How Blogging Affects Legal Proceedings
May 29, 2009
Technology has entered the jury box. While the press has long reported on pending trials, bloggers ' or so-called "citizen journalists," some sitting in juries ' have increasingly posted commentary about judicial proceedings. Yet recent events suggest that blog posts and other electronic communications by jurors about ongoing trials can potentially disrupt the integrity of the proceedings.
e-Commerce Activity Makes Gains, Though Still Down Since Economy Crunch
May 28, 2009
Rock-solid numbers on economic activity are tough to come by, but if the U.S. Census Bureau's preliminary estimates of retail e-commerce sales can be considered the closest thing to rock-solid numbers, then the nation's economy may be starting the long recovery economists said would come.
Social Media Policies
May 28, 2009
Being engaged in social networks has enormous value for your firm. Achieving those benefits, however, requires participation by members of your firm. Best practices can be applied firm-wide that help achieve your business goals and protect the firm. For starters, that means understanding the legal ramifications of online engagement and the fuzzier, but no less important, implications of the use of the virtual microphone or TV station to enhance your firm's reputation. The first thing you must do is create a social media policy ' or modify an existing policy that is free and available for you to borrow.
Ruling Against Contextual Ads Helps to Codify Trademark Use in Commerce
May 28, 2009
While contextual advertising is well accepted in bricks-and-mortar businesses and in traditional publications, it is controversial on the Internet. Courts have not worked out whether (and if so, how) an advertiser may use a competitor's trademark to trigger banner ads or sponsored links displayed along with search results.
Technology in Marketing: Where to Invest Your Marketing Technology Dollars
May 28, 2009
Law firms have realized that using technology ' particularly the Internet ' is a powerful tool for creating a more level playing field to enhance their images, expand their visibility in targeted markets and drive business to their firms. However, with so many competing interests for limited marketing dollars, where should you invest your firm's resources to get the most bang for the buck?
Law Firm Intelligence: Researching the Economy Part III: The Big Picture
May 28, 2009
While the macroeconomics is more than a little intimidating, the good news is that researching the economy is not a complicated task. In fact, it can be much more straightforward than internal financial research (covered in the first part of this series) and research on the financial health of companies and industries (covered in the second part of this series). In this, the third and final part in the Researching the Economy series, we focus on a few key sources for macroeconomic information.
Twombly's Plausibility Standard in Product Liability Cases
May 26, 2009
The <i>Twombly</i> decision significantly changed the accepted standard for a motion to dismiss from "no set of facts" to enough "plausible" facts. Now, to survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, a complaint must allege "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face."
Look, But Don't Log In
May 26, 2009
A computer forensic analysis reveals that the employee has accessed his personal Web-based e-mail account from his company computer and that his log-in information (username and password) has been recovered from the computer's memory. Can you log in to the account and read his personal e-mail?
Labels Attack Music Search Engines
April 30, 2009
Lawyers scurried to San Jose, CA, bankruptcy court in April to argue over the remains of SeeqPod Inc., the first big casualty on the newest front in the legal war between the record industry and the Internet.
A Look at Law That Restricts Non-Competes In Broadcasting
April 30, 2009
New York broadcast employees who otherwise have been subject to restrictive non-compete clauses in their employment contracts are the prime beneficiaries of the Broadcast Employees Freedom to Work Act, NY Labor Law '202-k, signed into law in 2008 by Governor David Paterson. The law forbids some, but not all, attempts by employers in broadcasting media to restrict the range of opportunities for certain employees following the termination or expiration of employment. Similar legislation benefiting broadcast industry employees has been passed in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine and Washington, DC; and non-compete provisions are banned in California.
