27 Monday Jul 2015
Posted in Advertising, Law Firm Web Sites, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Marketing, Search Enginges, Technology, Using Social Media
≈ Comments Off on Some Tips For Starting Your Law Firm’s Website.
How to Create a Successful Law Firm Website: Getting Started, by The CyberAdvocate
http://www.thecyberadvocate.com/2015/07/27/create-law-firm-website-pt1/
Creating a new website for your law firm, whether you’re opening up a new practice or updating a dated law firm, can be an immense task. I’d love to say that following this guide will allow you to put together a successful and profitable website in your spare time. It won’t. . . .
25 Saturday Jul 2015
Posted in Emails, Law Office Management, Legal Technology, Technology
≈ Comments Off on How To Avoid The Emails We Wish We Had Never Sent.
Tech Tip Of The Day: Add A Two Minute Delay To Sending Emails, by James B. Levy, Legal Skills Prof Blog
This is a great tech tip from the Harvard Business Review blog that most of us should probably implement. It involves programming your email account to wait two minutes before each message is sent. It’s a great fail safe measure to prevent those emails we regret as soon as they’re sent and the typos (and omitted attachments) we don’t catch until it’s too late. . . .
22 Wednesday Jul 2015
Posted in Employment Law, Religious Discrimination, Wrongful Termination
≈ Comments Off on Wrongful Termination for Religious Discrimination – Spoiler Alert! The Employer Wins.
Tags
Employment Law, Jason Shinn, Michigan Employment Law Advisor, Religious Discrimination, Title VII
Oy Vey! No Religious Discrimination in Jewish Nurse’s Termination, by Jason Shinn, Michigan Employment Law Advisor
A recent religious discrimination claim dismissed in favor of an employer offers a number important take-aways for both employers and employees. . . .
21 Tuesday Jul 2015
Posted in Brief Writing, Editing, Legal Argument, Legal Writing, Readability
≈ Comments Off on Ever Wanted To Know How To Write Like Chief Justice John Roberts?
Five Ways to Write Like John Roberts, by Ross Guberman, Legal writing tips for attorneys and judges
http://legalwritingpro.com/blog/five-ways-to-write-like-john-roberts/#comment-56
What I really like about this post is how it about using “show, don’t tell.” It is one of the most under-used persuasive writing tools, which I do not understand. When used correctly, you can hit it out of the park. -CCE
When Chief Justice John Roberts was a lawyer, he once wrote that determining the ‘best’ available technology for controlling air pollution is like asking people to pick the ‘best’ car: . . . .
20 Monday Jul 2015
Posted in Acronyms, Bad Legal Writing, Brief Writing, District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, Legal Writing, Readability, Style Manuals
≈ Comments Off on Judge’s Benchslap Orders Parties To Rewrite Their Acronym-Loaded Briefs.
Alphabet Attack, by Ross Guberman, Legal Writing Tips for Attorneys and Judges
http://legalwritingpro.com/blog/alphabet-attack/
I wonder how many judges have wanted to do this? -CCE
It wouldn’t be spring in America without some federal judges publicly criticizing attorneys in a genre now known as ‘benchslap.’
The offended court this time: the D.C. Circuit. The court’s target: acronyms in briefs filed in a complex telecom dispute. The benchslap: ‘It is ordered . . . that the parties submit new briefs that eliminate uncommon acronyms used in their previously filed final briefs.’ The court even cited its own practice handbook for good measure: ‘[i]n briefs the use of acronyms other that those that are widely known should be avoided.’ . . .
19 Sunday Jul 2015
Posted in Confidentiality, Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest, Ethics, Lawyer Supervision, Legal Ethics, Paralegals/Legal Assistants, Rules of Professional Responsibility, Supervising Support Staff
≈ Comments Off on Legal Ethics and Conflicts of Interest – What Is Your Professional Duty?
Regardless of whether you are a lawyer, judge, or paralegal, have you kept a list of every case on which you have worked? Does it include all the parties or only your client?
Christine Simmons recently posted an interesting article in the New York Law Journal in which the Court disqualified a White Plains attorney’s representation of his client. The attorney’s paralegal had, in the past, been involved with the opposing party. For this reason, the Court ruled to vacate the settlement due to tainted negotiations.
