School of Law got its panties in a bunch over inappropriate language and the "unthinking use of stereotypes." Saying that you were "raped" by an exam, for example, was offensive to some on campus, said the SBA. (They preferred that Northwestern students engage only in consensual test-taking.) At the time, we asked: Is there an epidemic of vulgarity at Northwestern that the SBA is desperately trying to stop? Apparently so. The school is gearing up for its Barristers' Ball, and students are offended by language all over… -
Update: Philly Shooting Victim Continues To Recover
9 Feb 2010 | 8:11 amHere's some good news about Edward DiDonato, the Villanova lacrosse star and son of a Fox Rothschild partner, who was allegedly shot by Gerald Ung, a Temple University law student. From Lacrosse News: Former Villanova lacrosse captain Eddie DiDonato has cleared all serious life-threatening obstacles and has been taken off his ventilator following a ninth operation 17 days after being shot six times in an Old City altercation, according to his best friend. DiDonato, a La Salle College High graduate, remains in the Intensive Care Unit and according to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital…
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Lowering the Bar
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Common Sense Should Have Prevailed, Say Cops Who Arrested 12-Year-Old Doodler
9 Feb 2010 | 5:00 amBased on what we've seen so far," said Queens Education Department spokesman David Cantor, "this shouldn't have happened." He seemed to be leaving open the possibility that, when all the facts were in, he might take the position that leading a 12-year-old girl away in handcuffs for doodling on her desk at school had in fact been the right thing to do. On February 1, junior-high student Alexa Gonzalez wrote two sentences on her desk in erasable green marker, adding a smiley face, presumably to indicate a lotal lack of remorse for her heinous crime. Her teacher called the principal, the… -
Men at Work Didn't Do All Their Own Work, Judge Rules
7 Feb 2010 | 6:43 pmAn Australian judge has ruled that the group Men at Work plagiarized the flute riff in the song "Down Under" from a children's song written in 1932. The ruling means that the Men will have to pay royalties, although the amount has not been set and will apparently depend on the judge's evaluation of the role that the plagiarized material plays in the completed work. Larrikin Publishing has owned the rights to "Kookaburra Sits In the Old Gum Tree" since 1990, but apparently did not make the connection to "Down Under" until 2007, and then only because it came up on a game show. The company… -
Demon Sheep Still Focus of California GOP Primary
5 Feb 2010 | 9:24 amFaced with what is shaping up to be a marketing disaster of legendary proportions, the Fiorina campaign is furiously spinning the Demon Sheep ad as something that was deliberately planned to attract as much attention as possible. It has certainly done that. So does setting yourself on fire, but you know what? Not all publicity is good publicity. "[T]he Democrats are all out there attacking the video," a Fiorina spokesperson told the L.A. Times, "which is both predictable and fine by us since the more people talk about it, the more people watch it, which of course is the whole point." … -
Rat Planter Pleads No Contest to Extortion Charges
5 Feb 2010 | 8:30 amDebbie Miller pleaded no contest on Tuesday to charges stemming from a failed attempt to extort money from a Wisconsin restaurant by planting a dead rat in her lunch. The report did not say what kind of lunch Miller had, so it is not clear exactly how this genius-level scheme was designed to play out, but apparently she just plopped an entire rat into her lunch and then demanded $500,000 in compensation, saying that otherwise she would alert the media. How could such a plan have failed, you ask? The restaurant's owners kept the rat and turned it over to insurance investigators for… -
Campaign Ads That May Never Be Topped, Although I Hope People Continue to Try
4 Feb 2010 | 1:03 pmThe Huffington Post (among others) has been reporting lately on the fact that the off-year election season is in full swing and it appears that it will be perhaps the most ridiculous one yet. I know that's saying a lot. But the campaign ads so far are supporting that prediction. The first of this truly remarkable pair is an attack ad being run by the challenger in the race to be the next coroner of Orleans Parish, Louisiana. (Yes, there is a race to be the next coroner of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, and yes, coroner candidates now run attack ads.) The ad refers to a scandal in the 1990s…
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The Volokh Conspiracy
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Who’s to Blame for Nomination Bottleneck?
9 Feb 2010 | 7:49 amPresident Obama entered office with a nearly unprecedented opportunity to remake the federal courts, but he has yet to take advantage of it. The President has only made 38 judicial nominations, and the Senate has only confirmed 14. Who is to blame for the slow pace? It depends on who you ask — and when you ask them. (My own take can be found here and here.) Writing on December 31, University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias placed much of the blame on Republican obstruction, while excusing the Administration’s slow trickle of nominations and Senate majority’s focus on other… -
Jockeying Over the Next Nominee
9 Feb 2010 | 3:42 amThe WSJ’s Jess Bravin has an interesting article on a debate within Democratic circles over President Obama’s next Supreme Court pick. Democrats gearing up for a possible Supreme Court vacancy are divided over whether President Barack Obama should appoint a prominent liberal voice while their party still commands a large Senate majority, or go with someone less likely to stoke Republican opposition. One thing found interesting about the story was its characterization of various prospective nominees. Specifically, Bravin reports that the President’s lagging approval ratings could… -
Reid’s Reversal on Recess Appointments
9 Feb 2010 | 3:13 amThe Politico reports: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used to consider recess appointments “an end run around the Senate and the Constitution” — so much so that he kept the chamber open during breaks to prevent President George W. Bush from making any more of them. But with a Democrat in the White House, and Republicans blocking executive branch nominees, Reid and his allies are starting to sing a different tune. Reid said last week that he’s “tried hard” to avoid the need for President Barack Obama to make recess appointments, but he added: “What alternative do we have? . . . -
“Birther” claim about Obama and the Bush National Guard hoax: Fruit of the same poisonous tree?
8 Feb 2010 | 10:26 pmSo suggests John Avalon, in a Daily Beast column “The Secret History of the Birthers.” He traces birtherism to a Texas woman named Linda Starr, who was a Hillary Clinton delegate to the 2008 Texas state Democratic Convention. Avalon writes that Starr “was also cited as a key source for CBS’ discredited election year investigation into George W. Bush’s National Guard records that led to Dan Rather’s replacement after 24 years as the evening news anchor.” Avalon links to the Thornburgh/Boccardi report, which was conducted at the request of CBS News to examine CBS’s conduct in… -
Union Marching in Different European Directions
8 Feb 2010 | 8:30 pmThis is a very fast note on the question of European political economy raised in my last post. It’s not intended to be exhaustive, and yes, it is pretty conclusory. My impression over many years as an international law professor who bridges the public and private law divides; not a specialist in EU law but someone watching closely from the outside ... the movement toward ever closer union in the EU seemed to me always to have a double drive. On the one hand, the Erasmians — the true believers, the ones who thought you just marched toward political union because it was, well, what…
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BlawgIT
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The Latest Online Scams
2 Feb 2010 | 11:29 amNot Your Father’s Online Scam By now, everyone is familiar with the Nigerian scam. You receive an e-mail for an offer you cannot refuse. The sender alleges he or she is trustee of a large sum of unclaimed money. If you will agree to take the money into the United States, you will receive half the money (typically millions) for your trouble. After sending $200 for paperwork, $500 for bribes, $2000 for customs and $10,000 for lawyers you get the impression things are not quite as they seem. With so many pigeons now wise to the “419 grift,” online scammers are constantly… -
Top Ten African American Inventors
20 Jan 2010 | 2:08 pmBlack history month is just around the corner. Once again I have compiled a list of my top ten African-American inventors of all time. While no blog post could do these ten great inventors justice, I have included a brief synopsis of each inventor’s accomplishments along with a representative patent. Back in 1821, Thomas L. Jennings became the first African American to receive a patent. Since that time, black inventors have helped our country make great technological strides. Every year it becomes increasingly difficult to select only ten inventors from the thousands of choices. This… -
Monsanto wins first round in “nasty” patent fight with Pioneer
19 Jan 2010 | 12:01 pmThe Lawsuit Last year, Monsanto sued Iowa-based Pioneer and its parent company DuPont in federal court alleging among other things, patent infringement and breach of contract. In the lawsuit, Monsanto alleges Pioneer developed glyphosate (Roundup)-tolerant genetics called Optimum GAT. Monsanto asserts Pioneer abandoned trying to market seeds containing only Optimum GAT and began combining Optimum GAT to Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready seeds in a process called “stacking.” Smack Talk According to The AMLaw Litigation Daily, over the past year the dispute grew nasty, with… -
How Do I Patent My Idea?
13 Jan 2010 | 10:59 amWhat is a Patent? Patents are documents that protect inventions. Good patents describe the invention in broad terms, making it more difficult to design around the patent or challenge a claim of infringement. Good patents are hard to draft. If they are drafted too broadly, broadly enough to cover something that has already been invented, the patent is invalid. As you might imagine, patents are quite complex. Patents are so complicated and technical that ordinary attorneys are not even allowed to draft them. Patents are drafted by patent attorneys, who receive special training, have… -
SWAT: Sieze the Accomplishment
8 Jan 2010 | 3:22 pmAs the legal futurist Richard Susskind notes in The End of Lawyers?, “I cannot imagine according to what scale it is cooler to be, say, a project manager than a lawyer (with all due respect to project managers).” But when you get right down to it, the practice of law, like many other professions revolves around the management of projects. As we move forward, it will be those lawyers who thrive at project management who survive and those who fail at project management who perish. Timothy Johnson, author of GUST: The “Tale” Wind of Office Politics and Race Through the…
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Simple Justice
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The End Of The World (As We Know It)
9 Feb 2010 | 9:40 amIt came by way of a Request for Proposals from the City of New York. It sought proposals for not only the provision of indigent defense and ancillary services, but conflict counsel as well. It excluded homicide defense, and left unanswered the question of cases with more than two defendants, but it said enough. There would be no 18B attorney assigned to do arraignments. They would no longer be needed. Was this the end of 18B?For anyone who isn't a criminal defense lawyer within New York State, 18B refers to the County Law section that provides for private… -
ABA House of Delegates: Huh?
9 Feb 2010 | 4:10 amThe American Bar Association has never carried much weight amongst criminal defense lawyers. Few join, and I can't think of anyone who participate in the House of Delegates. I'm sure there are, but I just don't know who. Maybe they keep it to themselves to avoid embarrassing questions, like "why?", or "what the heck is the ABA doing?"The latter question popped into my head when I read the breaking news from the ABA Journal, that the House of Delegates, in full swing yesterday. announced 9 criminal justice resolutions. The ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates this morning… -
The Moral Frustration Of Charging A Fee
8 Feb 2010 | 4:20 amNorm Pattis describes well the inherent conflict that most private criminal defense lawyers feel when a person in need rings them up. The contrast between the law's soaring ideals and the more prosaic reality of paying the bills intersect at the moment the attorney-client relationship is formed. Yet in all the great and not so great fiction about lawyers and the law, fees are almost never discussed. . . Why the silence about fees?I suspect it has to do with a certain moral ambiguity. There is nothing edifying or easy about asking a person in trouble for money. The ideal of a lawyer as… -
International Criminal Court? No Time Soon
8 Feb 2010 | 3:30 amVia Opinio Juris, it appears that the Obama administration, trying its best to emulate his predecessor, is not inclined to join the international community when it comes to the International Criminal Court. Apparently, the Obama Administration has decided it will not seek ratification of the ICC Rome Statute. There is still no official policy, as far as I know, but this is the latest from Assistant Secretary of State for War Crimes Stephen Rapp. This is not exactly a surprise, but it shows just how far the U.S. is from the Rome Statute. If President Obama and his sort-of supermajority… -
Retaining The New York Legislature
8 Feb 2010 | 2:36 amFew New Yorkers realize that our state legislators are part-timers. If you're a populist, you might call them citizen-legislators. If you're a cynic, you might call them scoundrels. But the fact is that "part-time" assemblymen and senators in the State of New York have outside jobs, and since most of them are lawyers, most of the outside jobs are with law firms and involve representing clients. Some wags might suggest that their clients don't hire them for their mad lawyering skills.Following the embarrassing cases of former Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno and…
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What About Clients?
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This month's Inside Counsel: New Lawyers in Paradise.
9 Feb 2010 | 8:59 pmScrew the cite-check and pass the Cheetos. Why do things the hard way? It's not like lawyering is demanding. In February's edition of InsideCounsel magazine (formerly Corporate Legal Times), do see Associate Editor Lauren Williamson's cover piece, "Mind the Gap: Generation Y Attorneys Enter the Workplace". Whether you're 25 or 52, Williamson did a masterful job. But why are Boomer partners in the office for hours after the associates leave? Stealing stuff maybe. Wait, Shepard’s® does what? Dude, you're hosin' me. No way! -
Real heros: Catherine Deneuve
9 Feb 2010 | 8:31 pmGallic elegance. Catherine Deneuve is as strong, resilient and talented as she is beautiful. The only woman in the world who could make director François Truffaut completely and hopelessly lose it. She is smart, entrepreneurial and ageless. Add her to our Roman Pantheon. -
Rule 9
8 Feb 2010 | 9:34 pmLord Chief Justice Sir John ("Pompous") Popham, circa 1603 Lawyers aren't special. We're in a service business. We are not royalty. Get used to it. Rule 9: Be There for Clients 24/7. Returning telephone calls promptly and keeping your client "informed" is not client service. Color all that barely adequate. Get a new standard. -
America's Henry Miller
8 Feb 2010 | 12:08 pmMy people were entirely Nordic, which is to say they were idiots. Every wrong idea which has ever been expounded was theirs. Never once had they opened the door that leads to the soul; never once did they dream of taking a blind leap into the dark. --Henry Miller (1891–1980), Tropic of Capricorn (Grove Press, 1961) Even when writing about his own tribe of northern Europeans, he was funny, profound and painfully on target. Born in Manhattan and, interestingly, of German-Catholic parents, Henry Miller, novelist and painter, lived in Paris, Big Sur, Pacific Palisades, and many places in… -
Alternative Church
7 Feb 2010 | 2:33 pmThey don't know what love is. --R. Newman Welsh version:
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ABA Journal Daily News
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Appeals Court Tosses $2.1M Verdict in Judicial Appointment Dispute
9 Feb 2010 | 11:43 amA Missouri appeals court on Tuesday overturned a $2.1 million verdict that jurors had awarded a Northland lawyer who claimed she was unfairly bypassed for a judicial appointment. Lawyer Melissa Howard won the award in 2008 after a trial in which she argued the Kansas City Council acted improperly when it declined to select from a pool of finalists for a 2006 judicial vacancy and opted instead to seek a minority candidate for the job, the Kansas City Star reports. But the Western District Court of Appeals reversed the verdict and held in its 15-page opinion (PDF) that the trial… -
Shareholder Suit: Hef Nixed Playboy Deals to Keep Busty Blonds, Other Lifestyle Perks
9 Feb 2010 | 11:43 amStill enjoying his famous lifestyle in his early 80s, Hugh Hefner recently nixed two possible deals to purchase the Playboy magazine empire he founded because they would have interfered with his enjoyment of busty blonds and continuing life in the limelight, a shareholder suit alleges. Filed yesterday in Los Angeles Superior Court by David Brown, it seeks unspecified damages on behalf of a class of shareholders against Hefner, who remains the majority shareholder of Playboy Enterprises Inc., according to Bloomberg. The suit laments that the price of a share of Playboy common stock today is… -
Colo. Governor Wants State Supreme Court to Address Campaign Finance Law
9 Feb 2010 | 11:08 amColorado Gov. Bill Ritter announced plans to take a dispute over campaign finance laws directly to the state supreme court today. Ritter's chief legal counsel, Trey Rogers, told the Associated Press that the governor is asking the court to determine if state campaign finance laws are unconstitutional in light of the recent 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United. The high court's January ruling strikes down restrictions that had barred corporations from spending money from their general treasuries on campaign ads in the days before an election. The decision is at odds with… -
Woman Charged with Felony, Used Fake Craigslist Job Ad to Harass Ex-Boss, Cops Say
9 Feb 2010 | 10:43 amSeeking to harass a former boss, a 33-year-old Houston woman allegedly posted a fake job ad on Craigslist, sending a flood of calls to his office from would-be applicants. But Amanda Anderson created an even bigger problem for herself, according to Friendswood police. She has now been charged with a third-degree felony by the Galveston County District Attorney under a new state law that criminalizes such Internet harassment, reports Ultimate Clear Lake in a blog post reprinted in the Houston Chronicle. The post provides the relevant text of Texas Penal Code 33.07, which in part prohibits… -
Lawyers to Volunteer as Judges to Chip Away at County’s 500-Case Backlog
9 Feb 2010 | 10:20 amThe superior court docket in Yakima County, Wash., is under a crushing backlog, with more than 500 civil cases awaiting trial while judges make criminal cases a priority. So judicial administration authorities there have come up with a way to chip away at the mountain of cases by bringing in volunteer lawyers who will help the county resolve the litigation. The idea for the part-time, pro bono judge program originated, in part, with Yakima lawyer Richard Bartheld, who grew tired of trial delays. After one delay, the Yakima Herald-Republic reports that Bartheld wrote a letter to a court…
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Legal Antics
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I seriously question a man who delegates his personal ads.
