December, 2020

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Russia passes laws to restrict US social media influence

JURIST

According to Reuters, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed multiple laws Monday to restrict the influence of US social media companies, like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. The first law signed allows for Russia to block internet sites that allegedly discriminate against Russian media, while the second law imposes a substantial fine for social media companies that fail to remove content banned by Russia.

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North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper Gives a Pardon of Innocence to Ronnie Long

EvidenceProf Blog

Today, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued a Pardon of Innocence for Ronnie Long, whose case we covered on the Undisclosed Podcast: So, why is this a big deal? On August 26th, the United States Court of Appeals for the.

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Problems Paying Your Mortgage During COVID? – Check Out the Options

Diane Drain

Are you financially stressed right now? What to know about options, from debt negotiation to bankruptcy. This short video from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “CFPB” is actually very informative and goes over the various options for homeowners who have received a forbearance. If the homeowner is not in Chapter 13, contacting their servicer or discussing their options with a HUD approved counselor is their best course of action.

Finance 211
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7 Reasons Web Accessibility Should Be Your Top Priority for 2021

LegalReader

If people find your site inaccessible, you could land yourself in the midst of legal actions for noncompliance. Renowned brands such as Sears, Target, and Nike have had to pay hefty fines, and with the turbulent economic conditions, you can’t afford this.

Legal 145
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Recipe for a Failed CLM Implementation

Selecting and implementing CLM technology can be daunting, leading to underutilization or abandonment. Factors like provider differentiation, inadequate planning, and lack of user training contribute to these failures. Recognizing these pitfalls is crucial for successful adoption, ensuring organizations harness the full potential of CLM for streamlined contract management.

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Opinion analysis: Court sides with New Mexico over Texas in interstate water dispute

SCOTUSBlog

The Supreme Court decided Texas v. New Mexico on Monday, ruling in New Mexico’s favor in an interstate water dispute over the Pecos River. Texas filed the case directly in the Supreme Court, invoking the court’s original jurisdiction in cases where one state sues another … just as it did on Dec. 8 when it sued four “swing” states over how they conducted the presidential election.

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More Trending

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Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules police officers can no longer search vehicles without a warrant

JURIST

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Article 1, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution offers greater protection to citizens from warrantless searches of their vehicles than does the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Prior to the ruling, Pennsylvania precedent held that the federal automobile exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment applied in Pennsylvania without exception.

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Undisclosed Mega-Update Thread 7

EvidenceProf Blog

On December 17, 2020 North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued a Pardon of Innocence for Ronnie Long. And yesterday, a settlement was reached, pursuant to which Chester Hollman III will be awarded $9.8 million for his 28 years of wrongful.

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Is Someone Trying to Collect On a Debt You Already Paid or is Not Yours?

Diane Drain

Have you received a demand that you pay a debt you don’t owe, or already paid? Reprint of an article from the Federal Tradc Commission “FTC.gov”, September 29, 2020. Nobody likes getting debt collection calls. But have you ever gotten one for a debt you already paid — or you know isn’t yours? Or have you been threatened and harassed by a debt collector until you paid up?

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Holiday Wellness Gift Ideas for Lawyers

MyCase

2020 has been a difficult year for all of us. If you’re at all like me, you’re undoubtedly ready for it to end and are hoping that 2021 will prove to be a far less turbulent year. But before we reach the end of 2020, we’ve got the holidays to look forward to – and presents to buy. So if you’re a lawyer or have a lawyer on your gift list, you may be looking for gift ideas.

Lawyer 138
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Contract Lifecycle Management: A Business Enabler Exploring On-Ground Challenges

CLM tools have always strived to push contract management into the digital age for almost 30 years. But the complexities of digitising a legal document are numerous. The current scenarios in business development have shown that having a fully automated CLM has become a mandate for every law firm and in-house legal department. To determine if you need a CLM system, it's essential to clearly identify the on-ground business challenges you aim to solve.

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Justices allow execution of Alfred Bourgeois to proceed

SCOTUSBlog

Alfred Bourgeois became the 10th person to be put to death by the federal government this year, after the Supreme Court on Friday evening denied his application for a delay of the execution. Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor indicated that they would have granted the application. Federal law and Supreme Court precedent ban the execution of someone who is mentally disabled.

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Former Washington state bar leader remembered as a champion for legal innovation

ABA Journal

Paula Littlewood, a champion for legal industry innovation who led the Washington State Bar Association for more than a decade, died of cancer Monday.

Legal 138
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Chinese court sentences COVID-19 whistleblower to four years in prison

JURIST

Rights organizations decried the four year prison sentence handed down to Zhang Zhan, a citizen-journalist, by a Chinese court on Monday. She was found guilty of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” charges sometimes used by authorities to quell dissent. Zhang, a 37-year-old former lawyer, had reported on the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan beginning in February.

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My First Post on the Changes to Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b)

EvidenceProf Blog

Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) has been amended, effective December 1, 2020. Here's the new version of the Rule (with markups from the old Rule): In the next few posts, I will go through the changes to Rule 404(b).

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California Civil Discovery Act Undergoes Significant Overhaul

Short article looking at the new CCP 2016.

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Summary Judgment Satisfies Justice

Patently O

by Dennis Crouch. Super-Sparkly Safety Stuff v. Skyline (Fed. Cir. 2020). Apart from the Plaintiff’s fabulous name, this case involves the defendant’s catch-phrase “bling-it-on!”; photos of celebrity models; personal weapons (pepper spray); AND a design patent! Both of these companies take the approach that a can of pepper-spray should be a fashion-accessory.

