Overlawyered » lawyering vs. privacy

May 10 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 10 May 2011 12:53:15 +0000

Hey, why don’t we invade people’s privacy so we can recruit them as figureheads for our privacy-invasion class action? [Cal Biz Lit, earlier on Starbucks pot-convictions case] Class-action coupon settlements are a no-win for consumers [Michelle Singletary, WaPo]
“Former Silicosis Clients Sue O’Quinn Law Firm, Estate” [Texas Lawyer via PoL, related earlier]
Gathering ammunition for suits: “Are your employees recording you?” [Hyman]
Canada: “Inflatables too dangerous for school fair” [Free-Range Kids]
Evaluating the effectiveness of medical liability reforms [Kachalia & Mello, NEJM]
“Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About ‘Judge Judy’” [TV Squad]
“Woman awarded $45,000 after dog kills cat” [six years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: class actions, John O'Quinn, lawyering vs. privacy, medical malpractice, recreation

May 10 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Lawyers seem to have a fondness for cloak and dagger stuff”

Walter Olson — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:21:05 +0000

What did law and lobbying firm Hunton & Williams know, and when did it know it, about subcontractor proposals to employ hardball and covert tactics against critics of Bank of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, including in one instance what has been reported as “the identification of vulnerabilities in critics’ computer networks that might be exploited”? [Brad Wendel/Legal Ethics Forum, BLT, Above the Law] Per Above the Law, “Based on what we know now, it doesn’t seem like Hunton actually accepted or endorsed any of these tactics, nor does it seem that Bank of America or the Chamber of Commerce knew about or signed off on ‘Project Themis,’ protecting them from legal fall-out.” But if Hunton was in fact sure to greet the proposed tactics with shock and dismay, why had the subcontractors imagined that they would fall on welcoming ears?

Tags: lawyering vs. privacy

“Lawyers seem to have a fondness for cloak and dagger stuff” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

July 22 roundup

Walter Olson — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:11:25 +0000

Update from Germany: “Teacher Loses ‘Rabbit-Phobia’ Trial” [Spiegel, earlier]
Farther shores of for-your-own-goodery: “Should Obese Kids Be Placed In Foster Care?” [Katz, CBS News]
Just one problem with that $725 million AIG securities suit settlement [D&O Diary]
After Texas passed bill requiring evidence of impairment, more than 99% of silicosis claimants dropped out [LNL, PoL]
Lindsay Lohan disserved by lawyer who can’t keep a confidence [Turkewitz]
Pearlstein’s the Washington Post’s anti-business business columnist [McArdle, Wood/ShopFloor]
Lawyer shenanigans in Fosamax trial in New York [Walk, Drug & Device Law]
Unwelcome surprise: health care bill turns out to tax many house sales [David Boaz, Cato at Liberty]

Tags: closing arguments, Germany, lawyering vs. privacy, obesity, silicosis, Texas

July 22 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“National Sexual Harassment Registry”

Walter Olson — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:55:39 +0000

Daniel Schwartz doesn’t think much of this private venture.

P.S. A moving target, it seems.

Tags: harassment law, lawyering vs. privacy

“National Sexual Harassment Registry” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Litigation vs. privacy, part LXXVII

Walter Olson — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:34:08 +0000

Online courthouse files are a giant privacy/security breach waiting to happen. [Eric Turkewitz]

Tags: lawyering vs. privacy

Litigation vs. privacy, part LXXVII is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“The poor man’s divorce investigator”

Walter Olson — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:53:09 +0000

“A spouse can legally conceal the GPS in the glove compartment or seat pocket, and depending upon the model of the GPS, track his or her partner’s whereabouts in real time.” [Legal Blog Watch; Chicago Sun-Times]

Tags: divorce, lawyering vs. privacy

“The poor man’s divorce investigator” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Lawyering vs. privacy, cont’d

Walter Olson — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:01:14 +0000

Mining data from your highway tolls, micropayments, instant messages and Twitter for purposes of litigation.

Tags: lawyering vs. privacy

Lawyering vs. privacy, cont’d is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Dov Charney chronicles, cont’d

Walter Olson — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:14:21 +0000

Adding color to the legal woes of the controversial American Apparel chief is the identity of the lawyer suing him, Keith Fink, Esq., who’s known for getting negative tidbits about his Hollywood adversaries into the papers. (Alex Ebner, Hollywood Interrupted, Nov. 30; WSJ law blog, Nov. 12). Earlier here, etc.

Tags: lawyering vs. privacy, movies film and videos

Dov Charney chronicles, cont’d is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Nowhere to hide

Walter Olson — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:59:28 +0000

When your litigation opponent subpoenas your Facebook, Amazon, MySpace, Flickr, LinkedIn and (locked) Twitter pages (& Likelihood of Confusion).

Tags: discovery, Facebook, lawyering vs. privacy, MySpace, social networking, Twitter

Nowhere to hide is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

November 4 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:43:01 +0000

Thanks to guestbloggers Victoria Pynchon (of Negotiation Law Blog) and Jason Barney for lending a hand last week;
Will the U.S. government need to sponsor its own motorcycle gang in order to hold on to trademark confiscated from “Mongols” group? [WSJ law blog]
With a little help for its friends: Florida Supreme Court strikes down legislated limits on fees charged by workers’ comp attorneys [St. Petersburg Times, Insurance Journal]
Stripper, 44, files age discrimination complaint after losing job at Ontario club [YorkRegion.com, Blazing Cat Fur via Blog of Walker] The stripper age bias complaint we covered eight years ago was also from Ontario;
Federal judge green-lights First Amendment suit by college instructor who says he was discriminated against for conservative political beliefs [NYLJ] (link fixed now)
Judge orders parties to settle dispute over noisy parrots after it reaches £45,700 in legal costs [Telegraph]
How to make sure you’re turned down when applying for admittance to the bar [Ambrogi, Massachusetts]
Questions at depositions can be intended to humiliate and embarrass, not just extract relevant information [John Bratt, Baltimore Injury Lawyer via Miller]

Tags: age discrimination, Canada, colleges and universities, discovery, Florida, guestbloggers, lawyering vs. privacy, Massachusetts, strippers and exotic dancers, trademarks, Victoria Pynchon

November 4 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system