9 Feb 2010 | 4:34 amLawyer looking for a lady to date - 36 (Queens) Date: 2010-02-08, 2:06PM EST Reply To This Post Hey ladies, My name is Stacy and I’m an assistant to a lawyer who’s looking for a girl to date and take care of. His name is Michael and he’s 36. He’s looking for a woman of Eastern European descent, anything form Polish, Slovakian to Russian, up to 30 years old. I’ve been recruited to help him with this task. He’s a very romantic guy who will spoil you if need be. He’s indicated that if you’d like to go back to school he’ll pay for you and do anything to keep you happy. He’s… -
Stupid rules of evidence. Also stupid: witnesses.
8 Feb 2010 | 6:37 amJust say calibrate! State - Then what do you do? Expert - We check the machines to make sure they are measuring correctly. State - Do you have a word for that? Expert - No. State - Are you sure?!Via On the Record in Cook County -
Seeking feedback for my upcoming ABA book on cloud computing for lawyers
6 Feb 2010 | 8:55 amImage via WikipediaI'm very excited to announce that I'm writing a book about cloud computing for lawyers that the American Bar Association will be publishing at the end of 2010.This book will explain the concept of cloud computing, including SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS platforms, and will provide lawyers with an overview of why cloud computing is becoming increasingly common and why it will become an increasingly evident alternative to traditional software systems. I'll also discuss the legal and ethical issues presented by lawyers using cloud computing platforms in their law practices… -
Someone help this guy out. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
3 Feb 2010 | 4:08 am -
The poor guy--I'm sure he'd rather keep that kind of thing private.
2 Feb 2010 | 4:54 amIt's a common theme amongst public defenders:Defendant - Judge, I want another public defender, because this man is incontinent.Via On the Record in Cook County.
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Legal Juice
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Saved By The Cell
8 Feb 2010 | 9:19 pmIf you are one of those folks who refuses to carry a cell phone, I seriously doubt that this story will change your mind. But for those who carry them religiously (me?), and feel strange if we don't have them, vindication! Check out this story from the Atlanta Journal Constitution: The robber came in the door of the Beverage Mart liquor store in Roswell, waving a big, black hunting knife. He wanted the money in the knapsack. Now! He lunged at the clerk, Joseph Wescott, 59, who leaned back to get away from that 10-inch gleaming blade. The knife hit the cell phone in Wescott’s breast pocket… -
No! Not The Butt Bandit!
7 Feb 2010 | 9:08 pmFolks in Valentine, Nebraska can now breathe a huge sigh of relief because the Butt Bandit has been arrested. It's not clear why they call him the Butt Bandit since neither his butt, nor any other part of him, ever stole anything. To the contrary, he actually leaves something behind [bad pun, I know], his butt (and/or groin) prints in vaseline or lotion. As reported in The North Platte Bulletin: The rash of bizarre behavior began in May 2007. Valentine police already had fielded about 20 different reports by this time a year ago. Rewards offered through Crime Stoppers failed to provide any… -
Isn't It Ironic?
6 Feb 2010 | 9:04 pmIrony? Sixty-one-year-old Janusz Nowak of Sosnowiec, Poland was sick and tired of people vandalizing his bus stop. So, he pasted the following notice on the pavement: "Dear Vandals - please stop destroying the bus-stop." And guess what happened? He was arrested for vandalism! A police spokesman said: "Although the man had good intentions and wanted to express his indignation towards hooligans' behaviour in the neighbourhood he unfortunately broke the law himself." What a brilliant use of police resources. Here's the story. -
Unaware Or Unafraid?
5 Feb 2010 | 9:02 pmSerious cojones? Who knows what the owner of this pastry shop in Taipei, Taiwan is thinking ... -
Mugging Victim Takes "Feeling No Pain" To Another Level
4 Feb 2010 | 9:07 pm"Shock" can mask a lot of things, but this? Per The Sun ... A mugging victim had a six inch knife plunged deep into her back — and she didn't even feel it. Skeptical? Check out the picture here. Incredibly the 22-year-old, who was knifed by a mugger on her way home from work, failed to notice the appalling injury and managed to calmly stroll to safety. The office worker had grappled with her attacker when he snatched her handbag as she walked to her parents' house in the Russian capital Moscow. But she was so shocked by the ordeal she didn't know that the thug had buried a kitchen knife in…
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The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times
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Administrative Law Judge Sues HUD for Discrimination and Retaliation
9 Feb 2010 | 11:11 amAn administrative law judge has filed suit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development, claiming a superior interfered with his docket and refused to let him hear certain cases after the judge lodged a discrimination claim. The allegations are... -
DOJ Continues Fight for Deloitte Records on Appeal in D.C.
9 Feb 2010 | 10:16 amThe Justice Department wants to convince a federal appeals court in Washington that the accounting firm Deloitte should be forced to give up tax documents stemming from auditing services provided to Dow Chemical Company. Judge Richard Leon of the U.S.... -
The Morning Wrap
9 Feb 2010 | 5:42 amGreatest Deliberative Body: Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) announced he was lifting his holds on more than 70 pending nominations, having successfully gotten the White House's attention concerning some Alabama projects he'd like to save, the Washington Post reports. In other... -
Snow Covers Washington Courts
8 Feb 2010 | 12:38 pmHere are some scenes from around Judiciary Square in downtown Washington today -- in case you are at home and wondering what it looks like. The Justice Department, at Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. and 10th Street. The sidewalk around Main Justice... -
Rep. John Murtha Has Died
8 Feb 2010 | 12:17 pmRep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has died, his office said in a statement released this afternoon. Murtha, a powerful lawmaker who chaired a subcommittee on defense appropriations and was mired in controversy in recent years over his ties to defunct lobbying...
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ABA Journal Magazine Stories
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Just Like Everyone
1 Feb 2010 | 2:40 amLike many in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, Liza Barry-Kessler has never been sure of the reaction she’ll get when potential employers, supervisors, co-workers and clients learn she’s a lesbian. In the early 2000s, while working at a small lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., on issues of education, technology and the Internet, many of Barry-Kessler’s colleagues knew she was gay. But the issue was never discussed, and she sensed it was best not to mention it to clients. “This was during the big debates about blocking Internet materials harmful to… -
Grade Anxiety
1 Feb 2010 | 2:29 amAmong Southern California plaintiffs lawyers, Paul Kiesel is something of a go-to guy. Twenty years ago he set up an information database for fellow plaintiffs lawyers to discuss arbitrators and mediators, and among the defense bar he is known as an adversary who honors his word. He’s also held board posts with the Los Angeles and California plaintiffs bars, and he chairs the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s litigation section. -
The War of Winds
1 Feb 2010 | 2:20 amNote: This month's CLE, "A Storm Brews Over Wind Power," is from 1-2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 17. -
Bloggy Eyes
1 Feb 2010 | 2:10 am -
Holding a Mirror to the Profession
1 Feb 2010 | 2:00 amThe world has changed. in law school, I was one of only 10 women in my class. When I began practicing, nearly all of my colleagues and all of the judges were white men. Women had to work especially hard just to be accepted and advance their careers. Although our profession today is much more diverse and inclusive, obstacles to free and equal professional success remain and impose the proverbial “glass ceiling.”
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On Point
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Crack-Dealing Suit Against Mistress Goes up in Smoke
5 Feb 2010 | 2:50 pmThe ex-lover of a Northern California man did not injure his wife by providing him with crack cocaine during their two-year affair, a jury has ruled in a case of sex, drugs and a law that makes drug dealers liable for the injuries they cause. -
Stripper Dances Off With $100K From Club in DUI Case
3 Feb 2010 | 8:59 pmA former stripper has won a $100,000 award in an unusual employment law case as a jury found a Birmingham, Ala., strip club liable for allowing her to drive home from work "in a highly intoxicated state." -
Halliburton Takes Supreme Swing at Alleged Iraq Rape Victim
1 Feb 2010 | 1:24 pmPerhaps befitting the former employer of Dick Cheney, KBR/Halliburton has taken the low road in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to bar a former employee from having a public trial of her claims that she was gang raped by co-workers in Iraq. -
Tenant's Gripe Tweet Too Vague to be Libel, Judge Says
29 Jan 2010 | 3:05 pmA Chicago judge has dismissed the first libel case involving a single Twitter posting, finding that an apartment renter's gripe about her landlord was too vague and imprecise to be construed as defamatory. -
Copperfield Wants U.S. to Keep Evidence From Accuser
26 Jan 2010 | 7:18 pmMagician David Copperfield has some sharp words for federal prosecutors who have refused to acknowledge that they dropped a sexual assault investigation against him because of the accuser's lack of credibility.
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Ernie The Attorney
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Our problem is we don't listen (and many of us don't really want to)
31 Jan 2010 | 7:50 amIf you want to disturb someone, and provoke a highly irrational reaction, challenge one of their deeply held assumptions. Galileo discovered this, shortly after he started adovocating the Copernican notion that the Sun was the center of the Solar System, not the Earth.I thought about this as I read this article in the New York Times today, which is about a scientist who studied trauma and then wrote a book about it called 'The Trauma Myth.' Susan Clancy set about to study victims of traumatic child abuse and expected to find one thing, but then discovered something else… -
iPad for Lawyers?
27 Jan 2010 | 3:46 pmThe Apple iPad was announced today, which pretty much everyone expected. The device is basically a large iPod Touch, except with some variances. The iPad has a faster processor, and from what people who played with it report, it appears to be very speedy. Also, it will have the ability to use 3G, so it can access the Internet from anywhere. We won't be able to buy one for between 60 and 90 days (depending on if you want the 3G model or not). Until it is released into the wild, it's hard to say what the real potential of this device… -
Enlighten me, but make it quick!
18 Jan 2010 | 9:47 amMost speeches are too long, which is a shame because almost every speech has some useful information. So what if you created a program that lets people present a bunch of short talks? How short? 5 minutes. Period. No more, no less. If you want to use Powerpoint, that's cool. But, with this ironclad rule: 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. Period. No more, no less.This type of program is called 'Ignite,' and it was started in Seattle in 2006 by two geeks who wanted to create a highly charged speaking experience. It… -
Speaking on social networking to young lawyers
15 Jan 2010 | 6:35 amI'll be speaking about Social Networking to the Young Lawyers Section of the Louisiana Bar Ass'n on Friday, January 22nd. I'll be on a panel with Tom O'Connor and Brett Bonin. The event is at the Marriott in New Orleans, and is free to all Young Lawyer Section members. It's a half-day event and there are other speakers after do our talk on social networking. My take on social networking is that it's just a way of enhancing social interactions and traditional marketing, just that it involves the Internet (and some new skills about how to use these… -
The New Orleans Mayor's race
12 Jan 2010 | 2:51 pmFolks in New Orleans don't have much time to figure out who to vote for in the upcoming mayor's race. I know who I'm going to vote for, because it's the same person I supported last time. Last time he lost in close runoff with Nagin. One reason was that many white conservatives refused to vote for the son of a guy who, in their view, enfranchised blacks and disrupted their orderly society. I wouldn't have believed that, except I personally know several of those folks and they admitted that they voted against Mitch because of his father's political record.
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The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog
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Student Blogger - Law and Econ Workshop: Racial/Political Biases in Bankruptcy?
8 Feb 2010 | 8:45 amLast week, Professor Paige Marta Skiba of Vanderbilt Law School presented her paper, titled, “Race, Gender, and Political Ideology in Personal Bankruptcy Outcomes,” to the Law and Economics Workshop here at Chicago (the most recent draft is available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1548473).What It's AboutThe study collected 9,526 bankruptcy petitions across the United States, comparing dismissal rates based on gender, race, and the probable political allegiances of the judge and county. Although the dismissal rate differences between male and female petitioners were… -
Moving Forward in Google Book Search
5 Feb 2010 | 1:18 pmYesterday, the Department of Justice filed its second statement of interest in the pending Google Book Search (GBS) case. We now have a full slate of second-round filings as we head towards the fairness hearing set for a New York federal court on February 18, 2010. Where do we stand? To recap very quickly, Google launched GBS with one core thought: all books available everywhere instantly. To try to come even close to that, Google entered into partnerships with leading libraries to gain access to their holdings so as to make digital copies of those works. Google then put the books online but… -
Student Blogger - Winter WIP: Malani Asks if We Can Select Beliefs Without Evidence
5 Feb 2010 | 8:17 amMost (not all) models of human preferences are rather agnostic about the process by which we form beliefs about the world. And on the occasion that scholars do think about the subject, they general posit that people change their beliefs based on the acquirement of new information.But this can't be right -- or at least, not always. First, people have to at some point form a set of priors, which necessarily occurs mostly devoid of factually inquiry. Second, people do seem to form beliefs about certain subjects that are not typically amenable to factual support (such as a belief in God). Third,… -
Student Blogger - Information Acquisition and Panel Diversity
3 Feb 2010 | 9:10 amThe notion that political ideology may influence judicial decisionmaking is today neither new nor particularly noteworthy. Political scientists and legal academics have long suspected as much, and even a cursory glance at Supreme Court decisions over the years should suffice to convince even the most ardent of skeptics. But while the idea may not be new, empirical evidence of such partisanship has only emerged in recent years. Professors Tom Miles and Cass Sunstein, for instance, have studied a phenomenon that has come to be known as panel effects—briefly, that the political ideology of the… -
Celebrating 25 Years of Frank Easterbrook on the Bench
29 Jan 2010 | 1:14 pmIn 25 years, Judge Frank Easterbrook has written opinions from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals bench with far-reaching influence, all the while continuing to mold young minds through teaching at the Law School and producing scholarship with characteristic incisive legal analysis. It was only fitting, then, that the Law School and the University of Chicago Law Review should hold a celebration of Easterbrook's first quarter century on the bench. In events titled "'The Interrogation Is Unceasing': A Quarter Century of Judge Frank Easterbrook on the Seventh Circuit," ten Law School…
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Sui Generis-a New York Law Blog
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Intelligence, intuition, on display at LegalTech
9 Feb 2010 | 6:42 amLast week, I wrote a special edition Daily Record column entitled span>Intelligence, intuition, on display at LegalTech A pdf of the article can be found here and my past Daily Record articles can be accessed here. Intelligence, intuition, on display at LegalTechLawyers tackling troubles of the digital ageNEW YORK CITY — Thousands attended LegalTech New York this week in Manhattan, hoping to catch up on the latest legal technologies and innovations. The annual LegalTech conference is sponsored by ALM with the goal of helping lawyers and law firms learn about the latest advances in… -
Don't fear the cloud
8 Feb 2010 | 8:14 amThis week's Daily Record column is entitled "Don't fear the cloud." A pdf of the article can be found here and my past Daily Record articles can be accessed here. Don't fear the cloud“People ... especially people in positions of power ... have invested a tremendous amount of effort and time to get where they are. They really don’t want to hear that we’re on the wrong path, that we’ve got to shift gears and start thinking differently.”— DAVID SUZUKII am a staunch proponent of cloud computing and strongly believe it is the future of computing for the legal profession.Granted, legal… -
Seeking feedback for my upcoming ABA book on cloud computing for lawyers
6 Feb 2010 | 8:54 amImage via WikipediaI'm very excited to announce that I'm writing a book about cloud computing for lawyers that the American Bar Association will be publishing at the end of 2010.This book will explain the concept of cloud computing, including SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS platforms, and will provide lawyers with an overview of why cloud computing is becoming increasingly common and why it will become an increasingly evident alternative to traditional software systems. I'll also discuss the legal and ethical issues presented by lawyers using cloud computing platforms in their law practices and will… -
Watch the latest lawtechTalk episode for FREE
26 Jan 2010 | 6:24 amThis screencast features, and is sponsored by, the following legal technology products:Firmex--provides secure, virtual data rooms, which can be used in a legal corporate environment to manage online due diligence, exchange closing drafts, create digital record books, share litigation documents and secure client access to important files. Mavenlink--provides an online collaborative workspace that allows lawyers to manage a client's case from start to finish, including uploading and collaborating on documents with clients and communicating with clients about their case in a secure, easily… -
My favorite websites and online tools
25 Jan 2010 | 7:34 amThis week's Daily Record column is entitled "My favorite websites and online tools." A pdf of the article can be found here and my past Daily Record articles can be accessed here. My favorite websites and online toolsAs you can probably imagine, I spend a lot of time online. Throughout my day, I find myself returning to the same Web sites over and over again. And, similarly, there are certain online tools that I use repeatedly.It occurred to me that sharing my favorite Web sites and online tools might be useful to my readers. Although not all of these tools will be relevant to you, you may…
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Law is Cool
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The Other Google Spot, and Florida Divorce Attorneys
8 Feb 2010 | 1:11 pmGoogle’s ad last night attracted quite a bit of attention. Kenneth Corbin of Internet News said, For Google, Super Bowl Sunday was something of a departure. In the third quarter of the game, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) aired a nearly full-minute ad promoting its search engine, marking one of the few television appearances for the company that rarely advertises and its first spot during a Super Bowl. At it happens, the ad, “Parisian Love,” had been online for several months, posted on Google’s “Search Stories” page on YouTube where it has been viewed more than a… -
An Interview with Quebec’s first black lawyer
7 Feb 2010 | 12:13 pmAnthony Morgan, a McGill law student and president of the Black Law Students’ Association of Canada, interviewed Frederick Phillips, McGill’s first black law grad and Quebec’s first black lawyer. You can read the interview on inFocus online, McGill’s news magazine. -
Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants – Redux
7 Feb 2010 | 9:40 amAimee Green of The Oregonian reports, An attorney for Aurora Hill filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon — stirring memories of a controversial 1994 suit in which a jury awarded $2.86 million to an Albuquerque, New Mexico woman who spilled scalding-hot coffee on herself, suffering severe burns that required hospitalization. Upon appeal, the parties settled for an undisclosed amount. …She went into “nervous shock,” endured pain and has scarring. She seeks $7,182 for her pain and suffering, plus another $318 for lost wages and medical expenses. -
Sponsored Post: HawkEye and Fingerprint Technology to check drunk drivers
7 Feb 2010 | 12:27 amDrunk driving has been a major problem for law enforcers and law makers for many years; drunk driving puts the lives of many innocent people at stake. These include the lives of other drivers, people on bikes and motorbikes and even pedestrians. After drinking, your senses as well as reflexes become impaired and although, you are fooled into believing that you can drive home but the truth is that you can either get pulled over on the basis of DUI suspicion or you can cause a car accident that can injure or even kill innocent people. That is why drunk driving is a serious criminal offense in… -
Criminal Defence Lawyers Need Not Apply
6 Feb 2010 | 10:49 amNewsflash – the Ontario Government is looking for outstanding members of the public to sit on 27 separate police services boards throughout the province. Criminal defence lawyers need not apply. What? Did I read that right? Strangely yes. On the Ontario Government Public Appointment Secretariat’s website found at: http://www.pas.gov.on.ca/scripts/en/upcomingVac.asp, there are nearly 200 postings for various positions on provincial agencies, boards and commissions. But in the requirement section for the police services board postings, it states, “No judge, justice of the peace, police…
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Conflict Zen
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10-second reader poll: best days of the week for seminars?