So back to my original question – when you were hired, did anyone ask you to look at the firm’s active client list to determine whether you had a conflict of interest? Shouldn’t this especially be the case if your practice is limited to only one or two specific areas of law where you often get repeat business from your clients?
Often, when a firm signs on a new client, it will run a conflict check through its database. It likely also sends an email to all the attorneys asking whether any have a conflict with this particular client. Are support staff and/or the IT Department included in this inquiry? Shouldn’t they if they will have access to the file or any communication with the client, regardless of what role they play in the preparation of the case?
Although every legal professional, lawyer and paralegal, are aware of their ethical obligation to confidentiality and conflicts of interest, how many of us have a complete list of every client and/or parties in each case we have ever worked? Should we? -CCE
19 Sunday Jul 2015
Posted in Intellectual Property, Trademarks
≈ Comments Off on Does Your Trademark Sell Your Product Or Confuse Your Customers?
At The Corner of Trademarks and Confusion, by Martha Engel, DuetsBlog
http://www.duetsblog.com/2015/07/articles/trademarks/at-the-corner-of-trademarks-and-confusion/
Even in the age of the Internet, the geographic use of a trademark is an important consideration in determining whether your mark is likely to confuse consumers as to the source of your goods or services. . . .
19 Sunday Jul 2015
Posted in Lawyer Supervision, National Exams, Paralegals/Legal Assistants, Professional Organizations, Regulation, Unauthorized Practice of Law
≈ Comments Off on A Rose By Any Other Name . . . .
Attorney’s Quick Guide to Paralegal Credentials, by Misty L. Sheffield, Atlanta Paralegal Services©2015
http://www.atlantaparalegalservices.com/2011/08/attorneys-quick-guide-to-paralegal-credentials/
Attorneys looking for a paralegal to hire full-time, part-time or on a contract basis will be faced with a variety of titles and credentials. Paralegals are not a licensed profession, but credentials are offered by the national paralegal organizations on a voluntary basis. This is a quick reference guide to the most commonly used national paralegal titles and credentials. This list does not include state-specific credentials. . . .
15 Wednesday Jul 2015
Posted in Banking Law, International Law
≈ Comments Off on International Banking Law Honey Pot.
Global Banking Law Database
http://www.gbld.org/index.asp?mode=32
Don’t miss “Useful Links” at http://www.gbld.org/index.asp?mode=41. Find more on the website – Resources, Topics, Data, Publications, and more. CCE
The Global Banking Law Database (GBLD) is a joint project of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The GBLD consists of a collection of commercial banking, central bank, and deposit insurance laws of jurisdictions that are representative of the regions of the world as well as international financial centers. The laws are available in English in both MS Word and PDF (Adobe Acrobat) formats. . . .
15 Wednesday Jul 2015
Posted in Freedom of Information Act, Government
≈ Comments Off on “Release To One, Release to All” – A New FOIA Policy.
Tags
Adam Marshall, Department of Justice, FOIA, Privacy, Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press
Federal Agencies Announce Limited Trial Of “Release For One, Release To All” FOIA Policy, by Adam Marshall, Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press
With little public fanfare, seven federal agencies have announced a controversial trial program of publishing documents responsive to most Freedom of Information Act requests online.
Under the program, known as a “Release-to-One is Release-to-All” policy, any member of the public will presumably have access to the result of almost any FOIA request. . . .
14 Tuesday Jul 2015
Posted in Legal Ethics, Litigation, Rules of Professional Responsibility, Trial Tips and Techniques
≈ Comments Off on Avoid Juror Contact And An Ethical Violation.
Attorney-Juror Contact: What to Do When Running into a Juror Outside of the Courtroom, by Jessica Baer, M.A., Litigation Insights
http://www.litigationinsights.com/case-strategies/attorney-juror-contact-outside-courtroom/
This post makes an excellent point about avoiding contact or the appearance of tainting the jury. If you should find yourself inadvertently in the presence of juror in a courtroom hallway, bathroom, or elevator, avoid eye contact, look down, and appear deep in thought, as if you are not aware they are there. Then get out of there as quietly and quickly as possible. -CCE
Opening statements had just ended and members of the trial team were beginning to return from their lunch breaks. The attorney we were working with for this shadow jury and I got on the elevator in the parking garage and he began telling me about the upcoming witness testimony. As people (some of whom presumably could be jurors) piled into the elevator on the next floor, the attorney stopped our conversation, looked over at me and whispered, “I’ll take the stairs to get some exercise.” I knew what he meant. . . .
