Plaintiff Lawyer’s Cross-Examination Outline.

27 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in Cross-Examination, Trial Tips and Techniques

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A Cross-Examination Suggestion, by Paul Luvera, Plaintiff Lawyer Tips Blog

http://plaintifftriallawyertips.com/a-cross-examination-suggestion

We all have our own way of preparing for cross-examination and for the style we adopt during the process. I thought I’d reprint a section of part of a cross-examination preparation from a drug company products case to give you an general idea of one of the steps I take in preparing for cross-examination. This would represent part of a whole examination and would be part of the preparation. The actual cross-examination could end up in outline form or it might be a stack of exhibits with tags containing ideas.

I’ve publishing it in its gross form before the additional editing and without explaining the significance of some of the outline as it’s simply an example to illustrate one way to prepare for cross-examination. It would be reviewed and revised and finally end up in a brief outline format. This is how I start the process. . . .

ABA Journal’s 2014 Top Ranked Law Blogs.

27 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in Blogs, Law Office Management, Legal Blogs, Legal Technology

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Comparing The Top-Ranked Law Blogs To The ABA Blawg 100, by Robert Ambrogi, LawSites Blog

http://tinyurl.com/m72nj4p

Includes the ABA Journal’s Law Blawg Hall of Fame, which are no longer listed in its top 100 legal blawgs. Don’t worry. They’re not gone. They’ve just moved to a higher plane. -CCE

Jayne Navarre has an interesting post at her Virtual Marketing Officer blog in which she looks at how the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100 list lines up with the top-ranked law blogs generally. Her post underscores the vagaries in “top” lists of any kind. But her primary premise seems to be that the Blawg 100 list omits several outstanding law blogs, and that those blogs’ high rankings using other metrics validates her position that they should be included in the Blawg 100.

Sadly though, this year I note that a number of really outstanding law blogs, which had made prior years top 100, are now off the list. Out with the old, in with the new. Got me thinking. Have these once power house blogs been diminished? To cure my intellectual curiosity, I set off to find out: Does the Blawg 100 stack up to the top ranked law blogs?

To make her comparison, Jayne turns to the BlogRank list of the top 50 law blogs. This list ranks blogs using more than 20 different factors, including RSS subscribers; incoming links; Compete, Alexa and Technorati ranking; and popularity on social networking sites. . . .

Dennis Kennedy Announces His 2014 Blawggies!

27 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in Law Office Management, Legal Blogs

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Drum Roll, please…The 2014 Blawggies are Announced, by Jim Calloway, Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog

http://www.lawpracticetipsblog.com/2014/12/2014-blawggies.html

Dennis Kennedy, legal technology guru and former technology columnist for the ABA Journal, has announced his Blawggie Awards for 2014 — the 11th edition of the honor. In much the same way that prestigious art exhibits often have a single judge, Dennis relies on his own expertise alone for the Blawggies. The competition is limited to blawgs Dennis actually reads and podcasts he has on his listening schedule.

Some readers may already suspect I am reminded to mention the Blawggies this year because, yes, I am a winner!! Dennis picked Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog as Best Law Practice Management Blog for 2014. I’d like to thank the Academy, well, OK, I’d like to thank Dennis. I also want to make special note of his choice for Best New Blawg of the year, John Simek’s Your IT Consultant. If you were not aware of that new blawg, check it out.

Our Digital Edge podcast was also a runner up for Best Legal Podcast. it was a particular honor because we were second behind The Kennedy-Mighell Report. For those of you who still haven’t made listening to podcasts a habit, let me point out an earlier edition of their podcast titled “The Fundamentals of Podcasts: Listening and Subscribing.” Podcasts can be a great way to make productive use of time driving or exercising, but only if you know how to subscribe to them so they are ready when you have a spare moment. This podcast tells you how to set everything up to listen and learn.

Are Debt Collection Laws Out of Date and Overly Harsh?

26 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by in Consumer Law, Debt Collection, Garnishment

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Old Debts, Fresh Pain: Weak Laws Offer Debtors Little Protection, by Paul Kiel, ProPublica, and Chris Arnold, NPR, ProPublica (This story was co-published with NPR.)

http://www.propublica.org/article/old-debts-fresh-pain-weak-laws-offer-debtors-little-protection

Like any American family living paycheck to paycheck, Conrad Goetzinger and Cassandra Rose hope that if they make the right choices, their $13-an-hour jobs will keep the lights on, put food in the fridge and gas in the car.