8 Feb 2010 | 6:04 amI’m planning my schedule of spring conflict resolution seminars and retreats in New England and would love your input before I reserve facilities. Which combination of days would work best if you wanted to attend one of my two-day events? [Can't see the embedded poll? Click here]. -
Conflict coaching interview on BlogTalkRadio
3 Feb 2010 | 3:36 amTexas conflict coach Pattie Porter interviewed me for her Blog Talk Radio show last evening. We talked about conflict coaching, how it differs from other types of coaching, and when it offers a good return on investment of time, energy and money. I also shared a few tips for becoming more conflict competent at work and home. I invite you to listen to the 20-minute interview here: Conflict Coaching Interview with Dr. Tammy Lenski We referenced my whitepaper, The Case for Conflict Coaching, on the show. If you want your own copy, you can get it here: The Case for Conflict Coaching Thanks,… -
How unspoken expectations influence conflict behavior
28 Jan 2010 | 10:28 amTo what extent do you play up to other people’s expectations of you during conflict? In workplace conflict, if they believe you’re aggressive, do you act more aggressively? In a relationship conflict, if they expect you to be a conflict coward, do you behave more timidly? A classic psychology experiment suggests you do. University of Minnesota researchers had a hunch that people sense how others view them and start exhibiting the expected behaviors, They set up this experiment, described in PsyBlog’s How Other People’s Unspoken Expectations Control Us: To test this in… -
The case of the doodling mediation participant
21 Jan 2010 | 8:36 amSometimes it’s hard to tell whether or not your adversary is as interested in working things out as you are. A while back I mediated a workplace dispute between two women who had been friends for many years, worked in the same office, and had a falling out resulting in a strained, unpleasant atmosphere for co-workers and visitors to the office. Their boss had asked me to help sort out the state of relationship conflict between them. One of the women (I’ll call her Lorraine) was eager to get my help, the other (I’ll call her Nicole) as reticent as can be. So reticent, in… -
Conversational riffs: making meaning out of conflict
17 Jan 2010 | 1:09 am“The riff that any jamming musician plays will greatly influence the next passage of music that the others will then respond with,” says Neil Denny in his new book, Conversational Riffs. Conversational riffs are “short snippets of language, comments or responses that enable us to be creative when we are confronted by conflict.” Neil, a conflict and communications writer and presenter based in the U.K., sent me a copy over the holidays and it delighted me so much I wanted to tell you about it. The book’s content is spot-on for anyone who wants to improve the way…
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Legal Profession Blog
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Equitable Considerations
9 Feb 2010 | 10:00 amThe New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department held that a law firm was not entitled to interest on an arbitration award and had acted in contravention of duties regarding entrusted funds. The law firm was awarded $30,000... -
Former General Counsel Disbarred
9 Feb 2010 | 6:58 amThe Pennsylvania Supreme Court has accepted the consent disbarment of the former general counsel to Amkor Technology in the wake of his conviction on charges of insider trading. The attorney had been on an interim suspended status. Details about the... -
Nix To Tix Fix
9 Feb 2010 | 6:43 amThe South Carolina Supreme Court accepted an agreed public reprimand of a former county magistrate for intervention with tickets. The court found the following facts: This matter was referred to ODC following an internal investigation at the Department of Public... -
Need Not Arbitrate
9 Feb 2010 | 6:28 amThe New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department modified an order dismissing a suit for allegedly unpaid legal fees in a matrimonial action. The attorney and client had executed three retainer agreements that provided notice of rights to... -
Friends Like These
8 Feb 2010 | 1:38 pmThe danger in representing a friend without following the normal formalities of an attorney-client relationship is apparent in a recent recommendation for discipline by an Arizona Hearing Officer. The attorney was admitted to practice in November 2006. She advertised for...
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Patent Law Blog (Patently-O)
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Damages: Federal Circuit Again Demands More Substance from Damages Experts
8 Feb 2010 | 1:21 pmResQNet.com and Jeffrey Kaplan v. Lansa, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2010) The district court held that one of ResQNet’s patents was infringed and awarded $500k in past damages based on a 12.5% royalty rate. The court denied the patentee’s requested permanent injunction but instead ordered an ongoing license at the 12.5% royalty rate. The court also awarded sanctions against ResQNet’s counsel for failing to withdraw patents from suit that were clearly not infringed. On appeal, the Federal Circuit took issue with the damages calculation — holding that the lower court had… -
Goods sold f.o.b. China considered sold "within the United States" for infringement purposes
8 Feb 2010 | 12:06 pmSEB (T-Fal) v. Montgomery Ward & Co. (Fed. Cir. 2010) The French company SEB sued Montgomery Ward, Pentalpha and others for infringement of its patent covering deep-fat-fryer. Patent No. 4,995,312. SEB won a jury verdict verdict of willful infringement and was awarded $4.6 million in damages, but the district court reduced the damage award to $2 million and refused to award enhanced damages for willfulness citing Seagate. f.o.b. sales: Pentalphia shipped its products f.o.b. China and argued that it therefore could not be liable for sales in the US. The Federal Circuit rejected… -
Patently-O Bits and Bytes
8 Feb 2010 | 9:16 amThe following is a list of upcoming events that I will be attending. I look forward to seeing you there!: Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal's 11th Annual Intellectual Property Symposium at The University of Texas School of Law in Austin on February 19th, 2010. Stanford Technology Law Review Symposium at Stanford Law School focusing on “PTO Reform” on February 26, 2010. IP Law Summit for Corporate IP Counsel in Miami at the Doral Resort on March 25–27, 2010. Corporate IP Counsel Summit in New York City at the Helmsley Hotel on April 27–28, 2010. If you are… -
Patent Examiner Experience Levels, Part II
8 Feb 2010 | 6:19 amThe graph below shows examiner experience as grouped by technology center as of the end of FY2009. The blue-bars represent the percent of examiners and SPEs that have fewer than three years experience at the PTO. The red-bars represent the percent of examiners and SPEs that have ten or more years experience at the PTO. This is a continuation of an earlier discussion. -
USPTO Budget Shortfall Causes: Maintenance Fees
7 Feb 2010 | 6:26 amA major reason for the current USPTO budget shortfall is the dropping rate of renewal. According to the USPTO annual reports, the "maintenance fees have traditionally been the largest category of patent fees." Renewal rates are charged in three-stages. The first-stage payment of $980 is due 3.5 years after issuance. The second-stage payment of $2,480 is due 7.5 years after issuance. And, the third-stage payment of $4,110 is due 11.5 years after issuance. In FY2009 renewal rates dropped for each stage. Most troubling for future PTO revenue, the first-stage renewal rate for FY2009 was…
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Patent Baristas
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AwakenIP: Helping to Reignite Recognition of the Value of Intellectual Property
3 Feb 2010 | 11:24 amJeff Kuester, a technology attorney with Taylor | English in Atlanta, Georgia, has started AwakenIP, a web site devoted to intellectual property law. As noted on the site: This website is an attempt to help reignite broader recognition of the full value of intellectual property. Much criticism has been levied against the usefulness of intellectual property and its place in our new economy, but there are those among us who continue to recognize the wisdom of maintaining strong intellectual property protection for worthwhile contributions that “promote the progress of science and useful… -
Changes in the Implementing Rules of the European Patent Convention (EPC)
2 Feb 2010 | 11:33 amThe Administrative Council of the EPO decided, in March 2009, to make significant changes to the Implementing Rules of the European Patent Convention (EPC). These changes will enter into force on April 1, 2010 and will have a significant impact on the grant procedure before the EPO. Introduction of a new time limit for filing divisional applications Up until now, a divisional application could be filed relating to any pending earlier European patent application at any stage of the grant procedure of this earlier application. Amended Rule 36(1) restricts this possibility by introducing a new… -
Prosecution Laches and Inequitable Conduct: Cancer Research Tech. v Barr Labs.
28 Jan 2010 | 9:43 amA fellow patent attorney (who wishes to remain anonymous) called my attention to a recent decision issued by Judge Sue L. Robinson of the Delaware District Court. Cancer Research Technology et al. v Barr Laboratories et al., D-Del, Civ. No. 07-457-SLR, January 26, 2010. Download CRT v Barr. I’m not a district court decision junkie: since most patent cases revolve, at least in part, around claim construction, and since under Cybor the Federal Circuit reviews claim construction de novo, I tend to ignore many district court decisions – why bother getting into a claim construction-based… -
Resurgence of the Need for Opinions of Counsel
25 Jan 2010 | 8:20 amAs a direct consequence of overruling the affirmative duty of due care to avoid infringement upon learning of a patent, the Federal Circuit expressly instructed in Seagate that “there is no affirmative obligation to obtain [an] opinion of counsel.” In re Seagate Technology, 497 F.3d 1360, 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (en banc), cert. denied, 128 S. Ct. 1445 (Feb. 25, 2008). See also Knorr-Bremse Systeme Fuer Nutzfahrseuge GmbH v. Dana Corp., 383 F.3d 1337, 1345 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (en banc) (“In tandem with our holding that it is inappropriate to draw an adverse inference that undisclosed… -
Proposed Changes to Inventive Step/Non-Obviousness in Australia
21 Jan 2010 | 6:32 pmThose of you who regularly prosecute patents in Australia will be aware that Australia has a unique approach to inventive step/non-obviousness. Specifically, Australian law differs from international norms in two fairly notable ways: Firstly, not all prior art references are citable. Rather, in order to be citable, a prior art reference must firstly be shown to be a piece of prior art information that the skilled person could have been reasonably expected to have “ascertained, understood, and regarded as relevant”. Notably, prior art references have been excluded from consideration…
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LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®
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Gadget goes gonzo
8 Feb 2010 | 8:24 pmThey embody our passion, our vision and our values . . . They are descriptive of our products on many levels. Firefly is a business given life through ingenuity, hard work, the contributions of our employees and the trust of the many clients we serve. We’re prepared to protect that. Wow, sounds awesome! You go, Firefly [...] -
“Victimless Crimes” Watch: Clash of the Sleazebuckets
3 Feb 2010 | 8:59 pmOriginally posted 2005-08-01 09:49:08. Republished by Old Post PromoterI’ve said before that we seem to be very picky-and-choosy about the concept of “victimless crimes,” which some people think we should eliminate from the books and merely “regulate.” We have schizophrenia on the matter, which is to be expected. Here’s a case [...] -
Texas whiners
3 Feb 2010 | 8:59 pmSpeaking of sports: In Texas, as you know, everything’s mu-u-u-uch bigger. That includes NCAA-power-school IP thuggery, explains Eric Johnson, as well as the standard of what is and isn’t chump change: UT has been very aggressive about trademark issues. So with all that, how many millions of dollars has UT actually brought in to pay faculty and help [...] -
Geekzone: "Things Are Looking Good"
1 Feb 2010 | 10:23 amOriginally posted 2005-03-18 16:51:00. Republished by Old Post PromoterSays here that GEEKZONE is now a registered trademark in New Zealand. No word whether MIT (or any fellow travelers) entered an opposition to the registration due to its own prior and well known use of the term “geek.” Geekzone: "Things Are Looking Good" ©, . -
New Niche for the Numb of New York
1 Feb 2010 | 10:23 amOriginally posted 2006-01-03 13:05:07. Republished by Old Post PromoterJeff Jarvis reports that a new demographic has been discovered: I had to laugh at this quote from an entertainment exec in Saul Hansell’s NY Times story about Starz offering movies for download. “We see a market out there of people who are saying, ‘I want to [...]
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Cognitive Daily
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Cognitive Daily Closes Shop after a Fantastic Five-Year Run
20 Jan 2010 | 1:57 pmFive years ago today, we made the first post that would eventually make its way onto a blog called Cognitive Daily. We thought we were keeping notes for a book, but in reality we were helping build a network that represented a new way of sharing psychology with the world. Cognitive Daily wasn't the first psychology blog, but clearly it filled an important niche, because within a year, we were receiving over 30,000 page views a month. Now we often get over 100,000 page views a month, and we've totaled over four million. We reach many more people than would ever have bought our book, and we've… -
Both musicians and non-musicians can perceive bitonality
20 Jan 2010 | 9:48 amTake a listen to this brief audio clip of "Unforgettable." Aside from the fact that it's a computer-generated MIDI performance, do you hear anything unusual? If you're a non-musician like me, you might not have noticed anything. It sounds basically like the familiar song, even though the synthesized sax isn't nearly as pleasing as the familiar Nat King Cole version of the song. But most trained musicians can't listen to a song like this without cringing. Why? Because the music has been made "bitonal" by moving the accompanying piano part up two semitones (a semitone is the difference between… -
Synesthesia and the McGurk effect
14 Jan 2010 | 9:05 amWe've discussed synesthesia many times before on Cognitive Daily -- it's the seemingly bizarre phenomenon when one stimulus (e.g. a sight or a sound) is experienced in multiple modalities (e.g. taste, vision, or colors). For example, a person might experience a particular smell whenever a given word or letter is seen or heard. Sometimes particular faces are associated with specific colors or auras. Synesthesia is relatively rare, but the people who experience it are genuine: their perceptions are consistent and replicable. But one question researchers haven't been able to nail down is exactly… -
Does watching TV really kill you?
