Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/ringler-radio/2012/10/the-dri-the-voice-of-the-defense-bar/
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Sunday, November 25, 2012
The DRI - ‘The Voice of the Defense Bar'
DRI is considered a ‘think tank’ for defense attorneys and in-house counsel. On Ringler Radio, host Larry Cohen and Ringler colleague, Jim Early, join Attorney Matthew Cairns from the firm, Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell, to focus on the DRI - ‘The Voice of the Defense Bar’ and talk about what defense attorneys should know about the settlement process.
Judge Scheindlin’s Collection Case and Florida E-Discovery Amendments
One of the attributes that makes for a great e-discovery lawyer is the ability to wade through the digital mire that separates preservation from collection. The ESI Report’s Michele Lange, Attorney and Director of Thought Leadership at Kroll Ontrack joins e-discovery expert David Kearney, Director of Technology Services at Cohen & Grigsby, to discuss Judge Shira Scheindlin’s recent opinion in the case, National Day Laborer Organizing Network et al. v. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, et al. On the Bits & Bytes Legal Analysis segment, Kroll Ontrack Legal Correspondent, Elliot Westman analyzes recent e-discovery amendments to the Florida Civil Procedure Rules.
Virtual Paralegals: Forming a Magical Team
Are you thinking about working virtually but don’t know how to get started? Paralegal Voice co-host Vicki Voisin welcomes virtual professionals Tina Marie Hilton, owner of Clerical Advantage and Cathy L. Ribble, ACP, owner of Digital Paralegal Services, LLC, to spotlight virtual paralegals and how to form a magical team. Tina and Cathy share their personal experiences, the important skills needed to be a successful virtual professional, as well as the websites and blogs that they visit often for their businesses. They also predict a very bright future for virtual professionals and provide their reasoning for that.
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Delaware Chancery Court Rejects Stockholder's Section 220 Books and Records Demand Based Upon Failure to Demonstrate "Credible Basis" for Inspection
In Louisiana Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System v. Lennar Corp., C.A. No. 7314-VCG, 2012 WL 4760881 (Del. Ch. Oct. 5, 2012), the Delaware Court of Chancery, on a motion for summary judgment, rejected a stockholder’s demand under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“Section 220”). Section 220 provides that a stockholder in a Delaware corporation may, under certain conditions, request and cause the corporation to make available for inspection certain books and records, provided the demand has a proper purpose and some credible basis exists for suspecting mismanagement, waste, or wrongdoing. In this instance, although the court found the purpose of the demand — investigation of the corporation’s compliance with labor law — to be proper, it held that the evidence presented did not amount to a credible showing that legitimate issues of mismanagement existed to warrant an investigation.
The facts in the case were not in dispute. In September 2011, a news article reported that the U.S. Department of Labor was investigating several of the nation’s largest home builders, including Lennar Corp. (“Lennar”), to enforce compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Nine days later, a follow-up article reported that state-level agencies and the IRS had joined the investigation. Shortly thereafter, plaintiff Louisiana Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System sent a Section 220 demand letter to Lennar seeking board minutes and other documents related to Lennar’s compliance with state and federal labor laws, tax and immigration laws, citing the recent news articles. Lennar rejected the demand, claiming that plaintiff had no credible basis for believing there had been wrongdoing by Lennar.
In response to the rejection, plaintiff filed an action to obtain the requested books and records. In its lawsuit, plaintiff relied on the news articles it had cited in its demand letter and on a series of eight settled lawsuits brought by Lennar employees against Lennar between 2007 and early 2009 alleging FLSA violations. Lennar moved for summary judgment, contending that plaintiff’s evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to support a Section 220 demand.
The Chancery Court first considered whether plaintiff’s stated purpose for the demand was proper. The court noted that Delaware law recognizes that an investigation of corporate mismanagement, waste or wrongdoing is a proper purpose provided the issues investigated affect the stockholder’s interest as a stockholder, and thereby permit the stockholder to seek a remedy. Based upon this standard, plaintiff agreed that it lacked standing to investigate any past wrongdoing that gave rise to the 2007-2009 FLSA suits, and that it sought to investigate only ongoing mismanagement relating to labor law compliance. The court determined that plaintiff stated a proper purpose.
The court next considered whether a credible basis existed to believe mismanagement was in fact occurring to warrant a Section 220 inspection. The court remarked that absent some required showing, Section 220 inspections would occur upon mere suspicion, indiscriminately exposing corporations to constant fishing expeditions and draining corporate resources. At the same time, under a “credible basis” standard, a stockholder need not prove actual wrongdoing occurred, but must only show legitimate mismanagement issues exist. The court noted that this standard is so low that to lower it more would remove the requirement of coming forward with evidence altogether.