But every two weeks, the Omaha, Neb. couple is reminded of a choice they didn’t make and can’t change: A chunk of both of their paychecks disappears before they see it, seized to pay off old debts.

The seizures are the latest tactic of debt collectors who have tracked the couple for years, twice scooping every penny out of Goetzinger’s bank account and even attempting to seize his personal property. For Goetzinger, 29, they’re the bewildering consequences of a laptop loan he didn’t pay off after high school; for Rose, 33, a painful reminder of more than $20,000 in medical bills racked up while uninsured. The garnishments, totaling about $760 each month, comprise the single largest expense in the budget.

‘I honestly dread paydays,’ said Goetzinger. ‘Because I know it’s gone by Saturday afternoon, by the time we go grocery shopping.’

Across the country, millions of other workers face a similar struggle: how to live when a large fraction of their paycheck is diverted for a consumer debt, as ProPublica and NPR reported Monday. The highest rates of garnishment are among workers who, like Rose and Goetzinger, earn between $25,000 and $40,000, but the numbers are nearly as high for those who earn even less, according to a new study by ADP, the nation’s largest payroll services provider.

Those who fall into this system find their futures determined by laws that consumer advocates say are outdated, overly punitive and out of touch with the financial reality faced by many Americans. . . .

The Achilles Heel Of A Plaintiff’s Product Liability Lawsuit.

26 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by in Litigation, Product Liability, Trial Tips and Techniques, Verdict

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Address the Most Dangerous Feature of Your Product: Dishonesty, by Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm, Persuasive Litigator Blog

http://tinyurl.com/lkl6jfw

One stereotype of the litigious American society suggests that jurors are willing to hold manufacturers and sellers responsible for even the most obvious product dangers:  a ladder that allows its user to fall, or a cup of coffee that turns out to be hot. While anecdotes abound — some true, and some false — our experience is that product danger alone rarely drives a verdict. Instead, jurors need to see something else in order to generate sufficient anger to deliver any sizeable verdict against the company. That ‘something else’ can be boiled down to one word:  dishonesty. Jurors know that products are dangerous. They have no trouble placing personal responsibility on adults who knowingly use dangerous products. What they are less able to abide is incomplete information. Whether the company is failing to investigate, providing inadequate or false warnings, working around regulations, or simply withholding information, the jury is less willing to say ‘buyer and user beware’ and more willing to put responsibility on manufacturers and sellers.

With 10 of the top 50 verdicts of last year coming from defective product suits, we do know that jurors are willing to hold manufacturers responsible. At the same time, the important ingredients that drive those damages are often found in the company’s behavior rather than in the product itself. A good example can be found in attitudes and behaviors surrounding tobacco use. Based on the results of a pair of studies, the public is more likely to reject a ‘deceptive’ product than it is to reject a merely ‘dangerous’ product. . . .

It’s Almost The First Of The Year – Time For Strategic Planning Meeting!

25 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by in Disaster Preparedness, Law Office Management, Management, Marketing, Office Procedures, Technology, Time Management

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Leadership for Lawyers: How to Conduct a Strategic Planning Meeting, by Larry Port, Legal Productivity

http://tinyurl.com/o8txfh9

Your office may run perfectly – or so you think. We all have room for improvement. The same goes for the workplace. You may feel that, if there are any changes needed, you’ll make that decision. Fair enough. But is it possible that someone else at your office may have an idea you haven’t considered? You won’t know unless you ask. -CCE

What I’m about to ask you to do may initially seem like madness for an hourly lawyer, but I argue that it’s madness NOT to do it.

For the love of all that’s holy, PLEASE spend a day or two (even three) a year, locked in a room away from your office with the most important people in your law firm.

You need a yearly planning meeting like the one I describe below, and without it you’re spinning in circles without a navigation system. You won’t know where you’re going or when you’ve arrived.

Your annual planning meeting is the most critical conversation you will have all year for your law firm. When well-executed, you will emerge with a blueprint for the future direction of your firm. You’ll lay out concrete initiatives and goals that will, in turn, drive quarterly plans, which trickle down to your everyday to-do list.

Thought of in reverse, every activity you engage in on a daily basis should support a quarterly objective which is derived from the road map you draw in your annual offsite meeting. . . .