12 Jan 2010 | 1:58 pmToday I had to put off my normal morning run in order to make time to be interviewed on a radio show at 7:30 a.m. As I waited on hold for the interview to start, I could hear the hosts joking back-and-forth about what the "latest TV controversy" is. "Is it the Jay Leno / Conan O'Brien news on NBC?" the host asked? No. Then the hosts rattled through several other hot-button issues on television before arriving at this: "New research from the American Heart Association Journal [Circulation] suggests that watching TV might actually reduce how long you live." How's that for a controversy? The… -
The outfielder problem: The psychology behind catching fly balls
7 Jan 2010 | 12:22 pmIt's football season in America: The NFL playoffs are about to start, and tonight, the elected / computer-ranked top college team will be determined. What better time than now to think about ... baseball! Baseball players, unlike most football players, must solve one of the most complicated perceptual puzzles in sports: how to predict the path of a moving target obeying the laws of physics, and move to intercept it. The question of how a baseball player knows where to run in order to catch a fly ball has baffled psychologists for decades. (You might argue that a football receiver faces a…
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PsyBlog
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Why The Media Seems Biased When You Care About The Issue
9 Feb 2010 | 6:48 amResearch shows both pro-Arabs and pro-Israelis watching the same news reports think it is biased against their own side. The media may well be biased, in fact it would be a miracle if it were permanently and perfectly balanced, that isn't what this post is about. Instead this is about how you and I perceive the presence or absence of bias in the media. This study, conducted in the 1980s, helps to explain a lot of the heat and light that gets produced by those commenting on media bias across the political spectrum, including the remarkably vitriolic outpourings often seen in the comment… -
Recruitment Closed: Online Expressive Writing Study
8 Feb 2010 | 7:07 amUpdate: Thanks for your interest in this study but recruitment is now closed. Are you currently feeling a little under the weather, fed up or stressed? Do you live in the United Kingdom? Are you over 18? Would you be interested in participating in an expressive writing study? If so, read on... About this research Many studies have found that when people write about past emotional events in their lives they can show improvements in physical or mental health. We want to test the effects of expressive writing in a study carried out completely online. Here are some brief details of the study,… -
Why We Love Narcissists (At First)
3 Feb 2010 | 3:02 amParadoxically we initially like narcissists more because of their exploitative, entitled behaviour—but it doesn't last long. Despite being self-absorbed, arrogant, entitled and exploitative, narcissists are also fascinating. And not just from a clinical perspective; the research finds that we are strangely drawn to their self-centred personalities, their dominance and their hostility, their sensitivity and their despair, at least for a while. Psychologists are fascinated by narcissists, both why we like them despite on some level recognising their dysfunction, and because they embody so… -
10 More Brilliant Social Psychology Studies: Why Smart People Do Dumb or Irrational Things
26 Jan 2010 | 4:18 amWhich is your favourite social psychology study? Over the last 7 months I've been exploring 10 more of my favourite social psychology studies, each with an insightful story to tell about how our minds work. This follows on from an article I wrote two years ago (10 brilliant social psychology studies). Key insights from each study are below but click through to get the full story of each experiment. Once you've had a look, vote for your favourite at the bottom of this page. Why You Can’t Help Believing Everything You Read By default are we critical or gullible? This study shows that… -
The 7 Psychological Principles of Scams: Protect Yourself by Learning the Techniques
21 Jan 2010 | 5:28 amHow hustlers trick 3.2 million people each year in the UK into handing over £3.5 billion. Good hustlers are excellent intuitive psychologists. Just like magicians they understand enough about how the mind works to exploit its vulnerabilities. Our fascination with hustlers is insatiable and, despite being criminals, they are frequently portrayed by Hollywood in a flattering light, in films like The Sting, Catch Me If You Can and the Ocean's Eleven trilogy. Of course the reality is nowhere near as romantic, especially if you've fallen for one of the cons. Frank Stajano, a security expert at…
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Chicago IP Litigation Blog
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Court Proposes Dismissing Declaratory Judgment Counterclaims as Duplicative of Plaintiff's Patent Claims
8 Feb 2010 | 2:47 amContinental Datalabel, Inc. v. Avery Dennison Corp., No. 09 C 5980, Slip. Op. (N.D. Ill. Dec. 9, 2009 (Shadur, Sen. J.). Judge Shadur ordered the parties to be prepared to discuss at a status conference why defendants' respective noninfringement and invalidity declaratory judgment counterclaims should not be stricken as duplicative of plaintiff's patent infringement claims. * Click here for more on this case in the Blog's archives. -
Chicago IP Colloquium: District Courts as Patent Laboratories
5 Feb 2010 | 2:59 amThe annual Chicago IP Colloquium continues this Tuesday, February 9, 2010. The Chicago IP Colloquium is jointly sponsored by Chicago-Kent College of Law and Loyola University Chicago School of Law to discuss a range of issues in intellectual property and cyberspace law based upon papers by six nationally renowned intellectual property scholars. The sessions are uniformly excellent, and well worth your time. The next session will be Tuesday, February 9 from 4:10 pm to 5:50 pm at Loyola and will feature Professor Jeanne C. Fromer, Fordham… -
N.D. Illinois Appoints Three New Magistrate Judges
3 Feb 2010 | 2:28 amChief Judge Holderman announced that the Northern District of Illinois has appointed three new magistrate judges to seven year terms. All three new magistrates are former Northern District law clerks. Here are the biographies of each new judge as provided by the Northern District (emphasis added): Jeffrey T. Gilbert received his law degree from Northwestern University (1980). He is a partner with Reed Smith in its Chicago office and is a member of the firm’s regulatory litigation group. Mr. Gilbert originally practiced with Sachnoff & Weaver, which combined with… -
No Reverse Confusion Because of Dissimilar Trademarks
1 Feb 2010 | 3:09 amWorld Wide Sales, Inc. v. Church & Dwight Co., Inc., No. 08 C 1198, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Nov. 9, 2009) (Kennelly, J.). Judge Kennelly granted defendant Church & Dwight (“CD”) summary judgment on each of plaintiff World Wide Sales’ (“WWS”) claims for trademark infringement, Lanham Act unfair competition and fraud on the Patent and Trademark office. WWS claimed that CD infringed and unfairly competed with WWS’s Forever Fresh for the Fridge trademark, used with a refrigerator odor elimination product, by using CD’s Fridge Fresh mark with… -
Court Enters Judgment on Trademark Damages and Attorneys Fees in Accordian Case
27 Jan 2010 | 2:33 amGabbanelli Accordions & Imports, L.L.C. v. Italo-Am. Accordion Mfg. Co., No. 02 C 4048, Slip. Op. (N.D. Ill. Sept. 21, 2009) (Zagel, J.). Judge Zagel entered judgment on behalf of plaintiffs in the amount of $151,200 in lost profits after the Seventh Circuit affirmed the Court's judgment.* The Court also held defendants jointly and severally liable for $147,576.12 in plaintiff's attorneys' fees. * Click here for more on this case in the Blog's archives.
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Religion Clause
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8th Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity To Officials Who Conspired Against Faith-Based School
9 Feb 2010 | 4:20 amIn Heartland Academy Community Church v. Waddle, (8th Cir., Feb. 8, 2010), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of appeals refused to dismiss on qualified immunity grounds a civil rights action for damages against various Missouri officials who conspired in 2001 to remove 115 students from a Christian faith-based boarding school for children with behavioral and substance abuse problems. The court described the underlying charges: Two of the conspiracy’s more prominent members were Chief Juvenile Officers Michael Waddle (Waddle) and Cindy Ayers (Ayers).Waddle, the conspiracy’s ringleader, disliked… -
Court Orders Cemetery Title Transferred To Allow O'Hare Airport Expansion
9 Feb 2010 | 4:15 amYesterday's Chicago Tribune reports that an Illinois court has cleared the way for expansion of Chicago's O'Hare Airport by ordering the transfer of title of the 5.3-acre St. Johannes Cemetery from St. John's United Church of Christ to the city for $630,000. This follows a ruling last December that the city could use eminent domain to acquire the land. In previous litigation, church members were unsuccessful in arguing that moving the graves would illegally impose a substantial burden on their religious exercise because of their religious belief in the physical resurrection of the bodies of… -
Human Rights Activists Charge Egypt Plans To Monitor Sermons In Mosques Through Cameras
9 Feb 2010 | 4:10 amEgypt's Ministry of Islamic Endowments has denied that it plans to monitor sermons given in mosques through the use of cameras. Media Line yesterday reported that concern over monitoring arose after cameras were installed in the Sayyida Nafisa Mosque in Cairo. Ministry spokesmen however said the cameras were to prevent stealing money from charity boxes. Human rights advocates are suspicious of the true motivations, saying the cameras violate protections in Egypt's constitution. The decision to set up cameras is apparently related to a recent speech by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak… -
Costa Rica's Constitutional Court Rejects Bishops Power To Select Religion Teachers
9 Feb 2010 | 4:05 amCNA yesterday reported that Costa Rica's Constitutional Court, by a vote of 4-3, struck down the agreement between the Catholic Church and the government that gives the Bishop's Conference of Costa Rica the right to approve teachers of Catholic religion in public schools. The arrangement, which allowed the Church to reject a teacher on moral grounds as well as knowledge of religion, was seen by those challenging it as an intrusion by bishops into affairs of the public schools. -
ACLU Say College Prof Teaches Religion and Anti-LGBT Views As Fact
9 Feb 2010 | 4:00 amThe ACLU of Northern California yesterday sent a demand letter (full text) to the president of Fresno City College complaining about a faculty member, Dr. Bradley Lopez, who teaches a health science class in which he presents religiously-based and anti-LGBT views as scientific fact. Yesterday's Fresno Bee and a press release from the ACLU describe aspects of Lopez's class. Lopez presented a slide describing homosexuality as a "biological misapplication of human sexuality" and said that the "recommended treatment" is "psychological counseling" or "hormone supplements." Lopez presented Biblical…
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The Trademark Blog
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Marilyn Monroe's Ghost Spotted Drafting Legislation In Albany, New York?
8 Feb 2010 | 1:32 pmDead celebrities have lobbied NY state senators to introduce S06790, a bill to amend NY civil rights law to add a 70 year post-mortem right to prevent the use of the persona of a deceased personality. The ghost of Marilyn Monroe may have been among the lobbyists, because Section 12 of the bill seems to reverse the outcome of this case, that held that Marilyn Monroe's estate, and CMG, the estate's agent, couldn't enforce post-mortem rights in NY, if we ever got them, because you cannot devise what doesn't exist when the will is written. Drawing of Marilyn Monroe ghost from here. -
My Huffington Post Column On The WHO DAT Dispute
5 Feb 2010 | 10:14 amTrademark Nation: Who Dat Who Own Who Dat? -
Pryor Representation Doesn't Create Conflict
5 Feb 2010 | 6:48 amLaw Firm reprented Plaintiff in a prior trademark litigation. Plaintiff sues Defendant, one of Law Firm's other clients, and Law Firm is retained to represent Defendant. Plaintiff moves to disqualify Law Firm arguing that either (1) Law Firm concurrently represents Plaintiff as a result of the prior litigation; or (2) this suit is substantially related to the prior litigation and Law Firm obtained confidential information about Plaintiff relevant to the current litigation. Held: 1. This is not a concurrent representation. Law Firm's retainer agreement with Plaintiff had clearly limited the… -
Unfettered By Knowledge, I Speak Freely on Fox Business Live
4 Feb 2010 | 2:01 pmI'm still shuddering. I was supposed to appear on Fox Business Live (a streaming version of Fox Business) to discuss the IP aspects of Google's dispute with China. Then this morphed into 'the IP aspects of Secy of State Clinton's Internet Freedom speech' (which was a very good speech even though there was little to do with IP). Then we're live on the air and the anchor asks me about the Bank of China lowering interest rates. As I launch into it, I'm thinking "did he just ask me about interest rates?" To my credit, I did not allow the question to affect my answer. And I was able to work in the… -
The Person You Send A Demand Letter To May Know A Senator
29 Jan 2010 | 8:19 amHere is a post about the MONSTER v VERMONSTER trademark dispute, which dispute Senator Leahy denounced as 'trademark bullying,' when introducing the Trademark Technical and Conforming Amendment Act of 2010.
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SCOTUSblog
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Event: The Impact of the Citizens United Decision on Federal Elections
9 Feb 2010 | 9:08 amLast week, former FEC Commissioner Hans A. von Spakovsky (now affiliated with the Heritage Foundation) moderated a panel discussion at the Heritage Foundation that examined the practical impact and potential outcomes of the decision in Citizens United v. FEC. The panel – whose other members were all veterans of the FEC and/or campaign law specialists – agreed that the decision was one of the most (if not the most) significant campaign finance decisions since Buckley v. Valeo. The panelists also largely agreed on three other points: first, Congress and state legislatures will likely… -
Notable Petitions
9 Feb 2010 | 9:02 amOn a regular basis, we intend to post recently filed petitions that Tom deems noteworthy. Each will later appear on one of our “Petitions to Watch” lists — and will together constitute the bulk of those lists — depending on the conference it is eventually distributed for. Two such interesting petitions have been filed recently: No. 09-920, Simmons v. Galvin, and No. 09-923, Arar v. Ashcroft. In both cases, briefs in opposition have not yet been filed, and likely will not be until next month at the earliest. Title: Simmons v. Galvin Docket: 09-920 Issues: (1) Whether… -
Tuesday round-up
9 Feb 2010 | 7:39 amJoan Biskupic of USA Today discusses what Citizens United may portend for the rest of the current Term, in which the Court will hear several “momentous” cases. Biskupic opines that the contentious Citizensdecision may have reinforced the Court’s “caustic ideological divide” as it moves forward in reviewing and deciding pending cases, and in particular other high-profile cases such as McDonald v. City of Chicago, Doe No. 1 v. Reed, and Free Enterprise Fund v. PCAOB. Meanwhile, at the Huffington Post, Frances Moore Lappe criticizes the decision as eliminating “the freedom… -
NAMUDNO: Right Question, Wrong Case
8 Feb 2010 | 7:53 amThe following is an essay for our Race and the Supreme Court program by Abigail Thernstrom, vice-chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and adjunct scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Ms. Thernstrom is the author, most recently, of the book Voting Rights — and Wrongs: The Elusive Quest for Racially Fair Elections Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder (NAMUDNO) was one of the most anticipated cases of the 2008-2009 term. Civil rights advocates had been in a state of panic, fearing a majority would declare the most radical provision in the 1965 Voting… -
Monday round-up
8 Feb 2010 | 7:30 amAbove the Law reports that Justice Thomas, discussing clerk hiring at his Thursday talk at the University of Florida, contrasted his views with those of his colleagues, whom he says mainly hire clerks from Ivy League schools. “I don’t believe they [Ivy League schools] have a monopoly on intelligence,” said Thomas. “I also don’t believe they have a monopoly on the best kids to clerk.” Tony Mauro reports that Thomas also praised Silvia Ibanez, an advocate from Florida who represented herself, and, according to Thomas, persuaded the Court to rule in her favor in a 1994 case. …
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Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog
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Last chance to register: Developing Your Personal Marketing Plan - for Associates
8 Feb 2010 | 3:00 amDeveloping Your Personal Marketing Plan - for Associates Last chance to register for the Webinar on this Wednesay - don't miss out! Click here to learn more about this Webinar. How does an associate build the business development skills needed to succeed? Independent experts Michael G. Cummings and I will teach you the key elements of business development and show you how to create your own personal marketing plan to ensure long term success. You will learn the essential components of effective business development. The program provides real life case studies… -
The One Thing You Can Do to Be More Profitable in 2010
5 Feb 2010 | 3:00 amAnita Campbell, the Founder of Small Business Trends, an online community of small business owners, polled some of her business owner contacts to see how they would answer the following question: “What is the number one thing you can do to be more profitable in 2010?” Ten business owners gave their answers: Meet the Client’s Pain Points – says Jonathan Fields, Author of “Career Renegade” “The pain points for a lot of markets have moved in a substantial way in 2009. Problems have changed, needs have evolved. Look back, ask how the points of… -
Judicial Hellholes Are a Law Firm Marketing Opportunity for Plaintiff Lawyers
3 Feb 2010 | 8:47 pmThere are six "judicial hellholes," five jurisdictions on the "watch list," four "dishonorable mentions" and 16 lawyers in the "rogue's gallery" in the list of plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions named by the American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRA). "Judicial Hellholes are places where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, generally against defendants in civil lawsuits," the organization's new 64-page report says. Viewed another way, the jurisdictions are marketing opportunities for… -
Lexis for Microsoft Office to be Offered FREE
2 Feb 2010 | 5:06 pmYou can't get it yet, but when Lexis for Microsoft Office (LMO) comes out by June 2010, there will be no extra charge for the additional functionality. You have to have a LexisNexis subscription that lets you access the information LMO can get, but otherwise the company will waive the cost on the first iteration, according to Clemens Ceipek, Vice President and Managing Director of "New Lexis." "We don’t think the market right now tolerates a lot of price action, customers want more value," he said, noting that clients are demanding more value and no price… -
Online Conversations Incredibly Widespread
2 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am"I find it’s always interesting to go back and review the old against the new. So, I’ve collected as much as I can from my previous insane snippets of data and benchmarked it against the here and now, alongside rooting out some new stuff for you to mull over," said Jake Hird, a Senior Research Analyst for Econsultancy, which recently published following mind-boggling statistics on their blog. Facebook claims that 50% of active users log into the site each day. This would mean at least 175m users every 24 hours. Twitter now has 75m user accounts, but only around…
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ScienceDaily: Anthropology
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Did bacteria develop into more complex cells much earlier in evolution than thought?
