Professional Liability


Ethical Issues Arise in Lawyer’s Use of Social Media
October 16, 2012 | Professional Liability | Complex Torts & Product Liability | Intellectual Property

As with most of the population, the use of social media by lawyers in the conduct and marketing of their legal practices has been “trending” up.[1]  Although well-established ethical rules apply, some social media activity may introduce new twists to the rules’ interpretation or raise issues that a lawyer may not have considered before posting

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ABA Approves Changes to Technology-Related Ethics
August 14, 2012 | Professional Liability | Complex Torts & Product Liability | Intellectual Property

The headline could read “ABA drags lawyers, kicking and screaming, into the 21st Century,” but that would not tell the whole story. In reality, for the past decade or more, lawyers have increasingly relied on technology to practice law, but that reliance has grown so incrementally that its potential impact on ethical responsibilities may not

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Courts may consider a plaintiff’s status as an attorney in awarding a defendant attorneys’ fees due to the frivolous nature of a plaintiff’s claims
July 31, 2012 | Professional Liability | Complex Torts & Product Liability | Insurance Coverage

Taylor v. Harbour Pointe Homeowners Association, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 16216 (2d Cir. Aug. 2, 2012)

While attorneys’ fees are more regularly awarded to prevailing plaintiffs under various federal anti-discrimination statutes, prevailing defendants in such cases are not typically awarded attorneys’ fees unless they can demonstrate that the plaintiff’s claims were “frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless,

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A Landscape View of Privacy Protection Issues
June 30, 2012 | Professional Liability | Appeals | Complex Torts & Product Liability | Labor & Employment | Intellectual Property

Please click the link below to view “A Landscape View of Privacy Issues.” Adobe Reader is required to view the bulletin. If Adobe Reader is not installed on your PC, click here to download and install.

A Landscape View of Privacy Issues

Reprinted with permission.  All rights reserved.

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Music To Their Ears: What’s An ASCAP License Worth?
June 26, 2012 | Professional Liability | Complex Torts & Product Liability | Intellectual Property

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”), which represents music composers, writers, and publishers and which has the non-exclusive right to license the non-dramatic public performances of its members’ music, was formed in 1914.[1] As technologies have evolved over the past century, so has ASCAP’s role.  It is inconceivable that performers at the

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‘Deal of the Day’ Marketing Approved for New York Lawyers – With Caveats
April 17, 2012 | Professional Liability | Appeals | Complex Torts & Product Liability

Lawyers are not immune from the call of the Internet and the growing marketing opportunities that it represents. Lawyers who provide services to small businesses and individuals are particularly attracted to Internet applications that enable them to target potential clients before the client walks in the firm’s door.  Lawyers that use these Internet applications are

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FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Social Media Off-Label Use Questions
March 9, 2012 | Professional Liability | Appeals | Complex Torts & Product Liability

In its ongoing efforts to address the “rapid growth of the Internet, including social media tools and other emerging technologies,” and its use by medical professionals, consumers and drug and medical device manufacturers and distributors, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a draft guidance proposing ways that a drug or device company may

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Second Circuit Allows Broad School Oversight of Social Media
December 20, 2011 | Professional Liability | Appeals | Complex Torts & Product Liability

Courts across the country – including a number of federal circuit courts of appeals – continue to struggle with the ability of public school districts to discipline students for offensive online speech made off campus.[1] This past April, in Doninger v. Niehoff, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit weighed in on the

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“Telecommuting Employee” Insufficient For Jurisdiction
October 18, 2011 | Professional Liability | Appeals | Complex Torts & Product Liability

The Internet continues to lead to interesting issues of personal jurisdiction arising in cases in New York courts. For instance, the New York Court of Appeals has granted leave to appeal in a case in which the plaintiff is asserting claims for defamation and argues that the trial court should assert long-arm jurisdiction over the

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Website Operators Found Immune Over Comments
August 16, 2011 | Professional Liability | Appeals | Complex Torts & Product Liability

More than a decade ago, in Lunney v. Prodigy Servs. Co.,[1] the New York Court of Appeals declined, as premature, a request to decide whether to adopt a broad interpretation of immunity for Internet service providers (“ISPs”) under Section 230[2] of the federal Communications Decency Act (“CDA”).[3]

In the intervening years, Internet use has exploded

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