Compilation of Environmental Law Guides and Resources.

25 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by in Environment Law, Internet, Law Libraries, Legal Directories, Legal Directory, References, Research

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Environmental Law Research Guides, PACE Law Library

Environment Law — Environmental and Natural Resources Law, HG.org Legal Resources

ResearchWire – Environmental Law on the Web, by Diana Botluk, LLRX.com

ADA Litigation Considers Websites and Apps Access for the Disabled.

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Consumer Law

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The Next Frontier in ADA Litigation: Website and App Access for the Disabled, by Joe Libert, Tim Long, and Jill Rosenberg, Orric, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP 

http://tinyurl.com/nj2n7n5

For the last several years, consumers have increasingly turned to online shopping as an alternative to traditional ‘brick and mortar’ stores. Some reports showed that ‘Cyber Monday’ sales figures beat out those for ‘Black Friday’ this year, and many retailers are doubling down on their eCommerce efforts in response. What many retailers might not be aware of is the growing risk of litigation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and derivative state laws arising from websites or mobile apps that allegedly discriminate against disabled individuals.

Although there has been more than a decade of litigation on this issue, basic questions have remained muddled, including whether Title III of the ADA (which requires access to places of public accommodations to disabled individuals) applies to websites.  Recent developments in case law, new proposed regulations by the Department of Justice (DOJ) slated for March 2015, and a noteworthy recent DOJ settlement with an online grocery service, all indicate that this will be an area to watch in 2015.

Title III and Private Employer Websites

Although there is no consensus among courts, some recent cases have held that Title III applies to websites, while several earlier cases held that it did not.

Even courts that have held that a website is not a ‘public accommodation’ under Title III have recognized that an exception exists where there is a ‘nexus’ between the website and a physical place of public accommodation, such as a brick and mortar store. For example, in National Federation of the Blind v. Target Corporation, the plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against Target, alleging that its website was inaccessible to blind individuals.[1]  Target argued that the website was not a place of public accommodation, and that plaintiffs had not alleged denial of access to the brick and mortar stores. The court rejected this argument, noting that ‘it is clear that the purpose of the statute is broader than mere physical access—seeking to bar actions or omissions which impair a disabled person’s ‘full enjoyment’ of services or goods of a covered accommodation.’[2] . . .

 

Top Witness Preparation Tips for Litigators.

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Experts, Litigation, Trial Tips and Techniques, Witnesses

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The Top 14 Testimony Tips for Litigators and Expert Witnesses, posted by Ryan Flax, The Litigation Consulting Report

http://tinyurl.com/me7elwo

Litigators and their witnesses are confronted with difficult situations during testimony, and it’s nice to have reliable ways out of those sticky situations.

Expert witnesses are engaged to provide their expert insight and opinions supporting their client’s case during testimony and are there to tell the truth to the best of their knowledge when questioned at trial or deposition.

Litigators get paid to ask good and, at times, tough questions to get desired answers from the opposition’s witnesses and to help their own witnesses do their best.

During both courtroom testimony and in depositions there are common situations where an attorney tries to make things difficult for the witness. Below, I identify 14 of these common situations and provide some good strategies, both from my own experience as a litigator and from tips collected from attorneys and expert witnesses. Consider the points below when advising and preparing your witnesses for trial and depositions. . . .

What Is A “Zero Knowledge” Cloud And Why You Should Care.

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Clouds, Confidentiality, Document Retention, Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Malpractice, Technology, Technology

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‘Zero Knowledge’ Encrypted Cloud Service Sees Business Boom, by Steven Nelson, U.S. News & World Report

http://tinyurl.com/q9fj4l8

If you have been paying attention, you have heard about “zero knowledge” clouds — and you are thinking about changing from Drop Box or other clouds that can access the information you put in them. If you know nothing about zero knowledge clouds, don’t stop here. Read more about them, and decide whether it is time for your firm to change to a more secure cloud platform. -CCE

File-storing service SpiderOak says it’s experiencing a business boom – rapidly nearing one million users and doubling its site metrics in six months – amid a constant trickle of news reports revealing Internet surveillance by the government.

Files stored using SpiderOak are encrypted and their contents unknown – and unknowable – to the company. Sharing such files will soon be ‘zero knowledge,’ too, as the company prepares to roll out Crypton, its open source app-building framework, which will be publicly available within the next couple months.

