Technology

Is a Client Sending You Email on a Work Computer? Duty to Warn Could Apply, ABA Opinion Says

If a client is emailing his or her lawyer from a work computer or an employer’s electronic device, there’s a good chance that the communication could be intercepted by the employer. And, especially if the matter concerns a workplace issue, that may implicate a duty on the lawyer’s part to…

Sep 7, 2011 10:38 PM CDT

If Secret Email Surfaces, ABA Opinion Says Opponent Alert Isn’t a Must—But Local Rules May Differ

If you represent an employer who turns out to have copies of an employee’s email to counsel on a workplace computer or smartphone, the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct probably don’t require disclosure to the opposing side in litigation. However, rules of civil procedure or case law in that…

Sep 7, 2011 10:20 PM CDT

A Comeback for the Federal Circuit: This Term, SCOTUS Is No Longer the ‘Court of Correction’

It had been a tough 10 years for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Created in part to provide definitive rulings on patent law, the Federal Circuit found its patent rulings be coming anything but definitive—thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court. Starting in 2000, the high court…

Sep 1, 2011 8:00 AM CDT

2 Individuals Criminally Charged for Allegedly Selling Lost iPhone Prototype They Found to Gizmodo

If Brian Hogan, 22, and Sage Wallower, 28, had simply kept the prototype Apple iPhone that Hogan found last year, they couldn’t have been criminally charged, a California prosecutor says. But because Hogan allegedly sold it to a gadget website for $5,000 with Wallower’s help, both are now defendants in…

Aug 10, 2011 8:40 PM CDT

In ‘Class Act,’ Paul Hastings Helps Telecom Chief Set Up New DC Boutique

Corrected: When a conflict developed between one of Carl Northrop’s biggest clients and another major client of Paul Hastings, it was clear that the best solution was probably for him to leave the firm, he tells the ABA Journal. But Northrop, who headed the telecommunications practice group at Paul Hastings,…

Aug 5, 2011 6:17 PM CDT

As Hackers Steal Up to $1B Annually from Biz Bank Accounts, Victims May Have No Recourse

Some $43 million was stolen in conventional bricks-and-mortar robberies, heists and stickups of U.S. banks last year. Meanwhile, cybercrooks stole hundreds of millions in what is being called a national security threat. The exact amount isn’t known. But security experts say up to $1 billion annually is being taken by…

Aug 5, 2011 12:28 AM CDT

South Korea Fines Apple $2,800 Over iPhone Location Data Collection

The fine—3 million won or $2,800 U.S. dollars—might be a drop in the bucket for a company that earned $7.31 billion in its third quarter, but South Korea’s decision to penalize Apple for allegedly collecting and storing private location data may have an influence on regulators elsewhere. So reports the…

Aug 4, 2011 12:26 PM CDT

Federal Judge Says Zediva’s Rent-a-DVD-and-Player Online Business Infringes, OKs Injunction

A creative concept for providing instant access to movies as soon as they are available on DVD, by renting both a DVD and a player to a single customer via the Internet, arguably complied with copyright law. But a federal judge in central California agreed with movie studios that it…

Aug 3, 2011 6:02 PM CDT

Gene Swipe: Few DNA Labs Know Whether Chromosomes Are Yours or If You Stole Them

Private detective Rocky Pipkin is a DNA thief and proud of it. Someone was sending bomb threats to one of his clients, a big manufacturing company in Fresno, Calif. But Pipkin soon figured out how to break the case. He took the mailed threat and brought it to a DNA…

Aug 1, 2011 8:40 AM CDT

Fast-Forward: Federal Circuit Makes It Easier to Enforce Injunctions in Patent Cases

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has changed the equation in patent enforcement by making it easier to bring contempt proceedings against a defendant for violating an injunction. In its April en banc decision in TiVo Inc. v. EchoStar Corp., the Federal Circuit also said courts should…

Aug 1, 2011 7:30 AM CDT

DNA on Discarded Clothing and Facebook Photo of Bank Robbery Suspect Lead Police to Her

DNA testing on discarded clothing at the scene of a bank robbery in Texas has led to the arrest of a suspect in that robbery and two others. Jazzmyne Dunlap, 21, has been charged with robbing a bank in Arlington last October. She is a suspect in two other bank…

Jun 29, 2011 9:02 PM CDT

Meet Tina Chappell, Intel In-House Counsel for Whom Working on Patent Appeals Is ‘My Chocolate’

When Tina Chappell went to law school, she knew she wanted to be a patent attorney. Now, as senior litigation counsel at Intel, her job puts her with talented engineers and in-house and outside counsel on federal appeals court and even U.S. Supreme Court cases, work she describes as “really…

Jun 7, 2011 9:43 PM CDT

Foley & Lardner Taps Firm Attorneys to Create $4M Venture Capital Fund

Foley & Lardner has reportedly turned to attorneys at the law firm to invest in a new venture capital fund intended to demonstrate to clients that it will go the extra mile to help them pursue business opportunities. Although two Boston partners are overseeing Foley Ventures, the fund will look…

Jun 1, 2011 11:41 PM CDT

Law of Code: Regulation Needs New Direction, Lessig Says

Mixing old slides, new video and continued fervor, Harvard professor Larry Lessig expounded on the drive for regulatory change and campaign reform in his ABA Techshow keynote address. Regulators refuse to accept that the Internet has fundamentally altered the exchange of shared content, Lessig says. And that mindset is ineffective,…

Jun 1, 2011 6:20 AM CDT

Ex-BigLaw Attorneys at MoloLamken Add Patent Appellate Win to String of Supreme Court Victories

Not quite two years after leaving BigLaw to form their own boutique, two former partners are celebrating a string of noteworthy victories. Helped by referrals from their former firms, as well as other major partnerships, Steven Molo and Jeffrey Lamken have a book of business that gives them at least…

May 31, 2011 9:43 PM CDT