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The evidentiary rules have been hailed as "the palladium of the judicial process." Such panegyrics to the rules of evidence are quite warranted. Yet, sadly, in practice, fidelity to the rules of evidence, and particularly to the rule banning hearsay, is far less than it ought to be.

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LinkedIn has gained popularity as <I>the</I> social media tool for professional networking, and there are good reasons:. Here is what you need to know.

Features

The Federal Circuit has long maintained that it is entitled to review a claim construction decision <i>de novo</i>, without deference to the district court. Over the years, this approach has led to a notably high reversal rate of district court claim construction decisions. This "two bites at the apple" approach remained controversial, and on Jan. 20, 2015, the Supreme Court rejected this blanket policy of <i>de novo</i> review in favor of a hybrid approach.

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Legal uncertainty abounds for entertainment industry licensees and licensors when their license counterparties enter the murky waters of bankruptcy. When a licensor hits the skids, a licensee's two primary concerns should include: 1) whether the protections afforded by Bankruptcy Code '365(n) are available if the debtor-licensor rejects the license; and 2) protecting its rights if the debtor-licensor seeks to sell the intellectual property. By contrast, when a licensee considers filing for bankruptcy, it must consider whether it can assume or assign the license.

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Last month, the Obama Administration's Fiscal Year 2016 Budget was published, along with the Department of Treasury's Greenbook, a detailed explanation of the President's proposed budget. Because the proposed legislation must pass a Republican led Congress, the President's budget may be "aspirational." It is a good indicator of the tools the Administration is prepared to use to fund its wish list.

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The government has become increasingly aggressive in pursuing criminal claims not only against corporations, but also against in-house counsel and compliance personnel, for conduct once treated almost exclusively as civil.

Breaking with longstanding precedent, the Eleventh Circuit recently concluded that previous case law holding cruise ship operators blameless for the negligence of their onboard medical personnel is based on outdated norms. This decision may have far-reaching consequences for shipboard medical malpractice claimants and their representatives.

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Less than half of AmLaw 200 firms have mobile websites, but that may change soon. In January, Google started sending messages to web operators to "fix mobile usability issues."