‘Essentially what we did was we inverted the Internet,’ says CEO Ethan Oberman. ‘We created a world where the server is actually a big dumb machine. It only sees encrypted data blocks.’

A free version of the file-hosting service offers 2 GB of storage in exchange for a name, email address, username and password.

‘We don’t really fact check that information,’ Oberman says.

The company does know the IP address of users, he says, but IP-masking browsers – such as Tor – can conceal that information as well, making it possible to store files without disclosing any identifying information.

If the government were to come to the company with a valid legal demand for data, Oberman says, ‘We could turn over the data, but it is literally in encrypted data blocks and not decryptable by us. The only way it’s decryptable is if you have the key, which we do not maintain.’ . . .

Shocking! A Court Frustrated by Parties’ E-Discovery Tactics.

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Breach, Contract Law, Discovery, E-Discovery, Litigation, Motion to Compel, Requests for Production

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E=Frustrated Court Crafts ‘New and Simpler Approach to Discovery,’ Identifies Search Terms to be Utilized by Plaintiff, posted in Case Summaries by K&L Gates

http://tinyurl.com/kerbox6

Armstrong Pump, Inc. v. Hartman, No. 10-CV-446S, 2014 WL 6908867 (W.D.N.Y. Dec. 9, 2014)

In this breach of contract case, the court granted in part Defendant’s motion to compel and, in light of Plaintiff’s piecemeal production (which the court had earlier cautioned against) and other discovery failures, fashioned a ‘new and simpler approach’ to discovery, including the identification of 13 search terms/phrases to be utilized when searching ‘ALL [of Plaintiff’s] corporate documents, files, communications, and recordings. . .’ The court also ordered the plaintiff and all counsel of record to file a sworn statement confirming its ‘good-faith effort to identify sources of documents; that a complete search of those sources for each of the [identified] phrases occurred; and that the search results [were] furnished to [Defendant].’

Discovery in this case was contentious and resulted in at least one prior motion to compel, which the court granted in favor of the defendant. At that time, the court warned the plaintiff ‘not to engage in piecemeal production of materials it has located that are responsive to Optimum Energy’s unobjectionable requests.’ Plaintiff subsequently produced documents on nine separate occasions.

Following the prior motion to compel, Defendant also learned, for the first time, of a ‘five-step development process,’ that it believed was highly relevant to its claims, and which caused it to believe that the plaintiff was withholding documents from production. Accordingly, Defendant filed a second motion to compel and sought sanctions for Plaintiff’s discovery behavior, including its delayed production of relevant information.

Taking up the motion, the court expressed its frustration with ‘the continual and growing animosity between the parties, an animosity that has slowed the progress of the case and that has required repeated judicial intervention.’ The court also noted that despite the bickering between parties, neither had ever filed a motion for a protective order ‘[n]or ha[d] any party foregone passive-aggressive snarking and filed a formal motion under Rule 11 or 28 U.S.C. § 1927 to complain about material misrepresentations in motion papers.’ ‘Instead,’ the court continued, ‘the parties would prefer that the Court forget what the actual claims are in this case and start obsessing over details . . . .’

A Simple Breach

23 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by in In Custodia Legis

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Why strong, and regularly changed, passwords are more than a good idea. -CCE

craigball's avatarBall in your Court

dbpix-hack-blog480[1]My son’s apartment in Chicago was burglarized and ransacked over the weekend while he was here in Austin.  The thieves climbed up and forced the patio door.  It’s a reminder of the disparity between our perception of security and its reality.  Who among us is protected by more than a pane of glass and the fervent hope that someone is looking, listening and caring enough to intervene?  A locked door little deters a determined intruder.  Mostly, we stave off opportunistic threats of the sort that move on to easier pickings when the doors are locked and the lights are on.

In the context of data breach, I’ve often laughed at big companies who attribute intrusions to “ultra-sophisticated hackers and coordinated attacks.”  When you hear such claims, know they mean little with respect to the difficulty of the hack.  Big companies say such things because no one wants to admit that…

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2014 Judicial “Hellholes” Report Is Here.

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Courts, Judicial Hellholes

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The 2014 Judicial “Hellholes” Report Is Out!, by Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Class Action Litigation

http://tinyurl.com/lrsdvfvJud

Each year the American Tort Reform Association (“ATRA”) publishes its ‘Judicial Hellholes Report’ and examines problems in state court systems and challenges for corporate defendants in the fair and unbiased administration of justice.

