Provisions of the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010
October 27, 2010
President Obama signed into law the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act (SBJC) of 2010 on Sept. 27. More than $12 billion in tax incentives and relief provisions that are contained in the Act will directly or indirectly affect law firms, partners, their staffs and their clients.
Whose Signature Is on the Check?
October 27, 2010
When it comes to getting paid for legal services, attorneys typically focus far more on getting paid than on who is making the payment. But they need to be concerned about the signature on the check.
Social Media Marketing
October 27, 2010
There are good reasons to believe that social media represents the next frontier in effective legal marketing, and many competitors have already hit the ground running. What do you need to know?
Coping with Socially Networked Jurors
October 27, 2010
At the office, in the car or anywhere else, we share every detail of our daily existence in real time on Facebook. Most of the time, this is acceptable and constitutionally protected behavior. But what happens in the courtroom when jurors post their opinions about a case online during trial?
New Laws Expand Whistleblower Protections
October 27, 2010
Federal statutes protecting whistleblowers are on the rise. Most recently, the Dodd-Frank Act, meant to overhaul and strengthen federal oversight of the financial system, included workplace protections for whistleblowers in the financial services industry. But that is not the only new law to include whistleblower protections.
Who Is Dealing With Social Media Policies?
October 27, 2010
Survey results show that 38% of the 1,700 respondents didn't know who was dealing with social media in their company. The remaining answers were spread across human resources, compliance, marketing, and, at the bottom of the list, the legal department. And while 84% say companies should have policies in place to address social media risks, only 35% say they do have them. But the risks of social media ' legal and reputational ' are real, and companies need to deal with them.
How Private Is Facebook Under the SCA?
October 27, 2010
Despite huge technological advancements in the 25 years since passage of the SCA, and the ever-increasing prominence of electronic communication in our society, Congress has not amended the SCA to keep pace with changing technology. Rather, courts have had to lead the charge in applying the decades-old statute to modern Internet technology and electronic communication disclosure issues.
Unmasking Anonymous Online Defamation
October 27, 2010
The explosion of "Web 2.0" phenomena has brought with it a deluge of published material that is arguably defamatory or otherwise actionable. While some actually welcome this development ' preferring the Web to be, and remain, "a frontier society free from the conventions and constraints that limit discourse in the real world" ' many others do not, especially those worried about the potential impact of disparaging online material on their corporate reputation. But many of those troubled by the threat to corporate reputation from defamatory online content also have discovered that mitigating its effect, or getting it removed, is far from easy.
Inevitable Disclosure Need Not Be Inevitable
October 27, 2010
The doctrine of inevitable disclosure is a crucial tool to protect companies from perfidious former employees and is no threat to the honest ones ' if properly applied. A look at <i>Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc. v. Botticella</i>