News
05/20/2010
Twitter Fighting Pennsylvania Subpoena Seeking Names of 2 Tweeters
Pennsylvania’s attorney general is demanding that Twitter unmask two of its users, a move that civil liberties groups say violates free speech.
Read the full story in the NY Times
04/20/2010
Dorothy Height, the leading female voice of the 1960s civil rights movement and a participant in historic marches with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others, died Tuesday. She was 98.
Height, whose activism on behalf of women and minorities dated to the New Deal, led the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years. She continued actively speaking out into her 90s, often getting rousing ovations at events around Washington, where she was immediately recognized by the bright, colorful hats she almost always wore.
Read the full story in the NY Times
04/14/2010
The Library of Congress to Archive Your Tweets
Twitter and the Library of Congress announced Wednesday that every public tweet posted since Twitter started in 2006 will be archived digitally by the federal library.
The Federal Trade Commission today told privacy groups it is “carefully reviewing” their complaint that the commission should investigate the targeting practices of online advertisers.
3/13/2010
The Federal Communications Commission Plan to Widen Internet Access in U.S. Sets Up a Battle
The FCC is proposing an ambitious 10-year plan that will realign the nation’s media and technology priorities by establishing high-speed Internet as the country’s dominant communication network.
03/05/2010
The Forturne 500 are getting social
Fortune 500 companies are slowly but steadily taking up activities such as Twitter and blogging
02/23/2010
Yahoo yodels new tune by joining tweeting craze
Yahoo Inc. is plugging its services into “tweets,” on Twitter!
02/22/2010
With his student’ assistance, New York Law School’s James Grimmelmann, has posted on his Laboratorium blog comprehensive coverage and insightful analysis of each speaker.Google Book Search Settlement hearing on February 18.
01/31/2010
Dallas judges take pains to keep Web from undermining fair trials
In Florida, a mistrial was declared recently after a federal judge learned eight jurors had researched the drug case on the Internet.
Read the full story on Dallas Morning News.com
01/25/2010
China Issues Sharp Rebuke to U.S. Calls for an Investigation on Google Attacks
China responded on Monday to the United States demands that it investigate recent attacks on American computers from Chinese soil, stating “that it conducted or condoned the hackers’ intrusions was “groundless and aims to denigrate China.”
Read the full story in the New York Times
01/20/2010
New York Times to charge for articles online
The New York Times says it will charge readers for full access to its Web site starting in 2011.
After months of deliberation, the newspaper said Wednesday it will use a metered system, allowing free access to a certain number of articles and then charging users for additional content.
Read the full story on Crains NY
01/13/2010
Google, Citing Attack, Threatens to Exit China
Google said Tuesday that it would stop cooperating with Chinese Internet censorship and consider shutting down its operations in the country altogether, citing assaults from hackers.
01/05/2010
Facebook Plays Privacy Card Against Seppukoo, Suicide Machine
Seppukoo.com, created by the Italian group Les Liens Invisibles, late last year after launching a campaign to convince people to commit Facebook suicide. Last month, the company fired off a cease-and-desist letter to Les Liens Invisibles, complaining that users who provide log-in data are violating Facebook’s terms of service. Read the full story on MediaPost Publications
Blogger’s Twitter Account Implicated in TSA Leak Hunt Read the article in Wired
01/02/2010
Google’s new smartphone is coming soon – Scheduled for early 2010
See MediaMughals.com for more details
NY TV Newsman Guilty in Attempted Assault on His Wife
Cable television newsman Dominic Carter, NY1’s influential reporter on New York politics, was convicted Friday of an attempted assault on his wife.
Read the full story on New York Lawyer
Def Jam Exec Arrested for Not Using Twitter
Here’s a first…
James A. Roppo, 44, senior vice president from Island Def Jam Records and rep for teen sensation Justin Bieber’s label, was arrested in Long Island, NY do to “hindered their crowd-control efforts by not cooperating.” Even stranger — he actcually did Tweet, so I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this case…
Read the full story on MediaMemo.com
On November 17th, Google launched a new search tool for Legal: Google Scholar
It enables people to find and read full text legal opinions from U.S. federal and state district, appellate and supreme courts using Google Scholar. You can find these opinions by searching for cases (like Planned Parenthood v. Casey), or by topics (like desegregation) or other queries that you are interested in.