The ATRA’s 2014 Report was published this morning; a copy is here, as well as an executive summary here.

Insofar as the Report identifies and defines a judicial hellhole as a jurisdiction where judges in civil cases systematically apply laws and procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, the Judicial Hellholes Report is an important read for corporate counsel facing class action exposures. In sum, if one has to litigate class actions and make decisions with respect to venue strategy, the Report is a ‘must read.’ . . .

May Defense Counsel Ask Plaintiff Whether He Was Referred to Doctor?

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Attorney-Client Privilege, Cross-Examination, Defense Counsel, Depositions, Direct Examination, Discovery, Interrogatories, Litigation, Making Objections, Negligence, Personal Injury, Plaintiff's Counsel, Privilege and Confidentiality, Trial Tips and Techniques

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“Did Your Attorney Refer You to that Doctor?” by Daniel E. Cummins, TORT TALK Blog

http://tinyurl.com/phfds4w

In a recent Delaware County Court of Common Pleas decision in the case of English v. Stepchin, No. CP-23-CV-786-2014, 101 Del. 424 (C.P. Del. Co. Nov. 12, 2014 Kenney, P.J.), President Judge Chad F. Kenney upheld a defense attorney’s right to inquire of a personal injury plaintiff whether or not plaintiff’s counsel had referred the plaintiff to her treating physician.

This issue came before the court on a Motion for a Re-Deposition of the plaintiff by defense counsel.

At the original deposition, plaintiff’s counsel objected to the defense counsel’s question to the plaintiff as to whether or not plaintiff’s counsel had referred the plaintiff to her treating physicans. Plaintiff’s counsel asserted that such discovery was barred by the attorney-client privilege.
In his Opinion issued on the matter, President Judge Kenney held that, ‘whether counsel referred Plaintiff to her treating physicians does not constitute legal assistance so as to justify properly invoking the attorney-client privilege.’ More specifically, the court found that whether an attorney referred his client to a medical provider for treatment cannot be considered to have been a communication from an attorney to his or her client associated with the rendering of a legal opinion or the provision of legal services so as to invoke the applicability of the attorney-client privilege.

President Judge Kenney also stated that any asserted privilege ‘failed to outweigh the interest of the accessibility of material evidence to further the truth-determining process’ at a trial of a personal injury matter.

The Court granted Defendant’s Motion and ordered a 2nd deposition limited to the issue of who referred Plaintiff to her treating physicians.

Anyone wishing to review this decision, may click this LINK.

2013 FBI Hate Crime Statistics.

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Research, Statistics

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FBI 2013 Hate Crime Statistics, by Sabrina I. Pacifica, BeSpacific Blog

http://www.bespacific.com/fbi-2013-hate-crime-statistics/

‘Today[December 9, 2014], the FBI released its annual Hate Crime Statistics report, which revealed that 5,928 hate crime incidents involving 6,933 offenses were reported by our law enforcement partners to the Bureau’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program in 2013. These hate crime incidents impacted a total of 7,242 victims—which are defined as individuals, businesses, institutions, or society as a whole. The number of reported hate crimes last year is down slightly when compared to 2012 UCR figures—5,928 in 2013 versus the 2012 figure of 6,573. Hate Crime Statistics, 2013—the first UCR publication to contain data collected under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act of 2009—has a few changes from previous reports. First, biases against gender (male or female) and gender identity (transgender and gender nonconformity) have been added to the list of bias categories. And in response to the Shepard/Byrd Act, we modified our data collection so that reporting agencies can indicate whether crimes were committed by, or directed against, juveniles.’

New “Must Have” PDF Book For Lawyers By Ernie Svenson.

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Adobe Acrobat, Legal Technology

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Review: PDF Essentials for Lawyers by Ernie Svenson / MPU 230, by Jeff Richardson, iPhone J.D. Blog

http://tinyurl.com/mvtts7k

You know this has to be good. First, it’s recommended by Jeff Richardson; second, the book is written by PDF expert Ernie Svenson. It doesn’t get much better than that. -CCE

I still remember the time, many years ago, when PDF documents seemed novel. Today, of course, most attorneys work with PDF documents just about every day, especially if you practice in federal court. And PDF is my preferred file format for storing documents on my iPad. My GoodReader app has a huge number of folders, each of which is full of PDF documents for the pleadings, correspondence, research, exhibits, and other key documents associated with my case files. But as much as I work with PDF files, I always feel like there is so much more to know about working with this file format.  I suspect that most of you feel the same way. (If you don’t, then either you are a PDF genius, or you just don’t know what you are missing.)