Nevertheless, the court concluded that the evidence plaintiff presented failed to clear even this low hurdle. It found that the past FLSA lawsuits as proof of present wrongdoing required an improper, speculative inference, and thus lacked probative value. Specifically, the last of the lawsuits was brought in early 2009, more than two years earlier. All of the lawsuits settled without an admission of wrongdoing. Furthermore, plaintiff offered no proof that the number of FLSA lawsuits — eight — represented a disproportionally high or unusual number for a company of Lennar’s size. Plaintiff itself did not rely on the suits in its demand letter.
The court also discounted the evidentiary value of the newspaper articles. While a newspaper article reporting on possible wrongdoing could meet the “credible basis” test (at least where there is some corroborating evidence), the articles here did not identify any actual mismanagement. The articles mentioned only the existence of the investigation and named Lennar as one of the companies being investigated. As the court put it, the articles provided “no reportorial suggestion, based on investigation, that Lennar is engaged in wrongdoing.”
Lastly, the court considered whether the past lawsuits and the newspaper articles taken together supplied a credible basis of misconduct justifying a Section 220 inspection. It concluded that, because the probative value of each item was so negligible, combining them could make no difference, and granted summary judgment.
This case confirms that the Delaware Court of Chancery, while continuing to endorse the use of Section 220 to investigate claims before stockholders file suit on behalf of the corporation, will nevertheless insist that stockholders meet the low evidentiary showing required to justify imposing Section 220’s books and records inspection burden on the corporation.
For further information, please contact John Stigi at (310) 228-3717 or John Landry at (213) 617-5561.
Brainless Blunders in E-Discovery Searches
Are you guilty of making big mistakes when it comes to e-discovery searches? On Digital Detectives, co-hosts Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc., and John W. Simek, Vice President of Sensei Enterprises, welcome guest Attorney Craig Ball, one of the country’s leading computer forensics technologists, to share his insights on brainless blunders in e-discovery searches. Craig also talks about recall and precision as mortal enemies, data volume rather than data quality and tips on looking at data as data rather than as documents.
Children being detained, tortured in Egypt: HRW
[JURIST] Children participating in protests during the Egyptian Revolution [JURIST backgrounder] have been subject to police detention and torture, according to a recent finding [press release] released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] Tuesday. The findings were based on numerous interviews of detained children, their families and lawyers. HRW condemned the situation in Egypt for violating national and international laws that require children to be separated from adults during different stages of legal proceedings. It was discovered that most...
Source: http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/11/children-being-detained-tortured-in-egypt-hrw.php
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Saturday, November 24, 2012
What’s Trending in 2012?
Decriminalizing medical marijuana, fighting to repeal healthcare reform and using social media as evidence are just a few of the topics trending in the legal industry in 2012. Lawyer2Lawyer co-host and attorney, J. Craig Williams discusses the hottest trends currently transforming the legal world with attorney and legal trend-watcher Danny Cevallos, the founding partner of Cevallos & Wong, L.L.P.
Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/lawyer-2-lawyer/2012/01/what%E2%80%99s-trending-in-2012/
Legal Talk Network Live at LegalTechNY 2012-LexisNexis’ Loretta Ruppert on Launch of Firm Manager
Loretta Ruppert, from the Business of Law Software Solutions within LexisNexis, which represents software that helps law firms with their business challenges, talks about the launch of Firm Manager. Be sure to watch the interview, hosted by Legal Talk Network producer, Kate Kenney.
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DFL picks committee chairs at legislature
Rep. John Lesch
The DFL majorities picked their committee chairs for the upcoming legislative session.
Of note to those in the legal profession:
Sen. Ron Latz will chair the Judiciary Committee. Latz is a criminal defense and employment attorney in St. Louis Park and a former prosecutor. He earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Michael Paymar will chair the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee in the House. That body has budget oversight over the Department of Correction, Department of Public Safety, Department of Human Rights, the courts and crime victim programs. Paymar chaired that committee the last time the DFL had the majority in St. Paul before the 2010 elections.
He is the executive vice president at Paymar Communications.
Debra Hilstrom will chair the Judiciary Finance and Policy Committee. She is a graduate of the William Mitchell College of Law and received the school’s Student Award of Merit at graduation. She works as an assistant Anoka County Attorney.
John Lesch will chair the Civil Law Committee. He earned his J.D. form Hamline University School of Law and works as a prosecutor with the St. Paul City Attorney’s Office.
