by Staff | Mar 11, 2015 | Uncategorized
March 10, 2015 (http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202720055591/Judicial-and-Attorney-Misuse-of-Social-Media-Can-End-Careers#ixzz3U5IwglDq) By Richard Raysman and Peter Brown, New York Law Journal According to a survey released in February 2015, 62 percent of law firms in the United States maintain a social media presence. A similar survey estimates that nearly 75 percent of law firms in this country are visible on one or more social media platforms for the purposes of marketing and content creation. The legal profession is being irrevocably roped in to the world of Facebook and Twitter communication. As reported by The New York Times in late-February, as online access to legal documents increases, non-parties to cases have begun in droves to read particularly “lurid” lawsuits, much as one might read a tabloid. Social media has a similar effect and the consequences therefrom are yet to be understood in any meaningful way. Invariably, as usage escalates, thoughtless use of social media has engendered nightmares for some lawyers. One prosecutor in Florida received heavy criticism after posting a “Gilligan’s Island”-themed commentary on Facebook that included a reference to the defendant as a “gang banger.” An Indiana Deputy Assistant Attorney General was fired for tweeting, purportedly in jest, that Wisconsin police should use “live ammunition” to remove protestors from the Wisconsin Capitol building. Other examples abound. As some jurisdictions have begun to elevate the standard of conduct for lawyers to include social media communications, proceedings have thus arisen in which both lawyers and judges have been disciplined for remarks made via these platforms. This column will discuss a number of these cases, including: discipline for an attorney that sent an ex parte Facebook message during a...
by Staff | Mar 11, 2015 | Uncategorized
March 10, 2015 (http://www.corpcounsel.com/id=1202720164594/That-DashedOff-Email-Can-Turn-Into-a-Smoking-Gun#ixzz3U5LNLXl7) By Marlisse Silver Sweeney, Corporate Counsel What’s worse than a personal email being published on the front page of your local newspaper for all to see? How about that email being the smoking gun in a lawsuit, which, as Jason Rodriguez of Higler Allen & Lautin points out, recently happened in a decision out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The case concerns JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s takeover of Washington Mutual Inc. after its 2008 collapse, says Rodriguez. At issue was whether there was mutual termination between a WaMu branch and a developer who had been contracted, pretakeover, to acquire land, build the WaMu location and rent it back to the bank. Rodriguez says that the case and appeal hinged on a single email sent by an executive of the developer to Chase asking it to reject the lease quickly so losses could be cut. The developer believed rejection was the only outcome, based on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s representations. “In the 5th Circuit opinion, the Court of Appeals quotes the email directly five times in support of its holding that there was not mutual termination. … There is no other evidence directly cited by the 5th Circuit to support its holding,” notes Rodriguez. He says there is no legalese in the email, and in some parts the proper legal terms were not even used. Nevertheless, “this post is to illustrate that even the most mundane of emails may win or lose a lawsuit you have no inclination will be filed,” he...
by Staff | Feb 27, 2015 | Uncategorized
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved nine federal judicial nominees; five for the Court of Federal Claims, three in Texas and one in Utah. Nominees are Texas State Court Judges Alfred H. Bennett; Jose R. Olvera Jr.; and Federal Magistrate Judge George C. Hanks Jr., Utah Supreme Court Associate Justice Jill N. Parrish; and Federal Claims nominees renominated current Judge Nancy B. Firestone, Civilian Board of Contract Appeals Judge Jeri K. Somers, Fish & Richardson PC principal Thomas L. Halkowski and federal prosecutors Patricia M. McCarthy and Armando O. Bonilla....
by Staff | Feb 23, 2015 | Uncategorized
February 20, 2015 (https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/oagnews/release.php?id=4958) Office of Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton continues to actively uphold Texas law in the face of unlawful actions taken by Travis County judges, today filing a petition for a writ of mandamus with the Texas Supreme Court: “The rogue actions of Travis County judges do not withstand the scrutiny of law. The same-sex marriage license issued yesterday is not valid because it conflicts with the Texas Constitution and State law—the license is therefore void ab initio. The filing we made today with the Texas Supreme Court confirms these points.” To view the petition for a writ of mandamus, please visit:...
