Cyberinsurance for Data Security Risks
September 28, 2007
The harms that can result from computer security breaches are largely uncovered by the types of insurance policies most law firms maintain. Combined with the inadequate security most law firms provide for client data, the resultant risk exposure arguably violates legal professional ethics. A firm's failure to adequately protect computer-based master files, time-and-billing records, court filings, wills, powers of attorney, corporate records, and other client-related materials is a violation of bar association requirements to preserve client files and more generally a failure in the firm's overall duty to act competently in the best interests of its clients.
<i>In Re Seagate, LLC</i>
September 28, 2007
Tension concerning the duty-of-care standard has continually mounted as courts have wrestled with the scope of the waiver of the attorney-client and work-product privileges when litigants asserted an advice-of-counsel defense. More recently, several district courts extended the waiver to trial counsel, further presenting considerable obstacles when defending a claim of willful infringement. It is in this environment that the Federal Circuit decided, sua sponte, that it should reconsider the duty-of-care standard and the waiver issues associated with the advice-of-counsel defense.
Five Easy Steps To Help New Associates Put Their Best Foot Forward
September 28, 2007
Before beginning any new venture, family and friends frequently caution that 'starting something new is never easy.' This phrase is particularly true for law school graduates seeking to embark on the next phase of their careers. While some are transitioning out of one industry and into the legal field, others are entering the work force for the very first time. Understanding this phenomenon, many firms have developed Orientation/Integration programs to ease the transition from law student to practicing attorney.
e-Commerce Still Looking Good
September 27, 2007
U.S. Census Bureau estimates of e-commerce are in for the second quarter of the year, with indications that although the increase over the first quarter, and the second quarter of 2006, are relatively modest, the wired-transaction (and wireless-transaction) sector continues to grow.
e-Commerce Communities Employ Medieval Justice
September 27, 2007
It's an apparent contradiction, or maybe an irony, but it's a fact that e-commerce merchants, like their medieval predecessors, often use their own lex mercatoria, or merchant law, in lieu of traditional law. Online marketplace managers, like those who managed medieval fairs, regularly require participants to change their behavior or face banishment. Medieval merchants resolved difficulties in accord with notions of fair dealing rather than invoking a specific body of substantive principles. As an anachronistic consequently, e-commerce participants might find that the substantive law of merchants is applicable to e-commerce, and e-commerce counsel may, in some instances, want to recommend that clients take this tack.
When Real Estate Isn't Real
September 27, 2007
For years, e-commerce writers have distinguished the 'bad, old bricks-and-mortar' world from the 'new and improved' e-commerce economy. But recently, the marketing, purchase and sale of real estate have all begun to join online.
How to Improve an Internet Search Result by Adding a Little Precision
September 27, 2007
The Internet is a powerful tool for research, containing information about law, business, government, science, medicine and many other things. There is a Web site for just about anything anyone would want to know. Unfortunately, with the proliferation of Web sites today, any search may return hundreds of results, many of which are not relevant, and many of which are not reliable. This article will discuss some advanced search techniques in Google that can improve the relevance of search results. It will also examine ways to determine the reliability of a Web site.
Internet Not Always Interstate
September 27, 2007
It may be called the World Wide Web, but the government cannot automatically equate Internet use with movement of photos of child pornography across state lines, the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held.
Internet Gambling Law Challenged
September 27, 2007
A federal law that targets online gambling by making it illegal to make or receive payoffs violates the First Amendment, a federal suit charges. A not-for-profit association of Internet gamers and gaming companies is asking a federal judge in Trenton, NJ to block enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act ('UIGEA') and to issue a temporary restraining order.
Google In-House Lawyers Find Unusual Perks, Groundbreaking Work
September 27, 2007
Judging by its unofficial jeans and t-shirt uniform, colorful logo and offices packed with games and pets, you could be fooled into thinking that the world's biggest Internet company still sees itself as an extension of a college common room. But under the seemingly casual exterior lies a very serious company indeed. And Google's legal team is no exception to the rule.