Read the full story on out-law.com
JPMorgan donating $5M through Facebook
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is letting Facebook users help decide how to give away $5 million. The idea is to get small, local charities on Chase’s radar.
Read the full story on Crains NY
Time Warner and AOL to de-merge
On December 9th, Time Warner, In.c and AOL Inc. will officially spin-off the from Time Warner.
See the full story on MediaMughals
11/17/09
Goldman Sachs, Buffett team to empower small businesses
Goldman Sachs announced Tuesday that it would spend $500 million to help small businesses as part of a program offering education, mentoring and access to capital to 10,000 firms.
Read the full story at The Washington Post.com
2 Female Attorneys nominated to fill vacant spots at FTS
President Barack Obama has nominated a pair of female attorneys to assume the vacant commissioner positions at the Federal Trade Commission, with one hailing from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP and the other from the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office
Major Newspaper offices raided in corruption probe
Investigators in New York City raided circulation offices at some of the nation’s largest newspapers Tuesday as part of a union corruption probe, a law enforcement official said. (APP
Read the full story on Crains’ NY
9 Firms Lead Way In Commitment To Help Clients
They possess a keen sense of urgency and are willing to go the extra mile, say the Fortune 1000 corporate counsel who make up their client base and exemplify a commitment to help.
Read the full story at Law 360
Google, Authors Guild Seek OK On New Settlement
Google Inc. and authors and publishers groups, the two sides have announced a revised agreement in their dispute over the Google Books online library.
Read the full story at Law 360
11/16/09
New Scale sends you weightloss (0r gains) directly to your Twitter Followers!
Withings’ Wi-Fi Body Scale automatically tracks and charts your weight , records your lean and fat mass, and calculates body mass index (BMI). Plus, you can access your data (it’s secure, of course) from any Web browser or Withings’ iPhone app, WiScale. Better yet, you can even have the scale Tweet your weight loss (or gain) to all your Twitter followers.
Crave is having a contest for a FREE give-away - Read the full story
11/11/09
Justice Kennedy provides a lesson in journalism to high school students
Cheif Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, is widely regarded as one of the court’s most vigilant defenders of First Amendment values. Surprisingly, he’s censoring, The Daltonian, a high school newspaper he granted an interview, with a lesson about journalistic independence.
Read the full article in the NY Times
Evidence on Social Networking Sites
Social networking sites offer an abundance of exculpatory and impeaching evidence that may not be obtainable without some undercover detective work.
Read the full story at Law.com
Judge Decrees, “No Tweets Allowed”
A federal judge has banned real-time blogging from the trial of a Columbus, Ga., criminal defense lawyer accused of conspiring with a client to traffic cocaine and laundering drug money to his wife’s and secretary’s bank accounts.
Read the full story at Law 360
11/10/09
Twitter and LinkedIn announced a partnership that allows users to share status updates across the social networking sites.
11/06/09
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Reports the Legal Sector has not been spared, with 5,800 jobs lost in October 2009.
Read the full story at ABA Journal
11/04/09
Sidley Austin associate’s offer rescinded after being charged as alleged 9/11 Memorial Arsonist
The prestigious law firm Sydley Austin, rescinded their offer to a recent Harvard Law School grad, after his being charged with arson for allegedly setting a fire at a Manhattan memorial that holds remains of people who perished in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
11/03/09
Supreme Court cases examine how lawyers do their jobs
During October oral arguments, the justices of the High Court heard four cases that dealt as much with how lawyers do their jobs as with substantive issues of law.
Read the full story on Wisconsin Law Journal
Fired Associate Starts “Levinson Axelrod Sucks” Website
When you click on www.levinsonaxelrod.net, the owner of the site, Edward Harrington Hehyburn, makes it clear that it’s not run by the firm. The first words on the home page are “The truth behind the lies.”
Heyburn, an associate at Levinson Axelrod from 1998 until he was let go in 2004. He has used the site to criticize and mock the firm and its partners and to showcase its in-court losses.
Read the full story on Law.com
10/29/09
The Recession Is Giving Attorneys The Chance To Branch Out
The number of small firms being formed over the last few months has been considerable, reflecting how many law firms and lawyers are moving into entrepreneurship and forming their own boutiques.