Today, I have two good recommendations for helping you to learn more about working with PDF files:  a free podcast, and an inexpensive book. . . .

Eeek! Microsoft Office Kills Clip Art, But You Have Other Options.

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Legal Technology, Microsoft Office, PowerPoint, Presentations

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How To Find Images For Office Documents Now That Microsoft’s Killing Clip Art, by Derek Walter, PCWorld

http://tinyurl.com/kwku5tu

But Microsoft is sending its Office clip art to the digital beyond, where it shall rest in glory with Clippy, Zune, and the rest of the Redmond saints.

In other words, those wonky, yet charming images that graced countless PowerPoint presentations are in their last days. Microsoft already nixed the website where you could download Clip Art, so it may not be long before it disappears from Office entirely.

These guys won’t be around much longer.

So it’s time for a different plan. The good news is that Office already has better options for spicing up your files than relying on the dated and questionable-looking Clip Art. For example, Office’s integrated Bing Images search is solid, parsing the web for copyright-free images that you can use to bring some life to the staid world of business presentations.

That’s not the only available solution, however. Here’s a rundown of your best options for grabbing the clip art that’s still there—and learning some new strategies for better images. . . .

How Are Your Punctuation Skills?

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Editing, Legal Writing, Proofreading, Readability

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Improve Your Writing Skills. How Would You Punctuate these Paragraphs?, by Jack McNeill, Pace Law Library Blog (with hat tip to William P. Statsky!)

http://tinyurl.com/ovqs4qr

Bill Statsky ran across this jewel, and was kind enough to send it along. Regardless of how well we think we write, there is room for improvement for many of us, myself included. Exercises such as this help to hone our skills. -CCE

From the ABA Journal we have this challenge. Two paragraphs are proposed. They include no punctuation. How would you punctuate them? Proper punctuation improves the clarity and flow of your writing. Try your skills. Later in the article the paragraphs are shown professionally edited. If you did not do well against the professional, think about how the professional approached the paragraphs and what you might do to use those skills to improve your own writing. The article is here: How are your punctuation skills? Try this comparison exercise to find out.

“Lock Down” Your Bates Numbers To Prevent Edits By Opposing Counsel.

16 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Adobe Acrobat, Bates Numbering, Bates Numbers, Discovery, E-Discovery, Legal Technology, Requests for Production

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Preventing Edits To Bates Numbers Applied In Acrobat, by Rick Borstein, Acrobat for Legal Professionals Blog

http://tinyurl.com/lvc4j87

If your job is anything like mine, you use Adobe Acrobat to Bates number documents all the time. There are many reasons to use a Bates numbering system. One of the top reasons is that it helps to eliminate confusion and keeps documents organized.

If opposing counsel can change the Bates numbers on your produced documents, it can create havoc. I do not like havoc, especially when I have spent a lot of time and my client’s money to create a neatly Bates-numbered set of documents. Thank you, Mr. Borstein! -CCE

[T]he ability to remove Bates Numbers is valuable in case you make a mistake during the numbering process. However, due to the adversarial nature of the legal business, attorneys may desire to limit what the other side can do with documents.

To whit, this email I received from an attorney last week:

What can I use to flatten Bates numbers so that they cannot be altered or removed using the Acrobat Bates numbering process?

I know I can print to PDF, save as TIFF, print-then-scan, etc., but am looking for a solution that will work in batch mode and not degrade the appearance of the file. Also, I don’t favor using security settings because I don’t want to restrict the user’s ability to access the file.

In this article, I’ll discuss how to ‘lock down’ Bates Numbers so that they cannot be removed by Acrobat’s ‘Remove Bates’ option. . . .

European Countries Fed Up With Google’s Privacy Policy.

15 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by in European Union, France, Germany, Intellectual Property, International Law, Internet, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom

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Dutch Authority To Google: Change Privacy Policy Or Else, by Lock Essers, PCWorld

http://tinyurl.com/n6h5b7y

If Google doesn’t change how it handles users’ private data by the end of February, it may face fines of €15 million (about US$18.6 million), the Dutch Privacy Authority said Monday.

