Are Legal Blogs Dead?
September 28, 2010
I am now hearing murmurs that blogs are dead ' or at least dying ' within the legal profession. The universe of blogs has become too crowded, too noisy, and too cluttered with spam to have any value, some say. Services such as Twitter and Facebook are easier, more direct and more personal, they contend. So I come today to declare blogging alive, well and thriving within the legal profession.
Is a Web Site's Look and Feel Protected?
September 28, 2010
In recent years, a growing debate has emerged over whether the overall look and feel of a Web site can be protected. To be sure, online content, videos, and other media are copyrightable, but the law remains unsettled when it comes to using trademark law to protect a site's distinctive interface and design elements. This article discusses trade dress generally, the issue of copyright preemption, and recent decisions that have wrestled with the issue of Web site trade dress infringement.
Case Briefs
September 28, 2010
Highlights of the latest insurance cases from around the country.
Grouping Language in NY After GE Footnote Number Three
September 28, 2010
After taking a closer look at <i>Appalachian Insurance Co. v. General Electric Co.</i>, 8 N.Y.3d 162 (2007), this article surveys four recent New York decisions that interpret "occurrence" definitions and grouping language in policies to address the number-of-occurrences issue.
The Duty to Defend and Indemnify the Ghosts of Mississippi
September 28, 2010
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi recently addressed whether an insurer's duty to defend and indemnify its insured under a claims-made policy for law enforcement wrongful actions covers allegations arising from the murder of two teenagers during civil rights unrest in 1964; the primary issues involved coverage in the presence of both covered and uncovered claims and the application of the known-loss exclusion.
Crowdsourcing the Law
September 27, 2010
The Internet's completely over, the musician once-again known as Prince declared this summer. If so, I am at a loss to explain the ongoing emergence of innovative Web sites such as Spindle Law, a new site that is reconfiguring the traditional legal treatise to make it better fit a "Web 2.0" world.
<b><i>Case Study:</i></b> Using Document Assembly Tools to Improve Services to Start-ups
September 27, 2010
On the whole, companies prefer to invest their time and money in product development, marketing and other core activities rather than on legal services. Early-stage technology and life sciences companies prefer to work with law firms that pragmatically and efficiently help enterprises build strong legal foundations and achieve business goals.
Accelerating Operational Effectiveness and Disaster Recovery with Riverbed
September 27, 2010
Like so many large Am Law 100 law firms with offices across the United States and around the world, our firm was facing challenges sharing and backing up data, and we wanted to strengthen our disaster recovery capabilities without compromising our operational excellence. Our challenge was that we had a complex legacy network connecting all the offices. At times, this resulted in slow data transfers, limiting our legal teams' opportunities to efficiently and effectively leverage interoffice resources.
Managing Section Breaks in Microsoft Word
September 27, 2010
While one can spend an entire training session covering Section Breaks, Headers/Footers, Page Numbering, etc. (and I highly recommend doing so), it can help to manage Section Breaks if you know a little about them to begin with.