10/28/09
ABA Honors Pro-Bono Week: 10/25 – 10/31
In downtown Manhattan, more than 340 firms, law schools, legal departments, bar associations and other groups in nearly every state are expected to participate. Participants are acknowledging and being honored for their pro bono work in areas ranging from immigration to helping disabled students in public schools, fulfilling a much needed service.
Read the full article on New York Lawyer
10/28/09
Reed Smith Breaks Away From Old Competency Grouping System For Associates
Reed Smith LLP has begun the new practice of grouping lawyers by competency level rather than relying on the tenure-based approach of yore.
Read the full article on Law360
10/27/09
The Law Library of Congress is now on Twitter!
You can find it at: http://twitter.com/lawlibcongress.
10/26/09
Tweets Are Letting Attorneys Know When Jurors Misbehave
Our society is more interconnected than ever before in history so, it’s getting harder to shield jurors from external information about their case. Attorneys need to know when and to what extent people violate judges’s orders.
“I think probably Facebook and Twitter are a good thing, because to the extent that people are going to violate the judges’ order, we as attorneys would like to know about it,” said Victor Vital, a partner at Baker Botts LLP.
10/3/09
Rebound in SBA-backed Loans may be indication that economic recovery is on the way
A rebound in SBA- backed loans for small businesses and greater access to much-needed capital, may be an indication that economic recovery is on the way. Read the full story on America’s Best Business Practices
9/30/09
Rex Gradeless on ABA Journal Launch of Legal Rebels Project With Social Media
I’ve been corresponding with Rex Gradeless and connected to his online platform for almost a year. Over time, his commentary, while always personal, grew a little more bold, and his followers both linked to his blog and on Twitter skyrocketed.! It’s not surprising that Rex is the one who focused my attention toward ABA’s Legal Rebel Project. On Rex’s Social Media Law Student Blog, he provides an in-depth overview of the the Legal Rebels platform and describes it as:
The ABA Journal has started a new project called “Legal Rebels”. Legal Rebels are 50 legal professionals throughout America who are redefining the legal profession. In light of the current economy, and the need to re-think some of the old ways of practicing law, the ABA Journal will profile each of these 50 Rebels throughout the next months.
Rex Gradeless
I strongly encourage law students to connect to Rex and the other brilliant, aspiring attorneys who are committed to change within the industry by contributing commentary to the Social Media Law Student platform.
CallingLaw Students
9/28/09
$100 Million Is Seen Coming for Twitter
Twitter, as popular as it is , hasn’t made any revenue yet. The company is scheduled to raise about $100 million of new funding that would bring the company’s value int at around $1 billion. Read the Story in full in the NY Times.
An Infusion of Another $100 Million Is Seen for Twitter – NYTimes.com.
Dollar Sign by ebaycoach
9/22/09
McKennaLong & Aldridge Launch New Blog
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP (MLA) has launched their new Pay to Play Law Blog (www.paytoplaylawblog.com), a blog dedicated to helping readers monitoring the status of proposed pay to play legislation. Led by partner Stefan Passantino and associate Amol Naik, the blog is set to become a leading online community for analyses on the impacts of pay to play regulations on federal and state levels in reference to lobbying, contributions, and gifts.
9/17/09
ONEOK, Inc vs. TWITTER
Update: Lawsuit has been dropped… Probably because Twitter simply removed the account in question — An Instantaneous Fix!
Oneok, Inc. a Natural gas distributor, has sued Twitter for trademark infringement. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Tulsa, said that Twitter had allowed an anonymous user to use the user name ONEOK, a company’s trademark.
While it’s not exactly clear how online platforms are going to be able to prevent this kind of copyright use, the Oneok lawsuit claims that the Oneok Twitter account holder published tweets containing information on the company containing information that could potentially be harmful for the company’s reputation.
Read the full story on Mashable
6/03/09
Karasma Media & Alain L. Locke – P.S. 208 Receive PENCIL’S 2008-2009 Emerging Partnership Award
Principal, Susan Green, of Alain L. Locke P.S. 208, and I had the privilege of being the recipients of PENCIL’S 2008-2009 Emerging Partnership Award last night. My company, Karasma Media, Public Relations & Publicity, responded to a need to create a new identity for the school.
We garnered a wide variety of media coverage, developed a new school logo and social marketing platform. The platform includes a blog http://alainllocke.org; that has helped to increase communication between teachers, parents and students, as well as businesses, elected officials and other members of the local community.