14 Tuesday Jul 2015
Posted in Grammar, Legal Writing
≈ Comments Off on The Difference Between “Affect” and “Effect.”
Tags
Affect Versus Effect, by Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/affect-versus-effect
When to use affect and effect is one of the most common questions I get. This is an expanded show based on the original episode covering when to use affect with an a and when to use effect with an e. . . .
11 Saturday Jul 2015
Tags
Commas, Municipal Ordinance, Punctuation, Sarah Larimer, The Washington Post, William P. Statsky
Ohio Appeals Court Ruling Is A Victory For Punctuation, Sanity, by Sarah Larimer, The Washington Post (with hat tip to William P. Statsky)
Punctuation nerds, rejoice! For all of us who care deeply about really good legal writing, grammar, and punctuation, today we are vindicated! Thank you, Judge Robert A. Hendrickson, of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals in Ohio. -CCE
Look, I know you’re all busy, but let’s just take a minute today and celebrate Judge Robert A. Hendrickson and the 12th District Court of Appeals in Ohio.
These defenders of punctuation.
These champions of copy editors everywhere.
That one court that totally called out a village ordinance for its comma-related failings.
(I know!!!)
08 Wednesday Jul 2015
Posted in Brief Writing, Editing, Fonts, Jury Instructions, Legal Writing, Legalese, Precedent, Readability
≈ Comments Off on Plain Language Honey Pot.
Legal Examples, PlainLanguage.gov
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/legal/
I have noticed that posts here on legal writing, legalese, and plain language are always popular. Here is a treat for you plain language lovers – a mixed bag of excellent plain language examples of legal writing. They include Pennsylvania’s statute requiring plain language for contracts, California’s plain language jury instructions, Martin Cutt’s classic, Lucid Law, and my personal favorites – two fantastic articles by Judge Mark P. Painter.
Once you click on this link and go to the website, you will see buttons that will take you to other plain language examples, resources, and tips. Enjoy! -CCE
08 Wednesday Jul 2015
Posted in Antitrust Law, Special Exemptions
≈ Comments Off on Special Baseball Exemption – Supreme Court Takes Us Out To The Ball Game.
Tags
Baseball, Commerce Clause, Federal Antitrust Law, Jarod Bona, Special Exemption, The Antitrust Attorney Blog
Major League Baseball, an Antitrust Exemption, and the Ninth Circuit, by Jarod Bona, The Antitrust Attorney Blog
http://www.theantitrustattorney.com/category/classic-antitrust-cases/
Baseball is special. How do we know that? Is it the fact that it has been declared America’s Pastime? Or is it the feelings we have when we smell the freshly cut grass on a sunny spring day? Or is it the acoustics of a wood bat striking a leather-wrapped baseball? The answer is that we know that baseball is special because the US Supreme Court has told us so.
Over the course of ninety-two years, the Supreme Court has consistently affirmed and re-affirmed a special exemption from the antitrust laws for the ‘business of providing public baseball games for profit between clubs of professional baseball.’ There is a state action exemption, an insurance exemption, a labor exemption, and a . . . baseball exemption? That’s right. A baseball exemption from the federal antitrust laws. . . .
08 Wednesday Jul 2015
Posted in Discovery, E-Discovery, Native Format
≈ Comments Off on Deduplication – Craig Ball Takes Us Deeper Into The Belly of The E-Discovery Beast.
Tags
Ball in Your Court, Craig Ball, Deduplication, E-Discovery, Hash Algorithms, Page Description Language
Deduplication: Why Computers See Differences in Files that Look Alike to You, by Craig Ball, Ball In Your Court
An employee of an e-discovery service provider asked me to help him explain to his boss why deduplication works well for native files but frequently fails when applied to TIFF images. The question intrigued me because it requires we dip our toes into the shallow end of cryptographic hashing and dispel a common misconception about electronic documents. . . .
