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~ Articles and Research for Legal Professionals

The Researching Paralegal

Monthly Archives: April 2016

New Jersey Lawyers Use Paralegal to Spy on Facebook and Cross the Ethical Line.

30 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Attorney Discipline, Legal Ethics, Social Media, Supervising Support Staff

≈ Comments Off on New Jersey Lawyers Use Paralegal to Spy on Facebook and Cross the Ethical Line.

Tags

Facebook, Findlaw, Jonathan R. Tung, Legal Ethics, Paralegal Ethics, William P. Statsky

NJ Lawyers Get Sanctioned for Facebook Spying, by Jonathan R. Tung, Esq., Strategist, The FindLaw Law Firm Business Blog (with hat tip to William P. Statsky)

http://bit.ly/1X0X44k

When news came out that two New Jersey defense attorneys had spied on a plaintiff through Facebook, there was obvious buzz within the legal community over bright-line rules and attorney ethics. Just what qualifies as an ‘unauthorized’ communication? Lawyers should always take steps to tread carefully in these ‘novel ethical issues.’ First impression or not, you don’t want to end up being the poster child.

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Will The Indigo Book Become The Accepted Legal Citator And Replace The Bluebook?

23 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Citations, Legal Writing, The Bluebook

≈ Comments Off on Will The Indigo Book Become The Accepted Legal Citator And Replace The Bluebook?

Tags

ALWD Citation Manual, Legal Citation Format, Legal Writing, The Bluebook, The Indigo Book

Update on the Baby Bluebook, by Barco 2.0 : Law Library Reference, University of Pittsburg School of Law (with hat tip to William P. Statsky!)

http://bit.ly/1SqRYJk

Carl Malamud has introduced the Harvard Law Review Association to The Indigo Book, An Open and Compatible Implementation of A Uniform System of Citation.

For years, I have used The Bluebook as my bible for legal citation. During the years I taught Bluebook citations, I saw The Bluebook come out with new editions many, many times. It was frustrating when the new edition changed the rule about whether you used a comma after a signal or some other arbitrary change. Not only frustrating, but hard to explain the reason for the revision to students.

There have been several major events that gave The Bluebook a genuine reasons to come out with a new edition. States, like Oklahoma, adopted a “public domain” citations. The Internet became a legal research tool. Still, there were times it seemed that The Bluebook’s interpretation was unnecessarily complicated.

The ALWD Citation Manual was created to improve legal citation standards. It was also updated periodically when needed. Until now, The Bluebook and the ALWD Citation Manual were the mainstream acceptable go to” sources for legal citation.

The Bluebook began receiving more criticism for its new editions. Were the changes necessary or a way to create more revenue for the publishers? Hard to say for many but not for Carl Malamud. It will be interesting to see how The Indigo Book is received by legal educators and legal professionals. -CCE

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Who Needs Apple’s Help To Unlock Their iPhone?

23 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Apple, Cell Phones, iPhones, Legal Technology

≈ Comments Off on Who Needs Apple’s Help To Unlock Their iPhone?

Tags

Apple, Hackers, iPhones, U.S. Justice Department

Feds (Once Again) Gain Access to iPhone Without Apple’s Help, by David Murphy, PC Mag.com

http://www.pcmag.com/news/343970/feds-once-again-gain-access-to-iphone-without-apples-help

Stop us if you’ve heard this one. Federal prosecutors no longer need Apple’s assistance in unlocking an iPhone in a Brooklyn drug case, as investigators have found a way to do so themselves. It’s the second major case recently where the government has attempted to demand Apple’s help but, before a judge granted the government’s request, the Justice Department managed to unlock the iPhone in question. . . .

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Using Discovery to Search for Hidden Assets.

20 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Discovery, Requests for Production, Subpoena Duces Tecum

≈ Comments Off on Using Discovery to Search for Hidden Assets.

Tags

Asset Search Blog, Discovery, Fred L. Abrams, Hidden Assets, Request for Production of Documents

Using A Production Request In Your Asset Search, by Fred L. Abrams, Asset Search Blog (Fred L. Abrams©2016)

http://bit.ly/20OGtRn

If you are a divorcing spouse, judgment creditor or other litigant, how do you conclusively establish whether or not assets have been hidden from you? You can sometimes reasonably determine this by using legal tools to search for assets. In a pending litigation, these tools might include: depositions; subpoenas; interrogatories; production requests; etc.

Below is part of a production request in the hypothetical case of ‘JOHN DOE.’ The production request seeks access to JOHN DOE’s passport; credit cards; phone records; etc. By analyzing this kind of material one might possibly detect secret offshore bank accounts or other hidden assets. . . .

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Thomson Reuters Says Westlaw Has A “Glitch.” A Glitch?

16 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Case Law, Research, Westlaw

≈ Comments Off on Thomson Reuters Says Westlaw Has A “Glitch.” A Glitch?

Tags

Law Sites, Robert Ambrogi, Thomson Reuters, Westlaw

Thomson Reuters Says Glitch Left Out Text from 600 Cases Since 2014, by Robert Ambrogi, Law Sites

http://www.lawsitesblog.com/2016/04/thomson-reuters-says-left-text-600-cases-since-2014.html

Subscribers to Thomson Reuters Westlaw and hard-copy reporter volumes got a surprise last night: An email informing them that TR had erroneously omitted small portions of text from some 600 cases published since November 2014. . . .

The email said that none of the omissions ‘resulted in any change to the meaning of the law.’

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Employer’s Religious Beliefs vs. Employee Discriminatory Termination. Who Wins?

14 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in EEOC, Employment Law, Gender Discrimination, Religious Discrimination

≈ Comments Off on Employer’s Religious Beliefs vs. Employee Discriminatory Termination. Who Wins?