8 Feb 2010 | 8:00 amBiochemists have described the process by which bacteria developed into more complex cells and found this crucial step happened much earlier in the evolutionary timeline than previously thought. -
Ancient human teeth show that stress early in development can shorten life span
4 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pmAncient human teeth are telling secrets that may relate to modern-day health: Some stressful events that occurred early in development are linked to shorter lifespans. "Prehistoric remains are providing strong, physical evidence that people who acquired tooth enamel defects while in the womb or early childhood tended to die earlier, even if they survived to adulthood," says anthropologist George Armelagos, who recently published the first summary of prehistoric evidence for the Barker hypothesis. -
Last ancestor humans shared with worms had sophisticated brain, microRNAs show
2 Feb 2010 | 5:00 pmThe last ancestor we shared with worms, which roamed the seas around 600 million years ago, may already have had a sophisticated brain. Fossils cannot give us this information, but scientists have obtained it by studying small molecules called microRNAs. -
DNA testing on 2,000-year-old bones in Italy reveal East Asian ancestry
2 Feb 2010 | 2:00 pmResearchers excavating an ancient Roman cemetery were surprised when DNA testing on a set of bones revealed East Asian ancestry. -
Developmental delay may explain behavior of easygoing bonobo apes
29 Jan 2010 | 8:00 amNew research suggests that evolutionary changes in cognitive development underlie the extensive social and behavioral differences that exist between two closely related species of great apes. The study enhances our understanding of our two closest living relatives, chimpanzees and the lesser-known bonobos, and may provide key insight into human evolution.
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NYT: Sociology
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Will You Be E-Mailing This Column? It’s Awesome
8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmA University of Pennsylvania study found that readers of news in print and online had more exalted tastes than might be expected. -
Women’s Influence Grows in Bulgarian Public Life
7 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmPrime Minister Boiko M. Borisov has in recent months promoted several women, heralding what some see as a political sexual revolution in the Balkan country. -
Portrayals of Italian-Americans in the Media
5 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm -
The Sporting Mind
4 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmBig-time college sports, though absurd, have some virtues. -
She Works. Theyâre Happy.
23 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pmWhile the changing economic roles of husbands and wives may take some getting used to, the shift has had a positive effect, contributing to lower divorce rates and happier unions.
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orgtheory.net
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iron cages and friendly skies
9 Feb 2010 | 9:48 amThis may be old in the blogosphere, but I was just forwarded this nice Weberian reading of Up in the Air, posted by Susan Herbst on Inside Higher Ed. Short version: George Clooney’s character: perfect Weberian character, except that he isn’t fully comfortable with his iron cage or the rationalizing force of technology. Vera Farmiga’s character: a ”Weberian monster of sorts,” well-adapted to her iron cage. There’s more there too, including some nice teaching ideas. Worth a read: http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/01/08/herbst -
unexpected sentence of the day
9 Feb 2010 | 2:06 amCan you guess the source of this sentence? Such a thesis posits an imprinting factor stronger than any of those identified in Lorenz’s geese! Hint: It’s neofunctionalism… Jeffrey C. Alexander, page 134 of Neofunctionalism and After. Context: Alexander is trying to counter Camic’s argument that Parson’s exposure to old institutionalist arguments in undergraduate courses lingered for seventeen years. -
why did the chicken …
8 Feb 2010 | 4:21 pmThanks to the orgtheory team for inviting me to post some food for thought in the coming days–I really enjoy the sense of community this site fosters. Rather than starting with something heavy, let me celebrate that community by opening with a request: please join me in using the old “Why did the chicken cross the road?” joke to reflect on what organization theory is. If you have a moment, comment to this post by giving the theory that is supplying the punchline and the answer itself. Drawing on the two theories I find myself using most often, here are some examples to get… -
welcome mark kennedy!
7 Feb 2010 | 9:38 pmWe’re pleased to have Mark Kennedy join us as a guest blogger. Mark is an Assistant Professor at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. Mark’s research relates to categories, meaning and structure in markets and society. (Here’s an engaging ASR piece for anyone not familiar with Mark’s work.) You can learn more about his research here. Welcome Mark! -
samuelson vs. parsons
7 Feb 2010 | 4:25 pmBy the 1940s, economics and sociology mirrored each other. Emerging from political economy in Europe and progressive politics in America, these two disciplines reached a point where a single prominent scholar tried to lay the groundwork for their field. Paul Samuelson recast economics as an application of decision theory. Talcott Parsons recast sociology as an issue of systems theory. This post is a sketch of what I think the consequences are. 1. Obviously, Samuelson won in his discipline, while Parsons lost. Economists who don’t use the language of utility maximization, linear…
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Material World
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`Fas’ book (Facebook) in Trinidad
7 Feb 2010 | 9:33 amDaniel Miller, UCL I have always been drawn to anthropological research I never intended to undertake, but just couldn’t help myself. I am writing this towards the end of a period of fieldwork in Trinidad. I am here with Mirca Madianou to study the way new media impact upon transnational relationships in comparison with research undertaken last year in the Philippines which we are working up as a book, probably to be called Distant Parenting. But I just know that I wont be able to stop myself writing at least some papers if not a book about Facebook in Trinidad, because the country seems in… -
Call for papers:
4 Feb 2010 | 3:23 pmWHAT ARE SURFACES? Annual Conference of the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers London, 1st-3rd September 2010 www.rgs.org/AC2010 Session organisers: Isla Forsyth (University of Glasgow), James Robinson (Aberystwyth University), Hayden Lorimer (University of Glasgow), Peter Merriman (Aberystwyth University) Geographers have long been concerned with describing and understanding the Earth’s surface, and the social and environmental interactions which it enables or constrains. Recently, creative approaches have produced myriad explanations of surface patterns,… -
Asian/Pacific American Documentary Heritage Archives Survey
1 Feb 2010 | 4:38 pmhttp://dlibdev.nyu.edu/tamimentapa/ The Asian/Pacific American Documentary Heritage Archives Survey is the first systematic attempt to map available and potential Asian/Pacific American archival collections in the New York metropolitan area. The project seeks to address the underrepresentation of East Coast Asian America in historic scholarship and archives by working with community-based organizations and individuals to survey their records and raise awareness within the community about the importance of documenting and preserving their histories. There are some amazing archival resources… -
Smithsonian Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology
1 Feb 2010 | 2:05 pmDear Colleagues – I am pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology (SIMA), a research training initiative launched in 2009 by the Smithsonian Department of Anthropology with support from the National Science Foundation. SIMA is an intensive four-week training program that teaches graduate students how to use museum collections in research, incorporating Smithsonian collections as an integral part of their anthropological training. Support from the Cultural Anthropology Program at NSF covers full tuition and living expenses for… -
The return of the Wittelsbach Diamond—or is it?
30 Jan 2010 | 12:51 pmDoes the recutting of a famous gemstone—improving its luster and increasing its market value—fundamentally alter its identity as a historical artifact by erasing signs of use? Which temporary owners of an object get to decide whether and how to alter it, not to mention add their own names to its official title? Conservators erase layers of dirt and grime all the time, improving the appearance and condition of artworks prior to exhibition, reproduction, or sale; is such physical intervention different for other kinds of material objects? Like valued artworks, this stone has an impeccable…
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Counsel to Counsel
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What's In a Name?
8 Feb 2010 | 8:05 amWhat's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.Clearly Shakespeare was not giving advice about marketing when he wrote those lines in Romeo and Juliet. What you call your business can have a great impact on how you are perceived by potential clients. Even if you are a great personal injury lawyer, calling yourself Business Lawyers of Boston is going to attract the wrong inquiries.For many years, I have operated my business under the name Seckler Legal Consulting. While I realized long ago that "consulting" is an ambiguous term, I was trying to cast a broad… -
Check Your Checks and Balances
1 Feb 2010 | 11:46 amThis post by Jim Rhyner, worldwide lawyers professional liability insurance product manager, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, is one of a series of guest posts on CounseltoCounsel. Special thanks to Jim for his contributions.In my last Counsel to Counsel post, I talked about recent financial scandals in the legal profession. In both cases, a senior partner’s deception slipped through the cracks after a period of rapid profit growth. These incidents underscore the value of an effective system of checks and balances which can help ensure that no one person has total control over the inflow… -
If You Want to Build Business Relationships, Go for Small Gatherings
23 Jan 2010 | 10:15 amEvery few years, I decide I'm going to attend the annual dinner of one of the charities I support. The event is touted as a great place for lawyers to meet each other but in truth, it's really a lousy way to meet new lawyers. I go because it provides me with a quick way to shake a lot of hands (i.e. I know a lot of people in the organization so I see people I already know).In sharp contrast, I joined a tiny Squash and Tennis club in my hometown and on the first day I went to work out, I met more new people than I ever do at one of these gala events.I have nothing against large events. And I… -
8 Rules for Social Media Use
21 Jan 2010 | 12:57 pmI've posted again as a guest blogger on the MA LOMAP blog. If you haven't seen any of my earlier posts about LOMAP on this blog (and you are a lawyer in Massachusetts looking for cost effective resources to help you run and market your practice ( i.e. free consulting) this is a great place to spend some time.For example, next week, LOMAP is one of the co-sponsors of a free workshop on the new data privacy law in Massachusetts. -
Social Media and Your Overall Marketing Plan in the New Year
5 Jan 2010 | 7:04 amThis Thursday, January 7, I'll be leading a discussion on how to integrate social media into your overall marketing plan. The session is sponsored by the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program (LOMAP), a relatively new entity that is already doing great things to improve the quality of legal practice in Massachusetts. It is part of a marketing group that meets periodically by conference call. This first session of 2010 (which meets at noon) is open to anyone. If you or someone you know has a limited budget for law practice consulting, LOMAP offers many free resources…
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Nuts & Boalts
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One Path To Becoming an Good Speller Appellate Lawyer
8 Feb 2010 | 9:47 amRob banks. From the New York Times:Shon R. Hopwood was not a particularly sophisticated bank robber. “We would walk into a bank with firearms, tell people to get down, take the money and run,” he said the other day, recalling five robberies in rural Nebraska in 1997 and 1998 that yielded some $200,000 and more than a decade in federal prison.Mr. Hopwood spent much of that time in the prison law library, and it turned out he was better at understanding the law than breaking it. He transformed himself into something rare at the top levels of the American bar, and unheard of behind bars —… -
Should a Gay Judge Recuse Himself In Deciding the Constitutionality of Proposition 8?
8 Feb 2010 | 6:31 amA recent column in the San Fransisco Chronicle begins, "The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay." [Hat Tip: ATL]As the column indicates, Prop. 8's proponents (smartly) have not objected to Judge Walker on the basis of his orientation. There's been no indication of any bias in this trial, and I don't think that a judge's impartiality can be questioned on the basis of his sexual orientation.That said, 28 U.S.C. § 455 (b)(5) states… -
Boalt Students Speak Out Against Yoo and Bybee Findings
4 Feb 2010 | 9:45 amThis morning, the Berkeley Daily Planet published an op-ed written by the heads of Berkeley's chapter of the National Lawyers Guild discussing the recent findings by Obama's Justice Department on John Yoo and Jay Bybee.I found this section of the op-ed to be the most compelling, as it spells out further action that could be taken against Yoo and Bybee:Despite its revised conclusion, the OPR report, at least based on what has been leaked, still seems to provide considerable evidence to support investigations of professional misconduct. From what Newsweek reported, it appears that Yoo and Bybee… -
"And in the Briefcase?" "Uh, uh, Papers, um, Just Papers, uh, You Know, uh, My Papers, Business Papers."
2 Feb 2010 | 1:18 pmUpdate: Here are a series of high resolution images.Check this out, (via the WSJ Law Blog): the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that historians have just located a heretofore unknown draft of the United States Constitution. Apparently it has for years been preserved, unrecognized, in a historical archive.Anyone else predicting a flurry of originalist scholarship? -
How Should We Deal with JAG's Discriminatory Hiring Policies?
2 Feb 2010 | 11:47 amArmy JAG recruiters are coming next Wednesday in order to fill summer slots for 1Ls and recruit 3Ls to serve as JAGs after they graduate from law school.Some student groups have suggested students who may or may not actually be interested in getting a job with JAG sign up for interviews and then tell the Army recruiters exactly how they feel about the US military's discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.Could this make it harder for students legitimately interested in JAG to get an interview? If so, is it the best form of protest?Are all military personnel supporting this policy by…
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Bag and Baggage
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TWiL 46 Video — Privacy? Losin' It.
5 Feb 2010 | 7:12 pmVideo archives for TWiL are available at blip.tv and ODTV. Also, TWiL is on Twitter and Facebook, if you're so inclined. This WEEK in LAW on Facebook -
TWiL 45 Video — In An iPadded Cell
30 Jan 2010 | 9:41 amVideo archives for TWiL are available at blip.tv and ODTV. Also, TWiL is on Twitter and Facebook, if you're so inclined. This WEEK in LAW on Facebook -
TWiL 44 Video — Crimes and Damages
29 Jan 2010 | 1:00 pmVideo archives for TWiL are available at blip.tv and ODTV. Also, TWiL is on Twitter and Facebook, if you're so inclined. This WEEK in LAW on Facebook -
TWiL 43 Video — Please Come to Boston
18 Jan 2010 | 7:57 amVideo archives for TWiL are available at blip.tv and ODTV. Also, TWiL is on Twitter and Facebook, if you're so inclined. This WEEK in LAW on Facebook -
So Many Grandmas, So Little Time
12 Jan 2010 | 8:42 amautumn 065 bridesmaids dressesOriginally uploaded by apium Parent: It's Grandpa [Parent's dad] and Grandma's [Parent's stepmom] anniversary today. Child: Can we go? Parent: No, I'm sorry, we're too far away. We can wish them a Happy Anniversary though. Child: How can they have an anniversary without Grandma ___ [Parent's mom, divorce final in the '80's]? Parent: Um. They seem to figure it out.
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NYT: Anthropology
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Evidence Builds on Color of Dinosaurs
4 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmFor the second time in two weeks, paleontologists provided insight into what the prehistoric creatures looked like. -
Study Offers an Insight Into Dinosaur Colors
27 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pmFossilized structures of what appear to be feathers match the feathers of living birds down to the microscopic level, and from them scientists have determined what color the ancient feathers were. -
Neanderthal Decorative Shells Found in Southeastern Spain
11 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pmNew findings suggest that Neanderthals may have been capable of symbolic thinking. -
The Americanization of Mental Illness
9 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pmIn recent years, American ideas about psychiatric disorders have spread around the globe. Is that really good for the world’s mental health? -
Foraging Early Humans Did Not Pass Up Grains
21 Dec 2009 | 9:00 pmHumans were eating sorghum grasses at least 105,000 years ago, an archaeologist reports.
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My Shingle
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Social Media or the Internet Alone Won't Help You Find A Job
8 Feb 2010 | 5:28 amDon't get me wrong - I'm a fan of social media when used ethically and responsibly. Heck, I've got a book on social media for lawyers with Niki Black that's coming out at the end of next month. As a shy person myself, I understand the appeal of social media: it's easy. You don't risk huge rejection or embarrassment when you follow someone on Twitter or ask to friend or link with them. It's much harder to call someone on the phone to ask for advice or set up a meeting or coffee date. And yet, if you don't come offline, you miss opportunities. This past… -
Boutique Practice: Leaving the Land of Loss Leaders
4 Feb 2010 | 6:22 amThe twenty-first century version of loss leaders, big-law style, is nothing more than old fashioned price cutting wars, observes Toby Brown at Three Geeks and a Law Blog. A loss leader refers to a pricing strategy whereby a product is advertised below cost to lure customers in the hopes of selling them more profitable, big ticket items. As Brown points out, biglaw's so called loss leaders - deeply discounted M&A deals and large dollar, complex litigation cases -- are in fact, nothing more than big-ticket items being passed off at bargain basement prices. Rather than… -
Return of the Part Time Shingle - February 18, 2010
3 Feb 2010 | 8:20 pmThe wildly popular The Part-Time Shingle Teleseminar is back. Carolyn Elefant, author of Solo By Choice and the blog, MyShingle and Julie Tower-Pierce, author of Staying at Home: Staying in the Law and the flexible lawyering blog, DarlingHill.com, are teaming up once again on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 12:30 p.m. ET to offer another teleseminar – the latest offering in their PinkSlips, Detours & Re-Entry series. If you’ve ever dreamed about starting your own practice or staying in the law on your own flexible terms, this is an event you absolutely can’t miss! -
UPDATE - I lost my temper [I Should Be Banned from the Blogosphere? As If...]
3 Feb 2010 | 3:26 pmUPDATE 2/4/10 - 7:45 am Below is a post that I should not have written. I let my temper get the better of me and attributed a view to a respected colleague, Mark Bennett, that I should not have. Mark actually apologized in a comment, but I too am responsible. Jumping to conclusions, as I did, is one reason for lack of civility in the profession. I would have served myself better by picking up the phone and having a conversation with Mark, which I intend to do. Believe me, I'd love to remove this post, but the one strict policy that I've maintained here… -
Learning About the Future of Law From Our Kids
2 Feb 2010 | 5:01 amYesterday, my thirteen year old came home from school and announced that her science teacher now requires all of the students to keep their materials - class notes, homework, handouts and the like - on Dropbox. And so, my daughter and her classmates spent the most of the class uploading documents from their computers (probably half the kids have laptops, while the rest use school machines) or transferring them from GoogleDocs. My ten year old got in on the conversation as well, asking what Dropbox was and how it differed from GoogleDocs (which the younger one occasionally uses).