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4 Legal Issues E-commerce Businesses Need to Be Aware of Before Launch Day

LegalReader

The world of online selling is constantly evolving - and so are its laws. Staying abreast of rising issues in the online retail arena can help you make the right moves to protect your eCommerce venture and its reputation.

Legal 121
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How a veteran sketch artist offers a peek into oral arguments in the work-from-home era

SCOTUSBlog

Few people get the chance to watch an oral argument at the Supreme Court. Art Lien is one of them. As an artist who has been sketching the court for more than four decades , Lien has attended – and studied – hundreds of arguments. In a courtroom devoid of cameras, Lien uses little more than a pencil and paper (and afterward, a bit of watercolor) to capture the court’s work for everyone to see.

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How Smart Contracts are Changing Legal Contracts

LawTechnologyToday

While a world free of lawyers will most likely never come to fruition (to many parties’ chagrin), new technology in the form of smart contracts is changing how legal matters are drafted. Evidenced by increased adoption for major industrial applications with the OOC Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium , a powerful network of 10 major oil and gas players; alongside the Construction Industry Institute at The University of Texas’ recent Operating System 2.0 (OS2) initiative, a collaborative research

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Dangers of Digital "Reporting": Legal Risks and Unreliable Transcripts

In the world of legal proceedings, the choice between a certified stenographer and digital "reporting" holds significant implications. Certified stenographers go through rigorous training and testing and stand as the gold standard for accuracy in capturing every word. Their expertise ensures a reliable record, a crucial foundation for legal cases.

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Federal financial regulators propose computer-security incident notification for banks

JURIST

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Friday proposed a new computer-security incident notification requirement for banking organizations and their bank service providers. The proposed rule would require a banking organization to provide its primary federal regulator a prompt notification of any “computer-security incident” no later than 36 hours after it believes the incident occurred.

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Court of Appeals of Maryland Finds Rap Lyrics Were Admissible Against Defendant Charged With Murder

EvidenceProf Blog

Should a defendant's rap lyrics be admissible against him at a murder or attempted murder trial?

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Federal Circuit: User Experience is not Computer Functionality

Patently O

by Dennis Crouch. Simio, LLC v. FlexSim Software ( Fed. Cir. 2020 ) (opinion by Chief Judge Prost and joined by Judges Clevenger and Stoll). In this case, the Federal Circuit has affirmed the lower court’s summary dismissal of Simio’s infringement lawsuit on eligibility grounds. The appellate panel also upheld the lower court’s refusal to permit the patentee to amend its complaint — seeing the proposed amendment as “futile.” Dennis Pegden has received many aw

Court 124
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Top Mobile App Development Trends for 2021

LegalReader

The approximate count of mobile apps on the app store is 2.2 million and 2.8 million on the play store. This count is expected to grow every year.

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Optimizing Contract Management and Enhancing Team Collaboration: Insights from a Legal Operations Perspective

Speaker: Adina Marta Newman

Learn about a world of effective contract management and seamless teamwork across departments in this upcoming webinar from Cobblestone Software. You'll discover practical strategies and tips that legal professionals can use to streamline contract processes and enhance collaboration, making significant impact across legal and corporate departments. Join us as we show how you can supercharge contract processes, improve team communication, and take your contributions to the next level.

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Court to take on student-athlete compensation, class action cases

SCOTUSBlog

The justices on Wednesday added three new cases , for a total of two hours of argument time, to their list of cases slated for oral argument this term. The announcement that the justices would tackle significant issues relating to antitrust protection for the National Collegiate Athletic Association and class-action lawsuits came just two days after the justices released their second set of orders from their private conference on Dec. 11.

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How To Make Your Businesses Invulnerable to Corporate Identity Theft

LawTechnologyToday

Cyberattacks are becoming more of a problem each day than it was the previous day. The news of big corporations being targeted or attacked will not stop coming. In the world that we are in now, cyberattacks are already being considered a certainty with many businesses preparing for when it will happen rather than if it will happen. There are times when the entrepreneurs and businesses do/not do things to make themselves vulnerable to these attacks.

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Saudi Arabia detaining migrants in degrading conditions: report

JURIST

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is detaining hundreds of migrants, mainly Ethiopian, in degrading conditions at a deportation center in Riyadh. Migrants alleged to HRW that authorities are keeping them in overcrowded rooms for extended periods. Migrants also alleged that guards have beaten and tortured them with rubber-coated metal rods, which has led to three deaths.

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Top 5 legal technology stories of 2020

LLRX

Nicole L. Black discusses the wide ranging effects on the legal technology space from the pandemic across all corners of the legal technology world. The shift to remote work had a dramatic impact on both the practice of law and the business of law, resulting in the rapid—and singularly remarkable—adoption of technology at rates never before seen. In some cases, the transition was a smooth one, and in others, it was a spectacular disaster.

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Visibility Into the Strategy & Supporting Documents of Major US Law Firms

Law Firm Intelligence by Trellis aggregates state trial court data across the Trellis platform enabling users to: look up a particular metric related to a specific law firm (such as, how many cases a law firm had or has against another law firm), and see the actual dockets and documents supporting the metric. Trellis data is maximized in a revolutionary and unique way to provide users an exclusive look into a law firm litigating in state trial courts.