Tags

EEOC, Employment Law, Gender Discrimination, Jason Shinn, Michigan Employment Law Advisor, Religious Beliefs

Can an Employer’s Religious Belief Defeat a Discriminatory Firing? By Jason Shinn, Michigan Employment Law Advisor

http://bit.ly/1RXE7gy

Can an employer’s religious beliefs defeat an otherwise discriminatory termination? Employers in Michigan may soon have much-needed guidance on this issue based on an employment discrimination case filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Federal District Court in Michigan.

Specifically, the EEOC filed a lawsuit against RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. In 2013 over its decision to fire a transgender funeral director (EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes Complaint).

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Scare Quotes.

12 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Legal Writing, Quotations

≈ Comments Off on Scare Quotes.

Tags

Brendan Kenny, Lawyerist.com©, Legal Writing, Quotation Marks

How Scare Quotes Are Saving Legal Writing, by Brendan Kenny, Lawyerist.com

http://bit.ly/1Q5OVDY

Much has been written about the poor state of lawyers’ writing, but less about their punctuation. For years, grammarians and writing gurus have bemoaned misuses of quotation marks—and these misuses are legion. But for lawyers, quotation-mark abuse may not be so bad. And using scare quotes might be the beginning of better legal writing. That’s because lawyers put scare quotes on words, terms, and phrases they would not use otherwise. And if scare quotes make lawyers comfortable enough to start using more plain language, their use might be a good thing.

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More Extensions and Add-On’s To Make Your Day More Productive.

12 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Extensions and Add-Ons, Legal Technology

≈ Comments Off on More Extensions and Add-On’s To Make Your Day More Productive.

Tags

Legal Productivity Blog, Legal Technology, Tim Baran

Productivity in Your Browser: Extensions and Add-Ons for Lawyers, by Tim Baran, Legal Productivity

http://www.legalproductivity.com/practice-management/browser-extensions-legal/

Do these things really make us more productive? For me, sometimes yes and sometimes no, but always worth checking out. -CCE

Extensions and add-ons increase productivity by adding new features and enhancing the functionality of web browsers and applications. Here are a few that lawyers will find useful.

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“Smart” Cars and Hackers – We Should Have Seen This One Coming.

06 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Computer Forensics, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Cybersecurity, Identity Theft

≈ Comments Off on “Smart” Cars and Hackers – We Should Have Seen This One Coming.

Tags

Automobile Security, beSpacific Blog., Hackers, Priivacy, Sabrina I. Pacifici

Markey Report Reveals Automobile Security and Privacy Vulnerabilities, by Sabrina I. Pacifici, BeSpacific Blog

http://www.bespacific.com/markey-report-reveals-automobile-security-privacy-vulnerabilities/

New standards are needed to plug security and privacy gaps in our cars and trucks, according to a report released today by Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.). The report, called Tracking & Hacking: Security & Privacy Gaps Put American Drivers at Risk and first reported on by CBS News’ 60 Minutes, reveals how sixteen major automobile manufacturers responded to questions from Senator Markey in 2014 about how vehicles may be vulnerable to hackers, and how driver information is collected and protected. . . .

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Communication Tactics and Jury Persuasion.

03 Sunday Apr 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Jury Persuasion, Litigation, Trial Tips and Techniques

≈ Comments Off on Communication Tactics and Jury Persuasion.

Tags

Bill Clinton, David Clark, Donald Trump, Effective Communication, Jury Persuasion, Paul Luvera, Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips Blog

What Trial Lawyers Can Learn From Donald Trump, by Paul Luvera, Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips Blog

http://plaintifftriallawyertips.com/what-trial-lawyers-can-learn-from-donald-trump

No, I’m not talking about politics. I’m talking about communication tactics employed by Donald Trump.

Omaha Nebraska jury consultant David Clark and I have engaged in an exchange of emails over a  long period of time about the general subject of communication and in particular techniques taught at the Spence Trial College. However, since the presidential campaign has become active, our communications have focused upon Donald Trump and his communication style. Not because we are particularly interested in his political positions but because we both recognized that he employed significant communication techniques most people ignored. While most people regard him with intellectual disdain and are appalled by his verbal conduct, we believe there is a substantial amount of unrecognized communication tactics being used either knowingly or not. These are some significant techniques that we all should evaluate. . . .

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Craig Ball Presents “Introduction to Discovery in U.S. Civil Litigation.

03 Sunday Apr 2016

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Civil Procedure, Discovery, E-Discovery, Federal Rules of Discovery, Litigation, Research

≈ Comments Off on Craig Ball Presents “Introduction to Discovery in U.S. Civil Litigation.

Tags

Ball in Your Court, Civil Litigation, Court Rules, Craig Ball, Discovery

Introduction to Discovery in U.S. Civil Litigation, by Craig Ball, Ball In Your Court

https://ballinyourcourt.wordpress.com/2016/04/03/introduction-to-discovery-in-u-s-civil-litigation/

Thank you, Craig Ball, for generously sharing your materials. If you have any interest whatsoever in litigation, this is a “must” read. -CCE

I am fortunate to teach electronic discovery and digital evidence in many venues. . . .

All of these entail accompanying written material, so there is a lot of research and writing for the various courses and presentations.  Some of my students aren’t lawyers or are law students with the barest theoretical understanding of discovery.  I’ve found it’s never safe to assume that students know the mechanisms of last-century civil discovery, let alone those of modern e-discovery.  Accordingly, I penned the following short introduction to discovery in U.S. civil litigation and offer it here in case you need something like it, especially if you’re also teaching this stuff.  [It’s copyrighted, but feel free to use it with attribution]. . . .

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