Google’s current privacy policy breaches several provisions of the Dutch data protection act, the regulator found in an investigation in 2013. In particular, the probe showed that Google breaches the law when it combines data from different services like search queries, location data and videos watched.

‘Google catches us in an invisible web of our personal data without telling us and without asking us for our consent. This has been ongoing since 2012 and we hope our patience will no longer be tested,’ said Jacob Kohnstamm, chairman of the Dutch DPA.

By the end of February, Google should get ‘unambiguous consent’ from its users before it combines personal data from different Google services to serve targeted ads, the DPA said. This could for instance be achieved by introducing a separate consent window.

Moreover, Google should also give clear and consistent information in its privacy policy to people who use several Google services. . . .

Famous Trials.

14 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Trial Tips and Techniques

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Famous Trials, by Douglas O. Linder, University Of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School Of Law

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/ftrials.htm

Every famous trial you can think of beginning with the trial of Socrates in 399 B.C. to the Zimmerman trial (Trayvon Martin shooting) in 2014. -CCE

All Types Of 2015 Internet Privacy Protection Sites.

14 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Clouds, Computer Forensics, Computer Virus, Cybersecurity, Document Retention, Health Law, HIPAA, Law Office Management, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Technology, Technology

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Guide To Privacy Resources 2015, by Marcus P. Zillman, LLRX.com

http://www.llrx.com/features/privacyresources2015.htm

The Guide to Privacy Resources 2015 is a comprehensive listing of privacy resources currently available on the Internet. These include associations, indexes, search engines as well as individual websites and sources that supply the latest technology and information about privacy and how it relates to you and the Internet. These resources and sources will help you to discover the many pathways available to you through the Internet to find the latest privacy sources and sites. . . .

Scathing Report on Arizona’s Criminal Justice System.

14 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Arizona Court of Appeals, Criminal Law, Evidence, Justice Reform, Murder

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Case Tossed Vs. Debra Jean Milke, Woman Held 22 Years In Son’s Death, by Jacques Billeaud and Bob Christie, Huff Post Crime

http://tinyurl.com/ogkwpc5

In a scathing critique of Arizona’s criminal justice system, a state appeals court on Thursday ordered the dismissal of murder charges against a woman who spent 22 years on death row for the killing of her 4-year-old son.

The Arizona Court of Appeals leveled harsh criticism against prosecutors over their failure to turn over evidence during Debra Jean Milke’s trial about a detective with a long history of misconduct and lying. The court called prosecutors’ actions ‘a severe stain on the Arizona justice system.’

A three-judge panel of the appeals court said it agreed with Milke’s argument that a retrial would amount to double jeopardy.

The failure to disclose the evidence ‘calls into question the integrity of the system and was highly prejudicial to Milke,’ the court wrote. ‘In these circumstances — which will hopefully remain unique in the history of Arizona law — the most potent constitutional remedy is required.’ . . .

This Is THE Right Way To Cite to Legal Authorities.

13 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in Citations, Legal Writing, Parentheticals, Readability, String Citations

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Four Tips on Citing Authority, by Professor Eric Voigt, R+W Legal Consultants

http://rwlegalconsultants.com/four-tips-on-citing-authority/

Although Professor Hazelwood of the University of Kentucky does not resolve the continuing debate between citations in the text or in footnotes, she has drafted a practical article on citing authority. Professor Hazelwood discusses four ways to unclutter your legal writing: (1) don’t string cite numerous cases for the same point; (2) place citations at the end of sentences; (3) include explanatory parentheticals with citations to further explain the relevance of the citations; and (4) avoid unnecessary repetition.

Her article was published by the Kentucky Bar Association in its monthly journal, Bench & Bar. You can read the full article on her SSRN page.

In Legal Writing, Why Less Really Is More. Really, Really.

13 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in Appellate Writing, Bad Legal Writing, Brief Writing, Editing, Jury Instructions, Legal Argument, Legal Writing, Readability, Statement of Facts, Summary of the Argument

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Less is more. Really. by Raymond Ward, the (new) legal writer blog

http://tinyurl.com/l94vnyd

If you really have the goods, modesty is more effective than piling it on. Mark Herrmann explains this principle.