Employee Blogging: What Employers Don't Know Could Hurt Them
January 03, 2006
According to an American Management Association 2005 survey of 536 employers, 84% of companies have established policies relating to personal e-mail use, and 81% have established policies relating to personal Internet use, but only 23% have policies on personal postings on corporate blogs. <br>This article discusses blogging and the potential for employer liability that employee blogging presents. It recommends that employers establish blogging policies so that such liability hopefully may be avoided.
Internet Ticket Sales
January 03, 2006
e-Businesses, by forming networks of season ticket holders and entering into contracts with entertainment venues, provide Internet customers with entry passes for concerts, sports and other spectator events. <br>Generally, Internet ticket providers are in the business of buying and selling tickets to such events above the face value of the ticket. Some people have equated such Internet ticket providers with ticket scalpers, and claim that they are acting unlawfully. In particular, some state anti-scalping laws have been applied to Internet ticketing transactions, resulting in criminal and civil sanctions. But the application of proper Internet notices and appropriate Web site access limitations may render such state anti-scalping laws moot.
Posthumously Conceived Heirs
January 03, 2006
The science of cryobiology introduced the world to the previous impossibility of a posthumously conceived child. In the years that have followed, courts have been forced to address myriad unique social and legal issues incident to a child conceived after the death of its father. With little precedent to guide them, judges have been asked to answer the most elementary of probate questions: Is this a child of the decedent? If so, does this child have a right to inherit under the decedent's will or as an intestate beneficiary? From here, courts will continue to face an endless barrage of increasingly more difficult questions of inheritance: How long must a class of beneficiaries remain open? What responsibility does the Personal Representative of the estate have to ensure that the class is closed? Does the mother have an obligation to inform the court or the Personal Representative of her intent to conceive?
Leading Questions and Child Witnesses
January 03, 2006
Lawyers involved in product liability cases are occasionally involved with child witnesses, either as plaintiffs or as percipient witnesses to the critical events in the lawsuit. As in other types of litigation, child witnesses present a number of difficult challenges in product liability cases.
Appraisal Economics
January 03, 2006
The subject of "discounts" is the most contentious issue in business valuation and property valuation today. In marital property division, the relative high or low values of the individual properties balance against each other as the parties settle (and squabble over) the allocation of assets. For example, it is common to see the husband (assumed to be the in-spouse, or business owner) argue for a "low" value for the business, whereas the wife (assumed to be the out-spouse, who will not take the business asset) would argue for a "high" business value. Discounts from a total property value (or, a proportionate ownership per share value) seemingly lower value in an arbitrary manner, usually spurring a nasty and expensive fight with dueling appraisers.
Emerging e-Discovery Trends
January 03, 2006
What latest e-discovery best practices and trends are on the horizon for 2006? <br>From judicial clarification on topics such as metadata and parent-child relationships to the changing technical landscape for online repositories and case-management tools, practitioners can expect more detailed legal guidance and technical innovation than ever before.
IT Witnesses ' An Essential Part Of The e-Discovery Battle
January 03, 2006
As the responsibilities for preservation and production of electronic records become clearer, parties and counsel should take a proactive approach to preparing for battles that may develop. As in warfare, the proactive approach is one in which the counsel should wield at least as much command offensively as defensively. <br>This preparation involves more than just knowing the law. It also involves potential agreements with opposing counsel, early steps to meet preservation and production obligations, and making sure that the party's "story" of its e-discovery efforts can be told effectively. <br>This article will briefly address a critical component of that "story" ' the information technology (IT) professional who may be asked to tell it.