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DennisKennedy.blog
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Recent Microblog Posts - January 31, 2010
31 Jan 2010 | 7:50 pmHere's the latest collection of posts from DennisKennedy.Microblog, which is a supplement to this blog that can be found on Twitter at @dkennedyblog. I invite you to become a follower. An explanation of the microblog can be found here. Here are recent posts from the microblog: Adam Singer on "Workforce Darwinism" - 70% of surveyed US HR pros have rejected candidate due to online reputation info http://bit.ly/dpS8R8 Kevin Meyer: Swimming Through the Information Clutter - http://bit.ly/cB0cpS - impact of information flow on leadership Fraser Speirs: "What you're seeing in the industry's… -
MLK Holiday - 2010
18 Jan 2010 | 5:57 pmI have a tradition on this blog of writing a post on celebrating the Martin Luther King holiday (here, here, here (especially) and here). The holiday is special to me for a number of reasons that I go into in the earlier posts on the topic and it's one of my favorite holidays of the year. I enjoy reading blog posts and other materials posted on the holiday, and today is no exception. I especially liked Curt Rosengren's Martin Luther King Day: 4 steps to making it personal. The money quote: This year, instead of just thinking, "Whoo-hoo! I have the day off," or "Hey, there's a sale at the… -
52 Books in 52 Weeks - 2010
16 Jan 2010 | 6:55 pmFor the last few years, I've enjoyed reading the posts of several bloggers who are trying to read 52 books in 52 weeks. I've also wanted to find a good way for me to keep track of the books I've read. Last year, I decided to try to do the 52 books in 52 weeks meme (and encourage others to do so). I made it to 63, which seemed pretty good. Here's the post with the 2009 list. I'm doing the same thing in 2010. My approach is the same as last year - I'll simply update this specific post from time to time throughout the year as I finish books. December November October September August July June… -
Looking Forward: Legal Technology in 2010
5 Jan 2010 | 7:15 pmTom Mighell and I have recorded another episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast and it's now available on the Legal Talk Network and on iTunes, with an RSS feed here. The episode is called "Looking Forward: Legal Technology in 2010" (show notes here), and it's sponsored by Bill4Time. A special thank you to readers of this blog who listen to the podcast - we're very pleased with the growing numbers of downloads the podcast is getting. Here's the episode description: In part two of this two-part series on legal technology trends, co-hosts Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell peer into the… -
Recent Microblog Posts - January 4, 2010
3 Jan 2010 | 6:43 pmHappy New Year and best wishes for 2010! Here's the latest collection of posts from DennisKennedy.Microblog, which is a supplement to this blog that can be found on Twitter at @dkennedyblog. I invite you to become a follower. An explanation of the microblog can be found here. Here are recent posts from the microblog: David Allen offers great questions for completing and remember 2009 and creating your 2010 - http://bit.ly/6k8IbZ Julia Kirby at HBR sets out top management ideas of past decade - http://bit.ly/5lQCBf - coming to your organization soon? Hey, that's @denniskennedy named in "Friend…
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the [non]billable hour by Matthew Homann
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Revive Zombie Clients and Other Great Tips
25 Jan 2010 | 8:14 amThere's some great, simple advice from the Freelance Folder in Seven Tips to Keep Your Clients Coming Back for More. The tips:Offer packages for recurring work.Give your best clients special treatment.Revive “zombie clients.”Mark important dates.Foster a feeling of belonging in an exclusive club.Create promos throughout the year.Ask for referrals.Go read the entire article. It is worth your five minutes. -
Audit for Obsolescence
5 Jan 2010 | 8:12 amJordan Furlong suggests lawyers and firms conduct an Obsolescence Audit, aimed at identifying aspects of your business that won't survive the next ten years. Here's his checklist of things to look for:1. Any offering that’s the same no matter who buys it.2. Any offering essentially the same as your competitors’. 3. Any offering not optimally designed for client value.4. Any offering that really, truly doesn’t require a lawyer.Read the entire post for Jordan's elaboration on each point. A fantastic idea! -
Resolve to Let Clients Set Your Price
5 Jan 2010 | 8:00 amI've been using my "You Decide" fill-in-the-blank invoice, for over a year now. In that time, I've found time and time again that my clients pay me more than I would have charged them. And, in situations where clients demand a fixed price, I'm quoting them much higher prices (coupled with a money-back guarantee) than I would have before my invoice experiment.Even though I've been doing flat-fee work for almost a decade, I used to (even subconsciously) focus on the time it took me to do something. Now, everything I do is focused on delivering the… -
Resolve to Support the Causes Your Clients Do
2 Jan 2010 | 1:19 pmIf you've got a big client, odds are they've got a pet project. Whether it is for a community organization, charity, civic group or volunteer event, supporting the causes your clients do can deepen your relationship with them while benefiting those in need.That's why, in 2010 you need to Resolve to Take Care of Clients' Pet Projects. For every client, find out what kinds of charitable groups or causes they support (and why). Armed with this knowledge, here are a few things you can do: Get on the group's mailing list, so you'll always know how you… -
Resolve to Land a Big Fish
2 Jan 2010 | 9:05 amAlmost every lawyer has a "big fish" they'd like to land. Whether that fish is an individual client, a corporation, an insurance company or even a great referral source, your big fish isn't going to catch itself. And what better place to find advice on catching "big fish" than on a website called TakeMeFishing? Some fishing wisdom to keep in mind when you're Resolving to Land a Big Fish:Fishing techniques:The cool thing about fishing is that there are hundreds of species of fish to catch. What's even cooler is that there are multiple…
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Law.com - Newswire
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Rakoff Still Has Questions About SEC Pact With BofA
New York federal Judge Jed S. Rakoff grilled attorneys for the SEC on Monday about a proposed $150 million settlement that would bring an end to two actions against the Bank of America Corp. stemming from its $50 billion takeover of Merrill Lynch in 2008. The actions accuse the bank of failing to disclose to shareholders that it had authorized Merrill to pay up to $5.8 billion in bonuses in 2008 and of keeping shareholders in the dark about "extraordinary" losses Merrill sustained two months before the merger. -
Lawyers for Jackson's Doctor Accustomed to High-Profile Cases
A formidable team of lawyers has lined up to defend Dr. Conrad Murray, who was charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Murray's lead lawyer is Ed Chernoff, a partner at criminal defense firm Stradley Chernoff, who is handling the case with firm partners Matthew Alford and William Stradley. Also on the defense team: California lawyers Michael Flanagan and Joseph Low. Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted. -
Smoker's $300 Million Award to Be Overturned
The largest individual award to a former Florida smoker against the tobacco industry will not stand, a Broward Circuit judge ruled Friday. Calling the $300 million jury verdict "shocking," Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld said he would determine a lower award later against Philip Morris USA. The jury's decision to award $56.5 million in compensatory damages and $244 million in punitive damages stemmed from anger, said Streitfeld, who faulted tobacco company attorneys for putting on a "blame the smoker" defense. -
Electronic Privacy and the Supreme Court
Electronic privacy in the workplace is a tangled subject, with only a few sure footholds for employers. Attorneys are hoping a Supreme Court ruling will provide unifying guidance on employer monitoring of employee text messages in a case currently under consideration by the justices. -
Faegre & Benson Partner Dies in Air Crash
Robert Matthews, a commercial litigation partner in Faegre & Benson's Boulder office, died Saturday when a small plane he was piloting collided in midair with another plane some 8,000 feet over the Colorado city, according to the Daily Camera of Boulder. The crash killed the 58-year-old Matthews, his 56-year-old brother Mark and the pilot of the other plane, which CNN reports was a single-seat Piper Pawnee towing a glider.
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The Legal Satyricon
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Forced Sterilization Candidate
9 Feb 2010 | 11:40 amThis guy. Filed under: ass hat -
A good case for vegetarianism
8 Feb 2010 | 11:02 pmI’m still going to eat tasty animals. But, I think this is a good presentation against it. Filed under: misc -
The hidden cost of single mothers
7 Feb 2010 | 11:39 amBy J. DeVoy In honor of filing my taxes, here’s some information about the tax benefits that men, families and child-free women won’t be receiving this season. From Butterfly Squash: “Head of Household” is the filing status used by most single parents. They contribute the least to income taxes. The most are contributed by single males, followed by married [...] -
Clarence Thomas and Richard Posner hand victories to the internet
5 Feb 2010 | 9:01 pmBy J. DeVoy In his remarks at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law earlier this week, Clarence Thomas used a term those who read legal blogs and message boards know well: TTT. (Beginning at the 40:00 mark.) Thomas kind of botched the acronym, saying “third tier trash,” instead of the more commonly accepted third tier [...] -
The News
5 Feb 2010 | 8:27 amH/T: Bob Filed under: misc
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Connecticut Employment Law Blog
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Paycheck Fairness Act - Coming Soon?
8 Feb 2010 | 7:47 pmAs those who have been following my tweets know, I have been at the American Bar Association's House of Delegates and midyear meetings. There's lots of substance to these meetings and you can certainly follow along with the ABA Journal. Among the topics discussed today, was the Paycheck Fairness Act now pending in Congress. If you are not familiar with it, you should be because by all accounts, it's moving front and center this year as an important piece of legislation for the Obama Administration and others. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut is the primary sponsor of the bill in… -
Do You Really Want To Take on the 350 Million Pound Gorilla in the Room?
3 Feb 2010 | 9:50 amSo, you're an employer and you've just been sued for disability discrimination. Allegedly, you fired an employee who was out of work without a legitimate reason. You had heard grumblings that the worker had actually taken a four-day weekend in Vail but never had definitive proof, so you just relied on the no-call/no-show policy to say the employee abandoned his job. But what now? You think "I know where I'll look -- Facebook! (After all, Facebook has 350 million users now!)" Surely, you think, there must be pictures, or a wall post, or a status update,… -
Social Media Policies and Practices Developing as Companies Begin to Embrace It
1 Feb 2010 | 7:15 pmAmong the interesting programs at the Legal Tech 2010 conference in New York this week, was panel discussion tackling social media at companies. Three attorneys with significant in-house experience (American Express, Lincoln Center, Kraft), all took turns describing how social media is here to stay -- and how companies can take advantage of it. First off, the moderator noted that people are likely talking about your company; but if you're not on social media, you may not realize it until it has spread like wildfire. Example #1: "United Breaks Guitars" a viral video that… -
Enforcing Restrictive Covenants - What Employers Need to Know
29 Jan 2010 | 11:52 amThere were signs this morning that the economy is starting to pick up again. If that continues to happen, there is no doubt that we'll start to see many more employees changing jobs to take advantage of new opportunities. But as that happens, some of those employees' employers will be left scratching their head and asking: How can I protect my clients, customers and confidential data from walking out the door? What's one possible solution? Restrictive Covenants are typically contract provisions that restrict an employee from competing with your business, soliciting clients or employees, or… -
New CHRO Agency Head: Changes are Coming
29 Jan 2010 | 6:42 amThe Connecticut Law Tribune snagged an in-depth interview with new CHRO Executive Director Robert Brothers this week. in it, Brothers shares his views that the CHRO has made missteps in the past and that he is going to try to turn that around. Among the changes that he is considering are an revamp of the agency's website and perhaps a shift to e-filing (greatly reducing the amount of paper generated). He also indicated that he is looking for a way to expedite complaints because he believes that the system is taking too long. Another notable part of the interview focused on…
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Holy Kaw!