Source: http://minnlawyer.com/minnlawyerblog/2012/11/16/dfl-picks-committee-chairs-at-legislature/
Inside the Trayvon Martin Tragedy
The shooting death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin in Florida has sparked outrage across the country. On February 26, 2012, Trayvon died from a single gunshot to the chest. Police say neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, fired that shot. Zimmerman is using Florida’s "Stand Your Ground" Law to justify the killing. Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi, welcome Professor Michelle Jacobs, from the University of Florida's Levin College of Law and Professor Kenneth Novak, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, to explore the legal issues surrounding the "Stand Your Ground" law, neighborhood watches, and the possibility of racial profiling.
Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/lawyer-2-lawyer/2012/03/inside-the-trayvon-martin-tragedy/
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Remote Working Options for Lawyers
The convergence of technology has created a “tipping point” for remote work options for attorneys. Law Technology Now, host and editor-in-chief of ALM’s Law Technology News, Monica Bay analyzes the key advantages of remote work options, which is also June’s Law Technology News’ cover story, Unleashed, with Albert Barsocchini, senior director, strategic consulting at NightOwl Document Management Services and Marc Osborn, senior director, communications for LexisNexis Legal & Professional.
Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/law-technology-now/2012/06/remote-working-options-for-lawyers/
The Controversial War on Drugs
Back in 1971, Richard Nixon declared a "war on drugs" claiming "America’s Public Enemy No. 1 in the United States is drug abuse". Forty years later, we are still waging a war against drugs. Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, Bob Ambrogi and Craig Williams join Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance and Judge Jim Gray, author of Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It, as they spotlight the controversial war on drugs including: the legalization of Marijuana, the rise in prescription drug use, sentencing reform and what needs to happen legally to eliminate this growing problem.
Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/lawyer-2-lawyer/2012/07/the-controversial-war-on-drugs/
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A Discussion of Post Grant Review
Scott McKeown, partner and co-director of the Post Grant Practice Group at Oblon Spivak, discusses post grant review. Learn more about Mr. McKeown at http://bit.ly/GGUcmu.
Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/suffolk-law/2012/04/a-discussion-of-post-grant-review/
Defending a Serial Killer
What is it like to defend one of America’s most infamous serial killers? Lawyer2Lawyer hosts Bob Ambrogi and Craig Williams join retired judge and lawyer, Sam L. Amirante, and retired lawyer, Daniel J. Broderick, to discuss their new book, John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster, and the constitutional right to a defense.
Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/lawyer-2-lawyer/2012/10/defending-a-serial-killer/
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Friday, November 23, 2012
Act Two: Legal Tech Pioneers Return to Compete in Legal Tech Market
On Law Technology Now, host and Law Technology News magazine editor-in-chief, Monica Bay joins William Bice, co-founder and chair of LiquidPractice, and Graham Smith, founder and CEO of Opus 2 International, to talk about Law Technology News’ April cover story, "Act Two." Bice and Smith explain why they decided to return to the legal technology community after selling ProLaw and LiveNote to an industry giant.
PDs ask that increased attorney registration fees continue
The Supreme Court authorized an increase in 2009 and renewed it in 2011. But Minnesota’s public defenders are handling caseloads that are 170 percent of state and national standards. The petition states that the board will ask the Legislature for funding but does not expect to receive enough to meet its needs, particularly with respect to advanced technology.
When the court approved the last fee increase, it said it would not do it again because the Legislature and the governor should provide adequate funding for the public defender system.
The complete notice is available here. http://www.mncourts.gov/?page=3862&item=56448. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15 and comments are due Jan. 7.
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SEC Sheds Light on Cyber Threat Disclosure
Edward Mikolinski JD '12 discusses his recent blog post, "SEC Sheds Light on Cyber Threat Disclosure" in the Journal of High Technology Law. Read the post at http://bit.ly/zuradT.
Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/suffolk-law/2012/03/sec-sheds-light-on-cyber-threat-disclosure/
BP Reaches Plea Agreement Over Gulf Oil Spill
British oil company BP agreed to pay $4 billion over five years to mostly government environmental agencies, and $525 million to settle claims with the Securities and Exchange Commission. BP will also plead guilty to 11 felony counts of misconduct or neglect related to the deaths of 11 people who died in the accident.
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Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/11/15/165218746/bp-reaches-plea-agreement-over-gulf-oil-spill?ft=1&f=1070
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Gambling on Sports and the Law
What are the odds that your office NCAA basketball pool for March Madness is illegal? Are you willing to bet that gambling outside of a casino on any sporting event breaks both state and federal laws? So then, why is it a crapshoot that you will be prosecuted under these laws? Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi, take a look at America’s gambling legislation with Professor Marc Edelman of Barry University's Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law and Author and Attorney Clay Travis from Counsel On Call.
Source: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/lawyer-2-lawyer/2012/03/gambling-on-sports-and-the-law/
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