05 Sunday Jul 2015
Posted in Emails, Legal Technology
≈ Comments Off on Regret Hitting Send or Hitting It Too Quickly? Finally, A Way To “Undo Send” In Gmail.
Think Before You Hit Send (Unless You’re On Gmail and are Really Fast): eDiscovery Trends. by Doug Austin, eDiscoverydaily, powered by cloudnine™
Let’s face it, people make mistakes. However, a new feature from Google may help people who make those mistakes avoid the consequences – if they’re quick to address them.
As covered on Fortune.com (Gmail now officially lets you ‘Undo Send’ those really embarrassing e-mails, by Kia Kokalitcheva), Gmail, Google’s e-mail service, has officially added its ‘Undo Send’ feature to the Web-based version of the service. . . .
04 Saturday Jul 2015
Posted in Legal Argument, Plain Language, Readability
≈ Comments Off on Premises Considered – Legalese Or The Way It Should Be Done?
Wherefore Premises Considered? by Wayne Scheiss, Legal Writing Net Blog
http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/wschiess/legalwriting/2005/03/wherefore-premises-considered
When I worked as a legal secretary, I typed the archaic phrase “premises considered” so many times in pleadings, orders, brief, and all types of legal documents. No one ever explained what it meant, but the author was certainly upset if it was omitted. The reason for insisting that this phrase be added? It made the document sound more legal.
They were so used to seeing this phrase, although they did not know its meaning, that it simply did not look right without it. This is reason given by most followers of legalese. They cannot explain what it means – it just looks wrong without it. Is that really a sufficient reason to include it? -CCE
Is it okay to eliminate phrases like WHEREFORE PREMISES CONSIDERED and other such verbiage from the prayer in a complaint? And what is the proper substitute?
Yes, it is okay to eliminate these words. In fact, I highly recommend it. . . .
04 Saturday Jul 2015
Posted in Civil Rights, Excessive Force
≈ Comments Off on Detailed Databases on Fatal Shootings By Law Enforcement.
Tags
beSpacific Blog., Civil Rights, Excessive Force, Law Enforcement, Sabrina I. Pacifici, The Counted, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Wrongful Death
Washington Post Database Collecting Data On Citizen Killings By Police, by Sabrina I. Pacifici, BeSpacific Blog
http://www.bespacific.com/washington-post-database-collecting-data-on-citizen-killings-by-police/
Both The Washington Post and The Guardian have created databases to track numerous details of every fatal shooting by a police officer and other law enforcement in the line of duty in the United States. The Guardian’s project is called “The Counted.” Both the Post and The Counted seek the public’s input, photographs, and videos in an attempt to make their respective databases as comprehensive as possible. -CCE
04 Saturday Jul 2015
Posted in 1986 Electronic Communications Act, Computer Forensics, Cybersecurity, Intellectual Property, Internet, Legal Technology, Public Domain
≈ Comments Off on Who Has Your Back – Digitally Speaking?
Tags
1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, beSpacific Blog., Cybersecurity, Government Surveillance, NSA, Privacy, Sabrina I. Pacifici
Report – Who Has Your Digital Back? by Sabrina I. Pacifici, BeSpacific Blog
http://www.bespacific.com/report-who-has-your-back/
Technology is changing literally all the time. Unfortunately, the law does not. Congress has yet to update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act. For example, there is no law that emails stored longer than 6 months has the same protection emails stored less than 6 months.
To date, there are no NSA reforms for surveillance of online communication. It is possible that Congress will go farther and mandate “back doors” to allow government to access more digital information. Reports of hackers accessing our financial and private information are no longer surprising. Although companies assure us that our information is secure, is it?
These matters go the heart of digital privacy issues for companies and individuals and FOIA requests. Some of you will be surprised how vulnerable we are. -CCE
03 Friday Jul 2015
Posted in Jury Persuasion, Jury Selection, Trial Tips and Techniques, Voir Dire
≈ Comments Off on Voir Dire and Racism.
Tags
Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm, Jury Persuasion, Persuasive Litigator Blog, Racism, Trial Tips & Techniques, Voir Dire
Don’t Treat Racism as Just a Belief, by Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm, Persuasive Litigator Blog
As of posting time, seven African-American churches have burned down since the racially motivated murders in Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina two weeks ago. One of those fires may have been caused by lightning, but there’s a concern that others may have been caused by a belief – namely, racism toward African-Americans. But that understanding of racism as a conscious and pointed belief can limit our understanding of the full spectrum of the bias. . . .