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13 geeky Valentine’s Day gifts
9 Feb 2010 | 12:33 pmLooking for a way to knock the argyle socks off your geeky lover this Valentine’s Day? Skip the computer programmer-themed porn and try gifting your nerdy loved one some HTTPanties or “Tweet Me” Sweethearts candy. The Huffington Post tracked down thirteen geeky gifts that scream “I love you, nerd face.” Full geeky gift list at Huffington Post. Get your geek on. Permalink | Leave a comment » -
Google Buzz's official demo [video]
9 Feb 2010 | 11:25 amGoogle has just unveiled its latest attempt to become more relevant in the social media space—Google Buzz. The product is integrated within Gmail and will be rolled out gradually to all of the webmail service’s users over the next few days. While this development is still unfolding, you can check out Google Buzz’s two-minute demo of Buzz in action both online and via mobile. What are your initial reactions? Another soon-to-be-forgotten Google product like Wave, or a Facebook/Twitter killer? Full story at Mashable. Total Google coverage. Permalink | Leave a… -
Darth Vader’s original wimpy voice [video]
9 Feb 2010 | 11:15 amImagine a galaxy far, far away where Darth Vader sounded like any other British bloke strolling down the corridors of the Death Star. Before James Earl Jones provided the menacing voice of the Dark Lord of the Sith, English actor and bodybuilder David Prowse delivered the lines from inside the Darth costume. While George Lucas never intended for Prowse’s voice to make the flick’s final cut, it’s weird to imagine how different Star Wars would have been with a different Vader voice. Full story at Huffington Post. Tons of Star Wars tidbits. Permalink | Leave a… -
7 things you didn’t know about condoms
9 Feb 2010 | 10:14 amRubbers. Raincoats. Inconvenient. Whatever you call 'em, condoms remain a must-have in the safe sex tool box. Long before the days of Durex and Trojans, men used animal intestines to protect their willies (that sounds lovely, eh ladies?) and still to this day use lambskin condoms for latex allergies and supposed extra sensitivity. Want to learn even more fun facts about condoms that will surely impress your friends and potential lovers? Check out Asylum's seven things you probably didn't know about condoms that includes tantalizing tidbits like: Vaseline + condoms = Disintegrated rubber and… -
Horror flick mirror scare mash-up [video]
9 Feb 2010 | 9:25 amHorror movies love to rely on cliches to scare the bejeezus out of us, but does it really surprise anyone that the axe murderer is going to pop in the reflection of a mirror? Ok, yes, it still totally sparks a few pee-in-pants moments. Check out this mash-up of mirror scare moments (fair warning: don’t watch alone in a big, dark, scary house): Full story at Four Four. Boo! Tons of scary and not so scary movie news. Permalink | Leave a comment »
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JD Supra Hot Docs - Newsworthy Legal Filings From the Source
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In re LRL Citi Properties I DE, LLC (d/b/a CitiApartments): Chapter 11 Voluntary Bankruptcy Petition
9 Feb 2010 | 4:24 amCase Name: In re LRL Citi Properties I DE, LLC (d/b/a CitiApartments) Document Name: Chapter 11 Voluntary Bankruptcy Petition Post Date: 02/09/2010 Filing Date: 02/08/2010 Document Summary: Yesterday, four entities affiliated with major San Francisco landlord CitiApartments and its owners, the Lembi family, filed for chapter 11 protection in the Northern District of California. The four entities are Hermann Street DE, LLC; LRL Citi Properties I DE, LLC; Trophy Properties I DE, LLC; and Sutter Associates DE, LLC. Those four entities collectively own approximately 15 properties in San… -
Aaron Burkholder v. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture]: Commonwealth Court Opinion regarding Aaron Burkholder's 2009 kennel license refusal
9 Feb 2010 | 4:13 amCase Name: Aaron Burkholder v. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture] Document Name: Commonwealth Court Opinion regarding Aaron Burkholder's 2009 kennel license refusal Post Date: 02/09/2010 Filing Date: 02/08/2010 Document Summary: Section 903 of the Dog Law is clear and unambiguous. Its provisions allow for the Department to seek either civil or criminal penalties for violations of the Dog Law or its regulations. Separate and apart from Section 903 is Section 211(a) which provides the Department with its administrative powers, specifically, its authority to refuse or revoke a kennel… -
Galbraith v. Derr: Future Lost Earning Capacity Available in Pa., Despite No Present Wage Loss
9 Feb 2010 | 2:15 amCase Name: Galbraith v. Derr Document Name: Future Lost Earning Capacity Available in Pa., Despite No Present Wage Loss Post Date: 02/09/2010 Filing Date: 02/05/2010 Document Summary: Defense counsel and the trial judge questioned whether Plaintiff could seek future lost earning capacity when there were no wages lost up to the point of trial. The memo gives a history of Pa. law going back to 1917, all of which supports a claim for future lost earning capacity even if Plaintiff is earning MORE money after the injury which is the subject of the lawsuit. Contributor: Steven Margolis [Full… -
United States v Stephen Bowers: Opinion
8 Feb 2010 | 6:57 amCase Name: United States v Stephen Bowers Document Name: Opinion Post Date: 02/08/2010 Filing Date: 02/08/2010 Document Summary: This document is the opinion of the U.S. Sixth Court of Appeals affirming Appellant Stephen Bower's conviction for possession of child sexually abusive material. The decision will be published in the Federal Reporter 4th and overturns the Sixth Circuit's Corp decision. Citing the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gonzales v Raich (which held that the medical marijuana industry in California, although completely local, is nevertheless subject to… -
Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital: In a success for plaintiffs, the Illinois Supreme Court strikes down medical malpractice law
7 Feb 2010 | 2:35 amCase Name: Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital Document Name: In a success for plaintiffs, the Illinois Supreme Court strikes down medical malpractice law Post Date: 02/07/2010 Filing Date: 02/04/2010 Document Summary: In a boon to plaintiff lawyers, the Illinois Supreme Court strikes down medical malpractice law.In 2005, a statute took effect in Illinois that placed limits on awards for noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, in medical malpractice cases. The total limit was $1 million for hospitals and their personnel and $500,000 for doctors.Shortly after the effective date of…
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Real Lawyers Have Blogs
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Why your law firm should forget about building an iPhone App
9 Feb 2010 | 9:53 amSince the advent of iPhone applications in July, 2008 over 134,000 iPhone applications have become available at the Apple App Store. Over 3 billion of such applications for news, information, entertainment, and more have been downloaded by iPhone users. With ESPN, The New York Times, Facebook, LinkedIn, CNN, and MLB all having applications, why not our law firm? Everyone could read our blog posts, articles, and alerts on an iPhone. It would be so cool. We'd look so hip. I'm in agreement with online PR and social media professional, Niall Harbison. Forget about building an iPhone App. Couple… -
Best in Law Blogs : LexBlog Network : February 8, 2010
8 Feb 2010 | 4:34 pmWell, I hope everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl; watching Peyton Manning channel his inner Favre was a bit surreal. Anyway, we had 129 posts on the LexBlog Network today with Jamie Spencer providing one of the more interesting posts, offering insight on cops, lawyers and judges using iPhone apps. Keeping Stuff out of Trials: Dirty Tricks - Palm Coast lawyer Philip Chanfrau on his Palm Coast Injury Law Blog Proving fault in a slip and fall case - Dallas attorney Bryan Fears of Fears Nachawati on the firm's Texas Injury Law Blog The High Road to Labor Law Reform... - White Plains lawyer Tom… -
Best in Law Blogs: LexBlog Network: February 5, 2010
5 Feb 2010 | 5:13 pmFridays are always slightly slower as far as posting goes, but not too much slower as we still had a respectable 119 posts on the LexBlog Network today. Hope everyone has a very enjoyable Super Bowl weekend, not sure who I'll sway my allegiances toward; let's hope for a good game. Municipal Ordinance Permits Attorney Fee Award Only In Limited Proceedings - Complex litigation attorney David J. McMahon on Barger Wolen’s Litigation Management and Attorney Fee Analysis Blog The Combs v. Chevron opinion is out, and it's big news for the Texas state tax world - Dallas lawyer Alan E. Sherman… -
LexBlog interviews from Avvo Conference
5 Feb 2010 | 3:36 pmThe first-ever Avvocating Conference was hosted in Seattle a couple weeks ago by the folks at Avvo, and some members of the LexBlog team were able to head over and chat with some of the attendees. You may have read some of Kevin's blog posts on the Avvo conference. Now you can check out the video interviews as well on our site, LexConference. Mark Britton, President & CEO of Avvo Doug Mandell of Mandell Law Group Kathy Gill, Senior Lecturer, Digital Media, University of Washington John Day, Tennessee injury lawyer and member of LexBlog Network Bob Ambrogi, lawyer & legal media… -
New blogs joining the LexBlog Network for the week of 2/1-2/5
5 Feb 2010 | 3:21 pmWe have five launches in total this week with topics covered ranging from construction law to human resources to employment and human rights to oil and gas evaluation to nano and clean technology. Whew, a lot. Whether these blogs cover your area of expertise or not, feel free to drop in and take a look, maybe leave a comment if you feel so inclined. Toronto lawyer Lisa Stam authors Employment & Human Rights in Canada. One of the reasons Lisa decided to start the blog was that social media in the workplace has been such an important legal issue that she wanted to get firsthand…
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Trade Secrets Blog
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Former Boeing Employee, Dongfan Chung, Sentenced to More than 15 Years for Economic Espionage
9 Feb 2010 | 8:47 amThe Wall Street Journal is reporting that a Chinese-born engineer was sentenced Monday to more than 15 years in prison for hoarding sensitive information about the U.S. space shuttle that prosecutors say he intended to share with China.The case against Dongfan "Greg" Chung was the U.S.'s first trial on economic-espionage charges. The 74-year-old former Boeing Co. engineer was convicted in July of six counts of economic espionage and other federal charges for keeping 300,000 pages of sensitive papers in his home.Before sentencing Mr. Chung, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney said he didn't… -
Potential Problems in Trying Goodyear Trade Secrets Case
9 Feb 2010 | 8:45 amFollowing up on our earlier posting here, there’s a good story in the Knoxville News Sentinel about the difficulties of trying corporate espionage cases in court without revealing trade secrets. The article outlines the conceptual clash between the philosophy of open and public courtrooms (embodied, after all, in our Constitution) and the problem that victims of trade secrets theft won’t come forward if they fear that their trade secrets will be exposed at trial.According to the story, prosecutors are at the trial of two engineers accused of improperly snapping seven photographs at a… -
Liberty Mutual Sues Nine Departed Employees and Their New Employer for Trade Secret Theft
8 Feb 2010 | 6:11 amThe online magazine, Insurance Journal, is reporting that Liberty Mutual Insurance is suing nine former employees and their new employer, Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Holdings, alleging they have plotted to steal professional liability insurance business from its Liberty International Underwriters unit.The suit, filed Feb. 1 in New York County Supreme Court, says the workers and Aspen "unlawfully conspired (and continue to conspire) to breach duties of loyalty to Liberty, raid Liberty's business operations, and misappropriate Liberty's trade secrets and goodwill."The Liberty suit alleges… -
Korean Authorities Arrest Many in Alleged Theft and Transfer of Samsung's Trade Secrets to Hynix
5 Feb 2010 | 6:26 amThe Wall Street Journal is reporting that the world's top producers of computer memory chips are embroiled in an alleged case of industrial espionage after South Korean prosecutors indicted 18 people over alleged technology theft.Prosecutors said Thursday those involved — including employees of U.S. company Allied Materials and its South Korean unit — are suspected of leaking semiconductor technology belonging to South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. to its domestic rival Hynix Semiconductor Inc.Samsung and Hynix are the world's top two producers of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM,… -
Bristol-Myers-Squibb Employee Charged with Extensive Trade Secret Theft
4 Feb 2010 | 7:24 amABC News is reporting that Shalin Jhaveri, 29, of Syracuse, was charged in U.S. District Court with stealing trade secrets and proprietary information from the New York-based company while taking part in a management training program. He was fired Tuesday.Employed on an immigrant worker's visa, Jhaveri had been a technical operations associate at Bristol since November 2007. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.The thefts of "hundreds of the company's standard operating procedures" took place over an extended period, "but the most active period…
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California Employment Law Report
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No Break In Worker Suits
3 Feb 2010 | 5:16 pmI was quoted in this month's California Lawyer magazine regarding the steady persistence of wage and hour lawsuits here in California - even during these difficult economic times. The article, No Break In Worker Suits, can be read here. -
Recruiters for temporary staffing company must be paid overtime
3 Feb 2010 | 7:33 amThe case Pellegrino v. Robert Half International, Inc. (RHI) was brought by recruiters alleging that RHI failed to comply with Labor Code provisions pertaining to overtime compensation, commissions, meal periods, itemized wage statements, and unfair competition (under Business and Professions Code section 17200). As defenses, RHI argued that Plaintiffs’ claims were barred because they all entered into agreements that shortened their statute of limitations down from four years to six months. RHI also argued that the Plaintiffs were exempt from wage and hour laws because the… -
You are a linchpin
24 Jan 2010 | 9:19 pmDespite your teachers, friends, boss, colleagues and family members telling you otherwise, you are a linchpin. You are a genius that can succeed in the new economy. Seth Godin’s new book, Linchpin, sets out to challenge you to unlearn what school and society has rewarded in the past, and to let us all know that we are linchpins (if we make the choice to be). I just finished reading an advance copy of Linchpin, and have to recommend the book to anyone who either manages people at work or for anyone who has to work for a living. I have read many of Seth’s other books which… -
Top 100 Employment Law Blog
12 Jan 2010 | 7:51 amYes, the California Employment Law Report was recognized as a top 100 employment law blog in 2009. The Delaware Employment Law Blog published its top 100 employment law blogs, and the California Employment Law Report is honored to be recognized in such a distinguished list. If you routinely deal with employment law issues across the country, the list of the 100 (plus 10) blogs is a great resource, and you should check the list out here and add a few of the blogs to your RSS reader. Now all is needed is more time to publish posts to keep this standing in… -
Arbitration Agreement Upheld Despite Employee's Argument It Was Not Mutual And Adhesive
21 Oct 2009 | 8:47 amIn Roman v. Superior Court, the Court of Appeals upheld an arbitration agreement where the employee challenged the agreement by arguing that the agreement was unenforceable because it only obligated the employee to arbitrate his claims. The court disagreed with plaintiff’s argument and explained that the mere inclusion of the words “I understand” or “I agree” does not destroy the mutuality of an arbitration agreement. Roman v. Superior Court, 172 Cal.App.4th 1462, 1473 (2009). The arbitration agreement at issue in the case provided: I hereby agree to submit to…
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The Rainmaker Blog
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Focus on the positive
8 Feb 2010 | 11:11 amWe have been through a rough time during the past year or two across the country. The economic downturn has many attorneys increasingly concerned with how the tough economy is affecting their practice and their ability to focus on their law firm marketing plans. As a business owner you cannot afford to focus on the fear and scarcity mentality that is seen today and being promoted by the media. Let’s have a little perspective on this. Is this the best of times? No. Is this the worst we have ever seen it? Not by a long shot. Will we recover? … -
A Strong Financial Plan is Vital For Your Law Firm Marketing Plan
3 Feb 2010 | 2:49 pmPreviously, I discussed selecting the most effective legal marketing techniques to boost your law firm marketing plan. The techniques include referrals, speaking engagements, networking, online presence, public relations, promotional events and advertising. This post explores the benefits of a strong financial component in your law firm marketing strategy. This is often the scariest part of writing a marketing plan. One of the biggest reasons for small business failure is lack of available funding to keep it going. This is certainly the case for many new firms and solo… -
Looking for Law Firm Marketing Guidance? Come to a Rainmaker Retreat
1 Feb 2010 | 10:33 amAre you looking for a way to fulfill your New Year’s resolution to become more effective in how you spend your legal marketing budget? Do you need guidance and motivation to compose a comprehensive law firm marketing plan? I have a suggestion for you. Come to one of the upcoming Rainmaker Retreats. The Rainmaker Retreat is a 2-day marketing boot camp for attorneys. Attendees at previous Rainmaker Retreats have come away with many new ideas and actionable legal marketing strategies that they can take home and implement right away. This spring, we have a number of… -
The Legal Marketing Lowdown on PR, Promotional Events and Advertising
29 Jan 2010 | 8:36 amPreviously, I discussed selecting the most effective legal marketing techniques to boost your law firm marketing plan. The techniques include referrals, speaking engagements, networking, online presence, public relations, promotional events and advertising. This post explores the benefits of public relations, promotional events and advertising in your law firm marketing strategy. Public relations, promotional events and advertising are three similar, somewhat interrelated but distinct strategies in a sound law firm marketing plan This post provides a brief overview of… -
California Solo and Small Firm Summit Recap
28 Jan 2010 | 1:38 pmLast week, 175 solo and small firm attorneys from a wide variety of practice areas gathered in Long Beach for the State Bar of California Solo and Small Firm Summit. I had the great privilege of being the keynote speaker during the opening and closing sessions, as well as presenting during two of the breakout sessions. Law firm marketing was not the only topic on the agenda, but it was prominently featured. The attorneys in attendance were upbeat and positive, despite the recent economic doldrums that have befallen the nation. They were motivated and there for a…
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a public defender
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To have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence
2 Feb 2010 | 4:42 pmClarence Earl Gideon, we salute you. On the first go around, sans counsel: and after the landmark decision: HT: Tannebaum -
Bysiewicz as AG: I hate to say it
2 Feb 2010 | 4:29 pmbut I told you so. Leaving aside the “does she have 10 years’ active practice” kerfuffle for a moment, I just want to give you all this moment to recognize that, well, I was right (or at the very least that the current AG agrees with me). The long-awaited “formal opinion” from our soon to be Senator Blumenthal was issued today at 1pm. You can read it here or view the pdf here. The opinion hits all the usual points in construing the constitutionality of a statute: “[l]egislation is presumed to be constitutional, and a litigant challenging its validity has the… -
The Constitution is a wet blanket
31 Jan 2010 | 3:32 pmThe Constitution was intended to be many things: a guide, a charter, founding principles and at the very least a set of instructions for those that sought to build a just and fair country from the ashes of rebellion. What it was never intended to be was a blanket, and a wet one at that. Unfortunately, state Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, TN (hey! stop rolling your eyes) didn’t get that particular memo. So, in his Tennesseean way, he has introduced a bill making it a felony for criminal defense lawyers to make “unproven insinuations” about crime victims during the course of… -
State v. DNA profile
26 Jan 2010 | 8:12 pmIn these days of DNA, scientific and forensic evidence, it was bound to happen. As this very interesting (and lengthy) opinion from the California Supreme Court details, a “John Doe” warrant issued mere days before the statute of limitations was set to expire, identifying the defendant only by his DNA profile, satisfies the “particularity” requirement of the Fourth Amendment. The DNA was taken from a crime scene (and victim) in 1994 and after the issuance of the warrant, a cold hit matched the profile to that of the defendant. Only problem is, the DNA taken from the… -
Saving the next generation
26 Jan 2010 | 7:10 pmWhere We Live, NPR’s local daily radio show dedicated the entirety of today’s episode to the issue of children with incarcerated parents. Here’s a 2007 Sentencing Project report on children with incarcerated parents. These are the highlights: In 2007, 1.7 million minor children had a parent in prison, an 82% increase since 1991. One in 43 American children has a parent in prison, with particularly broad racial/ethnic variation. One in 15 black children and 1 in 42 Latino children has a parent in prison, compared to 1 in 111 white children. In 2007, there were 809,800 parents…
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Internet Cases
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File extensions cannot be trademarks
27 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pmAutodesk, Inc. v. Dassault Systemes Solidworks Corp., 2009 WL 5218009 (N.D. Cal. December 31, 2009) One of the issues in the case of Autodesk, Inc. v. Dassault Systemes Solidworks was whether Autodesk could claim trademark rights and the letters “DWG”. The .dwg (“drawing”) file extension is the native file format for Autodesk’s flagship product AutoCAD. Plaintiff Autodesk moved for summary judgment on the trademark issue. The defendant pointed out that the trademark laws do not permit one to claim exclusive rights in trademarks that are merely functional. During… -
Wait just a second . . . isn’t online gambling illegal?
25 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pmWong v. Partygaming Ltd., — F.3d —, 2009 WL 4893955 (6th Cir. December 21, 2009) The Sixth Circuit’s recent opinion in the case of Wong v. Partygaming is interesting if you’re a civil procedure wonk and care about things like which law applies to determine the enforceability of forum selection clauses in website terms and conditions and what factors a court should consider when dismissing a case on the basis of forum non conveniens. The most intriguing part of the case, however, comes from Judge Merritt’s concurrence, in which he addresses the significance of the… -
Lawsuit against state officials for privacy violation moves forward
20 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pmWelch v. Theodorides-Bustle, — F.Supp.2d —, 2010 WL 22365 (N.D. Fla., January 5, 2010) Plaintiff sued the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and a number of state officials for violation of the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 USC §2721-25. Plaintiff claimed that the defendants turned over a large amount of protected personal information to a private party, and that that party then further disclosed the information to another entity that published the information on the web. As a result, the personal information of a number of Florida drivers… -
Court orders anonymous GQ blogger and accused hacker to be identified
18 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pmAdvance Magazine Publishers v. Does 1-5, No. 09-10257 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 22, 2009) Someone accessing the Internet using an AT&T IP address hacked into Conde Nast’s computer system and acquired and published copies of editorial content and the images that were to be in the December 2009 issue of GQ. Those images were later published anonymously on a blog hosted by Google’s Blogger service. Conde Nast sued in federal court alleging copyright infringement (for the posting of the content) and violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (for the unauthorized accessing of the Conde… -
BitTorrent site liable for Grokster style inducement of copyright infringement
13 Jan 2010 | 9:01 pmColumbia Pictures v. Fung, No. 06-5578 (C.D. Cal. December 21, 2009). This case came out three weeks ago, but it’s pretty significant and hasn’t gotten the coverage and analysis it deserves. Of course Professor Goldman covered it in a timely manner. But his blogging agility surpasses that of us mere mortals. Fung and his company Isohunt Web Technolgies ran a number of popular BitTorrent sites where users could find and share torrent files that permitted the downloading of video files. [Here's how BitTorrent works.] Several Hollywood studios sued Fung and his company for copyright…
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Slaw
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Google Buzz in Gmail
9 Feb 2010 | 11:49 amGoogle is now rolling out its Twitter-killer, Buzz. It’s integrated with Gmail, but since I’m not one of the lucky ones yet, I have to rely on the video — see below — and the blog for information. (I’m using Gmail in Google Apps, which, unless you’re paying the big bucks, won’t be benefitting from this: methinks moving to Apps was a mistake.) From what I can gather the notion is that: you can send realtime messages to the world or to a selected group of people within your Gmail address book (whether you send directly into your friends’ Gmail… -
Legal Project Management – Control Costs, Meet Schedules, Manage Risks and Maintain Sanity
9 Feb 2010 | 10:26 amLegal Project Management – Control Costs, Meet Schedules, Manage Risks and Maintain Sanity by Steven Levy published by Daypack Books, Seattle WA, 2009 price: US$29.95 ISBN: 1449928641 “Steven Levy’s book marries project management with legal practice. This is a useful practical guide on how lawyers can get started.“ The nature of legal services is changing. Indeed barely a week passes without another article in the legal press about Alternative Fee Arrangements and the death of the billable hour. Consequently the need for better Project Management has become a hot topic within… -
U.S. Federal Courts Tell Jurors Twitter, Facebook and Texting Verboten
9 Feb 2010 | 9:45 amWired Magazine is reporting that the Judicial Conference of the United States, the body that develops policy for federal courts in that country, has proposed new model jury instructions that explicitly ban the use of applications like Facebook and Twitter: U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson of Kansas, the chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, told the nation’s judges in a Jan. 28 memo that the new jury instructions ‘address the increasing incidence of juror use, of such devices as cellular telephones or computers, to conduct research… -
E-Health Records Symposium
9 Feb 2010 | 6:57 amOn January 28, 2010, the Law Commission of Ontario and IP Osgoode held a Symposium on electronic medical records. The Symposium brought together experts from law, academia, health and other areas as part of the consultation that Professor Pina D’Agostino is carrying out in her project on the intersection of IP, ethics and privacy issues arising from electronic medical records. Professor D’Agostino is an Osgoode LCO Scholar in Residence and she is carrying out her project in association with the LCO. All these issues were discussed, with some passion in some cases, but so was a… -
US and Canada Tax Law: Outlook for 2010
9 Feb 2010 | 6:50 amInterested in tax law developments? Davies has put out a clear and easy to understand publication “US and Canada Tax Law: What to Watch for in 2010.” It reviews tax developments in the US and Canada from the past year, and it also provides perspectives on the key developments impacting the US and Canadian taxation of international companies and investors in 2010.
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Next Generation Law
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Remarkable Leadership
18 Jan 2010 | 6:16 amWhat a powerful legacy. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a precious gem whose end came far too soon. He was truly a remarkable person that altered the course of history. He endured physical abuse, jail time and ultimately death in support of his vision: an America where people were judged by the content of their character instead of by the color of their skin. He proved it true that an intimate knowledge of the truth, however simple that truth may be, is the best defense against lies and propaganda. MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is one of the most brilliantly crafted… -
I’m terrible at marketing…
12 Jan 2010 | 9:31 pmbut I intend to get better and I need some help. I understand the social media tools and I appreciate their game-changing importance, but I’ve done a poor job at optimizing their effectiveness. I’m all over the place. Take this blog, for example. I dont’ make any money here, yet I’m driving traffic to it! And The Advocate Group? I’ve received several compliments about it but I feel like I’m selling people short. It’s too static. There’s a lot that I can do better there. But that was in 2009 and I’m humble enough to admit when I suck. I… -
7 Summit Challenge
11 Jan 2010 | 6:01 amCheck out there homepage: 7 Summit Challenge Fan them up on facebook and track their progress. Become part of this adventure by helping spread the word. Click the share button below and do your thing. -
MonaVie vs. XOWII
7 Jan 2010 | 2:37 pmI’ll post my thoughts on this lawsuit in a separate post. Until then, check it out. MonaVie vs. XOWII, et al -
Network marketing companies in the digital space
4 Jan 2010 | 11:49 amDownload now or listen on posterous Memo.m4a (552 KB) Posted via email from Kevin Thompson
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JD Supra Legal Alerts: All
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Healthcare Update: Last Week in D.C.: The Healthcare Reform Debate - February 8, 2010
9 Feb 2010 | 3:03 amEdwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP -
Massachusetts Divorce Lawyer Explains Divorce 101
9 Feb 2010 | 1:56 amThe Divorce Collaborative LLC -
City of Seattle Adopts Energy Efficiency Reporting Requirements That Exceed State Law
8 Feb 2010 | 11:47 pmLane Powell PC - Construction Law -
SEC Issues Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations Regarding Proxy Disclosure Enhancements
8 Feb 2010 | 11:43 pmMiller & Martin PLLC -
Rhode Island 45-Day Notice by Charles A. Lovell, Esq.
8 Feb 2010 | 11:21 pmPartridge Snow & Hahn LLP
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Scientific American - Mind & Brain
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Third-hand smoke contains carcinogens too, study says
8 Feb 2010 | 12:01 pmAnyone walking into a smoker's abode can tell you that the traces of tobacco use don't vanish when a cigarette or cigar is extinguished. But just what happens to this "third-hand" smoke once the air has cleared--and can it still be harmful? [More] -
Botoxed Face Impairs Bad Feelings
8 Feb 2010 | 7:17 amAt one time or other, someone has probably told you “it’s written all over your face.” That’s because your emotions can influence your expressions. Well, a study in the journal Psychological Science suggests that the reverse is also true: that the look on your face may influence your ability to process emotions. [More] -
Dealing with Super Bowl XLIV Pressure
5 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am[More] -
Readers Respond on "Squeezing More Oil from the Ground"
5 Feb 2010 | 5:00 amEnd or No End? In “ Squeezing More Oil from the Ground ,” Leonardo Maugeri, director of strategies and development of an international oil company, expresses the conventional view of his profession, assuming a world of near-infinite oil resources to be produced under market forces. Maugeri is particularly dismissive of our Scientific American article “The End of Cheap Oil” [March 1998]. It is difficult to find fault with at least its title, considering that the average price of oil over the preceding 10 years was $28 a barrel but rose to $45 over the ensuing decade to… -
Fixing the Broken Government Policy Process
4 Feb 2010 | 5:00 amThe breakdown of the Washington policy process has four manifestations. First is a chronic inability to focus beyond the next election. “Shovel-ready” projects squeeze out attention to vital longer-term strategies that may require a decade or more. Second, most key decisions are made in congressional backrooms through negotiations with lobbyists, who simultaneously fund the congressional campaigns. Third, technical expertise is largely ignored or bypassed, while expert communities such as climate scientists are falsely and recklessly derided by the Wall Street Journal as a…
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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin current issue
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Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: SDO Asymmetrically Predicts Perceived Ethnic Victimization Among White and Latino Students Across Three Years
26 Jan 2010 | 2:49 pmDominant groups have claimed to be the targets of discrimination on several historical occasions during violent intergroup conflict and genocide.The authors argue that perceptions of ethnic victimization among members of dominant groups express social dominance motives and thus may be recruited for the enforcement of group hierarchy. They examine the antecedents of perceived ethnic victimization among dominants, following 561 college students over 3 years from freshman year to graduation year. Using longitudinal, cross-lagged structural equation modeling, the authors show that social… -
Who Am I Without You? The Influence of Romantic Breakup on the Self-Concept
26 Jan 2010 | 2:49 pmRomantic relationships alter the selves of the individuals within them. Partners develop shared friends and activities and even overlapping self-concepts. This intertwining of selves may leave individuals’ self-concepts vulnerable to change if the relationship ends. The current research examines several different types of self-concept change that could occur after a breakup and their relation to emotional distress. Across three studies, using varied methodologies, the authors examined change in both the content (Study 1a and 1b) and the structure of the self-concept, specifically,… -
On the Social-Communicative Function of Justice: The Influence of Communication Goals and Personal Involvement on the Use of Justice Assertions
26 Jan 2010 | 2:49 pmThis article reveals how people strategically use justice assertions when attempting to persuade others. In three studies participants communicated about a negative situation they or someone else had experienced and did so in a persuasive manner (Studies 1-3), an accurate manner (Study 1), by asking for an opinion (Study 2), or without a communication goal (Studies 1 and 3). Communicators who had a persuasion goal used more justice-related words than communicators who had a goal to be accurate, asked for an opinion, or had no goal. This was particularly the case when communications were about… -
Regulatory Accessibility and Social Influences on State Self-Control
26 Jan 2010 | 2:49 pmThe current work examined how social factors influence self-control. Current conceptions of state self-control treat it largely as a function of regulatory capacity. The authors propose that state self-control might also be influenced by social factors because of regulatory accessibility. Studies 1 through 4 provide evidence that individuals’ state self-control is influenced by the trait and state self-control of salient others such that thinking of others with good trait or state self-control leads to increases in state self-control and thinking of others with bad trait or state… -
There's No Substitute for Belonging: Self-Affirmation Following Social and Nonsocial Threats
26 Jan 2010 | 2:49 pmFeelings of belonging are closely linked to feelings of self-esteem. This article examines whether these feelings are regulated in a similar manner. Research on self-esteem maintenance shows that self-enhancement strategies are interchangeable; self-esteem threats in one domain instigate indirect self-affirmations in unrelated domains that effectively replace needs to directly address the original threats. From this perspective, when self-esteem threats arise from a lack of belonging, indirect self-affirmations should again be both preferred and effective. However, belonging regulation may be…
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Mind Hacks
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Nine Legendary Hypochondriacs
8 Feb 2010 | 12:00 amABC Radio National's Late Night Live has a fascinating discussion with the author of a new book on nine famous hypochondriacs: James Boswell, Charlotte Bronte, Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale, Alice James, Daniel Paul Schreber, Marcel Proust, Glenn Gould and Andy Warhol. I'm not sure Daniel Paul Schreber is necessarily the best example of someone with hypochondria is he is famous for writing a personal account of being genuinely mentally ill and floridly psychotic. However, I've not read the book and the programme focuses on better known figures so I am open to being convinced (certainly… -
Bonuses generate more heat than light
6 Feb 2010 | 9:11 amThe engaging behavioural economist Dan Ariely has just become a columnist for Wired UK and in his first article he describes how the promise of performance-related pay often backfires leading people to do more but perform worse. To see the effect of bonuses on performance, Nina Mazar (assistant professor of marketing, Toronto University), Uri Gneezy (professor of economics and strategy, University of California, San Diego), George Loewenstein (professor of economics, Carnegie Mellon, Pennsylvania) and I conducted three experiments. In one we gave subjects tasks that demanded attention,… -
2010-02-05 Spike activity
5 Feb 2010 | 12:00 amQuick links from the past week in mind and brain news: Sex addiction is a feminist victory, according to an article in Slate, apparently because it allows man shaming. Malevolence-based medicine rears its ugly head. The BPS Research Digest covers research finding CBT-based self-help books might do more harm than good for people who worry a lot. The public are asked for their opinion on the recent news that The Lancet retracts the Wakefield autism paper, by The Onion. Neurophilosophy has an excellent piece on big news that the first evidence for navigation essential grid cells in the human… -
Eureka brain special and more fighting
4 Feb 2010 | 10:00 amThe Times has just released its monthly science magazine, Eureka, with a special issue on the brain and all the articles freely available online. There doesn't seem to be a way to link to a whole issue, but inside you'll find an excellent piece on the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to temporarily switch off bits of the working brain, a profile of neurosurgeon Huma Sethi, an article on commercial brain-computer interfaces, a remarkable piece on how old injuries can 'return' to affect phantom limbs as well as an exploration of the link between brain activity and sporting skill. -
Time to think
4 Feb 2010 | 4:00 amBioemphemera has found some wonderfully left-field brain illustrations by Dutch graphic designer Rhonald Blommestijn. The image on the left is a brain made out of clocks. Blommestijn's blog is full of strikingly surreal eye-candy that manages both to inspire a feeling of wide-eyed wonder and illustrate scientific themes. They're certainly very original takes on the subject and the neuroscience images are particularly vivid. Link to Bioephemera on Blommestijn's brain illustrations. Link to Blommestijn's blog.
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Herd - the hidden truth about who we are
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Your brand is mostly "garnish"
9 Feb 2010 | 11:56 amAnother little suggestion from HERD HQ: with all this talk of communities and social objects, just remember that at best your brand is "garnish", not the main deal. Of course, there are some brands which are centre-plate, but for most of us, if we do really well, we get to be on the side. And even for the centre-platers, it's often the social stuff that's baked in that gives it its status. The real deal being (of course) other people. More "garnish" here. -
Word of Mouth: The Eyes Have it
8 Feb 2010 | 11:05 ampic c/o SodaheadListen, I think we need to sort this thing out.It's not that what people say to each other isn't important in shaping our behaviour. Nor, indeed that recommendation (or advocacy or whatever you call it) in particular, is completely irrelevant. It's just that the really important mechanism lies in what other people see, hear and feel going on around them: it's in the eyes and ears of the advocate's peers and not in the words of the advocate or recommendor. It's at the "influenced" end of the telescope and not the "influencer". -
Tools from evolutionary science for understanding Human Behaviour
7 Feb 2010 | 1:56 pmVery excited about the session I'm running at the Market Research Society Conference at the end of March:I've got Dr. Alex Bentley and Professor Mike O'Brien confirmed for a session exploring how they have applied ideas and techniques from evolutionary science to the study of human behaviour. If you thought all evolution had to offer the study of contemporary human behaviour was Geoffrey Miller & Robin Wight's Peacock's Tailery (that most of what we do, we do to signal our reproductive fitness), then think again. Cultural evolution is now a highly… -
Influence, the influentials and the influenced
4 Feb 2010 | 2:46 amNice musings by chum David C and Stowe Boyd around this study that suggests it's the not the number of connections you have that determines your influence, but rather the nature of those connections - your "betweenness" as Stowe calls it:"It is not your follower count, or who you follow, per se. But, instead, do you have short paths into other social scenes, both incoming and outgoing? That is the deep structure of being truly connected: bridging over different social scenes, acting as a conduit, a vector, a filter and amplifier for ideas good and bad, the best… -
Nigel Hollis and JFK
1 Feb 2010 | 4:07 amPicked up something from the twitterstream this morning that seems to have got a few chums excited.Nigel Hollis - chief adresearch guru at Millward Brown - has been musing on the relative roles of Mass & Social Media and whether on Here's the tricky bit of his post"All of this leads me to believe that social media is no way for a mass market brand to disrupt the status quo. It is simply an additional means to communicate and engage your loyal customers"Well, sort of. On the one hand, it's true that i. few mass market brands have (YET!) entirely switched their…
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eScienceNews: Sociology
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New study examines the impact on children of food product placements in the movies
9 Feb 2010 | 12:30 pmLEBANON, NH-– (February 5, 2010) New research from the Hood Center for Children and Families at Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) for the first time sheds light on the significant potential negative impact that food product placements in the movies could be having on children. read more -
TV drama can be more persuasive than news program, study finds
9 Feb 2010 | 11:39 amA fictional television drama may be more effective in persuading young women to use birth control than a news-format program on the same issue, according to a new study. read more -
Exposure to secondhand smoke among children in England has declined since 1996
9 Feb 2010 | 11:39 amThe most comprehensive study to date of secondhand smoke exposure among children in England is published today in the journal Addiction. The study, carried out by researchers from the University of Bath's School for Health, reveals that exposure to household secondhand smoke among children aged 4-15 has declined steadily since 1996. read more -
Underdogs have more motivation? Not so fast, study says
9 Feb 2010 | 11:17 amMembers of a group or team will work harder when they're competing against a group with lower status than when pitted against a more highly ranked group, according to a new study. read more -
Research identifies gene with likely role in premenstrual disorder
9 Feb 2010 | 10:31 amScientists have identified a gene they say is a strong candidate for involvement in premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and other maladies associated with the natural flux in hormones during the menstrual cycle. In a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Rockefeller University researchers detail experiments in mice showing that a common human variant of the gene increases anxiety, dampens curiosity and tweaks the effects of estrogen on the brain, impairing memory. If applied in the clinic, the work could help diagnose and treat cognitive and mood…