03 Friday Jul 2015
Posted in Canada, Consumer Law, Plain Language
≈ Comments Off on Canada To Start Using Plain Language For Drug Labels.
Tags
Drug Labels, Health Canada, Michael Mezher, Plain Language, Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society™
Plain Language Labeling Regulations to Take Effect in Canada, by Michael Mezher, Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society™
Health Canada has released a new guidance document intended to clarify new ‘plain language’ labeling requirements before new regulations take effect on 13 June 2015.
Background
In 2013, Canada’s then-Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq announced the government was launching a new initiative to improve drug safety by making product information easier to understand for consumers. . . .
30 Tuesday Jun 2015
Posted in Civil Procedure, Service of Process
≈ Comments Off on Service of Process Proper on Corporate Franchisee, Not Local Franchisee.
Where Corporate Franchisor is Named Defendant, Service of Process on Local Franchisee is Insufficient, by Daniel E. Cummins, Tort Talk Blog
http://www.torttalk.com/2015/06/where-corporate-franchisor-is-named.html
In the case of Trexler vs McDonald’s Corporation, 2015 Pa. Super. 131, 903 MDA 2014 (Pa. Super. June 3, 2015 Ford Elliott, P.J.E., Shogan, J., Stabile, J.)(Op. by Stabile, J.), the Pennsylvania Superior Court recently clarified that, where the named Defendant in a lawsuit is the Corporate Franchisor, . . . for service of a Complaint as original process to be proper, the Complaint must be served upon that Corporate Franchisor Defendant, and not the individual franchisee who may own the local establishment. . . .
30 Tuesday Jun 2015
Posted in Admissibility, Appellate Law, Case of First Impression, Evidence, Government, Intellectual Property, iPad, Legal Technology
≈ Comments Off on Are iPad Text Messages Protected Under Your State’s Wiretapping Laws?
Tags
iPad, Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act, Privacy, Text Messages, The Democratic Underground.com, Wiretapping
iPad Texts Not Private Under Wiretap Act | The Legal Intelligencer*, The Democratic Underground.com
(The Legal Intelligencer requires subscription but is free for 5/mo articles.)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026893652
iPads are popular in the legal and business world. It would be a good idea to check your state’s wiretapping law and determine whether your client’s and your own text iPad messages have a reasonable expectation to privacy. -CCE
An iPad does not fall within the telephone exemption under the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act, and users of the device do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy when it comes to sending text messages, the state Superior Court has ruled in a case of first impression. . . .
30 Tuesday Jun 2015
Posted in Exhibits, Jury Persuasion, Jury Selection, Litigation, Opening Argument, Technology, Timelines, Trial Tips and Techniques, Voir Dire
≈ Comments Off on Litigator’s Honey Pot – Top 9 Recent Litigation Posts From Ken Lopez.
Tags
Ken Lopez, Litigation, Persuasive Trial Strategy, The A2L's Litigation Consulting Report Blog, Trial Tips & Techniques, Voir Dire
Top 9 Litigation Consulting Articles from Q2-2015, posted by Ken Lopez, The A2L’s Litigation Consulting Report Blog
What luck! Ken Lopez kindly has gathered 9 of his recent top posts. There’s a little something for anyone who practices litigation – voir dire and jury selection, trial graphics, persuasive opening arguments, a discussion of the Reptile Trial Strategy, and more. Thank you, Ken! -CCE
It’s been another great quarter of publishing blog articles on A2L’s Litigation Consulting Report Blog. . . . Since we post 2-3 articles every week, I’ve heard from our readers that it is sometimes hard to keep up with the latest articles. To help remedy that and organize the information better, roughly six times a year we publish a mini-retrospective at the end of the quarter, at the end of a year and/or to celebrate blogging milestones.
This quarter, I’m listing the top nine articles from April, May and June of 2015 reverse sorted by the number of times each article was read. This way, this list serves as an excellent reader-curated guide to the very best articles we have published recently. . . .
The Researching Paralegal 
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